Episode 3
1066 Words
“An Omega...”
“That’s impossible...”
“The bond doesn’t make mistakes...”
“The Moon Goddess wouldn’t...”
I felt every word like a stone thrown at my back.
My chest was still burning, the echo of the bond pulsing beneath my ribs like a second heartbeat.
Every step felt wrong, like I was moving against an invisible current pulling me backward.
Toward him.
Toward fate.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to contain the chaos inside me. My wolf paced restlessly, no longer dormant, no longer silent...confused, alert, painfully awake.
No. Not like this.
I heard my name again, sharper this time.
“Liana.”
I didn’t turn.
Council members had begun to gather near the ceremonial stone, their voices no longer restrained.
Elder Varric’s was the loudest, cutting clean through the noise.
“This is highly irregular,” he said. “The Alpha King requires a Luna of standing. Strength. Political value.”
“And control,” another elder added pointedly.
Magnus stepped forward then, his massive frame blocking the firelight. His gaze flicked to me briefly, already condemning.
“An Omega doctor cannot be allowed to destabilize the pack,” he said. “This sets a dangerous precedent.”
The word allowed made my stomach twist.
As if my existence were a decision to be approved or denied.
I felt Thomas’s attention on me again but I couldn’t bring myself to look back. If I did, I wasn’t sure I’d keep moving.
Evelyn appeared at my side suddenly, her fingers closing around my arm.
“Liana, wait,” she said, her voice tight. “You can’t just leave.”
I pulled free instinctively.
“I can,” I said. “And I am.”
“Everyone is watching,” she hissed.
“That’s the problem.”
She stepped in front of me, blocking my path, her expression carefully controlled.
Her eyes flicked past me once toward Thomas, toward the council, before returning to my face.
Her lips parted as if to argue.
I didn’t wait.
I turned and ran.
I didn’t hear Evelyn calling my name until I was already past the treeline, the sounds of the clearing dissolving behind me. My breath came fast and uneven, lungs burning as I pushed deeper into the shadows.
I didn’t slow until my legs threatened to give out.
I braced myself against a tree, pressing my forehead to the rough bark as I gasped for air.
My hands shook violently now, the delayed impact of everything crashing into me at once.
The bond pulsed again.
Aware.
I hated it for that.
“Get out of my head,” I whispered, even though I knew he wasn’t there. Even though the connection hummed regardless.
I slid down the trunk until I was sitting on the forest floor, knees drawn to my chest.
This was wrong.
Not because Thomas Delaney wasn’t powerful. Not because he wasn’t respected.
But because the Moon Goddess had already failed me once.
And I refused to let her do it again.
I didn’t know how long I stayed there before footsteps approached.
I stiffened, every sense snapping alert.
“Liana.”
His voice was unmistakable.
I looked up slowly.
Thomas stood a few paces away, hands loose at his sides, his posture careful...nonthreatening in a way that told me he’d thought about how to approach me.
Firelight from the clearing still caught the edges of his form, but the forest swallowed the rest.
Up close, the bond was worse.
Stronger.
My wolf surged, pressing against my ribs, yearning and furious all at once. I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said.
“Neither should you,” he replied evenly. “Not alone. Not like this.”
“I’m fine.”
“You ran.”
I scoffed. “You noticed.”
His jaw tightened briefly. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”
I stood abruptly. “You caught me before I fell. That’s all.”
“That’s not all,” he said quietly.
The words settled between us.
I turned away, staring into the trees. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
“No,” he agreed. “It shouldn’t have.”
The agreement startled me enough that I looked back at him.
His expression was unreadable, but tension coiled beneath it. “I didn’t come to make promises,” he continued. “Or demands.”
“Good,” I said. “Because I’m not accepting either.”
He studied me for a moment. “You know what the pack is saying.”
“I heard enough.”
“They’re afraid,” he said. “Not of you. Of change.”
“Same thing,” I muttered.
Thomas exhaled slowly. “Look, I’ve been searching for a Luna.”
My eyes searched his face, refusing to miss a single flicker of emotion.
“For years,” he added. “Someone strong enough to stand beside me. Someone the pack would accept.”
I laughed again, bitter. “And I’m not her.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“That’s exactly what you said.”
Silence stretched.
“Our mating ceremony is in two days,” he said finally.
My heart dropped.
“You’re expected to complete the bonding ritual,” he continued.
“No.”
The word left my mouth instantly,
“I won’t,” I said. “I won’t be paraded in front of a pack that already wants me erased.”
His gaze darkened. “And you think running would protect you?”
“I’m not running,” I snapped. “I’m refusing.”
He took a step closer.
“The bond exists whether you acknowledge it or not,” he said. “Ignoring it won’t make it disappear.”
I met his eyes then. “At least you have a choice,”
“I didn’t ask for this either,” he said.
“That’s the difference,” I replied. “You’ll survive it.”
I stepped back, putting distance between us again.
“I won’t be your sacrifice.”
For a long moment, he didn’t move.
Then he nodded once, slow and deliberate.
“Two days,” he said. “That’s all I’m asking.”
“For what?”
“If not…” he replied. “the pack decides it for us.”
- Writer
