The Last Omega

Chapter 6: Kartein Valmonte

Leticia’s POV

I can do this, I must do this. Even if the pain is unbearable, I have to shift!

“AH!” I screamed as my spine broke in half, but I immediately bit my lower lip to muffle the sound.

“Don’t do that,” I hear a warm voice as they touch my lip with their fingertips, releasing it from my teeth. “I’ll help you, just take a deep breath.”

For some reason, even if the rest of my bones are breaking in different places and rearranging themselves, I don’t feel as much pain as I did before.

Their voice wraps around me like a warm blanket, the cold, the pain, and everything else… muted.

“Exactly, that’s it, follow my voice,” he says softly, now patting my head.

I feel like a puppy, but I’m not going to complain because his touch is helping me.

“Now, picture your wolf. You need to imagine you are on all fours. Even if you don’t know the color of your fur, imagine it,” he orders, his voice still gentle.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I imagined myself as a brown, small wolf with chocolate eyes. She is wagging her tail at me, as if excited because I can finally picture her.

When I opened my eyes, the air smelled different, I could hear owls far in the distance, and I felt… taller?

“You shifted!” A voice inside my head exclaimed.

I…

Wait.

“Who is this?” I asked because I’m thinking I died and somehow reached the afterlife after I shifted.

“I’m your wolf, Aria. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Letty.”

Wait—wolves don’t talk unless your life’s in danger—my heart stutters.

Am I dying?

I glance around, and my eyes finally land on a strange figure that was not here before I started shifting.

A man with tanned skin, like he was kissed by the sun, blue eyes deeper than mine, and dark brown hair.

He might be handsome, but there is something strange about him…

Is that why I’m hearing my wolf? Because I’m about to die in the hands of this man?

“Hey there, sorry to startle you,” he extended his hand, but didn’t touch me. His voice was strangely familiar.

Soft, calm, and very deep.

Sexy, to describe it briefly.

“My name is Kartein Valmonte, I’m a Lycan as well, but don’t fear me, my power is to summon animals. That’s how I helped you with your shift,” he explained.

He… helped me?

“Stop with your nonsense, Kartein,” Kayden grumbled.

My gaze shifted to him and…

Damn.

He is covered in this dark smoke, that smells awful.

Like rotten flesh.

“That’s the omium,” Aria explained. “It’s stronger in him, meaning he will die in about ten years.”

Wow…

Wait a second.

“What’s omium?” I asked her.

“The curse the Moon Goddess laid on them. Every time they wield their powers, omium builds up—poisoning the magic in their veins until it kills them.”

Her words blur together—curse, powers, accumulation. I need a library, stat, because none of this makes sense.

“Kayden, I’ve never seen you react so strongly before,” Kartein commented. “Is there a particular reason why you are attached to this wolf?”

They are talking about me, right?

Kayden scoffed. “I’m just reminding you not to play with a commoner. Leticia is coming to the Sinclair’s pack, per my father’s request.”

Kartein clicked his tongue. “Is that so?”

I heard a heavy sigh, and Cirrus came into view, practically standing in the middle to calm the other two Lycans.

“Enough, you are acting like kids. There is a woman present, behave,” he scolded.

He also has that dark smoke surrounding him, but it isn’t as bad as Kayden’s.

“Letty, listen to me,” my wolf suddenly ordered. I immediately focused my attention on her. “You are the last omega. The last chance for the Lycans to survive, but if they know the truth, you will be in great pain.”

I hate pain.

“The necklace masks your scent; you must never take it off.”

I sigh.

I already knew I couldn’t but to learn I’m the very creature the Lycans are after…

It's not something I wanted to know on the night of my first shift.

This means I must escape the Lycans. I need to distract those three and—

“NO!” My wolf screamed. “Go with them, you will stay in his pack until the time is right.”

Why the hell is Aria pushing me toward Kayden’s pack? If he finds out what I am, I’m dead.

Finito.

I should escape, pronto.

But no, Aria won’t budge, and now I wonder what is waiting for me in that pack.

———————————————————————

“Why the hell are you coming with us?” Kayden growled at Kartein. He was very aggressive toward the new Lycan.

Kartein acted like he didn’t hear Kayden. He kept glancing at me, since we both sat in the back seat.

Kayden’s grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point I thought he was going to break it.

“Relax, nothing is going to happen,” my wolf said, but I wasn’t so sure.

Kayden could turn the car around on a whim and kill us all.

No, I’m not being dramatic.

Kartein stared at me, quirked an eyebrow, and shifted his attention to our very pissed driver. “The Sinclairs, Dyke’s, and Valmontes have a good relationship. I don’t see why I can’t come to your pack.”

Kayden growled lowly, but then stopped himself. His purple eyes stared at me. I could see them piercing my very soul.

The hell is his problem?

“Do whatever you want, then,” he grumbled.

Kartein smirked. “I already planned to.”

His deep blue eyes trailed my whole body, and it made a heat settle in my lower belly, but all I could do was divert my gaze.

I may be surrounded by three hot Lycans, but that black smoke clings like poison, making my head spin and stomach churn.

“You can purify their omium,” my wolf suddenly said.

I almost, almost rolled my eyes before I remembered I was not alone. “Why would I do that? I’m not here because I want to,” I reminded her.

Kartein? I could help him, considering he made my first shift smoother.

Cirrus? He wasn’t so bad.

Kayden? Hell no.

I’m still angry because he called me a wet dog.

“You must learn to tolerate it and how to control your power. If you purify too much, you can die.”

I scoffed. “Easy, I don’t purify anyone. Problem solved.”

Aria sighed. “Just like they must use their gifts, you must use yours unless you want to die.”

…

Wonder-f*****g-full.

“Stop doing that, Kartein,” I heard a very dangerous growl from the person I expected it the least.

Why was Cirrus so angry?

“What?” He asked, with a smirk on his face. “Jealous?”

Huh?

Kartein is crazy. Cirrus is flirty, yes, but he is not—

“Very,” Cirrus growls, voice low and dangerous. “Stop it before I make Kayden pull over so I can sit back there with you two.”

I gulped. Not because of the sudden declaration that one of these Lycans was jealous, but because Kartein’s warm aura suddenly shifted.

It turned icy, cold, terrifying.

It made me shudder.

I don’t understand what is happening, and Aria's silence makes me wonder what she is hiding.

“As long as you don’t take the necklace off, everything will be fine.” She assured.

I couldn’t help but clutch my necklace; it was warm to the touch.

Despite Kayden’s warnings, the necklace didn’t suffer any damage after my shift, and now… I had to make sure to never, ever take it off.