The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 127: Hot on our tails.

~Dahlia’s POV~

Fire.

It was everywhere, licking at the furniture, the curtains, and burning at the figure of my mother laying not so far away from me like it was a bonfire.

The golden hue lit up the whole house, blowing deadly smoke into the air, fumes which filled my lungs and made breathing difficult. A cough wracked my entire body, and I shuddered when I spat out a very thick phlegm.

...then came the blood.

But despite the fear and grief gnawing at my bones, and the feel of imminent death looming over me, I couldn’t bring myself to scream for help. I couldn’t move my limbs. I couldn’t even speak.

I could only cry.

Because that roasting flesh, that unmoving charred person is my mother! And my sibling... now dead inside of her.

Sobbing and with tears blurring my vision, I rushed forward to my mama’s stiff form, and ignoring the blazing fire surrounding her frame, I shook her body fiercely. Flames licked up my arms at the contact. And boy, that was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.

However, mama didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t move. She didn’t tell me that everything was gonna be okay. I trembled, coughing even harder as tears fell freely now, blinding me even more than the fumes did.

"Princess!" I heard a sharp voice call out to me but I couldn’t bring myself to respond. I didn’t even move from my spot on the floor even as my burning sleeves caught more flames.

A figure stormed into the dark room, her looming figure hidden under a wet blanket. She cast one glance at my heavily burned and heavily pregnant mother before her eyes landed on me.

Deep blue eyes... ones I immediately hated.

She didn’t say a word at first. She simply came over, inspected my bloody hands slowly and then picked me up. "Your mother is dead." She said, her voice cold. No hint of emotion. No empathy. "You should do well to keep your mouth shut until I give you permission to speak, okay?"

I sniffled as I turned to look at my mother but quickly screamed in pain when she slapped me hard across the face. "Henceforth, you look at me, Nyx’ara! Only me! I am your mother now! And you will answer me!"

"But my mama—" I began to say but stopped when she shoved my face into a burning curtain.

And I screamed when the heat engulfed me, filling me with pain so raw my insides trembled.

My bladder picked that opportunity to let go and hot urine rushed out as I cried out in both pain and despair. "Now, that’s just the tip of what I can do to you, do you understand?"

"Y-yes, mama."

"Good."

Now, when I cried, I did not because of the pain in my body, but because my life had just suddenly tilted on its axis. I cried because the warmth I’d slept in was far different from the one I’d woken up to. I cried because only moments ago, I was the happiest any girl my age could be; But now it was different.

I was different.

The looming figure, probably satisfied with her craft and my response, turned away from my mother— whose figure was still burning up in front of me, too burnt to be recognised. Too stiff to still be alive.

Her large stomach, holding the promise of what could’ve been, felt like a daunting dream that I couldn’t awake from—

She snarled; "Now let’s get you cleaned up before your father arrives!"

And with that, she turned away from the house and stepped out into the open. A few people were gathered outside by the time we arrived. They held themselves together, their eyes wide with fear, their bodies shaking with despair. When they noticed only me and the large woman stepping out of the burning house, a tense silence rippled through the air.

Then came the agonizing cries, the screams, the howls.

"Luna Nina is dead!" Many of them cried out. "She’s been killed in the fire!"

"This is not just an accident, it’s a murder!"

"Oh, Luna is dead!"

Amidst the wails and cries of anguish, no one stopped to glance at the girl who’s just lost her mother and unborn sibling. No one cared for the child who had severe burns on her face and body. No one cared that I was in the arms of a woman who should not be holding me. A woman who I still could not recognise.

Message was sent out, a day passed... then two. But no one still cared for me when my father never returned from the war we’d all been waiting on him to return from.

All they did was lament and cuss, even until the day the news of his death reached us.

That night, I had slept like a princess, but woke up an orphan.

And my life has never remained the same ever since...

...even now.

