The Alpha's Omega Mate-Chapter 69: Not Dahlia.

~Zarek’s POV~

The sound of thunder tearing through the night sky tore me out of my blissful sleep and with a grunt, I stirred awake.

My chest rose and fell in ragged speed, mirroring my heartbeat as I stared up at the grand chandelier hanging low from the ceiling.

Something didn’t feel right.

It felt like I’d heard a scream— one that wasn’t even there— and it had forcefully pried me out of sleep into consciousness.

The voice was barely there but it rang in my ears, making my sweat slicked skin prickle with goosebumps. It made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end, and hell, I could even swear that it made the large wall clock above my bed rattle slightly.

"What is this?" I thought to myself, as I brought my trembling hands up to my face. "What was that sound?"

Suddenly, a rasp knock sounded from my door, jolting me out of my thoughts, and in surprise— and maybe a tinge of fear, my head snapped in its direction. My eyes widened and my nostrils flared as I tried to gauge the scent of whoever was there before I’d go closer.

My wolf howled in my head, as if agitated and I gritted in annoyance when I realized who it was;

Jennifer.

I frowned.

On instinct, my eyes shot to the clock hanging on the wall, and when I saw what time of the night it was, about fifteen minutes past one, my frown deepened.

The knock came again, and with it was her usual chirpy voice that I had slowly begun to abhor. She whispered; "Zarek, it’s me! Your woman!" And as soon as I heard those words, I hissed.

Grumbling, I rolled off the bed and strolled over to the door whilst ignoring the way the cold floor bit into my feet like shards of glass on a raw wound. I unlocked the door quickly and pushed it open to find Jennifer leaning against the doorframe, a sultry smile plastered across her face and the sheerest material clinging onto her body as if begging for its dear life. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I drawled; "What is it?"

But surprisingly, she didn’t seem offended by my sharp tone. If anything, she didn’t even appear affected by it at all as she beamed the brightest smile up at me. "I’m sorry for intruding—"

"So you know you’re intruding?" I snapped, catching her off guard and noticing the way she flinched ever so slightly before batting her surprisingly mascara-lined eyelashes up at me.

She gulped. "I’m sorry."

"It’s late, Jennifer." I stated matter-of-factly. "Whatever you have to say to me can wait until morning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d love to go back to slee—" I drawled, whilst shutting the door close at the same time, but my eyes widened when she stuck a foot inside, forcing me to halt my action.

It was difficult hiding the irritation from my voice now as I snapped at her in annoyance; "Leave!"

And just like I was watching a show, tears instantly formed in her clear blue eyes, trailing down her porcelain face as she sniffled. "You know how scared I am of thunderstorms! It’s about to rain and I am scared."

I leaned away, crossing both arms over my chest as I studied her. Like really studied her. I noticed the way her eyes— even though filled with tears— glistened with something that I couldn’t quite place. I noticed the way she leaned dangerously close— too close— to me in a stance that I found oddly possessive and annoyingly flirtatious. And I noticed the way she sniffled on cue, almost between every four heartbeats.

This was a ploy.

Her usual drama.

A way to get under my skin—or under my sheets, depending on her mood.

"I came to you because I needed help. Because I was scared, and what do you do? You throw me out like I don’t even matter! Do you even care about me at all?!"

I furrowed my brows as I stared straight at her and then I muttered; "Am I supposed to?"

That seemed to break her well structured facade. It seemed to snap her out of whatever self induced trance she’d placed herself in because her face then contorted into an ugly sneer. With trembling lips, she barked; "Yes! Yes you are supposed to because I am your Luna! I am your wife! I am the woman who’s meant to be by your side!"

That seemed to make me reel in shock. Wasn’t she the same one who only hours ago was all over Orion like the flu during the dark ages?

Wasn’t she the same one who had referred to me as a ’vegetable’?

My nose flared just as my temper did and I glared hard at her before leaning over, in such a way that we could now see eye to eye, and then I whispered; "I don’t remember getting married."

"That’s because we aren’t yet! We’re engaged!" She huffed out in frustration. "You proposed to marry me and my family and I agreed. It’s been law for years! It’s been set in stone!"

"And unfortunately, I remember none of those. Maybe that stone has been picked up by someone else. Maybe what you think was set in stone really wasn’t. Maybe I was indeed blind."

As the words left my lips, her frown deepened with each passing second. The tears in her eyes fell freely now but I’d rather denounce my crown than fall for such petty theatrics.

"Zarek... you used to love me. You used to say you’d die for me. We were inseparable—"

"If we indeed were, then where were you when I just slipped out of coma? Besides the first day you realized I really lost my memories, did you ever return? Did you ever act like we were really ’inseparable’?"

She gulped and turned to look away. Her blue eyes—not the exact blue eyes I liked— filled with more tears as she dropped her gaze. Her body trembled, her hands shook. But I knew that all of these were a facade. A play meant to pull at my heartstrings.

And she was failing woefully.

"What would you have me do?" Her shaky but gentle voice came next. "What would I do for you to realize how sorry I am?"

I shook my head, still unfazed. "Nothing."

She flinched. "But I want to!"

Silence.

That was all that descended upon us because truth be told, I had nothing else to say to her, and she also seemed to struggle with words as she wouldn’t stop glaring at the floor. She wouldn’t stop fiddling with her fingers. She wouldn’t leave.

"I’m still scared though. It’s about to rain and I cannot sleep alone."

I wanted to remind her of how it had also rained three nights ago, and how she must’ve ’slept alone’ through it, but I didn’t. Instead, I stood by the door, my frame imposing, not moving, not providing enough space for her to slip through.

Suddenly, her hands went up to her shoulders, and like some hired actress meant to seduce her cheering crowd, she let the straps of her see-through nightie fall freely.

I was taken aback. Without thinking, I took a step backward.

Jennifer paid no attention to the look on my face, she paid no attention to how rigid I had become as she continued to drop the straps lower and lower until her dress fell to the floor in one fluid movement. And regally, she stepped out of the discarded pile of clothes.

Her eyes caught mine just then and she smiled— it was small. It was barely there, but it was just enough to make me uncomfortable.

"Let me pleasure you, Alpha. Let me sate your lust, and maybe just then, your body would be in sync with mine. Maybe then, you’ll remember how we used to do it."

Now she was bare before me. Her creamy flesh shone in the dim light of the night. Her round perky breasts bounced with each step she took, and her body— neatly shaven, well oiled— was enthralling.

To any man but me.

She wasn’t the body I wanted.

The body that plagued my dreams.

She wasn’t the woman with fiery ginger hair that seemed to light my skin ablaze with only a look.

She wasn’t Dahlia.

I took another step back, and without a word, shut the door in her face.