The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 117: The silent girl.

~Zarek’s POV~

Fear.

As much as my egotistical self would hate to admit it, lately, fear has become a feeling I’ve grown accustomed to, and it was all I felt when I heard about Nyx’s and Leila’s unfortunate situation.

Fortunately, by the time I saw them, they were fine. Out of danger. So after spending some time with them, I left the hospital.

But now, I was more than keen to know who must’ve started this stir.

Now, I couldn’t help but be more antsy as each second flew past.

As I walked past Dahlia’s room with Drogon following behind me, I caught sight of her sitting helplessly on her bed while Grandma Lupe and her granddaughter hovered over her. I knew that I could hear what they were talking about if I wanted to but I decided instead to block it out. I decided to block her out.

Maybe I am stupid and a coward, but now I fear that my very obvious care for her was one of the reasons she was overly targeted. I feared that the reason she was continuously hurt over and over again was because of her relations with me. And I didn’t want that.

I wanted her safe.

Sighing, I stepped out of the hospital and let out a shaky exhale when the cool air blew at my face. Because I didn’t want to waste so much time trekking back to the fortress, I gathered my robe in my arms and leapt onto a waiting horse.

Drogon always leaves horses wherever I go, I always just decide not to use them most of the time— but today isn’t one of those times.

The first thing I did when I arrived at the fortress was head straight to the kitchen, and as soon as I stepped into the blackened smoky and noisy room, the chatter happening all around me instantly died, replaced instead by an uncomfortable silence. Everyone turned to me, the surprise evident on their faces.

And then, like they’d all been charged by some invisible force, they bowed, chorusing; "Your Grace."

"To what do we owe this special visit?" Ms Berlin, the head servant stepped forward, her eyes gleaming in a way that grated so much on the last threads of my barely put together nerves.

I didn’t spare her a glance but instead walked straight to the girl cooking. I asked; "What’s for dinner?"

The young girl who seemed taken aback by my question turned to me with wide fearful eyes. She opened her mouth but instantly snapped it close. I frowned.

"Is it your tongue we’re having for dinner?"

She ducked her head as color rose on her cheeks. "No, Alpha. It’s wheat and spice porridge. And then there is Marchpane for dessert."

I hummed. "Good," noticing the way her shy eyes drilled into my skin like nails in a wall. "Who’s helping out?"

"Maxine and Pae." The girl said quickly this time and again, I nodded.

"You, Maxine and Pae, stay behind. The rest of you, come with me." I ordered, causing a low murmur to rise amongst the women.

Berlin stepped forward with her head bowed. "Alpha, I wanted to stay back to inspect them, and those two girls..." her voice trailed off as she pointed to two brunettes with lather on their hands and some on their dresses, "...they’re doing the dishes."

I regarded her slowly, then the two shaky girls who would’ve easily passed as twins with the amount of lather covering them. I shook my head. "Whatever happens to the food, those girls will be held responsible." I drawled, noticing the way the said girls eyes widened in fear before a shocked gasp slipped through one of their lips.

"I’d advise them to cook safely. And as for you and the dishwashers, they can always wash those dishes later. And you don’t need to supervise them, not when I’m taking you all for questioning."

More shocked gasps. More murmurs erupted around the room but I was too irritated to care. Too frustrated by the happenings these past few days to bother about them.

"Drogon!" I snapped and immediately, my most trusted bodyguard strode into the room. I gestured at the girls and drawled; "Escort them to the torture room and ask Micah and Jonas to go with you."

Now, their hysterical cries nearly drowned out my voice but I was too tired to pay any attention. I was too stressed to bother about the tears running down their faces or the mucus dripping down some of their now blotchy noses.

Hades, they’ve not even been touched yet and they were already sobbing this much?

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I turned to face Berlin. "If there are servants who are on kitchen duty this week, and they aren’t here right now, go get them. Bring them to me. I’ll only give you fifteen minutes to do that." I ordered, and without waiting to see her reaction, I turned and left, my heart pounding excessively against my ribcage with each step I took.

I then went to my chambers to clean up, and when I was done with that, I changed into darker clothes which consisted of a simple black fitted tunic and matching free pants. My mood was beyond sour, and I hoped to sour other people’s physical appearances as well if I did not get what I wanted tonight.

After tying my long hair into a ponytail at the back of my neck, I picked up my two favorite daggers, stuck them into my dark boots and began to stroll down the corridors leading to the torture house.

Hysteric cries and sobbing greeted me even before I stepped inside and my eyes widened infinitesimally when I saw the state of the room. When I saw the state of the girls. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

They were kneeling by a corner of the room, their heads dropped as I walked between their hunched forms. Tears like rain fell down their eyes, but despite their sore expressions, despite the way their body trembled at just the sight of me, they still managed to keep their lips sealed shut. They still bowed respectfully when I stepped in.

I drawled; "Drogon, have any of them said anything yet?"

Drogon shook his head, his beady eyes fastened on the girls like a bird of prey. He snorted; "No, Alpha."

"No word on the dead girl yet? Was nobody close to her at all?"

"No." Now, it was the women’s chorused voices that answered me.

But then I noticed one of them in the corner. A red haired girl with pale white skin and ashen eyes. She didn’t respond. She didn’t even look up.

I knew I’d seen my scapegoat; I smirked.

"You there!" I barked, my eyes sizing her up quickly. She was a tiny girl, not above 5’2" with long flowy hair and a frail body. "Come here!" I snarled, watching closely as she struggled to her feet and rushed over. Her head was still bowed. Her eyes were everywhere but my face.

"What’s your name?" I gritted out, ignoring the way the young girl flinched at the sound of my voice.

Despite the obvious fear emanating from her, and her trembling lips, her voice came out steady— too steady. She said; "Aria."

"So Aria, is there something you know that you’ll like to share with us?" I asked immediately, not bothering to beat around the bush.

The girl gulped, her slant eyes thinning as she shook her head. "No."

I chuckled.

The laugh that bubbled out from my throat was a contrast to how I really felt. It was light, sunny, almost maniacal judging by everything that’s been happening. And then I clamped my mouth shut, staring straight at her.

"Drogon, get me the pruning shears. I’ll need sharp scissors too and some alcohol." I called out, causing the room to descend into a maddening silence. "Since she wouldn’t talk, I’ll do well to ensure that she would never talk again in her entire life." I added casually— too casually.

The girl’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped.

"No... no."

"Jonas, hold her still." I ordered, and as soon as the guard immediately went to do as told, the time erupted into chaos.

The kind of bloody chaos that I liked.