The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Sage

Sleep evades me as dawn creeps over the horizon. The nightmare still lingers – Cassius’s cruel smile, the searing pain, the pack’s jeering faces. But something else tugs at my mind too: the feeling of safety in Alaric’s arms, the warmth of his touch as he calmed my fears. It’s dangerous to think about that too deeply.

Instead of tossing in my too–soft bed, I slip out of my room in the pack house. The halls are quiet this early, and no one stops me as I make my way outside. The morning air carries the crisp bite of approaching winter, and I wrap my arms around myself, following whatever instinct draws me toward the eastern edge of the grounds.

I find myself in what must be the pack’s medicinal garden. Neat rows of herbs stretch before me, their scents mixing in the morning air. Something about this place feels… right. Like coming home, though I’ve never had a real home to compare it to.

A small whimper draws my attention. Near the garden’s edge, a young mother kneels beside her pup – a little boy no more than five, with tears streaming down his face as she examines his scraped knee.

Before I can stop myself, I’m moving toward them. “Yarrow,” I blurt out, then immediately want to disappear when they both look up at me. “I mean… sorry, I shouldn’t interfere, but yarrow and calendula together would help with that. And prevent scarring.”

Instead of the rejection I expect, the mother’s face brightens. “Of course! I always forget about yarrow.” She glances at the neat rows. “Would you mind…?”

My hands seem to move of their own accord, selecting the right leaves and flowers. As I hand them to her, the little boy’s tears slow, and he looks at me with curious eyes.

“Your eyes are pretty,” he declares. “Like the moon flowers that bloom at the full moon.”

His mother shushes him, but smiles warmly at me. “Thank you. I’m Ylina, and this is Ben. You must be Sage? The one Alpha brought back?”

I nod, tensing for the judgment that usually follows, but Ylina just starts grinding the herbs between two stones she pulls from her pocket.

“Sorry, news of a new wolf travels fast in this pack. Anyway, I don’t know why I didn’t think of yarrow,” she muses. “My grandmother always used to say it was the moon’s favorite healing herb. Did your grandmother teach you too?”

“No, um, “I feel the familiar hollowness on my chest that always comes when I think about a family I never knew, “I just tend to get hurt a lot. I taught myself how to use the plants growing in the forest near my cottage to help heal my wounds.”

Thankfully she doesn’t comment, just keeps humming as she grinds the plant into a paste.

Later that morning, Iris finds me still lingering in the garden. Her bright smile eases some of my anxiety about being caught out of my room.

“There you are! Ready for your crash course in pack life?” She links her arm through mine, giving me no choice but to follow her toward a massive stone building.

“First stop: library. You need to know our history if you’re going to be part of our future.” The words send an unexpected pang through my chest. Future. Do I dare hope for one here?

Chapter 21

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