The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 75: Amara gets hurt.

~Dahlia’s POV~

I told myself that it shouldn’t hurt. I tried deluding myself into believing that it was none of my business. That Alpha Zarek was not my cup of tea, and that his woman, Ms Jennifer was just the same.

So why the hell does my heart feel like it’s about to explode?

Why does it feel like I’m about to suffocate?

I stormed into my new room, shuddering as the images continued to replay itself in my head. I couldn’t help it, I could still see their limbs tangled together like overgrown vines. I could still hear their lustful moans, could still see the way she bounced over him with glazed eyes, her head thrown back.

And tears slipped down my cheeks.

It hurts.

No matter the lies I try to tell to myself. No matter how much I tried to fake nonchalance— like none of it mattered to me— it did. And it fucking hurts.

My lips trembled as more tears poured down my face in torrents, momentarily blinding me l; But I couldn’t bring myself to stop. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking uncontrollably, couldn’t prevent the tremors that run up my spine.

"Mommy?" A soft voice snapped me back to the present and I blinked my eyes slowly as green eyes came into view— green eyes that strikingly resembled the ones that just hurt me— they belonged to Amara.

I forced a watery smile at her, my trembling hands going to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. Her beautiful eyes didn’t stray from my face, and for some odd reason, it made me quite uncomfortable. It made me feel like I was looking into Alpha Zarek’s eyes, and it made the hairs on my skin stand on end.

"Mommy what happened?" She said after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

My eyes darted around the room, weirdly avoiding her face. I looked down then to notice that I was sitting on the cold floor, my arms wrapped around myself and my knees drawn up to my chest. Instinctively, I straightened my legs in front of me, combed my hair out of my face with my trembling fingers. And then, I glanced at her, lying through my teeth;

"Nothing. Nothing that should concern you happened to me. Mommy is fine."

"Mommy’s a liar." She added, making my eyes widen in shock.

"What did you say?"

"I said, mommy is a liar. You are not fine and have been crying since you came in earlier." She replied so tenderly, it made my heart ache. "You still getting bullied?" She asked and for a moment, I was stunned into silence.

I stared at her as if seeing her for the first time, but I didn’t know what to say or how to respond to her. She sounded old— mature— like someone way beyond her age and that shocked as well as worried me.

I shook my head. "I’ve not been bullied in days. Maybe that’s because I haven’t really stepped out of this room since the Alpha gave it to us."

"But you stepped out today, and you came back crying." She pointed out, making me resist the urge to fill my eyes.

I smiled. "It’s adult stuff. I am fine."

But she wasn’t buying it. I could see it in the way her eyes flashed with a weird glint. But fortunately, she let it go, and I smiled again when she came to sit by me on the floor, her small arms wrapped around my midriff but they were too small to go around my body, but that didn’t deter her. She rested her head against my chest, and another silence descended upon us.

"Mommy, do you like Zareeq?" Amara asked suddenly, causing my entire body to freeze up as the words sank in.

"What?" That question was meant to make me sound annoyed that she would even think that. It was meant to make her question seem incredulous; but my voice shook too badly. It made me appear more like I was afraid than annoyed.

And she probably caught on to that because then she lifted her head to meet my gaze, and then she smiled.

"It’s nothing."

"It’s not nothing!" I snapped, my voice coming out too sharp. "What would even make you think that?"

"Nothing. I just thought so because he is nice to me. He is nice to you too and looks at you..." She cried defiantly, but at the moment, none of the rest of that statement mattered.

Nothing.

Besides the: ’He is nice to you’

Alpha Zarek was never ’nice’ to me until recently, and now that I think about it, I cannot help but fear that he only showed a bit of kindness to trick me into believing he is good— just like Amara does.

He was the same psychotic piece of garbage. The same egotistical jerk who cares about no one but himself. Hell, what had possessed him into calling me over this morning? And what had possessed me into believing he really wanted to see me?

My mind replayed the events of the morning, how he’d said he wanted to show me something and I had gone excitedly, thrilled to see what the thing was, only for the ’thing’ to be a vision of him in bed with Ms Jennifer, making love like no one else mattered.

I shuddered again at the memories, wiping the tears that had leaked out of the corners of my eyes.

With a firm resolve, I brushed my hands over Amara’s hair and whispered; "I don’t. Now come, let’s have your hair braided."

