The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 73: Heartbreak.

~Orion’s POV~

It was about to rain. I could smell it in the air, could feel it in the way the hairs on my skin stood on end, and in the way goosebumps spread across my skin like a thousand whispers brushing against me, each one echoing a memory I tried not to remember.

But I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t bring myself to move an inch even though I knew that I should try to run from the looming downpour, probably scampering into the safety of my warm manor in the heart of the city.

My mind was not at ease, my wolf felt restless. I was burdened. And this had nothing to do with the growing insecurity in the pack due to the awakening of Nyx’Zariel, this had nothing to do with the Elders seeking desperately for a way forward, or the uncomfortable pressure being mounted on my shoulders to either take up the throne or give it up to an Alpha with no memories— not like I was even sure that he indeed lost his memories.

It had everything to do with a particular slave girl.

The slave girl whose status has just been elevated.

Dahlia.

At the mention of her name, my body prickled with a strange kind of warmth. One that bloomed in my chest and spread across my body like vines in an eerie enchanted forest.

The icy wind blew against my face, making the goosebumps spread across my skin to stand even more erect, but still I didn’t move. I stood under the gathering dark clouds, my heart laid bare and hurting, my mind a silent turmoil.

I haven’t prayed in a long time, but tonight I prayed.

And I prayed to the goddess that my best friend, Zarek would really lose his memories.

I didn’t do this because I wanted the throne— hell, it was the last thing I wanted— but I did because I wanted him to totally forget about Dahlia.

About her.

The one woman who had managed to tilt my world in its axis. The one woman who had managed to make life somewhat bearable— something to look forward to— ever since her innocent arrival at the pack.

Tears streamed down the corners of my eyes as I looked up at the clouds, my heart as heavy as stone. I prayed with all my might, prayed until I had no words left on my lips. I wished for a sign to know that my prayers had been answered.

And I got one not so long afterwards.

At first, it was fleeting, almost like it wasn’t there. But I smelled her. I could sense her presence in the woods too. She was close— too close— and it made my wolf thrash wildly against the confines of my body, desperate to see her, to touch her.

Peeling my eyes open, I scanned the forest before me. I was standing at the top of a very large rock, so it was quite easy to peer down at everyone and everything else from up here.

A movement below caught my attention and my senses immediately became alert, snapping towards it like a feral fixating on a scent. Maybe now, I was a feral— I most definitely behaved like one. My eyes thinned when I noticed the rustling of leaves.

Someone was running.

In their wolf form.

Dahlia was an Omega. One without a wolf.

And she was here. In the same woods a shifted wolf now prowled.

My breath caught in my chest, my heart hammering frantically against my ribcage. I scanned the trees quickly, desperately, hoping to see something, anything that I could go after. Something worthwhile to be sure that Dahlia was indeed here as panic gnawed at me.

A light chuckle rang through the quiet night and I stilled, freezing.

That sounded eerily like her. I snapped into sharp focus.

And just then, the path cleared, tall grasses bent slightly, some snapping as a large midnight black wolf emerged from within the shadows; And on its back, Dahlia sat, smiling like something straight out of a fairytale with her fiery hair floating around her like a silk scarf.

She seemed happy... free. She looked content.

But something about the scene broke me. Something about seeing her so comfortable in the presence of another wolf made the tattered remains of my soulless heart wither.

I knew that wolf like it was the back of my hand.

It was one that I had grown extremely fond of in the past few years. One that I have tried so hard to be as good as... but failed. One that I could never stand against in a fair fight because he was way bigger, way stronger he made my wolf submit without even trying so hard.

Tears burned the corners of my eyes as I watched him strut away with Dahlia still sitting safely at his back, laughing at something only she could understand, their lingering scent overpowering.

Their happiness felt like a heartbreaking scene.

That was Zarek. I knew.

And that was the moon goddess’ way of showing me the middle finger after sending my first heartfelt prayer to her in ages.

I do not know for how long I remained there, under the stormy clouds that was a mirror image to the storm brewing deep within my heart.

But I was there when the earth cracked, and an earshattering thunder struck.

I was also there when the sky began to weep, just in time as I too began to weep.

And I remained there until the crack of dawn. Unmoving, unfeeling... until I decided that my daughter needed me, that my pack needed me.

Dragging myself through the woods, I made my way back to the pack. It was a long journey and I knew that I ought to shift to arrive quicker, but I didn’t.

I took my time to make the walk home. I took my time to think. I took my time to convince myself that they were mates and there was hardly anything I could do to separate them.

By the time I arrived at my manor, it was bright out. The morning had fully bloomed, even Tiffany was already wide awake.

Her laughs echoed through the hallway like melodies of a fine song, and when she saw me— all tattered and dirty like someone who had just been stomped over during a stampede— she beamed the brightest smile. A smile that instantly lit up my world.

One look at her then and I knew. I knew that I couldn’t let Zarek have Dahlia. I knew that I couldn’t let them have their happily ever after without me. Without Tiffany.

Dahlia was already Tiffany’s mommy whether she liked it or not.

Whether the fucking moon goddess liked it or not.