The Clumsy Omega Gave a Bath to a Giant Black Wolf- Then the Alpha King Refused to Leave Her Cottage
Chapter 8
Morning arrived quietly after the storm. Golden sunlight filtered through the cottage windows, painting warm patterns across the floorboards. For a few peaceful seconds, Elara forgot everything that had happened during the night. Then she opened her eyes, sat upright, and stared across the room at the man sleeping beside her fireplace.
The memory returned all at once. Silver eyes. Rain. Thunder. Shadow. Cassian.
She pressed both hands against her face. “You bathed him,” she whispered to herself.
Across the room, Lucien — Cassian — opened one eye.
“Good morning,” he said.
Elara nearly jumped out of her chair. “You’re awake.”
“I noticed.”
For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. Then Elara pointed directly at him. “I gave you a bath.”
Cassian closed his eyes.
“A full bath.”
“Yes.”
“With lavender soap.”
“Yes.”
Elara buried her face in her hands. “This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
To her surprise, Cassian laughed. The sound was warm and genuine. “I assure you,” he said, “it was significantly more embarrassing for me.”
Elara lowered her hands. “You remember that?”
“Every second.” His silver eyes glinted. “Even when you called me Shadow. Especially when you called me Shadow.”
Elara groaned dramatically while Cassian continued smiling. Somehow, seeing him laugh made everything feel easier. The tension that had lingered since the reveal began slowly fading.
Later that morning, Elara insisted Cassian stay inside while she prepared breakfast. “You spent all night turning into a person,” she said. “That sounds exhausting.”
Cassian watched her move around the kitchen. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“That is exactly what someone recovering from spontaneous wolf-to-human complications would say.”
Cassian had no response to that.
While breakfast cooked, Elara kept stealing glances at him. Every few seconds, she noticed something familiar. The silver eyes. The way he tilted his head when confused. The quiet patience. The habit of watching her when he thought she wasn’t looking.
“You still do that,” she said suddenly.
“Do what?”
“Watch me.”
Cassian froze.
Elara pointed a spoon at him. “Shadow always watched me like that.”
A faint smile appeared. “Perhaps Shadow was worried you would fall into a lake again.”
Elara gasped. “You remembered that story?”
“I remember all your stories.”
The admission settled warmly between them. For a moment, neither looked away. Then Penny chose that exact moment to peck loudly against the front door. Elara immediately stood. “Penny.”
Cassian narrowed his eyes.
Elara laughed. “Not this again.”
A few minutes later, they stepped outside together. The storm had passed completely. Mirror Lake sparkled beneath the morning sun. Fresh droplets clung to pine branches, and the air smelled clean and bright. Elara carried a basket of feed while Penny followed behind her. Cassian walked beside her.
It should have felt strange. Instead, it felt surprisingly natural.
As they crossed the yard, Elara glanced sideways at him. “You’re taller than I expected.”
“You expected… less tall?”
“That is very specific,” Cassian said.
“I spent weeks talking to a wolf. I never had to estimate your height before.”
Cassian laughed again, and Elara smiled. She liked that sound more than she should have.
By afternoon, they were repairing a section of fence near the chicken coop. Penny supervised the entire operation from a position she considered important. Elara hammered a loose board into place while Cassian held it steady. “You know,” she said, “when you were a wolf, you were much less sarcastic.”
“When I was a wolf, I physically could not answer you.”
“That explains a lot.”
Cassian laughed softly. The sound still made her heart skip in a way she did not entirely understand.
And then a distant sound drifted across the forest.
Hoofbeats.
Both of them froze. Cassian’s expression changed instantly. The easy warmth vanished, replaced by something guarded. For the first time since becoming human, Elara saw it — the careful mask of a man who had spent his life being watched.
Moments later, three riders emerged from the trees beyond the cottage. Their horses carried dark banners embroidered with a silver crest. Elara had never seen the symbol before. Cassian recognized it immediately. His shoulders stiffened.
The riders dismounted the moment they reached the yard. To Elara’s astonishment, all three immediately bowed their heads.
“Your Majesty,” the oldest said.
The world seemed to stop.
Elara blinked once, then twice. “Your what?”
The rider looked confused. Cassian closed his eyes. “I was hoping to explain this myself.”
Elara slowly turned toward him. “Your Majesty,” she repeated. Penny chose that exact moment to peck at one of the riders’ boots. Nobody acknowledged it.
“Cassian,” Elara asked. “What are they talking about?”
Silence stretched between them. Finally, Cassian exhaled.
“My full name is Cassian Vale,” he said quietly. “I am the Alpha King.”
The hammer slipped from her hand and landed in the grass. For several seconds, she simply stared at him. The words refused to make sense. Alpha King. The ruler of every pack. The most powerful leader in the kingdom. The man people told stories about during winter nights. The man standing beside her fence, holding a wooden plank, was that man.
“You’re a king?” she finally asked.
“Yes.”
Elara pointed at him. “You stole apples.”
One of the riders looked alarmed. Cassian looked embarrassed. “Yes.”
“You wore my crooked scarf.”
“Yes.”
“You got jealous of a chicken.”
The riders exchanged startled glances. Cassian stared at the sky. “You are telling me the Alpha King got jealous of Penny.”
Penny clucked proudly.
Despite the situation, Elara started laughing. Not because it was funny — although it was — but because she could not imagine any version of reality where Cassian stopped being Cassian simply because he happened to be a king.
Eventually, the laughter faded. The realization remained.
“Why did you stay?” she asked quietly.
The question carried far more weight than everything that came before it. Cassian looked toward Mirror Lake. Sunlight shimmered across the water beyond the trees.
“Because I was tired,” he admitted. “Tired of responsibility. Tired of being needed by everyone.” His gaze softened as it returned to her. “And because this was the first place where nobody wanted anything from me.”
The riders remained respectfully silent.
“Out there,” Cassian continued, “people see a title before they see a person.” His silver eyes met hers. “You never did.”
Something tightened in Elara’s chest. She thought about the first day. The bath. The scarf. The walks beside the lake. The evenings beside the fire. She had never cared who he was. She had only cared that he looked lonely.
“You should have told me,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“I still would have given you a bath.”
A surprised laugh escaped him. “I know that, too.”
The familiar warmth returned between them — not despite the truth, but because of it. For the first time, there were no secrets left standing between them.
As evening approached, the riders prepared to leave, promising to return in several days. Duties waited for their king. The kingdom still existed beyond the forest. Yet after they disappeared into the trees, neither Elara nor Cassian spoke for a while. Together, they walked down to Mirror Lake. The water reflected the golden colors of sunset. A gentle breeze carried the scent of pine and spring.
“Does everything feel different now?” Elara asked.
Cassian looked at her carefully. “Does it?”
She thought about it. Then she smiled. “Not really.”
Relief flickered across his face. Elara stepped closer and took his hand. “You are still the man who listened to all my stories.” Her fingers tightened around his. “You are still the man who wore that ridiculous scarf.”
Cassian groaned quietly.
“And you are still the man who got jealous of a chicken.”
“Please stop telling that story.”
Elara laughed. The sound echoed softly across the lake. Standing there beside the water, hand in hand beneath the fading sunlight, they both understood the same thing. The truth had changed many things.
But it had not changed the one thing that mattered most.
He was still Cassian. And she was still the reason he never wanted to leave.