CHAPTER TWO
1116 Words
Ragnar’s P.O.V.
The moment my boots crossed the threshold of the courtyard, the pack bowed.
It happened instinctively, backs straightening, heads lowering, wolves submitting without being told. The air bent around me, thick with obedience and fear.
Nightfall Sovereign did not question its Alpha, it never had, my gaze swept the crowd automatically, cataloguing faces, scents, tensions.
Something was wrong, I felt it before I saw it, the sharp metallic tang of blood, the restless stir of unease crawling through the pack like a disturbed nest.
Then I saw her, kneeling, bleeding, small and cowering before the crowd of people.
The world narrowed to a single point, my chest seized as if a blade had been driven straight through it. My next breath dragged in more than air, it dragged in her.
My vision blurred for half a heartbeat as the scent hit me fully, the bond snapped into place with brutal force, not a slow recognition, or a gentle pull but a violent collision.
My wolf slammed against my ribs, roaring, tearing, howling one word so loud it nearly split my skull.
'Mine.' my hand twitched at my side, fingers curling as instinct screamed for me to move, to cross the courtyard, to lift her from the stone, to tear apart anyone who had made her bleed.
But beneath the omega scent, beneath the blood and humiliation, there was something else, something ancient.
It smelt like moonfire and old storms, like power that had knelt before no throne, not even mine.
My heart stuttered, that was impossible.
Royal bloodlines had vanished generations ago. The Council itself had declared them extinct and yet my wolf recognized it instantly, lowering its head in something dangerously close to reverence.
The Aurelion Fang pulsed.
A soft golden flicker ran along its carved surface, so faint it could have been mistaken for sunlight. No one else noticed, they were too busy watching me.
I felt it and panic, cold, sharp, unwelcoming, cut through my control.
An omega on her knees, publicly accused and publicly humiliated.
The Council would smell weakness the moment word reached them. A disgraced omega with royal blood was not a blessing,it was a political death sentence, for her, for me and for nightfall.
My jaw locked, I forced my wolf down, crushing its protests beneath iron discipline. Possession was a luxury I could not afford.
I stepped forward.
The pack parted immediately, creating a clear path, Elder Morvak straightened, bowing deeply.
“Alpha Ragnar,” he said smoothly. “You return at a fortuitous time.”
My eyes never left the omega.
Her head was bowed, hair falling in a dark curtain around her face, blood stained the stone beneath her knees. The scent of pain clung to her so thick it made my teeth ache.
“What is this?” I demanded, my voice echoing across the courtyard.
Morvak gestured toward the relic. “The omega, Ilyra Vaelthorne, is accused of stealing the Aurelion Fang from the vault.”
Ilyra.
The name burned into me like a curse, she lifted her head then and our eyes met.
For one treacherous heartbeat, the bond surged, raw, desperate, undeniable. I saw it in her expression too, confusion, shock. A fragile spark of hope that flared far too quickly.
“An omega,” I said coolly, forcing distance into every syllable, “accused of touching a relic tied to royal blood.”
A ripple of tension spread through the pack.
“She denies it,” Morvak added, watching me carefully. “But the Fang reacted the night she was near the vault.”
I shifted my gaze to the relic briefly, then back to her.
“Did you touch it?” I asked.
Her lips parted. Her voice, when it came, was hoarse. “No, Alpha.”
The word, 'Alpha' curled around my spine like a plea, my wolf strained again but I ignored it.
“You expect us to believe that?” I said, my tone sharpening. “That an omega with no lineage, no family, and no standing somehow triggered an artifact that has not stirred in centuries?”
Her shoulders trembled. “I don’t know why it reacted,I swear I didn’t steal anything. I would never betray the pack.”
She was too soft, too sincere, it made my chest tighten in a way I despised.
“Intent does not matter,” I said flatly. “Only outcome.”
I heard murmurs behind me, approval, agreement, Let them believe I was unmoved.
I stepped closer, close enough to see the swelling in her hand, the way she was cradling it against her chest, close enough to scent the pain more clearly.
It took every shred of control not to bare my teeth.
“An investigation will be conducted,” I announced. “Until then, this omega remains under suspicion.”
Her eyes widened. “Please”
I cut her off with a raised hand.
“Do not speak unless spoken to.”
The hope in her gaze flickered, dimmed but did not die entirely.
I turned my attention back to Morvak. “Ensure the Council is informed, they will want details.”
Morvak smiled thinly. “Of course, Alpha. They will no doubt be interested.”
I straightened, my posture rigid, every inch the Alpha they expected. “As for you,” I said, looking back at Ilyra, letting my gaze harden deliberately, “you will remain where you are until your guilt or innocence is proven.”
Her breath caught. “On my knees?”
“Yes.”
The word tasted like ash.
A sound left her then, small, broken, not quite a sob. My wolf howled in fury.
I felt it again, the bond tugging, twisting, demanding acknowledgment and I denied it.
“An omega who draws the attention of relics and Councils alike should know her place,” I continued, my voice cold enough to freeze stone. “You are not special, you are not protected.”
The lie nearly choked me.
“I suggest you remember that.”
Her gaze searched my face, desperate now, not for mercy, but for truth, for recognition, for me but I gave her none.
When I turned away, the bond screamed.
Each step felt like tearing skin from bone, but I did not stop,I did not look back. Behind me, I felt her collapse inward, the last of that fragile hope extinguishing completely.
As I left the courtyard, the weight of the Aurelion Fang’s pulse followed me, thrumming in time with my heartbeat.
I had just walked away from my mate and fate, I knew with bone deep certainty, would not forgive me for it.
- Writer
