To ruin an Omega - Chapter 383: There once was a promise

Chapter 383: There once was a promise

CIAN

I walked back into the hall carrying Aldric’s head by the hair.

Blood dripped from the severed neck. It left a trail across the floor behind me, dark spots on pale stone.

The hall had not settled. People were still moving, still whispering, still trying to process what had just happened.

They went silent when they saw me.

Every head turned.

Every eye locked on what I was carrying, then dragged lower, taking in the rest of me.

I was still naked.

Still soaked in blood that wasn’t all his. It clung to my skin, dried in places, wet in others, streaked down my chest and legs as I had walked straight out of a slaughter.

I walked to the center of the hall and stopped in front of the elder’s circle.

Then I let go.

The head hit the floor with a wet thud. It rolled once before coming to rest facing the gallery.

Aldric’s eyes were still open. Staring at nothing.

Someone in the crowd let out a choked sound. A woman near the back started crying. Then the claps of victory followed.

I looked up at Elder Callum.

He was staring at the head with an expression I could not quite read. Shock maybe. Or disgust. Or both.

“That was a bit much,” he said finally.

His voice was carefully neutral, but I could hear the judgment underneath.

I met his eyes without flinching.

“He showed his true colors and attempted a coup,” I said. My voice was steady and clear. “He also hurt my uncle Gabriel and came dangerously close to killing me. I had no choice.”

I paused.

“Not like it was an overdose. He was going to be beheaded anyway.”

A murmur rippled through the elders. One of them leaned forward slightly, eyes fixed on the head at my feet.

“You didn’t even use a machete,” he said, low, almost uneasy. “If the head is not taken clean, the soul does not rest. It lingers. It finds its way back.”

Silence pressed in around us. A few of them shifted, as if the thought alone unsettled them.

I exhaled through my nose, unimpressed.

“That’s a belief,” I said. My voice stayed level, untouched by their unease. “Not a rule.”

My gaze dropped briefly to Aldric’s head before returning to them.

“He’s dead. That’s what matters.”

Callum’s jaw tightened but he did not argue.

I turned away from him and looked at Ronan.

My former friend stood surrounded by sentinels. His hands were still in chains. His face was pale. He was staring at his father’s severed head with an expression that looked like horror and grief twisted together.

“It is truly sad that it came to this,” I said quietly. “You were my friend.”

Ronan’s eyes snapped to mine.

I looked away before I could see whatever he wanted me to see there.

I turned back to Callum.

“Sentence the remaining traitor.”

Callum stood slowly. He adjusted his robes and cleared his throat.

“Beta Ronan Ashworth,” he said. His voice carried through the hall. “You have been found guilty of conspiracy. Of treason. Of aiding in the attempted assassination and usurping of the ruling Alpha. The sentence for these crimes is death by beheading.”

The hall erupted into noise again.

Ronan’s face went white.

“No,” he said. His voice cracked. “No, wait. Please.”

He took a step forward, but the sentinels grabbed him and held him in place.

“Give me leniency, and I will tell you plenty of what Aldric planned,” he said desperately. “Plenty more people he had in his pockets. The packs he had close ties to. Everything. I will tell you everything.”

I did not look at him.

I could not.

My heart ached in a way that made it hard to breathe. But I forced myself to keep moving. I forced myself to walk toward where Fia stood with Maren and Thorne.

They were kneeling on the floor beside Gabriel’s body.

Maren was working quickly. Her hands moved with practiced precision. She had a needle and thread. She was stitching the wound on Gabriel’s throat closed.

Blood still pooled around him. Too much blood.

I stopped a few feet away.

Fia saw me first.

She stood immediately and crossed the distance between us. Her arms came around me and pulled me against her.

“You are fine,” she whispered.

Her voice shook.

I wrapped my arms around her and held on tight.

“I promised, did I not?”

She nodded against my chest.

I looked over her shoulder at Gabriel.

His eyes were closed. His face was pale. His breathing was shallow and uneven.

“Is he fine?” I asked.

Thorne looked up at me.

“We could not move him, and he was not healing,” he said. His voice was grim. “I figure this is what years of malnutrition and seclusion do to the beast side of a werewolf. His body and his mind have taken a toll at once. Once we can sew him up, we can get him safely to the infirmary and treat this properly.”

I nodded.

“Well, make it quick and leave this place. More blood is about to be shed.”

Behind me Ronan was still shouting.

“Wait. Wait. Please, Cian. Just listen to me. I can help you. I can tell you who else was involved. Who else Aldric had under his control. Please.”

His voice was getting more desperate with every word.

The sentinels started dragging him toward the door.

Maren worked faster. Her hands moved in quick, efficient motions. Tying off the thread. Cutting it clean.

“Done,” she said.

She stood and gestured to Thorne. They both moved to lift Gabriel carefully. One on each side. Supporting his weight between them.

I looked at all of them.

“You four, along with my mother, should leave now.”

My mother had already stood from her seat in the gallery. She moved toward us slowly. Her face was pale but composed.

Thorne and Maren started toward the door with Gabriel between them. Fia stayed close beside them. My mother followed.

They were halfway across the hall when Callum spoke.

“And the trial comes to an—”

“I do not think so,” I said.

My voice cut through his words cleanly.

Callum stopped mid-sentence.

He turned to look at me. His expression shifted into something harder.

“Not yet,” I added.

He stood.

“Alpha Cian,” he said carefully. “We came here for Aldric Donlon and Ronan Ashworth. Justice has been served. The trial is concluded.”

I did not move.

I watched as Fia and the others reached the door. I watched as the sentinels pulled it open for them. Watched as they disappeared through it.

Then I watched as different sentinels moved into position.

The ones I trusted. The ones Garrett had personally vouched for. They stood in front of the closed doors now with guns in one hand and machetes in the other.

No one was leaving.

I turned back to Callum.

“Before Aldric perished, Pryce stood in arms with him,” I said. My voice was calm. Measured too. “And it was clear he expected more to do so. Why the rest of the traitors did not stand, I have no idea. Nor do I care. But I will not suffer more to live and breathe rot into my rule.”

The hall went silent.

Callum’s face hardened.

“And how will this be proven?” he asked. “Alpha Aldric was proven to be a very manipulative person. He may have had Pryce as an ally. But that could be it. His goal could have been to breed distrust and madness before he went out guns blazing.”

I looked at him.

“That is a possibility,” I said. “And that is why I will hand it over to the goddess herself.”

Callum’s eyes widened slightly.

He turned immediately toward Elder Moira.

Moira stood slowly from her seat.

She was the oldest of the elders. Her hair was completely white. Her face was lined with age. But her eyes were sharp and clear.

She stepped forward, and the room seemed to shift around her. The air grew heavier. Thicker.

It was her blessing.

It had to be.

The kind that had been passed down through generations of spiritual leaders. The kind that could not be faked or manipulated or bought.

“The lady Selene is here,” Moira said.

Her voice was quiet, but it carried through the hall like thunder.

“Swear your oaths, and if your heart is true, you will be blessed. If not, you will die a painful death that you deserve.”