The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 104: Jennifer is innocent.

~Zarek’s POV~

"Dahlia, are you fine?" My words came out rushed. Worried even as I glanced between Dahlia and the now shattered bowl and spilled food on the floor. And maybe I didn’t notice this earlier but something about the manchet bread and sauced venison seemed unsettling.

Maybe it was the way the bread— which was fresh only minutes ago— now looked stale, even rotten in some spots.

Or maybe it was the venison dipped in sweet sauce— sauce which now disgustingly looked like blood.

My eyes widened as I took in this scene, but that was the least of my problems. My problem was Dahlia, and the way she now watched me like I was the enemy. Like I had just tried to have her killed— not that I could blame her.

"Dahlia...?" My voice came out soft again, but for some reason, I didn’t know what to say to her. My heart pounded against my chest when she wouldn’t stop looking at me in that suspicious manner, and in order to save myself before it got any worse, I rushed out;

"The bread looks stale. It wasn’t like that minutes ago."

Dahlia nodded but didn’t say anything.

And Apollo, that was way more unsettling than having her hurl insults at me.

I wanted her to say something. To curse at me or something. Heck, I’d even feel good if she asked me what was happening. Or how this happened. But she didn’t.

Instead, her glossy eyes remained fixated on the strange food on the floor which turned into something uglier with each passing second, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to breathe.

As I struggled to breathe.

"Dahlia, I didn’t... I would never..." my words felt like a lump in my throat, difficult to force out but also difficult to swallow. Shakily, I shot out of my chair and rushed to her side of the bed. I had just brushed a strand of hair off her face when she flinched away from me in fright, recoiling as if I’d just struck her.

My heart fell.

But that was not when I felt hurt the most. That was not when my heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest and squashed by large boots against rocky gravel floors.

That happened when she looked up at me slowly, her tear-streaked face contorted in an ugly emotion that I’ve never seen on her before. She looked at me in both fear and disgust... and maybe something else, something that tethered towards hate. Her blue eyes were so hard and so icy I feared they could freeze the entire city.

But it didn’t freeze my heart. It broke it.

And then with her lips curled back, she snarled; "Leave, your Grace."

Those three words, so carefully and icily spoken, shattered every resolve I had left. I momentarily forgot about the old woman in the room with us, momentarily forgot about my brutal fearsome reputation as Alpha and how I was meant to uphold it. My hands shot out to grab hers before I could stop myself, and with trembling unsteady voice, I rushed out;

"Dahlia, I know how this looks but I would never do such. I only went to pick this up from the kitchen before stopping by. I don’t know what this is... I don’t understand why—"

"There’s always trouble following you wherever you go?" She finished, interrupting me and I froze. My hands deftly let go of hers as they fell to my sides, my heart shattering into smaller bits with each passing second.

"Dahlia—"

"I don’t know if I’ve ever said this to you, Alpha, but please let me go. I don’t want this... I used to fear getting killed in my sleep or maybe getting punished to death, and now I need to fear getting poisoned too?" She paused, hiccuping, "...now I need to watch the food I eat too?"

"No, you don’t." I said quickly, reassuring her, but she shook her head violently. "I’ll get to the root of this matter. I’ll make sure—"

"I’ve heard those same words a million times but do you know what happens each time after those promises?" She asked coldly, forcing me to shake my head at her. "I get more hurt. I get in more trouble. It gets worse. I don’t want you to get to the root of the matter. I just want you to leave me alone." She added, and I couldn’t help the muffled groan that slipped past my lips.

"And I am sorry."

"Maybe acquiring me was a mistake, your Grace. Have you ever stopped to think about that?" Her small voice came again, drifting into my head and as much as I tried to block out the meaning behind those words, I just couldn’t.

She was pushing it. Pushing me.

Maybe to her, hurting me with such vile words was enough to hurt my ego. Maybe to her, this would break the camel’s back... this would make me leave.

But it didn’t.

All I felt was pain. Raw pain. And a helplessness that I couldn’t describe even if I tried. A helplessness that unfortunately could only be eased by her.

I mumbled; "Dahlia, you’re no mistake!"

But she scoffed, the sound hurting me more than it should. "Maybe I am. Maybe you should just leave me alone. Maybe you should return me to the auction house... or better still to Amara’s grandfather who wants to have my head; and that way you can probably live peacefully with Lady Jennifer!"

Amid everything she’s just said, only one thing stuck out to me;

Lady Jennifer.

I’d met Jennifer in the kitchen earlier. I had seen her whispering to the chef but had brushed it off as one of her usual shenanigans thinking she was probably asking for specific directions on how her dinner was to be prepared. Moreover, I didn’t want to cause a scene.

She had been the last person I’d seen with the food, and even then, she’d been so obedient, acting so nonchalant that one wouldn’t believe she’d been crying out her eyes while I almost choked her to death her only moments prior.

But wait, was this her revenge?

"Please, leave Alpha." Dahlia’s voice came again, but this time, I didn’t talk back. I didn’t even try to make peace with her or reassure her as I turned and fled the room, with only one person in mind:

Jennifer.

—

And do you know what? I was wrong.

I was very wrong.

When I arrived at the fortress minutes later with nothing but murderous intent in mind, the first people I stumbled into were Orion and the royal healer, rushing into the house with a combination of worry and fear emanating from them like an exotic perfume.

Orion stopped when he saw me, his eyes wide with confusion when he noticed I was going in the direction leading to Jennifer’s chamber. He spluttered; "Alpha... what a-are you d-doing here?"

And for a moment, I was taken aback by his question. I wanted to remind him that this was my house and that I could very much step my feet everywhere I wanted, but as soon as the words formed on my tongue, I instantly bit back at it.

It was not necessary.

I frowned. "Am I no longer allowed to go everywhere?" I asked, but Orion didn’t respond right away. He didn’t even bat an eyelash but stared pointedly in the direction of Jennifer’s chamber.

"So you heard about it too, right?" He asked suddenly, ignoring my obvious hostility.

I snapped; "Heard what?"

At this point, the royal healer had left us behind and rushed into the house— probably because his duties called.

But who else was there for him to treat if not me and this traitor here?

I froze.

Jennifer.

"It’s Jennifer." He rushed out. "She collapsed in her room a few minutes ago after having dinner; and now some people speculate that she must’ve been poisoned." Orion stated.

My heart plummeted just as my eyes widened in shock.

"What did she eat?" I drawled out slowly, dread settling at the base of my stomach like stone.

Orion, oblivious to how big this issue was, shrugged his shoulders but not in indifference. That was his usual reaction to stress or worry— a trait I’ve noticed in him over the years.

He muttered; "Manchet bread and sauced venison. I hope the healer is quick enough to flush it out of her system. I really hope she gets better soon."

But none of those words mattered to me anymore. Not when there was a new kind of fear gnawing at my guts.

Not when I knew now that I was wrong.

Dahlia had been attacked, but so was Jennifer.

And I hate to say this but Jennifer is innocent.