The Omega Mated To The Four

The Alpha Bond 98

Chapter Ninety Eight

The fire crackled softly, sending sparks into the cool night air as we sat in a tight circle-Isaiah, Alex, Austin, and me. The tension that had weighed on us since the attack still lingered, but for now, we had a new puzzle to solve.

Austin leaned forward, his sharp eyes scanning the parchment I had been obsessing over for days. His lips moved silently as he read the words once more.

"Whispers from ancient Willows..." he muttered under his breath, tapping the paper against his palm.

Alex huffed, stretching his long legs out toward the fire. "Does that mean we have to find a talking willow? A tree that actually whispers?"

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "It's possible. We can't ignore anything at this point."

Before anyone could say more, a quiet voice cut through the night.

"You might not be far off."

We turned sharply to see Eira standing just outside the firelight, arms crossed over her chest. None of us had noticed her approach, which was impressive considering how attuned we were to our surroundings.

Austin let out a breath. "Damn it, Eira. A little warning next time?"

She ignored him and stepped closer, her gaze locking onto the parchment. "When

I was younger, my mother told me a story about a place called the Grove of Whispering Willows."

That caught my attention. "Go on."

Eira knelt beside us, her expression unreadable. “According to legend there were once women who couldn't keep secrets. They thrived on gossip, spreading truths that weren't theirs to tell and were shared to them in confidence. Their punishment was... unusual. They were cursed, their spirits bound to the ancient willow trees, forced to whisper the secrets they had once betrayed."

A shiver ran down my spine. "So the trees actually whisper?"

Eira nodded. "That's what the story says. If you stand among them, you can hear the echoes of secrets long forgotten."

Isaiah scoffed. “That sounds like a fairy tale. What if it was just a story to scare kids into keeping their mouths shut?"

Eira shrugged. "Maybe. But if the riddle is pointing us there, then we have to consider the possibility that it's real."

fingers. "Wait a second! Back at the school library, when Stormi was researching her bloodline, I found a book of lore.

trying to recall the moment. Then it hit me-that day in the library after I found out I was

Elijah had come looking for me. Back then, I had resented

look through

his arms. "Do you have a

Silence.

Chapter Ninety Eight

"Part of the school burned down, but the library and the other wing of the school are

the school was built a witch

"I'll go get

"Let him rest." The

been barely speaking since the

to the trucks the people the Umbral society had sent and with that,

old school was silent. Each of us was lost in our thoughts, and when we finally pulled

flooded back. The whispers, the taunts, the cruelty. I had spent years walking these halls with my head down,

in the car window, I barely recognized the

I was

nodded once. "Let's get this

night, the long hallways dimly lit by emergency lights. The walls were lined with lockers I had once

until we reached

Do you remember

his head.

smacked the back of

and just like that, the twins

his eyes before grabbing both their heads and

chuckled, then turned my attention to the library. If I could retrace my steps that day, maybe I could

my fingers skimming the worn spines. I

is it! This is where

through the details. Where would Austin have grabbed the

glanced over my shoulder at

I murmured. "Check