The Omega's Revolt (completed)

Act 2 - Myth of Cronus

            My jaws dropped as a hidden door popped out of the decorative black wall panels after Levi tapped on the top left and right corners of a panel. 

            “Follow me,” he said gently before disappearing into the small dark passageway behind the door. 

            Every fibre in my body told me not to trust him but ignoring my reaper instincts, I got on all fours and crawled behind him. Gradually, the passageway became larger and larger until I had just enough space to stand comfortably in it. 

            “What is this place?” I whispered, trying my best to keep my voice low so that it wouldn’t echo in the passageway. 

            A small torch light lit up the pitch black passageway and a sheepish look spread across Levi’s face as he avoided eye contact with me. 

            “It’s a passageway built by the Alpha 200 years ago, right before he married the first Smith woman from your Clan.”

            Realization dawned on me like a bucket of ice cold water and I could feel the color draining from my face as my voice trembled. 

            “Have you been spying on me?” 

            Levi’s eyes widened in horror as he shook his head violently and held up his hands to protest his innocence. 

            “I swear that I had never used this passageway since you’ve come to our pack. This is the first time that I’m using it since...since the death of the previous Luna.” 

            “Of course, why would you spy on me if the Alpha didn’t command you to? I guess for Jesse, I’m still not worth that much trouble.” 

            The sarcasm in my voice wasn’t missed by Levi and my heart squeezed tightly as if to punish me at the sight of his crestfallen face but my mind was clear enough now to know better. We were on two different sides of the battlefield, and fated mates or not, nothing could ever change that. If my husband ordered Levi to kill me, he would have to do it, even if he didn’t want to. 

            What a fool I had been for a moment back in Levi’s room, for having that tiny sparkle of hope that maybe, just maybe, someday, things could be different for us. 

            “I won’t ever hurt you, Rose, I swear on the Moon Goddess and if that isn’t enough for you, I swear on my own life,” Levi said solemnly. 

            My pitiful heart wanted so much to continue savoring the heavenly taste of hope and love, and for a second, I was almost going to give in as Levi closed the distance between us and leaned down to press his forehead against mine. 

            “I lost my first fated mate three months ago to the Beta. He wanted her for his harem and to protect her older brother, she accepted it. She forced me to reject her with a knife on her neck, and I had no doubts that if I didn’t do it, she would have slit her own throat. It was the only reason why I had rejected the Goddess’s gift, because I couldn’t allow it to be the cause of my mate’s death. I hate the way things work in our pack, Rose, but I grew up here and never in the 30 years that I had lived, did I imagine that things could be different. Perhaps, I just didn’t care enough, because of the privileges that I’ve enjoyed, but...but you changed everything.”

            His breath tickled my face as I tried to calm my racing heart. It was difficult to concentrate on his words with him so close to me but I couldn’t bear to push him away now, not after everything that he had just confessed to me. 

            I understood how he felt. I understood it so well that I could tell the same story with my own mouth. Before Papa’s cold-blooded execution, we led privileged lives within our Clan. Papa was our Chief, second in command in our Clan and the only full-blooded brother of our Skipper. If I had wanted the stars in the skies, everyone in our Clan would have broken their heads over a chance to make my wish come true, in the hopes of gaining Papa’s favor and a promotion. 

            Though I hated the way that women were relegated to the roles of servants, prostitutes and ornaments of powerful Clansmen, it was the way things were. My young mind wasn’t able to grasp the fact that things could be very different, that there was a whole other world out there, where things did work differently in some cases, and even if they weren’t, you could fight for it. 

            It was only after Papa’s death did I realize that doing nothing made me just as bad as the very people and the very things that I had hated. It was only then that I had attempted to broaden my horizons and fight for the things that I wanted, that Papa wanted for us. 

            Misery loves company but I couldn’t allow our past to get in the way of the future that I wanted. I wanted to avenge Papa and knock some sense into my brother before retiring somewhere quiet with my mother and sister. It was an uphill battle and the last thing that I needed was a weakness. Besides, I still didn’t know if I could really trust Levi. 

            My silence drew a heavy sigh from Levi and without another word, he took my hand and started leading me further down the passageway. Like the beginning of the passageway, the end of it became smaller and narrower and we had to get down on all fours to get to the end, which was surprisingly a panel in my walk-in wardrobe. 

            “No one’s here,” Levi whispered as he pulled me into my walk-in wardrobe. “I need to leave now, in case any of your people are back. Take a shower right after I’ve left, just in case any werewolves come to your quarters tonight. You need to wash my scent off you, even though I love how you smell of me.” 

            A pang of guilt hit me even as a mischievous smile curled up on Levi’s face. I knew that I owed him nothing, but for some reasons, I felt a strange sense of unease about being intimate with another man. 

            “What happens to you if I...if I’m intimate with the Alpha?” I averted my eyes as I asked the question that had been bothering me since finding out that we were fated mates. 

            “I won’t die, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Levi said lightheartedly. “I haven’t accepted the bond so I won’t be in excruciating pain, but I would know because I’ve already recognized the bond and the woman who holds the other half of my soul.” 

            “Then just reject me, Levi!” I begged in exasperation as tears began to fill up my eyes. He didn’t deserve this and I knew that I would have to sleep with my husband again until my plans had succeeded. 

            “No,” Levi said sternly. “It sucks but I’m not jealous because I know that you don’t love him, and it’d hurt but physical pain is nothing compared to losing you. Don’t ever bring this up again, Rose, because I won’t change my mind.”

            A softness caressed my face as Levi leaned in and kissed the tear rolling down my cheek. Thousands of thoughts ran through my mind and my heart shrieked at me to run away together with our mate. Not trusting myself to speak, I pressed my lips together tightly, willing the tears to go away. 

            “I wish I could stay, Rose, but I can smell that someone’s about to come into your quarters, a human. Remember my words, take a shower and have an early night. Be careful around Chadron. I can’t tell you much but...if you take a closer look at Kono, you might understand on your own.”

            A gentle kiss imprinted itself on my forehead before Levi disappeared down the passageway again. Remembering his words, I clumsily wiped any remaining tears off my face before running into the shower. 

            Soon enough, I could hear Nessa’s voice from the bathroom. After a quick shower, I hopped out and went to the sitting room where she was waiting for me. Her legs were crossed as she slumped into the couch, her brows furrowed together like she was deep in thoughts. 

            “It’s late, Nessa,” I remarked while continuing to towel dry my hair absentmindedly as if I hadn’t just crawled through a passageway from the room of my husband’s bodyguard to mine. 

            “Don’t you think that there’s something really familiar about Chadron? I feel like I have seen him before but I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Do you remember if he ever accompanied his father and your cousin on their visits to our Clan?” 

            It was strange that Nessa would visit me so late and definitely out of character for her to be so uncomposed and flustered, which got me thinking more seriously about her questions, especially after what Levi had said. 

            The more I thought about it, the more my thoughts began to point in the same direction. Kono’s eyes were a deep shade of brown with a tinge of redness to them, or at least that was what I had thought when I first laid eyes on him. Looking at the picture of him on my phone now, I realized that the tinge of redness wasn’t really red, and the way the corner of his eyes drooped slightly, giving him adorable puppy eyes reminded me of the young man that I had seen tonight. 

            My eyes widened as the puzzle pieces began falling together and I had to dig my nails into my palms to prevent myself from screaming in shock.