To ruin an Omega

Chapter 337: Brand new person 2

VALENTINE

Protective runes?

The kind that guarded against magical intrusion. Those things were rare and mostly because they were old.

It was the sort it bullshit skill that belonged and was boarded by powerful houses.

The Blossom house had a few. But those were small and not as significant nor violent.

If we were dealing with rules and cloaking spells of that magnitude. I demanded answers. What was going on? What was my daughter in the middle of this mess?

I unlocked my phone with shaking hands. I found Cian’s contact and immediately dialed.

It rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

A full minute passed with nothing but that hollow ringing sound.

“Pick up the fucking phone,” I hissed.

He didn’t.

“Mother fucker,” I cursed and tried again. This time I was ready to hurl the phone across the room if he didn’t answer. My finger hovered over the end call button.

Then the line clicked.

“Hello. Cian speaking.”

His voice was calm. Far too calm for my liking. Like he was answering a casual business call. Like my daughter wasn’t missing. Like the world, my world wasn’t falling apart.

“Are you insane?” The words exploded out of me. “How can you be calm when my daughter is missing? Where the hell is my Madeline?”

There was a pause. A beat of silence that stretched too long.

“I’m confused,” Cian said. His tone hadn’t changed. He was still calm and his tone was still just as measured. “Didn’t she call? She left here early this morning.”

“What?” My mind stalled as tried to process what he was saying. “That makes no sense. She wouldn’t leave. It’s starting to feel like she was fucking kidnapped and that should concern you.”

And then Cian laughed.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t theatrical. It was quiet and genuine and absolutely chilling. The kind of laugh that made my blood run cold. That made me stop mid-breath and just stare at Wilhelm, who was still on the ground, staring back at me with wide, shocked eyes.

The laugh died down slowly.

When Cian spoke again, his voice had changed. It had taken on a different quality. There was something darker about it. Something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“Why wouldn’t she leave?” he asked. “Would that be until Aldric sat on my seat? On my father’s seat? Is that it, Valentine Blossom?”

My eyes started to shake.

The room blurred. The walls seemed to tilt inward. My mouth opened but nothing came out.

“Cian,” I managed finally. “What are you talking about?”

“Your very next words determine whether your daughter lives or dies.”

The statement was delivered without emotion. Without inflection. Like he was telling me the weather.

What did he know? Fuck. What was I saying? He knew. He fucking knew.

“You wouldn’t.” My voice cracked.

“You have no idea what I’m willing to do right now.” There was heat in his words now. Real heat. “After what you’ve done, Valentine. Using your own daughter as a shield to escape punishment for crimes against Supernatural society is one thing. But trying to assassinate my wife? Oh. Wrong move.”

Wilhelm’s face went pale. He mouthed the word “what” at me, his expression horrified.

I was horrified too.

Because I hadn’t made a move against the girl yet. I hadn’t tried to kill Fia. I didn’t even want her dead. The plan had never been to eliminate her. I would never.

Which meant someone else had.

Pauline.

That prickly Luna had gone behind my back. She had tried to kill the Cian’s Omega without consulting me. Without telling me. And now Cian thought I was responsible.

“What do you want?” The question came out hollow.

“What I want will benefit you.” Cian’s voice was smooth again. Back to that measured calm. “But you will not have the opportunity to switch hands. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m revealing so much since I have the upper hand. But even you must have realized some of it now. My uncle, your master, wouldn’t like my discovery. Especially when he’s probably already mentioning destroying your life. If he knows I know, you become expendable.”

My throat tightened. He was right. Aldric would fuck me over the moment he suspected he was compromised. Because so would I.

I literally was now.

“So will you take my hand and save your daughter?” Cian continued. “Or will you try a secret third option? But I assure you, no matter which route you take, all roads lead to Madeline dying today.”

“You’re bluffing.” I tried to sound confident. I tried to inject strength into my voice. “You wouldn’t hurt her.”

“Perhaps if I was still blind, that line would work.” He paused. “But I’m sure you’ve tried and failed to contact her already using magic. There’s a reason for that.”

I thought of Wilhelm. The blood on my chest. The protective runes that had struck him down.

“Also,” Cian said, “I would have you know that Madeline and I have an active pact that will kill her if I’m put in harm’s way by her and, by extension, what the pact deems too connected to her own bloodline.”

The ground fell out from under me.

A pact. A soul kiss. Why would… Was Madeline stupid, connecting herself to Cian on such a deep level.

If Cian died in a mess caused by our family, Madeline died.

“And what happens if I hold your hand?” My voice was barely a whisper now. “I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place here.”

“Answer me this.” Cian’s tone sharpened. “Did you make a pact with my uncle?”

I closed my eyes. “The man believes he has me caged. He has no need for it. I doubt he even knows it’s an option. And even if he did, he probably wouldn’t like his soul touched. What makes Aldric terrifying is how scared he can be.”

“Good.”

There was a rustling sound on the other end. Like he was moving. Settling into position for what came next.

“It’s a good thing I paid a lot of attention to Madeline while we were together then.” He sighed. “Because I know it’s possible to make a soul kiss through a phone. And you and your son are about to make one right now with me.”

“I refuse.”

The line went dead.

Panic slammed into me like a physical blow. I saw it in my mind. Madeline in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes empty. Her body cold.

I hit redial so hard my thumb hurt.

The phone rang once. Then twice.

I was so sure he was done and that terrified me badly. What happened to that boy? That weak wolf I didn’t fancy. But just when all hope was about to be lost, Cian picked up.

“Wait!” I was shouting now. I didn’t care. “Wait, please!”

“You know what I want.” His voice was calm again. Patient. Like he had all the time in the world. “Will you give it?”

I looked at Wilhelm. My son was staring at me with wide eyes. Waiting for my answer. Waiting to see if I would sacrifice everything to save his sister.

There was no choice.

There had never been a choice.

“Yes,” I said. The word felt like surrender. Like defeat. “Yes. I’ll give it.”

“Good,” Cian said. “Now let’s begin.”