The Omni-Wolf’s Choice novel Chapter 47

Chapter 47 Loose Ends to Handle…

Bridget’s POV

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We are gathered in Ryder’s office while he combs through the final pieces of the operation.

Adrienne and Noelle-the sorcerers-will be with Violet to cover the witchcraft side. They have been training under the elders since birth. Both of them look around my age, though I honestly don’t know what that means for someone like them. Violet is the best example: she leads the coven and could pass for someone in her twenties, yet Ryder has told me she is nearly a hundred.

Montgomery and Connor are coming too, along with four warriors. Two are top-tier trackers. The other two move like they were built for violence-Ryder’s kind of violence.

Connor being on this team settles something in my chest. In my mind he’s one of the only people who can match Ryder, and the two of them operate like they share a single instinct. Montgomery is another comfort for different reasons. He carries some of the same gifts I do, and I have never seen a hybrid like him-part bear, part werewolf-outside of the history books Ryder left for me.

Ryder plants his hands on the table and scans the room. “All right. We’re locked in. The second we touch down, the witches get us close Montgomery vou create the distraction. Connor and I go in with Violet-she binds any witches in Chapter Unlocked, Enjoy Reading! eavily, and get her on the jet. Everyone clear on your role?”

“Yes, Alpha,” they answer together.

“Good. Jet in twenty. Move.”

Chairs scrape. Bags are grabbed. The room empties fast.

Not long after, we are winding around behind the castle, farther north than I’ve ever had a reason to go. A strip of tarmac cuts through the grounds, and a hangar sits there with multiple aircraft. Their jet is

already out, fueled, waiting.

Ryder keeps my hand in his as we walk. Iron Fang trails a few steps behind us with another warrior-

Elliot-quiet and watchful.

The jet is enormous. I have never stepped foot on a plane in my life, so I can’t even compare it to

anything real-only the glossy versions I’ve seen on television.

People begin boarding with their gear. I climb in and immediately check for the basket I asked for.

It is there.

I open it anyway, lift the lid, and breathe. Deep. Careful. I am looking for anything that doesn’t belong-

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anything sharp, chemical, wrong.

One inhale tells me the same thing the second one confirms: clean.

No poison in the food.

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Ryder comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. He draws in a breath at my neck,

nuzzling close, and the spark of our bond makes me laugh before I can stop it.

“We good?” he murmurs, waiting.

“Yes. I’m not picking up poison.” I have been spending time with Violet while Evelyn was unconscious, letting her push me harder, teaching me to catch even the faintest thread of it.

“Thank you.” Ryder’s mouth brushes mine in a quick kiss, then another. He pulls me into a hug that feels like he is anchoring himself. “We need to go. I love you. I’ll message as soon as I can.”

I hold his face for a beat. “I’ll check on Evelyn and help your mom with anything Luna-related she

needs. You-be careful. And come back to me.”

I cling to him one last time, then force myself to step away.

Iron Fang and Elliot are waiting by the SUV at the rear. Someone holds the door open as I stand on the tarmac and watch the team finish loading. Engines spool. Then the jet begins to roll, gathers speed,

and lifts into the sky.

I get into the SUV. We will stop at the castle briefly, then go straight to the hospital.

A little later, Ryder checks in mid-flight.

Hearing him through the mind-link-even with that much distance-settles me. It’s one of the few luxuries of what we are. He tells me it isn’t supposed to work like this, not normally.

Nothing about us has ever felt normal, so that sounds about right.

At the hospital, Evelyn remains unconscious, but she is improving. Her vitals are steady. That alone

feels like a small miracle.

With a sliver of time, I decide to visit Gamma Lucas and Delta Pierce. I step into Lucas’s office and find them in the middle of a focused discussion, papers spread out as they review border plans. Both men

rise immediately.

“Luna Bridget,” they say at the same time.

I smile and nod. Iron Fang stands behind me with Elliot. When my guards stay outside, the door shuts

quietly.

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Delta Pierce gestures toward a chair. “How may we be of service, Luna?”

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“I’m not here for that,” I tell them. “I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have pulled you into me running

off to save Ryder. I’m still figuring out how to be Luna, but I’m trying. And I hope whatever punishment

you received wasn’t too harsh.”

Pierce settles back behind his desk. “We appreciate the sentiment, but you don’t owe us an apology. If

I were bonded to the Omni-Wolf, I would pray she’d come for me too.”

Lucas hasn’t spoken yet. He was the one who went with me. He was the one who seemed to take the worst of the fallout. His silence reminds me of Iron Fang’s-like it was chosen.

Then Lucas finally says, flat and controlled, “Apology accepted, Luna.”

It doesn’t feel fully real, but I can’t pry sincerity out of someone by force. I turn to leave.

“Luna,” Lucas calls. “Permission to speak freely?”

I stop. “Yes, Lucas. Speak.”

His eyes hold mine. “I know you’re new. I know your intentions were good. But you could have died. He could have died. We would have been left without an Alpha and Luna, and your bloodline would have ended. What you did was reckless-putting yourself in that kind of danger with such limited understanding of your abilities.”

