~Zarek's POV~
"She may be dead." Pius, the informant said with a sigh. "We've checked all possible records of any one who fled the Silvermoon pack in the past year. All dead… a few went rogue. Others were devoured by the wild beasts and other creatures of the forest."
"Nothing about a girl and her daughter?" I asked expectantly.
"No nothing. We fear that the story might be made up." He added, his head bowed.
Something about his words hurt me in a way that I could not explain. I wasn't sure why but I was disappointed to realize that my father had come up with a cock and bull story just to get into my head. But why would he do that? I am not sure.
My eyes met Orion's for a very brief second and he nodded, seemingly just as confused as I was. I turned to the informant. "Still do some more checks, Pius, don't quit now. Check for kidnapped girls. Check for the ones sold into slavery…" As soon as I said this, my mind wandered to Dahlia and her daughter but just as I did, I shook my head in denial.
It was. Impossible.
Dahlia had just the most perfect features. If I ever had any sexual encounter with a girl like her in the past then I would remember. She was addictive… like a drug. An elixir. It was impossible to have a taste of her and forget.
Moreover she's my mate. I'll have felt the bond.
"Okay Alpha," Pius' voice snapped me out of my trance and I looked up just in time to see the sadness in his eyes. It was strange. I nodded. "I'd like to take my leave now."
"Oh sure you can." I replied, watching as he turned to leave. When he arrived by the door, I looked up again to catch him already watching me, his expression forlorn. "Thank you, Pius."
"Okay."
And with that he was gone. Like the wind, so silently that one would almost think he was never there in the first place. However, I was troubled by the way he stared at me. Watched me. It made me uncomfortable. I turned to Orion.
"Don't ask me." He snapped as soon as my eyes met his and I frowned.
"Ask you what?"
My Beta smiled, exposing his pearly front teeth. Whenever he smiled this way, it was easy to forget the struggles he had. His young daughter who needed him… his dead mate… and his almost dead soul. My heart ached. "You think I do not see the exchange between you and Pius…"
"I'm confused too." I stated frankly. "He watches me weirdly. It's always been so but this time it's worse and it makes me feel…"
"Weird?" Orion supplied, interrupting me and I nodded.
"Yes, weird. Very weird." I answered. "What do you think is wrong? Should I talk to him about it?"
"No, don't. Let him be!" Orion snapped, spiking my curiosity even more.
"Why?"
"Because you're blind." She simply said with a shrug. "You do not see that he is head over heels in love with you. He wants you and now, you're burdening him with the task of looking for your child… and one night stand. He should hurt."
As the words rushed out of Orion's mouth, a feeling of unease settled within me. I frowned in disgust… almost disgust and shifted uncomfortably in my chair.
"No."
"Yes."
While I enjoyed the company of men and women alike and had no problem with men who preferred other men, I loved women. Too much. I loved their heated breasts, their fragile bodies and smooth skin… Hell, I loved the idea of burying myself into them and listening to their soft voices as they moaned my name; called out to me…
"I don't swing that way." I drawled.
"And we all know that. Don't we?" Orion asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I on the other hand could only arch my eyebrows at him. "He knows this too. And frankly, he doesn't care."
"But he should…"
"You don't tell people how to feel." Orion shrugged. "Just be careful, mate."
"I will." I stated even though I still felt uneasy.
Pius was Jennifer's step brother. They were siblings for crying out loud! And while the girl wants to be with me as my Luna, her brother wants me too? This was all too much… too strange.
And I didn't want any of it. I never will.
—
~Daliah's POV~
Goosebumps spread across my skin as I stood in front of the large mahogany door with my heart beating frantically against my chest.
I gently balanced the food tray in my hands and with unease, rasped my sweaty hands against the door. Again. And again. Until Alpha Zarek's commanding voice beckoned me in.
Breathe in… Breathe out.
With my frayed nerves, I twisted the door's handle and stepped in, almost tripping on my feet when his delicious masculine scent hit my nostrils. However, he wasn't the only one in the room and my heart dropped when I saw Beta Orion too sitting cross-legged with his eyes latched onto my face and a small smile gracing his lips.
"Good day Alpha, good day Beta." I greeted them with a deep bow, trembling when they both acknowledged me with intense eyes.
The last conversation I had with the Beta plagued my mind as I stepped further into the room, and right now, I couldn't help it, I was flustered. He said he loved how natural I was with his daughter, Tiffany… loved the way she was unreserved around my daughter and I… and how she had called me mommy. For that reason, he wanted to buy me from my master, the Alpha.
He wanted me to be his daughter's mommy.
The thought made me shiver as something akin to warmth spread across my chest. Setting the food tray onto the table, I took a step back and clasped both of my hands behind my back, waiting for the Alpha to ask me to leave; But he didn't. If anything, he ignored my presence while he continued to speak to Beta Orion about some investigation of some sort, almost like he had forgotten about my presence in the room.
I watched him speak as a gazillion butterflies erupted in my stomach and I couldn't help but gulp when I noticed how subtly his Adam's Apple bobbed up and down his throat.
I wanted to trail my tongue over it. To lick it… suckle it and fold myself into him as he chanted my name over and over again like a starved caveman…
"Dahlia, get me a cup of coffee please." Beta Orion's voice snapped me out of my daze and quickly I rushed to do as told.
I crossed the room to the coffee machine and quickly began to brew him a cup, but just as I was doing that, I unintentionally eavesdropped on some of their discussion.
Beta Orion said; "You do not need to talk to him about anything, Z. Ignore him so that he does not begin to think that you're affected by his feelings. He'll grow out of it."
"I hope so." Alpha Zarek replied, seeming undisturbed. "I hope he does. However, he's the least of my problems right now."
"He is?" Orion shed and when Alpha Zarek nodded stiffly, he added; "What is it?"
"I got a letter from Silvermoon pack this morning. I'm beginning to find it very irritating. Alpha Logan…" he began to say but I couldn't hear the rest of his words.
Silvermoon pack?
My old pack.
My blood rang in my ears, along with my thumping heartbeat as my vision soon went blurry. I vaguely felt the cup slipping out of my hands until I heard the loud crash as it hit the floor, spilling its content to the floor but that didn't snap me out of my daze… nothing could.
My body shook violently. The burn from the coffee scalded my already burning skin but I paid it no heed as it was nothing compared to the stifling fear clawing at my chest. Suffocating me. I gasped for air.
The Silvermoon pack?
Are they still looking for me? What for? Does Alpha Logan still want me dead?
I felt someone shake me violently. Hell, I could hear noises in the background too as Alpha Zarek and Orion frantically tried to pull me from the edge, but I couldn't bring myself to pay any attention. Not when it felt like I was about to pass out. Not when I felt like I was in a brand new sort of danger.
Amara was in danger… I am in danger; These were the thoughts that plagued my mind as I fell to the cold floor. My body went limp.
"Dahlia!"