Rise Of The Mute Omega

Chapter seven

The forest held its breath.

Even the wind seemed to hesitate, caught between the pull of the bond and the echo of that chilling voice in my head. Kael’s hand was still outstretched toward me, palm open, waiting. I could feel his wolf pressing through the air — a force both magnetic and suffocating.

Mrs. Hawthorne’s grip on my arm trembled. “Elara, think,” she whispered. “Once you step back into his world, there’s no undoing it.”

Her warning sliced through the fog of instinct. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs as I stared at Kael. His expression was carved from stone — strong, unreadable — but his eyes betrayed him. Beneath the silver fire of his gaze, something softer burned. Something that made my wolf whimper with longing.

I wanted to run to him. To sink into his warmth and pretend the world outside that bond didn’t exist.

But I couldn’t.

Not when I still didn’t know what I was.

“Kael…” My voice broke. “I don’t even understand what’s happening to me.”

He took a step forward. The warriors behind him stiffened, as if even they could feel the dangerous pull between us. “You don’t need to,” he said quietly. “Just trust me.”

Trust him. The words twisted in my chest. He was the Alpha’s son — the heir. Bound by duty. I had seen the way he’d looked at me before the bond, the pity in his eyes when I was just the silent omega cleaning the manor halls. He had never meant to choose me. None of this was supposed to happen.

“I can’t,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened. “You think I’ll let you run again?” he asked, voice low, rough. “The rogues will smell your power before dawn. They’ll hunt you. You’re safer with me.”

“Safer?” Mrs. Hawthorne’s tone cracked with disbelief. “You think the Alpha will let her live once he knows she carries that kind of power?”

Kael turned sharply toward her, his voice edged with warning. “What do you know, Hawthorne?”

“Enough.” Her chin lifted, defiant. “Enough to know the Moon’s Mark doesn’t appear without purpose. And enough to know your father fears it.”

The words struck me like cold rain. “The Moon’s Mark?” I asked.

Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes softened, her hand brushing over mine. “The glow, Elara. The power that burned the rogues. It’s a gift from the Moon Goddess — but one that hasn’t been seen in generations. The marked are either blessed… or cursed.”

“Cursed,” Kael muttered, more to himself than to us. “That’s what the Alpha will call it.”

The forest stirred again — a whisper through the branches, a reminder that time was slipping away. Kael stepped closer, close enough that his scent enveloped me completely. The bond thrummed so hard it made my knees weak.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said, softer now. “Not my father. Not the pack. Not even the Moon herself if she tries.”

His words were a promise — reckless, dangerous, and heartbreakingly sincere. My breath hitched. For a moment, the world narrowed to just him: the silver of his eyes, the tension in his shoulders, the faint tremor in his voice when he said my name.

But Mrs. Hawthorne tugged at me again, pulling me a step back. “Kael, listen to yourself. You can’t protect her from what she is.”

“She’s mine,” he snapped.

The word echoed like thunder.

For a heartbeat, no one moved. The warriors shifted uneasily behind him. Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes filled with sorrow. And me — I could barely breathe.

His.

The claim settled deep inside my chest, searing and sweet. My wolf howled in response, pressing against the walls of my mind, desperate to answer.

But I wasn’t ready. The bond might have chosen for me, but I still had a choice — didn’t I?

I looked at him, truly looked. Beneath the fierce protectiveness was something else — conflict. Fear. He was torn, caught between the Alpha’s shadow and the pull of fate neither of us understood.

“I need time,” I said finally, voice trembling. “Please.”

Kael’s expression flickered — hurt, then anger, then restraint. He stepped back slowly, forcing his wolf to retreat, though I could feel the struggle in the air between us.

“You have until sunrise,” he said, voice tight. “Then I’ll come for you. Whether you’re ready or not.”

He turned on his heel before I could answer, barking orders to his men. Within moments, the warriors disappeared into the trees, their footsteps fading into the distance. Only Kael lingered, his gaze locked on me through the mist.

Then he mounted his horse, silver eyes gleaming under the Blood Moon.

“Don’t make me chase you again, Elara.”

And he was gone.

The forest exhaled.

I didn’t realize I’d been shaking until Mrs. Hawthorne caught my arm. She guided me deeper into the woods, her lantern casting faint golden circles on the mossy ground.

“Where are we going?” I asked, voice raw.

“Somewhere the Alpha’s hounds won’t scent you. There’s an old chapel by the river, abandoned since the fire. You’ll be safe there — for a few hours at least.”

We walked in silence for a while. My body still buzzed with the remnants of power, my heart with the ache of the bond. The farther we got from Kael, the more painful the distance became, like the thread between us was fraying.

When we finally reached the clearing, the chapel rose from the fog — crumbling stone and twisted vines, its bell long fallen. The air hummed faintly with old magic.

Mrs. Hawthorne helped me inside and set the lantern on a broken altar. “Rest, child,” she murmured. “You’ll need your strength when the sun rises.”

I sank to the cold floor, wrapping her shawl tighter around me. “Mrs. Hawthorne,” I whispered. “You said the Moon’s Mark hasn’t been seen in generations. What happened to the last one?”

She hesitated at the doorway, the flame of the lantern flickering in her eyes.

“She was hunted,” she said quietly. “By her own mate.”

Then she closed the door, leaving me alone with the shadows and the echo of Kael’s voice still burning in my mind.

Don’t make me chase you again.

I pressed a trembling hand to my chest where the bond pulsed — a faint, stubborn heartbeat that refused to fade.

And under the dying light of the Blood Moon, I finally understood:

Running wouldn’t save me.

Because no matter where I hid, Kael would always find me.

And the Moon… she wasn’t done with me yet.