The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 85: Even more lies?

~Zarek’s POV~

A long time ago, I experienced a particular heartbreak that nearly crushed my soul into a million pieces. It made me lose my senses, my mind and pushed me into a deep hole that I never thought I’d crawl out of. Unfortunately, it even created a wedge between my Father and I— not that I cared anyway.

But I thought that was the worst.

The absolute worst thing that could ever happen to me. I always thought that nothing could ever hurt me more than Nyx Hawthorne did. But Dahlia? She was a discovery.

It took everything in me not to allow myself to fall to the ground like a pile of dead weight. It took all I had not to beg the moon goddess to rip out my heart. To make me soulless—maybe that way, it wouldn’t hurt this much.

Maybe that way, the fear in her eyes as she looked up at me would feel less painful.

I dragged in a ragged breath as I looked into her eyes— beautiful blue eyes that now looked so stormy, it could easily pass as the sky during a ground-shattering storm.

"Luna Jennifer, good day." I heard her say, and those words that sounded barely above a whisper rocked my world more than the end of the world. It made everything before me spin before my eyes. Made my wolf— usually outgoing— shrink into a deep dark corner in pain.

I wasn’t enraged when she slapped me. Hell, I couldn’t even bring myself to be mad, not when I knew that I deserved it.

However, what enraged me was the firm set of her chin. What enraged me was the stubbornness I saw glinting in her eyes when she talked about marrying Orion.

She wanted him... I could feel it.

I could hear it in the way her heart raced in her chest as soon as his name was mentioned. And it hurt like a bitch.

And what annoyed me was when she acknowledged Jennifer the way she did— like she was giving up the mate bond without having to go through the rejection process. Like she was giving me off to the woman like I was a piece of toy she no longer needed.

Nyx had left me for a butler... and Dahlia, she’d left me for my Beta. She had fallen in love with him right under my nose, and maybe the few times I felt something akin to love from her... the times I tried to delude myself into thinking that she loved me... were only fragments of my imagination.

They occurred because of the mate bond.

And it was all a sham.

I barely heard the words that Jennifer said to me. I barely registered when she began to pull me away from Dahlia, but I felt when the pain in my chest spread out, consuming me... almost rendering me blind and deaf.

Stiffly, I trudged beside Jennifer like a darn puppet, and the more I took several steps away from Dahlia, the more it felt as though my heart was ripping apart. I squeezed my eyes shut when my wolf whined in my chest and the next time I was peeling the eyes open, I was surprised to find myself walking up to the gates of the fortress with Jennifer leading me every step of the way like it was something natural for her.

Like she was born for this... like she was born for me.

My eyes thinned into slits when I noticed the presence of bodyguards flanked everywhere around the gates like there was an occasion— some of which were not mine but someone else’s.

They bowed their heads as I walked past, showing respect, but that didn’t stop the uneasiness crawling up my skin or the way my wolf instinctively went into fight mode.

I frowned. "What’s happening?"

"Oh, it’s nothing! My father decided to pay us a quick visit. He was travelling to one of the neighbouring packs and decided to stop by before he continued his journey." Jennifer answered beside me and I nodded absentmindedly.

Yes... now that I could remember, she’d talked about her father earlier.

I forced myself to push thoughts of Dahlia to the back of my mind as I stepped into the throne room and when I arrived, I wasn’t so surprised to find the place crowded. A lot of my elders were present, even my Beta— the man after my mate— sat there too like he hadn’t betrayed me in ways that no one should ever do to their best friends.

At the farthest end of the room, close to my grand chair, my eyes caught sight of a blonde middle aged man draped in expensive clothes and excessive gold jewelleries seated casually. His eyes gleamed with greedy delight and I couldn’t help but notice the striking resemblance he shared with his daughter who now clung to me like an accessory.

She whispered; "in case you don’t remember, my father is the Duke of Edinburgh. His name... like you used to call him... is Duke Hathaway."

I rolled my eyes.

I drawled; "Duke Hathaway... to what do we owe this surprise visit?"

The old man flashed a bright smile at me before proceeding to give me the shortest bow in the history of bows, and I returned one of my own.

He was a proud man— and that was exactly where his daughter got all her traits from.

As if my day could not get any worse, Pius slipped into the room just then, and as soon as I caught sight of his blue eyes staring at me— with longing— my anger skyrocketed. I nodded when he greeted and immediately tore my eyes away from him like he was something I couldn’t bear to look at. And then I turned to Duke Hathaway who was currently saying something that I hadn’t been paying attention to.

He said; "I wanted to stop by to check on you, and my daughter here..." he said, stopping to stare lovingly at Jennifer who smiled sweetly at him. "And to find out what’s been stopping you from keeping to your side of the bargain?"

"What bargain?" I immediately asked, scrunching up my nose to feign confusion.

Duke Hathaway paused. His eyes flashed with danger as he angrily rose to his feet, and with fat fingers, he pointed angrily at me, saying, "What do you take me for?"

"As the Duke... as Jennifer’s father. What else should I take you for?"

He balked. Even the crowd gasped in surprise.

I could feel an inexplicable rage bubbling up within me and deep down, I knew that it had nothing to do with the Duke and his unreasonable request, and everything to do with Beta Orion and how he was sitting so innocently to the side that no one would even know he’s been secretly trying to convince my mate to marry him.

I was transferring aggression, and at the moment, I cared less.

"You promised to wed my daughter as long as I continued to invest in your pack. Alpha Zarek, it’s been thirteen whole months of constant investment, yet there is no ring on my daughter’s finger! And I’d like to know why?!" He growled harshly, causing me to roll my eyes.

"I don’t remember any of those."

The room went dead silent. So silent that even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

"What? What do you mea—"

"Alpha Zarek has been pretty ill recently." This time it was Beta Orion who butted in desperately. He quickly scrambled to his feet, coming to stand between Duke Hathaway and I, and that made me chuckle darkly.

That was funny because he thought I was a threat to the Duke... that I could pounce on the Duke any moment from now because obviously, he could feel the rage emanating from me. But he was wrong.

The only person I wanted to pounce on was him.

The only person I wanted to hit was him.

I was a threat to him than to anyone else present in this room. And that made me laugh.

"He doesn’t look sick to me!" Duke Hathaway snapped and I watched in irritation as Jennifer scrambled forward to wrap her arms around him.

She cried. "He was in an accident and lost his memories. He probably doesn’t remember anything about the agreement. I’m sorry father that I didn’t tell you."

The Duke huffed.

I rolled my eyes.

Because memories or not, there was no agreement like that. I’d only promised to marry her when she’d helped me escape my hell all those years ago. I couldn’t remember all the details but that was what she’d told me.

What she’d made me believe.

And I couldn’t help but wonder how she’d come up with so many lies... and how her father seems to believe he’s been investing in my pack when it’s been the other way around.

I glanced down at her, cocking my eyebrows, and as soon as our eyes met, she dropped her gaze and then proceeded to rub my arm affectionately.

She whispered; "I’ll explain. In private."

But I wasn’t sure she would.

I couldn’t even stand her anymore so I turned around and left the room with rage boiling inside of me like a pot of steaming chicken broth.

Maybe later I would return to this mess, but first I needed to calm the storm raging inside of me. I needed to stop thinking about Dahlia and the way she’d dissociated from me in mind and physically.

I needed to stop thinking about her lips... her eyes. Her pale dresses that always seemed to light up whenever she wore them... or her fiery hair. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

And I needed to stop imagining her in the arms of Orion.

I needed to breathe.