—

"What do you think we should do? She’s still not waking up!" I heard a worried masculine voice say. The voice sounded dangerously too close for comfort, and I frowned in confusion.

Who is that?

Where am I?

Like a videotape, the past few hours of my life began to replay itself in my mind’s eye, and when I ’remembered’ where I was supposed to be— in a cave, with my daughter— my eyelids flew open, my breath catching in my throat when I came face to face with shining red eyes.

For a minute, I was stunned into silence. Then came fear, an overpowering sense of fear that immediately seeped into my bones. I glanced around me in fear, almost choking on my saliva when I noticed another man behind the red-eyed man, and then I blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"Amara? Where’s Amara?"

The man, whose face was beginning to look familiar, tilted his head to the side, murmuring; "You mean your daughter?"

Damn, that voice was familiar?

Why’s my brain so foggy?

And why is my body still so stiff?

Another wave of panic coursed through me and I immediately tried to sit up, but as soon as I moved, the lancing pain shooting through my body instantly reminded me of the wreckage that was my limbs and midriff. It reminded me of the fight with the feral wolf, and the fact that...

Wasn’t I supposed to be dead?

"Dahlia, your daughter is safe. You? I’m not so sure." The familiar voice said to me again and this time, when I glanced up at him, my blurry vision cleared enough for me to make out his otherworldly sharp features.

My breath hitched in my chest and I gasped; "Alpha Kai?"

"Yes, it is I." He replied casually, but from the worry lines creasing his forehead, I was sure as death that he was far from calm.

If anything, he looked like he was about to combust. But why?

Despite his charming demeanor and the fact that he’s done nothing scary to me yet— besides the fact that I still couldn’t see Amara, I couldn’t help but ask; "What are you doing here?"

Alpha Kai sighed. I watched curiously as he glanced over to his minion who stood behind him like a shorter shadow; they exchanged glances and then turned back to me. "I heard about your... your disappearance, Dahlia." He said softly, "...and I figured that you could be in danger so I came with Xander here to look for you."

I frowned, my brows scrunching up with suspicion. However, my wariness soon waned when I noticed a fiery haired figure running over to us with our water satchel clutched firmly in her hands.

My eyes instantly lit up with excitement and a smile— one I didn’t even know I was capable of— spread across my face as I screamed; "Amara!"

"Mommy!"

You’re terribly injured Dahlia, and I cannot see all of your injuries but I can smell them. Let me help you." Alpha Kai said suddenly, causing me to turn to him just as Amara bounded into my arms. Fuckfuckfuck! I winced as a blinding pain seared my insides, and for a minute, I could swear that I heard the ripping of my flesh.

"Please..." he tried again but I shook my head at him, whilst remembering what I was running from, reminding myself that where I ought to be was in any closeby human settlement, and not another werewolf pack where a series of my usual unfortunate events would ensue.

I took in a deep shuddering breath as another wave of pain shot through me, but forcing myself to ’appear’ fine, I muted; "While I appreciate that, Alpha, I don’t want it. I am fine. I will heal."

The way I said with a conviction I couldn’t feel made me feel good, only for a moment until tears welled up in my eyes when I smelled the stench of my inflamed flesh. When I looked back up, I didn’t miss the worry in Alpha Kai’s gaze.

Or the way he looked between me and ’Xander’.

"You should leave—" I began to say again, but before I could finish my statement, Xander snatched an unsuspecting Amara out of my arms, causing my eyes to widen in terror. "What are you—?"

However, I didn’t get enough time to finish my sentence because Alpha Kai then scooped me up like I weighed just as much as a piece of paper. And then he whispered; "I’m sorry but I need to have your injuries looked at." before sprinting through the woods like some crazed animal.

I knew what he was doing... where he was headed, but I was too weak to fight back. I was in too much pain to protest.

My eyes fluttered shut as my head lolled back, and with nothing but pain tearing at my insides, I let him carry me in his arms while we ran like there was something hot on our tails.

And there was— my life.