Chapter 5

Rhys

The tension in the home office was thick enough to choke on. Even Rowan, who was usually always calm and relaxed, looked on edge. His eyes were narrowed and he seemed restless. Kai was at the end of the table. He cleared his throat and my muscles clenched involuntarily at the sound.

The pull toward the Omega was a physical ache. My wolf had begun pacing restlessly from the very second we saw her, and no matter how much I tried to push him to the back of my mind, I could still occasionally hear the low grumble of his growls as he called for her.

I couldn't let go of the image of her unconscious form in my head. The way her raven hair had tumbled across her pale face, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, her full lips that had been slightly open. All of it had been enough to send panic through me, but beneath the surface of my rapidly growing attraction for her, I could also feel a chilling dread lurking. There was something familiar about her, something that came from a past that I had buried in the depths of my consciousness.

It was her scent, in part. It was a heady mix of wild roses and cinnamon. It clung to my senses and blazed through the bond that had crackled between us the closer I had gotten to her. It had brought a thrumming awareness to life in my veins. It was both innocent and intoxicating. Yet beneath the allure, I could still recognize the tell-tale musk clinging to her. It was faint but unmistakable. I recognized it as the scent of salty sea air and the cloying sweetness that always clung to Silas' Sirens.

Silas. The very name sent a tremor through me. It was a past that I had buried deep. I had locked the memories away and I tried never to think of them. And now, it seemed like the past had risen from the grave, embodied in the delicate form of this girl, who unbelievably was also my mate and bore the mark of a prophecy which this entire pack had waited on for years and years. The irony was bitter.

Memories, long buried, surged to the surface: the cruel training, the relentless manipulation, the scars that were both physical and mental. The emotional damage ran deeper than any visible wound. A memory, sharp and brutal, surfaced at the back of my mind.

It was the image of my younger self, barely a teenager, forced to kneel on the cold, unforgiving stone floor. Blood trickled down my temple, blurring my vision. The stench of iron mingled with the disgusting scent of decay. The smells were the nauseating signature scent of Silas' torture chambers. A heavy boot connected with my ribs, causing the air to whoosh out of my lungs in a ragged gasp.

"You will answer when I speak to you!" Silas' voice, a gravelly rasp, sent shivers down my spine and I let out another tortured scream when his spiked whip came into contact with my back. "How could you let him go? Your instructions were to kill him on sight."

The memory flickered, replaced by the image of Rowan sitting opposite me. I gritted my teeth annoyed, with the flashes of memory that plagued me.

I had clawed my way free years ago, building a new life in a new pack, in a safe haven far removed from the darkness of Silas' grasp.

And now, it seemed that my past had come back in the form of this girl. Elara. It was all so familiar: the mark on her neck, the simmering attraction that she brought with her, and that familiar scent that clung desperately to her. What I couldn't figure out was why and how she had gotten here. Silas never let his Sirens out of his prison.

I wasn't even one of his Sirens, but it had still been difficult to escape his reach. How then, did she do it? Especially since she was supposed to share a bond that kept her loyal to him. Was she a pawn sent to infiltrate our pack? Or was she a victim, just like me, caught in Silas' web of cruelty who had managed to escape just like I had done?

"Rhys, are you even paying attention?" Kai suddenly said, and it brought me out of my reverie, forcing me to focus back on the action in the room again.

Kai and Rowan had a concerned look in their eyes as they watched me, and I forced a smile onto my face, clearing my throat as I leaned forward on the table in front of me.

"Of course," I responded. The two men continued stare at me skeptically. This made me chuckle.

"Okay, maybe I was a little distracted," I confessed, raising my hands in surrender. My admission caused Kai to sigh heavily.

"This is important. I need your attention here please," he said

"Well, you can't exactly blame me. We're several rooms away from her, and even with the doors closed, her scent is still all over the place. So forgive me for not paying attention," I said lightheartedly. Kai threw me a dirty look at the same time that Rowan shook his head with a small smile painting his lips.

The action from both of them was so familiar that it left a pang in my chest. Here we were, three determined Alphas rebuilding and trying to maintain the balance within a pack crippled with a curse that had rid our lands of Omegas. Yes, it was true that we had managed to evolve and survive for many years without an Omega. However, the lack of Omegas in our pack had resulted in the viciousness and barely-controlled rage and savagery that came with an all-Alpha pack full of flaring pheromones. It had been a long and difficult journey. We had been through a lot and shared a lot together, all three of us.

For a long time, I yearned to confide in Kai and Rowan, but revealing my past had always meant reliving the nightmare I had put behind me. It meant showing them a side of myself that they might never accept. I feared that telling them about my past would crumble the very foundation of their trust in me.

I had spent years atoning for my past, proving my loyalty and my worth. To reveal the truth was to risk being seen as a monster, a tool of darkness once more. I couldn't let that happen, and so at some point, I had completely let go of the thought of confiding in them. The guilt had screamed at me for a long time, but eventually it had eased. Now it seemed like things were about to change again.

