Fate in question

I began my day the same way I always did standing beneath a stream of hot water, trying to wash away the remnants of another intoxicating dream. The scent of watermelon soap filled the air as I scrubbed the sweat from my skin, the heat curling around me like the ghost of his touch. I could rinse away every trace of it from my body, but never from my mind.

The dreams came every night without fail, ever since my eighteenth birthday. At first, I told myself it was my imagination some cruel trick of my lonely mind, desperate to feel wanted when no mate had appeared. But as the months dragged on, the dreams didn’t fade. A full year of relentless, fevered torment, whispering reminders of what I didn’t have. It felt less like fantasy and more like fate mocking me the unwanted little omega wolf who was never meant to be claimed.

Other than never quite fitting in—no matter how hard I tried—I did what little I could to earn my place. I cooked. I cleaned. Most days were spent hidden away in the quiet wings of the pack house, tidying up after everyone had eaten and gone off to train. The halls would fall silent then, leaving me with nothing but the echo of my own footsteps and the lingering scent of roasted meat and pinewood polish. The most eventful part of my routine was cleaning the Alpha’s office before a meeting, careful not to disturb a single paper.

The Alphas and Betas were decent enough to me, or at least indifferent. Their only real reason for showing restraint, I suspected, was pity. Alpha Samuel the late Alpha, father of Darius, our current leader had passed a decade ago. He’d known the pain of loss, just as I did. Maybe that was why he allowed someone like me, a low-ranking stray with no real claim, to stay within his pack at all.

The gruelling torture being unwanted in a pack while relentless dreams engulfed my nights made me lose my train of thought quickly , zoning out to the thought of the mystery man in my dreams , the look in his eyes as he possessively took me over and over. But the longing for someone who I thought was a figure of my imagination was getting old . My mother often spoke of choosing a mate rather than waiting for the one fate had promised, and I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Still, I doubted any man real or not could ever erase the phantom that haunted my dreams.

I was pulled from my thoughts abruptly by the sharp sound of fingers snapping in front of my face, assertive and impatient. I looked up to find none other than Tiana, the self-proclaimed future Luna or as most of us called her, the “wannabe Luna.” She had a knack for overstepping her bounds, flaunting her supposed claim on Alpha Darius and insisting she would soon take her rightful place beside him. Maybe she would, in time. But I knew the truth. I’d overheard Alpha Darius confiding in his Beta, Nate he still hadn’t found his true mate. Tiana was merely a convenient second choice. That small truth didn’t stop her from reigning over the rest of us with her venomous tongue and false crown.

“Snap, snap—where is the Alpha?” Tiana’s sharp voice sliced through the air as she clicked her fingers in my face. “He was meant to be in a meeting, but he isn’t in his office.”

I forced myself to breathe through the irritation clawing at my chest. “I’m sorry, Tiana. I don’t know. I don’t keep track of where the Alpha goes.” My tone was clipped, hoping she’d take the hint and walk away.

Of course, she didn’t.

“Of course you don’t, you dimwitted idiot,” she sneered, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. “You’re so fucking useless, you can’t even do one thing right.”

Before I could react, she tipped the entire bucket of water across the floor, the icy splash soaking through my shoes. My hands curled into fists. I was done , done being her target, done being her outlet for whatever venom she couldn’t spill elsewhere. A low snarl rose in my throat as I stepped toward her, ready to give her what she’d been begging for.

But then, like clockwork, she changed her tune eyes wide, lips trembling. The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall.

Darius.

Too heated to care, I stayed where I was, my snarl unmoving as she launched into her pitiful act.

“Oh my god, Darius,” she gasped dramatically. “She tipped the bucket over the floor! I was only trying to tell her to do a better job, and then she lunged at me!”

He didn’t even blink. He’d heard it all before her whining, her lies. His expression was unreadable as his gaze shifted from her to me, cool and assessing.

“Clean it up,” he said simply, his tone deep and final. “Then come to my office when you’re done.”

She was all too eager to fall into his shadow, wrapping her arms around his as they walked away, the sharp click of her heels echoing across the wet tiles.

I swallowed my frustration, grabbed the mop, and did what I always did , cleaned up her mess. Again. Once the floors gleamed, I moved to Darius’s office, straightening his desk and setting things in order. I was just about to leave when a scent stopped me cold.

It was musky, earthy like pine and freshly turned soil after rain. It wrapped around me, thick and intoxicating, flooding my senses until I could hardly think. I stumbled back, straight into a wall of solid warmth.

No , not a wall. A body.

I froze, breath caught in my throat, before slowly turning around.

He stood before me towering, easily six foot seven, with hair as black as night and eyes that burned with something dangerous and magnetic. I could drown in that gaze, and part of me wanted to.

“I—I’m sorry,” I stammered, trying to step aside, to escape whatever spell had just been cast over me.

But his hand caught my jaw, his touch firm yet almost reverent. He leaned down, his breath brushing against my ear as his voice rolled through me like a dark promise.

“There’s no need to apologize, my little wolf.”

My breath hitched. My wolf silent until now stirred faintly in the back of my mind. But I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.

So I did the only thing I could.

I ran.