CHAPTER 6 - Rekindled Flames

“Don’t fight who you are, Nova.  Embrace it,” Kieran said, his voice calm but firm.

 I stood across from him, shaking.  My heart thudded so loud I could barely hear him.

 “I don’t know if I can,” I whispered.

 He smirked slightly, but there was no mocking in his eyes.  Only challenge.  “You can.  You just don’t believe it yet.”

 I shook my head.  “You don’t understand.  Every time I try, it hurts.  My wolf doesn’t listen.  She’s angry.  She’s… lost.”

 He stepped closer.  “Then stop trying to control her.  Let her show you what she wants.”

 “I’m not like you,” I said, my voice cracking.  “You’re an Alpha.  I’m”

 “An Omega,” he finished softly.  “Yes.  But maybe not the kind you think you are.”

 His words stung, not because they were mean, but because they carried truth I didn’t want to face.

 Kieran circled me slowly, eyes sharp.  “You think being Omega means weak.  Submissive.  Powerless.”

 “That’s what everyone says.”

 “Everyone’s wrong,” he said simply.  “Do you know what makes an Omega special?”

 I frowned.  “Fear?”

 He shook his head.  “Balance.  You feel everything better.  You feel what others can’t.  Your kind keeps the pack’s mind intact.”

 I looked away.  “Then why did Adrian throw me away?”

 His voice dropped.  “Because he feared you.”

 I froze.  “Feared me?”

 “Yes.”  Kieran’s eyes pinned me.  “He didn’t reject you because you were weak.  He ignored you because your strength scared him.”

 I wanted to deny it, but something deep inside me stirred my wolf, antsy and curious.

 “You’re lying,” I said softly.

 He smiled weakly.  “Am I?  Then tell me why your wolf responds to mine like she does.”

 I flinched.  “She doesn’t.”

 “Really?”  He stepped closer until I could feel his breath.  “Then why can I feel her pushing against your control right now?”

 My chest tightened.  My wolf was stirring fiercely, as if called by his voice.

 “Stop it,” I breathed.

 Kieran tilted his head.  “You want me to stop?”

 “I said stop!”

 “Then stop fighting her,” he said softly.  “Let her breathe, Nova.  Let her speak.”

 I tried.  Goddess, I tried.  But the moment I dropped my guard, a wave of heat tore through me.  My wolf howled inside, her voice blending with my heartbeat.

 I gasped.  “What’s happening?”

 Kieran’s face darkened.  “You’re awakening.”

 My knees buckled, but he caught me before I fell.  His touch burned.  My body shook.

 “I can’t”

 “Yes, you can,” he whispered.  “This is who you are.  Don’t hide it.”

 The air between us pulsed with energy.  I could feel him not just his presence but his power, wrapping around mine like flame to dry wood.

 For a moment, our wolves brushed his fierce and dominating, mine shaking but alive.

 Then, suddenly, it all stopped.

 I pulled back, breathing.  “What was that?”

 Kieran looked at me with something like awe.  “Power,” he said simply.  “And not mine.  Yours.”

 I shook my head, shaking.  “That’s impossible.”

 He smiled weakly.  “Is it?  Tell me, has any Omega you know ever made an Alpha’s wolf bow?”

 I stared at him, shocked.  “You’re lying.”

 He let out a low growlnot angry, but primitive.  “Do you think I’d fake that?”

 I swallowed hard.  “What does it mean?”

 His voice relaxed.  “It means you were never meant to be beneath anyone.  Not even me.”

 My breath caught.  “Then what am I?”

 He looked at me for a long moment.  “Something new.  Something this pack isn’t ready for.”

 Hours passed in silence.  Kieran stayed, teaching me to breathe through the chaos, to call my wolf without fear.

 He watched every movement, every twitch.  His patience was surprising for someone so fierce.

 After a long while, I finally said, “Why are you helping me?”

 He looked at me with a faint, dangerous smile.  “Because I see what you can become.  And I want to be there when you do.”

 “That’s not an answer.”

 “It’s the only one I have.”

 I crossed my arms.  “You’re hiding something.”

 “Always,” he said easily.

 I frowned.  “You don’t even deny it.”

 He chuckled.  “Denial’s for men who care about being trusted.”

 “And you don’t?”

 He met my eyes.  “No.  I care about being understood.”

 His honesty worried me.  “You’re dangerous.”

 “Good,” he said softly.  “So are you.”

 Later that night, he told me to close my eyes.  “Listen,” he said.  “Not to me.  To what’s inside you.”

 I listened.

 At first, all I heard was my beating.  But then… whispers.  Not voices, exactly more like feelings.  Pain.  Strength.  Fire.

 My wolf was trying to speak.

 “She says I’m not supposed to run anymore,” I whispered.

 “Then stop running.”

 “She says…  I’m not supposed to belong to anyone.”

 Kieran smiled weakly.  “That sounds like her.”

 I opened my eyes.  “You can hear her?”

 “Not directly.  But I feel her through you.”

 That admission sent a shiver through me.  “You shouldn’t.”

 “Why not?”

 “Because it’s dangerous.”

 He leaned in.  “Everything worth having is.”