Chapter 125: Bite ALDRIC The medic Omega worked quietly on my hand. Her fingers were gentle as she pulled glass from my knuckles. Each shard clinked into a metal tray beside her. The sound was methodical. Almost soothing. I watched her work without really seeing it. My mind was elsewhere. Calculating. Waiting. How had my little play against Fia gone? Had Elara been vicious enough? Had she pushed hard enough to make the girl crack? The door burst open. Elara rushed in. Her face was blotchy. Red. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her breathing came in short gasps like she had run the entire way. I stood immediately. The medic’s hands fell away from mine. "What happened?" Elara’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. No words came out. Just a strangled sound that might have been a sob. My pulse quickened. Not from concern. From curiosity. From the need to know what had transpired. What pieces had moved on the board while I was here getting bandaged. "Tell me." I kept my voice calm. Steady. The anchor she needed. "She’s insane, Father." The words finally tumbled out. Broken. Frantic. "She framed me!" Perfect. I crossed the space between us and pulled her into my arms. She collapsed against my chest. Her whole body shook. "I warned you." I stroked her hair. Let my voice carry just the right amount of gentle reproach. "I told you not to do anything." "I know. I know." Elara’s fingers clutched at my shirt. "But she wanted... She wanted Cian to see me as an enemy." Her voice cracked. "And I think she succeeded." I held her tighter. Felt her tears soak through the fabric. "Don’t worry about this." "But—" "Cian is your cousin." I pulled back enough to look at her face and to let her see the certainty in mine. "He can never quite hate you." Elara looked up at me. Her eyes were desperate. Searching for comfort. For reassurance. "You didn’t see the way he looked at me, Father." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He was repulsed." I cupped her face in my hands. Careful of my bandaged knuckles. "Don’t worry about it, baby. Daddy will take care of this." "You mean it?" I nodded as I let the weight of that promise settle between us. Relief flooded her features. Then something harder replaced it. Determination. "That Omega bitch has to go." She studied my face. "You agree, right?" I paused, letting the silence stretch just long enough. "If she poses a threat to Cian, then of course. But I believe she was just throwing her grief in the wrong place. It is a big pack and traitors were recently outed. She was even a victim of one. She must just be afraid." Elara stiffened in my arms. Her expression shifted. Confusion. Then anger. "This is not the time to be noble, Father." "I’m not being noble." I kept my tone measured. Reasonable. "I’m being careful." "No." She pulled away from me. Her hands clenched at her sides. "You needed to see the sinister look on her face. It was like she got me right where she wanted me." Her voice rose. "Like she knew to egg me on so I would react exactly the way she wanted." Interesting. So Fia had been strategic. Calculated. She had played Elara like an instrument and my daughter had danced to every note. Could the girl be even more dangerous than I had given her credit for if she was actually being intentional with her meddling? "I don’t think that’s what happened." I let doubt creep into my voice. I made sure Elara heard it. Her eyes went wide. "Are you defending her?" "I’m being objective." "I’m your daughter!" The words exploded out of her. Raw and full of hurt. "You’re supposed to always be in my corner. Just like I was in yours!" The accusation was supposed to sting, I guess. Not because it was true. But because it revealed how deeply I had hooked her. How completely she believed in this image of us against the world. I had built that. Nurtured it. And now it was paying dividends even as it demanded more of me. "You acted rash." I kept my voice soft. "Despite me telling you not to." "You just wanted me to sit there while a low hanging Omega slandered your name?" Elara’s chest heaved. Her face flushed darker. "She even said it was you who put Luna Morrigan in that state. The things she said... Goddess..." She shuddered. The rage and hate rolled off her in waves I could almost feel. Good. I moved to her again and pulled her back into my embrace. She needed it. She needed to feel safe. Protected. "You know I wouldn’t do that." "Of course." Her voice was muffled against my chest. "But with the way Cian seems now... with her..." She pulled back to look at me. Fear shone in her eyes. Real fear. "What if she deceives him? What if she makes him believe those vile things about you?" If Fia had real proof, If she was sure her voice was enough, I would already be in a cell right now. Or dead. Cian would have come for me with all the rage of a protective father and mate. Nothing I said would have stopped him. But I was here. Free. Unbothered except for my self-inflicted wounds. My swift experiment had been a success. Elara hated Fia to the bone now. Nothing was going to change that. The girl had cemented herself as an enemy in my daughter’s mind. Every future interaction would be filtered through this lens of betrayal and manipulation. Elara was vindictive. The one good trait she inherited from her bitch mother. She would want the Omega buried now. And Fia had proven she was not a stray with all bark and no bite. She could be a creature of cruel logic if pushed. Strategic. Willing to play along just to make Elara look like the villain. Clever, I guess. Not that a dying dog’s struggle would matter in the end. I hugged Elara even tighter and let her feel the strength of my conviction. "That will never happen." "How can you be sure?" "Because I know my nephew." The words flowed smooth as silk. "And I know how to handle situations like this." Elara relaxed slightly in my arms. Not completely. But enough. She wanted to believe me. Needed to believe me. I glanced over her head at the medic Omega still standing by the table. She had gone very still. Very quiet. Her eyes were locked on the floor. She had heard everything. "Please leave us." My voice carried no room for argument. The