Naomi's pov :

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I felt was the immense pain all over my body.

A heavy ache spread through my body like I’d been hit by a storm I couldn’t remember walking into. My head throbbed badly and my throat was dry.

For a moment, I couldn't move so I just listened to the faint echo of my heartbeat in my ears. And another sound that didn’t belong to me. It sounds like someone was breathing really heavily in my ears.

Slowly, I turned my face and my stomach dropped.

Because laying beside me was none other than Alpha Elias .

For a heartbeat, my mind refused to believe what my eyes were seeing. But then everything came rushing back.

I had been working as usual last night, trying to make it through my shift unnoticed. Then the manager called me over, handed me a tray of drinks, and told me to deliver them to one of the VIP rooms.

A simple routine which I didn't find strange. But the moment I stepped through that door, I knew something was wrong.

And before I could think of anything, a scent hit me before my eyes adjusted to the dim light. The room was full of pheromones which were flowing wildly. And among the haze sat Elias . Half of his shirt was unbuttoned while his eyes burned an unnatural shade of red, his pupils seemed dilated and feral.

An Alpha in heat. And not just any Alpha, an S-tier Alpha.

Even among his kind, S-tier Alphas were rare. They were the strongest, most dominant of all, the ones other Alphas bowed to instinctively. When their heat took over, it wasn’t just lust. It was wild and dangerously uncontrolled. Their pheromones could command, lure, and even paralyze their mates or whoever they're spending their rut with.

No one could resist them. Especially not an omega like me.

I remember my pulse stuttering as his gaze locked on mine. For a split second, there was confusion in his eyes, recognition fighting with instinct. And before I could even think to move, his hand was on me pulling me closer, stronger than I remembered, hotter than I could bear.

Everything after that blurred into heat and fear and helplessness.

And now I was here in his bed.

I sat up slowly, my breath catching when I looked at him again. Elias Kingsley. My mate and also my curse.

Even in sleep, he looked lethal. His jaw was sharp but his expressions were tense as if even rest couldn’t soften the man he had become. The faint trace of his scent still lingered in the room, dark and smoky, laced with something that made my stomach twist. My body reacted before my mind did. My heart beat faster and I hated it. I hated how easily his presence unraveled me.

It had been three years since I last saw him. Three years since I ran away from him.

The night I found out he was my mate should have been the happiest of my life. But it wasn’t. Because that same night, my father told me the truth that he was the one who caused the accident that killed Elias ’s parents seven years ago.

And everyone knew Elias was searching for the culprit. He was tearing through everything and everyone to find justice and find vengeance.

I still remember how calm he was when I told him we were mates. He smiled and appeared almost relieved. He said we’d known each other since childhood, that maybe fate had been kind to him for once. But fate isn’t kind. It’s cruel and merciless.

My father’s voice still echoes in my head.

“If he ever finds out, he’ll kill us both. Run and never look back. You have to save yourself and me.”

So I did. I disappeared from his side.

And for three years, I lived in the shadows, pretending I could escape the bond that burned under my skin. Pretending I didn’t feel him every time the seasons changed.

Now, as I stared at him lying beside me, I realized how wrong I was. Fate hadn’t forgotten us. It had simply waited for the cruelest moment to pull us back together.

An Alpha’s rut usually lasted five or six days. Which meant he had four days left. Four days before his body cooled and before his mind cleared. And if I stayed, I knew exactly what those four days would mean. He would claim me again and again not out of choice, but instinct.

And when the rut ended, when the haze lifted, he’d remember everything. He would see who he had spent his rut with.

So I need to leave before he wakes up.

My hands trembled as I pulled the sheet away and found my clothes scattered on the floor. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I dressed as quietly as I could, afraid to wake the sleeping Alpha beside me.

Every step toward the door felt like walking on thin ice. The room was still thick with his scent, with power and danger and something that made me weak. I caught my reflection in the mirror, pale skin covered with red marks, disheveled hair, and wide frightened eyes. I barely recognized the girl staring back at me.