To ruin an Omega

Chapter 429: True Story 2

LYSANDER

The name meant nothing to me. I didn’t know a Gabriel. I didn’t know anyone connected to Skollrend outside of Fia herself.

But this Gabriel knew my father. He knew where to send this letter. He knew what words to use to make it impossible to ignore.

I read the letter again. Slower this time. Looking for holes. Looking for exaggeration. Looking for anything that would let me dismiss it outright.

I found nothing.

The language was too precise. Too confident. This was not the work of someone desperate or delusional. This was someone who had done their research. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

I looked up at my father.

He was watching me with that same calm expression he always wore. Like he had already made his decision and was simply waiting for me to catch up.

“What do you think?” he asked.

I folded the letter carefully and set it back on his desk.

“Who is this Gabriel?” I shot back instead.

His father sighed and then says if I have to guess, and with the massacre that happened in Skollrend recently, it would be the freshly returned Alpha blood and uncle to Cian Donlon.”

Family betrayal? What else was new?

“I think this is dangerous,” I said.

“Dangerous how?”

“Dangerous in every possible way.” I gestured toward the letter. “This Gabriel, whatever his intention is, is offering you leverage to strengthen your already tense relationship with mother’s family and in doing so go against Skollrend. Against Cian Donlon himself. That kind of power doesn’t come without a cost. Why you? It is clear who he wants to take down… and Fleshcraft? We cannot believe that. The girl was born to an Alpha of Silvercreek. She cannot be born from fleshcraft. Something is off, and you must know it father.”

“Everything has a cost,” my father said.

“This one might be higher than you’re willing to pay.”

He smiled. “You don’t know what I’m willing to pay.”

I didn’t respond to that.

He leaned forward slightly. “You still care about this girl.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I did,” I said, and when I looked into his eyes, I needed to quickly add, “Once.”

“And now?”

“Now she’s married to someone else, like you had to remind me. I was late. That ship has sailed. I know you worry about my fixation. But that does not matter.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

I met his eyes. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me the truth.” His voice was even. Unbothered. “Do you still care about her?”

I hesitated. It felt like he was sounding me out, and my answer would determine what came next.

The truth was complicated. The truth was that I was still trying to forget Fia. Trying to bury whatever I had felt for her under layers of duty and logic and sheer willpower. And I would like to think that I had almost succeeded.

Almost.

But seeing her picture again brought it all back. The way she had looked at me that first time we met. The way she had smiled. The way she had made me feel like maybe, just maybe, there was something in this world worth wanting that wasn’t tied to my father’s approval.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said finally.

“It matters to me.”

I looked at him. “Why?”

“Because if you still care about her, then you need to truly understand what this letter means to me.” He tapped the paper with one finger. “If what this Gabriel is saying is true, then Fia is not who you thought she was. She is something else entirely. Something created. Something illegal. But I do not intend to use the royal family. I do not intend to cozy up with your uncles and aunts for what happened to your mother. She chose to do that to herself.”

I clenched and quickly unclenched my fist so he would not see how heated those words had me.

I also needed to know why he was not going to make that move.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because I am not a fucking lapdog and I don’t like the way Pauline is treating us after the deal we had. If the girl was born from fleshcraft, she would be exactly what we want… no?”

I swallowed. “I guess, she would. But we do not know that.”

“I don’t,” he agreed. “But Gabriel does. And he’s offering to prove it.”

“Or he’s lying.”

“Perhaps.” My father tilted his head slightly. “But what if he’s not?”

I didn’t answer.

He stood and walked around the desk until he was standing directly in front of me.

“I’m going to that meeting,” he said.

My stomach dropped.

“You can’t,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a trap. It has to be. No one offers this kind of information without wanting something in return. And whatever Gabriel wants, it’s going to cost more than you think.”

“Then I’ll pay it.”

“Father—”

“This is not up for debate, Lysander.” His voice hardened slightly. “This is an opportunity. One that doesn’t come along often. If Gabriel has proof of what he’s claiming, then I can use it. It should make you happy, too. If your obsession still burns bright, then help me out. You will get to keep the girl for a very long time. Your own little Seltenvogel in a cage. Wouldn’t you like that?”

The words hit me like cold water.

My own little Seltenvogel in a cage. Like mother was for him.

I stared at him.

He was smiling. That small, knowing smile meant he thought he had figured me out. That he had found the lever that would make me compliant.

“Of course,” I said.

“That is my boy.”

I swallowed again. “What is your plan then?”

My father’s smile widened.

“Simple,” he said. “I’ll meet with Gabriel. Get the information he’s offering. Verify it. And once I’m certain he’s telling the truth, once I have everything I need, I’ll take the bastard out.”

I blinked. “You’ll kill him?”

“Of course.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Gabriel is offering me leverage, but he’s also a liability. Men like that don’t just hand over power and walk away. They come back. They make demands. They think they’ve earned a seat at the table.” He shook his head. “No. Better to eliminate the problem before it becomes one.”

“And Fia?”