desperation

Chapter 4: Desperation

Theo pov

The herbs weren't working anymore.

I ground the feverfew and elderroot into paste with shaking hands, trying to ignore how my mother's breathing had become shallow and ragged over the past week. Her skin burned with fever, pale and clammy in the dim light of our small cottage.

"Theo," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You don't... you don't have to…"

"Hush, Mama." I forced my voice to stay calm as I dabbed the paste onto her forehead. "Save your strength. This will help with the fever."

It wouldn't. We both knew it wouldn't.

The lung sickness had started three months ago… just a cough at first, nothing alarming. But it had spread through the village like wildfire, killing the old and weak. Most families could afford the medicine from the southern traders. Even though it was expensive, at that time we couldn't afford what to eat.

I pulled the crochet blanket I made for her up to her chin, tucking it carefully around her frail body. She had lost so much weight. The strong, vibrant woman who had raised me alone was disappearing bit by bit, and I was helpless to stop it.

"You are a good boy," she murmured, her eyes struggling to focus on my face. "So good. Your mate... they will be lucky..."

"Don't talk like that," I said sharply. "You're going to be fine. You are going to meet them yourself."

Lies tasted bitter on my tongue.

The first time I dreamt of them, the day I had gone into heat for the first time, I had told her, because she was my only comforter and friend i ever had.

Ever since then, we will joke and talk about it beside the fire.

But what good were dreams when reality was falling apart?

A sharp knock on the door made me freeze.

No. Please, not now.

The knock came again, harder. More insistent. Then the door burst open with enough force to rattle the hinges, and Chief Garrett filled the doorway.

He was massive even for an alpha wolf… six and a half feet of solid muscle, with a scarred face and cold gray eyes that had never shown mercy to anyone. The village chief ruled our small settlement in the northern wastes with an iron fist, and everyone knew better than to cross him.

Including me.

"Theo." His voice was gravel and threat. "We need to talk."

I stood slowly, positioning myself between him and my mother's bed. "Chief Garrett. I wasn't expecting…"

"Of course you weren't." He stepped inside without invitation, his massive frame making our already small cottage feel suffocating. His eyes raked over me in that way that made my skin crawl. "You have been avoiding me."

"I have been caring for my mother."

"So I have heard." He moved closer, and I caught the scent of alcohol on his breath. "Shame about her illness. Terrible thing, watching someone you love waste away."

The false sympathy in his tone made my hands clench into fists. "Was there something you needed, Chief?"

"Actually, yes." He smiled, and it was predatory. "I came to make you an offer. A generous one, considering your circumstances."

I already knew where this was going. Garrett had been circling me like a wolf stalking prey ever since I turned out to be an omega three years ago. Hidden omega, technically… rare wolves whose omega status didn't manifest until their first heat, and whose scent could be concealed with enough effort and the right herbs.

I have been concealing mine ever since.

"I am not interested," I said flatly.

"You haven't heard my offer yet." He stepped closer, backing me against the wall. "I know what you are”

I…don't know what you are saying.”

“You are an omega, little boy. Bond with me. Become my mate. In return, I will pay for your mother's medicine. All of it. The expensive kind from the southern traders. She will be cured within a week."

My heart stuttered in my chest.

He knew. The bastard knew my secret, and not just that, he knew exactly what to offer to make me desperate.

"I have a mate out there somewhere," I said, hating how my voice shook. "I am waiting for him."

Garrett laughed… a harsh, ugly sound that irritates the ear. "A mate? You believe in fairy tales, boy? This isn't the central territories where reformed laws protect precious male omegas. This is the northern wastes. Reality here is harsh, and omega's don't get to be picky."

"The reforms…"

"The reforms are stories southern wolves tell themselves to feel enlightened." He grabbed my chin, rather painfully, forcing me to meet his eyes. "They mean nothing here. Out here, omegas belong to whoever's strong enough to claim them. And I am claiming you."

I jerked away from his grip. "No."

His expression darkened. "You are refusing me?"

"Yes." My voice was steadier now, even as fear coiled in my gut. "I am waiting for my true mate. That's final."

For a moment, I thought he would hit me. His hand twitched, fingers curling into a fist. Then he smiled again, and somehow that was worse.

"Fine," he said softly. "Wait for your fantasy mate. But understand this, Theo… your mother has maybe two weeks left. Three if she's lucky. After she dies, you will have nothing. No family, no protection, no status in this village." He leaned close, his breath hot against my ear. "And when you are desperate and alone, I will still be here. And my offer won't be nearly as generous."

He straightened, adjusting his coat with deliberate casualness. "Think about it. Your pride, or your mother's life. Should be an easy choice."

Then he was gone, leaving the door hanging open and the stench of alcohol lingering in the air.

I slumped against the wall, my legs suddenly unable to hold me up, as i thought about his last words

my pride or my mother's life.

****************

Three days later, I made my choice.

I left the village under cover of darkness.

My mother was barely conscious anymore, drifting in and out of fevered dreams. I had left her with our neighbor, Mrs. Chen, with instructions and the last of our coin. It wouldn't be enough, but maybe it would buy me time.

Time to do something desperate.

The Northern Kingdom palace was a week's travel on foot… longer if the weather turned. I'd heard stories about it my whole life. A massive fortress built into the mountain itself, where the a brutal king hoarded treasures from across the territories.

Including medicine. Specifically, an herb garden maintained by the kingdom's healers that supposedly grew the rarest medicinal plants in the world.

I was going to steal from it.

It was insane. Suicidal, even. The palace guards would kill me if they caught me, or worse… turn me over to the kingdom's justice system. But what choice did I have?

The journey was brutal. Late autumn in the northern territories meant freezing nights and the constant threat of early snow. I

By the time I reached the palace, I was exhausted, starving, and my heat suppressants were wearing thin. I could feel the warning signs… heightened emotions, increased scent production, that uncomfortable warmth building low in my belly.

I had maybe three days before my heat hit fully.

Three days to break into a royal palace, steal medicine, and get out.

No pressure.

I waited until nightfall, before I made my move.

I followed the old sections of the palace walls that where crumbling due to time.

Climbing the wall was harder than I had expected. My hands were numb from the cold, and my muscles screamed in protest. But I forced myself upward, inch by inch, until I could grab the windowsill and haul myself through.

I landed in the silent hallway.

My instincts screamed danger, but I pushed forward. The herb garden should be in the southern section, near the healers' quarters. I just needed to find it, grab what I needed, and…

Light blazed to life around me.

Guards materialized from the shadows, weapons drawn. Six of them, surrounding me completely.

"Well, well," one of them said, a female beta with sharp eyes. "What do we have here? A little thief breaking into the palace?"

My heart hammered against my ribs. I raised my hands slowly, trying to look non-threatening. "Please, I can explain…"

"Explain to the captain." She gestured with her sword. "Move. Try to run, and we'll assume you are here to assassinate the royal prince. You don't want us to make that assumption."

“No. No,” I continued to mutter in shock, “this couldn't be happening.”

But I was surrounded, exhausted, and unarmed. Fighting would be suicide.

The room spun. I was going to pass out. Or vomit. Or both.

"Take him to the holding cells," James ordered. "We will question him properly in the morning."

"No, please…" I lunged forward, and immediately three guards grabbed me, forcing me to my knees. "Please, you don't understand! My mother doesn't have time! She's dying, and if I don't get back with medicine…"

"Then you should have thought of that before you committed treason," the leader said coldly.

They dragged me away, into God's know where I would find myself in. The sound of my plea echoing in the hallway, but no one cared.

From now on, I was on my own.