The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 124: The baby.

~Zarek’s POV~

Restless didn’t even begin to describe just how I felt. Ever since Dahlia’s and Amara’s sudden disappearance last night, I have been agitated, my mood has been sour, my life felt bleak, and do you know what was worse?

This uncomfortable hollow that has begun to grow in my chest.

As at last night, it started as nothing but a minor discomfort in my chest, but after Orion and some other soldiers went into the woods and returned with nothing, it worsened.

After Pius and some of his hunters went up to Hollowfang pack and also returned with no news whatsoever, it grew. I began to spiral, to feel like shit, and my already agitated wolf became even more antsy.

My fingers shook with panic as I held the silverware to my mouth, but after the thought that Dahlia and her child were probably hungry while I sat here dining struck my mind, my anger soared. I rose with rage, sweeping off every darn thing from the table with one clean swoop.

The plates and everything it contained toppled to the floor, but the sounds of everything breaking, spilling, and whatever came along with throwing food to the floor did nothing to calm me. If anything, I felt worse.

My wolf howled.

"Where the fuck are you, mate?" I whispered under my breath whilst rubbing my face frustratedly.

Even though it was obvious that she had escaped, something deep inside of me still felt as though she was in danger. I could feel it... she was in pain, and that thought unsettled me.

The thought that she needed me, that she was all alone and in pain made me hurt. I stormed to the door and stopped when I found four burly warriors standing guard, they were fully armed and their eyes all dropped to the floor as soon as they saw me approaching.

"Alpha," Micah greeted, bowing in respect. His voice was cold but quiet while he spoke, and I didn’t miss the tinge of fear lining his words as he said; "Beta Orion asked us not to allow you to leave your chambers."

I cocked my eyebrows at him. "Did he tell you why?"

"He says you’re unpredictable right now, angry even and that he urges you to rest, knowing that he has everything under control."

Yeah right, he does.

Anger licked at the back of my skull, making my already pissed off wolf snarl with annoyance. I took a step back, eying the large men he had specifically stationed by my door, knowing fully well that they were more useful to the course of finding Dahlia, and I snarled; "Get out!"

Micah and the others froze. My anger skyrocketed. "Now, go make yourselves useful instead of trying to babysit a man capable of ripping you to shreds!" I spat, all the while feeling my wolf coming dangerously close to the surface.

The soldiers probably felt this too because they instantly scurried away, giving me the chance to storm out of the room.

I instantly mind linked Drogon.

"Where are you, Drogon?"

"Alpha?" His response came almost immediately. He sounded almost surprised that I would even communicate with him at a time like this.

I growled; "I asked a question!"

From the mind link, I heard Drogon sigh in frustration. He answered; "I’m somewhere in the middle of a forest. But I’ve been going West ever since I woke up this morning."

"Going West to where?"

"In search of Dahlia. I have no idea where she may have gone and her smell cannot be traced."

"How far are you?"

"About two hours away from the pack." He replied quickly, and my heart soon began to race at the thought. He was so far from the pack, yet he still couldn’t trace her.

Just how far away is she?

"Is there something you want me to do for you?" His voice came again, seeing as I’ve ignored him for a few minutes, and I shook my head.

I was already shaking my head when I soon realized that he couldn’t see me, so I sighed, wiping my face again before saying; "No, I’ll go East."

"Okay."

Silence.

"And Drogon?" I called out suddenly when the link was about to go dead. I vaguely heard him say something along the lines of ’Alpha?’, before whispering ; "Thank you."

And with that, I disconnected from him, deciding to continue with my own search separately from every other person.

—

It was sometime around midnight when I returned from the forest— with no luck, and when I arrived at the fortress, I only had to look at the faces of my subjects to know that they’d experienced just the same amount of luck as I had. And that wasn’t a good sign.

Now, I was far from spiraling. I was a bloody mess, extremely irritable and hated everyone around me.

But I hated myself more because I should’ve noticed it way earlier. I should have stopped by her ward when I was leaving from Nyx’s, and I should’ve gone to see her like I had planned to before everything happened.

These thoughts and more, containing lots of ’what ifs’ plagued my mind as I made my way to my chamber, but just as I was about to step in, a familiar scent caught my nostrils.

I stiffened, sniffed the air and turned around to find Orion behind me with his arms folded across his chest and a forlorn look on his face.

"If you’re here to talk about how terrible you feel about Dahlia’s disappearance, then trust me brother, I’m not in the mood to listen. I feel terrible too but I’m not going to make a toast to it." I drawled, shutting my door behind me to lean against the wood.

Orion didn’t flinch. Instead, he looked me dead in the eyes, his jaws set. "I want to talk about that..." he said, his voice trailing off, "but I also want to talk about something else."

At the sound of his voice, something at the back of my neck began to itch. I rolled my eyes at him, scoffing as I asked; "Do you find it difficult to read the room these days?"

But despite my harsh tone, and the very obvious insults, Orion seemed unaffected. He pushed himself away from the wall but made no move to come closer. And that was when I smelled it on him...

Grief.

NO!

What the—?

My heart plummeted. The arms folded across my chest slackened, falling to my sides like heaps of meat. My eyes bore into his and held, and the grief in those orbs... the guilt, it stole my breath away.

"What is it?" I couldn’t help but ask even though I feared what his words would be. Even though I suspected that his next words would shatter whatever semblance of peace I had left.

If anything happens to Dahlia... if she’s dea— God, no! She cannot be dead!

Orion sighed dejectedly, his eyes suddenly finding the intricate designs on the floor interesting, he muttered under his breath; "It’s Jennifer."

I froze, my hands instantly becoming clammy. "What’s wrong with her? Are there complications? Did she die?"

And as soon as the words rushed out of my mouth, Orion shook his head quickly. "She didn’t." He answered, "but she was pregnant. She lost the child."

The world suddenly began to spin before me, ringing sounds echoed in my ears. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes when I looked up to Orion to find his eyes already bloodshot.

I whispered; "No, don’t complete that statement. Don’t say the words..."

"The child was yours, Zarek. She lost your baby."