CHAPTER TWO

In the next morning, I stood in front of the full-length mirror, my trembling hands slowly peeling back the edge of my expensive tunic.

There it was, burning a fierce, angry red into the flesh of my lower right ribs, just above my waistline.

Two crisp, permanent letters.

K.T.

My heart pouded loudly against my chest. The sharp, searing pain from last night had faded to a dull, rhythmic ache, yet the truth of it froze the blood in my veins.

The assassin who had pinned me to the wall, the Omega who had nearly ended my life... he was my fated mate.

And he was a rebel.

A sudden, sharp knock on the door made me flinch.

"Prince Mace," a butler's muffled voice called out. "His Majesty has summoned you to the royal study immediately."

"I-I'll be right there," I called back, my voice cracking.

Panic surging inside me, I hurriedly threw on my new layers of royal clothing, desperate to hide the brand before anyone could see it.

Even as my hands shook from the terror of the night before, I forced my feet to move down the cold stone corridors.

***

Standing before the massive, gold embellished doors of my father’s office, a heavy dread settled over me. I clenched my fists to stop the shaking, and took a shallow breath, knocking gently.

"Come in."

The voice was like ice. I pushed the door open and stepped into the grand chamber. 

Behind the dark oak desk sat my father, the King. The deep, rigid lines between his brows told me everything I needed to know. He was furious.

"F-father?" I stammered, keeping my distance. I didn't dare take another step forward.

My father took a slow, deliberate sip from his wine glass, his sharp gaze drilling holes right through me. "You were lucky to survive the night."

A chill washed over me. Lucky. Yes, I was alive, but my mind was not.

My mate was out there.

He was one of them. I wanted to scream, to ask my father why the rebels hated us so much, why they wanted us dead, and what drove them to attack.

But I didn't. Asking this will revealed the truth. And to reveals the truth, is to seek for death.

Images flashed behind my eyes, the cold weight of the dagger against my throat, and the suffocating strength of the rebel leader.

I instinctively reached up, my fingers brushing against the heavy white bandages wrapped around my throat. He had been so ready to kill me.

'What kind of Omega was he? How could an Omega be that terrifyingly strong?'

Father leaned back in his leather chair, his knuckles tapping a slow rhythm on the desk. "You need to learn self-defense. This weakness cannot continue."

"I can't..." I whispered, looking down, fingers curling. "My body..."

"Your body is fine now." He cut my words off. "You've been fully healed since last three year." He pointed out.

"But I still feel it, father. My body wasn't like yours or the others. Mine is wea-"

"You are an Alpha, Mace!" My father’s voice boomed, his teeth gritting as he slammed his palm onto the desk. "An Alpha is never weak."

I flinched at my father voice, remaining silent as he continue. "You're a disgrace to this bloodline crouching in fear like a damn omega."

The humiliation rested deep into my bones, painful and rotting. He was right. I was an Alpha, yet I was fragile, sickly, and utterly helpless.

A dark, intrusive thought whispered in my mind. 'I don't deserve to be an Alpha.'

"Who... who will teach me then?" I forced the words out, swallowing my pride.

"I have already arranged it," Father replied coldly. "A Beta. He is the son of a legendary warrior from the neighboring province. Not only will he train your useless body in self-defense, but he will also tutor you on the politics and history of this kingdom. You will no longer remain ignorant."

I nodded numbly, staring at the floorboards. I needed this. If I wanted to survive in this brutal palace, I had to become strong.

"And... what about the rebels?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, terrified of the answer.

Father’s eyes darkened with a savage, merciless glint. "We will drag them to the square and hang their heads on spears. There is no mercy for Omegas who forget their place as livestock."

A sudden, deep-seated fear struck my heart, so physical it made me gasp.

In my mind's eye, a horrific vision appeared. I imagined him, the rebel leader. I imagined his white veil torn away, his cold gray eyes lifeless and staring, and his head mounted on a blood stained spear in the castle courtyard.

The image was so vivid that I instinctively reached up to touch my own neck, my fingers trembling as I almost felt the phantom weight of a blade, the exact sensation of the steel that would soon claim his life if he was caught.

