To ruin an Omega

Chapter 149: Girl talk

FIA

“I haven’t finished talking yet.”

Hazel’s voice stopped me before I could push her aside and reach for the door handle. I looked up, keeping my expression neutral even though exhaustion pulled at every muscle in my body.

“Then talk,” I said.

She tilted her head, studying me with that particular look she wore when she thought she held all the cards. “Men usually miss what they chased first. Did you know that?”

I waited. She would get to her point eventually. She always did.

“I came here tonight with a plan,” she continued, stepping closer. Her perfume was too sweet, cloying in the small space. “To get him back. Cian.” She said his name like it belonged to her, like she had some claim to it. “It shouldn’t be that hard, really. He’s just a man, after all.”

“He’s not a cheater,” I said. “And he’s not weak.”

Her smile widened. “You would have said the same thing about Milo once upon a time.” She paused, letting that sink in before adding, “But I had him.”

The words landed exactly how she intended them to. Sharp and deliberate.

“There is no man you will touch that I cannot take from you.”

I reached into my clutch slowly, deliberately, and pulled out my phone. My fingers moved across the screen, opening the recording app. I started it. Call it instinct. Call it survival.

“If I’m so lowly,” I said, keeping my tone even, “why are you obsessed with stealing everything my Omega hands touch?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I’m doing no such thing.” I looked at her directly. “You’re doing it for me. It’s why you’re here, Hazel. You want to get under my skin so badly. You want a reaction. You want me to be bothered by your existence when it’s increasingly clear that it’s you who’s bothered by mine.”

Her laugh came out wrong. Too high, too sharp, spiraling at the edges.

“I’m not bothered by you,” she said, and the smile dropped from her face entirely. “Why would that ever be the case?”

She moved closer, and I could see something darker settling into her features.

“What fuels me when it comes to you is hate.” She said it simply, like she was telling me the weather. “Do you want to know why I hate you?”

“I couldn’t care less.”

I moved toward the door, but she was faster. She slid in front of it, blocking my path with her body.

“We aren’t finished talking.”

“You despise that no matter how small I made myself, it didn’t make you any more special.” The words came out steady, factual. “I was an Omega. Yet I was cherished by pack members. I was an Omega child born to an illegitimate union, yet I was blessed with a fated mate. Which is why you gravitated to Milo. Not because you liked him or his penis. But because you wanted to shatter what we had.”

I gestured at her dress, the soft pink fabric that seemed chosen with surgical precision.

“You’re wearing pink because you hoped I would too. So all the smear campaign you successfully ran with Milo before you helped take his life would burn bright and hit harder. You could push the narrative even further that I was a scheming little Omega bitch who had it out for you since day one.” I paused. “Did I get it right?”

“No.”

The word came out flat, cold in a way I hadn’t heard from her before.

“Your mother and your existence hurt my mother,” Hazel said. “In a domino fashion, it trickled down and hurt me too. So I swore I wouldn’t be like her. If I had been in my mother’s shoes, I would have taken you and your mother out before you had the chance to even grow.”

She stepped closer, and I could see the truth of it written across her face.

“This is a takedown.”

The laugh burst out of me before I could stop it. It started as a chuckle and grew until I had to press my hand against my ribs, until tears stung at the corners of my eyes.

“You aren’t that cool, calculated, or smart, Hazel.” I wiped at my eyes, still laughing softly. “And there’s no one around. So why are you still performing?”

I let the laughter fade, let the smile drop from my face.

“Your reasons are more simple-minded. I’ll tell you. It is such a simple word. Such a small word.” I paused. “Jealousy.”

“You would know jealousy,” she shot back. “I saw Alpha Cian, you know. I saw him chase after that blonde woman. And let me tell you, the things people around us started to say.”

Something cold settled in my chest, but I kept my expression smooth. She would want me hot and bothered. I wouldn’t let her have that.

“Do you know who she is?”

“Madeline Blossom,” I said. “A witch and Cian’s ex. Do you know more?”

Hazel put a hand over her mouth in mock surprise. “See? You’re trying to act like it’s not getting to you.” She dropped her hand, eyes gleaming. “You were so proud to show him off as your possession today. But he sure showed you he’s not yours.”

