LOGINThe tent flap pushed aside, and the space seemed to shrink instantly.She's tall… My mouth went dry.She was taller than any woman I'd ever seen at court. Her shoulders were as broad as some of the guards back at the palace, not quite as massive as Kei's, but she could compete.But it was the scar that hooked my gaze. It started at her left temple and tracked down across her cheek like a lightning strike, pulling her skin into a permanent, sneering expression etched by violence itself.And the pheromones… they weren't like my mate's. They were sharp, bitter, and reeked of an unfiltered hatred that forced me to struggle for every breath.I pulled at my ropes, my throat tight. "W-who are..."She took a step forward, her heavy boots kicking up dust, and stood directly over me. She looked down at my bound wrists with an expression of pure, unadulterated disgust. I felt like a pest destined to be crushed under her heel."So this is the fucking royal trash Tai dragged into our home?" she s
'Damm, my head hurts...'I groaned, blinking as I opened my eyes. The first thing that greeted me was an unfamiliar place.'Wait... where I am? A tent? Am I inside a tent?'I tried to lift my hand to massage my temples, but my wrists wouldn't budge.I groaned again in confusion. 'Why is it so hard to move?'Once again, I tried to lift my hand only to freeze as I realized something. 'Shit! Am I tied up?'I looked at my wrist, they were bound tightly. I could heard the sound of my heart beating as it hit me.I yanked down my arms again, only to curse in pain as the rough rope dug deeper into my skin.'Shit...' Even my ankles were bound just as tightly, laying to the frame of whatever matress I was lying on.I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing as panic began to take root. I thought of what happened. 'How did I even get here?'Memories slammed into, it was a lot to take. The Vence border. My tutor instruction. The flowers. The dagger. My training. The rogue Alphas... their death
The air in the place became more intense, and the tension between them just become more unbearable.On one side stood Kei, my strict martial arts tutor, his face a terrifying mask of dark, unadulterated fury as a low, beastly growl vibrated from his chest. I nervously bite my lips. 'I never seen him fight before... but he must be good since he was my choosen tutor' On the other stood my rebel leader, the ruthless Omega leader who held the other half of my fated soul-mark, his posture poised like a deathly spring ready to snap.'And I know he was strong and fast considering on how he always manhandle me.'I stayed on the ground, nervously watching them. My mate marks burned more in pain, but I remain quiet, afraid to make any sounds that will take their attention towards me.The sheer volume of different dominant pheromones flooded the whole forest. It makes me feel dizzy. The foul, aggressive scent of the dead rogues had been completely erased, replaced by an invisible war between
[ Report to the Vence Border by 3 PM. ]I stared at the bloody parchment on my hands and to the mysterious dagger beside my things. The first thing I saw when I woke up in this morning was a letter from my tutor and this mysterious dagger.My mind spun in a frantic circle, but the clock on the wall was ticking mercilessly. If I were late, my tutor's wrath would be far worse than any punishment I could think off. Slipping the dagger deep into the hidden pocket of my cloak, I hurried out of the palace, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs.The journey to the border was a blur of dust and heat. The Weirer Palace golden spires gradually faded behind us, replaced by the jagged, charcoal-colored peaks of the Vence.This was the lawless waste where the legal protection of the crown ended, its the endline of the Weirer kingdom territory, this was also the place of where the bandits and criminals were rumored to be.So the thought of going out there put a fear on my body. The Ve
I gasped, bolting upright in the darkness, my sheets flying off my body as my lungs strained for oxygen. My fingers clawed frantically at my throat, my nails digging into my own skin, fully expecting to feel the gaping wound, the biting cold of silver, or the wet, sticky torrent of my own blood.'I was killed. He killed me.'My lungs burned as if I had been in freezing water. My skin was slick with cold, cloying sweat that made my thin sleeping tunic stick to my ribs. I looked down, hands trembling violently as I searched my bare chest for blood, for a sign of a struggle, for any evidence of a violent end.There was nothing.The room was dead silent. The curtains of my chamber were drawn perfectly tight, undisturbed by any late-night breeze or intruding shadows. The door remained closed securely from the inside, exactly as I had left it before retiring. My royal tunic sat folded on the nearby armchair, free of any tears, bloodstains, or signs of an attack.I blinked into the darkness,
I stared at him in wide eyed horror, betrayal bleeding across my face in the dim light of my bedchamber. My breath caught in my throat, a heavy weight pressing down on my chest as the features of the man standing over me solidified into a terrifying reality.'This is not true. This is a lie... This is not—'A choked sound cut off my words as the truth slammed into me like a physical blow.My strict, ruthless martial arts tutor. The man my father had personally hired from the highest ranks of military academics to teach me the art of combat. The man who had locked me in my own study hours ago, pacing the stone floor while demanding my ttotal discipline. He wasn't a Beta. He wasn't... the harmless scholar-soldier he pretended to be.He was the leader of the Ashen Hope. The legendary Rebel Leader. The mythic rogue Omega who held my fated, biological bond.A dark, mocking smirk spread across Kei's face, the exact same smirk he had given me during our lesson earlier that afternoon when I h







