Ezra
Lysandra opened the door wider, and Prince Allen stepped inside—his aura was so powerful it changed the atmosphere of the room.
He walked so confidently that I couldn't stop staring at him like he was a celebrity which considering how things were, he technically was.
His hair was long and pale, almost white, falling neatly down his back. His eyes were a cold blue and they looked like they sparkled occasionally.
His face looked like it was carved too perfectly on purpose.
Even the faint point of his ears made him look unreal. He wore a fitted white coat with silver trimming, and the clothes hugged his frame enough to show how strong he was under it. Damn, he was so hot.
He didn't look at Lysandra for long. His eyes went straight to me, and once they locked onto me, I was suddenly conscious of how I looked.
The way he stared at me made my skin tingle with warmth. It wasn't normal staring. It was intense, and hungry in a way that made me shift on the bed like a child.
My God, this is embarrassing.
His gaze ran over my face, then my neck, then lower, like he was checking something off in his mind.
"You clean up well," he said, his tone soft. "I came to see with my own eyes if the rumors were exaggerated. They weren't."
I didn't respond. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. Thank you Alpha onichan? I'd die of embarrassment. But I couldn't deny that something in me warmed at his compliment.
He stepped closer, not too close, but close enough that I could smell his scent. It hit me faster than I expected, and my body started feeling so…warm.
Allen seemed to notice. His lips curled slightly, and his gaze was even more intense.
"Personally," he said, folding his hands behind his back, "I'm not so cruel as to let a man like Aldren be persecuted and stripped of his position for something he's innocent of—or something so simple. But even I can't change the rules. Not in this case."
Lysandra stood at the side, stiff, her eyes glued to the floor.
Allen continued, "You have two days remaining. Though really, today is the last day. Tomorrow, the palace guards will come to fetch you. Nothing can change that anymore."
My heartbeat increased .
Allen looked at me like he was reading everything running through my head, and he spoke again, his voice low and steady.
"You make a fine omega. Better than most. And I look forward to seeing you carry my heir alongside my brother's."
Oh hell nah. Can they stop saying that already? I'm a man, I can't carry babies. I mean where would they come out from assuming these people were right? My penis?
Before I could react, a strong gust of wind circled the room. His coat lifted slightly, and then just like that, he was gone.
No footsteps. No sound. Nothing.
Lysandra closed the door slowly. She looked exhausted, like Allen's presence had drained her. When she turned back to me, her eyes were red.
"There has to be another way," I said. My voice came out rough. "I'm not just going to sit here and let four random alphas turn me into some baby machine."
Her expression turned serious. "Ezra, you don't have many options left. What Allen said is true. The guards will come tomorrow."
I shook my head. "Lysandra, yesterday happened. And if you're right about how I fought back, if that thing inside me helped me defend myself, then I can do that again. I won't just lie down for anyone."
She let out a sharp breath.
"Ezra, it's not that simple."
"No, listen. If I was able to do that last night, if I healed overnight, if something in me pushed back, then I can do it again. I'm not helpless."
Lysandra stepped closer. She crouched a little so she was eye-level with me.
"Even if you can defend yourself in moments like that, it won't save you here. Not from this."
"Why not?" I asked. "If I'm strong enough—"
"You're strong in unpredictable ways. That is exactly the problem. You don't know how to control what's inside you. You don't understand how it works. You can't rely on power you don't understand, especially against alphas like Allen. You won't win."
I clenched my jaw.
"But you said what happened yesterday—"
"I saw enough," she cut in. "I saw how fast you healed. I saw the voice that came out of you. I saw the spell tear itself apart a few minutes ago." Her face tightened.
"But even with all of that, Ezra… you can't fight the royal bloodlines. Even alpha knights can barely hold their ground against them. You'd be crushed before you even had time to react."
I didn't want to hear that. I didn't want to accept it. But with everything that happened yesterday, I knew she wasn't exaggerating.
"And if you run," she continued, "they will hunt you. They will scent you from miles away. They will track you until they find you. You know what an unclaimed omega smells like when their pheromones are unstable."
My chest tightened. I looked away because she was right—my pheromones were a mess. I couldn't even control them yesterday. I didn't even know what triggered them.
Back in my own world, there wasn't anything like scent, or heat or all this weird stuff. I was a regular student living in a small apartment I could barely afford and both my parents were dead.
The last thing I remember was going to bed hungry so I can save for a new laptop and then I woke up here and now I'm no longer sure if this was a dream.
She kept speaking gently this time.
"Accepting the brothers may be the only way you survive all of this. They won't hurt you. They're strict, yes, and intense, but they won't treat you like those alphas did yesterday."
I exhaled slowly.
"This feels like being pushed into a corner still."
"It is," she admitted softly.
"But it's a corner that still gives you a chance to live."
We stayed quiet for a moment. Lysandra rubbed her arms like she was cold, even though the room wasn't cold at all. I noticed her eyes weren't fully focused. The spell earlier must've shaken her more than she wanted to admit.
She finally turned toward the door.
"I need to clear my head. I'll get you fresh clothes for tomorrow."
But something in her movement bothered me. She was avoiding my eyes.
"Lysandra," I said quietly. "What did you see in the spell?"
She stopped.
Her back stiffened, but she didn't turn around to face me.
"You have to be careful, Ezra. You have to be really careful."
And she left the room without another word.