The Lycan Prince's Forbidden Omega

Chapter 9

Ash

I didn't want to go.

That was what surprised me most. Not the fear of what Damien would do if I went back—I already knew what waited for me there. The beatings. The punishment. The thing he'd tried to finish before I ran.

No. What surprised me was that I didn't want to leave Kael.

Rowan stood there smiling about me going away, and it wasn't fear I felt. It was something sharper. Something that burned.

But what was I to want? I was nothing. A jinx. An abomination. He was a prince. It was only right they sent me away. I should have expected this.

So why did the thought of leaving feel like acid running through my veins instead of blood?

"Tell Father I will bring him," Kael said.

Rowan didn't listen. He made his way toward me, that smile still fixed in place, and reached for my arm.

"If you want to keep those hands, stop touching." Kael's voice was quiet. Deadly.

"Oh, come now, brother. He's just an insignificant wolf. No need to get all tensed up." But Rowan removed his hands anyway. He wasn't stupid.

"You two go," Kael said, looking at Luca and the Queen Mother. "We'll join you."

They left. Rowan trailed behind them, throwing one last amused glance over his shoulder before the door closed.

Then it was just us.

Kael turned to me. "Can you walk?"

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice.

"Stay close to me. Don't speak unless I tell you to. Don't look at anyone. Just stay behind me."

I nodded again.

He didn't move. "Ash."

I looked up.

"I meant what I said. You're not going back."

I wanted to believe him. But I'd spent eighteen years learning that hope was a trap. Every time I'd hoped for something better, I'd been proven wrong.

Why? The question burned in my chest. Why is he doing this? Is it the mate bond? Is he just being forced to protect me because of some cosmic joke?

Because no one would protect a jinx like me. No one would choose me.

The throne room was packed.

More people than last time. More nobles. More guards. And at the center, standing before the King, was my old Alpha. Beside him—Damien.

I stopped breathing.

The scar across his face was still red. Still fresh. His eyes found me the moment I walked in, and the hatred in them made my legs want to give out.

Kael stepped in front of me. Blocking me from view. A wall of solid muscle between me and the man who'd tried to—

I couldn't finish the thought.

"Ah, there he is," the Alpha said. His voice was smooth. Diplomatic. Like he hadn't spent years watching his son beat me bloody. "Your Majesty, we thank you for your hospitality. We'll take our leave now with the criminal and be out of your territory by nightfall."

"No."

Kael's voice echoed through the hall.

The Alpha paused. "Excuse me?"

"Ash isn't going anywhere." Kael still hadn't moved from in front of me. "And if you no longer value your lives, you're welcome to try and take him."

Damien's jaw tightened. His hand twitched at his side. But he didn't step forward. Didn't speak. Maybe he'd learned his lesson from last night.

The Alpha turned to the King. "Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this? We had an agreement."

The King's face was unreadable. "I don't know either. But perhaps my son will enlighten us."

Everyone looked at us.

I could feel their eyes on me. Dozens of them. Nobles. Guards. Council members. All waiting. All watching.

Kael was going to send me back. He had to. What else could he do? Announce to the entire court that I was his mate? A wolf? An omega? A male omega who couldn't even—

"Ash is my mate."

The hall went silent.

No whispers. No gasps. Just... nothing. Like the world had stopped.

Then the noise erupted.

"That's impossible."

"A Lycan and a wolf?"

"He must be mistaken—"

"How can this be?"

The King's face changed. Slowly. His expression shifting from confusion to something much darker. Much angrier.

An old council member stepped forward. "Your Highness, are you certain? Perhaps the wolf has bewitched you somehow—"

Kael looked at him.

Just looked.

The old man's face went white. He stumbled back, bowing, mumbling apologies. The rest of the council fell silent.

My Alpha spoke next. His voice was harder now. Less diplomatic. "We don't acknowledge this bond. The wolf belongs to us. We'll be taking him home."

"I don't like repeating myself," Kael said.

"He is an omega."

The gasps that followed made me want to disappear. To sink into the floor and never come back. Everyone was staring at me now. Not just staring—examining. Judging. An omega. A male omega. The rarest kind. The most worthless kind.

They hate you, the voice in my head whispered. They've always hated you. Now everyone knows why.

"He is a rare omega," the Alpha continued. "And as such, his bond and mating should be decided by his pack. To avoid being tricked into a forced bond. He's young. Impressionable. Easily manipulated."

The anger rolling off Kael was suffocating. I could feel it. Could feel his beast clawing at the surface.

I reached out and tugged at his sleeve.

Just a small pull. Just a tiny reminder that I was still here.

Kael went still. The red faded from his eyes. He looked down at my hand on his sleeve, then at me. His expression was unreadable.

The court was staring. Even the King looked shocked.

Kael turned back to the council. "I will not take any lady. I will not marry for politics. I will mate with Ash. And if anyone has a problem with that—" His eyes swept the room. "—you can come straight to me and challenge me."

He looked at my Alpha. At Damien.

"That includes you. We already have a score to settle for the way you treated him. Why not start now?"

No. No, no, no. He couldn't fight them. Not for me. What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him? I would never forgive myself.

You ruin everything you touch. You'll ruin him too.

The Alpha's face was red with barely contained rage. "There is no mate mark. Until he is claimed, Ash belongs to his pack. Once he is claimed, you can take him. But for now—he goes back."

The council murmured in agreement.

One of them stepped forward. An older man with cold eyes. "There is also the matter of succession. Prince Kael has proven he cannot put the kingdom's safety above his personal feelings. This makes him unfit to take the crown."

The King said nothing. But his eyes were on Kael.

The councilman continued. "However... there is a way for the Prince to prove his worth."

Kael's jaw tightened. "What way?"

"The Blood Trials."

The room went still.

"If you survive the Trials and emerge victorious," the councilman said, "you may keep the wolf. No one will challenge your claim. Not the council. Not his pack. No one."

"And if I lose?"

"Then Ash returns to his pack. Permanently."

I wanted to scream. Wanted to tell Kael no, don't do it, I'm not worth it. But my voice had stopped working.

Kael didn't even hesitate.

"I accept."