Page 3 of Shattered Omega

He would stop me if it meant losing me, but I didn’t know that we could afford that anymore. We were cursed, and he wasn’t ready to face the truth.

That there might come a day when there was only one option if we wanted her freedom.

And maybe—just maybe, if I did it, then she would be enough to save what remained of him…

“Umbra.” Dusk’s voice was cold as he felt me through the bond.

My claim swept in, a fist closing around his place in the pack.

When Dusk had taken pack lead from me, I had been so broken I hadn’t cared if I lived or died. The only thing keeping me here was him, and he had told me I needed to let it go.

My aura was stronger, though.

Strong enough to stabilise another alpha’s aura sickness… Strong enough to take pack lead back.

I had been too late last time—to protect what was mine. It might have been from another life, beyond memory, but that scar remained, a disruption across my soul that would never fade.

I could never be too late again. Not with her. There would be no coming back from that. The world would burn, and I would turn to ashes with it.

“Don’t make it a fight.” My voice was rough.

We could skip this part.

He could hand it over.

I tilted my head, gaze sliding to him.

His jaw was clenched, lips drawn in the faintest snarl, whole body coiled as if anticipating a strike.

“Why?”

A storm was coming, and what was going to happen next? It wasn’t possible she wouldn’t be a part of this; she was tangled too deep.

“I will do what needs to be done,” I said quietly. I would protect her without hesitation or remorse, even if it meant she hated me.

But I could already feel his conviction. Dusk wouldn’t give it up.

“I won’t lose you while saving her.” He sounded so sure. So… Dusk.

Stubborn and impossible.

And for years, his words created the realities I existed in. Unquestioning. Too broken to push back.

But backing down wasn’t an option for me.

For her.

I got to my feet, aura crackling in the air. It felt strange to me now I knew why it was so fragmented.

Dusk still hadn’t loosed his aura.

I turned to him. He hadn’t moved, a vicious expression frozen on his face. His rich skin was ashen, and fists balled at his lap.

It wouldn’t last.

He would fight. His side of the bond was wide open. That conviction of his swallowed him whole.

Fine.

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