The Omega he Rejected

Chapter17

Chapter Seventeen

Rumi didn’t go back to sleep again, she couldn't even she tried.

She sat curled tightly, hugging her knees at the edge of her bed while moonlight stretched cold across the cabin floor.

The bloody water in the basin was vivid in her mind and she couldn't shake it off.

She still felt it beneath her fingernails, all the dried blood.

Was it Tomas’s blood?

Her stomach twisted violently.

No, it couldn’t be. It's not possible.

Another knock sounded softly against the door.

“Rumi.” it was Kael again. The sound felt so distant. She hadn’t answered him the first time she thought that would make him assume she wasn't in but who was she kidding? He could probably hear her heartbeat from a mile away.

Mechanically, she walked to the door.

The door handle shifted slightly.

“Open the door.” he demanded.

Panic flared instantly through her chest.

What if she hurt him? What if the thing inside her was worse than she thought?

Rumi backed away from the door like she got stung.

“I’m fine,” she lied weakly.

Silence followed.

“You’re shaking hard enough for me to hear it from outside.”

Embarrassment mixed painfully with fear washed over her.

Curse wolf hearing.

Rumi pressed trembling fingers against her mouth.

“Go away please.”

“No.”

Her eyes burned unexpectedly.

Why wouldn’t he leave? Why wouldn’t he stop trying?

“I said I’m fine.”

“And I need you to open the door.”

His voice remained calm and steady and somehow that made her feel shitty. She finally found someone who cared enough to even look her way and all she's ever done is push them away.

Rumi stared at the door helplessly.

Because a small terrible part of her wanted him here, wanted someone to tell her she wasn’t becoming a monster.

Slowly, she unlocked the door.

Kael stepped inside immediately and one look at her face and his expression sharpened.

“What happened?”

Rumi shook her head quickly.

“Nothing.”

“Rumi.”

The way he said her name almost shattered her completely.

Kael’s gaze moved toward the basin automatically, it was empty now, then towards her trembling hands. He sniffed the air slightly then understanding flickered instantly across his face.

“whose blood is it? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Rumi’s throat tightened painfully. Will he hate her if she told him the truth?

“no I'm not hurt, I don’t…I don't know whose blood it is. I don't remember leaving the cabin, i…”

Kael stayed silent.

Rumi swallowed hard.

“I dreamt about Tomas,” she whispered. “I saw myself standing over him.”

Kael moved closer slowly, not enough to crowd her, just enough to let her know he was there.

“it was just a dream.” He told her "Dreams aren’t memories.”

“What if this one is?”

His jaw tightened faintly. “it’s not.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No,” he admitted quietly. “But I know you.”

Rumi laughed bitterly. “You barely know me.”

Kael looked at her steadily. “I know enough.”

Again with those words and that impossible faith in her.

Why? Why did he keep looking at her like she was worth saving?

Rumi wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “You didn’t see me in the forest.”

Kael’s expression darkened slightly. “I saw enough.”

“No.” Her voice cracked. “You saw the aftermath.”

Images flashed violently through her mind.

Hunters screaming.

Bodies thrown against trees.

The power inside her roaring with hunger—Fear clawed sharply through her chest.

“I liked it for a second.”

The confession came out barely above a whisper. Kael went very still.

Rumi looked away quickly, ashamed.

“There was so much rage and I…I wanted them to hurt.”

Silence stretched painfully. Then Kael spoke quietly. “That doesn’t make you evil.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No,” he said again. “But I know what fear feels like.”

Rumi frowned slightly. Kael rarely talked about himself, almost never. But now his silver eyes looked distant somehow.

Like he was remembering something ugly.

Kael’s gaze remained fixed somewhere beyond the cabin walls.

“There are things I’ve done to survive that would horrify most wolves.”

Rumi swallowed hard. “But you’re not afraid of yourself.”

A faint humorless smile crossed his face.

“You assume too much.”

A strong wind rattled the cabin windows suddenly and Rumi flinched

“Come here.” Kael said suddenly.

Rumi’s pulse stumbled. “What?”

“You’re shaking.”

She hadn’t even realized it herself.

Kael sat carefully against the wall beside the bed and motioned once toward the blankets.

Understanding hit her slowly.

“Why don't I keep you company tonight,” he said quietly.

Something in her chest cracked open completely.

Because nobody had ever stayed before or even offered her comfort in her most difficult moments.

Rumi moved before she could overthink it. She sat beside him cautiously beneath the blankets.

Warmth spread through the cabin slowly, but her skin felt like it was on fire. Outside, wind moved softly through the mountains.

She jerked back immediately.

“Sorry—”

Kael caught her wrist softly before she could move away completely.

Both of them froze.

Rumi’s pulse hammered wildly.

Kael’s silver eyes darkened slightly as the air changed again.

He released her slowly but Neither of them moved away.

Her skin felt too hot but it was somehow a distant memory. Rumi leaned closer clearly not thinking straight. When their lips touched for the first time it felt like the crackle of electricity, so strong it made Kael jump to his feet.

“I think we should call it a night."

Rumi didn't have a response for that. Everything happened so quickly, one minute Kael was there then he wasn't, leaving her wondering what the heck just happened?