To ruin an Omega

Chapter 129: Believe me, Thomas 1

FIA

The silence stretched between us. Ronan’s eyes stayed on mine. Waiting. Patient in a way that made my skin prickle.

I knew how this would sound. Insane. Paranoid. The ravings of someone who had already been labeled a liar and a manipulator. But he was standing here. He was listening. He saw something wrong with Aldric too.

Maybe that would be enough.

“It sounds insane,” I said finally.

“Most things worth saying do.”

I looked past him. At the sentinels scattered across the training ground. They were far enough away. Their own conversations would drown out ours. I would like to think so. But paranoia still crawled up my spine like spiders.

“When the Grand Luna coded,” I said quietly, “it was an intentional act.”

Ronan’s expression didn’t change. He just watched me as he waited for me to continue.

“Alpha Aldric poisoned her again.”

That got a reaction. His eyebrows drew together. Not quite a frown. More like he was trying to work through a math problem that didn’t make sense.

“Poisoned her,” he repeated slowly.

“Yes.”

“Again.”

“Yes.”

“Why?” He tilted his head slightly. “She was already under. Already dying. What would be the point if he didn’t succeed in killing her?”

“I don’t know. But I know he wanted her dead. It might have been because she was waking up.”

The words hung between us. Ronan stared at me. His face was blank. Carefully blank. The kind of expression someone wore when they were trying very hard not to show what they were thinking.

“The Grand Luna was waking up?” he said. His tone was flat. Neutral. The kind of voice lawyers used when they were leading witnesses toward admissions.

“Yes.”

“From a magical coma induced by alchemized poison that no one in our pack has been able to cure because we aren’t witches or warlocks.”

My hands clenched in my pockets. “Yes.”

“Luna Fia.” He said my name like he was trying to be patient. Like he was talking to someone who needed to be handled carefully. “You have to see how that sounds.”

“I know how it sounds.”

“Do you?” He took a step closer. It was not in aggressive manner. He simply wanted to be closer. “Because it sounds like you’re claiming something impossible happened. And that Aldric somehow knew about it and acted to prevent it.”

“I’m not claiming anything,” I shot back. “I’m telling you what happened.”

“Right.” He nodded slowly. “And how exactly did the Grand Luna start waking up from poison that’s supposed to be incurable?”

My throat tightened. This was the part I couldn’t explain. The part that would make me sound even crazier. But I had already started. Backing out now would just make everything worse.

“We made a cure.”

Ronan blinked. “We.”

“Yes.”

“We,” he repeated. “As in you and who else?”

“Thorne and I.”

“Thorne.” His voice was still flat. Still neutral. But something flickered behind his eyes. “The healer.”

“Yes.”

“The healer made a cure for alchemized poison.” He paused. Let that statement sit between us. “Last I checked, he’s not a witch and he is nothing like the true ones that existed during the age of legends.”

“He’s not.”

“So how did he cure magical poison?”

I wanted to grab him. To shake him until he stopped using that calm reasonable tone and just listened. But that would only make things worse. So I forced myself to stay still. To keep my voice level.

“You really have to believe me here.”

“I’m trying.” He held up his hands. “But you’re not making it easy.”

“We found a way,” I said. “I don’t know all the details. Thorne handled most of it. But we made something that worked.”

“And you know the cure that was made did this because? It could have been anything else.”

“Because I gave it to her.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Ronan stared at me. His expression shifted from careful neutrality to something harder to read. Calculation maybe. Or suspicion.

“You gave it to her,” he said slowly.

“Yes.”

“Not Thorne.”

“No.”

“But Thorne took the fall for it.”

My chest tightened. “Yes.”

“So you’re telling me that you administered an experimental cure to the Grand Luna. That Thorne covered for you. And that she started waking up because of it.”

“Yes.”

He shook his head. Not denial exactly. More like he was trying to process information that didn’t fit into any framework that made sense. “Forgive me. But that feels like another lie.”

The words hit harder than they should have. I knew he would doubt me. I knew that my history made everything I said suspect. But hearing him say it still hurt.

“It’s not a lie.”

“Then why did Thorne take the blame?”

“Because he felt he owed me. Who the fuck knows!”

“Doesn’t explain why. And I am trying so hard to believe you.”

“Because…” I stopped. Because admitting the truth would mean admitting how powerless I really was. How easily I could be dismissed or punished. How little my word meant compared to theirs. “Because it was safer for me that way. Imagine how Cian would have been if the blame was thrown at me?”

Ronan studied me. His eyes moved over my face like he was searching for cracks in my story. For signs of deception or delusion.

“Okay,” he said finally. “Let’s say I believe that. Let’s say you somehow cured her. What does that have to do with Aldric?”

“After she coded, we did a blood test.”

“We.” His tone sharpened slightly. “You and Thorne again.”

“Yes.”

“And this blood test showed what exactly?”

I met his eyes. Held his gaze even though every instinct screamed at me to look away. “Trace amounts of an anesthetic. Something that would slow down healing. Make her weaker. Silver Thorn Draft.”

“And?”

“And more of the poison. In lethal doses.”

His jaw tightened. “You’re saying someone gave her more poison after you supposedly cured her.”

“I’m saying Aldric did.”

“Because?”

“Because she was waking up. Because maybe she would have known something and she would have told everyone what really happened. Because he couldn’t let that happen. Plenty things do come to mind. So stop being a doubtful Thomas.”

Ronan was quiet for a long moment. He looked away. Looked at the training ground. At the sentinels sparring in the distance. When he looked back at me his expression was guarded.

“You understand what you’re accusing him of,” he said quietly.

“I do.”

“This isn’t just scheming or manipulation. You’re saying he tried to kill the Grand Luna. Multiple times.”