The storm had finally calmed.
Morning light slowly spread across the snow-covered forest as Sergei led Luca and Adrian away from the cabin.
The cold air was sharp, but the silence felt heavier.
Luca walked behind Sergei, his thoughts restless.
After fifteen years…
He was finally going to meet his father.
Or the man who had abandoned him.
Ahead of them, a black armored vehicle waited near the edge of the forest.
Two men in dark coats stood beside it.
They nodded respectfully when Sergei approached.
"The road is clear," one of them said.
Sergei opened the door and looked at Luca.
"From here, there's no turning back."
Luca hesitated only for a moment.
Then he stepped inside.
Adrian followed him.
The vehicle started moving immediately, driving deeper into the frozen mountains.
Hours passed in silence.
The road eventually disappeared, replaced by narrow paths between cliffs and thick forests.
Finally, the car stopped.
"We're here," Sergei said.
Luca stepped out.
At first, he thought he was seeing things.
Hidden between towering mountains was an enormous underground facility built into the rock itself.
Massive steel gates stood at the entrance.
Armed guards watched from above.
"This…" Luca whispered.
"…is the Underground."
Sergei nodded.
"The most secure place in the world."
The gates slowly opened.
As they drove inside, Luca noticed something strange.
Every guard they passed looked at him.
Not with suspicion.
With respect.
Some even lowered their heads slightly.
Luca frowned.
"Why are they looking at me like that?"
Sergei answered calmly.
"Because they know who you are."
The car stopped in front of a large steel building.
Sergei stepped out first.
"Come."
Luca's heart began to race.
This was it.
They walked through several corridors guarded by heavily armed soldiers.
Finally, they reached a large metal door.
Sergei stopped.
"The King is inside."
Luca's hands felt strangely cold.
After all these years…
He was about to face the man who had changed his entire life.
Sergei opened the door.
The room inside was large and dimly lit.
At the far end stood a tall chair facing the window overlooking the underground city.
Someone was sitting there.
The chair slowly turned.
Luca's breath stopped.
The man sitting there looked exactly like the memories he had buried deep in his childhood.
His omega father.
But the gentle man Luca remembered was gone.
The man in front of him looked powerful.
Dangerous.
His long dark coat rested over the chair as sharp golden eyes studied Luca.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the man finally stood.
His voice was calm but commanding.
"So…"
"…my son finally came home."
Luca's chest tightened.
"You're the Underground King?"
The man nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Luca's voice trembled slightly.
"Then tell me something."
The room grew quiet.
"Why did you leave me?"
The man's eyes softened for the first time.
But his answer was not what Luca expected.
"I didn't leave you."
Luca frowned.
"What?"
The Underground King stepped closer.
"Your father made sure I couldn't come back."
The words hit Luca like a bullet.
"My… father?"
"Yes."
The King's voice turned cold.
"The man who raised you…"
"…is the one who destroyed our family."
Luca's world tilted.
Everything he believed about his past was beginning to break.