The scent of lavender and rosemary clung to Elian's fingers as he crushed the dried herbs, carefully measuring each pinch into the small cloth pouches spread across his workbench. Outside his cottage window, the village of Meadowvale stirred to life with the rising sun, but Elian had been awake for hours.
"Another sleepless night?" he muttered to himself, tying off the last pouch with a piece of twine. His suppressant sachets were running dangerously low a risk he couldn't afford to take, not with the royal guards increasing their patrols through the outer territories.
A knock at his door made him jump, sending a jar of dried bitterroot tumbling to the floor. Cursing under his breath, Elian hastily swept the herbs under his workbench with his foot and tucked the newly made scent-blockers into his pocket.
"Coming!" he called, quickly pulling his collar higher to hide the unmarked skin of his neck a telltale sign of his true nature. He checked his reflection in a small metal plate hanging by the door. The bitter tincture he drank each morning had done its job; his naturally sweet omega scent was completely masked.
To the world, Elian Kaine was just another beta healer with unusual silver eyes. To reveal his true secondary gender would mean imprisonment at best, death at worst. Male omegas were rare, valuable... and considered dangerous.
Especially omegas from his bloodline.
The wooden door creaked as Elian pulled it open to find Mira, the baker's daughter, clutching her swollen belly.
"It's started," she whispered, face pale with pain. "The baby's coming early."
Elian nodded, grabbing his healer's bag from beside the door. "How far apart are the pains?"
"Maybe twenty minutes." Mira winced as another contraction gripped her. "My mother's preparing the house, but Father's away selling grain in the northern markets."
"You'll be fine," Elian assured her, looping her arm through his as they stepped into the dusty main road. "First babies often take their time."
As they walked through the village, Elian kept his senses alert. At twenty-three, he'd managed to hide his status for years, but lately, the royal patrols had been more frequent, often bringing with them trained Seekers alphas with an uncanny ability to detect an omega's true nature despite suppressants.
The rumors said King Darius was hunting for something or someone.
The morning passed in a blur of activity as Elian helped deliver Mira's baby boy. The joy of bringing new life into the world never diminished for him, though each birth was a bittersweet reminder of what he would likely never experience himself. Male omegas could bear children, but only if claimed and bonded a fate Elian had vowed to avoid at all costs.
By midday, with mother and child resting comfortably, Elian stepped outside to wash his hands in the basin of water Mira's mother had left. The cool water soothed his tired fingers, and he allowed himself a moment of peace, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight.
That's when he felt it the sharp, unmistakable prickle at the back of his neck that meant alphas were nearby. Many alphas.
Opening his eyes, Elian froze as he spotted the cloud of dust rising from the eastern road. Royal guards, their black and crimson uniforms visible even at a distance. His heart hammered against his ribs as he ducked back into the house.
"Soldiers coming," he warned Mira's mother, who was hanging linens near the window. "Royal guard, by the looks of it."
The older woman paled. "They've never come this far into Meadowvale before."
"How many?" Mira asked weakly from her bed, clutching her newborn closer.
"At least a dozen," Elian replied, mind racing. "Maybe more."
He needed to leave, to get back to his cottage where he kept his strongest suppressants and the escape route he'd prepared years ago. But leaving now would draw attention a healer abandoning a new mother at the first sign of trouble would raise suspicions.
"I'll go see what they want," Mira's mother said, straightening her apron. "Probably just checking for tax evasion again."
But Elian knew better. The tightness in his chest, the primal instinct to run this wasn't about taxes.
Through the window, he watched as the soldiers fanned out through the village. Their movements were too methodical, too purposeful. They were searching for something.
A tall figure on horseback caught his attention a man whose very presence seemed to command the air around him. Unlike the other soldiers, he wore no helmet, revealing sharp features and raven-black hair pulled back with a leather cord. Even from this distance, Elian could sense the overwhelming alpha pheromones radiating from him.
A Seeker.
Panic clawed at Elian's throat as the man suddenly turned, his piercing gaze seeming to look directly at the small house where Elian stood frozen. For a heartbeat, their eyes met across the distance, and Elian felt a strange jolt pass through him, like lightning striking dry earth.
The Seeker's eyes widened fractionally before his face hardened into a mask of determination. He gestured sharply to the soldiers nearest him, pointing directly at the house.
"They're coming here," Elian whispered, backing away from the window. "I need to go."
"What? Why would they...." Mira's question was cut short by the sound of heavy boots approaching the door.
Elian glanced desperately around the room, looking for another exit, but there was nowhere to run. The only door led to the main road, now blocked by advancing soldiers, and the window was too small for even his slender frame.
"Open in the name of King Darius Blackthorn!" a voice commanded as a fist pounded against the wooden door.
"I'm sorry," Elian whispered to Mira, whose eyes were wide with confusion and fear. "I'm so sorry."
As the door burst open, Elian squared his shoulders and faced the soldiers with all the dignity he could muster, knowing the fragile life he'd built was about to shatter. His silver eyes the mark of his bloodline gleamed in defiance.
The Seeker stepped through the doorway, his towering frame blocking the light. Dark eyes bore into Elian's silver ones, and a slow, predatory smile spread across the man's face.
"Found you," he said.