"One of the last." He leaned back in his chair. "She survived the purges. She was young when Emory started hunting them—young enough that she could disappear before anyone confirmed what she was."
"Where is she now?"
"Hiding." His jaw tightened. "They've been living off the grid for decades. My dads, her mates are... protective. They don't trust outsiders. Don't trust the council—old or new."
"But Emory's gone. The new council—"
"Hasn't proven itself yet. Not to them." Cole shook his head. "They've seen what happens when people in power decide Omegas are a threat. They're not willing to risk it. Not until theyknow for certain the new leadership won't continue what Emory started."
I tried to imagine it. An entire pack living in the shadows, always watching over their shoulders. A woman who couldn't reveal what she was, surrounded by mates who would die to keep her secret.
"Did she tell you what she is?"
"When I was old enough to understand. She taught me to recognize the signs—the way Omegas affect other wolves." He met my eyes. "She wanted me to know in case I ever encountered one. So I could help them. Warn them."
"What did she teach you?"
"Not as much as I needed." Frustration edged into his voice. "She's careful. Even with me. She told me about the heat—that it's part of the Omega biology, something that happens when the the omega bonds with her final mate. And she told me about the eyes."
"The eyes?"
"When a wolf bonds to an Omega fully, their eyes change. A second ring appears around the pupil. Permanent. Visible even in human form." His voice dropped. "It marks them. Makes them identifiable to anyone who knows what to look for."
A second ring. A visible mark that couldn't be hidden.
"That's how the council found them," I said slowly. "The bonded wolves. They could see who belonged to an Omega just by looking at their eyes."
"Yes. And once they realized they couldn't sever an Omega bond, couldn't control those wolves..." He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.
"They went after the source instead."
"It was more efficient. Kill one Omega, neutralize an entire pack of wolves they couldn't control." His hands clenched on the arms of his chair. "My mother watched it happen. Lost peopleshe cared about. She doesn't talk about it, but I've seen the way she flinches when certain names come up."
The room felt smaller. Colder.
"You knew," I said. "The moment you met me. You knew what I was."
"I suspected." He couldn't quite meet my eyes. "The signs were there. The way the ferals responded to you. The way the bonds were forming—multiple, strong. Everything my mother taught me to look for."
"That's why you kept your distance."
"Yes."
"That's why you wouldn't let the bond complete."
"Yes."
I stepped closer. "Tell me why. Not the vague version. Not the half-truths. Tell me exactly why you've been pulling away."
Cole stood. The movement was abrupt, like he couldn't stay seated anymore. He moved to the window, put his back to me, his hands braced against the frame.
"If I complete the bond with you, it triggers everything." His voice was rough. Strained. "The heat. The change. All of it."
“The heat you mentioned,” I said. “What does that actually mean?”
He studied me for a moment, like he was deciding how much truth I could carry. “You know what heat is.”
“Animals go into heat when they’re fertile,” I said. “Hormones spike. Ovulation. Instinct takes over.”
