Omega Bound Chapter 293

Ayla

My boots scuff against flagstone, the sound echoing as if the walls are listening.

Thane moves ahead of me, his shoulders squared, every line of him sharp with purpose. My head has to crane further back now to look up at him. He hasn’t said much since we stepped inside, but his wolf is pressing hard, restless. I feel it in the bond.

“You think there’s anything in here worth keeping?” I ask softly, my voice too loud in the cavernous room.

“There has to be.” His answer is flat, certain. “They didn’t build an archive like this just to let it rot.”

I start pulling books at random, flipping through, coughing when dust plumes into the air. Most of it is lists of births, records of harvests, trade tallies. Wolves keeping track of their world as it changed through the years.

“Thane…” I turn toward him. He’s at a tall shelf against the far wall, running his fingers along cracked leather bindings as if he knows what he’s looking for. “What exactly are we looking for in here?”

“History,” Thane says without looking up. He’s already at one of the taller shelves, fingers tracing spines as though he knows what to search for. “Alphas used to keep records...bloodlines, alliances, territory disputes. Some kept chronicles of their reigns.”

“Sounds thrilling.” I pry open a ledger, the pages yellow and thin. “Do you want to know how many sheep they traded in a given year, or which family was feuding with whom?”

His mouth curves faintly but doesn’t soften his focus. “If there are patterns, I want to see them. If there’s mention of my line, I want it written in my own hands, not passed down in fragments. Truth tends to decay when left to word of mouth.”

“Thrilling,” I mutter again, but keep reading because he’s serious. Shoulders rigid, jaw tight, his wolf pressing against mine with restless energy. He’s not just searching; he’s hunting.

Another ledger opens with the same dry ink. Lists of births. Treaties signed. One Alpha’s personal notes about border disputes. I scan aloud, half to amuse myself.

“‘…and the east border skirmish resolved with three challengers slain… trade with Ironfeather resumed in early spring… the Luna marked her Alpha on the second night of claiming, and the bond was sealed… grain storage sufficient for winter…’”

Thane isn’t moving. He’s frozen, eyes locked on the page, every muscle tight.

“Thane?”

“Read it again.” His voice is low, rough. “The last part.”

I glance back down. “‘The Luna marked her Alpha on the second night of claiming, and the bond was sealed.’”

I look at him, expecting him to dismiss it, instead, his expression is hard, his hands gripping the edge of the table until the wood creaks.

“It’s not what we were taught,” he says, every word weighted, dangerous.

My mouth goes dry. “What were you taught?”

“That only Alphas mark.”

My mind flashes to that night, the pull so raw and desperate I couldn’t stop myself if I tried. My teeth in his skin, the bond thrumming alive, complete. It hadn’t been rebellion. It hadn’t been wrong. It had been instinct.

“But I—”

“You did.” His eyes blaze, fierce and burning. “You marked me, Ayla. And I let myself believe it was anomaly. Your gift, or fate bending for you. But this—” His hand slams down on the page, rattling dust loose. “This says it wasn’t anomaly at all. It was history. It was truth. And it was stolen.”

The words hang heavy, dangerous.

“Erased.” His aura surges through the room, thick and unyielding. “Rewritten. Do you understand what that means?”

I can only shake my head, throat tight.

“It means our entire pack has been living a lie. Generations of she-wolves stripped of the right to claim their mates fully. Generations of bonds formed with half of their potential. It could have been the will of wolves who wanted obedience, not balance.”

He turns, his fury bending as his gaze softens on me. “You and me...we’re whole because you followed instinct. But the others? Every pair that thought they were complete? They’ve been walking around with only half the bond they were meant to have.”

The bond hums between us, alive, solid, undeniable.

I can’t imagine living with only half of it.

“Why?” The word tears out. “Why would anyone want that?”

Thane’s jaw works, his voice low and venomous. “Because if a she\-wolf marks, she can’t be silenced. Balance, not dominance. Alphas like Stevens’ line, like Eric’s and his father....they couldn’t stomach that. It would lessen what the she-wolf felt, lessen the strength of the bond. It probably aided the corrupt in hiding, in cheating. I could never fathom being with another. Maybe half-bonded, they could.”

“Why would they take that from us?”

“Because, they are evil and wanted mates they could cage without ever letting them inside. I don't know where it started in history, but we can find it in here.”

I lift my chin, my voice steadier than I feel. “Then it ends with us.”

He stops pacing. His gaze locks onto mine, sharp and unyielding. “Say it again.”

“It ends with us.” My voice doesn’t waver this time. “We tell the truth. We don’t let this stay buried.”

The intensity in his expression softens, just a fraction, and he moves back to me, towering close, his aura wrapping tight around mine. “Our pups will never grow up thinking they’re less. They’ll know the truth. Both of them.”

His hand drops instinctively to my stomach. My wolf presses forward at the touch, fierce and protective.

“Both,” I echo, and my voice cracks.

For a moment, the fury fades, replaced by something heavier, almost grief. His thumb traces slow circles against me, grounding us both. “They’ll inherit balance. Whole...We will make sure they inherit the turth.”

Silence folds between us again, but it’s different now. Not just anger....resolve.

I find my voice, quieter. “What will you do with this?”

His jaw tightens. “Announce it. Not just to Shadowfang. To every pack. The Alpha of Alphas doesn’t keep secrets. Find out how deep this goes.”

I shiver at the conviction in his tone. It’s more than a vow; it’s a promise of war if necessary.

“And if any resist?” I ask, though I already know the answer.

His eyes flash. “Then they’ll learn balance one way or another. I’ll tear the lies out by the root.”

I rest my hand over his, pressing it harder to my stomach. “Do you think that’s why the fates gave us this? Not just us together. But me, marking you? The twins?”

He leans in, pressing his forehead to mine, his breath hot against my skin. “I think the fates gave it to us because we’re the only ones vicious enough to fix it.”

The words strike deep, fierce, and true.

I close the ledger with a snap, dust puffing into the air. The script may fade, the ink may crumble, but the truth has already clawed its way out.

And it won’t be buried again.