To ruin an Omega

Chapter 126: Covert 1

CIAN

I kissed her again because I couldn’t help myself.

My hands found her waist and I pulled her closer. The bond hummed with contentment. With rightness. Like every piece of my life had finally clicked into place.

Fia’s fingers tangled in my hair. Her body pressed against mine. Soft, warm and perfect. The music still played in the background but I barely heard it anymore. There was only her. Only this.

I deepened the kiss. Tasted her. Let myself drown in the sensation of having her in my arms. Of knowing she was mine and I was hers and nothing else mattered.

She made a small sound in the back of her throat. Need and surrender all wrapped together. The bond flared bright with desire. With emotion so intense it made my chest ache.

I had meant what I said. Every word. I loved her. The realization still felt new. Raw. But undeniable.

Breaking the kiss took more willpower than I wanted to admit. I rested my forehead against hers. Our breaths came quick and uneven. Her heart raced under my palm.

“I could do this all day,” I murmured.

She laughed softly. The sound made me want to kiss her again. “You probably have other things to do later.”

“They can wait.”

“Cian.”

“I’m serious.” I traced the curve of her jaw with my thumb. “They can all wait.”

She smiled and shook her head but I felt her happiness through the bond. Pure and unguarded. It wrapped around me like sunlight.

A knock echoed through the ballroom.

I groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The knock came again. Sharper this time. More insistent.

I pulled back reluctantly. My hands lingered on Fia’s waist for another heartbeat before I let go. “Who is it?”

The door opened slowly.

Aldric walked in.

My uncle looked tired. Worn down in a way I hadn’t noticed before. But what caught my attention was the bandaging wrapped around his hand. White gauze stark against his skin.

I crossed the space between us quickly. “Are you alright, Uncle?”

Aldric waved his injured hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I had a little accident. That’s all.”

Something shifted in the air. A tension I couldn’t quite name.

I glanced back at Fia. She stood exactly where I had left her. Her posture was rigid. Too rigid. Her face gave nothing away but through the bond I felt something change. Her contentment twisted. Morphed into something darker.

Worry. It was sharp and sudden. She was full of it too.

Then fear.

The emotion hit me like a physical blow. Crippling terror that made no sense. Nothing had happened. Nothing had changed except Aldric walking into the room.

I looked between them. Aldric’s expression was neutral. Pleasant even. Fia’s face remained perfectly composed. But the bond told a different story. It screamed warnings I didn’t understand.

Why was she so frightened?

Aldric had and would never do anything to hurt her. He had been nothing but welcoming since he arrived. He was the most supportive person I knew. Kind even in his own measured way.

But Fia was terrified of him.

The realization settled in my gut like a stone. I had felt her fear before. During the Omega’s attack. That time when she talked about her past. But this was different. This was immediate. Present. Real.

I needed to understand this. Needed to figure out what had put that fear in her. And I needed to show her that whatever she believed about Aldric, she was wrong. He was my uncle. My father’s one good brother. The man who had helped raise me with my mother after my father died.

He wasn’t a monster.

“Why are you here?” I kept my voice level.

Aldric smiled. “I was initially looking for you to tell you about developments with the witch I promised to find.” He paused. “But I also bumped into my daughter. She told me what happened.”

My jaw tightened. Elara. Of course.

Aldric walked toward Fia. His steps were slow. Deliberate. Non-threatening. But I felt Fia’s fear spike through the bond. She didn’t move. She didn’t even react outwardly. But inside she was screaming.

“I heard the horrid things my daughter said to you in her anger,” Aldric said. His voice was gentle. Apologetic. “I’m sorry that she misinterpreted what I said to her.”

He bowed. Actually bowed. Low, formal and completely sincere.

“It will never be able to suffice for the shame and humiliation but I hope you forgive my foolish child.”

Fia went completely still. The fear through the bond intensified until it was almost overwhelming. Like she was standing on the edge of a cliff and couldn’t see the bottom.

I moved without thinking. I crossed back to Aldric and put a hand on his shoulder. “Uncle, this is no fault of yours.”

I made him straighten. I practically forced him to stop bowing. He shouldn’t have to apologize for Elara’s cruelty.

“It’s Elara who needs to apologize,” I said firmly.

“It was because of me she reacted that way.” Aldric’s expression was troubled. He was genuinely upset.

“No.” I shook my head. “I saw her. She was callous and cruel. Even if she was mad and misunderstood what you said to her, it didn’t warrant a reaction like that.”

The memory of Elara shoving Fia into the pool flashed through my mind. The cold calculation in her eyes. The satisfaction when Fia hit the water.

“If it was anyone else, they would suffer and rightfully so,” I continued. “Her privilege blinds her.”

Aldric bowed again. This time to both of us. “That is precisely why I must apologize. For not training my daughter well enough.” He looked at me. Then at Fia. “I’m sorry, Alpha Cian. I’m sorry, Luna Fia.”

The formality of it struck me. He never called me Alpha unless we were in official settings. We tried not to use titles with family.

I looked at Fia. “Do you forgive my uncle?”

She smiled then. But the bond shifted. Something slammed it shut. She had a shield going up between us. Blocking me from feeling her emotions. From mostly sensing what seemed to be going on in her mind.

The sudden absence was jarring. Like losing a sense I had grown dependent on.

“You didn’t do any wrong,” Fia said. Her voice was steady. Warm even. “If Elara is indeed sorry, she can come here and beg sincerely like you have and I will forgive her.”

Aldric nodded. Relief crossed his features. “Thank you, Luna Fia. Your grace is appreciated.”

He turned back to me. The moment shifted. Business replacing personal matters.

“On to the next matter,” Aldric said. “I found a witch.”

My attention sharpened. “Already?”

“Yes. But she says she will only be available tomorrow.” He paused. “I intend to ditch Alpha Knight’s wedding and stay back to help her acclimate while she helps with the Grand Luna’s condition.”

The shield on the bond vanished.

Fear crashed into me. Not my fear. Fia’s. It slammed through the bond with enough force to make me stagger. Overwhelming. Crippling. Terror so absolute it stole the breath from my lungs.

It was a warning.

She was warning me without words. Without speaking. Because she couldn’t. Or wouldn’t. But she needed me to know.

Needed me to understand that something was wrong.

I steadied myself and tried to process the conflicting information. Aldric stood there looking helpful and concerned. Exactly like he always did. Exactly like the uncle who had taught me to fight, negotiate and lead.

But Fia was terrified.

And she was trying to tell me something.