The Wolfless Omega: The Alpha's Runaway Bride

Chapter Seven

Ronan's Perspective

From the moment that young lady from the Crestmoon Pack stepped out of the car, she hadn't let anyone have a moment's peace.

First, she complained that the welcoming arrangements weren't grand enough. She said that on her side, there would have been at least ten cars, but here there were only six. Was I looking down on them?

I smiled and said, "Time was short, so we didn't have a chance to prepare everything."

The young lady, Chloe, let out a cold snort and said nothing more.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief when she turned around and complained that the tea in the main hall didn't suit her taste.

As the ceremony proceeded step by step, she found fault with every single thing, as if her very presence here was an act of condescension.

The staff responsible for coordination scrambled back and forth trying to make amends. I stood nearby, a smile plastered on my face, but my mind kept drifting toward the pack center.

Before I left, Raine had said with a sulky face, "Off to pick up another woman, and you say it so righteously." That little pout of grievance—now that I thought about it, it almost made me want to laugh. I rarely saw her jealous and sulking like that.

I wondered what she was doing now. Was she staying in the room like she was supposed to? Or was she wandering around again?

Thinking back, I had indeed wronged her quite a bit over the years. I had used my Alpha Voice to suppress her in public. I had allowed Sable to make trouble for her again and again. And when Marta bullied her, I hadn't truly done anything to stop it.

But that didn't mean I never felt guilt—I just never showed it. An Alpha shouldn't show weakness to an Omega. That was an ingrained rule.

But recently, she had changed a lot. She had become too well-behaved. She didn't fuss, didn't talk back, even took the initiative to listen, even helped prepare for the marriage she should have hated most. When I told her my plans last night, she didn't turn cold or say something sarcastic like she used to. Instead, she nodded along with my words.

This change eased the guilt in my heart considerably. It even... gave me the illusion that the inexplicable deadlock between us could really be maintained like this, tepid but stable.

I had already paved the road ahead in my mind. Once the young lady from the Crestmoon Pack officially married in, nothing about Raine's arrangements would change. At most, I would move her somewhere more discreet. Things like today—where she couldn't even appear at the front—wouldn't happen again.

Anyway, there was nothing unusual about an Alpha having a concubine or two. As long as appearances were maintained, how I arranged things privately was my own business.

This thought ran through my mind several times, and the more I thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

"Are you mocking me?" Chloe suddenly said, staring at me.

I blinked. Was my smile that obvious?

"You misunderstand."

"Then why don't you go look in a mirror?" Her face showed displeasure.

"I apologize. I'm just feeling happy today." I gave her an apologetic smile, but my thoughts were still elsewhere.

Seeing that I had yielded to this extent, Chloe finally stopped throwing her young-lady tantrums.

The ceremony dragged on until dusk before it was finally finished. The young lady was finally escorted by her attendants to her accommodations. I saw her off at the door, then turned and headed toward the pack center, my steps much faster than usual.

Passing a small stall, I stopped on an inexplicable impulse and bought a packet of dried fruit—something Raine had once casually mentioned she liked.

Full of anticipation, I pushed open the door with the packet in hand.

The room was empty. The curtains weren't drawn. The bedding was neatly folded, exactly as I had left it this morning.

I called out, "Raine." No answer.

I set the dried fruit on the table. She was probably still sulking, deliberately hiding from me.

She had played this game before. I would just send people to find her.

"You two, go look for Raine. Tell her I'm waiting here. Remember, take your time searching. Don't scare her." I went out and instructed two people to check various places, not pushing them too hard.

I sat back in the room to wait. I poured a glass of water but didn't drink it, my fingers tracing the rim again and again.

I imagined Raine seeing me soon, discovering the dried fruit she loved. She would be happy, sweet.

I opened a small piece of dried fruit and tasted it. It was sweet and fresh, and the corner of my mouth lifted involuntarily.

But the sky slowly darkened. The light outside faded layer by layer. The packet of dried fruit sat on the table, looking a little lonely under the yellow lamplight.

A sense of unease and restlessness crept into my heart.

Would Raine really sulk to this extent? She had already been coaxed before I left today, hadn't she?

Maybe she was busy with something. I took a deep breath and suppressed my irritation, trying to convince myself.

After another long while, the first person returned.

I looked behind him—empty.

After a little while longer, the second person also came back, with the same expression.

"Alpha, we've checked the eastern and western storehouses and the logistics area. No one has been found."

My expression cooled a degree, and I set the glass down.

"Send another person and search again. Check the southern side quarters, the training grounds, and those corners no one usually goes to."

As I watched the servants leave, I realized my heart was filled with restlessness and frustration.

Raine, you had better not be using this trick to provoke me again. I told you to stay here and wait for me.

I stood up and looked around.

Raine had very few belongings, and everything was excessively neat. The room was quiet, giving one the illusion that someone had existed here, and yet not existed at all.

After some unknown time, footsteps came from outside. The door opened, bringing in a gust of night wind.

It was my Beta, Silas.

"Alpha," his voice was panicked, "we've asked every guard post. No one saw her leave. But the people at the unloading area said that before the last return convoy left today, someone thought they saw an Omega passing by the cart."

"How long ago did the return convoy leave?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and asked.

"It's been an entire afternoon."

My heart finally sank to the very bottom.

So this woman had been pretending to be obedient all along.

Raine, my Omega, had run away!

I crushed the paper packet of dried fruit in my fist, as if I wanted to grind it to dust.

"Pause the ceremony," I said to Silas, my voice low.

"Bring people. Follow me."