Chapter 6: Confrontation in the Study
1204 Words
Lirael shoved the cloak deep into the straw pile.
She did not need it. She was not going back.
The door pushed open, and for a moment she thought it was the wind.
But it was not the wind.
Kael Thorne stood in the doorway, his gray eyes cold on her. His coat was damp with night dew, mud on his boots—he had crossed the entire palace to get here.
"Why did you not come?" His voice was low, like the stillness before a storm.
Lirael lowered her head. "I am not coming anymore."
"Why?"
"No reason. I just do not want to."
Silence.
Kael stepped inside. The room was small, and the moment he entered, his presence filled every corner of it. The scent of cedar and cold wind pressed down on her until she could barely breathe.
He stood before her, looking down.
"Look at me."
Lirael did not move.
Kael's hand caught her chin, forcing her head up.
Her eyes were red. Not from crying—from having not slept all night.
"Who spoke to you?" Kael asked, his voice cold as ice.
"No one."
"Lirael."
He said her name. Just her name, no family name. But the way it came out of his mouth—like a blade cutting through every wall she had built.
"Elara came to you," Kael said. It was not a question. It was a statement.
Lirael's body went stiff.
"What did she say?"
"Nothing."
"I asked you a question. What did she say?" Kael's fingers tightened. Lirael's jaw began to ache.
She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Kael stared at her for a long time. Then he let go.
"She told you that you are not worthy of me, did she not?"
Lirael's head snapped up.
Kael's mouth curved into a cold smile. "She said the whole clan is laughing at you. That you do not know your place."
"How do you know?"
"Because she is Elara." There was something in Kael's voice that Lirael could not name. "She always knows exactly what to say to make you feel like nothing."
Lirael froze.
Kael looked at her, something**—complex—moving beneath his gray eyes.
"Do you want the truth?" he asked.
Lirael did not answer.
"You are nothing," Kael said.
The words hit her like ice water.
"You have no family. No power. The whole clan looks down on you."
Lirael's hands clenched into fists.
"But you are not worthless." Kael's voice dropped lower. "The worthless do not try to stand after being ground into the mud. The worthless do not still have light in their eyes when the whole clan mocks them."
Lirael looked up.
Kael stood very close. Close enough that she could see the night dew caught on his eyelashes.
"Why do you think I am helping you?" he asked.
"Why?"
Kael did not answer. He turned toward the door.
"Put on your cloak," he said. "Come with me."
---
The hallway was cold.
Lirael carried the cloak in her arms, following behind Kael. She had not put it on—she was afraid someone would see.
"Put it on." Kael did not turn around, but he seemed to know.
"Someone might see—"
"I told you to put it on."
Lirael clenched her jaw and draped the cloak over her shoulders.
The warmth of the wolf-fur enveloped her. It still carried Kael's scent—cedar and cold wind, as commanding as the man himself.
They walked through the corridors, past the Omega quarters, past the servants' section, past the council hall.
People saw her.
The worthless Omega, wearing the Wolf King's family cloak, following at Kael's heels.
Whispers erupted behind them.
"Is that not Lirael?"
"What is she wearing? The Thorn insignia?"
"Why is the Wolf King bringing her along?"
Lirael's head sank lower and lower.
"Lift your head." Kael's voice came from ahead.
She lifted it.
"Look at me, not at them." Kael stopped and turned. His gray eyes fixed on her. "You are my Omega. No one has the right to make you bow your head."
Lirael's heart stopped.
What did he say?
Kael had already turned and continued walking.
Lirael stood there for several heartbeats, then hurried after him.
You are my Omega.
The words exploded in her mind like fireworks, setting her whole body on fire.
---
In the study, the fire in the hearth had nearly died.
Kael added a few logs, and the flames rose again.
"Sit," he said, gesturing to the chair.
Lirael sat. This time, she was not nervous.
"Elara was right about one thing," Kael said, standing before the window with his back to her. "The whole clan is talking. They say you are trying to seduce the Wolf King. That you do not know your place."
Lirael's fingers twisted together.
"But that is not why you stayed away." Kael turned. "Are you afraid of gossip?"
"I…" Lirael bit her lip. "I did not want to cause you trouble."
"Cause me trouble?" Kael's voice went cold. "Who do you think I am?"
Lirael said nothing.
Kael walked to her, bent down, and braced his hands on the arms of her chair.
His face was very close. Close enough that she could smell the cedar in his breath.
"I am the Wolf King," he said, his voice low as a current running deep underground. "No one speaks of you in my presence. No one."
Lirael's breathing quickened.
"Tomorrow night, you will come back." Kael straightened and walked to his desk. "Now, go rest."
Lirael stood and walked to the door.
Her hand on the handle, she stopped.
"Kael."
He looked up.
"You said… I am your Omega."
Kael's expression did not change.
"What does that mean?"
A long silence.
"You do not need to know," he said, lowering his head to the papers before him.
Lirael stood there, watching his profile. Firelight cast shifting shadows across his face. His eyelashes were long, dark against his skin.
She pushed the door open and walked out.
The hallway was cold, but her face burned like fire.
She held the cloak close and hurried back to her room.
The moment the door closed behind her, she leaned against it and shut her eyes.
"You are my Omega."
She knew those words might mean nothing. Maybe he only meant "you are my subject." Maybe he only needed her to keep training.
But she did not want to think about that.
She only wanted to hold onto this feeling.
---
In the study.
Kael sat at his desk, the papers before him unread.
His fingers pressed against his temples, brow furrowed.
"You are my Omega."
He had said those words. He should not have said them. She was only a pawn. He needed her bloodline. He needed her trust.
But why, when he saw her broken by Elara's words, did his chest feel so tight?
Why, when she said "I did not want to cause you trouble," did he feel something grip his heart?
Kael closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" he asked himself in a whisper.
No one answered.
The fire in the hearth flickered. Ashes fell.
- Writer
