For someone as unfortunate as Kaelia, she should have known that ending up as the Prince's mate wasn't going to be exactly a good thing for her, regardless of her very unhealthy crush for the Prince. There's no sugarcoating because there she was, trying to prevent her tears from falling as Alarion's expression didn't even try to hide the anger boiling in his veins.

“Follow me.” That was all Alarion said before marching towards his chamber, but he turned back to see Kaelia was not following him as ordered.

A growl rumbled in Alarion’s chest, a sound that resonated more with a predator than a Prince. His jaw tightened, a vein throbbing in his temple. He stalked back to Kaelia, his footsteps echoing with suppressed fury. “Did you not hear me?” His voice was dangerously low, a barely contained growl.

Kaelia flinched, her eyes darting around the hallway as if searching for an escape. “Your H-Highness, I…” She couldn’t articulate the protest forming in her throat. How could she explain the terror that gripped her? The certainty that this was the beginning of the end?

“Enough.” He didn’t wait for a response, he grabbed Kaelia’s arm, his grip tight enough to bruise, and dragged her across the hallway. Kaelia stumbled, desperately trying to keep up, humiliation burning hotter than the Prince’s touch.

He shoved Kaelia forward, sending her stumbling into the room. The heavy oak door slammed shut with a resounding boom that echoed in the vast space, the sound cutting off any chance of escape. Alarion advanced, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made Kaelia’s breath catch in her throat. She felt like a cornered animal, the primal instinct to flee screaming in her mind.

Kaelia gasped, the air knocked out of her lungs. She could feel the Prince's gaze searing into her, a tangible weight. Alarion's face was a mask of barely suppressed fury, his jaw clenched, his eyes looking like a dark pool reflecting thunder.

“What… was that?” Alarion finally spat out, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

Kaelia swallowed hard, the lump in her throat almost choking her. “I… I don’t understand, Your Highness.” She hated that the tremor in her voice was betraying her fear.

“Don’t play coy with me, Kaelia. That… scent. That unbearable, sweet scent that has my wolf clawing at the surface. Explain yourself!”

Kaelia squeezed her eyes shut. She knew, she always knew this day would come. She just prayed it wouldn't be like this. She knew one day she'd find her mate and she'd have to explain why she's a Beta that isn't exactly a Beta. It would have just been a little better if it was just any regular Alpha and not the Alpha Prince. “I… I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Alarion’s voice was laced with steel. “Because I assure you, Kaelia, I’m running out of patience.”

Tears welled up in Kaelia’s eyes, blurring her vision. She tried to look away, but Alarion’s grip held her captive. She hated this, hated the fear, hated the lies that were about to unravel. “Please, Your Highness, let me go.”

Alarion trapped her against the cool stone of the wall, his forearm pressing firmly against Kaelia's chest. The air crackled with unspoken tension, thick with the scent of cinnamon, honey, wild flowers and something else… something wild and untamed that Kaelia recognized as her own forbidden omega scent, now amplified by her fear.

"Explain," Alarion demanded, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through Kaelia's body. "Explain how a Beta with a weird scent, managed to… to present as my mate."

Kaelia squeezed her eyes shut, tears finally breaking free and tracing hot paths down her cheeks. “I… I can’t,” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion.

Alarion's grip tightened, not enough to cause pain, but enough to emphasize the power he held over Kaelia. "Don't insult my intelligence. I felt it, the pull, the bond… it’s undeniable." He leaned closer, his breath ghosting over Kaelia's face. "And it all originates from you."

Kaelia shuddered, the Prince's proximity sending tremors through her. The heady scent of the Alpha was both intoxicating and terrifying. It was a siren song that promised safety and demanded submission, a submission she couldn't afford to give.

“Please,” Kaelia pleaded, her voice barely audible. “You don’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” Alarion roared, his control finally snapping. “Tell me why you, a Beta servant, triggered a mating bond with the Alpha Prince! Tell me why my wolf is howling for you, when you are… when you shouldn't even exist anywhere near me!”

The word hung in the air, a cruel and damning pronouncement. Kaelia’s heart shattered. She knew it wasn't personal, knew it was born of the Prince’s frustration and confusion, but it still stung like a whip.

“Please, I beg you, let me go.” Kaelia pleaded, the pain, discomfort, and distress her omega is feeling accompanied the tone of her voice.

Alarion leaned closer, his scent — a potent mix of pine and ozone — filling Kaelia’s senses, making his head spin. "Not until I get an explanation. That scent… it's an Omega’s scent. It has always been faint, subtle, underlying your beta scent. But now… it’s so much stronger... it’s undeniable."

“You’re mistaken,” Kaelia whispered, the words barely audible.

“Am I?” Alarion challenged, stepping back slightly, his eyes raking over Kaelia’s smaller frame. The ethereal features he had initially dismissed as simply 'unremarkable' now seemed… different. Deliberate. "Everything about you screams not so Beta, especially for that scent. And the way my wolf reacts to you. I tried to ignore it. I pretended it was just… stress. Until now. Are you a hybrid or something?"

