TEARS AND TEMPEST

For someone as unfortunate as Kael, he should have known that ending up as the Prince's mate wasn't going to be exactly a good thing for him, regardless of his very unhealthy crush for the Prince. There's no sugarcoating because there he was, trying to prevent his tears from falling as Alaric's expression didn't even try to hide the anger boiling in his veins.

“Follow me.” That was all Alaric said before marching towards his chamber, but he turned back to see Kael was not following him as ordered.

A growl rumbled in Alaric’s chest, a sound that resonated more with a predator than a Prince. His jaw tightened, a vein throbbing in his temple. He stalked back to Kael, his footsteps echoing with suppressed fury. “Did you not hear me?” His voice was dangerously low, a barely contained growl.

Kael flinched, his eyes darting around the hallway as if searching for an escape. “Your H-Highness, I…” He couldn’t articulate the protest forming in his throat. How could he explain the terror that gripped him, the certainty that this was the beginning of the end?

“Enough.” He didn’t wait for a response, he grabbed Kael’s arm, his grip tight enough to bruise, and dragged him across the hallway. Kael stumbled, desperately trying to keep up, humiliation burning hotter than the Prince’s touch.

He shoved Kael forward, sending him stumbling into the room. The heavy oak door slammed shut with a resounding boom that echoed in the vast space, the sound cutting off any chance of escape. Alaric advanced, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made Kael’s breath catch in his throat. He felt like a cornered animal, the primal instinct to flee screaming in his mind.

Kael gasped, the air knocked out of his lungs. He could feel the Prince's gaze searing into him, a tangible weight. Alaric's face was a mask of barely suppressed fury, his jaw clenched, his eyes dark pools of thunder.

“What… was that?” Alaric finally spat out, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

Kael swallowed hard, the lump in his throat almost choking him. “I… I don’t understand, Your Highness.” He hated the tremor in his voice, betraying his fear.

“Don’t play coy with me, boy. That… scent. That unbearable, sweet scent that has my wolf clawing at the surface. Explain yourself!”

Kael squeezed his eyes shut. He knew, he always knew this day would come. He just prayed it wouldn't be like this. He knew one day he'd find his mate and he'd have to explain why he's a Beta that isn't exactly a Beta. It would have just been a little better if it was just any regular Alpha and not the Alpha Prince. “I… I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Alaric’s voice was laced with steel. “Because I assure you, Kael, I’m running out of patience.”

Tears welled up in Kael’s eyes, blurring his vision. He tried to look away, but Alaric’s grip held him captive. He hated this, hated the fear, hated the lies that were about to unravel. “Please, Your Highness, let me go.”

Alaric trapped him against the cool stone of the wall, his forearm pressing firmly against Kael's chest. The air crackled with unspoken tension, thick with the scent of cinnamon, earth and something else… something wild and untamed that Kael recognized as his own forbidden omega scent, now amplified by his fear.

"Explain," Alaric demanded, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through Kael's body. "Explain how a Beta managed to… to present as my mate."

Kael squeezed his eyes shut, tears finally breaking free and tracing hot paths down his cheeks. “I… I can’t,” he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. 

Alaric's grip tightened, not enough to cause pain, but enough to emphasize the power he held over Kael. "Don't insult my intelligence. I felt it, the pull, the bond… it’s undeniable." He leaned closer, his breath ghosting over Kael's face. "And it all originates from you."

Kael shuddered, the Prince's proximity sending tremors through him. The heady scent of Alpha was both intoxicating and terrifying. It was a siren song that promised safety and demanded submission, a submission he couldn't afford to give.

“Please,” Kael pleaded, his voice barely audible. “You don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” Alaric roared, his control finally snapping. “Tell me why you, a Beta servant, triggered a mating bond with the Alpha Prince! Tell me why my wolf is howling for you, when you are… when you shouldn't even exist anywhere near me!”

The word hung in the air, a cruel and damning pronouncement. Kael’s heart shattered. He knew it wasn't personal, knew it was born of the Prince’s frustration and confusion, but it still stung like a whip.

“Please, I beg you, let me go.” Kael pleaded, the pain, discomfort, and distress his omega is feeling accompanied the tone of his voice.

Alaric leaned closer, his scent – a potent mix of pine and ozone – filling Kael’s senses, making his head spin "Not until I get an explanation. That scent… it's an Omega’s scent. It's been faint, subtle, underlying your beta scent. But now… it’s so much stronger... it’s undeniable."

“You’re mistaken,” Kael whispered, the words barely audible.

“Am I?” Alaric challenged, stepping back slightly, his eyes raking over Kael’s smaller frame. The androgynous features he had initially dismissed as simply 'unremarkable' now seemed… different. Deliberate. "Everything about you screams not so Beta, especially for that scent. And the way my wolf reacts to you. I tried to ignore it. I pretended it was just… stress. Until now. Are you a hybrid or something?"