"We were talking about the prophecy," Kai continued, breaking the silence that had settled in the room. "I spoke to Anyah, and she revealed that she has spent years trying to decrypt what it could mean. The prophecy speaks of an Omega marked by the moon, who will be the sign of change to come. It is said that she will bring both balance and mayhem within the pack. Now an Omega has fallen into our laps bearing the very mark that has been spoken of generations before she was even born. What are we supposed to make of that?"

"The prophecy is cryptic, at best, and it speaks of change, but the nature of that change is unknown. What do we do with that? How do we go forward?" Rowan interjected, slumping in his seat like the weight of the world rested upon his shoulders.

I remained silent, a storm brewing within me. Was this the right time to tell them about my own concerns about her true identity? Would that change their outlook on the prophecy?

If she truly was sent by Silas, then it was easy to see how she could bring chaos with her, but if she had escaped from him, then it would mean something entirely different. I couldn't seem to figure out which option increased the anxiety that I felt more.

Kai spoke again, drawing me back to the present. "We need to figure out where she came from and what drove her to our borders."

"Why do we have to figure that out? Don't we already have enough to figure out? She's right here. Maybe she can tell us? She might give us some information that would be useful," Rowan suggested, a flicker of hope in his ice-blue eyes.

"What do you think I spent all that time doing with her? She's as stubborn as a mule, and all I was able to get from her was her name. It wasn't until Anyah came that she gave away a bit about herself, but I could tell that she was hiding something. She wouldn't reveal it with me in the room, in any case," Kai responded.

"Well, you're not exactly known to be gentle. You probably scared the poor girl," I offered. Kai tsked at my words.

"Well, maybe you should try talking to her then. Let's see how gentle you have to be in order to get her to talk to you."

I was about to respond, but Rowan beat me to it.

"She's been through a lot," he stated. "Let's give her some time to recover. In the meantime, we need to be vigilant. We should research the prophecy, see if there's anything else we can glean from it."

"We also need to be on the lookout for her attackers. I got reports from the patrol that there have been several unfamiliar scents lingering at our borders. It doesn't seem like it's just a group of rogues seeking to have some fun with a girl if they keep coming back. We have to keep her here until we can figure it out." Kai let out a heavy sigh.

I slumped deeper into my seat. I felt increasingly isolated since I couldn't share my suspicions about Elara. It wasn't only about her now; it was about my own secrets. I couldn't tell them now. They wouldn't understand.

It didn't help that they also seemed to be purposefully ignoring the fact that all three of us were mated to her. It seemed like the most important factor to me. Not only was it the foundation of the prophecy, it was also very rare for an Omega to be mated to more than one Alpha. That wasn't something that could just be pushed to the side.

"Rowan, you have to tighten security, too. We already have too much going on, and I cannot even begin to imagine how the rest of the pack will take the news of the situation with the Omega. The last thing that we need is a frenzy from the pack members. It doesn't look like we have a lot of time to put all the pieces together, so we all need to be on the lookout for anything that might help us. It's been a long day. We should get some rest. We'll be facing the rest of the officials tomorrow, and I can bet it's not going to be an easy meeting."

Kai dismissed us and it caused me to furrow my brow. My frown deepened when they both moved to get out of their seats, and I held out a hand to stop them as I spoke.

"Hold on. I thought we were discussing important matters. Aren't we going to discuss the topic of the undeniable, impossible mate bond that binds all three of us to her?"

I could see the way Rowan's jaw stiffened and Kai clenched his fists. If I didn't know before then, this confirmed that they had both deliberately been ignoring the topic, but I knew I couldn't let it go. This had been the only thing on my mind from the moment that I saw her.

All my life I had feared that I would never find a mate of my own. I had let go of the belief that would eventually meet the one made to mate with my soul. I had even managed to convince myself that it was my punishment from the Moon Goddess for all the terrible things I had done once upon a time.

But here she was.

And the strangest part of it was that she was also mated to Kai and Rowan for some reason.

"Things are complicated as it is right now, Rhys. Let's not compound it even more. We'll take this one mystery at a time," Kai said.

"Then why isn't this at the top of the list?" I asked.

"It's been a long day, Rhys. We can't figure everything out at once," Rowan concluded before getting out of his seat and exiting the office, muttering under his breath.

Kai remained in the office with me, but he had his attention focused on the space in front of him like it was the most interesting thing he had ever encountered.

"The longer we ignore it, the more awkward and painful it'll be," I said softly, and he nodded his head in understanding.

"I know. Let's hope we don't have to ignore it for long then," he responded. He patted my shoulder before exiting the room.

It felt like this day had gone on forever. I let out a breath in the silence of the room. I felt exhausted, but I knew sleep would be very far from me tonight. Sighing heavily, I made my way out of the office. I needed some fresh air. Maybe a run would help calm my mind.

The crisp evening air washed over me the moment I stepped outside, and with it came the scent of wild roses and cinnamon. I stopped in my tracks immediately, turning my head toward the source. My heart pushed dangerously against my ribs. She sat perched on the edge of the fountain in the herb garden, her back turned to me.

Danger and desire warred within me, and although a part of me knew I wasn't ready to face her yet, I couldn't bring myself to go back inside. So with a small sigh, I approached her.