Amara scooted over, coming to sit on my laps and I had just begun to loosen the current braids she had on when a knock sounded at the door again.

I froze.

What is it this time?

Was this another calling from the Alpha, or perhaps Ms Jennifer herself?

Gathering my thoughts together, I gently lifted Amara off my legs and pulled myself up to open the door. This time, it was a maid— not just any maid but Sadie herself.

She smiled at me, making a strange warmth bloom in my chest. I saw Amara smile too and that put me at ease.

She said; "I was assigned to serve your breakfast today." The softness in her tone made me smile, and I was glad at least that they sent her over today, instead of the other maidens who hated my guts and treated me like it was my fault my status had been elevated before theirs whenever they brought my food over.

"Come in," I said, pushing the door wider and she bowed curly before doing as told, her eyes glinting with awe as she took in the beauty of my room.

"It’s pretty nice in here." She whispered, her tone barely concealing the amazement in her voice, and the wonder.

I watched her set the plates on the one table in the room, and watched Amara begin to eat hungrily.

The world began to spin around me, ringing sounds in my ears making it hard to focus.

I vaguely heard Amara choking on her food, vaguely listening as Sadie’s panicked voice sounded too close to my ears.

"Dahlia, she’s choking!" I heard Sadie scream, her eyes wild, fear emanating from her in waves. "What’s happening? I prepared the food myself. I didn’t poison it!"

The tears in my eyes cleared enough for me to find myself on the floor, cradling a shaking Amara in my arms. Her once porcelain skin was now lined with red hives and the corners of her mouth swelled with small rashes that looked dangerous.

My teary eyes caught onto Sadie’s— which were mirroring the fear and panic in mine— I could feel it. She didn’t mean to hurt Amara. She didn’t even know this would happen.

So who the fuck did this?

"I swear Dahlia, I didn’t..." she cried, her voice breaking as the remaining words hung between us.

"What was in the food?" I finally asked after several minutes of trying to find my voice but failing woefully.

"Cashew nuts!" She rushed out, "I made creamy cashew turtle pie... and the rest is just a blueberry syrup with some olives."

My heart came to a stuttering stop as the words echoed in my ears., my body thrumming with panic barely contained.

"That’s it!" I cried out, my body trembling as tears flowed freely down my face. "Amara doesn’t eat nuts. She reacts strongly to them."

"She’s allergic?" Sadie deadpanned. "But I thought..."

"I eat them because I’m not allargist— or whatever you just called it. She is!"

And as soon as the words slipped past my lips, all hell was let loose.

Sadie scrambled around the room blindly, looking for something— anything— that could suppress the hives, but we found nothing.

My world was already beginning to tilt on its axis, my heart breaking with each passing second. Tears fell freely now and I panicked badly.

Because there was no one.

No way I could afford the pack’s clinic.

Nothing I could use to calm this situation down.

She’d never reacted this strongly before to nuts because she’s never had so much of it to eat at a time before.

An agonized cry tore through the back of my throat and I threw my head back, wailing as my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

Suddenly, an overpowering scent hit my nostrils. It was mouthwatering, but I pushed it away, ignoring the traitorous shiver it sent running down my spine.

Ignoring the person I knew was associated with it.

Alpha Zarek.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to channel some of that weird energy that came and went at will— the same one I’d used on Ms Berlin.

I tried hard. I concentrated. But nothing happened.

None of it worked.

"Damn!" I screamed, hitting my fist against the floor. A blinding pain shot up my arm at the impact but I didn’t feel it. All I felt was Amara... her pain... the fear of losing her.

I tried again.

And again.

Still nothing.

Just when I had begun to give up, to wail uncontrollably as there was nothing left to do, someone barged into the room.

And it immediately felt small.

I whipped my head around to find Alpha Zarek staring straight at me, his eyes dark, his nostrils flaring.

He took one glance at me and that was all. All of his attention shifted to Amara. He didn’t even blink, and for a minute, he seemed frozen in place.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice thick with an emotion I could place.

Sadie was the one to respond but I hardly heard what she had said to him.

I vaguely felt him crouch beside me, vaguely felt his arms brush against mine. When I snapped back to the present, Amara was no longer in my arms but in his.

And he was racing out of the room like a wild beast.