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."

"Wait a second! Back at the school library, when Stormi was researching her bloodline, I

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

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

rolled his eyes. "So you're saying we should look through

"Do you have a

Silence.

Chapter Ninety Eight

down, but the library and the other wing of

said that after the school was built a witch had enchanted it to

stood. "I'll go get

in. "Let him rest." The

since the attack.

keys to the trucks the people the Umbral society

was lost in our thoughts, and when we finally pulled into the empty

cruelty. I had spent years walking these halls with

reflection in the car window,

wasn't a scared, broken outcast anymore. I was the

nodded once. "Let's get this

hallways dimly lit by emergency lights. The walls were lined with lockers I had once been shoved into, the floors scuffed by years of students

silence until

Austin. "So? Do you remember

head. “Uh... not

smacked the back of

shoved him back, and just

eyes before grabbing both their heads and

If I could

into the rows of towering bookshelves, my fingers skimming the worn spines. I could still remember where I

voice rang out. "This is it! This is where we

through the details. Where would Austin have grabbed

over my shoulder at the bookshelf behind

row," I murmured. "Check