Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2
Silence stretched between them, heavy and fragile.
“You should rest,” Darius said at last.
The words were clipped. Distant. Spoken like an order given to a stranger.
Elowen’s fingers curled into the blanket. “Why are you here?”
He stiffened, as if the question struck somewhere deep. “Because the elders demanded it. Because… protocol.”
Protocol.
Not concern. Not curiosity. Certainly not acceptance.
“I didn’t ask for this,” she said quietly.
His gaze snapped back to her, sharp. For a moment, something flickered there—conflict, maybe even pain—but it vanished just as quickly, buried beneath iron control.
“Neither did I,” he replied.
The bond flared angrily, heat turning to knives. Elowen gasped, clutching her chest. Darius sucked in a breath at the same time, his hand curling into a fist as if he felt it too.
Good, she thought bitterly. Let him feel it.
“The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
Darius’s mouth twisted. “She already has.”
Her heart cracked.
Before she could stop herself, the words slipped free. “Is she really dead?”
The room seemed to freeze.
Darius’s eyes darkened dangerously. “Do not speak her name.”
“I didn’t,” Elowen said, voice trembling despite her effort to stay calm. “But she lives in every space you won’t look at me.”
That hit its mark.
For a heartbeat, the Alpha King looked less like a ruler and more like a man trapped between past and present. Then his walls slammed back into place.
“You will remain in the pack,” he said flatly. “You will be treated with respect. The bond will not be… acknowledged publicly until the council decides what to do.”
“What to do with me,” Elowen corrected.
Darius did not deny it.
She nodded slowly, a strange calm settling over her. “Then you don’t have to worry.”
He frowned. “About what?”
“I won’t shame you by hoping,” she said. “I won’t reach for you. I’ll be exactly what you want me to be.”
His brows drew together. “And what is that?”
“Invisible.”
The bond pulsed—sharp, protesting.
Darius turned away abruptly, as if he couldn’t bear the sensation any longer. “Get stronger,” he said over his shoulder. “This bond won’t be easy on you.”
Elowen watched him leave.
The door closed with a quiet finality that echoed far louder in her chest.
Alone again, she stared up at the ceiling, tears finally spilling down her temples into her hair. She did not sob. Omegas learned early not to make noise when they broke.
Outside, the moonlight slipped through the narrow window, silver and watchful.
For a brief moment, Elowen felt something else beneath the pain—something warm and patient, like a hand resting gently over her heart.
Endure, a whisper seemed to say.
And so she did.
But deep within her, something ancient stirred—something that did not exist to be ignored forever.
Elowen returned to her quarters before dawn.
They were small—two stone walls, a narrow bed, a single shuttered window—but they had always been hers. Tonight, they felt unfamiliar, like even the room knew something had changed.
The bond hummed beneath her skin, restless now that Darius was farther away. It was not pain exactly—more like an ache that refused to settle, a presence reminding her she was no longer alone in her own body.
Unwanted, she corrected silently.
She pressed her palm to her chest and breathed through it, the way she had learned to endure everything else in her life. Hunger. Cold. Loneliness.
Hope.
By morning, the pack was already awake—and talking.
Elowen felt it the moment she stepped outside.
Conversations faltered. Eyes followed her. Scents shifted, sharp with curiosity and disbelief. Some carried awe. Others—pity.
The worst ones carried contempt.
“That’s her?”
“I thought the Alpha’s mate would be… more.”
“An omega? The moon must be cruel.”
Elowen kept her head down and walked on.
She had chores to do. Fate or not, omegas were not excused from work.
As she crossed the training grounds, the air thickened suddenly with alpha presence. Her steps faltered without her permission, her body reacting instinctively before her mind could catch up.
Darius stood in the center of the ring, sparring with his beta, Kael Thorn.
The sound of fists colliding echoed through the clearing. Sweat glistened on Darius’s bare arms, muscles flexing as he moved with lethal precision. He looked alive there—focused, powerful, unburdened.
Not once did he look her way.
But the bond knew.
It flared violently, a sharp twist of awareness snapping between them. Darius faltered mid-strike, breath hitching. Kael took advantage, sweeping his legs out from under him.
The Alpha hit the dirt with a snarl.
Silence rippled outward.
Darius rose slowly, fury etched into every line of his body—not at Kael.
At her.
Their eyes met.
The bond roared.
Elowen froze, panic flaring. She hadn’t meant to—she hadn’t done anything—
“Enough,” Darius barked. “Training’s over.”
Kael stared at him, confused. His gaze slid to Elowen, and something like understanding flickered there. Guilt, too.
As the others dispersed, Kael approached her carefully.
“My lady,” he said, bowing his head—not deeply, but respectfully.
Elowen flinched. “Please don’t call me that.”
Kael straightened, studying her with open curiosity. “You should get used to it.”
“I don’t want to be,” she replied quietly.
Something softened in his expression. “Most power comes without asking.”
Before she could respond, Darius’s voice cut in, sharp and controlled. “Kael.”
The beta stepped back immediately. “Alpha.”
Darius didn’t look at Elowen when he spoke. “You shouldn’t be near the training grounds yet. The bond is unstable.”
“I was just passing through,” she said.
His jaw tightened. “Be mindful.”
Of what? Her existence?
She nodded anyway and walked away, every step heavy.
By midday, Elowen learned exactly how the pack felt about her.
She entered the communal hall to collect ration tokens when the voices stopped abruptly. A group of unmated she-wolves stood near the hearth, their eyes glittering with something sharp and hungry.
One of them—tall, blonde, beautifully ranked—tilted her head. “You don’t look like an Alpha’s mate.”
Elowen said nothing.
“That dress is omega-issue,” another added. “Don’t you get anything new now?”
A third laughed softly. “Maybe the Alpha hasn’t claimed her yet.”
The bond reacted.
Heat surged violently through Elowen’s veins, her vision flashing silver for a split second. The air around her seemed to thicken, pressure building like an unseen storm.
The laughter died.
The she-wolves paled, stepping back instinctively.