The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Sage

The healing wing feels too quiet now, three days after the battle. Most of the wounded have recovered, their injuries healed by whatever power exploded from me that night. But the mate bond pulses with an emptiness that grows more concerning each time I reach for it.

“You should rest more,” the head healer protests when I gather my things to leave. “That kind of power drain-

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“I’ve rested enough.” I need to find Alaric, need to reach him through whatever darkness has claimed him since his father’s death.

But the Alaric I find in his study isn’t the mate who held me so desperately before the battle. He stands at his window, power wrapped around him like armor, staring at something I can’t see.

“I brought you something to eat.” I set the tray on his desk, careful not to disturb the maps and papers scattered across it. He hasn’t touched food in days, as far as anyone can tell.

He doesn’t respond, doesn’t even turn. Through our bond, I catch flashes of his turmoil – guilt and grief and something darker, something that feels like self–loathing. But he suppresses it quickly, building walls so thick I can barely feel him anymore.

“Alaric-“I start.

“Thank you, Lady Sage.” His voice could freeze flame. “That will be all.”

Lady Sage. Not sweetling. Not even Sage. The formality cuts deeper than any blade.

I find him like this again and again over the next days – lost in reports or staring at nothing, always maintaining that terrible distance. When I try to help with funeral arrangements, he delegates everything to his advisors. When I reach for him physically, he moves away with perfect, cold courtesy.

“He won’t even look at me,” Helena confides when I find her in the garden. Her usual grace seems brittle now, grief etching new lines around her eyes. “My own son…”

“He’s grieving,” I try to sound more certain than I feel. “He just needs time.”

But time only seems to make it worse. The pack feels it – their Alpha’s instability bleeding into his power. Young wolves bare their throats when he passes, sensing danger in his tightly controlled rage. Council meetings end abruptly when his power floods the room, making lesser wolves struggle to breathe. Even Garrett treads carefully, watching his King and friend withdraw further each day.

Warriors hesitate to bring routine reports, leaving them with Garrett instead. The servants whisper about plates of food returned untouched, about hearing him pace his study through the night. His power leaks into the very stones of the packhouse, making the air feel heavy and cold.

“He’s not sleeping,” Garrett confides when I corner him. “Spends all night studying border reports, battle strategies. Like he’s preparing for something, but won’t tell anyone what.”

Through our bond, I feel the exhaustion he won’t acknowledge, the way he pushes himself harder each day.

Chapter 104

+25 BONUS

Sometimes I wake in the night to waves of his grief so strong they steal my breath. But the moment he senses my awareness, the walls slam back into place, leaving nothing but that terrible emptiness.

“I’m worried about him,” Iris admits, finding me in the herb garden. “I’ve never seen him like this. Even when Father was at his worst, training him…” She stops, something dark crossing her face.

“Training him?”

“Nothing.” She looks away. “Just… he’s hurting. And he doesn’t know how to handle it except to push everyone away.”

That night, I feel him through our bond – prowling his quarters like a caged animal, grief and guilt warring inside him. Before I can stop myself, I’m at his door.

“Alaric.” I push inside without knocking. “Please. Talk to me.‘

“There’s nothing to discuss.” He doesn’t look up from the papers on his desk, though I see his hands clench.” Unless you have pack business to report?”

“Pack business?” Something in me snaps. “I’m your mate. You can’t just—”

“I am your King.” Now he does look up, his eyes cold as winter steel. “And you are dismissed, Lady Sage.‘

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The waves of pain and guilt flooding our bond give lie to his icy tone, but he slams his walls up before I can reach for that connection.

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