The Omni-Wolf’s Choice novel Chapter 6

Chapter 6 A once-in-a-lifetime meeting

Bridget’s POV

I wake up in a hospital room with Evelyn on one side of the bed and Ms. Miriam on the other. They’ve already run scans and taken blood. When the doctor returns, she says everything looks normal—nothing to explain why I went down. She tells me to take it easy and come back once the bloodwork results are in.

Somehow, not long after that, I’m being brought to a mansion.

The moment I step inside, a strange prickling races over my skin. At the same time, a calm voice murmurs in my head—familiar, like I’ve heard it a hundred times. I’m almost certain it says, mate.

Mate?

I stop without meaning to.

Evelyn notices immediately. Her eyebrows pinch together, like she’s trying to look through me. “Hey… are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I say, because explaining the chaos in my skull would be impossible. I don’t even understand it myself.

She studies me for another beat, then softens. “Okay. We’ll sit you with Sienna for dinner, and after we eat, I’ll answer whatever I can. Deal?”

When she reaches for my hand, my nerves ease as if someone turned down the volume inside me.

“Deal,” I tell her, squeezing back.

We head down a corridor that feels more like the inside of a historic estate than a home. Dark wooden walls, heavy beams overhead, chandeliers throwing warm light across everything. At the far end sits a long table beneath a large seal mounted prominently on the wall.

Evelyn’s mother approaches to welcome us. She’s been nothing but kind since I arrived, and it’s suddenly obvious where Evelyn got it from.

Then the air shifts.

A ripple of movement spreads through the room. People edge away as if making space for something unstoppable. My pulse kicks hard.

And there he is.

A man who looks unreal—tall, broad, impossible to ignore. Light brown skin. Hazel eyes that latch onto me like hunger.

He surges forward.

“MATE!”

The word slams into the room.

I jerk to the side, instinct screaming at me to get out of his path. Mate—who is he talking about? Why is he looking right at me like I’m the only thing that exists?

I’ve seen glowing eyes between trees. I’ve watched cars get tossed like the world was ending. I’ve run until my lungs burned.

And now I’m in a mansion being charged by a furious, gorgeous stranger.

What is wrong with this town?

I scream when his hand shoots out.

I scramble behind Ms. Miriam, using her like a shield. A crowd forms fast, voices rising. The man doesn’t stop trying to reach me. When our eyes meet, his gaze turns darker—hurt, almost.

I swear I hear a sound like a whimper.

Do they hear that too? Or did the hospital give me something and I’m spiraling into some fever dream?

Evelyn’s father steps in to address him, but the “massive god” still fights to get closer. The guy I saw talking with Evelyn the other night and a couple of other men have him restrained, and even then he strains toward me like a magnet is pulling him.

Mrs. Blackwood moves directly in front of me and forces my focus to her. Her voice is steady. “You’re safe. Breathe. It’s alright.”

It’s not alright. Not even close. Mr. McCharming is trying to grab me, and everyone else is acting like this is normal.

She turns to the onlookers, tone crisp with authority. “Sweetheart, take the men to your office. Ladies, with me to mine. We’re going to sort this out—now.”

Whispers scrape the air as people disperse. I catch Whitney and her little group staring at me like I’ve personally insulted them.

Seriously? What did I do this time?

I hold tighter to Evelyn’s hand. She looks almost… eager.

“Just wait,” she says, smiling like we’re about to unveil a surprise. “We’ll explain it all.”

As she pulls me along, I glance back. Mr. McCharming—Ryder, I’ll learn—gets dragged the opposite way. His eyes are devastated, and some irrational part of me hates seeing him like that.

Even stranger, the second he disappears around a corner, I already miss him.

We reach Evelyn’s mother’s office on the second floor. The room is bright and airy, painted a soft cream. An ornate fireplace sits between two sets of French doors, sheers hanging in clean folds. A white desk with a gray cushioned chair faces two guest chairs. Across the space, a sitting area holds a large gray sofa, two matching armchairs, and a glass table.

I barely have time to process it before we’re sitting.

Evelyn and Ms. Miriam settle close on either side of me on the couch. Mrs. Blackwood takes one of the armchairs, posture composed.

I draw breath to speak—

A knock interrupts.

A woman enters carrying tea and a tray loaded with meats and cheeses. My stomach knots, ridiculous and honest, because for a second I expect it to be him coming back for round two.

And if I’m being truthful, a part of me wants that.

This place is making me lose my mind.

The server sets everything down, pours, and I mumble thanks. She bows slightly and exits.

My irritation flares through the fear. “What was that? Are you two… communicating in code about me while I’m sitting right here?”

Ms. Miriam stops pacing, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry. We were mind-linking. It’s how pack members speak mentally.”

Evelyn jumps in, quick. “She was telling me you need to stay calm. When you get too worked up, you get the headaches… and then you black out. We think it might be another ability—something you have because you weren’t trained properly.”

“I black out,” I whisper. Somehow, that part clicks into place.

“Exactly,” Evelyn says. “You’re like us. You just don’t know how to handle what’s already inside you. And there’s more—have you ever noticed your eyes changing color? At the bonfire, when you saw something in the woods, your eyes glowed gold.”

“No,” I say, shaken. “Never. So you’re telling me you’re all wolves, I’m a wolf, and the guy outside—the one who charged at me—he’s a wolf too?”

Mrs. Blackwood answers without hesitation. “That’s my son. Ryder.”

Ryder.

“And he believes you’re his mate.”

I sit up straighter, disbelief turning into outrage. “Mate—hold on. I get here and suddenly I’m being claimed and married off to the first insanely hot guy who decides I belong to him?”

Evelyn’s mouth twitches, amused at my choice of words.

Mrs. Blackwood doesn’t smile. She looks almost reverent as she explains. “The Moon Goddess Seraphina pairs wolves with a perfect match. A mate is the one who steadies your soul. The one who eases grief, brings happiness, and makes you feel whole. Finding your mate is a blessing.”

She continues, voice even. “Your wolf awakens on your eighteenth birthday. It becomes a presence—like a voice in your head. It protects you, strengthens you. And when your mate is near, your wolf reacts. It pushes. It recognizes.”

“So Ryder’s wolf recognized me,” I say slowly, trying to keep up. “Then why didn’t I feel anything?”

Ms. Miriam tilts her head. “When is your birthday, sweetheart?”

“In a couple days,” I answer. “But I’m turning twenty.”

Her expression tightens with concern. “Most awaken at eighteen. Sometimes it’s delayed, and we don’t always know why.”

I sag back into an armchair, as if my body has decided it can’t hold all this standing up.

None of it should make sense.

And yet it does.

It’s insane, but it fits too neatly around the holes in my life—around the blackouts, the headaches, the too-sharp senses, the impossible things I’ve seen.

I swallow, chest still tight, and force the next words out anyway because saying them feels like the only way to stop shaking.

“Can I talk to him… please?”