ZIELLE
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Only one known case recorded an Omega who successfully severed the bond. They vanished shortly after. Their name was struck from the records.
My throat tightens.
Vanished? Erased? What kind of bond leaves no way out?
The words blur for a second as my heartbeat drums in my ears. I blink rapidly, trying to focus. I shouldn't be reacting this much but my body knows something even my mind hasn't admitted yet.
A deep ache settles low in my chest. As if something inside me is already… tied. Already claimed.
I shake my head. No. No, that's impossible. I'm not one of them. I'm not weak enough to be pulled into something I didn't choose. I never asked to be part of this.
But still… I feel it.
Even now, even here, miles away from him, with only fading remnants of his scent buried in my memory… he lingers. In my thoughts. In my breath.
I grip the book tighter.
There has to be more. A way to stop this before it grows. A way to undo it.
I search through the lines, but find nothing.
There have been only seven recorded Star-Bound Alphas in all of known history. Each one left ruin in their wake—not out of cruelty, but because fate willed them into conflict. Where they walk, power stirs. Hierarchies crumble."
"They are neither fully Alpha nor beast, but something else—something ancient. Something even the High Council fears.
My heart keeps thudding wildly against my chest as I read through each line. The more I discover about his kind, the more it haunts me.
What if the high omegas discover his power? What if they find out that this alpha they caged in the training quarters are not just any wild alpha they kidnapped from the forest pack?
This is a goddamn Star-bound one. The one no one can touch. No one can fight. In front of him, no one stood a chance.
And how am I supposed to tame him?
I let out a sigh, Why am I the one who is always tangled in deep troubles like this?
I sit there, staring blankly at the pages, the weight of what I've just read pressing down on me like a rock on my chest.
Should I tell the High Omegas about this?
The question tumbles around in my head, back and forth like a ball.
Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should keep this to myself.
If they find out what he is, what he might become, their greed will take over. I know them too well.
They'll want me working day and night to tame him.
They'll push for the mating ceremony with Arieth to happen immediately, just to secure him. Just to make sure his bloodline doesn't slip from their grasp.
They'll want an heir. A weapon. A legacy.
And me?
I'll lose sleep. I'll lose energy. I'll lose myself.
I'll be nothing more than the Omega who tamed the beast. The one who did their dirty work while they reaped the rewards.
No.
I can't tell them. Not yet.
Not until I understand what he really is.
I push myself up from the cold floor, wincing as the blood rushes back into my legs.
A sharp, prickling sensation shoots through my numb foot, and I clutch my jaw to stop myself from making a sound.
Pain blooms up my calf like tiny needles stabbing into my skin.
I grit my teeth, steadying myself against the bookshelf.
No time to collapse. No time to feel weak.
I need to get out of here before someone finds me, or worse, before he reaches for me again.
I take a step forward, dragging my half-dead foot behind me, heart still thundering in my chest.
But then, I freeze.
A sound echoes through the library.
A faint tap.
Soft. Slow. Deliberate.
Like the sole of a boot brushing against marble.
I whip around, eyes scanning the darkened aisles. The towering shelves cast jagged shadows that stretch across to me. But just that, no one else.
The sound comes again.
It's indeed footsteps.
My whole body shivers, fear gripping around my throat, choking me. Sweat beads into my skin as I breathe shakily, eyes scanning all around the dark library.
As I listen to the sound more carefully, I realise it is coming from outside the library. I panic as the footsteps grow closer.
It must be the guards.
If they catch me here, this book in my arms, it will be the end of me. I'll be questioned. Punished. Stripped of everything I've worked for.
I need to hide. Now.
My eyes dart around the massive room, frantically scanning for any corner, any blind spot. But the library is open, exposed, built for grandeur, not secrecy.
The towering bookshelves are spaced too far apart. The heavy curtains draping the windows are too sheer.
Then I see it.
A narrow gap between two towering shelves near the back, half-shadowed, barely wide enough to slip into.
I make a run towards it.
I dive into the narrow space, hugging the book to my chest and pressing my back flat against the cold shelf. The scent of aged parchment and dust clings to the air, but all I can smell is my fear.
I hold my breath.
If they smell me, I will be dead. I clutch my cloak and drape it tightly around my neck, hiding the scent glad and blocking my scent with both the cloak and my power.
I wait like that for a few beats and then,
The library doors creak open.
And the footsteps enter.
I frown, why are the guards getting inside the library? They never do it.
I listen closely as the footsteps move through the aisles of bookshelves. They are not wearing boots like the guards, it quips my suspicions.
Suddenly someone sneezes and it makes me flinch involuntarily.
"Lyla, don't make a sound!" Someone hisses and I freeze at the voice.
It belongs to Arieth.
Why is she and her minion Lyla in the Ancient Library at this wildest hour of night?