Omega Bound Chapter 295

Thane

My home is crowded tonight with people who matter more to me than any title, truth, or possession. Damon sits to my left, posture easy but sharp-eyed as ever. Amani’s next to him, fidgeting but refusing to shrink. Raven is sitting on Cyrus’ lap across from me, legs thrown over the armrest, a knife flipping idly between her fingers. Cyrus is watching her, apparently mesmerized by the speed at which she can flip her knife. And Ayla sits at my side, fingers brushing mine like an anchor I don’t deserve but won’t let go of.

I look at them, my wolves, my family, my madness, and my strength. The silence stretches long enough that Raven sighs and mutters, “If you dragged us here for story time, you’d better make it good.”

I almost smile. Almost. “It is story time,” I admit. “Except it isn’t a story. It’s our history. And we’ve been living without it.”

That earns me a pause. Even Raven’s knife stops spinning.

I lean forward, “In the old records, the ones in the estate library, I found proof of something we’ve all been taught to forget. She-wolves once marked their mates. Just like we do. Equal. Two halves of the same bond.”

Damon’s eyes narrow, thoughtful. Amani inhales sharply, already sitting straighter. Raven snorts, but it doesn’t sound quite convinced.

Cyrus, of course, breaks the silence with a grin. “So you’re saying my mate was slacking? Because she never marked me when I claimed her. Don’t worry, though, she’s sank her fangs into me all over since then. Counts for something.”

Raven elbows him in the gut without missing a beat. “Shut it, psycho.”

“Proud psycho,” he wheezes, still grinning. “Proud, well-bitten psycho.”

Ayla smothers a laugh beside me, and even Damon’s lips twitch like he’s swallowing down amusement.

Amani speaks first, voice steady. “That’s not new to me. My old pack taught us that marking went both ways. I grew up knowing I’d leave my own bite. I thought… I thought everyone did.”

The room stills. She looks around, uncomfortable under the sudden focus. Damon’s hand brushes hers, grounding her.

I exhale slowly. “So the truth was never lost everywhere. Just silenced in places that wanted it buried.” My voice hardens. “Packs ruled by men who wanted one-way bonds or muted bonds. Control without vulnerability. That’s what they took from us. That’s what they hid from she-wolves.”

Raven leans back, knife twirling again, expression sharp. “Figures. My old pack never said a word about it. We were told the Alpha’s bite was the bond. End of story. Nothing about biting back.”

Cyrus makes a thoughtful noise, lips curling into a grin. “Didn’t stop her from sinking her teeth in other places, though. Pretty sure I’ve got permanent scars. Want me to show—”

“No,” Damon cuts in quickly, voice dry. “Spare us.”

“Hey,” Cyrus protests, feigning innocence. “Educational demonstration. For science.”

Ayla laughs, the sound soft and bright, and it carves something open in my chest. For the first time in days, she isn’t lost to her wolf’s instincts.

“It isn’t a choice anymore. Not for my pack. Not for any pack under my authority. She-wolves will mark their mates. Every bond will be whole, as it was always meant to be.”

I meet Damon’s eyes. “I’ll start with Midnight Pack. They’ll see that their Luna marked me. They’ll see the proof in Ayla’s bite. Then I’ll take it pack to pack, and no Alpha will argue otherwise. Not unless they want me to rip their lies open in front of their wolves.”

Damon nods slowly. “It will make us stronger. Balanced. Harder to break.”

“Exactly.” I let my gaze sweep the room. “For too long, bonds have been lopsided. It made control easier. It made cheating on your mate easier. But it weakened us. We’ve been fighting with half our hearts blind. That ends here.”

Ayla’s fingers squeeze mine, her voice steady but quiet. “Do you think they’ll listen?”

“They’ll listen,” I growl. “If they don’t, they’ll learn.”

Raven grins, all sharp teeth. “I almost want to see one of them argue. That’ll be fun.”

“Please,” Cyrus drawls. “If they resist, we’ll just host marking parties. Bite Fest 2025. First round of shots on me.”

Amani stares at him, horrified. “No...No...I’ve already heard too many stories about you....”

“Relax,” he says with a wink. “You can’t participate because you are my sister.”

“She can’t participate because she has already marked me, and I am her mate. I make the attending decision.”

“Excuse me?” Amani turns, raising an eyebrow at Damon.

“Sorry...I mean, we make the attending decision, and we won’t be attending your bite fest.” Damon backtracks smartly.

“Hold on, it gets better. We make it competitive. Categories. Best placement, most artistic, deepest mark, bonus points if there’s blood...”

Ayla made a choking noise, hiding her face in her hands.

I pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re supposed to be discussing history, not hosting your deranged festivals.”

Raven shifted on his lap, smirking like the devil herself. “Keep talking. See what happens.”

Cyrus grinned, teeth flashing, voice dropping to something dangerously gleeful. “Oh, she’s riled now. I love it when she threatens me in front of company. It’s like foreplay with an audience.”

Raven shifted on his lap, smirking like the devil herself. “Keep talking, psycho. See what happens.”

Damon groaned. Ayla and Amani laughed, and I’m five seconds away from kicking the chair over Cyrus is sitting.

The table erupts in groans and laughter, the tension snapping clean. And for a moment, I let myself enjoy it. They’re mine, all of them. And this unity, this ridiculous chaos, that’s the kind of strength no enemy can break.

I let Cyrus and Raven’s chaos burn itself out before I cut through the noise. My gaze shifts over to Amani. She’s sitting small with Damon, less sure of herself than she was when she arrived. Less confident, and I don’t like it.

I soften my tone. “Amani.”

Her head snaps up.

“I’ll need someone besides me and Ayla to talk to the pack about this,” I say. “It matters that they hear it from another she-wolf.” Damon told me she’s been feeling out of place here, and I don’t know if putting you her in front of the whole pack will help… or make it worse.

Her eyes widen, and she swallows, glancing quickly at Damon before looking back to me. “You’d… trust me to do that?”

I nod once, firm. “It isn’t about trust. It’s about truth. You’ve lived it. You said your old pack taught you marking was mutual. You could confirm to everyone that I’m not rewriting history for my own convenience.”

Cyrus whistles low, a grin tugging at his mouth. “Careful, Amani. He’s asking you to stand in front of a thousand wolves and say the Alpha of Alphas is right. That’s a hell of a spotlight.”

Raven swats his chest, but Amani’s lips twitch like she’s caught between nerves and amusement.

Damon leans forward, voice calm. “It’s your choice. But it could be good. The pack already respects you more than you realize.”

Amani sits straighter, gathering herself. “If it helps the pack, I’ll do it.”

Ayla smiles at her softly, pride shimmering in her eyes. I feel it down the bond, her gratitude, her relief that another she-wolf would speak this truth beside her.

I incline my head. “Then it’s settled. This truth will spread. And when it does, it won’t just change our pack. It will change the shifter world. Some packs will resist. Some Alphas will dig their heels in. But they’ll fall in line. Because I’ll make them.”

My voice is low, final, a promise. “We’ll start tomorrow.”