Shadow Unit Scandal: The Commander's Omega-Chapter 51: Let him believe

The locks disengaged with a muted click.

Rafael lifted the lid and for a moment, he simply looked inside.

The suit was black and structured through the shoulders and torso, the fabric fell in long lines that covered everything and was fashionable. It was unmistakably omega-cut, narrow at the waist, but reinforced beneath the elegance, seams threaded with ether-binding that would hold under impact as easily as under scrutiny while shining silver in any light.

He reached out and brushed two fingers along the sleeve. The material was cool, dense, and expensive in a way that was definitely Gregoris’s style.

"Of course," Rafael murmured. "Armor."

He lifted the suit from its cradle and held it up, assessing proportions out of habit. It would fit. Gregoris did not guess at measurements.

Beside the main suitcase, nestled in a separate box, lay the jewelry.

Minimal, as promised. White gold and darkened silver, sharp geometry softened only where it would rest against skin. One piece in particular caught his attention, a necklace, understated at first glance, until the light shifted and revealed the ether-lattice woven into its core, most likely a protective spell over it.

Rafael exhaled slowly.

Then he saw the final compartment.

He froze.

The collar lay on top of a dark, expensive velvet lining, with pearls neatly arranged in rows. At the center sat the crest of Alamina: a wolf in motion, teeth bared, flames etched into its form with such precision they almost seemed to breathe. The metal was dark silver, treated, and reinforced.

Unlocked.

Optional, in the same way cliffs were optional to approach.

Rafael stared at it for a long moment.

Rafael remained where he was, hands braced on the edge of the case, the open compartments laid out like a deliberate argument. The suit. The jewelry. And now this. Gregoris’s thinking was arranged neatly in velvet and metal, as if intent could be made reasonable by presentation alone.

He reached for the collar before he fully decided to.

It was cool against his fingers, heavier than it looked, and balanced with an accuracy that suggested it had been designed to be worn with or without the receiver’s consent. The pearls were smooth, warm almost instantly where his skin touched them, their color chosen with infuriating care. Functional in the way that Gregoris preferred, with every choice justified and every detail explainable, even if it was proprietary.

Rafael turned it slightly, studying the clasp.

Unlocked, yes. Which was almost worse.

There was no visible trap here. Just an offer laid bare, stripped of ceremony and delivered with enough confidence to be insulting. Gregoris wasn’t asking. He was stating terms and allowing Rafael the dignity of refusing them again, if he wished.

That was the part that made his chest tighten.

"You really don’t learn," Rafael murmured, though his voice lacked any real heat. If anything, it carried the faint edge of a laugh he hadn’t fully decided to allow. "Or you learn too well. I can’t tell which is worse."

He set the collar back into its cradle, more carefully than necessary, and straightened, pressing a hand briefly to the bridge of his nose. The apartment felt smaller now, as if the walls had leaned in just enough to listen.

There was a familiar tug beneath the irritation, a thread of something he didn’t like examining too closely. The uncomfortable awareness of being seen too clearly by someone who had no intention of looking away.

The first collar had been easy to return. Spite had carried him through that decision with satisfying efficiency.

This one lingered.

Rafael glanced back at the case, at the suit that would fit him perfectly, the jewelry designed to protect him, and the collar that matched his skin as if it belonged there. Gregoris simply adjusted, recalculated, and tried again, this time closer, sharper, with fewer assumptions and greater intent.

Rafael huffed a quiet breath, somewhere between a laugh and a surrender he absolutely refused to name.

"You’re exhausting," he said to the empty room, as if Gregoris might hear it anyway. "Do you know that?"

He reached out and closed the lid, the soft click echoing louder than it should have.

Rafael stood there for another moment, one hand resting on the closed case, feeling the faint vibration of intent still humming through it, and then he exhaled and moved.

The wardrobe occupied an entire wing of the penthouse, though Rafael continued to refer to it as a closet out of habit and mild spite. He crossed into it barefoot, the lights responding automatically, panels sliding aside to reveal rows of carefully arranged garments, categorized by function and mood.

He set the larger case down on the central island and opened it again, this time without hesitation.

It belonged there, in the never-wear section, as he had no intention of wearing it in his life.

The jewelry followed, returned to its box with more care than he would admit to anyone else. He slid the lid closed, then paused, fingers resting on the smooth surface.

Then, finally, the collar.

Rafael carried it across the room and set it aside on the island. He would deal with that later. Or not at all. Either option remained open, and he was not in the mood to resolve it just yet.

He turned toward the far end of the wardrobe.

There, on a mannequin positioned beneath a soft, focused light, stood the suit he had already chosen.

White. Clean-lined. Cut close to the body without clinging, the coat worn open and low, unapologetically bare beneath it. No shirt. No armor woven into the seams. Nothing defensive about it at all. It was a choice that invited attention and refused to explain itself. Of course it was out of spite and directed at one single alpha.

Rafael stopped in front of it, studying the lines with a critical eye. He adjusted the lapel by a fraction and smoothed the fabric where it fell over the hip.

"This will do," he murmured, though the decision had been made long before the words left his mouth.

After a moment, he turned back and retrieved the jewelry case from Gregoris’s delivery. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He opened it again, slower this time, and let his gaze pass over the contents without the earlier irritation. His fingers hovered, then settled on a slimmer piece, a silver-gold chain, understated to the point of restraint.

He lifted it free and held it up against the white suit, tilting his head.

’Yes. That.’

Rafael returned the rest of the jewelry to its place, closed the box, and set it neatly beside the black suit.

The collar remained where it was.

He looked at it once more before turning away, expression unreadable, then reached up and dimmed the wardrobe lights.

’Three days,’ he thought, already moving back toward the living space.

Plenty of time for Gregoris to believe he was in control.