Chapter 86: Just Because She Loved An Omega

Ludwig’s jaw worked silently. The threat of financial ruin and complete political isolation was far worse than losing a few low-caste Omegas.

Yet, as the pen hovered over the paper, the old man lifted his head, turning his wrinkled, desperate face toward me. He tried to squeeze out a pathetic, guilt-inducing expression, his raspy voice shaking with forced betrayal.

"Is this how you repay us, Brianna Wells?" Ludwig choked out, grasping at straws. "This pack sheltered you! We gave your family a roof, a place in this territory when no one else would take in a human and an Omega! How can you just abandon the very land that raised you? Where is your loyalty?!"

A sharp, incredulous laugh burst from my lips. It was loud, bitter, and entirely devoid of humor.

"Shelter? Give me a break!" I spat, taking a step forward as my eyes burned into his. "Right, right... the great Grey Moon Pack! The pack that makes it an unspoken law for Omegas to bow their heads and accept being treated worse than shit! The pack that, despite being low on the hierarchy itself, views Omegas as if we were the plague!"

I gestured wildly toward the window, pointing out at the slums stretching beyond his pristine estate.

"If I put you in those slums to survive for just one day—heck, even one hour—you would run mad with disgust! You did nothing about the squalor of your territory while you happily kept spending our hard-earned credits! You did nothing to stop the humiliation, the relentless bullying, and the endless tragedies happening under your nose, and you have the nerve to call yourself an Alpha?!"

There was a deep, raw hurt bleeding through my voice—a pain carried by this body for years. It was an admission I would never speak aloud, but it showed in the violent tremor of my shoulders and the tightness in my chest.

"Today, I watched my mother get stoned just because she is human!" I shouted, my voice cracking with suppressed fury as I pointed to Valerie’s blood-stained forehead. "Just because she loved an Omega! Just because she walked the streets in broad daylight, hoping to spend a quiet morning with her family! And what did your enforcement do when you dragged us here?! You blamed us for creating a disturbance and inciting a riot!"

Bradford squeezed Valerie tightly, tears spilling down his cheeks as he listened to my words, while Edgar stood in silence beside me, his golden eyes fixed on my face with an unreadable, intense depth.

"I don’t care who you are, Ludwig," I growled, my voice dropping into a raspy, lethal whisper as my hands clenched into tight fists. "But know this—the only reason my blade didn’t go all the way through your neck today is because of the very people you have humiliated, beaten, and pushed to their last breath in this hellhole. My family."

My voice trembled as I glared at him one last time. "Because they are good, kind people. And you don’t deserve to die by their daughter’s hands."

Ludwig sat frozen, his mouth half-open, completely shattered by the raw venom in my words. Without another word of protest, his hands shook violently as he pressed the pen to the paper.

Scratch. Scratch.

He scribbled his official seal at the bottom of the transfer document, relinquishing his hold over us forever.

Edgar’s Beta didn’t even wait for the ink to dry. He snatched the leather folder back, checking the signatures with a satisfied nod before stepping behind his master.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Alpha Ludwig," Edgar said smoothly, his tone icy enough to freeze the blood in the old man’s veins. He turned on his heel, his dark coat sweeping behind him as he gestured toward the shattered doorway. "We’re leaving."

I took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the heat out of my eyes and swallowing down the lingering lump in my throat. I didn’t know what fate awaited us in the Morningstar Pack, but it sure as hell would be a million times better than staying another second in the Grey Moon Pack.

As we walked out into the crisp afternoon air, Edgar maintained his composed stride beside us. Glancing subtly at the way I kept my arms wrapped around Bradford and Valerie, his golden eyes softened with a calculating, quiet realization. To win the little cat, you have to win her family first.

Once we were a few paces away from the main entrance, out of earshot of Ludwig’s guards, Edgar slowed his step. He leaned over slightly, his low, magnetic voice dropping close to my ear.

"You good, little cat?" he asked softly, a faint, genuine thread of concern lacing his usual teasing tone.

I straightened my back, and offered him a cool, sharp smirk.

"Never been better."

Bradford and Valerie stopped in their tracks, stepping directly in front of Edgar. Tears welled up in my mother’s eyes once more, and before I could even stop them, both of my parents bowed their heads deeply toward the Morningstar Alpha.

"Thank you... thank you so much, Alpha Morningstar," Bradford choked out, his voice thick with overwhelming gratitude. "You’ve done far too much for our family. We don’t even know how we could ever repay such kindness..."

Edgar paused, looking down at my parents with an easy composure. He gently raised a hand, gesturing for them to stand straight.

"There’s no need for bowing," Edgar said smoothly, his voice carrying a warm, respectful cadence. "I don’t just hold a personal fondness for Brianna—she is exceptionally talented. Leaving a gem like her to rot in a stagnant, abusive environment like the Grey Moon Pack would be a travesty. She belongs somewhere she can shine."

Bradford and Valerie looked at him, completely dazed, their hearts heavy with an indebtedness they couldn’t even begin to quantify.

Edgar then turned his golden eyes toward me, a knowing smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "By the way, a few real estate agents called my desk earlier to verify credentials when your brothers went house-hunting in the upper district."

My eyebrows raised slightly. "And?"

"And I turned all those listings down," Edgar replied nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms. "Why? They were just looking for a decent place."

"Because those houses were mediocre at best," Edgar drawled, gesturing toward the two sleek, black luxury vehicles idling at the end of the estate driveway. "I already have a far better residence prepared for your family. Consider it my official welcome gift to the Morningstar Pack. My driver will take your parents there now, and your brothers are already on their way there as we speak."