~chapter ~

The orchids glowed again.

Just for a second — a soft silver light, like moonlight trapped in their petals.

Kael stared at them, breath catching in his throat.

No.

No, no, no.

Moon orchids only reacted like that for one reason:

They had bonded to an omega’s resonance.

To Rion’s resonance.

Kael’s stomach twisted painfully.

“Why… him?” he muttered under his breath, gripping the flowers so tightly the stems nearly snapped.

“Why now? After everything…”

A cold wind swept through the alley, biting at his skin, but Kael didn’t feel it. His whole body was humming — reacting — fighting.

He wasn’t afraid of danger.

He wasn’t afraid of enemies.

But this?

Rion.

The one thing he wasn’t allowed to want.

The one thing he shouldn’t touch.

The one thing he couldn’t protect — not again.

He forced his eyes shut, trying to shut down the instinct clawing its way up his spine.

Find him.

Stay close.

Don’t let him out of your sight.

His alpha nature was screaming at him.

His past was screaming back.

Kael took a long, shaky breath.

“I can’t go back.”

The orchids glowed again, pulsing like a heartbeat.

Kael cursed under his breath.

“…Damn it.”

Inside Flora Haven — Something Shifts

Rion finally lifted his head from behind the counter, his cheeks still bright pink.

“I can’t believe my scent spiked,” he muttered.

Lyn dramatically threw a hand over their forehead.

“Oh, it didn’t just spike. It exploded. I thought we were going to have to call the fire department.”

Rion hit them lightly on the arm.

“Lyn!”

“What? It’s true.” Lyn crouched next to him, expression softening. “Rion… this isn’t like you. You never react to alphas.”

Rion hugged his knees tighter.

“That’s why I’m scared.”

Lyn’s voice dropped.

“You felt something… didn’t you? Something deeper.”

Rion didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to.

The look in his eyes said everything.

A tug.

A pull.

A strange warmth that didn’t feel like fear…

but felt too dangerous to be comfort.

Lyn sighed. “Okay. Tell me honestly. When he touched your wrist… what did you feel?”

Rion swallowed.

“I felt…”

He closed his eyes.

“Like the world stopped.”

Lyn stared.

“And then?”

“…like it started again because of him.”

Lyn’s jaw dropped.

“Oh my moon—YOU’RE DOOMED.”

Rion groaned.

“I KNOW!”

Back in the Alley — Kael’s Breaking Point

Kael braced one hand against the wall, breath harsh, pulse fighting him.

He remembered another time — another scent — another omega whose life slipped through his fingers because Kael wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t enough.

He had promised himself never again.

Never bond.

Never claim.

Never let nature choose for him.

He wouldn’t let an omega get hurt because of him.

Especially not one like Rion.

The orchids warmed in his palm.

Kael tightened his grip.

“Stop it,” he whispered to the flowers — to fate — to himself.

“I won’t let this happen.”

But then —

a voice echoed in his mind:

Someone is looking for him.

He felt the danger again — that strange presence he sensed earlier around Flora Haven.

A shadow.

A scent he didn’t recognize.

Someone had been watching.

Kael’s shoulders stiffened.

He straightened slowly.

His decision was already made — even if he hated it, even if it terrified him more than any fight ever could.

He looked toward the shop, eyes hardening.

“Fine.”

His voice was quiet, but unshakeable.

“I’ll stay away from him.”

A pause.

“…after I deal with whoever’s stalking him.”

Because fate or not…

compatibility or not…

Kael Draven would protect Rion Azrel.

Even if it destroyed him.

With the orchids still faintly glowing in his hand, Kael stepped out of the alley —

heading straight back to Flora Haven.

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