To ruin an Omega novel Chapter 455

Chapter 455: The sitting game 1

CIAN

I sat at my desk, fingers steepled beneath my chin. The study felt too quiet. Too still. I could not shake the weight of what Fia had told me earlier.

Fleshcraft.

The word kept circling back. Her grandmother was experimented on. Her mother escaped Valentine’s lab only to end up married to a man who broke her down piece by piece. And Fia, the result of all that pain and horror, carried guilt like it was hers to bear.

She was not a product of fleshcraft, though. That much I knew. Whatever experiments Valentine ran on her grandmother and mother, they had not been the direct cause of Fia’s birth. She was conceived naturally. Born naturally. The fleshcraft connection existed only through a wicked man’s touch. It was not trauma passed down like an inheritance no one wanted.

Still, Aldric had sent that message to Northern Ridge’s Nocturne, and he had received it. Alpha Dimitri had gotten to know his granddaughter existed, knew her origins, and knew the taint Valentine had left on their family line.

Perhaps Aldric had expected some kind of premium fury. Expected Dimitri to come down on us with the full weight of his pack. But nothing had happened at the end of the day. Because Dimitri was her grandfather.

The realization shifted everything. He would not attack us. Would not risk harming Fia even if she carried the stain of forbidden magic in her veins. Family trumped everything else in werewolf society. Pack bonds ran deep, but blood ran deeper.

Aldric’s plan, if that had been it in the first place, had backfired spectacularly.

I almost laughed at the irony. Almost. But the situation was too dangerous for humor.

The second problem had been Valentine. Given that it was where the second letter went to. His death had settled one problem, at least. The warlock was gone. Burned alive in his own lab while Fia watched. She had not said much about that part, but I felt her satisfaction through the bond. The righteous fury that came with seeing the man who tortured her family finally meet his end.

My thoughts went to Madeline.

I rubbed at my temples. She needed to know. Her father was dead, and she would hear about it eventually. Better it came from someone who could deliver the news with a shred of compassion than from the coven when they inevitably found out and started asking questions.

But how did I tell her?

Madeline had only just begun distancing herself from Valentine. Nothing changed the fact that a larger part of her had built her own life, her own reputation, just behind his shadow. Though she had eventually broken free of that shadow... That did not erase love. You could hate someone and still love them. You could recognize their monstrosity and still mourn their loss.

She had been his daughter for decades before she became anything else... Before she realized what a monster he was.

I made a mental note to send a message soon. She deserved that courtesy. She deserved to grieve in private before the supernatural world turned Valentine’s death into gossip and speculation.

The door opened.

I looked up as Garrett walked in. He moved with that careful precision sentinels developed over years of service. Alert but not tense. Ready but not aggressive.

"We have done what you asked," he said. "Coven Primrose will not be coming for anybody’s neck soon."

"Thank you."

He nodded. "That is my job as sentinel, Alpha."

"But it is not just your job."

Garrett paused. His expression shifted slightly, confusion creeping in at the edges.

I leaned back in my chair and studied him. Garrett had been with me since the beginning. Since before I even became Alpha. He stood at my side through every decision, every conflict, every moment when leadership threatened to crush me under its weight.

"Sentinels are seen as foot soldiers," I said. "Pack warriors who follow orders and guard their Alpha without question."

"That is what we are," Garrett said slowly.

"But since I met you, you have acted as my right hand." I kept my gaze steady on his face. "You do not just follow orders. You advise. You strategize. You handle situations before they even reach me."

He shifted his weight. Uncomfortable with the praise, maybe. Or uncertain where this conversation was heading.

"I am thinking of making you my Beta."

Garrett laughed. The sound came out nervous and disbelieving. "Alpha, I—"

"I am serious."

His laughter died. He stared at me like I had just suggested we declare war on the moon itself.

"That is fucking crazy."

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