Omega Bound Chapter 287

Thane

The dungeon is meant to strip wolves of dignity long before fists or claws ever touch them. Tonight, it’s meant for one shifter.

Nikolai.

He sits chained to a chair bolted to the floor, wrists rubbed raw where the iron bites deep, ankles shackled so tight I can see the skin bruising purple. His hair is matted, his face streaked with grime, but his eyes burn. Arrogant.

Defiant.

Unbroken.

I close the heavy door behind me. He looks up, lips curling, as if I’ve just walked into his den instead of mine.

“Well,” he rasps, voice hoarse but steady. “The Alpha of Alphas himself. Come to gloat?”

I step closer, slow, deliberate, letting the weight of my presence fill the room. My wolf pushes against my skin, a growl vibrating in my chest. “I came for answers.”

His laugh is low, dry, mocking. “Of course you did. That’s what all leaders want when they finally have a monster in chains. The why. As if knowing makes anything easier.”

“Then tell me.” My voice snaps like a whip. “Why the ring? Why pretend to be your brother? Why damn this world for profit?”

His smile sharpens. “Because it should have been mine. I should have been the Fates-blessed. I should have led our pack. Not Mikhail.” He spits the name like poison. “Mikhail, with his calm words and soft hands. He was too kind. Too weak. The Fates handed him a gift meant for me, and I would not accept it. So I took it. His power. His face. His life.”

The chain creaks as he leans forward, eyes wild. “And I was right. I built something. Something bigger than you can comprehend. While he rotted in the dark, I thrived. I made wolves stronger. Better. Sold gifts to those willing to seize them, not just sit and pray the Fates might choose them. That is power. That is leadership.”

“You call slavery and mutilation leadership?” My voice drops low, dangerous.

“I call it opportunity,” he says coldly. “Do you think wolves care where power comes from, so long as it fills their veins? They paid for it, and I gave it to them. Everyone wins except the weak. Like Mikhail. Your healer, Eric, knew the truth. Power should be taken, not gifted.”

The mention of Eric coils fire in my gut, but I force it down.

“The ring is bigger than you know, Thane,” Nikolai goes on, sensing my silence as permission. “Kill me, and another will rise. This market doesn’t die with me. We are a network. Stevens, Sutton, Crawford....all of them were pieces on my board. And beyond them, others wait in shadow, hungry. You cut one head off, three more sprout. That’s how you end up losing wars you thought you’d already won.”

I step closer until the shadows cling to my shoulders, towering over him. “Then I’ll kill all that gets in my way until there is nothing left of your ring.”

For the first time, a flicker of unease ripples across his face. But it vanishes as quickly as it came.

“If Stevens had told me you were the Alpha of Alphas, I would have done things differently,” he says, eyes narrowing. “I would have seen you as the threat you are. I would have taken you seriously. But he hid it. He let me think you were just another brute with a pack and a temper. A wolf to fear, but not to respect.” His lips peel back in something too sharp to be a smile. “Now I know. And I regret only one thing—underestimating you.”

I lower my voice, each word deliberate, edged with steel. “You think underestimating me is your mistake? No. Your mistake was touching what was mine. Touching who was mine. My mate. My Luna.” The chains rattle as his body jerks when I slam my fist into the chair’s back. “And I will not ask you about my sister. I can’t. Because if I hear one word of what you did to her, I will end you before I’m ready. And you don’t get that mercy.”

His smirk falters, just slightly. The silence between us is thick, alive with the sound of his shallow breath and the steady thunder of my pulse.

I can’t wrap my head around it, my little wolf, carrying the scars of betrayal carved by her own blood. Her uncle. Family is supposed to be protection, the first shield, not the blade at your throat. Every time I think about it, my chest tightens until I can hardly breathe.

“You’ll pay for what you did to the shifter world,” I say at last, stepping back, forcing control into my voice. “For every chain. Every scream. Every wolf you broke.”

He tilts his head, mocking. “Kill me then. Spill my blood on this filthy floor.”

“No.” I lean down until my mouth is inches from his ear. My voice is a growl, hot and cold all at once. “You’ll wish I did. You’ll wish it were quick. But it won’t be. I’m going to drag you, pack to pack, beaten and broken, half-dead but breathing enough to see it all. You’ll be a spectacle. A warning. A living reminder of what happens when anyone dares to build what you built. You’ll be the example that carves fear into their bones.”

For the first time, his laughter falters into something brittle. “You think that will break me?”

“I don’t need to break you,” I snarl. “I need the world to watch me ruin you.”

I straighten, breathing slow through my teeth, forcing my wolf back into its cage. He wants blood now. He wants teeth in Nikolai’s throat, chains torn loose. But I won’t give it. Not yet.

“You’ll die when I say,” I murmur. “Not before. Not after.”

I lean in close, my voice a low growl. “I know why you kept her. Ayla. You locked her away because she’s the true heir to Frost Pack.”

Nikolai chuckles, the sound wet. “Well done, Alpha of Alphas. Took you long enough to piece that together.” The sarcasm drips like venom.

My jaw tightens. “Why keep her caged in the ring for so long? Why not bleed her dry like you did Mikhail? Why not steal her gift outright?”

His eyes gleam in the dim light, lips curling into a sick smile. “Because, Thane… she was worth more as an omega in heat. Do you know what buyers will pay for that kind of rarity? Money, power, influence—it all came pouring in. She was more profitable used than drained. Simple business.”

My fist slams into his ribs, the crack echoing. He jerks in the chair, coughing blood that spatters across his lap. I don’t give him time to recover. Another blow snaps his head sideways. I snarl, striking again, knuckles splitting against his jaw. “You think selling wolves like cattle makes you strong?” His head snaps back, chains rattling like broken bones. “This is what wrong feels like.”

He spits blood, smiling through it, a red streak glistening down his chin. “Every bruise you give me proves my point. You’re nothing but fists and fury, Thane. The world bends to vision, not violence.”

That earns him another strike, harder. His lip splits, teeth clattering against each other. He slumps, breath ragged, but that grin lingers.

I lean down, close enough for him to see the hunger in my eyes. “I don’t need to kill you tonight. I just need to remind you what’s waiting. By the time I’m done dragging you across this world, you’ll wish for death and it won’t come.”

His laughter is weaker now, but it’s still there, bubbling through blood.

And my wolf presses against my skin, demanding more.

I try to keep my anger from bleeding through the mind-link to Theo. *Come back down to the dungeon. Rough him up. Hard enough to remind him where he is, but not enough to end him. Then dose him. He’s too alert, and I won’t have him slipping a mind-link past me while he’s still clever enough to try. Keep him breathing, keep him broken. That’s all.*

I close the mind-link and look back at Nikolai. So many lives ruined.

It isn’t enough to beat him down here in the dark. He deserves more than my fists. The pack deserves more. I can already see it....another gathering, Nikolai chained in the center where every wolf can watch him squirm. Not hidden away, but on display. Let them have their turn. Let them taste his blood for what he’s done to them, to their families.

And to mine. My sister’s face flashes, pale and lifeless, stolen by his ring. My parents’ shadows follow, broken beyond repair, driven to murder and then to death because of what he built. He took them from me as surely as if his hands had been the ones on their throats.

If he thinks this chair and these chains are his punishment, but he hasn’t seen it yet. The real justice will come when every wolf he wronged gets to tear a piece from him. Only then will it feel somewhat close to even.