The Omega Mated To The Four

The Alpha Bond 135

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?"

"Maybe. But if the riddle is pointing us there, then we have to consider the possibility

Stormi was researching her bloodline, I

frowned, trying to recall the moment. Then it hit me-that day in the library

and Elijah had come looking for me. Back then,

"So you're saying we should look through some old book you don't even remember the

"Do you have a

Silence.

1/3

Chapter 129

sighed. "Part of the school burned down, but the library and the other

was said that after the school was built a witch had

"I'll go get

“Let him rest.” The other

barely speaking since the attack. He needed

trucks the people the Umbral society had sent and with that, we headed for

in our thoughts,

years walking these halls with my head down, drowning in the weight

reflection in the car

outcast anymore. I was the Silver Wolf. Isaiah nudged my shoulder.

"Let's get this over

were lined with lockers I

silence until we reached the library

to Austin. "So? Do you remember the book's

his head.

smacked the back of

shoved him back, and just

grabbing both their heads and knocking them together.

attention to the library. If I could retrace my steps

towering bookshelves, my fingers skimming the worn spines. I could still remember where I had been sitting when I was reading

rang out. "This is it! This is where

working through the details. Where would Austin have grabbed the

my shoulder