The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 71: Cold night, warm hearts.

~Dahlia’s POV~

My heart thundered against my chest as the footsteps drew closer... and closer.

And then suddenly I was hit with an intoxicating scent. One that had my mouth instantly watering and my wolf stirring uncontrollably within me.

I drew in a deep breath, taking all of it in, reveling in the tantalizing smell that seemed to assault my senses, until suddenly, I realized;

The intruder was my mate!

And he was fast approaching!

As soon as the thought slammed into my head, I began to panic. My hands trembled slightly as I pushed my hair behind my face, and my breath caught in my throat when I noticed that it was still glowing a fiery light.

My bluish veins were still very visible underneath my skin, and my body still thrummed from the strange strength coursing through my veins.

"Dahlia?" His deep voice rang through the silence of the night, the rich velvety sound vibrated through my body, only coming to settle at my core.

I moaned despite myself but I was fast to catch on the sound. I snapped my mouth shut and... then as if a light bulb had been turned on in my head, I realized he could see me like this.

In this form.

With my bluish veins and fiery wild hair.

He could see me, and now he knows too of what I’d recently just realized. He would find out I was Nyx’Zariel, the whispered goddess of war, fury, wrath and death. The stark opposite of the moon goddess.

And he would hate me.

Without a thought, I dashed behind the closest tree I could find. It was a willow tree and its full drooping branches and leaves were enough to act as a shield for me. I cried; "Don’t look at me please!"

And for a minute, I could swear that I didn’t hear him move. He didn’t speak, nor did he try to get any closer. My heartbeat picked up an inhumane speed as I waited for him to leave, to probably realize that I wasn’t worth his time. Or worse, just some pesky nuisance.

A minute passed, then two.

And several more.

He moved.

Not towards me but away from me. I listened as his retreating footsteps went further into the woods and I let out a breath of relief, slumping against the tree when all of my initial fear dissipated, leaving me feeling nothing but relief.

However, the feeling of relief didn’t last that long because then it suddenly dawned on me that Alpha Zarek doesn’t care about me. He never did. Because if he did, he would’ve tried to find out what was wrong. He would’ve at least shown a bit of concern.

But he didn’t.

And for some reason, that realization hurt me like a bitch. Even worse.

Angry tears welled up in my eyes but I blinked them back in frustration as I brought my hands up to my face, to inspect them. Relief crashed into me when I noticed that the bluish veins were nowhere to be found. Hell, even my hair no longer glowed like fire from Pegasus.

I sighed. "At least one thing works in my favor!" I mused, stepping away from my hiding spot behind the tree and I gasped, almost losing my footing when I saw the naked man standing before me with his arms crossed over his chest, and a frown etched deep into his face.

"Al-lpha?" I stuttered, my eyes wide but he didn’t respond right away. Instead, he trailed his eyes over my body, my filthy dress, my hair— his expression its usual mask of indifference.

"What are you doing here, Dahlia?" His voice was low, it rumbled from within his chest like the thunder rumbling in the distance, and washed over me in a way that sent goosebumps spreading over my skin—and it had nothing to do with the cold.

My eyes darted to his in a moment of panic and I flushed when I noticed the worry dancing across his eyes, and the anger... wait, was that anger?

What if he didn’t really pay attention to my hair and body earlier? What if he didn’t see anything?

These thoughts plagued me when I noticed that he glared at me with anger... and maybe a tinge of worry, and not the suspicion I had expected to meet in those beautiful green eyes of his.

Deciding to push my luck, I shifted from foot to foot and then I dropped my eyes to the floor, refusing to meet his gaze. "I couldn’t sleep," I simply said, lying between my teeth. "So I decided to take a walk."

"And you decided to take a walk this far away from the pack? Alone? By this time of the night? Do you know how risky that can be? Do you know what rogues or other wolves who would find you can do to you?"

’Are you forgetting that you’re an Omega?’ He never said those words out loud but I could hear it in his voice. I could see it in the way his eyes thinned into fierce slits and I could sense it in the way his body seemed so rigid, stiff, like he was holding back.

He wasn’t suspicious. He was worried.

A silent sigh of relief slipped past my lips as I bowed; "I’m sorry Alpha, I didn’t know when I got this far... I was lost in thoughts." I said quietly, and as soon as the words left my lips, I noticed how something in him shifted.

I noticed how his stiff shoulders dropped and how warmth slowly seeped into his eyes. Slowly, he took a step forward, his eyes never leaving my face, and then he asked; "Is something wrong?"

A lot of things were wrong but I couldn’t bring myself to say that. So instead, I shook my head at him. "None that should worry you, Your Grace."

His frown deepened. "But I want to know."

"It’s nothing serious really, I tend to think about my daughter sometimes and I get lost while doing that." I lied easily again, and he nodded, as if understanding.

"What do you worry about?"

"Everything. Life for her... her education. How she’d be treated—" I began to say, and Hades, I was not even faking it this time.

I blinked in surprise when I felt the Alpha brush a stray tendril behind my ear and I gasped, not realizing when he moved closer to me. He whispered; "I’ll have her enrolled in the pack’s school tomorrow."

"But how do I pay her fees? The school isn’t free. Is it?"

"I’ll pay for it." He drawled, his voice as chill as the night air.

It took a moment for his words to settle and when they did, I gasped. My eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets and my knees wobbled slightly.

Why was he so kind to me all of a sudden?

What has been going through his head these past few days?

Despite these thoughts plaguing my mind, and the gnawing feeling in my chest, I shook my head firmly at him and muttered; "No, Alpha. You’ve done a lot for my daughter and I already. Too much if you ask me. But I cannot accept this!"

A moment passed between us... and no one spoke. Alpha Zarek remained rigid.

"Please, I hope you’ll understa—"

"If it worries you enough that it has you wandering into the woods at night, then it is my concern." He snapped, interrupting me and I flinched at the sharp edge in his voice.

However, Alpha Zarek drew closer, close enough that I could feel the warmth emanating from his naked body. Close enough that his warm breath fanned my face, tickling my skin. My body arched closer to his before I could help myself and my wolf whined within me, urging me to go even closer... until our skins touched.

I drew in a shaky breath, willing myself to shake off his enthralling hold on me, and then I raised my eyes to meet his, muttering; "It’s really nice to know that someone cares about us, but Amara and I would be just fine on our—"

I never got to finish that sentence because next thing I knew, he was slamming me against a tree behind us, and then without warning, his lips claimed mine.