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Arc 1 – Omegaverse: The Hunter and the Omega Prince
Morning 4 – After the Fever
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Light streamed in through the lodge's narrow windows, catching in the frost outside and scattering across the room in cold sparkles. The smell of woodsmoke hung faintly in the air.
Kyle's eyelashes fluttered against his cheek. He felt… heavier than usual, and not in the elegant, languid way he liked to claim after sleeping in silk sheets. This was different — a dull ache in his arms, a sticky warmth in his skin, and the faint, sour taste of medicine lingering on his tongue.
He groaned.
Not the kind of groan that came from real pain — but the dramatic sort, pitched for effect. "Ugh… I'm dying."
From his chair near the hearth, Aldric looked up from polishing a hunting knife. "You're not dying."
"You don't know that," Kyle mumbled, turning his head just enough to let the blanket slide artfully down one shoulder. His pale collarbone peeked out, smooth against the fabric. He looked like a painting of someone in a tragic romance, which was exactly the point. "My body's fragile, you know. Rare constitution."
Aldric set the knife aside and stood, his steps slow but purposeful. The wooden floor creaked under his weight. "You had a fever," he said, placing the back of his hand against Kyle's forehead. His calloused skin was cool against Kyle's heat. "It's gone down. You'll live."
Kyle narrowed his eyes in mock offense. "That's a very unromantic diagnosis."
"Good," Aldric replied flatly. But his hand lingered for a second longer than necessary before pulling back.
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Details, Details
Kyle's nightshirt was pale ivory cotton, too large for him, slipping off one narrow shoulder. His hair, normally neat, was a tangled halo — soft strands catching the light so they almost glowed. Someone (probably Aldric) had tied it loosely with a ribbon to keep it from sticking to his neck during the fever.
On the bedside table sat a silver tray with a teacup, a half-empty porcelain bowl, and a folded cloth still faintly damp. Everything smelled faintly of chamomile and the pine resin Aldric used to light the fire.
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"You stayed here all night," Kyle said, voice quieter now.
It wasn't a question — more like he'd just noticed it and wanted to hear it confirmed.
Aldric didn't answer right away. Instead, he busied himself with adjusting the blankets around Kyle's waist. "The wolf's been circling," he said finally. "Tracks close to the lodge."
Kyle blinked. "You're telling me a wild animal's obsessed with me?"
"Not a wild animal," Aldric corrected. His gaze was steady, the way one might watch a candle flame for signs of flickering out. "Something that knows exactly what it wants."
Kyle's fingers curled in the blanket — whether in unease or something else, he didn't know.
He still remembered those eyes in the dream.
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