The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 151: Orion’s dilemma.

~Orion’s POV~

The wind picked up speed in the distance as the cloud overhead darkened, signifying the telltale signs of an incoming rain which was strange because we’re supposed to be slipping into summer now.

Summer, not winter!

However, while everyone scampered about for shelter, and the guards by the gates drew out their makeshift shelters, I didn’t. Instead, I stood at the top of the fortress, sighing quietly as I looked up into the darkened sky, and hell, all I could think about was Dahlia.

All I could think about was how much I ’missed’ her presence, how much my daughter missed her friends, how she may be under this unfriendly weather, and how all of these could have been easily avoided if I had done something to help her while she’d been around.

Sometimes, I also couldn’t help but worry that she hadn’t left on her own accord, but that something must’ve forced her to— that thing being Jennifer.

But if this is true, then what had Jennifer done this time?

What atrocity had she committed more than the one she’d tried to rope me into the last time?

Guilt gnawed at my chest as a flash of memory fleeted past my mind and I shuddered as the imagery of the time she’d fallen from up here replayed itself in my head.

And that had been Jennifer’s fault as much as it was mine...

I’d made her come here... left her to face that daredevil alone. I had been stupid enough to allow Jennifer to manipulate me.

"What are you doing here?" A voice from behind me suddenly snapped me out of my reverie and I didn’t even need to turn around to know that it was Zarek.

gods, the male was blessed naturally with an overpowering aura, one that made my wolf bend its knee without being compelled to.

I turned around slowly, making sure to fix my face quickly, and then I bowed slightly. "Alpha."

I still couldn’t bring myself to call him by his given name seeing as the tiny cracks that had developed between us over these past few months had widened significantly. But on the bright side, he was less hostile to me now.

He nodded. "Orion."

I watched him quietly as he made his way to the front of the parapet walk, and when he looked down to the ground below, I saw him shudder before turning away, his eyes conflicted.

He sighed. "I hate to come here," he said softly, sounding almost dejected. "Ever since Dahlia’s accident."

His words brought a fresh wave of guilt flooding through me and I looked away, squeezing my eyes shut to dispel the painful memory from my mind. It was futile.

I shrugged. "It wasn’t your fault."

"Do you think I haven’t told myself that countless times?" He snapped, then as if suddenly remembering that we were meant to be enemies whenever Dahlia was concerned, he exhaled, turning away to look up at the dark skies. "Forget it."

But I didn’t forget it. I couldn’t.

Not when I could feel the pain radiating off him. Not when his shoulders were the saggiest I’ve ever seen on him. And not when he looked like the life had been drained out of him.

I couldn’t help myself, couldn’t stop. I asked; "Do you think she’s in danger right now?"

At that, Zarek turned to me, and I gasped at the amount of pain swirling around his deep green eyes. He was usually so guarded around me, his expression always like stone. But now, it was different. He looked bare. Exposed. And he made no effort to hide his grief.

"I know she may be in one. I just don’t know how to help." He drawled, his voice barely above a whisper. "And I worry about her child too."

Now, I could see just how affected he was by everything. How deeply he cared about her. And how totally different the frequencies of our obsessions with Dahlia ran.

While I was manically obsessed with her, wanting her for myself in a way that felt greedy, his was different. It was more raw. More gentle... less maniacal.

Even though he has the shittiest ways of showing it.

Again, he sighed and now when he turned to me, his usual mask of indifference was back. He looked everything like the powerful Alpha that he was meant to be and nothing like the scared boy I’d seen only seconds ago.

He drawled; "Why are you here?"

"I came here to think." I simply said, not bothering to lie, but not telling the entire truth either. Zarek however, didn’t push further.

"What are you doing here too?"

"I came to look for you." He answered without sparing me a glance. "I want to reopen all of Dahlia’s cases. I want to know what happened to her from up here and how she got to fall..."

My heart stopped. I gulped.

"I also want to know why... do you remember when she was arrested and thrown into the dungeons?" He asked, turning to me, and I nodded quickly even though my heart was literally dying and coming awake with each passing second.

"Yes."

"I want to know why that motherfucking guard had tried to defile her and why he lied that I asked him to. I also want to know why he died before he was questioned."

My eyes widened. "Oh, yes yes! That’s true!" I gasped, "...what else do you want to know?"

"Oh, I want to know who was behind the food poisoning weeks ago. The one that almost claimed Dahlia’s, Nyx’s and Jennifer’s lives." He answered stiffly. "A lot of things have been happening around here for too long without answers. I need answers and don’t stop until you find them."

I nodded.

Zarek turned away then and began to walk away. However, he’d just taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped and turned to face me. "I have one more thing to say to you..." he drawled, "but I don’t know how you’ll take the news."

Something about his tone made me freeze. It made my chest heavy and made my traitorous heart flutter with apprehension.

Hades, I expected the worst at this point. I feared that some of my evil deeds had finally been found out by him. But damn, nothing prepared me for the words I heard next.

He said; "Elodie is awake."

I froze.

My ears too began to ring.

My heart plummeted, going straight to my anus.

Gods, even my eyes watered.

I blinked at him in surprise, expecting that this was a joke. A bad joke meant to rile me up or hurt me...whatever... but he didn’t flinch. His expression was still stoic.

He wasn’t lying.

"T-that’s a lie, r-right? Right?" I stuttered, my lips trembling, my limbs shaking. I hoped for him to burst into laughter... to tell me that he was lying; joking even. He didn’t.

My hands grew clammy. Even my wolf stirred with a mixture of rage and apprehension. I took a shaky step back.

Zarek shook his head slowly at me then dropped his head quickly, but not quickly enough that I didn’t notice the forlorn look in his eyes. Not quickly enough that I didn’t see how relieved— but sad— that he looked.

"I’m not lying," he said softly. "I don’t know when she woke up but I know that a party was thrown today to celebrate her recovery." He drawled, then with a sigh, he added"... A lot of prominent Alphas and Betas were invited... we were not."

And as soon as those words slipped through his lips, ringing in my head, it felt like my entire world just came tumbling down at my feet.

It felt like my world’s just tilted in its axis.

I stumbled back shakily, tears slipping down my face, and I fled.