Kaelia could feel the tears finally breaking free, tracing hot paths down her cheeks. She hated crying, hated showing weakness, but she couldn’t stop them. The Prince’s nearness was suffocating, his anger palpable. Her heart ached. She was nothing but a mistake, an abomination.

“Tell me the truth, Kaelia,” Alarion demanded, his voice softening slightly, but the steel was still there. “Who are you, really?”

Kaelia shook his head, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. She couldn't. She wouldn't. It would ruin everything. Shame and fear warred within her.

Alarion’s frustration reached its peak. He let out a frustrated roar, throwing his hands up in the air before slamming one fist into the wall beside Kaelia’s head. Kaelia flinched violently, more from the raw emotion in the Prince’s outburst than the physical threat.

"For goodness sake, Kaelia!" Alarion shouted, his voice echoing in the room. “Don’t you understand what’s at stake here? I am the Prince! The future of this kingdom rests on my shoulders! I need a mate, an Omega to give me an heir, not… not this charade!”

Each word was a blow, shattering the fragile hope that Kaelia had unknowingly harbored. She wasn't worthy. She never could be.

"I'm sorry," Kaelia choked out, the words laced with so much pain. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to cut it!" Alarion raged, pacing the room like a caged animal. "You're still lying to me, you don't want to speak of your identity, of why this is. How dare you try to deceive me?"

Kaelia couldn't take it anymore. The Prince’s anger, his disappointment, the sheer weight of her own secret… It was all too much. The dam finally broke.

"I'm an Omega!" She blurted out, the words raw and desperate, torn from her throat. "I've always been an Omega! My mother… she hid it from everyone, she protected me… Never once a Beta, the Beta is just a disguise to enable me to survive. I… I am a Lupherian Omega, that’s why my scent is… weird. I'm sorry.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and damning. The room fell silent, the only sound was Kaelia's ragged breathing and the soft sobs that wracked her body.

Alarion froze, his face paling visibly. He stared at Kaelia, his eyes wide with disbelief, then with something that looked horrifyingly like… disgust.

He took a step back, then another, as if Kaelia had suddenly become a poisonous creature. "No," he whispered, shaking his head. "No, that's impossible. I refuse to believe it. Lupherian? That doesn't even exist."

Kaelia watched, tears streaming down her face, as the Prince's face twisted with denial. She had seen disgust before, felt the sting of scorn and had always pushed it aside, but this one is from someone she… someone who was supposed to be her destined mate. It stings differently.

"You… you can smell it, can't you? The Lupherian curse." Kaelia asked, her voice barely a whisper. "You knew, deep down. That's why you're so angry."

Alarion recoiled. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darting around the room, as if searching for an escape. “This is some kind of… cruel joke,” he finally said, his voice strained. “The Moon Goddess… she wouldn’t… she couldn’t do this to me.”

He turned back to Kaelia, his face contorted with a mixture of anger and disbelief. “A Lupherian Omega? Mated to the future King? This is absurd! It’s… it's an abomination!"

The words were like a physical blow, sending Kaelia reeling. She stumbled back, his back hitting the wall again, the cold stone a stark contrast to the burning shame that consumed her.

"I didn't ask for this!" Kaelia cried, her voice cracking. "I didn't want this! I just wanted to survive!"

Alarion didn't seem to hear her. He was lost in his own turmoil, his face a mask of horror. "My father… the Council… they would never accept this. This would destroy everything! The kingdom will be in an uproar should they ever find out!"

He paced the room again, his hands clenched into fists. “I have duties! Responsibilities! And it seems that isn't enough because here I am, thrown into… some ridiculous, cursed fairytale!”

Kaelia watched him, her heart shattering into a million pieces. She had known this wouldn't be easy. But she hadn't anticipated this level of… revulsion. She was nothing but a burden, a disappointment.

"I'm sorry," Kaelia whispered again, the words hollow and meaningless.

Alarion stopped pacing and turned to face her, his eyes blazing with a fury that made Kaelia tremble. "Sorry isn't enough, Kaelia! You've ruined everything! You've ruined me!"

He spat the words out like venom, and Kaelia felt something inside her break. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable. She felt bad enough for herself but as she looked up to meet Alarion's tormented eyes, she knew she's the one hurting Alarion. She was a bad luck, a plague. She was destined to bring despair into the lives of those around her.

"Get out," Alarion said, his voice barely a whisper, but the command was clear. "Get out of my sight. And never, ever, let me perceive that scent near me again."

Kaelia didn't need to be told twice. She turned and fled, tears streaming down her face. She didn't stop running until she reached the meager room she shared with her mother in the lower quarters, the Prince’s words echoing in her ears like a death knell. She was a cursed Omega, an abomination, and she had just ruined the life of the man she… the man she was destined to be with. And now, she was all alone. Because she was nothing but a curse.