To ruin an Omega novel Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Crown and Collar

HAZEL

The other Omegas kept their heads down, focused on folding my dresses with precision I didn’t know they possessed. They moved like clockwork. Efficient and as quiet as they could manage. Nobody met my eyes anymore.

Delta stood frozen by the door. Her fingers twisted together. I watched the way her chest as it rose and fell too quickly.

Then she moved. Small steps at first. Hesitant. She crossed the room and stopped a few feet from my bed.

"Luna Hazel." Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "Can we talk?"

The title made something warm bloom in my chest. I let myself smile. Really smile. Not the polite curve of lips I’d perfected over the years but this was something genuine and sharp.

I couldn’t help myself. The jokes just fucking wrote themselves.

"It is Luna Hazel now, is it?" I tilted my head, studying her pale face. "Is it because you realize now that you are trapped too? Is it sinking in now like teeth that you are not safe."

She flinched.

I leaned forward slightly. I made sure my voice stayed light, conversational though. "You know you will have no allies in Lily of the Valley. Just as I will not. But your case is going to be so much worse because you know I can make your life hell." I paused, letting the words sink in. "Are you afraid because you know what I could do to you there?"

Delta’s breath hitched. Her eyes were wide, glossy with unshed tears.

I leaned closer until my mouth was near her ear. My voice dropped to a whisper. "Because you are not wrong. It will happen. I will ensure you don’t survive Lily of the Valley. You will not last a fucking week."

Her knees buckled. She dropped to the floor so fast I heard the thud of bone against the hard floor.

"I’m sorry." The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush. "I’m so sorry, Luna Hazel. I didn’t know what really happened and it all just got in my head." She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face now. "Perhaps this is why Omegas are meant to be runts of the pack. We have no idea what to do with power. Especially the kind of power your kind holds."

I sat back and let my gaze drift to the other Omegas. They’d stopped packing. Their hands stilled over my clothes. Nobody made a sound but I could feel their attention, heavy and thick in the air.

"Look at them." I gestured lazily toward the others. "No one seems to have the same vitriol they seemed to have before. No one is eager to be your dog to attack me anymore." I turned back to Delta, watching her shoulders shake. "They have realized not all Omegas are cut from the same coat and at the end of the day, I wasn’t born an Omega and neither will I die one."

Delta’s hands clutched at the fabric of her plain dress. Her knuckles went white.

"If you want my mercy—" I stretched out my leg slowly, deliberately, until my foot hovered inches from her face. "I want you to lick it. Then I’ll consider forgiveness."

The room went dead silent. Even the rustle of fabric stopped.

Delta stared at my foot. Her whole body trembled. "Consider?"

I shrugged, casual as anything. "It is not like I owe you anything. This is just me being merciful." I paused, letting the silence stretch. "But I can change my mind real soon and real quick. Do not make me."

Her hands shot out. They wrapped around my ankle, shaking so badly I felt the tremors through my skin. She glanced to the side, toward the other Omegas. A few of them spared quick looks before returning to their packing.

I watched Delta’s face. The humiliation written across every feature. The shame burning red in her cheeks. The way her lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Is there still pride in you, my dear Delta?"

She shook harder. Her mouth opened. Then it closed. But she forced it back open in quick succession. Then her tongue came out. Pink and wet. It hovered over the sole of my foot, so close I could feel the warmth of her breath.

I yanked my foot back.

"Ew." The word came out sharp and disgusted. "Were you really going to do it?"

Delta’s eyes went huge. Like she realized she just lost something.

"I will. I can." She reached for my foot, fingers grasping at air. "Please, Luna Hazel, I will—"

I shoved her with my foot. Not hard to hurt her but with just enough force to push her back. "Forget it. I’m over it."

"No." She scrambled forward on her knees. Her hands clawed at the sheets, trying to reach me. "I want to live. Please." Her voice cracked. "I want to live. I’ll be your slave. I am your slave. I will never act above my station again. I am nothing. I will never amount to anything. I am a nobody—"

The laugh burst out of me before I could stop it. It started as a chuckle but grew into something bigger. My shoulders shook with it. I couldn’t remember the last time something had been this funny. It almost made me forget the heartache and the rage that currently consumed me.

Delta’s face crumpled. Fresh tears poured down her cheeks.

I kept laughing. The sound filled the room. When I finally caught my breath, I wiped at my eyes. "Delta, it’s fine. I forgive you. Really."

She froze. Her hands stilled mid-reach.

"We go way back and I know you may have had past grievances." I kept my voice light. Friendly even. "But since you are going to be the only familiar thing I’ll have at Lily of the Valley, I’ll extend an olive branch just this once." I let the smile spread across my face again. "I forgive you."

Delta stared at me. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She slowly pulled her hands back. "You do not..."

My smile vanished and the temperature in the room dropped. "I do not what?"

Her face went chalk white. "I am sorry. Forgive me." The words tumbled out fast. "I meant to say thank you. I appreciate your forgiveness."

The smile returned. I reached down and patted her head like she was a good dog. It was exactly what she was. "Good."

One of the Omegas cleared her throat softly. "We’ve finished packing, Lluuunaa Hazel."

- I saved your life and now you owe me. Bagging the Lily of the Valley Alpha is no small feat. Since you know nothing about your half sister Fia, a nice alternative would be spying on your grandmother for me. I want two things. How did she bend Lily of the Valley to her advantage and what exactly did she use to try to kill Fia?

- If you do disappoint me or prove to not be worth your keep, you find out quite quickly how your new fairytale life can go poof in your face. I would ask you to be selfish like your grandmother and pick yourself in everything you do. It’s good policy.

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