Walter

A Little While Earlier

"What on earth are you doing?" Yurena demands, her tone sharp, her eyes narrowing with disapproval.

"Holding a cake," I reply, dragging the words out slowly, deliberately. But it isn’t just a cake.

This is Oracle’s favorite cake, the one I’ve fought tooth and nail to get, the one I plan to use as bait to draw him out of his room.

The elevator dings as we pass another floor, the hum of machinery filling the silence between us.

I think back to the very long line I endured for this cake, the way I had to multitask between signing contracts with one hand while listening to Yurena’s endless complaints with the other ear.

She complained about everything, even the sun itself, as if the world had conspired against her. And yet, no one forced her to come. She simply forced her way into my car, as though her presence were inevitable.

"You know I’m not talking about the damn cake," she scoffs, crossing her arms with exaggerated annoyance, her nails tapping against her sleeve like a ticking clock.

"Mommy, honestly, I don’t see why you’re so defensive when it comes to Lorali. I don’t think the girl has it in her to hurt a fly, let alone be cunning. The way you hit her the other day was not cool," I say, shaking my head.

The words taste strange in my mouth. I can’t believe I’m actually defending the girl I swore to hate not even twenty-four hours ago.

"You’ve fallen into her innocent act, Walter!" Yurena snaps, her voice rising, echoing in the confined elevator. "Alma omegas are masters of manipulation. They blindfold you with sweetness, and by the time you wake up, the damage is already done."

"So what, you think she’s going to steal my pack right out from under me?" I reply, my tone dripping with sarcasm, though deep down I’m stunned that I once believed this story.

"Yes, exactly! You saw the way she looks. Those eyes are a schemer’s eyes."

"Right. I definitely didn’t see the eyes of a terrified girl dropped into a place she doesn’t understand," I counter, my voice sharp, my patience thinning.

"Walter, it’s all an act. She wants you to drop your guard. You must deal with her with a stern hand. Don’t be kind. Don’t tend to her wounds. If you do, she’ll play you." I sigh, shaking my head, suddenly understanding why Torin can’t stand his mother. "If she was going to seduce my pack, she would have done it already."

The elevator dings again, announcing our floor. I stride out without waiting for Yurena, unwilling to waste another breath arguing. My focus is on the cake, this glorious tiramisu, chocolate lava, sprinkled masterpiece. A calorie monster, yes, but delicious enough to tempt even Oracle.

Balancing the cake carefully in one hand, I push open the main door with the other, leaving it ajar for Yurena.

I climb the staircase, excitement rushing through me as I imagine Oracle finally stepping out for this irresistible offering.

My heart beats faster with anticipation, the thought of success filling me with energy. But the moment I’m near the first door of the hallway, a sound stops me cold.

"Ahh~"

The moan is soft, breathless, followed by ragged panting. My body stiffens, my grip on the cake faltering. From where I stand, the sight before me freezes the air in my lungs.

Oracle is between Lorali’s trembling legs, his mouth buried against pussy, devouring her with desperate hunger. Her moans ripple through the hallway, her face flushed, her eyes glazed with pleasure, her body arching as if she’s caught between pain and bliss.

I should look away. I need to look away. But I can’t. The sight roots me in place, heat building inside me against my will.

Oracle rises, crashing his mouth against hers, kissing her with a ferocity that speaks of craving long denied.

Their chemistry is undeniable and of two souls consuming each other, equal in their hunger, their bodies pressed together as if the world outside no longer exists.

My arousal spikes as Oracle trails his tongue down her neck, lingering at her shoulder, his hand hidden under her dress but I don’t need to see it to know his fingering her into deeper ecstasy.

Lorali’s moans grow louder, her breath hitching, until suddenly she screams, a sound that shatters me, ripping through the air like lightning.

I know instantly what has happened. Oracle has bonded with Lorali.

My heart slams against my chest, the world around me collapsing into silence. This isn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to do this. Why would he bond with her? Why?

"I told you she was a schemer," Yurena hisses suddenly at my ear, her voice slithering like a snake, her words dripping venom. "Look, she’s already gotten Oracle."

Her whisper coils around me, dragging me deeper into disbelief, dread, and a pit I can’t climb out of.

"She planned this from the start," Yurena hisses. "She assessed her targets and landed on Oracle. He’s the only one in this house not bonded to you, excluding Torin who is not here, which is a good thing cause if she won over the pack leader this pack would be done for."

Her accusation burns. Oracle and I don’t share a mate bond; we share a pack bond. Those two things are worlds apart. The bond I have with him is nothing like the one I share with Kei, Augi, and Oril, so it shouldn’t worry me who he chooses to bond with even if it’s her.

"It’s fine. It’s not like we’re bonded or anything," I manage to say, though my voice trembles.

Yurena scoffs, her hand flicking against my forehead with a sting. "Think, Walter. She planned this perfectly. She knew the ones in this pack without a mate bond to you would be the easiest to sway. So she started with Oracle. Tomorrow, if Torin isn’t back, she’ll go after Kei, then Augustus, or Oril." Her voice seethes with venom.

I bite my lip, clenching the cake box so tightly the cardboard bends beneath my fingers.

I don’t believe her.

I refuse to believe her.

