Chapter 8: He Should Have Known Better
939 Words
Garron’s crime was finding his mate—the only daughter of an old family here in the pack, but he didn't know that at the time.
When he told us—his fellow Omegas—about her, most of us were against it and told him it wasn't worth it, but others lost as he was in the excitement of a forbidden love, encouraged him, and he listened. I said nothing.
He approached her in the open, a mistake. In time, she fell for him and Garron, drunk on love and fantasies, declared they would marry.
He should have known better.
He came to us to inform us of his plans to marry her at the temple that evening, and that we were all invited. We showered him with joy and well wishes instead of reason and warnings.
We heard later that evening of an Omega that seduced an innocent Alpha lady and how he planned to trick her into a marriage and taint her bloodline.
By the time we found him, he was already a bloody mess as the guards dragged his body around town, all because he dared to love above his station. Such is it—to be an Omega in a pack that valued strength above all.
Alpha, Beta and Omega, just like the Moon Goddess intended, no matter how cruel it is. To go against her is to tempt the beast and no one comes back from that.
Dorian was told to fight Garron and give it his all—a death sentence surely for the Omega, any Omega. There was no cheer this time, no applause or calls for Garron's death.
I had proved Omegas were not to be underestimated, even though my victory was a fluke. But there was something else. Something in the air that made us all feel uneasy. They don't know the source of this feeling, but they understand it has something to do with how Garron is currently towering over Dorian.
Last we saw him, he was a young man with an average athletic build, standing at about six foot tall, but now he's massive, taller, a walking fortress of flesh and muscle. Terrifyingly calm and eager to face this Alpha.
Tavian backs away from the two and gives them the signal to begin. But neither man moves. Garron's aura is still, this is beyond calm, he doesn't even register Dorian as a threat.
Dorian sees this and his aura spikes and ripples violently as he draws power from his wolf. His fingers turn to claws and his teeth to fangs as releases a blow no doubt harder than anyone he's thrown before.
The blow makes contact with a Garron's chest, sending a small shock wave through the arena. There's no way an Omega survives that is what we all thought, yes, including me, but Garron was unfazed.
Dorian could not believe his eyes and neither can we. Raising murmurs from the once silent crowd.
“Maybe he held back. Maybe the attack didn't connect, maybe Garron is just barely holding on or maybe Dorian is just weak.”
I don't know which comment does it, but Dorian flies into a frenzy, releasing attack after attack on Garron but all he accomplishes is running his guards uniform.
Exhausted, Dorian throws a weak punch, one Garron catches easily and leans in to whisper something in Dorian's ear.
I couldn't hear what he said, but I could see the colour drain from Dorian's face. Then Garron does the impossible.
He snaps Dorian's arm like a twig.
Gasps rise from the crowd as Dorian's scream filled the air. Some leave their seats, likely intending to rush to his side. His friends most likely. But they don't get far before the guards block their path.
They might be Alphas and Betas like the guards but no one is born equal, no one–not even Alphas. And the guards are picked from the best of both classes. No one will help Dorian today.
I see their auras like a white mist that radiates from and surrounds them, the size tells me how much power the individual has, but the movement reveals their emotional state.
Garron smiles as he lifts Dorian by the throat, not the warm welcoming smile he often wore in the market, no, this was a sinister thing he wears now. He's enjoying this. And we all watch in horror as breaks Dorian's neck, drops his limp body like a piece of rag and walks away as Tavian claps–slow and deliberate, like this was always the plan.
Despite his clapping; no one cheered. No one moved. It wasn’t just that Garron had killed an Alpha—it was that he’d made it look easy. Like the Moon Goddess herself had changed her mind.
A girl cries silently behind me, maybe his girlfriend. I shouldn't care, but I can't help but feel sorry for her. If anyone understands loss, it's me.
Dorian’s death was not a surprise; he disrespected the king in public. For that, death is the only punishment. He should have known that.
Then it hits me, I've never seen Dorian before or even heard of him, confident young Alphas like him usually leave echos around here.
But this one?
He's new—just like them.
Corrin stares in disgust as people cart Dorian's body out of the arena but Celeste surprises me; she follows every movement in the arena, taking in every inch of it with her eyes. Then she notices me staring. And turns to me with a smile. Not cruel. Not kind. Just knowing.
- Writer
