To ruin an Omega

Chapter 191: Like a Swift 2

HAZEL

The word echoed in my skull.

Pauline’s mouth curved into something that might have been a smile if it had contained any warmth. “Big boobs or a palatable face will not be enough then. Then the murder charge will stick. After all, there are no consequences coming.”

I swallowed hard. My throat felt tight, like someone had wrapped a hand around it and squeezed. “You have been saying a lot of words. But not how I get out of this unscathed.”

Her smile widened. It was worse than her frown.

“The worst thing you could have done,” she said slowly, “is involve yourself with that man. You have no idea the fresh hell that has just befallen you.”

My stomach twisted.

“But I also am a slave of his. For the time being at least.” She said it like it meant nothing. Like admitting to being controlled by someone was no different than commenting on the weather. “So I will tell you how we save you. Because with me here, there will always be consequences.”

I waited. My pulse hammered in my ears.

“Why? Because I have something your father does not.” She gestured vaguely, her hand cutting through the air. “The Strati name actually has weight and value. Your bitch of a mother let love blind her to what really mattered. Power.”

My mother made a soft sound. I did not look at her.

“If you are nothing like her,” Pauline continued, “we will have no problem moving forward.”

“Try me.”

The words came out before I could think them through. Steady. Sure. I met her eyes and did not blink.

Something flickered in her expression. Approval, maybe. Or interest.

“You will not get beheaded.” She paused, letting the words settle. “Because you now inherit the betrothal of your mother to the Lily of the Valley pack.”

My eyes widened.

Betrothal.

The Lily of the Valley pack?

That name meant something to me, and the weight behind them was unmistakable. This was not a suggestion. This was a lifeline. A noose. Maybe both.

Pauline’s smile returned. “I like that look. Hunger. You might be worth a shot after all.”

She turned away from me, her attention shifting to my mother. “This place sickens me. We should go and wait for the trials to commence.”

My mother stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her like a supplicant. “I need to speak to my daughter.”

Pauline paused mid-step. She did not turn around. “You know. She wanted to know who this benefactor of yours is.”

The words were directed at me, not my mother.

I kept my mouth shut.

“I can tell he has just taken interest in you. Whatever his reasons are.” Pauline glanced back over her shoulder. Her eyes locked onto mine. “But the best thing you can do for my foolish daughter right now is keep her in the dark.”

“Mother!” My mother’s voice rose, sharp with panic.

Pauline turned. Her hand moved so fast I almost missed it.

The slap cracked through the cell.

My mother stumbled back, her hand flying to her cheek. Her eyes were wide. Wet.

“Do not raise your voice at me, you little shit.”

Pauline stepped out of the cell without looking back. Her heels clicked down the corridor. I heard her muttering something under her breath, too low to make out, but the tone was clear. Disgust.

The cell felt smaller without her in it. Quieter. My mother stood in the doorway, one hand still pressed to her face. Her chest rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths. She swallowed hard.

Then she looked at me.

“Do not take anybody’s hands.”

Her voice was hoarse. Desperate.

I frowned. “What?”

“My men will find Milo’s family.” She stepped closer, her words spilling out faster now. “Only little is known about them. But my men are capable. They will find and kill them. The words on the recording can be shrunk to words said in anger. The elders cannot do much after all. They helped kill him too. It was their sentencing. Fia can come for blood. But a demotion is not so bad. You will find an Alpha. It is not the first or last time it has happened.”

I stared at her.

She kept going.

“Whoever this person you have made a deal with is, if they have this much sway over my family…” She trailed off. Her hand dropped from her face, revealing the red mark Pauline had left behind. “I am afraid of them. No one threatens a Strati and lives after all.”

“I want power, Mother.”

The words came out flat. Final.

She blinked. “Hazel—”

“My reputation is in shambles.” I stepped forward, closing the distance between us. “And a demotion would ruin me even if I am not beheaded. A dead social life is still suicide. I will take both their hands. Your mother’s and my benefactor’s.”

“No.” Her voice cracked. “Please listen to me this one time. You have to know when to soar and when to land.”

I smiled. It felt sharp on my face. “I will become a swift then. I will keep my weak feet useless and soar till I die.”

She reached for me, her fingers brushing my arm. I did not pull away, but I did not lean into the touch either.

“I have made up my mind.” I met her eyes. “There is no stopping this.”

“Are you certain?”

I thought about the cell. The stench. The way the elders had looked at me. The recording. Milo’s blood on my hands, metaphorical or not. I thought about power. About what it meant to have it. To lose it. To claw it back with broken nails and bloodied fingers.

“You have not gotten the heads of Milo’s surviving family yet.” My voice was quiet now. Steady. “And Father has been nowhere to be found since I was packed. That tells me all I need to know.”

Her hand fell away.

She stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded once, jerky and reluctant, and turned toward the door.

She paused in the doorway. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

“So do I.”

She left.

The door did not close all the way. A sliver of light remained, cutting through the darkness. I looked at it for a while. Then I turned away and pressed my back against the wall again.

My leg cramped. I ignored it.

I had made my choice. Now I just had to survive it.