Lorali isn’t capable of that. She’s kind. She has a smile that softens even the hardest edges. She wouldn’t stab me in the back. Never.

"Look at me," Yurena demands, reaching out and gripping my head, forcing me down to her level. Her eyes blaze with intensity.

"She’s an Alma omega. She will win. She will take your entire pack, not just Oracle or Torin. She will take them all. And you, Walter, you will be left at an omega homeless center. If you’re lucky. If not, you’ll be trafficked or kept like property."

Her voice cracks, and tears begin to form in her eyes. They aren’t waterfalls, but they glisten, heavy with pain. "Will you let her do that while you delude yourself in this false friendship you’ve built with her?"

Her tears break me. I can’t stop my own from spilling, can’t hold the facade of strength when her pain mirrors mine.

My chest tightens and my throat burns. "Why is this happening to me? Why me? I don’t want to be abandoned," I sniffle, the words tumbling out raw and desperate.

"I told you," she presses, her voice trembling yet firm, "you must deal with that omega with a stern hand."

I curl my lip, rolling my eyes even as my vision blurs with tears. "That plan won’t work. Not now that they’re bonded," I say, my voice rising.

Her hand quickly shoots up, covering my mouth, shushing me with urgency. She snatches the cake from my grip, her other hand locking around mine, pulling me away from the scene with force. My body stumbles after her, but my eyes, my eyes drift back to the room, burning with rage and hurt.

I never expected Lorali to be this calculative. I never expected her to strike so deeply. Fury surges through me, boiling over.

In a fit of anger, I use my free hand to shove down a flower vase perched on the hallway table. It crashes to the floor, shattering into a thousand jagged pieces, the sound echoing like thunder through the house.

~...~

WALTER’S ROOM

~...~

Yurena closes the door behind her, pressing it firmly and giving it an extra nudge to make sure it’s sealed. The click echoes in the room easing her nerves.

"She’ll never leave this house," she says, her voice low. "We both know it’s impossible for an omega to walk away from a pack she’s bonded to; it would be suicide no one want take her. Not even Alma could help her with this."

I pace barefoot across the floor, the cool tile biting at my skin, my thoughts spiraling. "My original plan is still perfect. We have to make her leave," Yurena says with great certainty.

"She won’t leave," I snap suddenly, my scowl deepening. "I am sure. Lorali—no, that whore—knows how hard life is for a bonded omega abandoned by her mate. She wants me to suffer that fate. She wants me destroyed."

Yurena moves closer, her eyes gleaming with a wild, almost crazed light. "But what if life here becomes even more unbearable than life out there?" she whispers, her tone sharp, her words slicing into me. "What if we make her existence so unbearable in this house that she’ll have no choice but to leave?"

"We already tried that," I shout, my voice rising, my pacing turning frantic. "It didn’t work. It took her a single day to get Oracle."

"That was because you helped her," Yurena spits, folding her arms with cold authority. "You caused what happened in Oracle’s room today. If you had listened to me sooner, none of this would have happened. You failed to show her dominance. Instead, you offered her a hand of help, and that gave her the gall to do what she did today."

Her reprimand cuts deep, her words heavy with blame.

"If you truly want this plan to work, if you want your pack back to normal, you’re going to have to choose, Walter. You can’t have it all. Either you become an abandoned bonded omega, or you deal with Lorali so she becomes the abandoned omega. And trust me, she’s scheming enough to survive on the streets if Alma doesn’t take her back. You won’t survive. You’ll die there, or worse, you’ll be trafficked."

I bite my nail, the taste of blood filling my mouth.

My chest tightens.

I can’t be abandoned. My parents would never accept me back. For an omega to return home after abandonment tarnishes the household name. It’s shame. It’s ruin. But what if all of this is madness? Oril, Kei, and Augi.

I don’t think they would ever abandon me. We’ve known each other for years. They’d never... right?

But this is an Alma omega we’re talking about.

They’re desirable.

They’re trained to be irresistible.

Oracle fell into her web in a matter of hours, and Oracle is supposed to be the difficult one, the unreachable one. If he fell, what if my mates fall too? What if I don’t realize it until it’s too late?

"I’ll do it," I say finally, my fists clenching, my voice trembling with resolve. "I will do what is necessary to get that witch out of this pack, out of this house, out of this city."

It’s me or her. One of us will be cut down. It would have been great if we could coexist, if two omegas could share one pack, one home.

But I know that’s impossible.

Two omegas cannot coexist. It’s against our biology.

"Good," Yurena breathes, her lips curling into a smile, her eyes shining with satisfaction. "There’s the fire I’ve been wanting to see in your eyes." She strokes my cheek gently, almost tenderly, though her touch feels like a brand.

"Make sure you tell the rest of your pack her wicked deeds. Ostracize her. Shut her out. That will drive her mad, to see her plans unravel."

I nod, listening, my mind sharpening into a single blade of purpose. I will win this game of ours, Lorali. Now that I know who you really are and what you’re capable of, I’ll play this game on your terms.

It’s me or you. And I may not know how this will end, but I know one thing with certainty: I’ll win.

You’ll be the one leaving, no matter what it takes for me to achieve that.

If you knew better, you’d leave now. But you don’t. And I know you won’t give up without a fight.