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Arc 1 – Omegaverse: The Hunter and the Omega Prince
Day 5 – Nightfall's Claim
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The thud came again.
A steady, deliberate sound, like something marking its presence.
Aldric rose from his chair without a word. The firelight painted sharp angles on his face as he took his coat from the wall peg. He moved quietly, but Kyle's fever-hazed mind picked up the shift in the air — the heaviness of it.
"Aldric?" His voice was small, strained.
"Stay in bed."
That tone — calm but edged with steel — made Kyle's fingers clutch the blanket tighter. He didn't want to stay alone. He didn't want to see that wolf's eyes again… yet he didn't want Aldric to face it without him, either.
Aldric crossed to the door, lifting the bar with slow precision. He only cracked it open a hand's width before a deep growl rumbled from outside — low, resonant, and close enough to vibrate through the wood.
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Outside
The snow reflected the moonlight in shades of silver and blue. The wolf stood just beyond the threshold, its massive frame dusted with frost, breath steaming in the cold. Its eyes locked onto Aldric immediately — and then shifted, with unnerving focus, to the dim figure curled in bed behind him.
Aldric stepped forward, blocking its line of sight.
"You're not taking him."
The wolf tilted its head. Not a threat display — almost curious. Then, in one fluid motion, it circled the cabin's front, claws scraping softly against the packed snow.
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Inside
Kyle's heart pounded against his ribs, his breath quickening.
The fever blurred his thoughts, but one was sharp and clear: It came for me.
Eira, still by the bed, stiffened. "It's circling."
"Don't move," Ryn ordered, quietly shifting her weight to the door.
But the next thump wasn't at the front — it came from the side wall, near the window where Kyle had been earlier.
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The Window
A shadow blotted out the moonlight. Then a wet, heavy breath fogged the glass.
Kyle's gaze was drawn, unwillingly, to the pane — and there it was.
Golden eyes. Closer than before. The glass between them almost seemed to hum.
He flinched back, curling into himself. His voice shook. "Why does it look like that?"
Eira swallowed. "Like what?"
"Like…" His voice broke into a whisper. "…like it loves me."
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The Break
Suddenly, claws raked across the wooden wall, a sound that cut through every other noise. Aldric swore under his breath, yanked the door open fully, and stepped out into the freezing air.
The wolf was there, waiting — no rush, no panic. Just stillness, its tail low, head slightly bowed… but eyes never leaving the cabin.
Aldric reached for his blade.
The wolf took one step back — and then, as if to make a point, it glanced deliberately toward the bed inside.
That was when Kyle felt it — not fear exactly, but a sinking, bone-deep certainty. This wasn't an animal's hunger. This was possession.
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Aldric's voice was low and dangerous. "You think you can watch him like prey? I'll—"
The wolf's ears flicked, and it melted into the shadows between the trees. No sound of retreat — just absence, as though it had never been there.
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Aftermath
Aldric came back in, shutting the door hard and setting the bar with more force than needed. He crossed to Kyle in three strides.
"You're pale."
Kyle tried to make a joke, but the words caught in his throat. He settled for a faint, childish pout. "I told you it's weird. It's… obsessed. It's not even natural."
Aldric crouched in front of him, searching his face. "You're safe in here. I won't let it touch you."
But Kyle didn't feel safe. The wolf's gaze had gone past skin and bone — like it had seen something underneath, something that didn't belong to this world… and decided it wanted that, too.
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