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Chapter 10 - Chapter 10

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Arc 1 – Omegaverse: The Hunter and the Omega Prince

Night 3 – Fever Dream

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The lodge was silent but for the low hiss of the fire in the hearth. The rest of the hunting party had long since retired; even the night guards moved like ghosts along the halls.

Aldric stayed.

One hand rested lightly on the chair arm, the other draped across his knee, fingers tapping in an unthinking rhythm.

On the bed, Kyle lay curled beneath layers of blankets.

The fever had softened his usually sharp, bright eyes into a hazy gloss. His braid had come undone entirely, pale hair fanning across the pillow like strands of moonlight.

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(Half-dreaming)

Heat clung to him like another blanket, heavy and unshakable.

His limbs felt strange — weightless and heavy at the same time — and somewhere in the dark of his mind, he was back in the forest.

The damp smell of moss and earth was all around him.

And there — between the trees — the wolf.

It moved with the same silent precision as before, paws barely disturbing the ferns. Its eyes were fixed on him again. Not hungry. Not hostile.

Just… there. Unyielding.

"You…" his dream-voice was weak, almost childish, "Why are you looking at me like that…?"

The wolf's gaze didn't shift. It came closer.

And closer.

But somewhere — the edges blurred. The shape grew taller, shadow stretching, fur giving way to the silhouette of a man. Broad shoulders. A cloak lined with silver fur. Eyes the same as the wolf's — same intensity, same claim.

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Kyle took a stumbling step back, but the man's gloved hand caught his wrist.

The grip wasn't cruel, but it didn't allow escape either.

"You're mine," the voice said — low, unhurried. The kind of voice that didn't need to raise itself to be heard.

Not in this world, not in any.

Kyle's heart jumped in his throat.

"That's not— you can't—"

The man leaned in, expression unreadable, and for a moment Kyle could see the faintest curl of a smile.

"I'll wait," he said, as though they had all the time in the world.

And then — gone.

The forest melted into darkness.

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Reality — Lodge Room

Kyle's hand twitched against the blanket, like trying to pull away from an invisible grip.

A bead of sweat slid down his temple.

Aldric noticed.

He leaned forward, frowning. "Kyle," he said softly, testing for consciousness.

The Omega stirred, eyelids fluttering, but didn't wake. His lips moved faintly, the whisper barely catching:

"Don't look at me like that…"

Aldric's jaw tightened. He didn't know what haunted Kyle's dreams — but he knew the wolf's eyes when he saw them. And whatever that animal had decided, it wasn't done.

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