The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 70: A sight.

~Zarek’s POV~

"Zarek please! I cannot return to bed like this! I cannot sleep like this! It’s so cold and the sound of thunder is getting louder with each passing minute! Please!" Jennifer cried as she pounded against my door, her voice shaky but desperate, grating on my nerves even more than the sound of her hands hitting the door did.

While she whined about the weather, I couldn’t help it, my heart reached out for Dahlia. I wondered how she must feel— if she was one of those who ’really’ feared thunderstorms. If she was panicking right now as we speak. And the thought made something deep within my chest hurt.

Another pounding on my door snapped me out of my reverie and I glanced up in frustration when I realized that Jennifer was still there.

How desperate could she be?

"Go, Jennifer. Thunder cannot harm you. You’re a strong she-wolf. The best Luna material there is out there. You can sleep through this night, and trust me I’ll be by your side by the crack of dawn!" I shouted back, almost smiling when she immediately stopped hitting the door.

Her voice came back seconds later. She sounded happy— hopeful even. She asked; "Really?"

I rubbed my face with my hands, a low growl emanating from deep within my chest. A heartbeat passed and two, and when I still haven’t responded to her, she hit the door again— fiercely this time— and asked;

"Really?!"

I scoffed. "Yes, really. Everyone talks about how well I keep to my word, so you should know I’ll keep to this one too."

She sighed. It was a small sound but my Alpha wolf had picked it. I heard more shuffling sounds behind the door and imagined her draping her clothes back on. Her shuffling nearly took forever to be over, but finally it was.

She turned and she left.

I sighed. It was a sigh of relief. One that showed just how on edge I had been in the past few minutes, and one that showed how grateful I was that she was finally gone.

I went back to bed and shut my eyes, but now, unfortunately, sleep wouldn’t come. I felt tense, like the earlier scream that had pulled me out of sleep was now ringing in my ears.

I tossed and turned a few times like a sleep-deprived psycho and after deciding that none of my ’resting’ positions were enough to enable me to fall asleep, I begrudgingly forced myself into a sitting position.

My shoulders were tense, my body coiled into itself as if bracing for impact, each muscle wired with the silent electricity of worry. My breath came shallow, barely daring to disturb the charged stillness hanging around me.

And again, my eyes darted to the wall clock.

A minute until two.

I sighed.

Maybe I should go for a run. Maybe letting out my wolf would give me the clarity I so desired. My body came alive at the thought, my wolf stirred wildly within me.

’Let me out, I want a run’ Its terribly persuasive voice hammered against my skull.

Reluctantly, I slipped out of the bed and practically tiptoed to the door. Quietly prying the door open, I peeked into the corridor, and let out a relieved sigh when I noticed that there was no one present— and by no one, I meant Jennifer.

Securing the lock into place, I slipped out of my room and out of the house altogether. The still night air followed me like a cloak of doom, the chilly wind biting into my bare skin. Up above, the cloud rolled with vengeance, lightning flashed across the sky and the rumbles of thunder followed a beat afterwards.

A chilly wind attacked my body, causing sprouts of goosebumps to erupt on my skin. Maybe this was supposed to be my cue to turn back, to forgo the run, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

It felt like something was compelling me to move forward, to trudge further out of the house and into the woods.

And like a puppet, I followed.

When I arrived by the palace gates, I wasn’t so surprised to find about five soldiers camped around a fiery bonfire, their large fur coats draped around them to protect them from the icy wind. Upon seeing me, they rose to their feet and bowed, acknowledging my presence.

"Alpha," their voices came in unison and I nodded in acknowledgment.

They freely let me pass without asking questions and that made my heart bloom with warmth, noticing how they didn’t seem so bothered by my rumored loss of memory.

I had just left the palace gates and slipped into the pathway leading to the wood when I shed off my pants.

The cold night called out to me.

Howls of wolves in the distance flitted into my ears. Some of them were rogues, I knew that for sure but I wasn’t bothered.

What bothered me was the force that called out to me. Beckoned me over.

With a deep growl, I shifted into my wolf. The sound of bones cracking filled my ears, accompanied with the satisfying whoosh that came with furs sprouting out of my once skin.

My massive black wolf stood tall, mostly hidden under the fleeting shadows of the moonlight. The moon seemed to be playing a game of hide and seek tonight.

Disappearing and appearing.

Going and coming.

Ignoring it, I sprinted into the wood, my movements fluid as I let my wolf take over. The feeling was outerworldly, it filled me with relief, taking away most of the tension that once hardened my shoulders.

As my paws hit the rich soil, I reveled in delight, running as though my life depended on it.

Until...

A familiar scent hit my nostrils.

And I skidded to a stop, panting.

’Who was there?’ I thought to myself, ’And why do they smell so familiar? So sweet?’

As if possessed, I followed the scent and as I got closer, my wolf nearly went mad when it realized who it was.

’It is our mate!’ Its impatient voice snapped at me, and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes from how excited he sounded.

However, something bugged me immensely and it was the fact that she was out here, probably all alone, in the middle of the night— and in the middle of the same storm that seemed to rattle Jennifer.

’The real Luna material’ my wolf sassed back and I smiled. He was always so impulsive. A total sassy queen.

Trudging forward, I continued to follow her scent until I arrived at a clearing. My breath hitched in my chest just as my heart picked up a beat too erratic, I could feel it pounding against my chest like a wild bird in a cage.

Because standing before me was Dahlia herself.

Not her wolf— not that she had one, just her.

I immediately shifted back to my human form in one swift move and rubbed my eyes in confusion, thinking that this was a dream, but regardless of the number of times I did it, the vision wouldn’t go away.

She was indeed standing before me, looking everything like the regal queen my wolf thought her to be.

Effortlessly, this woman stole my breath away.

And she didn’t even need to do so much to achieve that.

"Dahlia?" My voice called out harshly— a little too harshly— and she spun around, her eyes wide before she ducked behind a tree close by.

Her voice was panicky when she snapped back at me, and it made something within me immediately alert. She cried; "Don’t look at me please!"

I froze.

What the hell was she talking about?

Why the hell doesn’t she want me to look at her when she wasn’t even the one naked?