Three Alpha Princes for an Unwanted Omega

AYLA

Ares had driven the horse at full sprint the entire way back, only slowing down when we rode back into the gates.

The horse skidded to a stop in the stable yard.

Ares dropped from the saddle before the dust had settled and his hands found my waist, pulling me down with a roughness that made me stumble. I caught myself against his chest, looking up at him.

"Ares..."

"Go to your room." His voice was clipped, his eyes scanning the yard, the windows and the treeline. "I need to speak with my father."

"Ares, wait..."

But he was already walking away, the borrowed coat still hanging from his shoulders.

I stood there in the stable yard, watching him disappear into the palace, my chest aching for him before I turned and walked toward the princes quarters, to my room.

I reached my door and pushed it open.

The room was dark and my curtains had been drawn, blocking out the sun. I frowned, stepping inside, my hand reaching for the lamp on the table beside the door.

"You are back."

I jumped, my hand flying to my chest.

The voice came from the corner of the room. I squinted into the darkness and saw a figure slumped in the chair by the window.

"Cassian?" I stepped closer, my heart hammering. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

He did not answer.

I crossed the room and knelt beside the chair, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. His hair was disheveled, falling across his forehead. His shirt was half-untucked and the collar loose and wrinkled.

"Cassian." I reached for the glass. "Are you drunk?"

He let me take the glass in his hand from him without resistance.

"Ayla."

"It is me." I set the glass on the table and reached for his face, turning it toward the light. "What happened? How did you get in here?"

"The door was unlocked." His words were slurred, sliding into one another. "Your lady was not there so I waited."

"Where is Astrid?" I muttered, more to myself than to him.

"She left. I told her to leave. I said I would wait for you myself."

I stared at him. "You sent my lady in waiting away so you could sit in my room in the dark?"

He did not answer. His hand lifted, trembling slightly, and his fingers brushed against my cheek. The touch was hesitant, like he was afraid I might disappear.

"You look like her," he murmured.

I went still.

"Like who, Cassian?"

"Freya." The name fell from his lips. "You have her eyes. The same way they crinkle at the corners when you smile."

Freya?

"Cassian, I am not Freya." I kept my voice gentle. "I am Ayla."

"I know." His thumb traced the line of my cheekbone. "I know who you are"

His hand fell from my face and he stared at the floor, his shoulders slumped.

"Who was she? Freya?"

"I loved her" He muttered. "But she killed herself."

My heart dropped to my stomach at his revelation.

"She what? Why?"

"Because Ares left her. She could not bear it and she did not want me." He finally looked at me. "She chose him over me," he continued. "She always chose him. And I watched her die loving a man who did not choose her back."

"Cassian, I am sorry."

"Why do you always choose him?"

The question caught me off guard.

"What?"

"He left you, remember? Why do you still choose him over me?"

I swallowed hard. "Cassian, I am not choosing him over you. We were just..."

"Do you love him?" He cut me off.

The question hung in the air between us.

I opened my mouth, but the words would not come. Did I love Ares? I did not know. I cared for him, deeply. I felt things when I was with him that I could not explain. But love?

"I do not know," I whispered.

Cassian let out a breath, his eyes closing.

"I think you know, Ayla. You just do not want to admit it to yourself." he murmured.

He tried to reach for the glass of wine again but I moved it further out of his reach and took his hand, pulling him gently to his feet.

"Come on. You cannot stay here like this. You are going to lie down." I guided him toward my bed, my arm around his waist. "And in the morning, we can talk but right now, you need to sleep."

He did not argue. He let me lead him to the bed and lower him onto the edge.

I knelt in front of him and unlaced his boots, pulling them off one by one. Then I reached for his shirt, tugging at the hem until he lifted his arms and let me pull it over his head.

"Lie down," I said softly.

He obeyed.

I pulled the blanket up to his chest and sat on the edge of the bed beside him, my hand resting on his shoulder.

"I am sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For being weak, soft...not what you want"

I smoothed the hair back from his forehead.

"You are not weak, Cassian and you are not soft. Whoever told you that?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me. In the dim light, they were the color of the sky just before dawn.

"Stay with me," he said. "Just for a little while."

I nodded. "I am not going anywhere."

He closed his eyes again.

"I am sorry about Freya, Cassian." I whispered. "Whatever happened with her was not your fault."

Cassian’s eyes fluttered open, pinning on my face.

"I know." he said. "Ares is the reason she is dead and if you keep following him around... hanging unto his every word and letting him seduce you... you will end up dead, just like her."

I blinked at him, at the animosity and anger in his tone at his brother.

"I am not going to let that happen, Ayla." He closed his eyes again, muttering under his breath. "I will not let Ares take you away from me just like he did with her."