His jaw tightens before he continues. “Forgive me if I’m too blunt. I’ve been thanking the moon goddess that we got in and out the way we did. It could have gone very differently.”

He exhales, and some of the steel in him softens. “But even so, I would stand beside you a thousand

times, Luna.”

I nod slowly. “I promise you won’t have to. Thank you, Gamma. I’ll let you both get back to supporting

the Alpha.”

They nod, and I leave them to their work.

Hunger hits me in the hallway, the kind that comes from stress more than appetite. I head for the kitchen-not just for myself. I need to make sure Luna Kendra has eaten. She has barely left her daughter’s bedside.

I can’t imagine that kind of pain, watching your child lie motionless under hospital lights.

And I can’t stop the thought that follows: if Ryder and I ever had a child… I don’t even want to know

what that fear would do to me.

In the kitchen, Chef Rebecca is packing a box. Not food-her things.

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“Chef Rebecca?” I step closer. “What are you doing?”

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She sets the box on the counter, hands shaking slightly. “I just… I feel awful about everything my nephew has done. I can’t keep working here. I’m giving notice. Effective immediately.”

My stomach drops. “No one blames you. Alpha and Luna will tell you the same. You don’t have to leave.”

Tears glint in her eyes, angry and hurt. “It’s too hard staying, knowing what he did-and knowing he’s going to be punished, as he should. He’s in the dungeon right now. His parents were good people. My sister would never have allowed this. And then he finds his mate and decides to poison someone I care about?” Her voice breaks. “I can’t, Bridget. Luna Bridget. I just…”

I reach for her gently. “I get it. I do. But wait until Evelyn wakes up. Please. I’m sure she’ll want to speak to you before you make a final decision.”

I am buying time, and I know it. But she has been kind to me from the day I arrived. I don’t want to lose her now.

Chef Rebecca swallows and nods faintly. “I’ll… think about it.”

Relief loosens my shoulders. “I came in to put together a basket for the hospital anyway. Luna Kendra needs to eat. Will you help me make something? And maybe come with us, so you can see how they’re doing.”

Her expression softens, as if she’s remembering she still belongs somewhere. “Luna Bridget, you’re a

sweetheart. Yes. Let’s do it. I’ll make Cajun pasta for Luna Kendra-she loves it.”

“Perfect,” I say. “Let’s start.”

I mind-link the girls, and within minutes Sienna and Archer appear in the kitchen. We all look like we needed a break from the waiting and the worry.

Archer takes over salad prep, chopping lettuce and tomatoes. Sienna handles garlic bread. Chef Rebecca works fast-bell peppers, onions, garlic-building the base before adding sautéed shrimp, chicken, and sausage to the sauce.

I hover where I can help, “sampling” the pasta as we go, because someone has to make sure it’s

perfect.

When everything is packed, Iron Fang and Elliot carry the basket and the fruit-infused water out to the

SUV. We start to file after them, but Chef Rebecca hesitates in the doorway.

“I should stay and clean,” she says, fingers worrying at her apron.

“No,” I tell her, firm. “There are plenty of hands for that. This needs to get to Luna Kendra. Visiting

< Chapter 47 Loose Ends to Handle…

hours will end soon.”

I guide her into the vehicle before she can retreat back into guilt.

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At the hospital, we arrive quickly. I have already sent Luna Kendra a mind-link warning that we’re

coming.

We step into Evelyn’s room.

Fresh flowers cover every available surface. Sunlight pours through a wall of windows, turning the space bright enough to feel unreal. On one side are stacks of hand-drawn cards from the preschool kids Evelyn volunteers with.

I look at the bed.

Evelyn’s color has returned, at least compared to before. Her hair has been braided into two pigtails, and she looks more like herself-almost like she could open her eyes any second.

Almost.

But she doesn’t.

Luna Kendra approaches the rolling table that has been set at the foot of the bed. “Luna Bridget, thank you. Truly. This little luncheon… the company matters more than you know.”

Sienna and Archer help arrange everything-pasta, salad, bread, drinks. Plates are made. I make sure my men eat too, even though I can feel their instinct to stand guard instead of sit down.

Chef Rebecca steps forward and takes Luna Kendra’s hands. “Luna Kendra… I’m so sorry.”

Luna Kendra squeezes back. “You have nothing to apologize for, Chef Rebecca. This isn’t your burden. And Evelyn will say the same when she wakes.”

Chef Rebecca’s shoulders sag as if a chain has been cut. “Thank you,” she whispers.

We eat together, and the room fills with stories-Evelyn’s stories. The reckless adventures. The trouble she drags the girls into, and the clever way she always seems to get them out again.

Laughter keeps slipping out of us, surprising and welcome.

I find myself thinking about the day she forced her way into my life-how hard I tried to avoid her, and how she kept inviting me anyway, again and again, until Ms. Miriam essentially cornered me into

saying yes.

It was always meant to happen.

I haven’t known Evelyn as long as the rest of them, but sitting here makes it obvious: she isn’t just a

< Chapter 47 Loose Ends to Handle

friend. She’s family-to them, to the pack, and now to me.

All I need is for her to wake up.

Then we can start making stories that include me, too.

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