The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 160: The criminal.

~Unknown~

Dr Ava sighed tiredly as she plopped into her chair, groaning when her back protested weakly.

She needed a moment of rest as she’s been up and doing ever since the crack of dawn because a young pack member, Radu, had been attacked by rogues in the woods, almost leading to him losing some of his limbs. And thus, leading to him needing several stitches to pull together some of his broken flesh.

She wiped off a sheen of sweat from her forehead, washed her bloody hands and made her way to the closet to get some supplies; but as soon as she arrived there, she froze.

Her breath hitched in her chest because there was a woman lying on the floor with a swollen cheek and large ropes tied around her like a criminal.

Ava was stunned at the sight until the woman turned to her slowly, their eyes meeting for a brief second. She seethed; "Zorina?"

Shit! Shit!

She’d totally forgotten about the thief and impersonator she’d locked up herself. A small smile formed on her face when she remembered how swiftly she’d taken the other woman down a day and half ago. But upon arrival at the Alpha’s fortress to call his attention to the new case, she was told that he had gone for a business meeting; and so she had returned, totally forgetting about her prisoner.

And it’s been a day and half!

Something akin to pity clawed at her heart, and for that reason, she rushed back out, brought a satchel of water to the weak woman, and after crouching in front of her so that they could be on the same eye level now, she muttered;

"I’m sorry. I totally forgot about you, but I think you need to drink some water."

The woman didn’t speak, she only watched her with curious eyes before tentatively accepting the water from her hands.

Ava then helped her to some bread and a piece of roast lamb, and all the while she made no move to untie her. She simply wanted to keep her alive. She was a doctor, not a murderer.

A beat of silence settled between them as Zorina ate silently and after she was done, Ava leaned away, especially now that she could see the woman’s eyes twinkling with a kind of malice that wasn’t there seconds ago.

"Alpha Zarek has been busy these past few days, but I found out today from a reliable source that he’s free today." She drawled slowly, noticing the way Zorina’s breath became shallow, and more shallow with each word she said.

"... so I’ve been thinking, will you tell me what I want to hear or should I have to see you off to Alpha Zarek now, seeing as you’ve gained enough strength to be able to live through at least the beginnings of his interrogation?" She spat and smirked when the other woman froze in apprehension.

Zorina eyed her. Hell, if looks could kill, Dr Ava would be nothing but a burning carcass right now. But Ava didn’t care about that one bit. She was the doctor here— at least the real one and could easily take her down if the need arises.

Seeing that Zorina wouldn’t speak, she rose slowly, picked up a special incense, and she was just about to light it up when Zorina snapped; "What is that?!"

Ava smiled. "It is something that will put you out. And trust me, the next time you wake up, you’ll be in the dungeons because I’m telling on you right away."

"But I don’t know anything!"

"You don’t have to lie to me." She snapped but the other woman could only drop her head sadly.

She heaved a sigh, tears suddenly pooling in her eyes. Something about this made Ava pity her, but that thing was shortlived as she soon thought this woman was acting. She was a pretender.

She had done something to Dahlia.

"What did you do to Dahlia?"

"Nothing." Zorina cried, "At least nothing that I can remember. I was only asked to burn an incense in her room and I did."

"Who told you to do that?" Ava asked now, her interest piqued. But it was at this moment that Zorina decided to be secretive. She dropped her head, looking away from Ava as she whispered;

"I can’t say."

"Zorina, you’re in a messy situation and you need to help yourself." Ava tried in a persuasive tone but still, Zorina wouldn’t budge.

"I really can’t. I don’t want to."

At the sound of her words, Ava frowned deeply. She leaned away from the other woman, her eyes now swirling with emotions so dark, it made Zorina shudder.

"Maybe you should say that to Alpha Zarek." She snapped and with that, set the incense on fire. Its cloudy fumes engulfed the place and while she kicked it even closer towards Zorina, she stepped out of the room.

She then turned to a young intern girl passing by at the time. Her name was Mimi and she was a sixteen year old squirmish healer who was still honing her healing abilities.

Ava ordered her; "Go to the Alpha’s fortress and make sure to tell the Alpha that there’s something really important I need to show him here."

"If he asks what it’s about, what should I tell him?" Mimi asked Ava with a bow and Ava, knowing how much the name ’Dahlia’ affected the Alpha, she smiled, muttering;

"Tell him it’s about Dahlia, and make sure you do not leave until he agrees to come with you."

"Okay, my lady."

"Thank you, Mimi."

Ava didn’t turn away, instead she sat on the floor close to the door hoping to keep watch, to protect the criminal locked up in storage room at least until the Alpha arrives.

But for some reason, she too began to feel dizzy. Maybe it was the fatigue weighing down on her, or the little fume from the incense that she’d unconsciously perceived earlier, but her eyelids soon began to droop. Her head lolled to the side and her eyes drifted close as she slipped into a peaceful slumber.

—

~Zarek’s POV~

I’d long since retired to my fortress after the whole situation with Orion and Elodie earlier.

Call me jealous but for some reason, I couldn’t stand watching them seem so lovey-dovey. I couldn’t stand by watching her look at him the same way Fahlia looked at me.

I couldn’t help thinking about Dahlia...

I shook my head against these thoughts as I made my way out of the courthouse. There was an issue of maximum importance that had arisen this morning which demanded my presence and that of every member of my council— well, besides Orion who was probably still resting in the bosoms of his woman.

Eww.

And with a smirk I stepped out of the house but as soon as I did, my smile quickly disappeared when I bumped into someone.

The person— who was a scrawny young girl with wild auburn hair and wide brown eyes looked up to me for a very brief second before she dropped her head quickly, my body trembling.

She bowed. "I’m sorry Alpha."

And yes, I was mad. Yes, I was irritated that a woman had bumped into me—a woman that wasn’t Dahlia for that matter— but something about the whole situation felt familiar. It reminded me of that one time that my Dahlia had been a slave here too, and had bumped into me just like this...

Focus, horny obsessive Alpha. Focus.

"You can go." I drawled darkly at the girl who flinched away from me, but made no move to walk away. Instead of doing as told, she bowed even lower and muttered;

"Alpha, Dr Ava sent me to you. She wants you to come with me." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Now, I was royally pissed. My eyes roved along the length of her body with distaste, and as I did, she squirmed even more, her teeth clattering as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"What for?"

"I don’t know." She muttered slowly, her eyes still latched on the marble floor, "but she said it’s about a woman called Dahlia."

As soon as she said that, I froze. My heart fluttered wildly against my chest and suddenly, it felt as though a heavy bile now rested deep within my chest, suffocating me with a force so strong and so deep that even breathing seemed difficult.

"What did you say?" I drawled darkly.

"She said it’s about Dahlia." She affirmed, her head still bowed.

The panic surging through me tripled and with it gnawing at me, I turned away from her and fled, running in the direction of the pack’s hospital.

The scrawny girl struggled to keep up with me and when we arrived at the hospital, she led me to a back corridor where I found Ava sitting on the floor, her back pressed against a door as she slept soundly.

I frowned. "What is this?"

Ava hurriedly rose to her feet upon hearing my voice and smiled before pulling the door behind her open. And to my utmost shock, the thing she wanted me to see was an unconscious woman tied up in a closet and I frowned.

"What the hell is this?"

"She knows something about Dahlia," Ava rushed out drowsily. "She was the one who wiped off some of her memories after that accident."

The more words slipped out of her mouth, the more my body became rigid.

And then came rage.