A Dying Boy Knocked on a Lonely Omega’s Door—Then Royal Guards Arrived and Called Him Their Missing Prince

Chapter 7

A commotion in the hallway interrupted their conversation. The sound of running feet and urgent voices. Commander Blackthorn appeared in the doorway, her face grim.

“Your Majesty, we have a situation. Prince Kai is missing from his chambers.”

King Magnus was on his feet instantly. “When? How?”

“His guards report everything was normal when they checked on him an hour ago. When they went to wake him for breakfast, the room was empty. The window was open, but there are no signs of struggle.”

Perdita felt cold dread settling in her stomach. “He didn’t run away. He would never leave without telling me.”

“Then where—”

But Perdita was already moving. She ran through the corridors, her bare feet silent on the marble floors, following an instinct she could not explain. A pull she felt in her chest, toward something precious that was in danger.

Behind her, she could hear King Magnus and the guards following, but she did not stop to explain. The pull led her outside, past the formal gardens, and toward a wooded area at the edge of the palace grounds.

There, in a clearing surrounded by ancient oaks, she found Prince Kai. He was standing perfectly still, his small frame dwarfed by the enormous trees. But he was not alone.

Three figures in dark clothing surrounded him. Two men and a woman, all wearing masks that covered the upper halves of their faces. Rebels.

“There she is,” one of the men said as Perdita burst into the clearing. “The omega who thinks she can play royal guardian.”

“Let him go,” Perdita said, her voice steadier than she felt. “He’s just a child.”

“He’s an abomination,” the woman spat. “A symbol of everything that’s wrong with our people. The crown should go to someone strong, someone worthy. Not some traumatized child who clings to omega nursemaids.”

Prince Kai’s golden eyes found Perdita across the clearing. She saw fear there, but also something else. Trust. He believed she would save him. Just as she had that first night.

But she had no idea how.

“You made a mistake coming here alone,” the second man said, pulling a wicked-looking knife from his belt. “Now we can eliminate both problems at once.”

That was when Perdita felt it.

A surge of something primal and protective rose from the deepest part of her soul. Her wolf — which had always been gentle, submissive, content to hide in the shadows — suddenly blazed with fierce, maternal fury.

No one would hurt her child. Not while she lived.

The change that came over her was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Power flowed through her veins like molten gold. Her senses sharpened to supernatural clarity. Her body moved with speed and grace she had never possessed.

She did not shift. That would have taken too long. Instead, she moved as a human enhanced by wolf strength, crossing the clearing in seconds and placing herself between Prince Kai and the rebels.

“You will not touch him,” she said, and her voice was not her own. It was deeper, older, carrying the weight of a power that had been sleeping in her bloodline for generations.

The rebels hesitated. She could see uncertainty flickering in their eyes. They had expected a frightened omega. They had not expected this.

The woman recovered first. “What are you waiting for? Kill them both!”

The man with the knife lunged forward. But before he could reach her, Perdita’s hand shot out and caught his wrist. She squeezed once, and the knife clattered to the ground. He screamed as she threw him backward into a tree, where he crumpled and did not move.

The other two stared at her in shock.

“Run,” Perdita said. “Tell your leaders that the omega they dismissed as nothing has awakened. And if they ever come near this child again, I will show them what a mother’s fury truly means.”

They ran.

Perdita stood in the clearing, her body trembling with the aftermath of power she had not known she possessed. Prince Kai’s small hand slipped into hers, and she looked down to find him staring up at her with wonder in his golden eyes.

“You were amazing,” he whispered.

“I was terrified,” she admitted.

“So was I. But you came anyway.”

She knelt down and pulled him into her arms. “I will always come. Do you understand me? No matter what happens, no matter where you are, I will always come for you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

King Magnus and the guards arrived moments later, their faces a mixture of relief and shock as they took in the scene. The king looked at the unconscious rebel, then at Perdita, and something in his expression shifted. Respect. Gratitude. And something deeper, something that looked almost like hope.

“Perhaps,” he said quietly, “an omega’s gentle heart is exactly the weapon this kingdom needs most.”