Three Alpha Princes for an Unwanted Omega

Soren heard the guards two corridors off. He was still holding the note in his hand.

He pressed his palm flat against the wood of his study door and listened as the unmistakable sound of marching footsteps grew closer.

”Find him. Alpha Kieran wants him immediately” A voice barked.

Soren moved immediately, slipping into the hidden door behind the bookcase of his office. He pressed himself against the dusty walls and listened as the guards slammed open his door.

”He is not here!” he heard one of the men shout.

Soren closed his eyes and swore under his breath.

Fucking Willow. He was of a mind to strangle her with his bare hands for what she had done.

He pushed the thought down for a later time. Right now, he had to be focused. He could not risk being seen by the guards.

He listened as they tore his study apart, his drawers crashing to the ground. He could hear the frustration in their voices as they barked orders left and right before they left the study in ruins.

He waited until he was sure they were all gone before he stepped out of the alcove and slipped out of his study.

He knew the palace better than any man alive, better than even Kieran himself.

He was halfway to the kitchens when a guard rounded the corner ahead of him.

Soren did not break stride. He ducked into the pantry three steps before the man’s torchlight reached him, pressed himself against the sacks of flour, and held his breath. The guard passed so close that Soren could smell the oil on his leathers.

Soren waited for a bit before he moved on to the wine cellar stairs where he descended into the dark with one hand on the wall until he got to the third shelf. He counted the slats the way his father had taught him and found the exact one he was looking for.

The rack swung inward and cold air came out of the dark hole it opened.

He could still remember being terrified of this place as a boy, following his father down these same steps as he showed him the tunnel.

Who would have known that he would come seeking it out now.

The tunnel had been built centuries ago to allow the royal family and their people to leave the palace without being seen. They had fallen into disuse after the wars, but the knowledge of them had been passed from father to son for generations.

Soren stepped through the opening and pulled the rack shut behind him. The hinges clicked into place and the dark closed over him.

He knew the way by heart. The tunnel was narrow and it had low ceilings so he had to duck low to avoid scraping his head on stone.

He stopped at the halfway point and felt along the wall until he found the place he had put the satchel. He pulled it out and dug in, finding the commoner’s clothes and the gold he had hidden for a moment like this.

The last thing he wanted to do whilst fleeing for his life was be dressed like a highborn.

When he was done changing his clothes, he wrapped the satchel containing the gold and slung it around his shoulders. It should be enough to buy him passage and a horse and get him far enough away to start over.

...

”What do you mean you cannot find him?” Alpha Kieran thundered.

”My lord, we have searched the grounds. No one has seen him. It is as if he vanished.”

”Men do not vanish.” Kieran barked. ”They run. He knows I am onto him. Where did he run to?”

The guard had no answer.

”And Ayla? Have you found her?”

The guard shook his head.

”You are all fucking useless.”

”Father.” Ares cut in. ”What about the tunnel?”

”What tunnel?” Cassian asked.

Ares ignored him.

Alpha Kieran went very still.

The tunnel... of course!

”If a man such as Soren wanted to leave this palace unseen,” Ares continued, ”he would not use the gates, he knows he would be caught.”

”You are right.”

”I will take some men and go there.” Ares stepped forward.

”No.” Kieran stopped him. ”I will go myself. I want to look Soren in the eye and demand his explanation for his betrayal.”

”Father...”

”You will stay here. All three of you.” Kieran’s voice left no room for argument.

...

Soren heard them coming.

He should have known that Kieran would figure out that he would use the tunnel easily. After all, he had shown him this place when they were children.

For a moment, he stood there and let himself consider another path that did not involve running away.

He could wait for Kieran to find him and he could surrender. He could finally look his oldest friend in the eye and tell him everything.

For one brief moment, he considered it but he had known Kieran since they were children and he knew exactly what was going through his mind at the moment. He knew Kieran would never understand his point of view

And worse...He imagined the look on his sons’ faces.

No. He could not do it.

Maybe in the near future, when the dust had settled, he could find a way to tell them the truth.

But not tonight. Tonight, he was a criminal and criminals ran.

...

The tunnel door creaked open and Kieran stepped through.

Soren saw him. His friend since childhood, standing three feet from him. Kieran paused at the threshold. His torch dipped, and the light swung toward the wedge where Soren had pressed himself, hiding.

”Soren.” Kieran called out. ”I know you are here somewhere. You cannot be that cowardly.”

Soren began inching toward the entrance of the tunnel, careful to not make any sound.

”Tracks, my lord.” A guard called out, ”Fresh ones.”

”Fan out,” Kieran ordered. ”Two of you, run ahead. Cut him off at the mill. He cannot be far.”