The Hidden Omega

CHAPTE 2

From the forest comes another howl, closer this time. It is closer than it ought to be. My throat gets parched. My lungs become frozen. My legs get feeble.

Since I am familiar with that voice. since I've already heard it. Because the ground was red when I last heard it. and my parents were still living.

I wrench my hand away from Rylans grip. "We need to go." My voice sounds strange, fragile and almost shattered. Rylan steps forward in front of me.

"Unless you inform me—" "I shouted, *flee!”

He remains still. Not a single inch. His gaze remains fixed on mine, looking for fear, falsehoods, or answers. He locates them all. Deep among the treetops, a branch breaks.

Then one more. Next, a third. They are near each other. Too near.

I can taste blood because my heart is pounding so strongly. Warm against my skin, my scent blocker hums softly beneath my shirt, seemingly struggling to survive as well.

Rylan takes hold of my shoulder. "Look at me, Liora." "I am unable to." "You must." He speaks in a forceful, low, yet oddly soft voice. I close my eyes tightly.

Nonetheless that only worsens the problem. Since the darkness brings back memories I've struggled for years to erase.

The smell of smoke. The sound of skin being torn. The shriek of my mother. I was pushed beneath the floorboards by my father's hand. The night was filled with the same cry.

My chest contorts. The world becomes hazy. "Liora, you're trembling," Rylan repeats. My eyes open. "I am aware of who is arriving." He bides his time. "The hunters," I mutter.

"The same wolves that murdered my parents." Rylan's expression shifts from one of surprise to wrath to something milder. "You ought to have informed someone.

The principal. A sentry. Myself. I shout, "I am unable to trust anyone " yet my voice falters halfway. "Not, in this place. Not considering what happened."

He lowers his voice and takes a step closer. "Tell me." I'd prefer not to. However, the wilderness cries once more, tearing away the option. "We're out of time—"

"Tell me." He speaks as if he were giving an order. But something more profound, not an Alpha order. It nearly gives me a sense of security. Nearly.

I take a slow, trembling breath. It took place five years ago. I was eleven years old. His gaze softens. I murmured, "I woke up to the smell of fire."

The entire house was trembling. Telling me not to make a sound, my mother dragged me out of bed. She was in tears.

My mothers tone, soft but shaky, comes subtly close to me again. * "Liora, moon... You must stay concealed. *

Rylan pays attention without interjecting. I went on, "The hunters were already there when we ran to the back of the house." They were giggling.

The recollection strikes like a knife. "I was unable to comprehend their desires." Not until they made the statement. Rylan's voice is hardly audible.

"What did they say?" I forcefully swallowed. "They claimed to have smelled an Omega." His eyes grew wide. "After that, they declared, ‘We purify the weak.”’

Rylan pales. "Those phrases belong to the Thorn Pack." I give a nod. "Magnuss clan." For a moment a dense, freezing and painful silence divides us.

"How did you survive, Liora?" he murmurs. To keep him from seeing the tears welling up in my eyes, I stare toward the woods.

“My dad concealed me beneath the floorboards. advised me to stay put. Not to weep. Not even to breathe out loud. To halt the shaking, I clench my arms. I mumble, "I heard everything."

"I heard my dad yell." I heard my mom pleading. I overheard the hunters accusing them of betraying an Omega infant. Around me, the forest disappears.

The Academy. Rylan. Everything. The recollection is all that's left. I mumble, "They killed my parents right above me." "Their blood seeped through the gaps." I was too terrified to shout.

Rylan tightens his fists. His jaw trembles.

I take a trembling breath. "I crawled out once it was over. The house was on fire. My folks... My voice falters. "They didn't move." Rylan has a harsh voice. "Liora... I apologize.

I give a headshake. "I apologize, but please don't bring them back." He doesn't quarrel. I blink quickly and say, "I ran." "Across the woods." Through the shadow.

I ran until my legs gave out. I spent three days hiding in an abandoned den. After that, I discovered an elderly healer who was skilled at masking Omega smell.

Rylan gives me the impression that he is seeing me for the first time. "Since then, you've been hiding?" I give a nod. Everyone believes that Omegas are frail.

Nonetheless hunters consider us a danger. Magnus's relatives share this belief well. My voice wavers. "They never leave survivors behind.”

Rylan moves in closer. "Liora, you're not weak. You engaged in combat with me. twice. I say, "I didn't win by strength." "I prevailed out of terror.

Fear causes you to move quickly. He gives a headshake. "You are cautious because of fear. However, having expertise makes you dangerous. I blink. Risky? Me?

The sounds of heavy paws, snapping twigs, and rustling leaves fill the woodland before I can say anything. The hunters. There are too many of them.

Rylan grabs my arm. "We need to move. Immediately. Yet I am stuck. I wrap my legs around each other. Panic rises in my throat like fire.

Rylan notices it. "Look at me, Liora." I push my gaze up to meet his. He speaks in a whisper. "This time, you're not alone." There's a c***k in my chest. A little bit. A silent creature.

However, it exists. He drags me along with him. "Remain near." With stealthy feet on the chilly ground, we creep farther into the woodland.

The howls round us, getting louder. guiding us. pursuing us. Rylan's nostrils flare as he abruptly pauses. "They're too near." Behind us, a branch falls. I take hold of his sleeve.

"We cannot escape them."

His jaw tightens as he nods once. "After that, we hide." He pulls me behind a large fallen log that is covered with roots and moss. Footsteps thunder by, and we duck down.

I'm having trouble breathing. I can feel Rylan's heat as he leans in close. "Be quiet," he murmurs. I put a palm to my scent blocker and nod. It ought to be functioning.

I must be concealed by it. It must be— The pouch suddenly seems light. Too empty. My blood runs cold. I dip my fingers inside. Nothing.

The powder has vanished. It was opened by someone. It was emptied by someone. I wanted to be revealed by someone. I seize Rylan's wrist.

"Rylan—" "What?" "My fragrance blocker... It's vacant. His eyes grew wide. "Empty? How? When? The footsteps come to a halt. There is silence.

Through the trees comes the sound of a deep, harsh voice. ** "Little Omega, come out." ** My body loses every bit of warmth. "They... they can smell you," Rylan murmurs.

Above us, branches move. A shadow shifts. The voice approaches. ** "I am aware that you are present. You always manage to get away.

But not right now. ** Rylan takes hold of my hand. "Liora, run when I tell you to. Don't turn around. My heart hurts when it squeezes. "No. You're going to die. He snaps softly, "I'm not leaving you."

"Just follow my instructions.”

A massive black wolf lands on the wood above us before I can respond. Its claws pierce the wood. It lowers its nose. sniffing. Take your time. hungry. dangerously near.

Rylan's grip on my hand gets tighter. Then I hear a voice I recognize too well. I wished I would never hear that voice again. ** "Bring the girl alive to me." ** Magnus. He is present.

The wolves are moving about us, and my eyesight is blurry with fear— Then Rylan says three words in a whisper that make my heart race: ** "Liora—don't scream." **