To ruin an Omega novel Chapter 416

Chapter 416: Talking body

CIAN

I pushed through the estate grounds with Garett at my side, my boots striking the stone paths with more force than necessary. Every corner we turned felt more vacant than the last, each room we checked offering nothing in return. The sentinels had been thorough, excessively so, to the point where it no longer made sense.

"We’ve covered the eastern wing, the guest quarters, the garage, and the cellars," Garett said, matching my pace. His tone remained steady, but the strain beneath it was unmistakable. "The greenhouse, the storage buildings, the old chapel. Nothing."

I stopped and turned to him. "Do you really think she left?"

He hesitated, only for a moment, but it was enough.

"Speak freely," I said.

Garett’s jaw tightened. His gaze drifted past me before returning, more deliberate this time. "There were bags in her room. Packed, but still there. Her wardrobe was almost untouched. I’ve been in this pack long enough to recognize when something is off, Alpha. That’s my job."

"And?"

"Elara loved that Gucci attaché case," he said. "The one with the gold hardware. She carried it everywhere, whether she needed it or not. She wouldn’t have left it behind. Not if she intended to be gone for any real length of time."

The knot in my chest tightened further. I looked past him, scanning the grounds ahead. The sun had risen higher, casting warmth across the estate, but it failed to reach the cold settling deep in my bones.

"Where else hasn’t been searched?" I asked.

"The forest line. The training grounds. A few outbuildings near the perimeter we haven’t gotten to yet."

"Take a group to the forest line," I said. "I’ll check the training grounds."

"The training grounds sit close to the forest edge," Garett replied. "It’s also a shifting area. Do you want backup?"

"No. I’ll handle it."

He gave a single nod and moved off to gather the others. I watched him go for a moment before turning toward the training grounds.

The path was familiar. I had walked it countless times. Ronan and I used to race along this stretch when we were younger, reckless and laughing, our wolves urging us faster than we could control. The memory surfaced uninvited, and I forced it down before it could take hold.

I never really knew him.

That was the truth I had to accept now. The man I had called my brother had been someone else entirely, someone capable of betrayal, someone who could stand beside me, smile, and plan my ruin all at once.

The training grounds stretched out ahead, wide and flat, bordered by trees on one side and open sky on the other. The dirt had been packed down by years of use, and the lingering scent of earth and sweat hung in the air. I paused at the edge, letting my gaze move across the space.

Nothing seemed out of place.

I stepped further in, scanning the ground, the tree line, the shadowed edges where anything could be concealed. Beneath my skin, my wolf stirred, restless and unsettled. He had been uneasy since morning, and now that tension sharpened.

I turned toward the forest’s edge, and that was when I caught it.

Blood.

The scent was faint, but unmistakable, metallic and wrong. My wolf surged forward, and I followed without hesitation, drawn toward the far corner of the grounds where the trees thickened, and the light dimmed.

The smell intensified.

I quickened my pace, my chest tightening with each step. The trail led past the tree line and into the shade, where the undergrowth grew denser, and the ground softened beneath my boots.

Then I saw it.

A patch of disturbed earth. Fresh. The soil was darker, damp in places, covered loosely with leaves that had been scattered in haste. A large stone rested nearby, partially concealed by the brush.

I moved closer.

The stone was stained. Dark streaks ran along its surface, settling into the cracks where the rock had split. It was blood. The blood was still fresh enough from how cool the weather was that it had not fully dried.

My stomach dropped.

I stared at the ground, at the stone, at the careful attempt to make it all appear undisturbed. My mind resisted what my eyes were telling me, refusing to form the conclusion waiting just beneath the surface.

It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t be what it looked like.

But the smell of blood had grown too strong, too undeniable to ignore.

I dropped to my knees.

My hands struck the dirt with force as I started tearing into it. There was no thought behind the movement, no strategy, only instinct. I dug, clawing through the soil in frantic handfuls, my breath coming faster as the earth gave way beneath my fingers.

The dirt was loose, unnaturally so. It shifted too easily, crumbling apart as if it had been disturbed not long ago, and that realization only made the urgency worse.

I kept digging.

My nails scraped against something solid, and I froze.

For a second, I couldn’t move. My hands trembled as I brushed away more soil, careful now, exposing what lay beneath.

Why? 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Father.

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