The Omega’s Hidden Magic

Chapter 3 The Alpha Who Didn’t Believe in Fate

The wolf’s howl lingered in my mind long after I drifted to sleep.

It followed me into my dreams, calling my name from somewhere deep within a forest I had never seen. I searched through towering trees wrapped in silver moonlight, my bare feet brushing against soft moss.

“Who’s there?” I called.

No one answered.

Then I saw him.

A tall figure stood between the trees, his back to me. Moonlight caught the broadness of his shoulders, and I could make out dark hair ruffled by the wind. He didn’t move.

I took a hesitant step forward.

Another.

Just as I reached out to touch him, he turned—

I gasped and sat upright in bed.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

The room was dark except for the pale light spilling through the tiny attic window.

“It was only a dream,” I whispered, pressing a hand against my chest.

Still, it had felt real.

Too real.

Before I could think about it any longer, my mother’s voice echoed from downstairs.

“Elara! The sun is already up!”

I hurried out of bed, dressed quickly, and rushed downstairs.

“The guests arrive tonight,” Father said without looking at me. “You’ll spend the day helping prepare the Alpha’s estate.”

“Yes, Father.”

“And don’t make us look foolish,” Lyra added with a smirk. “Important Alphas are coming.”

Tristan chuckled. “Imagine if one of them accidentally looked at our useless omega.”

The table erupted in laughter.

I lowered my head and quietly left the house.

Some insults still hurt.

Others had become as familiar as breathing.

The Alpha’s estate was already alive with activity.

Servants swept the stone paths, polished every window, and decorated the grand hall with white lilies and blue ribbons—the colors of the Moonridge Pack.

I spent the morning carrying crates from the storerooms until my arms trembled with exhaustion.

By midday, I escaped to the courtyard well to refill a bucket.

“You’re overworking yourself.”

I turned and smiled.

Willow.

She handed me a small apple.

“I saved this for you.”

“You’ll get into trouble.”

She shrugged.

“Then we’ll both be in trouble.”

I laughed softly before taking a bite. The sweet juice filled my mouth, and for the first time that day, I felt something other than hunger.

“You know,” Willow said, “everyone’s talking about one of the visiting Alphas.”

“Oh?”

“They say he’s the strongest Alpha on the continent.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“There are always stories.”

“This one’s different.”

She lowered her voice.

“They say he became Alpha when he was only fourteen.”

I blinked.

“Fourteen?”

She nodded.

“They also say he defeated three rogue Alphas before he turned twenty.”

I couldn’t imagine carrying that kind of responsibility.

“What pack is he from?”

“The Blackthorn Pack.”

The name sounded familiar.

“His name is Alpha Kael Blackthorn.”

I smiled politely.

“I doubt someone like that would ever notice someone like me.”

Willow opened her mouth to reply, but a loud horn echoed through the valley.

The guests.

“They’re early!” someone shouted.

Servants hurried in every direction.

Willow squeezed my hand.

“I have to go.”

“So do I.”

As I picked up my bucket and hurried toward the kitchens, I had no idea that miles away, the man everyone was whispering about was already riding toward our pack.

Kael Blackthorn guided his massive black horse along the mountain trail, his Beta, Finn, riding beside him.

“You know,” Finn said with a grin, “I’ve heard Alpha Rowan’s daughter is beautiful.”

Kael didn’t even look at him.

“I’m attending for politics, not matchmaking.”

Finn sighed dramatically.

“One day you’ll meet your mate, and all this serious Alpha nonsense will disappear.”

Kael’s golden eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.

“I don’t believe the Moon Goddess chooses our happiness.”

Finn laughed.

“Careful. She might hear you.”

“If she exists, she’s had twenty-four years to prove me wrong.”

The wind carried the scent of pine through the forest.

Kael’s expression never changed.

Love had made powerful men weak.

He had watched it happen.

He would never allow himself to become one of them.

Not even for a mate.

As the towers of Moonridge Pack came into view, Kael felt an odd, unfamiliar pull deep inside his chest.

It lasted only a heartbeat.

Then it was gone.

He ignored it completely.

He had no way of knowing that before another day had passed, one look into a forgotten omega’s gray eyes would change the course of both their lives forever.