The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 61: A.. healer?

~Dahlia’s POV~

Madame Berlin has been lethargic.

Ever since the death of her sweetheart— the death that no one seemed to suspect I knew anything of— she’s been locked up in her room, sobbing and refusing to eat; and at first, I’d tried to brush off her attitude as that of one who was mourning, hoping that she would return to her usual self by the end of the second day or less.

Apparently, I was wrong.

It’s been five days!

After I finished with my chores for the day, I spotted some other slave girls chatting amongst themselves, and usually, I would try my hardest to avoid them, but not today. Something bugged at me... clawed at my chest.

Madame Berlin was not fine.

With this thought in mind, I dragged my feet over to where they sat, talking between themselves beside the pack’s common well, and as soon as they saw me approaching, their conversation stopped. They raised their heads to glare at me while a few had bemused expressions on their faces.

"And what does the foreign whore want with us?" A brunette whose name was Pae called out to me. Her tone was snarky, condescending and dripping with mischief.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I stepped even closer. I muttered; "I worry about Madame Berlin."

And as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, the girls burst into laughter. They giggled and laughed so loud, and for a very long time that I soon began to feel my face heat up in embarrassment.

Was I wrong for doing this?

Can I not check on Madame Berlin myself?

I pressed my lips tightly together as I watched them laugh mockingly until suddenly, I realized that one wasn’t laughing. She was a girl of about twenty one with a mass of sandy blonde hair, and had the roundest face I’ve ever seen in my life, coupled with light gray eyes.

One look at her, and I decided that she was not as mean as the rest; so I turned to face her and continued; "She’s not been out of her room in five days. She must be hungry... or perhaps sick and I think it’ll be nice to check on her."

Pae snorted. "She’s none of those!" And as soon as she said those words, the others began to laugh, making me wonder what was so funny about her statement. "She’s only a whore like you who’s lost her sneaky sweetheart!"

I stiffened at the insult, my anger rising.

"You’d lose yours too... soon!" She added, causing the other girls now to begin to laugh so hysterically, I frowned.

"You can say that right?" One chirped in, but I was too lost in thoughts to pay attention to who had spoken. Hell, I was beyond stunned too. I thought they all liked her.

Pae smirked. "We still do not know who she spent her heat cycle with... but one day we will. When he turns to stone!"

I froze.

Deciding that I couldn’t continue to stand here while more insults were being thrown at me, I turned to leave the well, only stopping when I heard a sharp voice call out. Her voice was unfamiliar yet kind. She snapped; "Dahlia wait!"

And with that, the crowd stopped laughing.

I turned around just then to see the girl with Sandy blonde hair hop down the massive stone she was sitting on and then she brushed away from the other girls to walk over to me. She muttered; "Do not listen to them. Let’s go to Madame Berlin together!"

"Sadie, you should know better than to associate with the pack’s runt!" Pae called out to her, her eyes flashing with disdain but Sadie— I now know her name— snorted back.

"At least the runt has more compassion in her little finger than you would ever have in your entire life!"

Pae’s jaw dropped. The others had stunned expressions on their faces.

And with that, she dragged my wrist and began to march into the house, leaving me royally stunned and trudging after her like a sack of potatoes.

She rounded the slaves’ quarters until we arrived at the nicer parts— the parts with painted rooms and larger doors, and then she stopped in front of one that looked particularly dusty before she turned to me. "This is her room, I know you never knew it."

She was right. I didn’t.

I watched her wordlessly as she then began to knock on the door whilst calling out to Madame Berlin, and after several failed attempts to get the older woman out of the room, she snapped at me, her voice shaking; "I think you’re right! There’s something wrong with her!"

My heart fell.

That was my cue to join the girl—Sadie— to knock frantically at the door. We knocked for several minutes and after collectively deciding that Madame Berlin was never going to answer, we leaned away from the door, nodded at each other and then ran into it, slamming at the wood with our shoulders. It gave way with a creak.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was the fact that Madame Berlin was sprawled on the floor, looking nothing like the head maids that she was supposed to be. Her hands were spread weakly by her sides and her eyes were fixed on the ceiling— unmoving. Unseeing.

She didn’t have a pulse!

A small gasp escaped my lips as I turned to Sadie who was too stunned to move nor speak and then I screamed; "Find help!"

But she didn’t listen. She didn’t even give any indication that she had heard me as she rushed over to Madame Berlin’s side to drop her ear over the woman’s chest.

Her large gray eyes found me in one frantic glance, and then she screamed; "She breathes... But faintly!"

And with that I rushed over to her too, to check, and when I realized that she was telling the truth, I clasped her hands in mine, my eyes pleading. I rushed out; "Get help. No one would listen to me but they would listen to you!"

Sadie nodded in understanding before rushing to her feet, and after gathering her skirt in her hands, she practically ran out of the room, screaming.

What happened next, I never knew. Because one minute, I was crouched over Madame Berlin, afraid that Sadie may be too late and the next, a strange kind of warmth was enveloping me, coursing through my veins, causing short gasps to escape my lips as a liquid fire sizzled just beneath the surface of my skin.

I cried out in anguish, tears leaking out of my eyes; And by the time I turned to the open door, Sadie was already there, standing frozen in place with wide eyes and opened lips.

She gasped; "Dahlia... your hair.... It’s glowing. Your eyes too!"

I froze.

I was stunned. Petrified. But my feelings were nothing compared to the emotions I could feel bouncing off Sadie in waves. If there was a word greater than petrified, then she was just that.

She whispered; "You are a... healer?"

"A what?" I stuttered, my eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

But she didn’t say a word. She simply pointed at something on the floor— Madame Berlin— whose blue eyes were wide open and furious.

She snarled; "And what are you doing here, Slave?!"

I should be mad at her for resorting so quickly to name-calling, but for some strange reason, I wasn’t. I felt heavily surprised.

And I felt relieved.