Page 14 of Redeeming His Omega Mate

Elder Maren was the last to leave, his gaze lingering just long enough to convey the unspoken thoughts that had been creeping into my own mind. This was the only solution.

I remained in the council room for an hour, pondering the impending decision. But even after all that time, I still couldn’t bring myself to decide. I needed space to think and clear my mind. A run in the forest always helped. In my wolf form, racing through the trees burned off the tension and cleared my mind. The smells of the wild, the rustling leaves, the earth beneath me—it always grounded me. It was exactly what I needed right now.

I walked toward the path that led into the forest, my eyes drifting over the busy town square. It was mostly Betas, the ones who owned the big businesses around here. Any Omega seen in the area was either working or handing out deliveries. The divide between the two sides of town couldn’t have been more obvious. The North End, where the Betas lived with their businesses and the pack quarter, was the complete opposite of the South End, the slums where the Omegas had no choice but to take up residence.

I watched as people moved about, children laughing and playing in the square and pack members haggling over prices. A heavy weight settled on my chest. Their lives, their safety, it was all my responsibility. As their Alpha, it was my duty to protect them, to protect this pack that had stood for over a hundred years, to protect the town they’d called home since birth. I couldn’t let rogues tear it all down.

When I reached the clearing that marked the edge of the forest and the town’s border, I spotted Grayson, the head of the pack protectors and my closest friend, giving orders to his subordinates. Grayson was the closest person to a family I had left since my father’s death. We’d grown up together, with his father once serving as the head of the pack protectors. When we were younger, while our parents were deep in intense meetings about border patrols and security details, we would sneak away to the forest to race through the trees or head to the sparring grounds to hone our combat skills. If it weren’t for his vibrant ash-blonde hair, a stark contrast to my midnight black, strangers might have easily mistaken us for brothers.

When he saw me, Grayson finished giving his final set of instructions before tapping his men lightly on the shoulders. They began to file out, acknowledging me with brief nods as they moved into their positions.

I walked up to him. “What’s the latest on your security unit?”

“No new details. The rogues hit Unit Five’s border hard, but my men fought tooth and nail and didn’t give an inch,” Grayson replied. “We lost a few along the way, though. And the rogues vandalized resources in the area. Our hold is weakening, especially with how bold they’ve become. News is spreading that the rogues have a new leader. They say he always has a mask on, and no one has seen his real face because it’s menacing. Bold, dangerous, and mysterious.Wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to storm the town square one morning.”

“They wouldn’t dare,” I muttered, my teeth grinding. “That’s a suicide mission.”

Grayson exhaled deeply. “Right now, I don’t think it is. Between us, we both know the pack’s not what it used to be. The Omegas aren’t willing to fight for the cause to protect this pack, which leaves us short on manpower. Our resources were hit hard when the Omegas vandalized the palliatives in celebration of your father’s death. Our pack being the strongest out there? It’s just a facade. Which is why, more than ever, we need that alliance to fortify us.”

Grayson’s words hung in the air, a prickling reminder of the decision I still had to make. I ran a finger through my hair, biting down on my lower lip as I stared past him, my gaze unfocused. Every day, I was reminded of the tyrant my father had been, and every day, I was reminded that it would take more than just willpower to carve a path that was different from his. And it had to start with saving the pack from this growing menace.

“So, where are you heading to?” Grayson’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.

I shifted my attention back to him and answered, “Going for a run. I need to clear my head.

He regarded me for a moment. “I take it the council updated you on the little due diligence I did on the Silver Fang Pack?”

I didn’t respond.

Grayson continued, “And I assume they mentioned the marriage proposal to solidify the alliance?”

I clicked my tongue in disapproval. Grayson was taunting me, and we both knew it. “What are you driving at? Spill it or keep it to yourself. I’d prefer the latter.”

He sighed, stepping forward and resting an arm on my shoulder. “You can’t still be holding out for her, Damian. It’s been seven years.”

Seven years. Seven long, torturous years without her. Seven years of longing, of this hollow emptiness that gnawed at me—seven years of feeling like a part of me was missing.

I exhaled a shaky breath as though I could expel thoughts of herfrom my mind. The mention of her cut deeper than I wanted to admit. Years had passed since I made the decision to reject her, yet her presence lingered in my thoughts like a shadow that refused to fade. I had told myself it was the right thing to do, that it was the only way to protect her.

But the truth was far uglier.

My father had built his empire on blood and fear. His reign wasn’t just one of dominance. It was a calculated massacre of any threat to the Alpha’s dominance. When I returned to the pack after years of training to become an Alpha, my first course of action was to uncover just how far he would go to exert his control. It was the same day I met her, the same day I learned my father’s slaughter wasn’t random but a deliberate effort to erase the Lunaris Custodes, a rare bloodline of peacekeepers. He had hunted them down, slaughtered them, and wiped them from history because he feared what they represented. He saw their wisdom and foresight as a threat to his power. His obsession with control led him to believe that if the Lunaris Custodes were allowed to thrive, they would unite the pack and disrupt the foundation of his authority that had kept him in control for so long.

But he had missed one.

If I had known that Tala was the last living member of the bloodline my father thought he had eradicated, I would never have allowed myself to get close to her. But when I eventually learned the truth, that she was the last remnant of that lineage, I made a choice I would regret for the rest of my life. I rejected her. Not because I didn’t want her. I wanted her more than anything else in the world. But more than wanting her, there was a far greater desire to protect her. I couldn’t bear the thought of my family’s darkness touching her more than it already had. When I rejected her, I never thought she would actually leave the pack. I figured I could still watch over her from a distance and keep her safe without being too close. But I was wrong.

“She’s never coming back, Damian,” Grayson continued. “You have to move on.”

“I have moved on!” I snapped, shrugging off his hand from my shoulder as though I was trying to convince myself of the very words I had just spoken. Then, softly this time, I repeated, “I have moved on.”

“Then, why can’t you accept the alliance?”

I fell silent.

Grayson touched my shoulders again, this time his voice quieter. “You swore an oath to protect this pack, Damian. I’m afraid this is the only way forward.”

With one light squeeze of my shoulder, he walked past me, leaving me alone with my thoughts. My chest tightened at the very thought of finally letting Tala go and moving on to marry another woman. Everything today had pointed to the decision I had to make. And now, standing alone in the wake of Grayson’s presence, I knew what I had to do.

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