Morning came with low clouds and a whisper of rain that brushed the palace gardens. The air smelled faintly of wet stone and jasmine.
Ren was walking along the outer courtyard, a thin cloak wrapped loosely around him. He preferred the early hours, fewer eyes, fewer masks, or so he thought.
Theo's voice broke the quiet.
"Enjoying the King's gardens, Lord Ren?" He said with sarcasm.
Ren didn't turn immediately. "Enjoying would be too strong a word, Lord Theo. Observing, perhaps."
Theo stepped closer, his boots crunching against the gravel. "You observe too much."
Ren finally looked at him, calm, polite, unruffled. "Is that, perhaps, a compliment?"
Theo's jaw tightened. "You play games that could destroy you. His Majesty might find you interesting now, but when he is tired of your tricks..."
Ren's smile was small, sharp. "Then I will bow and leave gracefully. Isn't that what an omega is expected to do?"
Theo's eyes flickered, this day it seem people like cutting him off speech. Something like guilt flashed on his face, then vanished beneath steel. "Don't twist my words."
"I don't twist them," Ren said softly. "I only mirror what's already there."
For a long moment, they stood in silence, two predators wrapped in civility.
Finally, Theo said, "I've served His Majesty for ten years. I've watched men rise and fall trying to play clever. The clever ones fall hardest."
Ren tilted his head, voice barely a whisper. "Then perhaps I should learn how not to fall."
Theo took a step forward, his tone low and dangerous. "You can start by staying away from the King's trust. You're not one of us."
Ren's lips curved faintly. "Then perhaps that's why he sees me."
Theo's eyes flared with anger, confusion, something darker. He turned sharply and left without another word, his cloak cutting through the mist.
From behind the marble pillar, New had seen everything.
He'd come to meet Theo for breakfast, as he often did, though "meeting" meant sitting silently while Theo spoke of duty, orders, and the King.
But this time, Theo hadn't noticed him at all, he had only noticed Ren. New stood frozen, hands trembling slightly.
He'd always admired Theo's loyalty, his discipline, but lately, it felt as if Theo's devotion belonged entirely to Kael. And now, maybe even his hatred was being stolen by this pale, soft-spoken omega who always smiled like he knew more than he said.
When Ren turned, he noticed New watching. Their eyes met for a heartbeat, New looked ready to flee.
Ren simply said, gentle and quiet, "You shouldn't hide."
New blinked. "I...I wasn't..."
Ren smiled kindly. "If you're going to eavesdrop, at least do it with confidence. You might learn something useful."
New flushed bright red. "I wasn't eavesdropping!" he said trying to sound firm but failed.
Ren tilted his head. "Then you heard nothing worth denying."
That startled a laugh out of New before he could stop himself. It was small, nervous, but genuine.
Ren's smile softened. "I know you're Theo's fiancée."
New looked down. "He told you?"
"No. We are not close for him to," Ren said honestly, but his tone was not cruel, it was sympathetic. "I know he doesn't value you and that's his flaw, not yours."
New swallowed, eyes stinging. "He's... busy."
Ren hummed. "Busy can be another word for afraid. Some Alphas don't know how to love without control."
New blinked. "And you do?"
Ren's smile turned faintly wistful. "I'm still learning how not to control at all."
He glanced at the gray sky. "Come. The rain's about to start. You'll catch a cold."
As they walked back toward the palace corridor, New looked at Ren's profile, calm, composed, impossibly sure of himself, and for the first time, he felt the need to cope someone. He too wants that confident air Ren had.
By afternoon, the council chamber was roaring with discontent.
"The King grants audience to an omega advisor?"
"This is mockery!"
"Next, he'll ask our wives to manage the treasury!"
Kael sat unmoved, his gaze cold as stone.
Ren stood beside him, face neutral, hands clasped lightly.
A noble slammed his fist against the table. "Your Majesty, this... boy is poisoning the court! He dares question centuries of hierarchy!"
Kael leaned forward. "If he is, then perhaps centuries need questioning."
The hall went silent.
Ren bowed slightly. "Your Majesty," he said softly, "if I may..."
Kael nodded once.
Ren's voice remained calm. "If tradition breeds weakness, should we still call it strength? A crown that fears change will soon fear its own shadow."
Whispers broke out like sparks.
One noble shouted, "You speak above your station!"
Ren looked at him serenely. "Then perhaps you should raise yours."
The insult was too elegant to refute.
Kael's lips curved almost imperceptibly. "Enough," he said, his tone final. "Lord Ren will continue assisting the court until I say otherwise."
The nobles fell silent, faces red with fury, but no one dared defy him further.
As the council dismissed, Kael turned to Ren quietly. "You provoke them on purpose."
Ren met his gaze evenly. "I only give them truth in a language they refuse to understand."
Kael's eyes softened for a moment. "And what language do you understand, Ren?"
Ren smiled faintly. "Power. But not the kind that commands, the kind that survives."
Kael didn't answer, but his gaze lingered longer than it should have.
**************************
Later that evening, Theo found Kael alone in the training courtyard.
"You let him speak before the council," Theo said tightly.
Kael didn't pause in his sword form. "He earned the right."
"He taunted them, Your Majesty."
Kael lowered his blade. "He reminded them that fear is not loyalty. If the nobles can't handle an omega's words, they don't deserve their titles."
Theo's voice dropped. "You're trusting him too easily."
Kael turned slowly, gaze sharp as steel. "You're doubting him too easily."
They stood locked in silent defiance before Kael finally spoke again.
"You fear he'll break me," Kael said. "But perhaps you fear something else, that he'll change me."
Theo's throat worked, but no words came.
Kael turned away, his tone quiet but final. "Do not mistake my curiosity for weakness, Theo."
Theo bowed stiffly. "Yes, Your Majesty." He turned and left, but as he left, his chest felt tight, his loyalty cracking in places he couldn't name.