medic gathered her supplies quickly. The tray of glass shards rattled as she picked it up. She scurried out without a word. The door clicked shut behind her. I guided Elara to sit on the edge of my desk. She looked small suddenly. Younger than her years. Like the little girl who used to come running to me when the world felt too big and scary. I had protected her then. Soothed her fears. Made her feel invincible. I could do it again now. "Tell me exactly what happened." I kept my voice gentle. Curious rather than demanding. "From the beginning." Elara took a shaky breath. "I found her by the pool. With another Omega." She wiped at her face. "I confronted her. Told her what you said. About how she threatened you." "And?" "She denied it." Elara’s jaw tightened. "Said you were lying. That you were a monster. A murderer." Her hands clenched in her lap. "So I slapped her." Of course she did. "Then what?" "She hit me back." Elara touched her cheek. I could see the faint redness still there. "Three times. Hard." I felt a flicker of genuine surprise. Fia had fought back? Had she actually matched Elara blow for blow instead of cowering? Interesting. "I tried to..." Elara’s voice faltered. "I grabbed a pool chair. I was going to just scare her. But she moved. She twisted my wrist and made me drop it." She looked up at me. "She said she took defense classes. Goddess, she is an insufferable bitch." Better and better. "And then?" "I pushed her." The words came out small. Ashamed. "I just pushed her. Because I was angry. I wasn’t thinking. And she..." Elara swallowed hard. "She fell into the pool." "Cian saw." It wasn’t a question. Elara nodded miserably. "I didn’t know he was there. But he saw me push her. He saw her fall." Tears welled up again. "And the way he looked at me, Father. Like I was garbage. Like I was nothing." I processed this. Turned it over in my mind. Fia had let herself fall. Just like Elara was, I was certain of it. A trained fighter didn’t just topple into a pool from a simple push. She had choices. She could have caught herself. Could have turned it into something less dramatic. But she had chosen the fall. Chosen to be the victim in front of Cian. Brilliant. Manipulative. Exactly what I would have done but with a lot more grace. "She played you." I said it quietly. I let Elara hear the respect in my voice even as I condemned the act. "I know!" Elara’s frustration boiled over. "I know she did. But how do I make Cian see that? How do I make anyone see that?" "You don’t." I moved to stand in front of her. "Not right now." "Then what do I do?" "You wait." I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You be patient. You let her think she’s won this round." Elara’s eyes narrowed. "Why?" "Because people who think they’ve won get careless." I smiled. "They make mistakes. They overreach. And when they do, the people they hurt will be there to catch it." "What if she doesn’t make mistakes?" "I frankly do not believe she is evil. But if she is this monster, she will reveal herself. Everyone makes mistakes, sweetheart." I cupped her chin and lifted her face so she had to look at me. "Everyone." She searched my eyes. Looking for the certainty I always gave her. The absolute conviction that Daddy would fix everything. I let her find it. "What about Cian?" Her voice was small again. Vulnerable. "What if he never forgives me?" "He will." I said it with complete confidence. "Blood is thicker than water. And you are his blood. She’s just..." I paused. "She’s just an Omega who got lucky." The words landed exactly how I needed them to. I saw Elara’s spine straighten. Saw some of that fire return to her eyes. "You’re right." She nodded. "You’re right." "I always am." I smiled. I let it be warm and almost paternal. "Trust me, baby. I’ve been navigating pack politics since before you were born. I know how these things work." Elara stood. She wrapped her arms around me again. This time not from fear or desperation. But from gratitude. From love. "Thank you, Father." "Always." I held her close. Breathed in the scent of her hair. Let myself feel something almost genuine for just a moment. Then I let it go. Because genuine feelings were dangerous. They made you weak. Made you vulnerable. Made you do stupid things like Cian was doing right now with his little Omega mate. I had learned that lesson long ago. Elara pulled back. She wiped the last of her tears away. "I should go." "Good idea." I walked her to the door. "And Elara?" She turned back. "No more confrontations." I made my voice firm. "Not until I say so. Understood?" She hesitated. I could see the rebellion brewing. The desire to strike back. To hurt Fia the way she had been hurt. "Understood?" "Yes, Father." The words came reluctantly. But they came. Good enough. She left. The door closed behind her with a soft click. I stood there for a long moment. Staring at the wood grain. Processing everything. Fia had shown another of her hand today. She could be smart, strategic, willing to take hits if it meant winning the larger game. And it was almost like she wanted to send a message to me that she had Cian wrapped around her finger tightly enough that he would turn on his own cousin for her. And soon enough, me. That was dangerous. Very dangerous. But not invincible. No one was invincible. I looked down at my bandaged hand and flexed my fingers. Pain shot through my knuckles but it was manageable now. Dulled by whatever the medic had given me. It would heal in a few hours anyway. The game was getting more complex. More variables than I had planned for. But that just made it more interesting. I had played against skilled opponents before. Had won against people who should have destroyed me. Fia thought she was clever. Thought she had created a rift that would weaken my position. What she didn’t understand was that I had been in this game for a long time. And I didn’t play to lose. I did get something from this though. Oh... now I knew. Now I understood what I was really dealing with. A worthy opponent. Not worthy enough to win. But worthy enough to make this interesting. I walked back to the window. The sun was starting to reach its peak. The heat was insufferable. Beautiful.