chapter 4: Weak wolf

Orion pov

The elevator doors slid shut behind me, sealing Cassian on the other side.

But his voice stayed with me.

> You don’t have to be their puppet anymore.

That sentence repeated in my mind the entire ride up to my office, echoing through the back of my skull like a memory I hadn’t lived yet.

I dropped my briefcase on the couch and tore off the tie around my neck. My hands were trembling. Again. And I hated it.

I hated him—for getting under my skin.

For looking at me like he knew all the things I’d spent my life hiding.

---

I stood by the window, watching the city stretch into mist and light. Drevenhart Tower cast a long shadow across the blocks below. I was supposed to rule all this someday.

But how could I rule anything when I wasn’t even allowed to be myself?

My wolf stirred weakly inside me, restless.

Muted.

Tired.

It hadn’t fully awakened, not since the suppressants started when I was nine. A desperate move by my uncle’s private physician. They called it “a permanent solution.” Something to keep the heir “clean” and “uncomplicated.”

In truth, it had buried my instincts so deep, I sometimes wondered if I had any left at all.

And that… that was the real reason I hadn’t found my mate till now.

Because my wolf was too weak due to the suppressants to recognize my mate bond.

This was another issue altogether and I wasn’t ready to think about it.

Nothing in my life seemed well, every part had its own problems. Problems I believed could never be solved.

---

A soft knock at the door broke through my thoughts.

I didn’t move.

Nora’s voice came from the other side. “Mr. Orion, your uncle’s on the private line. He says it’s urgent.”

I closed my eyes. My fingers flexed at my side.

“I’ll take it in here,” I said quietly.

A second later, the call lit up my desk terminal.

I tapped the green icon. The screen came alive with the sharp, polished image of Sebastian Drevenhart —my uncle. My captor.

His silver hair was perfectly combed, suit ironed to military precision. His cold blue eyes scanned me like a flaw in the fabric.

“You looked off in the footage from the meeting,” he said without greeting. “Was there an issue?”

Cassian’s eyes flashed in my memory. His scent. The heat.

“No,” I lied. “It was fine.”

“You didn’t push hard enough. Fifty-fifty is a weak deal. You need to dominate, not compromise.”

“Cassian isn’t easily dominated.”

“Then break him.” His voice was ice. “You’re a Drevenhart. Don’t forget that.”

I stayed silent.

“I’ve worked too hard to protect that seat from your parents’ mistakes. We gave you everything. Don’t disappoint us now.”

We?

Gave me everything?

They killed my parents and put a muzzle on my life.

And they expected gratitude.

“I’ll handle it,” I said flatly.

He narrowed his eyes but didn’t argue. “Don’t trust him. He’s from the North. They’re like snakes—smiling one minute, ripping your throat out the next.”

Then he ended the call.

---

Later that evening, I sat on the edge of my bed, a towel slung over my shoulders. The shower had done little to quiet the noise in my head.

Cassian’s words still lingered.

>>"" You’re not going anywhere, little Omega.""

>> "I think you’re waiting for permission to stop hiding.""

I buried my face in my hands.

It wasn’t just his words.

It was the way he looked at me.

Like I was something rare.

Not fragile—but important.

My wolf stirred again—restless. It wanted something. It just didn’t know what.

or maybe it did.

---

At midnight, I got a message from Nora.

> Nora: You have a visitor. He doesn’t have clearance, but… he said you’d want to see him.

Before I could ask who, the suite door buzzed.

I walked toward it slowly, heart pounding .

Who could it be at this hour.

I unlocked the door.

Cassian stood there, dressed in black, no guards, no tie, no mask.

"You? wh-what are you doing here at this time?" I asked, shocked by his sudden visit.

"How did you know where I live."

"Shocked?" he asked with a light smile.

"Not all all." I snapped back.

“I thought we agreed not to talk alone,” I said, keeping my voice calm.

“We didn’t agree on anything,” he replied. “You just ran.”

“I didn’t run.”

“You did,” he said. “And I didn’t chase you. I’m here now, asking.”

“Asking what?”

“To talk. Without suits. Without eyes.”

I hesitated.

He leaned against the doorframe. “You said I don’t understand. So explain it to me.”

For a second, I almost slammed the door in his face.

But something stopped me.

Maybe it was the look in his eyes—not cold, not mocking. Just… searching.

I stepped back.

He walked in.

---

"I'll make myself comfortable." He said and sat on the couch. I said nothing. I stood near the window again.

We didn’t speak for almost a minute.

Then he broke the silence.

“You’ve been on suppressants your whole life.”

It wasn’t a question.

“ I never said that.” I said.

" You don’t need to tell me." He snapped back. "I know."

“That’s why your scent is fractured. Why your wolf is quiet.”

My fingers tightened at my side. “I know what I am.”

“No, you know what they made you.”

I turned to him sharply. “You don’t get to act like you care. You don’t know me.”

He stood. Walked slowly toward me.

“I don’t have to know you to see what they did.”

He stopped just in front of me. Close again. Always too close.

“They tried to erase you,” he said softly. “But your scent came through anyway. Your instincts are still there. Even if they’re weak.”

I swallowed. "Ho-how did you know all this?"

“That isn't necessary, Orion.”

My name on his lips made something inside me ache.

He reached out—not touching, just offering.

“If you ever want to stop pretending… I’ll be there.”

My breath hitched.

And for once, I didn’t speak.

Because I didn’t know what I wanted more—

To tell him to leave…

Or to ask him to stay.

But there was one thing I was dying to know from him.

"Why? why are you trying to help me?"

"I'm not, Orion. I'm only helping myself." He answered, looking deep into my eyes.

"How?" I asked, but he didn’t answer.