"Control your pheromones!"

My father suddenly barked, snapping me out of my nightmare.

Only then did I realize the air in the room had grown heavy. I was leaking. But it wasn't a dominant, commanding scent from a alpha. It was sour, decaying, and reeked of absolute, unadulterated fear.

I choked back my scent, bowing tightly before fleeing the room. The terror in my chest was blinding. If the palace found my mate, they would butcher him. Which meant I had to get strong. I had to find him first.

'Maybe, I can convinces him that we're not enemies?'

By midnight, the palace was dead silent.

Unable to sleep, I slipped out of my tower room, wrapped in a dark cloak. I had to see the outer walls. I had to find a way out, to look for him, to somehow make him see that we didn't have to be enemies. But as I slipped down the eastern corridor, a movement in the shadows ahead made me freeze.

Two figures stood near the arched windows. 

One was my father. The other was a stranger, a man standing with his back to me. Even from the back, his presence was undeniable. 

His shoulders were incredibly broad, his posture straight and strong.

I pressed myself against a stone pillar, holding my breath as I listened to their quiet discussion. My father was giving him a strict instructions about my schedule. Which means, this broad-shouldered stranger was actually the Beta my father had hired to train me.

I heard my father says, "I'll give you a years. You decide when he rest, you decide what to teach him first." 

"I will do my best, your majesty."

After a few tense moments, the tutor offered a deep, respectful bow. My father finally turned to walked away, his heavy footsteps fading into the western wing.

Left alone in the dim moonlight, I see my supposed tutor begins to walk down the opposite hallway. Curiosity gripped me, overriding my earlier goals.

Quietly, and nervously, I began to tail him through the shadows.

When he passed beneath a flickering wall torch, my breath hitched as I finally got to see his full face.

He was breathtakingly handsome.

He had smooth, golden honey skin that caught the light, and sharp, narrowed golden eyes. He was tall and slender, yet beneath his light tunic, I could see the distinct, powerful build of lean muscles.

And he didn't move like a common servant, he moved with such confidence.

I decided that I want to follow him more. So I quietly quickened my steps. 

But suddenly, in the middle of the empty, hallway, my tutor stopped dead in his tracks.

He didn't turn around. He just stood there, staring into the dark.

"How long do you intend to follow me, my prince?" his voice echoed, smooth, calm, and entirely aware.

'How the fuck does he knows?!'

My eyes widened in sheer panic. My heart leaped into my throat. Instinct took over, I spun on my heel, pulled my cloak tight, and tried to sprint back the way I came to escape.

"Running does not suit your status," he commented, his voice closer now.

I paused mid-stride, my cheeks flushing a furious, bright red. Realizing I couldn't outrun him, I quickly whirled around, trying to pretend I was perfectly calm.

I clumsily put my feet together, clapped my hands tightly in front of my chest, and stared up at a random portrait on the wall, completely ignoring his gaze.

"Oh! What a... beautiful painting. I was just... going for a midnight stroll to admire the art." I exclaimed as I stared at the plain white bird with unreadable words on the frame wall.

'What does this even mean? It's just a boring bird.'

A subtle, amused sigh rippled through the quiet air. "Your Highness, if you wish to play the part of the innocent, you might want to suppress your pheromones first. They are currently flooding the entire corridor."

My hands flew to my neck, my face burning hotter. I had forgotten. In my panic, my sour, anxious scent had completely filled the hallway like a beacon. There was no hiding from him.

'Maybe, that's why he notices me...'

Defeated, I rubbed the back of my neck, letting out an awkward, embarrassed grin. I forced myself to step forward, clearing my throat to properly introduce myself to my new tutor. "Right. Well... I am prince Mace, and I just turn 20 last year. It's a pleasure to—"

I blinked.

The words died in my throat. As the empty hallway stretched out before me, the cold air swaying my hair.

The golden-skinned Beta was gone. There was no sound of footsteps, no creak of stone, no lingering scent.

He had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye. After just calling me out for following him.

I stood alone in the dark, my hand still extended into the empty space, a chilling thought slowly creeping up my spine. 

'What kind of normal Beta can move that fast?'