The morning after was nothing short of intense and strangely warm. My body still thrummed with a phantom heat, a raw memory clinging to my skin.My clothes were scattered before me on the cold stone floor, a crumpled heap. My head rested on a pile of old books, their brittle pages pressing against my cheek.
A thick blanket, heavy with the musky, powerful scent of Draco, covered my bare body, shielding me from the cold morning air, but not from the raw memory of the night before.
The Alpha King... I slept with him. The realization hit me again, sharp and cold.Panic surged in my chest, a desperate, choking wave. How do I face him now? What of my mission, my purpose here? It's ruined... utterly compromised. Every step I took, every secret I held, now felt exposed.I needed to leave. Fast. Before everything unraveled completely.Throwing the blanket aside, I scrambled to gather my wrinkled clothes, dusting dirt and old parchment fragments from my hair.
My heart leapt into my throat as a voice, sharp with urgency, cut through the quiet of the small room."Elara—where have you been?!"Jessie stood in the doorway, her face pale, eyes wide with terror, her scent thick with fear.My stomach knotted. Did he tell them? Did he mention what we did? The shame of it threatened to consume me.I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay steady, though it trembled.
"What happened?"She glanced nervously down the hall, her gaze darting as if unseen eyes watched them. "The Alpha King is looking for you. He's been asking for you since dawn."My breath hitched. "Alpha?" The single word was a plea, a question, a dread.She wrung her fingers, unable to meet my gaze. "He's summoned you to the council chamber... the elders, his family—they're all there. They're questioning everyone about last night. And you... you've not been checked.
"My heart hammered in my chest, a frantic drumbeat of terror. I followed her out into the cold morning air of the training yard. Warriors paused, mid-swing, their training abruptly halted, to stare. Their whispers followed me like poisonous wind, wrapping around me, suffocating me."Whore.""Omega trash.""She seduced the Alpha... a scheming little nobody."Their cruel words sliced deeper than any blade, cutting into my very soul. My cheeks burned with humiliation.Jessie led me toward the council hall, her steps quick and anxious, but there—before the grand, imposing chamber doors—I was stopped by guards."On your knees," barked the healer, her voice sharp and unyielding, cutting through the murmurs.The elders loomed above me, their faces grim, judgmental. There was Alpha Draco's stepmother, her eyes narrowed with disdain. And the smug-faced stepbrother, Silas, who watched me like prey, a dark, hungry glint in his eyes. Draco stood among them, towering, his expression unreadable—as if last night had never happened, as if I were truly "nobody." I wanted to scream. Don't you dare pretend you didn't touch me. Don't you dare pretend this means nothing!But I lowered my eyes, bowing my head in forced submission.The healer stepped forward, her voice sharp, filled with a cold, piercing power. "Where did you come from, Omega? Why did you only appear in this pack recently?"I stayed silent, my lips pressed together, unable to betray my secrets."There is strange blood among us," she said coldly, her gaze dissecting me. "Everyone has been checked—except you. What are you hiding, Omega?" Her voice held a note of suspicion, a dangerous curiosity."I... I am nothing," I stammered, forcing desperation into my voice. "I am powerless. An Omega. I swear—I have no secrets, no magic—""Lies."The healer's power pressed against me, a crushing weight that made my head spin, threatening to pull the truth from my very soul. "You are not powerless. I smell it. A scent unlike any I have ever known. What are you?" My blood ran cold. My scent. Did she smell that? The impossible truth of my birth?Before I could form another desperate lie, a guard burst in, carrying a small, worn bundle—my few meager belongings."Her belongings," he grunted, tossing them unceremoniously to the ground, scattering them before the powerful figures.The healer snapped her fingers, her gaze fixed on the pitiful pile. "What did you find?""Only clothes, Elder. No stones, no scrolls, no charms. Nothing of magic of any kind."No stone? My breath hitched, a gasp trapped in my throat. The messenger stone—it's gone! A wave of icy panic seized me, blurring my vision. My mind raced, frantically sifting through faces. Who? Jessie? Draco? Or some unseen third party playing a far more dangerous game?The healer frowned, her brow furrowing with suspicion. "Curious... she smells of secrets but carries none. A puzzle indeed." Her eyes flickered towards Draco for a split second, a silent communication passing between them, before returning to me."She's to be moved," the healer finally declared, her voice ringing with authority. "To the Alpha King's chambers. Under his eye. Until we discover what she truly is."My heart plummeted, sinking like a stone. The Alpha's chambers? So close to him? No escape. No freedom. Just endless watching... endless fear, and the constant threat of my deepest secrets being exposed. This was not a reprieve; it was a deeper cage.I was dragged back to my room—my sad, empty space. My clothes dumped unceremoniously on the bed. Jessie trailed behind me, chewing her lip, her eyes wide with concern and fear."The messenger stone..." I hissed, grabbing her arm, my voice low and fierce. "Did you take it? Where is it?"She shook her head frantically, tears welling in her eyes. "No, Elara—I swear! I didn't touch it. I don't know where it went. Maybe... maybe the Alpha—""Don't finish that thought." But dread coiled in my gut, cold and sickening. Had Draco taken it? Silently, while I slept, vulnerable, in his arms? Or... was someone else entirely playing a dangerous game, using my past against me?"Move!" the guard snapped, seizing my wrist, his grip bruising.I was hauled down the long corridor—past warriors who sneered, past elders who whispered, their judgment pressing into my skin like physical blows. My humiliation was complete.Toward the Alpha King's chamber.Toward sorrow.Toward ruin.The grand, heavy doors shut behind me with a final, echoing thud. I stood alone, surrounded by the thick, overwhelming scent of him—power, desire, and undeniable danger.And I knew...This was only the beginning.The beginning of my sorrow.The beginning of the end.