My hands clenched at my sides. I forced them to relax.

“I will admit, I had a plan to take him back,” Hazel continued. “He’s a man after all. How hard could it be? Plus, I am hotter than you. Higher ranked than you. A better choice, really.”

She circled me slowly, like a predator assessing prey.

“But with what I’ve seen today, I’ll steer clear. And if you know what’s best for you, you should beg him to reject you so you can come back home to us.” Her voice dropped lower, almost sympathetic. “A man who isn’t over his first flame? Hell on earth. I would know.”

She stopped in front of me again.

“It’s why I had to kill Milo even when I didn’t want to. He still held something in his stupid heart for you.”

The words hung in the air between us. Final. Damning.

I pulled my phone out fully, holding it up so she could see the screen. The recording timer had been running the entire time. I scrolled to the end, found the exact timestamp, and pressed play.

Her voice filled the bathroom. “It’s why I had to kill Milo even when I didn’t want to.”

I paused it. Looked up at her face. Watched the color drain from her cheeks.

“What are you doing?” Her voice came out strangled.

“Sending it to the cloud and Father,” I said calmly. “So he knows what his beloved Luna daughter did.”

She lunged for the phone, but I was already moving. I twisted away, putting distance between us as I pulled up my contacts.

“Oh, the look on your face right now is gold.” I couldn’t help the small smile. “Afraid?”

“He has you blocked,” Hazel said quickly, desperately. “Mother and I made sure of it.”

“I have a new number.”

I pressed send.

The change in her was instantaneous. She screamed and came at me like something unleashed. Her hands found my shoulders, my hair, and she slammed me backward. My spine hit the edge of the sink, pain blooming sharp and bright. She shoved again and I felt the mirror crack against my back, heard the glass splinter and fall.

“You conniving evil bitch!”

She was still screaming, still pushing, and I let her. I let her rage spill over me because I needed this. I needed her to lose control completely.

Alpha Aldric’s words echoed in my mind, that conversation we’d had what felt like a lifetime ago now even if it was just a few minutes ago. “But you stand no chance if you’re not willing to go far and down, dragging yourself along in the madness.”

I smiled up at Hazel through the pain.

“Is this what you felt when you plotted against me?”

She froze. Her hands were still gripping my arms, but she had gone completely still.

“What?”

“I knew you couldn’t help yourself.” I kept my voice soft, almost gentle. “Father hasn’t unblocked me. And I don’t have a fucking new line.”

I watched understanding crash over her face like a wave.

“But you were afraid of being revealed, and common sense just went out the window.”

She looked down at me, at the blood on my face, at the shattered glass around us. Her hands started to shake.

“No. You made me do this intentionally.”

“How will you explain this?”

Hazel looked around wildly, panic written in every line of her body. Her eyes landed on the broken shards of mirror scattered across the floor. She grabbed one, the glass cutting into her palm as she held it up.

“You attacked me!”

She brought the shard toward her own hand, ready to cut herself, to create her own evidence.

“Trust me, no matter the story I spin. I will be believed. Your reputation is damaged.”

“Is that so?” I bent down and picked up a piece of glass myself. The sharp edge bit into my fingers, but I didn’t care.

“You used your Luna title to destroy me,” I said quietly. “I suffered, you know. I’m still suffering even. I don’t have to anymore though. I have evidence against you now and your beautiful work on my face and body.”

I stood up slowly, the glass shard held loosely in my hand.

“So this is karma, big sister.” I took a step toward her. “I’ll use my Omega title against you now. I’ll let them see what you are. And in this big space, you won’t be able to hide.”

I could feel it then. That pull in my chest that meant Cian was close, that he was coming. The bond thrummed with urgency.

“I’ll even wager my life on it.” I met Hazel’s eyes. “Something I know you could never do.”

I brought the shard up to my throat in one quick motion.

“I will admit, Hazel, this feels so fucking good.”

“Wait—” Hazel lunged forward, her hand reaching out to stop me.

But I was already moving. The glass bit into skin and I felt the sharp sting. I felt warmth begin to bloom. Not deep. Neither fatal. Just enough.

Just enough to make sure everyone would see exactly what had happened here.

Just enough for Cian to see and rage.