To ruin an Omega

Chapter 118: Pushing it down

CIAN

I walked through the corridor with Ronan at my side. The fluorescent lights overhead cast everything in that sterile white glow that made the walls look like they went on forever. My boots hit the tile in a steady rhythm. Each step brought me closer to the technical department. Closer to whatever they had found.

“You’re awfully jolly,” Ronan said.

I glanced at him. “Well, it’s a good day.”

“I bet it was a good night too.” His mouth curved into that knowing smirk he always got when he thought he had something on me. “The music wasn’t loud enough. And the servants talk, you know.”

Heat crept up the back of my neck. I kept my eyes forward. Kept walking.

“When we get Luna Morrigan up and running, you’ll never hear the end of it,” he continued.

“I guess we won’t.”

Ronan’s hand came down on my shoulder. Not hard. Just a solid thump between my shoulder blades. Friendly. The kind of hit that said more than words could.

“I’m happy for you, man.” His voice had lost that teasing edge. Now it just sounded genuine. “I still don’t like her. But if you do, I’ll warm up to her.”

Something loosened in my chest. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear that. How much it mattered that Ronan was trying. Even if he didn’t understand it yet. Even if Fia rubbed him the wrong way.

“She has her soft edges,” I said. “I promise you. You’ll like her.”

“I bet. Assuring words from a man who hated his way to… What? Love?”

We kept walking. The technical department was just ahead. Two more turns and we would be there. But Ronan wasn’t done apparently.

“I’m just glad you’re over Madeline now.”

My feet stopped moving. The words hit me harder than they should have. I stood there in the middle of the hallway and stared at the wall across from me. The paint was the same boring beige it had always been. Nothing special. Nothing worth looking at. But I looked anyway because it was easier than looking at Ronan.

“Oh.” His voice dropped. “I overstepped, didn’t I?”

“No.” I shook my head and forced myself to start walking again. “You know what? I really do think I have risen above it.”

Ronan fell back into step beside me. “That’s good. The last thing that needs to happen is a part of you still holding on to the past. It’ll only hurt everyone involved.”

“It’s not like I’ll ever see her again.” The words came out easier than I expected. “Out of sight. Out of mind.”

Ronan’s hand shot out. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop again. His expression had gone serious. All traces of that earlier humor were gone.

“Do you think that’s enough?”

I frowned. “Why not?”

“It used to be a very touchy subject.” He let go of my arm but didn’t step back. “So it never needed to be brought up. But Madeline never got into another relationship after you. Her father even tried to get her married. But she just wouldn’t agree.”

My jaw clenched. I didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to think about Madeline sitting alone somewhere. Didn’t want to imagine her turning down suitors because of something that happened between us and the sliver of hope that something could still happen.

“I was so certain you two would get over your hard feelings and grudges and would eventually get back together,” Ronan continued. “But then you got married into the Silver Creek pack. Even if it was for your mother’s sake. And now…” He paused. Searched my face for something. “It seems like things are different between you and Fia. I really hope you have your—”

“I do.” The words came out sharper than I meant them to. I took a breath. Softened my tone. “I’m not hurting anybody. Not again. Just let us find out what technical has for us.”

Ronan nodded slowly. “Right.”

We started walking again. The silence between us felt heavier now. Weighted with things unsaid. Things that maybe should stay unsaid. The door to the technical department came into view at the end of the hall.

“I really didn’t ask,” I said. “But what did what I asked you result in?”

“Four sentinels and two omegas died when they retook their oath to you.”

Six. Six traitors in total. Six people who had looked me in the eye. Who had sworn loyalty to this pack. To me. And then they had turned around and betrayed everything.

“What exactly did Gabriel have to offer them?”

Ronan shrugged. “A seat at the table, I guess. It would convince me.” He chuckled at his own joke.

I punched his arm. Not hard. Just enough to knock him off balance for a step. “You prick.”

He laughed. The sound echoed down the empty hallway. It felt good. Normal. Like we were back to being two friends walking to check on some mundane pack business instead of hunting down the bastard who tried to kill my mother.

I pushed open the door to technical. The familiar hum of computers and the blue glow of monitors greeted me. Roth looked up from his station. His glasses had slid down his nose again. He pushed them up with one finger.

“What do you have?” I asked.

The red-haired technician turned in her chair. “We checked Ophelia Cottonwood’s shop and connected to the surrounding cell towers. We checked several pings to supernaturals and we didn’t find any belonging to a witch or warlock. So the killer… Whoever they are… they were skilled enough to not bring phones.”

My hands curled into fists at my sides. Of course they were. Of course Gabriel would make sure whoever he contacted knew how to cover their tracks.

“But we did find this.”

The younger technician typed something. The main screen flickered and changed. A phone number appeared. Clear as day. Undeniable.

Gabriel’s phone number.

“He was there,” the technician said.

Heat flooded through me. That familiar rage that always came when I thought about Gabriel. When I pictured him standing in that shop. Talking to that witch. Planning her death. All while wearing that smug smile he always had. Like he was untouchable. Like he could do whatever he wanted and face no consequences.

“I am so sick of this bastard.”

The words came out low. Controlled. But underneath them was something volcanic. Something that wanted to tear through my chest and consume everything in its path.

“At least there’s definitive proof that it was definitely him.” I took a breath. Let it out slowly. “Is that all?”

“That’s all for now,” Roth said.

“Keep up the good work.”

I turned and walked out. My feet carried me back into the hallway before my mind fully caught up. Ronan followed. His footsteps were steady behind me. Familiar.

“I wasn’t wrong when I said you were jolly,” he said.

I glanced back at him. “What now?”

“Usually you would crash out. You’re very hot-headed when you think the surface was only scratched.”

Was I? Maybe I had been. Maybe the old version of me would have put his fist through the nearest wall. Made his rage everyone’s problem in that moment. Consequences be damned.

But that version of me hadn’t woken up next to Fia this morning.

“Well, I’m not,” I said.

“What’s changed?”

“The day is young.” I kept walking. My shoulders felt lighter than they had in months. “My uncle will get a witch or warlock today. And I have to give someone more dancing lessons.”

Ronan’s laugh echoed down the hallway. “It’s good to see you this way again, man. Really.”

I smiled. Couldn’t help it. He was right. Something had changed. Something fundamental had shifted in my chest. Where there used to be just anger and duty and the crushing weight of responsibility, now there was something else. Something softer.

“Thanks,” I said.

We walked in comfortable silence. The kind that only came from years of friendship. From knowing someone well enough that words weren’t always necessary. Ronan had been there through everything. Through my father’s death. Through the fallout with Madeline. Through all the late nights and early mornings when the weight of being Alpha felt like too much to carry.

And he was still here. Still walking beside me. Still making stupid jokes and calling me out when I needed it.