The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 76: Egos and gratitude.

~Dahlia’s POV~

"Ava!!!!" Alpha Zarek’s voice boomed with desperation as he ran into the pack’s hospital corridors, whilst shoving doors open with his shoulders. He was so fast, I could barely catch up with him, and when he finally found an empty ward, he gently placed Amara into a bed, and stood back.

"Open the windows, if possible, leave the doors open too." He ordered but I was too stunned to speak or move.

I was shocked at his reaction to all of these. Shocked at the way he panicked like Amara meant something to him. But no, this was another charade. Another ploy... his twisted way of trying to get under my skin.

Sadie, who has been with us the entire time, rushed over to do as told, and when she was done, she rushed over with a jar of honey clutched tightly in her hands and looked up at me with expectant eyes.

"Honey soothes almost everything. Let’s see if it would do anything?" Her voice was small, placating. She sounded almost desperate— desperate to have Amara treated— and I nodded.

I had just taken the jar out of her trembling hands into mine that were no better than hers, and was about to apply some of its contents onto the rash on Amara’s skin when Alpha Zarek stepped closer, his presence daunting, his eyes feral.

"Don’t use that." He hissed through gritted teeth, and then turning to the two guards by the door, he ordered; "scourge this hospital until you find Doctor Ava and ask her to report here with some chamomile powder, licorice root and probably sage. Ask her to be quick with it."

Most of his words were lost on me. I was not paying attention and had only picked out the fact that he’d asked me not to use the honey on my child, and that made me mad.

I looked up at him with eyes that should express just the amount of rage and hatred I felt for him at the moment, and with a curt bow— one that I didn’t even mean— I took a step back and spat; "With all due respect, your Grace, you don’t tell me what to do here. She’s my child, not yours."

"And that doesn’t mean I’ll watch you use just anything on her because you’re desperate!" He snapped back, and I flinched at the sharp tone his voice had taken. Instinctively, I took a step back, my body shaking with both fury and panic.

One quick glance at Amara now almost unconscious form and my entire resolve was thrown out the open windows. I snapped; "It’s none of your business!"

At my tone, Alpha Zarek’s eyes darkened. He took an intimidating step closer but probably thinking against his actions, he stopped, shook his head and glanced away.

"I don’t care what problems we have going on between us right now but I care about Amara. I care about her health and I cannot let you use that. Honey is an anti-inflammatory medication, yes, but in this case, it does nothing."

"And how would you know that?!" I snapped, momentarily forgetting that I was yelling at the Alpha of my pack— this pack. "Are you suddenly a medical expert too?"

"No." He answered, his voice low. Cold. "I’m no medical expert. I only know this because I am allergic to nuts too." He said, and as soon as the words left his lips, I froze.

My eyes widened.

All the fight I had left in me disappeared into thin air. My shoulders slumped as I took trembling steps backward. But just then, Dr Ava rushed in with the ingredients in hand.

She bowed quickly at Alpha Zarek, then flashed me a reassuring smile before rushing off to attend to Amara.

The room became silent. No one spoke. No one even moved.

From here, I could swear that Sadie was no longer breathing either. She gripped the sides of her skirts in a firm grip, her knuckles turning white from the force she was exerting on the material. I watched her for a moment, noticing the way she chewed unconsciously on her lower lips with her glistening eyes latched on Amara. And right there I knew that she was innocent.

And that she was scared. Exceedingly so.

I peeled my eyes away from her to watch Dr Ava and Amara, and a shuddering breath escaped my lips when I saw Amara stir slightly, her brows furrowing as she peeled her eyes slowly open.

Electric green eyes met mine and held, and my breath caught in my throat. I froze.

She was awake. She was watching me. She was safe.

She looked away from me to glance at something else— someone else— in the room, and a feeling akin to jealousy gnawed at my chest when I noticed that the ’person’ was Alpha Zarek, and that now, she was beaming a small smile at him.

The jerk had the nerve to smile back!

I frowned. "Baby, are you fine? Do you feel weird?" The words were out of my mouth before I could help myself. I rushed to stand beside her but made no attempt to touch her in fear that I might graze a sore spot.

But she still wasn’t looking at me when she nodded.

She was looking at him!

"I’m fine, mommy."

Just then, Dr Ava moved away from her position beside Amara to look up at me. The entire room reeked of chamomile and licorice root; and something else... something that I couldn’t decipher, especially not now that my entire senses were all over the place.

She said in a small voice; "She’s stable now."

"Oh, thank the goddess!" This time, it was Sadie who exclaimed. I turned to look at her briefly, to notice that tears had leaked out from the corners of her eyes.

Unconsciously, I wiped my own face, and realized that it was wet too. And I didn’t even know that I was crying!

"I’ll advise that we keep her here for a couple of days to help her recover quickly..." she continued, and with a small voice added; "that’s if she recovers quickly."

I knew exactly what that meant, but I made no comment. Instead, I shuffled closer to the bed to watch her as she now slowly closed her eyes, her lips parting slightly as sleep crept in.

"You should thank Alpha here for getting her here quickly, and prescribing the right things for her condition. He saved us a lot of time and stress." Dr Ava continued, but now, I wasn’t paying attention.

I wasn’t about to thank any godforsaken Alpha.

And I wasn’t going to salve his ego more than it already was.

I understood that he’s been of great help and I should be grateful, but right now, I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him, to fake it. My mouth felt sealed shut. My heart hammered frantically against my chest. My breathing felt labored.

I knew that he was watching me. I could feel it in the way my body prickled with heat. But I didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. Not when I could vividly recall his limbs wrapped around Ms Jennifer like an eagle’s talon around its prey.

Not when the smell of their lovemaking still lingered even until now. I knew he’d cleaned up since. But I could still smell it.

Maybe it was my head playing tricks on me.

I shuddered.

"Thank you Dr Ava," I rushed out, my voice hoarse. "I’ll watch over her now... and thank you Sadie."

With that, I dropped into a chair beside Amara’s bed, then I bowed my head and closed my eyes, blocking them out.

And blocking the way the Alpha’s eyes bore into my skin.

If eyes could kill, maybe I would be nothing but a burning carcass right now. But truth be told, I do not care.

I hardly cared about anything at this point.

But Amara.