Her words hit me harder than Alaric’s whip. “What do you mean?”
“Kaius is not just his father; he is the Alpha King. Kalus had just do the forbidden, all for you. He would have to suffer the consequences.”
I stared at her, the significance of what had just happened slowly dawning on me. I’d triggered something far beyond a family dispute.
“Elowen,” Ophelia said, her voice softer now.
“Thank you,” she continued, surprising me. “But sometimes doing the right thing is not always right. Being naive would only bring you to an end.”
“I couldn’t just watch him hurt you,” I said. “What kind of person would that make me?”
Her lips curved in a bitter smile. “A person that survives and stays alive. Do you think a few others hadn’t at some point witnessed my punishment?”
I glanced at the whip mark on my shoulder, now an angry red line surrounded by blackening veins where the silver was spreading. “Don’t worry, it would heal; give it a few days–or, considering you are an omega, a few weeks.”
Ophelia, why haven’t you left him?” I asked, unable to understand. He treats you like crap; he had been the one at fault back at the feast, and yet he punished you for a thing so petty; why haven’t you attempted running away? You are the Luna Queen; you have some connections; you could disappear.”
She laughed, a bitter sound that held no mirth. “Disappear. There’s nowhere in this world where Alaric would not find me. Sometimes, I hope he could change; I hope he could wake up and become a whole different person, and I still hope.”
“He is never going to change; not till he kills you.” The words emerged harsher than I intended.
“If I escape, I will live my life on a run, afraid of everything and nothing, always having to check my back. That’s not a life–at least not one I will ever want to live.”
“You could-”
“No, Elowen, enough!” she cut me off. “You have no idea the responsibility before me; we are nothing alike, but soon you will grow to find out. You don’t choose your own fate, nor can you escape it. You have a good heart, which my son Kaius does not deserve. Don’t fall in love with Kaius; this way you won’t be left broken, and you have to learn to close your eyes to cruelty; you will see a lot of that soon enough. Do you understand me?”
I said nothing, my throat tight with emotions I couldn’t name.
“Do you understand me?” she repeated, her voice insistent.
“I will not be like you,” I said finally. “I will not become like any of you.”
Something like pity crossed her scarred face. “I guess you believe in the saying that a single drop can make a difference even in an ocean. They lied. You will die; that’s the only difference you will make.”
“I’m only trying to help you; why do you always have to be this cold uncaring person?” The frustration and pain from my wound made my voice sharper than intended.
“I don’t need your help, little Omega; I never have and never will. Better save your strength.”
1/3
I’ll remember that next time,I said, stepping back from the bed.
A soft knock at the door announced Frost’s return. He took in the scene with a single glance.
“Come,” he said to me. “Let’s get you back to your room.”
I followed him without argument, the silver burn sapping my strength with every passing minute. He supported me with a hand under my elbow, his touch gentle.
“I’m sorry,” I said once we were in the corridor. “I didn’t mean to cause any of this; please believe me, I just couldn’t stand her being hurt, and I wish I could walk by and do nothing.”
Frost’s expression softened slightly. “What did she say to you?”
“She called me naive; she said being caring would–only lead to my death and a whole lot of mean things I do not want to think about.”
“Well, she is a bitch for saying that to you.” The unexpected defense surprised me.
“But she wasn’t wrong, was she? I had caused a fight between a father and his son, all because I couldn’t mind my business. She said something about Kaius being punished; what did she mean?”
Frost sighed, helping me navigate the stairs to the floor where Kaius’s chambers were located. “Kaius would be punished after being judged by the elders. He was wrong in all ways, so he would must definitely be punished.”
“Frost, what did she mean?” I pressed, my anxiety mounting.
“Yes, you are right. If it were anyone else, they would be killed. Though there is hardly anyone that could face the Alpha King.”
A chill ran through me that had nothing to do with the silver poison. “But he is the Alpha, right? He should have some kind of immunity to these, right?”
Frost didn’t answer, instead opening the door to Kaius’s chambers and helping me inside. His silence was more terrifying than any response could have been.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, the events of the night crashing over me in waves of realization. My impulsive act of compassion might have just signed Kaius’s death warrant.
And for what? For a woman who didn’t even want my help, who had lived with this brutality for decades and somehow made peace with it. Who warned me that my goodness would get me killed.
Maybe she was right after all. Maybe in this world of wolves and power, compassion was just another word for weakness.
But even as the thought formed, I rejected it. I couldn’t regret stepping between that whip and Ophelia’s broken body. I couldn’t wish I’d walked away and pretended not to hear her pain.
If that made me naive, then so be it. At least I could still recognize cruelty when I saw it, still feel the instinct to protect rather
than harm.
And as the silver burn spread its tendrils of pain deeper into my flesh, I wondered if that was what truly separated me from the wolves around me–not weakness, as they believed, but the strength to hold onto compassion in a world that valued only power.
2/3
