To ruin an Omega

Chapter 448: Blood is thinner 2

CIAN

I answered.

"Yes."

"Alpha Cian."

The voice belonged to one of the perimeter sentinels. He sounded nervous, his words coming out rushed.

"Alpha Marcus..." He paused, correcting himself quickly. "Sorry. Alpha Dimitri of Northern Ridge’s Nocturne is here."

Everything stopped.

Not physically. The car still moved, the engine still rumbled, but inside my head everything went silent. Dimitri. Here. At Skollrend. The name alone carried weight, history, complications I didn’t have the energy to deal with right now.

"Where?"

"Main gates. He arrived with a small group. Four wolves total. They’re waiting for clearance. It does not seem like they want a fight."

I processed that because of how funny it sounded.

I then scoffed because I could not help myself.

"No fight?" I said. "Then why did he send wolves into my forest before showing his face?"

Silence met me for half a second on the other end.

They knew it too. A man did not test borders in the dark and then stroll to the gates asking for manners unless he had come with intentions he preferred hidden.

"Let him in and treat him properly. I’ll be there shortly.I am already close."

I then hung up before the sentinel could respond.

Fia watched me through the mirror, her face giving away nothing.

"Dimitri... Marcus..." she said slowly, like she was testing the name against an old memory. "Is that not..."

"Alpha of Northern Ridge’s Nocturne," I finished for her.

The title felt thin for a man like him, too clean, too simple. I did not have time to explain the rest, not with the road still ahead of us and my temper already climbing. Not after what I knew now about the bastard and the part he had played in my father’s death. The thought of him standing at my gates made something dark stir in me. I wanted blood, more than I cared to admit, but not yet. Unless he gave me a reason. My hand tightened on the wheel as I pictured his face. If he were foolish enough to come here and provoke me, I would save us both the waiting.

I almost hoped that was why he had come.

Fia gave a small nod. "I am aware."

I let out a short breath. "Right. I forgot he’s your stepmother’s father."

She scowled at once, and I felt the disgust come off her so sharply it might as well have had a scent of its own.

"That is not all he is."

"What does that mean?" I could not help but ask.

She looked at me through the mirror again, then gave me a small smile that did nothing to hide what had flashed across her face a moment ago. "I will tell you later. Right now, I do not want to think about grim dark things."

I did not like that answer. Not even a little.

The disgust in her had been too deep, too personal, the kind that did not come from gossip or old family grudges. It sat badly in my gut, and before I could stop it my mind had already gone somewhere ugly. Dimitri had a reputation. Every pack knew it. Young women, servants, daughters too close to his halls, girls too powerless to refuse a man like him. If he had ever tried that filth with her when she was younger, I would gut him where he stood.

I kept my eyes on the road, jaw tight enough to ache.

"No problem," I said.

I pressed harder on the accelerator.

The trees blurred past as the car picked up speed. My mind worked through possibilities, running scenarios, trying to predict what could have brought him here. We did not have any trade disputes or even territory disagreement. Except he was considering an alliance proposal, which I would outrightly reject on the spot.

None of them felt right, though. None of them explained the timing.

The main gates appeared ahead.

I slowed the car, pulling up beside the guard post. Four wolves stood on the other side of the iron bars, all of them in human form, dressed casually but alert. Dimitri stood at the center. Tall, broad-shouldered, with salt and pepper hair pulled back and eyes that tracked every movement.

I somehow got here before they let him in.

I rolled down the window completely.

One of our sentinels approached, leaning down to speak quietly.

"He requested an audience with you specifically. He said it was urgent."

"I’m sure I gave permission to open the gates. It would be unkind to peddle and bolster rumors that we are an unfriendly pack that disrespects other Alphas."

The sentinel nodded and stepped back at once. Metal groaned through the night as the gates pulled inward, slow and heavy, and Dimitri started forward without hesitation. The wolves he had brought stayed where they were near the entrance, holding their ground instead of following him inside. Smart move. It kept the gesture clean and harmless on the surface. Everything in the way he carried himself, the measured pace, the open posture, the empty hands, had been chosen to look like diplomacy. Nothing careless, nothing accidental. He wanted every breath, every step, every glance to say he had come in peace.

I got out of the car.

The afternoon air felt colder than it should have, thin and sharp against my skin despite the light still hanging over the trees. I shut the door behind me and moved without thinking, placing myself between Dimitri and the vehicle. Fia stayed in the backseat, but I could feel her watching through the glass.

Dimitri stopped a few feet away. Close enough to speak quietly, far enough to show caution.

"Cian."

There was no heat in his voice, no challenge, no false warmth either. Just my name.

"Dimitri."

We stood there looking at each other, two men measuring distance, weakness, intent. The yard seemed to be quiet around us. Even the wolves by the gate had gone still. I waited for him to explain why he had crossed into my territory, why he had sent wolves through my forest before announcing himself, and why he thought any of this was acceptable. He said nothing at first, and the silence between us thickened until it felt like something with weight.

Then he finally spoke.

"I need to talk to you about your Luna... Fia."

The name landed like a strike to the ribs. That was why he was here? Why the fuck would that be why he was here?

Every part of me locked down at once. My shoulders hardened. My jaw set. Even the wolf under my skin went still in that dangerous way that came before violence. Dimitri never looked away. He kept his eyes on mine like he already knew what saying her name would cost him.

"What about her?"

My voice came out flat, stripped clean of feeling, which was always when I was closest to losing control.