The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 296: Chapter 296

Rowan POV:
“Five years, Rowan. Five years have passed since you… stepped through that portal. Five years since you… altered the timeline. Five years… since you abandoned your son.”
King Korvash’s voice, a low rumble that echoed through the Drakhor stronghold’s ancient halls, was heavy with the weight of centuries, the knowledge of destinies forged and broken, of loves lost and found, of a balance that was constantly shifting, always threatened.
I stared at him, my mind reeling, the pieces of the puzzle, the fragmented memories of another life, another time, another… me, swirling together, a chaotic jumble I couldn’t make sense of.
Five years?
The words echoed in my mind, a reminder of the time I’d lost, the life I’d left behind, the son I’d abandoned, the pack I’d failed to protect, the world I’d left vulnerable to Damien’s darkness.
“But… how?” I stammered, my voice a broken whisper, the grief, the guilt, the confusion, a knot in my throat.
“How can… how can that be? I was gone for a few months at most.”
“Time it’s not a linear construct, Rowan Magnus,” Korvash said, his gaze meeting mine, his icy blue eyes piercing, a reflection of the ancient wisdom he possessed, the power he wielded, the destiny he controlled.
“It flows, it ebbs, it shifts. And your actions are tampering with the ritual that created ripples. Ripples that have reshaped the very fabric of… time.”
His words, a revelation, a truth I wasn’t ready to face, made my head spin, my stomach churn, a wave of nausea washing over me, a physical manifestation of the fear that was gripping me, the guilt that was consuming me.
“Five years, Rowan,” he repeated, his voice a low growl, his words a judgment, a condemnation, a reminder of the choices I’d made, the consequences I now faced.
“Five years… lost. Five years… wasted. Five years… that you can… never… get back.”
His words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath out of me, the weight of my absence, the life I’d abandoned, the son I’d failed to protect, crushing me.
“Lucas,” I whispered, my voice a broken plea, the memory of my son, his laughter, his amber eyes, his unconditional love, a bittersweet ache in my chest, a reminder of the future I’d almost had, the family I’d almost lost.
“What… what about Lucas? Is… is he… okay?”
Korvash’s gaze softened, a flicker of compassion in his icy blue eyes, a hint of understanding, a glimmer of hope in the darkness that surrounded me.
“He lives, Rowan,” he said, his voice a low rumble, his words a reassurance, a truth I clung to, a lifeline in the storm. “He is… healthy. Strong. But…”
He paused, his words hanging heavy in the air, the unspoken truth, the uncertainty, a burden that settled on my shoulders, a fear that gnawed at me.
“But what, Korvash?” I asked, my voice a desperate plea, my wolf whimpering, his claws digging into the stone floor, the need to know, to understand, to protect, a primal urge that echoed through my very being.
“What’s… wrong? What’s… happened to him?”
“He… he doesn’t know you, Rowan,” Korvash said, his voice a soft whisper, his words a revelation, a truth that made my heart ache, my breath catch in my throat.
“He… he doesn’t remember you. You’ve been… gone… for… for five years, Rowan. And… and in those five years… he’s… he’s grown up… without you.”
His words, a painful reminder of my absence, the life I’d abandoned, the son I’d failed to protect, twisted a knife in my gut, a wound that wouldn’t heal, a grief that threatened to consume me.
“I have to go back, Korvash,” I whispered, my voice breaking, my gaze fixed on the shimmering portal, the gateway to my world, to my son, to a future that was uncertain, a destiny I had to reclaim. “I have to see him. I have to be… his father.”
“The choice is yours, Rowan Magnus,” Korvash said, his voice a low rumble, his words a challenge, a prophecy, a burden.
“But be warned, the path you choose is perilous. The future you return to it’s not the one you left behind. It’s been altered. Reshaped.”
His words, a reminder of the chaos I’d unleashed, the darkness I’d inadvertently empowered, made my blood run cold, my wolf snarl, his claws digging deeper into the stone floor, a primal instinct to fight, to protect, to avenge.
“I understand, Korvash,” I said, my voice gaining strength, a new resolve replacing the fear, the guilt, the uncertainty.
“But I have to try. I have to fix what I broke. I have to be the father Lucas needs. The Alpha… my pack deserves.”
I looked at him, at the ancient Alpha King, his icy blue eyes filled with a wisdom that spanned lifetimes, a power that could reshape destinies, and I knew, with a certainty that settled deep in my soul, that I wasn’t alone.
That Catrina’s sacrifice, her love, her belief in me, would guide me.
That I had a chance… to make things right.
“Tell me… what I need to do,” I said, my voice firm, unwavering, my gaze meeting his, a challenge, a plea, a hope.
And as the spirit realm’s whispers grew louder, as the shadows deepened, a new path, a dangerous path, a path that would lead me towards a destiny I wasn’t sure I was ready for, a love I wasn’t sure I could reclaim, began to unfold.
I stepped through the shimmering portal, the gateway to my world, to my son, to an uncertain future, the spirit realm’s swirling mists fading behind me.
But even as I reveled in the sensations of being alive, of being… whole… again.
The echoes of King Korvash’s words, a prophecy, a warning of the darkness that awaited me, the challenges I had to face, the destiny I had to reclaim, lingered in my mind, a heavy burden.
“Five years,” I whispered, my voice a broken echo, my gaze sweeping over the familiar forest, the trees taller, the shadows deeper, the scent of the pack, of home, now different, fainter, a reminder of the time I’d lost, the life I’d left behind. “Five years… gone.”
I followed the faint trail of dark magic, my wolf’s instincts guiding me, my heart pounding with a mix of dread and a desperate hope, the certainty that Damien had used my absence, my sacrifice, to gain a foothold in our world, to twist and corrupt everything I held dear.
I emerged into a clearing, the Magnus Packhouse looming before me, its familiar amber windows now dark and empty.
“What… what happened here?” I whispered, my voice a mix of disbelief and a growing horror, my gaze fixed on the packhouse, its silence a deafening testament to the devastation that had occurred, the lives that had been lost, the future that had been shattered.
“Where… where is everyone?”
And then, I saw them.
Two figures, their scents a mix of pine and lavender, of grief and a fierce protectiveness, stood at the edge of the clearing, their backs to me, their gazes fixed on something… something I couldn’t see, something that made my blood run cold, my wolf whimper, a primal fear echoing in my mind.
Isabelle.
And… Uncle Jarrett.
But they were… different. Older. Weary. Their scents, once vibrant, full of life, now tinged with a sadness, a weariness, that mirrored my own, a shared grief, a mutual understanding of the losses we’d endured, the darkness we’d faced.
I took a step towards them, my heart pounding, my voice a shaky whisper, a desperate plea for answers, a longing for a connection I wasn’t sure I could reclaim.
“Isabelle? Uncle? What… what’s going on? Where… where is everyone?”
They turned, their eyes widening, their gazes meeting mine, a mix of shock and disbelief, of… recognition? Hope?
“Rowan?” Isabelle whispered, her voice a breath of disbelief, her hand instinctively going to her swollen belly, a protective gesture, a mother’s love shielding the life growing within her, a future she was determined to protect.
“But… how? You… you’re…”
Her words trailed off, unable to articulate the impossible, the miracle, the… ghost… that stood before them, a reminder of the love they’d lost, the sacrifice he’d made, the destiny he’d tried to rewrite.
“I… I don’t understand,” Uncle Jarrett said, his voice a low rumble, his amber eyes filled with a confusion that mirrored my own, a question that hung heavy in the air, a mystery that was about to unfold.
“You… you were… you were…”
“Dead?”