CHAPTER SEVEN:

I left Alpha Kael’s chambers on my own.

No one stopped me. No one told me to stay. No one told me where to go. The door opened easily when I placed my hand on it, as if it had never been closed.

That alone made my chest feel tight.

‘So I can walk out… just like that.’

The hallway outside was cooler than his room. The air brushed the back of my neck, raising small bumps on my skin. I took one slow breath, then another.

The scent clinging to me did not fade.

Warm. Clean. Pine and steel.

It lingered on my clothes, in my hair, in my lungs, like my body had decided to keep it even if my mind wanted distance.

I lifted a hand to my collar, as if I could wipe it away.

It did nothing.

My steps were quiet on the stone, but I still felt too loud. The palace corridor stretched long and neat, lamps burning low along the walls. The light did not flicker. Even the shadows looked controlled, like they knew their place.

I walked farther and tried to understand what had happened.

Not the bed.

Not the room.

Not the way Beta Nial looked at me like I was a problem that had learned to breathe.

The sentence stayed.

The one he said so calmly.

‘You will die.’

It did not fit.

I did not feel sick.

I did not feel weak.

My limbs worked. My head was clear. My stomach was empty, but that was normal. Hunger did not feel like death.

But then another memory pushed in.

The pain.

That sudden sting in my chest, like something inside me snapped too tight. The way my breath vanished. The way the world tilted. The way my body refused to stay upright.

Then nothing.

Dark.

‘That pain... was real.’

I pressed my fingertips lightly to my chest. The skin was warm. My heartbeat steady.

Still, my throat tightened.

‘Did I really pass out because there was too much energy?’

‘And if I don’t let it go… will I really die?’

I kept walking.

At first, the corridor felt empty. Then I noticed small things. A door closing too fast. Footsteps slowing behind corners. Murmurs that stopped when I turned my head.

No one blocked my way.

No one spoke to me.

But... I felt eyes.

Not like the market, where men stared openly, like I was something to touch.

This was different.

...Quieter... Sharper.

People here did not look at me like they wanted me.

They looked like they were trying to understand what I meant.

My skin prickled anyway.

‘They know.’

I did not know what they knew. Only that whatever it was had already moved through the palace faster than I had.

I walked past them and pretended not to notice.

My breathing changed.

It grew shallow without warning, like my lungs were trying to be smaller.

I paused and forced myself to take one longer breath.

It helped.

Not fully.

‘Why does it feel harder out here?’

The thought made my fingers curl.

It felt wrong.

'...as if Alpha Kael’s room is better...safer...'

' ...that makes no sense.'

I kept going until I found the corridor I remembered.

My room...the room that was given to me last night.

My door just stood ahead...and it was open.

Not slightly.

Open enough for me to see what was inside. And instantly, my skin went cold.

‘I didn’t leave it like this.’

I stepped closer.

The bed was torn. The sheets lay scattered across the floor. The mattress was slashed at one corner, stuffing spilling out.

I did not move.

Then I saw the basin.

Broken.

Water spread thinly across the stone.

The chair lay tipped over.

The small table had been shoved aside.

The drawers were open.

My breath caught.

‘What happened?’

I stepped inside carefully, avoiding the basin shards.

'Who did this?'

If someone wanted to punis me..., they would have left a message, right?

But this felt like something else.

A search.

My stomach tightened.

‘But... I don’t own anything.’

I had no clothes... No hidden items.

I didn't...even have a past.

What could anyone be looking for?

The thought pressed into my chest, not fear, but confusion.

The air in the room felt wrong now. Not because it was messy. Because it was disturbed.

Soft footsteps sounded behind me.

I turned.

A red-haired omega stood in the doorway. Her hair was braided neatly over one shoulder, perfect and smooth. Her face was calm. The faint curve of her mouth did not reach her eyes. She was beautiful, but the coldness in her eyes was enough to make me shudder.

Two other omega servants stood behind her.

They did not look shocked.

They looked entertained.

“So you’re back already?” she said lightly.

Another voice laughed. “Look at her. Just because the Alpha called for her last night…”

A soft chuckle followed.

“She really thought that meant something.”

Someone clicked their tongue. “Her head got too big to remember how things work.”

More laughter.

“Did she think she’d stay?” one asked. “That he’d keep her?”

A pause.

Then, pleased and cruel, “Taken at night... the. thrown away by morning.”

'...thrown away?' I looked confused as the laughter sharpened.

“That’s what happens when you forget your place.”

“I wonder how badly you disgusted the Alpha,” she said lightly, “that he sent you away before morning.”

She smiled. “I should get ready. He might order everything you touched burned next.”

The red-haired omega looked at me again.

“Do you know what happens to omegas who don’t belong?” she asked quietly.

I did not answer.

Because I did not know what I was.

And I did not know what counted as belonging.

She leaned closer, her voice still sweet.

“They get dragged out by the hair,” she said. “Passed around until their energy is empty. Then thrown out like trash.”

The servant behind her giggled.

My stomach turned.

Then heavier footsteps entered the corridor.

Measured.

The servants stiffened.

An older servant stood in the doorway. Her hair was streaked with gray, pulled back tightly. Her eyes were steady and calm.

She took in the room with one glance.

Then looked at the younger omega.

That was enough.

The younger woman lowered her eyes.

The older servant turned to me.

“Are your things ready?” she asked.

I looked at the room. At the floor. At the ruined bed.

“I… I don’t have anything,” I said.

She nodded once.

“I will escort you back to the Alpha’s quarters,” she said.

My chest tightened.

“From now on,” she continued calmly, “you will stay there.”

Silence filled the room.