The Cold Morning After
728 Words
Cold air hit my skin before my eyes even opened.
I pulled the thin blanket higher over my shoulders. The scent of pine and heavy rain hung thick in the room. It was his scent. Dark, suffocating, and impossible to mistake.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I turned my head slowly toward the other side of the bed.
Alpha Lucas sat on the edge of the mattress, already fully dressed in his dark uniform jacket. He pulled his leather boots on with sharp, heavy tugs. He did not look at me. He did not even acknowledge I was breathing.
So, this was reality.
Last night I had a fever. A strange, terrifying pull that neither of us controlled. The full moon had dragged us together like two stones smashing into each other. But daylight always kills the magic, doesn't it?
"Lucas?" My voice sounded weak. I hated how small I sounded in this massive room.
He froze for a second. His shoulders went rigid. When he finally stood up and turned around, his eyes held no warmth. No recognition. Only absolute ice.
"You will address me as Alpha," he said. His voice echoed off the high stone walls.
It was like a slap across my face. My breath caught in my throat. "Alpha... about last night..."
"Last night was an accident," Lucas interrupted. He stepped closer, his heavy footsteps thudding against the hardwood floor. "A biological mistake. You are an omega, Elena. A nobody in this pack. Do you think a single night changes your place here?"
I flinched, pulling the sheet tight around my chest. My hands shook under the fabric. I wanted to scream, to ask him why he touched me like I was his whole world just six hours ago. But the cold stare in his dark eyes stopped me cold.
He didn't see a mate. He saw a problem.
"I didn't plan this," I whispered, holding back the tears burning behind my eyes. "You came to my quarters. You called my name."
"Silence." The Alpha command slammed into my mind like a physical weight. My jaw locked shut instantly. My own wolf whimpered deep inside my chest, bowing down to his dominant power.
Lucas looked down at me with pure disgust. "You used the moon phase to trap me. You knew I was weak from the border battle, and you took advantage of it."
Is he serious? I could barely afford proper meals in the outer village, let alone plan a trap for the most powerful Alpha in the territory.
Before I could fight the command locking my jaw, the heavy double doors of the bedchamber swung open.
A woman walked in like she owned the entire castle. Lady Victoria.
She wore a tailored red coat, her blonde hair pinned back perfectly. She was highborn, beautiful, and the daughter of the neighboring pack leader. Everyone knew Lucas needed his family's army to secure his borders.
Victoria stopped in her tracks, her eyes scanning the room. She took in the disheveled bed, the clothes scattered across the floor, and me huddled under the sheets.
Her lips twisted into a cruel grin.
"Well, well," Victoria said, stepping fully into the room. Her expensive perfume instantly fought against the scent of pine and rain. "What is a filthy omega doing in your bed, Lucas? Cleaning the sheets?"
Lucas didn't defend me. He didn't say a word. He stepped away from the bed, putting distance between us as if I carried a contagious disease.
"She was leaving," Lucas said flatly.
Victoria walked right up to the edge of the mattress. She leaned down, her green eyes flashing with pure malice.
"An omega trying to climb into Alpha's bed right before our formal union?" Victoria laughed softly, a bitter, grating sound. "This isn't an accident, Lucas. This is treason. She tried to ruin our alliance."
"I did no such thing," I forced out, breaking through the fading grip of his Alpha command. My voice trembled with rage.
"Shut your mouth," Victoria snapped, raising her hand.
She swung across my face. The sharp crack echoed through the bedroom, sending a blinding heat across my left cheek. My head snapped to the side.
I looked at Lucas, waiting for him to stop her. Waiting for him to step in.
He just stood there with his arms crossed, watching me bleed.
- Writer
