OMEGA

CHAPTER THREE

HER EYES

LUCIAN'S POV|

They say when you reject your mate, the pain fades.

They lie.

I feel it every damn day.

That pull. That scent. That ache like something inside me is broken and I can't fix it.

And still, I turned my back on her.

I told myself it was for her safety. That walking away was the only way to keep her alive.

But now… seeing her out there like that—fighting off rogues with nothing but a training staff and raw fury—makes me question everything.

She doesn’t even know what she is.

She thinks I rejected her because I didn’t want her.

Hell, if only it were that simple.

Her eyes were glowing again tonight. That strange, icy blue that cuts right through me.

I’ve never seen another wolf with eyes like hers. And her scent—gods, her scent—it isn’t like anyone else’s. It smells like moonlight and storm winds. Like something older than the earth beneath our feet.

She doesn’t know the truth.

Not about herself.

Not about me.

And not about the danger she’s in.

I remember the night I found out. Two years ago.

The night her pack was slaughtered.

I was there.

Not to fight. Not to save anyone. I was sent to watch.

I never wanted to go, but my father—the Alpha—ordered it. Said the Lunar Crest Pack was hiding something valuable. Said we needed to know if the rumors were true. I didn’t understand what he meant until the first hunter attacked and I saw the chaos unfold from the ridge.

And then I saw her.

Amara.

Sixteen. Terrified. Covered in blood, crouched behind the ruins of her burning home while her parents were dragged into the trees.

I watched her scream.

I saw her try to fight.

I saw her shift for the first time… into that gleaming white wolf.

I swear I stopped breathing.

Even the hunters paused. They looked at her like they'd seen a ghost.

That’s when I knew.

She wasn’t just a girl from some small pack.

She was the White Wolf.

Rare. Powerful.

Hunted.

If they had seen her shift properly that night, they would’ve killed her too.

But something strange happened.

Her wolf vanished the moment it appeared. Like it recoiled. Like it wasn’t ready. The light in her fur dimmed, and she collapsed.

They assumed she was just another Omega. Not worth their time.

So they let her go.

And I followed her from the shadows as she and her grandmother escaped through the woods.

That night changed everything.

When the mate bond hit me weeks later—when I walked into that stupid village clinic and saw her again—I knew instantly.

She was mine.

Fated.

Perfect.

Dangerous.

And I couldn’t have her.

Because if I accepted her, if I claimed her…

She would be hunted all over again.

And this time, they wouldn’t miss.

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I rejected her.

I made her believe she meant nothing.

I told her she was too weak. Too plain. Not enough.

I watched the light go out in her eyes.

And every day since, I’ve hated myself for it.

But tonight?

Something’s changing.

She fought like someone possessed. Her wolf isn’t sleeping anymore. It’s waking up.

I saw it in her stance. In the way she faced that rogue like it was her job to protect us.

And then, when I tried to warn her—tried to say she doesn’t know what she is—she looked at me like I was the enemy.

Maybe I am.

I walk through the camp now, past the injured and the howling. The rogues are gone. But the questions aren’t.

The patrols are tense.

The warriors are whispering about her.

They saw it too.

She shouldn’t have been able to fight like that. She’s never trained for real combat. Not beyond drills. But tonight, she moved like she’d done it her whole life.

And I can feel it — the way the bond pulses again, deeper now. Like it’s coming back from the grave I buried it in.

I can’t do this much longer.

Either I tell her the truth and risk everything…

Or I let her keep hating me, and pray that she never finds out on her own.

But she will.

The moment she fully shifts again, there’s no hiding it.

No one else has fur like hers. No one else smells like the moon goddess herself kissed her forehead before birth.

She’s special. She’s the key to something bigger. I don’t know what yet.

But I know enough to be afraid.

And I’m not the only one who knows.

Earlier tonight, my father summoned me.

Said he’d “heard whispers” about Amara’s performance during the rogue attack.

Said he might need to “keep a closer eye” on her.

That’s what he always says before he destroys something.

So now I’m standing here, staring at the door to her cabin, fists clenched at my sides, heart in my throat.

She deserves the truth.

But the truth might get her killed.

I lift my hand, ready to knock—when I hear her voice on the other side.

She’s crying.

Just soft, quiet sobs.

And that sound… gods, that sound shatters me.

I lower my hand.

I walk away.

Because I’m a coward.

But I won’t be for much longer.

Because something’s coming.

And she needs to be ready.

Even if she never forgives me…

I have to protect her.

Even from myself.