The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 48: Raging bull.

~Zarek’s POV~

I slowly peeled my eyes open and instinctively flinched when I was met with five pairs of eyes all glaring back at me expectantly. One of them was my trusted warrior, Drogon, and the others were my Beta, Orion, my promised, Jennifer, Elder Samwell, and Elder Herod.

But there was no Dahlia.

I glanced around, my eyes thinning into slits as I searched around the room for her; But she wasn’t here. She was nowhere. So why the hell was her smell around here so potent?

Why did it seem like I had been coddled up in her bosom all night?

"He indeed cannot recognize us. The Alpha has really lost his memory!" Elder Herod cried out in anguish, snapping me out of my thoughts and I turned to him, tilting my head to the side just as Elder Samwell nodded his fat head in agreement.

"The rumors are true." He whispered. The others gasped.

Do they all think I’ve lost my memory?

I wanted to spit out a snarky remark. To kill this nonsensical joke they all had going on, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to, especially not when Jennifer rushed forward to drape her arm around me, her potent perfume wafting into my nostrils as she sobbed uncontrollably as if happy to see me awake.

But I knew better.

She wasn’t.

If she was indeed pining for my recovery then there was no way in hell she would be clad in the clothes she was dressed in— the Royal regalia of a ruler. I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from commenting on that.

"Zarek, say something." This time, it was Orion who spoke and I raised my head just then to meet his silvery eyes. He looked drained... tired. And for the first time since the unleash of Tartarus, he looked like he really needed me.

I scrunched up my nose in feigned confusion and asked; "Who is Zarek?"

It had meant to be a joke thrown at Orion. I had expected that the fact that he was my best friend— one who knew all my inside jokes— would make him understand this, but he didn’t. And to my absolute surprise, he let out a dragged breath and then stumbled away from me as if not believing himself.

His voice was shaky, his limbs trembling, when he said; "We’ve lost him." And then in a smaller voice, he added; "...fuck, goddess!"

And maybe that should’ve been the point where I told him it was a joke, and that I was fine but as if possessed, I couldn’t bring myself to. Something heavy pressed against my mind, clouding my reasoning, pushing me to gauge their expressions... their reactions, and now I could help but wonder if this would be their reaction if I was indeed gone. Mindless... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Jennifer withdrew her hands from around me so fast one would think I burned. She staggered to her feet, creating as much distance as she could between us; she cried; "This is not my Zarek! My Zarek is gone! This vegetable here is not fit to be Alpha!"

To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. My eyes nearly widened in shock until I realized that I needed to keep up with my act. She’s the first to question my authority now, and yet the same person who had acted so bothered when I just awoke only a few minutes ago.

I tilted my head to the side and frowned. "What is an Alpha?"

Beta Orion sighed dejectedly. Elders Samwell and Herod immediately fled the room, as if they couldn’t stand to witness this ’heartbreaking’ scene anymore and Jennifer, the one I had expected to leave first, slid into a chair nearby.

"Orion?" She snapped but the latter didn’t turn to her. He didn’t even move and for an instant, one would have thought he had frozen up— save for his shaking shoulders and the way his limbs trembled as he held back tears.

Because I couldn’t continue to watch Orion break down even more right in front of me, I slid back into bed and closed my eyes, deciding to listen to the rest of the conversation rather than watch it happen.

A beat passed. And two.

Silence.

"What do we do?" It was Jennifer who suddenly asked, and at that, Orion turned to face her.

He glanced one more time in my direction before saying; "We wait."

Jennifer’s face fell. "But one never recovers from mindlessness, Orion. No one loses their sense of self and ever gets it back! They only get taught to relive the tracks of their past self but it’s never the same!"

"But he will!" Orion snapped angrily until the veins by the corners of his neck popped. "That’s Zarek! We never thought he would slip out of his coma in a while but he did! And might I add, he did that quickly too!"

"Orion..."

"He will get those damn memories soon, you just wait!" He snapped, interrupting her before deciding to stomp up and down the room restlessly.

As if a light bulb had been suddenly turned on in Jennifer’s head she swiftly rose to her feet. She stalked towards Orion and after stealing a glance at me to find me now ’fast asleep’, she dropped her voice seductively and whispered;

"I am still the acting Luna."

"And?" Orion snapped, the impatience in his voice clear as day.

This was the first time he would ever be so impatient around her and it was surprising that I had to witness it.

"Since we’ve lost our Alpha, I can take up the position as Luna fully now, and I can also choose to marry you..."

"What are you insinuating?" He snapped again, interrupting her, and this time, I swear I felt my heart come to a stop.

Jennifer?

"Marry me and become Alpha." She said, "Or become Alpha and marry me. Anyone!"

Just then, I cracked my eyelids open just enough to see Orion regarding her with a stern look. He said nothing, and didn’t even move. For a moment, he looked like he was considering the offer until he let out an exhale and shook his head.

"Never." He mused. "Zarek built this pack from scratch... with his bare hands. He deserves to rule it until the day that he dies."

"And he is dead!" Jennifer snarled, the desperation seeping into her voice, "Look at him! He is dead! We need to do something before the Elders take matters into their own hands!"

"And I don’t care if they do, Zarek isn’t dead." Orion spat, sounding more sure of himself with each passing second. "...he still breathes."

"Orion?"

"And until his last breath, no one has the right to take his pack, especially not you that he tried to marry only for some peace treaty!"

Jennifer gasped, obviously stunned. "Did you just say that to me?"

"Yes!" He continued, somewhere along the line, his confusion somehow had managed to morph into rage, and now, he was more like a raging bull.

"Since you think he’s dead by the way, why don’t you just return to your pack now? You shouldn’t have anything else going for you here anymore since he’s dead right?"

Jennifer gasped as her jaw literally dropped to the floor. I nearly chuckled.

Nearly... but I didn’t.