Chapter 11 – The Truth of the Omega

[Selene's POV]

The burning agony on my forearm intensified, a searing brand that felt like fire and ice tearing through my flesh. The broken crescent mark pulsed with a chaotic, living rhythm, mirroring the frantic beat of my heart. It wasn't just a symbol anymore; it was alive. In my mind, the voice echoed again, closer now, more real than anything I had ever known.

"I am waiting," the Lost King whispered. His voice, deep and sorrowful, resonated with the burning mark, forging a direct, terrifying link across time and space. It was a permanent part of me now, a horrifying, beautiful, and inescapable brand. The seer’s words, "Only the Lost King can claim the Shadow Queen," hammered in my skull.

I ripped my arm away from the seer, clutching it to my chest, trying to stifle the cry that threatened to tear from my throat. The pain was immense, but the terror was greater. I looked at the Alphas, their faces pale with shock. They had heard the seer's words. They had seen the mark ignite.

"What is this?" I demanded, my voice raw, barely a whisper. My gaze swept over Damien, Orion, and Draven, locking on each of them in turn. They knew. They had to know more than they were letting on. The seer's words about my "blood bound to the ancient ones" and a "pact" twisted in my gut like a knife.

The Alphas exchanged grim glances. Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, broken only by my ragged breathing and the faint, persistent thrumming of the mark on my arm. The three of them stood like statues, refusing to move, refusing to speak. They were hiding something. Something crucial. Something that my life depended on.

"We need to leave this place," Orion finally said, his voice low, his eyes darting towards the seer, as if afraid of what else she might reveal, as if he feared the ancient knowledge she held. "Now."

Draven’s wolf was agitated, a low growl rumbling in his chest. He looked at me with a mixture of fear and something akin to pity. "This is too much. We need to go somewhere safe."

Safe? There was no safe. Not anymore. Not when my own body was a battlefield, and my destiny was a prison. My power, once a source of exhilarating freedom, now felt like a chain, binding me to a king I didn't know, a prophecy I didn't understand.

We left the seer’s cave, the mystical mist clinging to us like a shroud. The journey back to the Alphas’ temporary camp was filled with an unbearable, agonizing tension. I walked in silence, my mind a whirlwind of questions, accusations, and a growing, bitter anger. Every step felt like a betrayal of myself.

They kept their distance, their usual easy camaraderie replaced by a strained formality. I could feel their gazes on me, heavy with speculation. They saw the mark. They had heard the prophecy. And they were afraid. Their fear was a physical presence, a cold air that surrounded me.

I was afraid too. Afraid of the power that surged within me, a wild beast constantly threatening to break free. Afraid of the Lost King, who claimed me with a whisper. And most of all, afraid of the truth they were clearly hiding, a truth that felt colder and more menacing than any darkness I had ever known.

We reached the camp. It was a small, well-hidden clearing, chosen for its defensibility. But no place felt safe now. Not with the weight of prophecy settling over me. The very air seemed to hold its breath.

"We need to talk," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet like a blade. I faced them, my stance defiant despite the tremor in my hands. "About the curse. About the omega bloodline. About everything. I want the truth. Now."

Damien met my gaze, his expression grim, his face a mask of conflict. "Selene, it's complicated."

"Complicated?" I scoffed, a bitter, humorless laugh escaping my lips. "My life is complicated. My blood is complicated. My very existence is a prophecy. Don't tell me it's complicated. Tell me the truth."

Orion stepped forward, his eyes filled with a weary resignation, as if he had been anticipating this moment for a very long time. "There are things… things the Council has kept hidden. For centuries."

"The Council," I spat the word like venom. "They banished me. They tried to kill me. They cursed my lineage. What more secrets do they hold?"

Draven shifted uncomfortably, his powerful frame seeming to shrink slightly under the weight of my fury. "It's not just your lineage, Selene. It's… the omega curse itself."

My heart hammered against my ribs, a wild, desperate rhythm. The omega curse. The very reason for my banishment, for my family's suffering, for my entire, miserable existence. "What about it?"

Damien sighed, a heavy, pained sound that seemed to carry the burden of years of secrets. He looked at Orion, who gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. It was a silent agreement to finally reveal the truth, a grim acceptance of their choice.

"The omega curse," Damien began, his voice low and solemn, "was not a natural phenomenon. It was engineered."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Engineered? My mind reeled. The absurdity of it was staggering. My entire life, all the pain and humiliation, was a lie. "What do you mean, engineered?"

"By the Council," Orion clarified, his voice grim, filled with a deep-seated contempt. "Centuries ago. They feared true Alpha power. Feared it becoming too strong, too rebellious. They feared the rise of a new kind of power that could challenge their rule."

My breath hitched. "They feared… Alphas?"

