Omega Bound Chapter 53

Ayla

I fought hard against Aramana's shift, but in the end, she prevailed. I was forced to show Thane, my mate, the man I thought I trusted, who I really was, right after he lost my trust. She stopped me from rejecting him, but she doesn't understand I was doing it for him too. I can't be who he wants, and I can't endanger him with my secret. I care too much for him to do that, despite what I just saw. I didn't realize how much I cared until the bond came into place, amplifying my every feeling and thought towards him.

Aramana forced a shift and started ignoring me within our mental barrier. I reside within her when we are shifted, both of us in control, but one can force the other into submission and it is apparent that she is much stronger mentally than I am. I go over the laundry list of reasons to leave, but she isn't having any of it. We really are disconnected at this point despite being reconnected. Both of us think we know what is best for each other.

Thane lowers to a crouch and stares into our eyes with admiration and longing. Our full wolf on display. I am pushing hard to get her to bolt, but she is holding firm.

"You are beautiful Aramana. Ronan is pleased with his mate. I am awe struck by your beauty. You know, I grew up hearing tales of white wolves in our shifter history. Guardians of packs. Blessed and gifted. We have a lot to talk about when you give Ayla back control," he shakes his head from side to side and smiling wide with his dimples on full display. Damn it.

“Thank you for stopping her from rejecting me. I promise, I meant every word I said, and we will talk when she is ready, but please don't let her leave me. I've lost everyone. I can't lose you two. I can't." he whispers, and I think it was more to himself than to us.

"I can get you back to your rooms through an underground tunnel system that leads to the basement level. Nobody knows about it, and I can mind-link everyone to stay out of the way. I will keep your secret Aramana. You can trust me."

My wolf chuffs and I know we are sending a glare to Thane. Good. Maybe she is starting to understand my side a little bit.

Thane chuckles a little and says, "You have every right to be mad at me, but please just come back inside." He pleads with us and Aramana nods her chin to him.

"Okay, follow me. I am not going to let Ronan out yet. If I do, we will have a mating run, and I don't think you are ready for that yet." Aramana lets out a little warning growl, just in case Ronan was getting ideas, I guess. Thane laughs again and nods in the direction to go and we follow.

*“This is a bad idea Aramana. I know you just got out for the second time ever, but we need to leave. Did you forget what we just saw and not to mention the bigger issue of Kian who saw you use your powers? What was that anyway?”*

*“It was a shield. It is one of our powers, you will need to learn how to use it without being in wolf form. Right now, you need training and healing. Rejecting our mate defeats all of that. We need him to be whole.”* She says through the mental barrier, sternly. I can't believe I am arguing with my wolf right now.

*“We need to leave to protect ourselves and this pack. We will be hunted and used. Death will come to this pack if our secret gets out. Not to mention we just walked in on our fated mate with another shifter bent over his desk Aramana. We are not ignoring that, and I am not okay.”*

*“I know child. That is but one part of you that needs healing. We need to trust our mate. We need our mate to be whole.”* Aramana says to me again and I am not having any of it.

I want to leave, and I don't want to be near Thane. It hurts too much. I attempt to shift, but it is useless. I only caused her to sway a little and misstep while strutting behind Thane. She really is a lot stronger than I am at this.

Thane leads us to a large cave on the other side of the fall and within it, there is a large rock that can be moved out of the way, revealing a tunnel. "It looks like a giant rock, but it is really reinforced steel. We will have a straight shot to the basement and then I will get us to the elevator."

Thane proceeds to walk us into the tunnel and then turns around, closing the entryway with the steel again. The tunnel automatically lights up and we follow him to the basement doors and into the elevator. He kept everyone away like he said he would. Hopefully there aren't cameras. I will need to talk to him about that before we leave. I still plan on leaving. Whether or not she likes it is of no concern to me. We need to get out of here. I don't care how irrational it sounds right now.

I can feel Thane's eyes on us as we sit on our hind end, riding the elevator. Aramana lets another warning growl letting him know his stares are unwanted right now and he just laughs. Laughs!

Clearly not afraid of us.

Can fated mates harm each other?

I am not sure. They certainly can emotionally. That I just endured in its full capacity.

He exits the elevator, looking both ways before heading to my rooms, we stop in the hall outside of the room and Aramana starts snarling causing Thane to furrow his brows and scowl himself.

"Why is the door open? Is there someone in there? Is that who hurt you?" He practically yells out these questions while bursting into our rooms and clearing every part of the area. Aramana is going from room to room sniffing and growling as well. Clearly, Kian is not here anymore. How he could trick us into thinking I was his mate was easy, but the why is what I really want to know and who is paying him to lie and keep me from Thane.

"Was Kian here with you earlier? Is that what happened to your lip Ayla?" I can't answer him, but Aramana lets out a deep snarl and flashes her fangs in anger, clearly getting the message across to Thane.

"I will kill him. I will find him and deal with him. I want answers and you deserve them as well. I want to know everything, Little Wolf. Aramana, can you give little wolf back control so I can talk with her?" he asks politely, but with a hint of desperation and Aramana growls at him instead and heads to the bed. She jumps on top of it and starts scratching around and moving covers around with her nose. I think she is ignoring him along with me and apparently wants to take a nap.

"Are you just going to ignore me and lay down? That isn't how this works Aramana. I need to talk with Ayla. I need to find Kian and keep you two safe. We need answers." Aramana finds her comfortable position and lays down on the bed, resting her head on her front paws and looking at Thane with boredom. She really is in control right now and apparently isn't going to be told what to do.

"You are quite different from Ayla, aren't you? Maybe you two can spend some time bonding and fully reconnecting so Ayla can have the parts of her that you hold and vice versa. You two will become one and I am quite eager to see the change that brings. Maybe she isn't as timid as I thought her to be." I can practically feel Aramana rolling her eyes at him.

Thane backs up to the bedroom wall, leans against it, and slowly lowers himself to the floor. Watching us intently while we rest in bed. I can't ask him what he is doing, but deep down I know that he is feeling the tug that we are feeling. I know that he won't leave. He won't be able to do anything but make sure we are safe. He is that type of Alpha despite what my raging emotions want me to believe. I feel our eyes shut and the weight of the day pulls us into slumber.