Chapter 3 A STRANGE SCENT

Lyra pressed the accelerator hard, and the road became insufficient for the speed at which they were fleeing. She looked again in the rearview mirror: the vehicles were still behind them.

One of the king's soldiers pulled out a weapon and began to shoot at them.

"They're going to kill us," Lyra said, pressing even harder on the gas.

Kael, clinging to the door handle, shrugged.

"Don't resist, Omega. It's the best thing that could happen to us. If you keep defying them, our final destiny will be even crueler."

"Damn it... there's only one option left," Lyra thought, spotting the intersection opening up in front of them. One road led to the world of wolves; the other, to the unknown: the human world. They had no choice. She knew that if they took that route, the soldiers wouldn't follow them; they feared what resided on the other side.

Without a second thought, she made a decision.

"Lyra, which road did you take?" Kael asked, frowning at the scent emanating from the asphalt.

"The human world, my Alpha. We have no other way out."

"What?" Kael leaned his head against the backrest and cursed silently. Deep down, he knew that for an Alpha marked by disability and an Omega like her, the unknown was the only alternative.

Lyra wasn't sure where they were headed. She had only heard legends about the brave ones who risked everything and lived to tell their stories in that other world.

When they arrived in the city, their eyes got lost among the imposing buildings, the blinding lights, and the incessant bustle of cars filling the streets. It was perfect. An ideal place to go unnoticed.

She took out her phone and searched for a nearby place for rent. Determined, she drove to an old house in the city suburbs, one of the few places that fit her tight budget. Small apartments were rented there, something strange for two beings accustomed to endless forests and open spaces, but for now, it was the only possibility.

"It's five hundred a month," a harsh-looking woman announced as she handed them a bunch of keys and watched them suspiciously. "I don't want any scandals in this place."

Lyra accepted the keys with a forced smile and took Kael's hand.

"You won't have any, I assure you."

Kael kept sniffing the air. Everything was repulsive to him: the smell of dampness, of confinement, and that indescribable mix of human scents filtering from the other apartments. With a gesture of distaste, he let go of Lyra's hand.

"Leave me."

She opened the door to the small apartment. She had spent a large part of half her savings on that first month's rent and on the bare essentials to survive, but she didn't care. There, at least, they would be safe.

"What is this putrid place, Lyra?" Kael protested, leaning heavily on her shoulder. He kept cursing under his breath.

"It's what we could get with what we had," she replied, trying to sound serene. "But I promise you we'll be safe here, at least for a while... until you recover. This will be our refuge."

Lyra looked around with hope, while Kael collapsed into an old, worn armchair.

"You call this a refuge?" he spat with contempt. "I'd rather be chained in my brother's damn dungeon than live in this dump. I'd rather be dead!"

Lyra offered a faint smile. Kael's harshness couldn't affect her.

"Well, you'll have to get used to it, Kael, because I'm not going to let you die."

As she spoke, she began to arrange some things in a makeshift closet in the corner of the room. Kael, from the back, scoffed with twisted annoyance.

"Damn my luck," he muttered.

"I don't care what you say, Alpha. I've spent all my money to bring you here, to heal you, to feed you. Now you belong to me. You owe me."

"I owe you nothing, Lyra. I didn't ask you for anything. You're just like the others," Kael snapped, with deep rage in his voice.

A tense silence fell. Kael found no more words to defend himself. Deep down, he knew she was right. Lyra was the only one who had done anything for him lately, though his pride prevented him from admitting it.

"I'm warning you, simple Omega... I could break your neck at any moment," Kael growled through clenched teeth, suddenly sitting upright, consumed by anger.

Lyra interrupted what she was doing and approached him. Instead of backing away or trembling, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. She sighed softly.

"We must survive, my dear Alpha. Even if it's hard for you to accept, we only have each other."

Kael roughly pushed her arms away and stepped back two paces.

"Don't touch me. You disgust me, Omega. I've told you many times: I'd rather be dead than live in this filthy place. I don't know why I allowed you to bring me here."

Lyra didn't respond. Instead, she smiled slightly and walked towards the bathroom, ignoring Kael's shouts and the contemptuous look he gave her.

"I'm going to take a shower before sleeping," she announced calmly, closing the door behind her.

In front of the mirror, she slowly let down her hair. Then, something strange began to happen to her. Her legs suddenly faltered and a sharp crack ran up her neck. Dizziness forced her to hold onto the sink. Heat rose through her skin like a sudden fever.

She scooped up a handful of water and threw it on her face.

"Damn... it must be tiredness," she repeated to herself, but something in her body told her it wasn't just that. The cold water wasn't enough to quell what was running through her, and the sensation that invaded her seemed to go far beyond travel exhaustion.

The heat began to rise from the center of her body, piercing her pelvis with unbearable burning. Her forehead beaded with sweat, and suddenly, the air seemed to thin.

"No... not now..."

Her hands, moved by an impulse she couldn't control, began to explore her pants, searching everything in that area where the fire was most intense. Her cheeks burned, and her breasts hardened like oak, causing her pain.

"No, not now! No!" she screamed internally, desperate.

She held onto the sink, panting. When she looked up, her pupils were dilated, shining with a coppery red. She knew immediately: Kael's proximity had hastened her heat. And with it, came an absolute urgency. If she didn't resolve it, she could die.

"Damn... I can control it."

She abruptly opened the faucet; the cold water shrieked as it came out and crashed against her skin, but it barely managed to appease the fire consuming her. She tried to breathe, to focus, but desire suffocated her.

Then, the door burst open.

Kael appeared with narrowed eyes, his face tense, breathing heavily as well-"What... what the hell is that smell?" he snapped, desperate.

The scent Lyra emitted enveloped him like a blaze. It was wild, sweet, like bonfire smoke mixed with wild honey. A perfume so ancient that it awakened the deepest part of his being. His wolf, dormant until that moment, roared within him.

Lyra turned, and facing each other, they knew.

The connection was undeniable. Instinctive. Painfully real.

She... she was his second fated mate.