His Runaway Omega

She's back.

Kael’s pov

I sat behind my desk, my fingers drumming lightly against the desk. Papers lay untouched in front of me. I hadn’t been able to focus all morning since that night.

Her scent still haunted me. It was a faint floral scent. The scent I’d been deprived of for three long years.

The door opened quietly. My assistant stepped in, hesitating as if unsure whether to speak.

“What is it?” I asked without looking up.

He cleared his throat. “Sir, we’ve finished investigating what happened that night…at your cousin’s hotel.”

I finally lifted my gaze. “And?”

He swallowed. “You were right. It was a setup. Your drink was laced with a heat stimulant. The intention was to trigger your rut and have an omega delivered to your room. They wanted to create an assault case and use it to destroy your reputation.”

“My cousin again?"

“Yes, sir. All evidence points to him. It was his party, his staff, and his drugs.”

I leaned back in my chair, letting out a bitter laugh. “Of course.”

I had suspected as much. He’d been scheming for years, trying to take over the corporation, destroy the name I rebuilt from ashes. Still, the revelation didn’t ease the anger burning in my chest.

He had dared to drug me. To force me into a rut like some animal. And worse it was the same omega I was looking for three years.

Elara.

Her name echoed in my mind like a curse and a prayer. But how come I never knew that she was working in his hotel. She was so close while I was teaching so far.

“I should have known,” I muttered under my breath. “It was too much of a coincidence.”

My assistant hesitated. “There’s more, sir.”

My gaze snapped to him. “Speak.”

“We tracked Miss Elara afterward,” he said cautiously. “She met with your cousin at a restaurant. We believe they spoke privately for almost half an hour.”

I froze. “What?”

“Yes, sir. It may be possible that they’re working together. Perhaps she was part of the setup.”

My eyes darkened dangerously. “Are you sure?”

He swallowed hard. “T-That’s what our man said. He didn't hear what they were talking about but he's sure that they met.”

My reflection stared back at me in the glass.

Elara…what are you doing?

I wanted to believe she was innocent and didn't go there without a motive. I want to believe she was still the quiet and soft spoken, the kind of girl who flinched at raised voices and apologized even when she wasn’t wrong. She’d been my friend since childhood, the only one who didn’t treat me like a monster when we were young.

But then she ran away. Disappeared without a word, three years ago, right after I found out she was my mate. I was so angry I even thought about keeping her in a cage in my house so that she couldn't run away again. I had searched everywhere, furious, confused, desperate but she had vanished.

And now, suddenly, she was back.

I clenched my fists. The memory of her scent hit me again, so strong it almost ached. The way she had trembled that night under me not. I had felt it too, the magnetic pull of her omega energy against my own Alpha instincts. It had taken everything in me not to lose control.

But if she had planned it…

“Sir?” my assistant asked cautiously, breaking the silence.

My voice came out low. “You said they met in a restaurant.”

“Yes.”

“Did she take anything from him? Money? Documents?”

“About that we have no proof but we are working on it. We investigated her past three years. She does numerous small jobs since it's hard for an omega to get a better job no matter what high qualifications they have. Is it possible that she was tired from the jobs and wanted a one time investment so she agreed with your cousin.”

I exhaled slowly, resting my elbows on the desk.“Desperate enough to work with a man who tried to destroy me? I don't think she has the guts.

I rubbed my temple, closing my eyes briefly.

I wanted to believe she wasn’t involved, that she’d stumbled into the trap unknowingly. But doubt kept gnawing at me.

If she hadn’t known who was inside that room that night, then why hadn’t she come to me after? Why hadn’t she tried to explain? Why run again? If she really wanted money, then why did she refuse when I offered it to her?

My thoughts twisted, torn between anger and longing.

“She told me she didn’t know,” I murmured, almost to myself. “She said she didn’t even know anyone was there.”

He stayed silent.

My gaze hardened. “I don't think she's involved. If that’s true, why hasn’t she sued me yet? That’s what the plan was, wasn’t it? She had every chance.”

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping softly against the floor. I walked to the window, watching the rain slide down the glass. “She wouldn’t do that.”

A memory flickered in my head, her laughter when we were children, her bright eyes looking up at me whenever I helped her study, her nervousness around me that wasn’t quite fear, more like awe. Everything was going well.

So why did she run?

“Have someone keep an eye on her,” I ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“And my cousin?”

“He’s been quiet since that meeting. Probably waiting for a reaction.” My lips curved into a cold, humorless smile. “He’ll get one soon.”

He bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind him.

Silence filled the office again.

I sank into my chair, my mind a mess of fury and confusion. My hand brushed against the papers on my desk, the same documents I had once thrown at Elara, offering her comfort, safety, money and she had refused them all.

If she were after money, she wouldn’t have walked away.

And yet…she had gone to my cousin.

I exhaled slowly, the lines of tension deepening around my eyes.

I needed answers.

I needed to hear it from her lips why she left, why she met my enemy, why she kept running when she knew the bond between us would never let her go.

I pressed my fingers to my temples, closing my eyes.

“Elara,” I whispered softly. “What are you hiding from me?”