The Storm at the Door

The gentle knock on Elijah's door proved unnecessary; he'd heard the approaching footsteps long before. He straightened his shoulders as the burning fireplace created lengthy shadows on the walls of his chamber. His wolf lurked beneath his pores and skin, irritated and agitated. The stranger's entrance triggered something deep within him, and he despised it.

"Enter," he said harshly.

The heavy door creaked open, and Liam walked in. Despite the guards surrounded him, the Omega maintained a defiant demeanor. The firelight danced through his silver-white hair, making it appear like molten moonlight. Those violet eyes—peculiar, acute, and unwavering—locked onto Elijah as if daring him to look away.

Elijah did not. He rarely backed down from a project, and this was no exception. "Sit down," he said, referring to the chair opposite him.

Liam did not circulate right away. As a substitute, he glanced at the guards before returning to Elijah, his lips twisting into a small sneer. "Afraid I'll run?"

The comment hung in the air, creating tension. One of the guards snarled quietly, but Elijah held out his hand to calm him. "If you wanted to run, you wouldn't have come right here," Elijah responded calmly. "Now sit."

Liam lowered down into the chair and crossed his palms across his chest. His posture relaxed, but his gaze retained a predatory quality that was uncharacteristic of an Omega. Elijah leaned back in his chair and studied him as if he were a problem he couldn't solve.

"Sanctuary," Elijah began, his voice steady yet firm. "That's a heavy request for someone who walks in uninvited."

"And yet, here I am," Liam retorted, tilting his head slightly. "You didn't turn me away."

Elijah's wolf reacted, bristling at the arrogance. Few people spoke to him in this manner, and none without consequences. However, this man—this stranger—appeared unconcerned by the Alpha's power.

"That's because I haven't decided what to do with you yet," Elijah explained gently. "Start talking." "Why are you right here?"

Liam hesitated, his strong demeanor slipping for the briefest of minutes. Elijah made it—a crack in the armor. He leaned forward, his concentrated stare locked on the Omega. "You asked for my safety. Now, prove you deserve it."

The load of the instruction pressed down on the room. Liam's fingers tightened on the chair's arms, and his jaw clenched. "I'm not right here to cause trouble," he said later, his tone lower but no less determined. "I want a house where my sister and I can feel protected. Your p.c. is renowned for energy. That's why I came here.

"And who are you jogging from?" Elijah inquired, although fully suspecting the answer.

Liam pulled his lips into a thin line, his look reserved. "Our Alpha. "The only one we left at the back."

The venom in his voice was impossible to ignore, and it provoked an unexpected response in Elijah—a flash of competence. He had previously heard tales of Alphas abusing their energy, forcing bonds, and utilizing their electricity to dominate rather than defend. It became one of the reasons he controlled his  packs with such a firm hand; weakness breeds disorder.

However, there has been something else that Liam has not announced. Elijah should feel it.

"Why could your Alpha chase you across territories?" Elijah pressed. "What makes you worth that effort?"

Liam stiffened and his gaze narrowed. "You don't want to realize that."

incorrect response. Elijah's wolf growled in his chest, a low, threatening sound that caused the guards to panic. "In my territory," whispered Elijah, "you don't get to determine what I need to realize."

The room went silent, the worry thick enough to choke on. For a second, it appeared that Liam would snap back, but instead, he dropped his gaze, his shoulders dropping slightly. The combat had not left him, but something else—weariness, perhaps—had emerged.

"My sister and that i..." Liam began, his voice calmer now. "We are exceptional." Our Alpha wanted to put pressure on a bond because of who we are. "When we refused, he did not take it well."

Elijah scowled, his wolf still pacing restlessly. "specific how?"

Liam looked up, and for the first time, there was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. "You'll parent it out soon enough," he remarked gently. "But if you send us away, it will not count as a number. He will find us, and this time he will not leave us alive."

The admission hung in the air, laden with unspoken realities. Elijah's wolf remained motionless, its instincts conflicting. There was no anxiety in Liam's voice, only a sad awareness of the threat he faced. It became the type of treatment that resulted from love, from living too much for too long.

Elijah stood up unexpectedly, causing the guards to back away. He strolled to the window and looked out into the darkness. The moon had risen, and its gentle light illuminated the treetops. He could feel its draw, the primal electricity that typically accompanied its upward thrust. His wolf growled gently, recognizing the gravity of the decision ahead.

"I'll provide you with sanctuary," Elijah eventually answered, his voice low but forceful. "But better in strict settings. You'll stay under protection. You will not leave the p.c.'s borders without my approval. And if I even suspect you of being a hazard, you'll be sorry you entered my domain."

Liam stood as well, meeting Elijah's stare squarely. "truthful enough."

Elijah's lips moved very imperceptibly. The Omega had spirit, and he would give him a lot of it. "You'll answer my questions after I ask them," Elijah stated. "No greater evasions."

Liam hesitated and then nodded. "Deal."

"Appropriate," Elijah remarked, turning to the guards. "Take him to the guest quarters." Set up sentries outside his door. I will determine what to do with him in the morning."

Elijah observed Liam closely as the guards moved to lead him out. The Omega did not look back, but there was something about the set of his shoulders and the way he carried himself that disturbed the Alpha. Liam was hiding something, and Elijah would discover it.

The door closed behind them, leaving Elijah alone in the chamber. He breathed softly and ran a hand over his dark hair. His wolf growled again, distressed and frightened. Something about Liam did not sit right with him. It wasn't only the defiance or the odd aroma that clung to him like a rain-soaked woodland area. It became something deeper, more primordial.

His thoughts had been disturbed with a gentle knock. "Input," he called out, already knowing who it could be.

Sage entered the room, her amber eyes full with difficulty. "You made the appropriate choice," she said calmly.

Elijah shakes his head. "I made the best decision that did not involve violence this evening. That doesn't mean it changed to the correct one."

Sage approached him slowly and deliberately. "The boy has secrets, for sure. But he also contains anguish. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Elijah did not have a solution. He did not need to. Sage had always been able to study him properly.

"Be cautious, Alpha," she advised softly. "The cyclone he's fleeing may join him here. And storms have a way of revealing things we'd rather keep hidden."

Elijah's jaws constricted. He despised cryptic cautions almost as much as he despised unexpected surprises. Sage, however, had never been inaccurate before.

Meanwhile, Liam sat on the edge of the narrow cot in the guest quarters, gazing out the little window into the starry woodland. He should feel the guards outside, their footsteps echoing softly across the passageway. The room became sparse, frigid, and unwelcoming, yet that didn't disturb him. He had slept in worse places.

He looked at his arms, flexing them absently. The faint tattoos on his skin—ancient symbols he barely understood—appeared to flicker in the feeble light. He clenched his fists, and his jaw tightened.

They had traveled quite some distance. However, safety was a frail concept, and the Alpha's mistrust became a sword poised over his neck.

The sound of footsteps outside caught his attention. Liam froze, his senses heightening. The steps were too light and purposeful to be those of the guards. His heart started racing as the doorknob turned slowly.

The door creaked open, and a parent stepped inside, enveloped in gloom. Liam's breath caught as the stranger walked into the moonlight.

"I instructed you," the parent stated in a low, familiar tone. "you can't run all the time."