The Lycan Prince's Forbidden Omega

Chapter 2

POV: Ash

For the first time in a long time, what woke me wasn't pain. It was there, but it wasn't what made me wake up.

It was the heat. Not the warm kind—it burned beneath my skin, curling through my body until every breath felt too warm. My limbs were heavy, my wolf whimpering weakly. The slick between my thighs wet the soft covers.

Then I noticed the bed.

Soft. Too soft. Blankets heavier than anything I'd ever owned. A mattress that didn't sag and fur brushing against my cheek.

I didn't move.

For eighteen years, waking had meant bracing for pain. A kick. Cold water. Someone shouting because I'd slept too long. Warmth felt wrong. So I kept my eyes closed. People often talked more freely when they thought you weren't listening. But there was nothing.

My hands throbbed. Bandages. Someone had wrapped my hands.

Someone had touched me while I was unconscious. My stomach coiled.

Slowly, I forced my eyes open. Dark wooden beams. Firelight dancing across carved pillars. A fireplace crackling nearby. This wasn't the pack house.

Then the memory hit all at once. Running. The border. Those terrifying red eyes that weren't so terrifying the closer I'd looked at them—or maybe I'd been delirious from pain.

I jerked upright and regretted it immediately as pain exploded through my ribs.

"Easy."

The deep voice froze every muscle in my body.

Across the room sat the man from the forest. He was huge—broad shoulders that didn't quite fit the chair he was settled in, dark hair falling over his forehead. His grey eyes, no longer red, watched me carefully. Like he hadn't decided what to do with me yet. But he didn't move closer.

A Lycan.

I stared. Every story I'd ever heard about Lycans ended with someone being torn apart, and it was never the Lycan. I pulled the blankets tighter around myself.

"You crossed into Lycan territory."

I said nothing. My throat burned with thirst, but I didn't dare ask for water.

The heat spiked. My wolf grew restless as sweat soaked through the clothes I'd been put into. He could smell my heat—I knew he could. Every alpha I'd ever known would have crossed the room by now.

He didn't.

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or ashamed. My wolf whimpered, clawing toward him with a need I didn't understand. I pushed the feeling away.

Then the ringing started. The voices grew louder. Worthless. Disgusting. He doesn't want you. Who would want you?

I started hitting my head without realizing it. Stop it. Just stop. I hit harder. Blood trickled down my forehead—warm and wet.

I hadn't seen him move, but suddenly he was kneeling beside the bed, hands raised, not touching me. His jaw was tight. His grey eyes locked onto mine.

"Look at me. You're bleeding. I need you to stop."

My hand came down again. He caught my wrist—gentle, but firm.

The moment our skin touched, fire burned through me. My whole body buzzed with something I couldn't name. His jaw clenched so hard it looked ready to break. But he didn't let go.

And then the memory slammed into me.

The heat had started without warning. I barely made it to my room.

Damien stood there, drunk. The sour smell of cheap wine. His glassy eyes found me anyway.

"There you are."

"I'm in heat. Please leave."

His hand connected with my face. My head hit the wall. Blood clouded my vision.

"Stop struggling."

I did. I always did. Struggling only made it last longer.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I know you are."

The sound of his belt unbuckling. His mouth on my neck. My stomach turned so hard I tasted bile.

"Why can't you take this like a good little slut?"

My vision blurred. But something surged through my chest. Not courage. Refusal. A no I didn't know I was allowed to say.

My hand moved before I registered it. One moment he was on top of me—the next he was stumbling backward, screaming, blood spilling down his cheek.

The door burst open. Kate.

"Ash. Run."

I gasped, the room around me returning. My body shook so badly my teeth chattered. The Lycan was still holding my wrist. I flinched, pulling away.

Something flickered across his face—too fast to name—before his expression closed again.

The air wouldn't reach my lungs. "He tried to—I'm so sorry. I only wanted him to stop."

"They'll kill her. She helped me." The guilt hurt more than my injuries. "If Damien couldn't catch me, he'll blame her."

For a long moment, the Lycan said nothing. Then he reached toward me.

I flinched.

His hand stopped halfway. He simply looked at me. Then, stiffly—like he'd never comforted anyone before—he lifted the fur blanket and draped it over my shoulders.

"No one will hurt you here."

The words shouldn't have calmed me. Why would he protect someone like me? But for some stupid reason, I wanted to believe him.

The Lycan waited until my breathing steadied before speaking again.

"You've been unconscious for two days."

My fingers tightened around the blanket.

"...Two?"

"You collapsed at the border."

Silence settled between us. I kept my gaze lowered. If I didn't look at him, maybe he wouldn't notice how frightened I was.

"...W-why am I st-still alive?"

The question hung in the room.

He frowned slightly. "You wanted to die?"

My shoulders stiffened. I hadn't meant to say it out loud.

"I..." My voice caught. "I crossed into Lycan territory, d-didn't I."

"You did."

"I've h-heard the stories."

"And?"

"Aren't you like... I don't know... supposed to k-kill wolves who trespass into your territory?"

He held my gaze for a long moment before answering. There was something in his face I couldn't quite place—not quite amusement, not quite something else.

"No."

I blinked. That wasn't the answer I had expected.

My eyes drifted toward the bandages around my hands. "You treated me."

"You were bleeding and burning with fever. Was I supposed to let you die?"

I didn't know what to say to that. Nobody had ever really cared about my injuries before.

He studied me quietly. "Do you have a name?"

"...Ash."

"Ash." He repeated it once, as if committing it to memory, and for some stupid reason my wolf whined even more.

"I'm Kael."

I nodded faintly.

Neither of us spoke again. Then a sharp knock broke the silence.

"My Prince?"

Kael's expression flattened. "Enter."

A guard stepped inside and bowed deeply. "Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence in the throne room immediately. Word has spread and the King is furious."

I froze.

Prince?

My eyes darted around the room. The carved furniture. The banners. The royal crest burned into the fireplace.

Royal chambers.

My blood ran cold.

Not just a Lycan. A prince. I was wrapped in a prince's blankets, wearing a prince's clothes, in a prince's bed.

Kael's jaw tightened, but his voice stayed steady. "Tell him I'll be there shortly."

The guard bowed and left.

Kael turned back to me. For a moment, he hesitated, like he wanted to say something. Then his expression closed.

"Stay here. No one will enter without my permission."

Before I could ask another question, he walked out. The heavy lock clicked into place.

I stared at the door. Then down at my wrist. Kate's bracelet was still there. I wrapped my bandaged fingers around the worn wooden bead.

"Please be safe," I whispered.

The door opened. A man strode in, amusement flickering across his face. Tall. Sharp features. Dark hair swept back. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"So the rumors are true. My little brother did bring a wolf into the royal chambers."

His nostrils flared. Probably taking in the scent of my heat. The amusement vanished instantly.

His smile changed.

I had seen that smile before.

Damien.

I wasn't in the royal chambers anymore. I was back in my bedroom, and Damien was reaching for me again.

And I couldn't move. My brain knew to tell him to stay away or to move, but my whole body had plans of it own.

He took another step toward the bed. "Kael," he murmured, sounding amused

"You really shouldn't leave your toys unattended."