Kael could feel the tears finally breaking free, tracing hot paths down his cheeks. He hated crying, hated showing weakness, but he couldn’t stop them. The Prince’s nearness was suffocating, his anger palpable. His heart ached. He was nothing but a mistake, an abomination.

“Tell me the truth, Kael,” Alaric demanded, his voice softening slightly, but the steel was still there. “Who are you, really?”

Kael shook his head, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He couldn't. He wouldn't. It would ruin everything. Shame and fear warred within him.

Alaric’s frustration reached its peak. He let out a frustrated roar, throwing his hands up in the air before slamming one fist into the wall beside Kael’s head. Kael flinched violently, more from the raw emotion in the Prince’s outburst than the physical threat.

"For goodness sake, Kael!" Alaric shouted, his voice echoing in the room. “Don’t you understand what’s at stake here? I am the Prince! The future of this kingdom rests on my shoulders! I need a mate, an Omega to give me an heir, not… not this charade!”

Each word was a blow, shattering the fragile hope that Kael had unknowingly harbored. He wasn't worthy. He never could be.

"I'm sorry," Kael choked out, the words laced with so much pain. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to cut it!" Alaric raged, pacing the room like a caged animal. "You're still lying to me, you don't want to speak of your identity, of why this is. How dare you try to deceive me?"

Kael couldn't take it anymore. The Prince’s anger, his disappointment, the sheer weight of his own secret… It was all too much. The dam finally broke.

"I'm an Omega!" he blurted out, the words raw and desperate, torn from his throat. "I've always been an Omega! My mother… she hid it from everyone, she protected me… Never once a Beta, the Beta is just a disguise to enable me survive.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and damning. The room fell silent, the only sound was Kael's ragged breathing and the soft sobs that wracked his body.

Alaric froze, his face paling visibly. He stared at Kael, his eyes wide with disbelief, then with something that looked horrifyingly like… disgust.

He took a step back, then another, as if Kael had suddenly become a poisonous creature. "No," he whispered, shaking his head. "No, that's impossible. I refuse to believe it."

Kael watched, tears streaming down his face, as the Prince's face twisted with denial. He had seen disgust before, felt the sting of scorn and had always pushed it aside, but this one is from someone he… someone who was supposed to be his destined mate. It stings different.

"You… you can smell it, can't you?" Kael asked, his voice barely a whisper. "You knew, deep down. That's why you're so angry."

Alaric flinched as if struck. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting around the room, as if searching for an escape. “This is some kind of… cruel joke,” he finally said, his voice strained. “The Moon Goddess… she wouldn’t… she couldn’t do this.”

He turned back to Kael, his face contorted with a mixture of anger and disbelief. “A male Omega? Mated to the future King? This is absurd! It’s… it's an abomination!"

The words were like a physical blow, sending Kael reeling. He stumbled back, his back hitting the wall again, the cold stone a stark contrast to the burning shame that consumed him.

"I didn't ask for this!" Kael cried, his voice cracking. "I didn't want this! I just wanted to survive!"

Alaric didn't seem to hear him. He was lost in his own turmoil, his face a mask of horror. "My father… the Council… they would never accept this. This would destroy everything! The kingdom will be in an uproar should they ever find out!"

He paced the room again, his hands clenched into fists. “I have duties! Responsibilities! And it seems that isn't enough because here I am, thrown into… some ridiculous fairytale!”

Kael watched him, his heart shattering into a million pieces. He had known this wouldn't be easy. But he hadn't anticipated this level of… revulsion. He was nothing but a burden, a disappointment.

"I'm sorry," Kael whispered again, the words hollow and meaningless.

Alaric stopped pacing and turned to face him, his eyes blazing with a fury that made Kael tremble. "Sorry isn't enough, Kael! You've ruined everything! You've ruined me!"

He spat the words out like venom, and Kael felt something inside him break. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable. He felt bad enough for himself but as he looked up to meet Alaric's tormented eyes, he knew he's the one hurting Alaric. He was a bad luck, a plague. He was destined to bring despair into the lives of those around him. 

"Get out," Alaric said, his voice barely a whisper, but the command was clear. "Get out of my sight. And never, ever, let me smell that scent near me again."

Kael didn't need to be told twice. He turned and fled, tears streaming down his face. He didn't stop running until he reached the meager room he shared with his mother in the lower quarters, the Prince’s words echoing in his ears like a death knell. He was an Omega, an abomination, and he had just ruined the life

of the man he…the man he was destined to be with. And now, he was all alone. He was nothing but a curse.