The Wolfless Omega: The Alpha's Runaway Bride

Chapter 12

Ronan's Perspective

Every Omega who joined the Pack lived in this area, and Raine had been no exception. It wasn't until two years ago, when she began serving me personally, that I arranged a temporary residence for her at the Pack center. But the dormitory where she had lived—this was the first time in my life I had ever stepped inside.

A small square cubicle, a few square meters. One narrow window. One table and cabinet.

Could anyone really have lived here? Had anyone ever put down roots? Raine had lived here for years, yet she had left nothing behind. I had always thought I treated her well enough. But this empty room was like a slap to my face. I stood before that narrow window, silent for a long time.

It wasn't until today, when I decided to inspect the area myself, that I realized everything was nothing like I had imagined.

As I stood there in a daze, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. It sounded like someone running.

"Help! Somebody help!"

"Ella is dying! She's bleeding out! Please, have mercy—call a doctor!"

"Who's making that noise?" I walked out of the dark corridor with Silas and saw a thin, short-haired Omega shouting in all directions.

The dormitory supervisor's face changed dramatically. She rushed out and tried to drag the Omega away. "Don't talk nonsense here! You'll dirty the Alpha's ears!"

The Omega's face was streaked with tears, and she clung desperately to the doorframe.

She screamed hysterically at the supervisor, "Aren't you afraid of retribution?!"

"Silas, bring her here," I said.

The supervisor looked troubled and stammered, "My lord, she's just an unruly one. I'll handle it."

"I wasn't speaking to you." I frowned with clear displeasure.

She didn't dare say another word.

The Omega was brought before me. She threw herself to the ground, her voice choked with sobs. "My lord, please—please help. Ella miscarried. She hasn't stopped bleeding. We couldn't get a doctor. It's been a whole night... She's going to die."

I had never heard of such a thing. After a long silence, I turned to Silas. "Call for a doctor."

Then I looked down at the Omega. "Lead the way."

Silas and I followed her through the damp, dark corridors. The deeper we went, the stronger the stench of blood and rot in the air. I suppressed the churning in my stomach as she brought us to her destination.

The wooden bed was covered in blood. A skeletal Omega lay there, her face ashen and still, buried under layers of clothing. But the blood between her legs was vivid and glaring. She looked like a sheet of paper, her eyes closed, already without breath.

Two Omegas knelt beside her, too afraid to even cry out loud.

The doctor Silas had summoned arrived and examined Ella.

When he came back out, he shook his head at me. "My lord, the patient has missed the golden window for emergency treatment. She can't be saved."

In an instant, the Omegas around me lowered their heads in despair and wept.

I shifted my gaze to the trembling supervisor. The guilt on her face could no longer be hidden.

"The doctor assigned to the living quarters—why didn't he come all night?" I asked her coldly.

The supervisor shrank back, her lips quivering. "I—I don't know. Perhaps—perhaps the doctor was delayed by something...?"

The short-haired Omega suddenly pointed at her and screamed, "You're lying! You and the doctor are in it together! Ella and some of us couldn't pay this month's 'protection fee,' so you made things hard for us and watched her die!"

The two kneeling Omegas clung to each other and sobbed.

The supervisor's face went white. "Nonsense! What protection fee—"

"Enough!" I was furious. Cold light flashed in my eyes as I released my Alpha Voice at her.

She dropped straight to her knees, her hands clawing desperately at her own throat. Her face turned from white to purple, her eyes rolling back.

Just as she was about to suffocate, I withdrew my dominance.

She collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Wake her up. Bring the doctor here too. Interrogate them both."

I turned to the Omegas. "You will give your statements. Tell everything truthfully."

The interrogation didn't take long. The truth came out quickly—the supervisor had colluded with the doctor, taking bribes for years. Only Omegas who paid regularly, or who had powerful backers, were assigned decent housing and medical care. Those who couldn't pay had no right even to summon a doctor.

"Ella's body will be buried according to Pack rites. Her family will receive appropriate compensation. Those responsible will be publicly executed in the coming days."

Their friend was already dead. Apart from material comfort, there was nothing else I could offer.

"Thank you, Alpha." They looked at me with timid, numb eyes—yet full of gratitude.

My heart was a tangled knot of emotions.

Raine had once said that Omegas were treated worse than pigs and dogs in the Pack.

I had thought those were words spoken in anger—exaggeration. But now I had seen it with my own eyes. Most of the rights Omegas were supposed to have on paper had been stripped away in reality. The Pack treated them as slaves. Male werewolves generally saw Omegas as objects for s****l release. Medical care was their lowest priority. They lived in constant fear—standing up for a friend required risking everything.

Just one inspection, and I had already rooted out two parasites in a single day.

I finally realized I had been living in an ivory tower.

I had thought my administration was open, transparent, rigorous, and fair—that once procedures were followed, everything was handled properly. But I had never known how much filth was happening beneath the surface.

This only confirmed what Raine had said about the trafficking chain. How much of those proper documents and recruitment procedures were real? What else was hidden in the Pack under my rule that I knew nothing about?

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, my voice carried a ruthlessness even I found unfamiliar.

"Effective today, the Ashgrave Pack will officially establish the Omega Protection Association. Any Omega who suffers unfair treatment may come forward and speak. We will see justice done."