Ari Lorne did not feel bonds. He never had. There was no wolf curled beneath his skin, no echoing presence to guide his instincts or warn him of danger in the way other Omegas described. When people talked about their wolves about the way they growled, whimpered, pulled them toward fate. Ari listened politely and said nothing. Because there was nothing there. Doctors called him omega quiet. The polite term. The less polite ones were whispered behind his back, defective, unfinished, empty. Ari preferred simply human. Still, even without a wolf, he had learned to read the world in other ways. The way tension changed the air. The way silence pressed too close. The way some presences made the room feel smaller, heavier like breathing before a storm. Like this. Ari wiped the counter slowly, methodically, even though it was already clean. The cafe was nearly empty now, the rain having driven most people home early. Outside, Highcrest City glowed in blurred streaks of neon and reflec
Last Updated : 2026-01-19 Read more