"Not all Alphas," Damien explained, his gaze steady, trying to keep me grounded. "They feared the most powerful ones. Those who could truly challenge their authority. Those with ancient bloodlines, like yours, who were connected to something far older than them."

A cold dread, sharp and penetrating, spread through me, chilling me to my core. "My bloodline?"

"Your ancestors were not just omegas," Draven interjected, his voice softer than I expected, filled with a strange kind of reverence. "They were powerful. So powerful, the Council couldn't control them. They were wild, untamed. They refused to bow. They were the original Shadow bearers, connected to the very core of our world's magic."

"So the Council… they created the curse?" I whispered, the horror of it slowly dawning on me. My entire life, my family's pain, all of it was a lie. A fabrication of an insecure, corrupt council.

Damien nodded slowly, his eyes full of sympathy. "They used ancient magic, forbidden rituals. They twisted the natural order. They engineered a weakness into your bloodline. A susceptibility to control. A means to suppress your true power."

Rage, cold and sharp, began to build in my chest. It wasn't just anger; it was a righteous fury that shook me to my core. Generations of suffering. Centuries of manipulation. All for control. All for power. My family, reduced to a tool.

"They made us weak. They made us submissive. They made us outcasts," I snarled, my voice trembling with the building fury. "They ruined us."

"They made you appear weak," Orion corrected, his voice grave, a low warning in his tone. "They made you appear submissive. But it was a façade. A cage. To hide what you truly were. To hide what your bloodline was capable of."

"They needed a way to control the most powerful Alphas," Damien continued, his eyes meeting mine, holding a desperate honesty. "They couldn't simply kill them all. So they found a way to create a 'weakness' that would bind them. A mate, an omega, whose very existence would be a leash."

My mind flashed back to Killian. To his rejection. To the shame of my past. To every single humiliation I had ever endured. "So the omega curse… it was a tool?"

"A tool to control Alphas," Draven confirmed, his voice laced with disgust. "To ensure loyalty. To prevent rebellion. If an Alpha's mate was 'cursed,' weak, or submissive, it ensured that the Alpha would never rise too high. It kept them in line."

The pieces clicked into place, forming a horrifying, complete picture. My family, my ancestors, were not inherently weak. They were targeted. They were manipulated. They were designed to be controlled. And I was the culmination of that design. A puppet with invisible strings, a bomb waiting to be detonated.

"And I… I was meant to be a weapon," I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. "A weapon for them to control. A way to control you." My gaze swept over the three Alphas, an accusation in my eyes.

Damien’s jaw tightened, his expression pained. "They intended for you to be a living leash. A means to neutralize any Alpha who became too powerful. They believed they could activate your 'curse' to bind them, to break their will."

"But something went wrong," Orion added, his eyes fixed on my arm, on the glowing mark. "Your power… it didn't break. It transformed. It shattered their control. You were never truly weak, Selene. You were just dormant. Suppressed."

The rage in my chest began to burn, a furious inferno that shook me to my core. It wasn't just anger; it was a righteous fury that burned away all traces of fear. Generations of suffering. Centuries of manipulation. All for control. All for power. My family, reduced to a tool. My life was a lie.

"They used us," I snarled, my voice low and trembling with a new, dangerous power. "They used my ancestors. They used me. They made me believe I was worthless. They made me believe I was a curse."

My body began to hum, a low, dangerous vibration that resonated with the anger. The air around me grew heavy, crackling with unseen energy. The ground beneath my feet trembled faintly, a small quake born of my fury.

"Selene, calm down," Damien urged, taking a cautious step towards me. His scent, usually so grounding, now felt like a suffocating presence, another attempt at control.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I roared, the sound echoing with a power that was not entirely my own, a dark resonance that shook the very trees. The shadows in the clearing deepened, stretching and twisting as if alive, reaching towards me. My eyes burned with the silver fire of my wolf.

"This is what they did!" I screamed, my voice rising, fueled by the raw, untamed power surging through me. "They made me this! They made my family suffer! And they thought they could control it!"

The rage consumed me, a blinding, all-encompassing inferno. The pain of my past, the humiliation, the betrayal, all condensed into a single, explosive force. The air shrieked around me, a high-pitched whine of building pressure. The ground buckled, groaning under the strain.

A wave of dark power, pure and destructive, erupted from my body. It was an uncontrolled, devastating surge, a physical manifestation of my fury. The trees around the clearing groaned, their ancient trunks splintering under the pressure. The very earth seemed to crack, deep fissures forming at my feet.

The small, sturdy shelter the Alphas had erected for our camp groaned under the assault. Wood splintered, canvas ripped, and stones cracked with terrifying force. The ground beneath our feet buckled, sending tremors through the clearing.

The Alphas cried out, thrown back by the sheer force of the explosion. The air filled with dust, debris, and the acrid scent of raw, untamed magic. The world around me shattered, consumed by the unleashed power of my rage.