To ruin an Omega

Chapter 215: You’re gonna die in this house 2

FIA

I had not expected him to agree with me.

The shock of it hit somewhere beneath my ribs, sharp and sudden. I kept my face smooth anyway and I tried hard to keep my expression measured like I had planned this all along. Like his voice cutting through the chamber with those two simple words had been part of some grand design I had orchestrated from the start.

It had not been.

This was a gamble. A wild, reckless throw of dice that I thought would clatter uselessly across the floor. I thought the elders would dismiss me. I thought the Lily of the Valley delegation would stay silent or worse, object. I thought Hazel’s family—because I couldn’t call them mine at this point—would talk circles around my suggestion until it dissolved into nothing.

But he had spoken.

The boy from the meadows. The one with emerald eyes that kept watching me with an intensity I still felt crawling across my skin.

And now the entire room hung on that agreement like it was law.

I swallowed and let my gaze drift over the faces staring back at me. The lead elder looked contemplative, fingers drumming against the armrest of his chair. The other elders shifted in their seats, glancing at one another with expressions I could not quite read. Hazel’s grandmother sat rigid, her mouth pressed into a thin line. She was proper pissed. But she wasn’t going to crash out here. Her priority seemed to be keeping Hazel alive and regardless of how south this went, she had been successful. Hazel’s mother, Isobel, on the other hand, looked tense in a way that told me this had veered off script.

Good.

I had no script. I was making this up as I went, stitching together words and hoping they held long enough to mean something.

The lead elder drew in a breath. He straightened in his seat and let his gaze sweep across the chamber before settling on Hazel. She stood there, pale and trembling, her hands curled into fists at her sides.

“You make a fair point, Luna Fia Donlon,” he said slowly. “Excommunication would be cruel. Not just to Hazel Hughes, but to her family. To this pack.”

He paused, and the silence that followed felt heavy enough to crush.

“We must remember that justice is not simply about punishment. It is about balance. About showing that even when we are tested, even when we are cornered, we can still uphold what is right.”

His voice grew firmer.

“Hazel Hughes, you have been found guilty of conspiring to murder Sentinel Milo Ashford. A brother of this territory. A wolf who served this pack faithfully. You took his life because he threatened to expose your wrongdoings. You acted out of selfishness and cruelty.”

Hazel flinched. Her breathing was shallow now, her chest rising and falling too fast.

“For crimes against a brother of your territory,” the elder continued, “you will be demoted to the lowest of ranks until the day you die.”

The words landed like stones dropped into still water.

“You will be demoted to Omega.”

A smile crept across my face before I could stop it. It crawled up slow and unbidden, tugging at the corners of my mouth. I did not care if anyone saw.

Hazel’s face went white.

“What?” Her voice cracked, high and desperate. “Am I not supposed to go a rank lower? Just one rank?”

The lead elder’s expression hardened. “Your reaction now shows that this is the necessary punishment.”

He turned toward the spiritual elder, the older woman with silver in her hair braided down her back. Her eyes were closed already, her hands folded in her lap.

“Pray to the goddess,” he said. “See if she will deliver this punishment or have mercy.”

“No!”

Hazel’s scream tore through the chamber.

“That bored goddess hates me! She won’t have mercy! You know she won’t!”

Isobel shot to her feet.

“Hazel, shut up!”

But Hazel was not listening. She was shaking now, her whole body trembling as tears streamed down her face.

“Mother, please help me.” Her voice broke. “I don’t want to be a runt. I don’t want to be a fucking Omega. Please.”

The spiritual elder began to pray.

Her voice was soft at first, barely audible over Hazel’s sobs. Then it grew louder, filling the chamber with words I did not fully understand. Ancient words. Sacred ones.

Hazel made a move to run.

She turned, her legs tensing, but then something stopped her. It was not a person. It looked like something invisible and unyielding had held her in place with iron chains.

Her knees buckled and she fell to the grounds shaking violently. I watched her hands uselessly claw at the stone floor.

“No,” she gasped. “It hurts! It hurts!”

Her screams were raw and animal-like. They scraped against the walls and echoed back at us.

“Someone please help!”

Then she started to convulse.

Her body jerked and twisted, limbs flailing as if something inside her was trying to tear its way out.

“My wolf!” she choked out between gasps. “I can’t feel my wolf anymore. Please! No!!!! Noooooo!!”

Blood spilled from her mouth, dark and thick and it splattered across the stone.

Then she went still.

Isobel let out a wail that made my chest tighten despite everything. She fell to her knees and crawled across the floor and down the semi circle toward her daughter.

“Hazel! Hazel!”

She grabbed Hazel’s shoulders and shook her, her voice climbing higher with each word.

“Somebody help her! Someone get the healers!”

I turned away from the scene. My stomach felt tight, but I did not regret this. I could not afford to.

Baruch stood a few feet away, his face drawn and tired. I stepped closer and leaned in so only he could hear.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “But this is all I can offer you.”

He looked at me for a long moment, then nodded.

“It is more than enough,” he said quietly. “It might even be a fate worse than death for her.”

I believed him.

“What do you plan to do now?” I asked.

“I will silently leave the pack,” he said. “Be with my grandmother.”

“They might figure you out eventually. It will not be safe. I know Hazel will definitely come looking. She can be vengeful as you know.”

He shrugged, resignation settling across his features.

“You can come with me,” I offered. “Come with me to Skollrend.”

“No.” He shook his head. “But thank you for offering.”

I smiled faintly and let it drop.

The lead elder’s voice rang out again, cutting through the chaos.

“Praise the goddess. This trial is over.”

Relief washed through me. I then turned toward Garrett, who stood near the edge of the room watching everything unfold with quiet intensity.

“Looks like I’m done here,” I said. “We should go back.”

I had barely finished the sentence when quick and purposeful footsteps approached from behind.

I turned.

The boy from the meadows stalked toward me, his emerald eyes locked on mine with that same unnerving focus. He stopped just close enough that I could see the flecks of gold buried in the green.

“Fia Donlon, is it?” His voice was smooth as silk. “We should talk.”

My heart thudded hard against my ribs.

I held his gaze and forced myself to stay steady.

“About what exactly?”