Zeil couldn’t sleep just like every other night before. Instead he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling like it might give him answers.

But of course, it didn’t.

Just silence.

“Kael”. Just thinking the name made Zeil’s stomach twist. His jaw tightened as heat built under his skin. The air in his room felt heavy and suffocating, like it was trying to choke him.

Ever since Kael appeared, breathing felt harder. His thoughts were all over the place, but at the center of it all was the rogue.

His new bodyguard.

“Bodyguard? Really?” he muttered, then shouted, “To hell with you all!”

His voice echoed faintly through the room. He ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tight.

A rogue. Now assigned to him.

He scoffed and rolled to his side, hiding his face in the crook of his arm.

“Stupid. So stupid.”

He pulled the blanket over himself, then kicked it off a second later. Comfort had left the room completely.

“Why me?” he whispered. “Why this life? Why all the lies? What the hell is all of this?”

Everything he had been bottling up came crashing down again. The pills, the hiding, the fear and most of it all, the pressure.

All of it, just because he had been born different.

A Male omega in a pack that despised anything soft. A son forced to lie to protect a father’s legacy. A boy who had to wear a mask every single day, fighting himself, his entire existence just so he could be loved just like other pups in the pack.

He pressed his fingers to his temples and breathed heavily.

If he wasn’t an omega, none of this would be happening. He wouldn’t need a guard trailing behind him. He wouldn’t be afraid to breathe deeply in case someone caught his scent. He wouldn’t feel like this.

Suddenly, he sat up.

His body ached with his sudden movement, but he didn’t care. He needed to move. To fight. To do something just so he could breathe.

He left his room and stormed toward the training yard. The night was still young with the half moon. The sky spread out above him, scattered with stars like shattered glass. He didn’t bother wrapping his hands with clothes or gloves. He didn’t want protection against callouses that might build up later in the morning.

He wanted pain.

He started with stretches, then push-ups. Before switching to fast, sharp punches against the wooden dummy.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each punch landed with a heavy thud, raw anger pouring out through his fists. Sweat poured down his face. His muscles burned. His hands began to bleed, but he didn’t stop.

“Still pretending the dummy’s your enemy, huh?” a voice broke the silence.

Zeil stopped mid-punch, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Lupi stood by the fence, arms crossed. His sandy brown hair was messy as usual, and that lazy grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“How long have you been standing there?” Zeil asked without turning around.

“Long enough to see you trying to punch your feelings away again,” Lupi replied, walking over. “You don’t sleep much, do you?”

Zeil didn’t answer. He turned back to the dummy and kept punching.

“You’re going to break yourself one of these nights,” Lupi said.

“What do you want?” Zeil asked between breaths.

“Vera said you’d probably be out here again. So I came to check if you were still breathing.”

Lupi raised his head slightly. “You’re already stronger than most of the guys here. Why are you pushing this hard?”

Zeil paused, then wiped his forehead.

“I need to be stronger.”

He looked away. Lupi didn’t know the truth like Vera did, though they were friends and he was Vera's brother but still he never knew the reason why Zeil did all this.

He didn’t know about the lie Zeil carried like a second skin. The secret that could tear down the whole pack.

Lupi sat on the edge of the training yard and kicked at a small rock.

“Did you hear about the Redmount and Ironfang families fighting again?” he asked.

Zeil didn’t reply.

“Well, it’s stupid,” Lupi continued. “There’s this omega healer girl. Sweet. Quiet. Her parents promised her to the Ironfang heir before she was even born.”

“Arranged marriage?” Zeil asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Lupi nodded. “But here’s the twist. She’s in love with someone else. A Redmount warrior. A beta. Now both packs are arguing over who she belongs to.”

Zeil froze. His chest tightened.

“She doesn’t get to choose?” he asked.

“Nope,” Lupi said. “Just like always. They see her as property considering she's just a lowly omega.”

Zeil turned away. The story hit too close, trapped by blood. Defined by a role you didn’t choose.

Lupi gave him a curious look. “Why the sudden interest? Unlike you”

Zeil shook his head. “No reason.”

Lupi stood and brushed the dirt from his pants.

“Well, I’m heading back before Vera finds me and gives me another lecture.”

He paused at the edge of the yard.

“You should come too.”

“I’ll stay a bit longer.”

“As usual.”

“I always mean it.”

Lupi smiled crookedly. “Stubborn Alpha Zeil.”

Zeil almost laughed. Oh if only Lupi knew.

Lupi waved lazily and walked off toward the barracks. Zeil was alone again, he turned back to the dummy.

One last punch, he had said to himself.

Then another followed. He kept going until his arms gave out and he dropped to his knees, blood smeared across his knuckles and the dummy’s surface.

By the time Zeil collapsed to the ground, he could barely move. His chest rose and fell as if he’d been running for hours. The stars were fading, and the faint light of morning crept over the mountains.

Slowly, he pushed himself up and stumbled back to his room.

He didn’t bother showering. He peeled off his soaked shirt, let it fall to the floor, and dropped onto the bed.

His body throbbed with pain. But it was the kind of pain he welcomed.

The kind that made him feel like he was still safe and no-one had figured out what he desperately tried to hide.

His eyes started to close, just a few hours of sleep.

Just a little peace, then he felt it.

He opened his eyes quickly and looked towards the corner of his room.

Kael was standing there, watching him with those dark brooding eyes of his.

“What the actual Fuck?” Zeil shot up in surprise, heart pounding.

How long had he been there? What had he seen?

Kael’s expression didn’t change, he didn’t look surprised. He still had this stoic expression like he already knew.

Like he had known from the beginning.

Zeil stood slowly, unsure of what to do. What if he had found out about everything? About the pills, goddamn pills where did he drop them.

Kael’s eyes followed his every move. Zeil opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.