my hoodie
1168 Words
Bella pov
Breakfast was already on the table when we arrived.
Kiara dropped into her seat like the corridor incident was already ancient history.
I sat down and tried to do the same.
The woman's words however had other plans.
“ A weak omega with no pack, no wolf and no status.”
Those were her exact words.
I picked up my fork.
She was not wrong about any of it and that was the part that stung. I did have a wolf though who only resurfaced when she wanted to annoy me.
Leon looked between Kiara and I the moment we sat down. He must have sensed something.
"What happened?" He asked, looking between us.
"Nothing." We replied at the same time.
Leon looked at Kiara, then at me and back at Kiara.
"Which one of you is lying? I can smell the lie." He asked pleasantly.
"Eat your food Leon." Kiara said, already reaching for the bread.
Leon looked like he wanted to push for an answer but stopped himself and sighed.
Kiara looked around the table then frowned.
"Is something wrong with my brother?" She asked. "Is he not joining us again?"
Leon reached for his cup. "He was probably up late working. You know how he gets." he answered.
Kiara didn't look fully convinced but let it go and we ate in comfortable silence.
The table was lively enough with Leon making commentary about the morning patrol and Kiara arguing with him about something that had apparently started two days ago and hadn't been resolved. I found myself listening without meaning to, following the back and forth between them.
It almost felt normal.
I was halfway through my food when the dining room door burst open.
A young servant stood in the doorway breathing hard, her eyes wide with something that made my stomach drop before she even opened her mouth.
"Something is wrong with the Alpha." She said.
The table went silent then Leon was on his feet before anyone else moved.
Kiara knocked her chair back as she dashed to the door.
"Call the pack doctor." She ordered, her voice completely different from anything I had heard from her before.
Everything moved fast after that.
I followed behind them, trying to match their pace.
The corridor outside Asher's chambers was already crowded with warriors when we arrived. Leon pushed through immediately, issuing instructions in a low controlled voice that cut through the noise efficiently.
Kiara tried to follow him inside.
"Stay out here." Leon said firmly.
"He is my brother…" She started to protest.
"Kiara." Leon called, his voice gentle but final. "Let the doctor do their work."
She stopped in the doorway, her hands gripping the frame.
I stood behind her and watched the pack doctor push past us both and disappear inside. The door closed.
The corridor felt too small suddenly.
Kiara turned to me and for the first time since I had known her, she looked frightened.
It was not the dramatic kind but the quiet kind that sits behind the eyes and doesn't move.
"He has been having episodes." She said quietly, so only I could hear. "This is not the first time."
I stared at her.
"What kind of episodes?" I asked.
She opened her mouth but before she could say anything, the door opened and Leon stepped out, pulling it shut behind him.
He looked at Kiara first then at me and something in his expression made the air feel heavier.
"Is he okay?" Kiara asked.
"He is stable for now." Leon said carefully.
"For now?" Kiara repeated.
I stayed where I was and said nothing.
"His episodes are getting more frequent." She said quietly, more to herself than to Leon. "If he doesn't complete…"
"Kiara." Leon's voice cut through, low and firm.
She stopped.
"Asher made himself clear." Leon said, a warning in his eyes. "He won't like it if you go against his words." He reminded her.
Something flickered in Kiara's eyes… pain mixed with frustration.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Kiara's voice cracked slightly at the edges. "Watch my brother fade away when he can be saved?" She snapped and I swear I could smell the fear in those words.
Leon looked conflicted for a moment. Something moved behind his eyes that he quickly pushed back down.
"He is the Alpha." He said finally. "We obey his words."
Kiara stared at him for some time.
Then she turned and walked away without another word, her footsteps sharp and fast down the corridor until they disappeared around the corner.
The silence she left behind was heavy.
Leon stood there for a moment then turned to me like he had just remembered I was there.
"The Alpha is resting." He said. "You should return to your room." He informed me.
I didn't move immediately.
"Leon." I said carefully. "What is wrong with Asher?" I asked even when I knew it was not in my place to ask such details.
He looked at me and I saw that conflict move across his face again.
It was gone just as quickly as it came however.
I watched him wrestle with it.
"It's okay." I said quietly. "You don't have to tell me if it's confidential."
Something in his expression shifted.
It was not relief exactly but more like gratitude mixed with something heavier.
"Get some rest Bella." He said softly.
I nodded and turned back down the corridor.
I walked back to my room slowly.
“ If he doesn't complete…”
Complete what?
I turned the words over in my mind from every angle but couldn't find an answer that made sense. Kiara had looked terrified.
“Watch my brother fade away when he can be saved.”
Fade away?
Was Asher dying?
Something clenched hard in my chest at the thought and I stopped walking for a second.
He was a good man. A genuinely good man in a world that had shown me very few of those. He ran a pack where omegas walked without hunched shoulders and children played near warriors without flinching. He had pulled a broken stranger out of a river and asked for nothing.
Was the moon Goddess really that cruel to give someone like that a shortened life?
I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at the wall and felt useless.
These people had shown me more kindness in two weeks than my entire former pack had managed in years. And here I was sitting in a comfortable room unable to do a single thing when something was clearly wrong.
I tried to read but I couldn't.
I laid down, stared at the ceiling and got up again.
I paced twice across the room then stopped.
I needed to see him. Not to ask questions or push for answers Leon clearly couldn't give me. Just to see for myself that he was okay.
I grabbed my hoodie.
Then I slipped quietly out of my room.
- Writer
