Omega Bound Chapter 290

Damon

The house was finally quiet. No more frantic climbing, no more breathless demands, no more bruises blooming on my shoulders from where Amani had hung on like a stubborn Koala. Days of her heat had left me aching in every sense of the word, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. My mate was curled up asleep in our bed, finally still, and I was left staring at the wreckage she’d left behind.

The cupboards.

I rubbed a hand over my face, huffing out a laugh that was equal parts exhausted and in disbelief. The upper kitchen cupboards had taken the worst of it. The hinges cracked from where she’d launched herself off them, wood splintered where her foot braced before she pounced. I’d tried to keep her grounded, but when instinct ruled, my careful words hadn’t meant much. She’d found her perches, she’d leapt, and I’d caught her every time.

Now, with her asleep, it was on me to fix what she’d left in her wake or face the wrath of Cyrus, which is just really a bunch of words I don’t want to deal with.

Gamma of the pack, trainer of guards, strategist of border defense… reduced to a carpenter with a toolbox. And still, it made me smile.

I lined up my tools in a neat row on the counter. I couldn’t help it. My chest loosened just a fraction when everything sat parallel, ordered, exact. My wolf settled with the sight. Order in chaos. My hands itched until I’d straightened them twice, even though they hadn’t moved.

The first cupboard door sagged on its hinges. I crouched, examining the damage, noting the cracks, the misaligned screws. My mind ticked through the steps: remove, replace, reinforce. Simple. Predictable. Safe.

*“Damon.”*

The voice hit me through the mind-link, Thane. *“We’ll need to meet soon. Inner circle only. We need to talk about moving forward. The pack will need new leadership."*

I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip on the screwdriver. ‘Understood,” I sent back. My mind churned even as I turned the screw. A new Alpha. Thane was Alpha of Alphas now, and though it made sense, it left us unanchored.

The cupboard door creaked as I straightened it and checked to see if it was centered. If Amani doesn’t conceive and has another heat, what comes after cupboards? Do I go to shelving? That won’t hold. Can I lock her in the bedroom? Is taking away her ability to climb during her heat unethical? They don’t teach you this stuff in school.

I turned, and Amani was standing in the doorway, getting herself up again after going to bed. She wore one of my shirts, the hem brushing her thighs, and her eyes, though heavy-lidded, were clear enough to catch me.

“You should be sleeping,” I said gently, straightening.

Her gaze flicked from me to the crooked cupboards, and she gave a rueful smile. “Sorry I did that.”

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. “You kept me busy, that’s for sure.”

She padded closer, but there was a shadow in her eyes that isn’t normally found in those golden orbs I love so much. She leaned against the counter, watching me fix the cupboard door. “I don’t know where I fit here,” she admitted softly. “Everyone has a place. The warriors, the business owners, the families… and me? I’m just… here. Waiting. Trying to figure out where I go from here....starting over someplace new. I’m still bonded to the girls, and I miss them. I’m just.....confused.”

I set the screwdriver down, turning fully toward her. “It’s strange,” she said softly. “I wanted out of that life so badly, and yet… I miss them. My sisters in the brothel, the only family I knew for so long. I feel like an outsider watching everyone else move with purpose, while I’m stuck in between.”

My chest ached at the heaviness in her voice. She’d been with us only a few months, and between battles and her heat, she hadn’t had the chance for ceremony, for roots. She was caught between worlds, tied to the past, unsure of her future.

Stepping closer, I cupped her cheek, tilting her face up to mine. “You don’t have to decide today. Or tomorrow. You don’t have to force yourself into some mold just to fit. You’re my mate. That’s enough for now. The rest will come when it’s ready.”

Her lips trembled with the ghost of a smile. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It doesn’t feel simple, I know.” I stroked my thumb over her skin, soft and warm. “But you’re here. You’re safe. And you’re wanted. That’s what matters.”

Her eyes softened, but the shadow lingered. “I still feel like part of me is back there. With them. Like I left something unfinished.”

“Then maybe you did,” I said honestly. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t build something new here. You don’t have to forget them to belong here.” She sighs as I kiss her forehead.

“I’ll help you figure it out,” I told her, “Whatever sparks your interest, whether it is healing, patrol, archives, there are endless opportunities here. I’ll stand by you while you try it. You don’t have to pick one thing right away, and you don’t have to do it alone. You’re smart, you’re capable, and there’s room for you to grow here in whatever direction feels right. If you want, we can start small, take a run together in our wolf forms, let you feel the land, the territory, the rhythm of the pack. Sometimes the answers come when you stop forcing them and just let yourself breathe.”

Her shoulders sagged, the weight of her uncertainty pressing down, and I pulled her into my arms, holding her close. She buried her face in my chest, and I let her, resting my chin on her hair.

My wolf settled, too, content to comfort, content to hold.

Over her head, my gaze fell on the still-crooked cupboard door. My jaw ticked. I’d fix it, of course. I had to. Leaving it broken would itch at me, gnaw at me, keep me awake at night. I can’t walk away from the disorder, although I am trying at it.

But as I held her, I realized maybe it wasn’t just about the cupboards. Maybe it was about us, too. Things uncertain could find their place.

Maybe Ayla could help. She knew what it was like to start fresh, to step into a pack that wasn’t hers and try to find her footing. She’d carried her own doubts once, and she’d found her way through them. If anyone could show Amani that feeling lost in the beginning was normal, it would be her. I’d have to bring it up carefully, make sure Amani never felt like I was going behind her back, but the thought of her having someone else to lean on, who’d walked a similar road, gave me a bit of hope.

But for now, my mate comes first. Right here, right now.