The Rejected Omega’s Destiny

9. Dream haze

*** MORRIGHAN’S POV ***

The initial shock and surprise of the sound of the disembodied voice dims just as fast as it has struck. My heart was in overdrive, and I could not ease it. I felt overwhelmed and trapped, and I needed more than just a mouthful of fresh air. I needed to stretch and get out of the pack grounds.

My steps carry me towards the forest, and before I can sense it, I am cornered. A rough hand reaches out from underneath the blanket of shadows, wraps harshly around my neck, and forces me backward, slamming my back against one of the trees.

My breath is forced right out of my lungs, and my body acts on instinct, my hands going up and wrapping around the wrist that tightened its hold on me, fingers pressing roughly into my muscles, hand forcing more pressure on my neck, cutting off the airflow.

My eyes round while my vision clouds as I gawk at the man in front of me, my nails digging into his skin, nearly drawing blood as I gasped for air, my mouth opening and closing, much like a desperate fish out of the water.

Remulus’ eyes narrowed on me, and his gaze filled with poison, lips peeled back into a spiteful grin. The man was taller than me and even if he was nothing but a wispy man, well past his middle age, he was much stronger than I could have ever anticipated.

The cold wind howls through the trees and tassels his hair, the shadow cast by the nearly full moon, making him look terrifying like a monster pulled out of horror books.

It feels like the blood in my veins has run cold and the blurriness in my vision grows more and more with each breath I take.

“Your useless parents left for a reason! They remained hidden and out of reach for a damn reason!” He barks at me, rabid with furry, and I can feel my nails draw blood from his arm and wrist, but he doesn’t budge.

“And there’s you! The most useless of them all! The mutt! The rotten apple in the basket!” he hisses, his face nearing mine, the stench of cigars and strong alcohol brushing against my lips as I try to breathe, more desperate with each passing moment.

I knew Remulus was a tyrant. I have been told many times even by his own children. Amara and Remus, his teenage kids, insisted that they were often abused by their father. Yet, I never stumbled upon Remulus’ wrath myself, so I kind of always ignored the stories they forcefully shared with me.

“Why are you back?!” He hisses his face inches away from me, his breath brushing against my face, making me want to gag.

My knees give in far too soon and most of my weight is mainly supported by the hand around my neck. My strength drains from my arms as well, but my nails are still biting into his skin, so I won't let go right now.

“You useless b***h!” He spits the words with disgust, and with a forceful move, he tosses me to the side, finally letting go of me.

I crumble to the ground, my palms digging into the dirt, scrapping on the countless sharp pebbles underneath the layer of fallen leaves. The first mouthful of air is painful. I wheeze as I greedily breathe in, my lungs aching and burning, only to choke on it and start coughing, moving back and forth lightly, swaying my body in a failed attempt to soothe myself while I grasp my own throat.

Remulus shifts lightly and squats beside me, getting himself at my level, watching me with a sliver of amusement written on his face.

Just as I get the hang of breathing again, he grabs a fistful of my hair and clenches it tightly, pulling my head to the side so hard I swear I thought he would try to rip it off my scalp.

“Listen here, smart ass.” He huffs and gives my head a good shake as he levels my gaze with his.

My teeth grind together as I get a better grasp of my own body and lean lightly into his touch. Fighting him would be useless. Fighting him would bring me nothing. No benefit. Yes, the satisfaction I’d feel as I watched him understand how things were, would have been priceless, but not worth it… Not now.

“I don’t care what kind of scheme you and your thick-skulled friend of yours are trying to pull, but know -” he yanks my head once more, “it won’t work.” He informs me, his brows coming down into a deep frown. “I own this pack. I own each and every one of you! And I will rip out every weed that sprouts in my garden, the way I did with your parents before you!”

A painfully cold shiver sinks into the pits of my stomach and forth comes anger. It spills from the same pit of darkness as fear had roots within. But my conservation instinct is much too strong for it to be simply overtaken by anger.

“I want you out of my pack tomorrow by sunrise!”

He demands and lets go of my hair just as violently as he had let go of my throat, forcing me to lurch forward and keep my head low, my head pounding with a bright hot migraine.

“If the sun is up in the sky and you’re still here, I’ll have your blood drained from your nose as you hang upside down in the woods.” He purrs the words, and I feel myself grow nauseous just by picturing such a sight.

He pushes himself up, most likely satisfied with having just assaulted a woman who barely reached his height up to his chin. I glare at him through the corner of my eyes, struggling to get the hang of breathing correctly again.

Remulus starts putting distance between us and only when I can’t hear his footsteps, I collapse on my side, on the bed of fallen leaves, forcing my chest to greedily expand as I breathe in deeply and rapidly.

What the hell just happened? And above all else, what business did Remulus have with my parents? They left because they were traitors! They had it coming! They… Did they though?

My eyes fill up with tears as the shock of what happened settles. I muffle my cries with my hands pressed tightly over my mouth and nose, as I curl up around myself. I tightly close my eyes as adrenaline drains from my body, leaving it shaking in shock.

This might have been close to the most traumatic s**t to have ever happened to me. It stood up there, high, alongside that one time the boys cornered me and stripped me and-

My body suddenly forces itself up, as my stomach twists painfully, and I throw up bile. Which only makes me cry harder. Thankfully, the wind picked up even more, howling through the forest, forcing the trees to dance and sway despite their loud creaking protests.

I lost track of time as I lay crying on the forest floor, curled at the base of an old tree, mindlessly begging for this nightmare to end, unaware that I was falling asleep under the cloudy sky.

My feet carry me through the trees, guided by an unseen thread I tried to follow. I could feel the pull. I could feel the flow of energy move like a river through the thick forest… but there was nothing around me. Nothing but endless forest, drowned in a dim and warm darkness which made me think that somewhere, above the thick green tops of the pine trees, there was a setting sun.

'It’s useless!' I think to myself as frustration gets the best of me and I stop abruptly.

‘Where am I even going?! I’m lost.' I continue to dip myself in frustration as I roll my eyes and try to track my steps backwards, so I can get the hell out of this endless maze of a forest.

But there was no back… As I turned, there was nothing behind me and I instantly panicked. Nothing. Darkness. There were no trees. There was no ground. Just an endless pit of darkness that went on forever and I was standing right on its edge.

I stumble backward, away from the pit, my back hitting a tree.

'Right. There’s only one way.' I tried to convince myself to turn back to whatever I was doing.

What was I doing?

I was lost in a forest!

I turned on my heels and faced the endless forest again. But as I blink, I understand something has changed. Behind the last few lines of trees, there was a hut. An old hut, covered with ivy and surrounded by countless shrubs of berries.

My heart picks up and something within me realises I have followed the thread to its place of origin. I was meant to find this place.

With shaky steps, I walk forth, studying the hut which grows bigger as I approach it. I stop before I exit the forest, watching it with caution. This place looked lively. My head tilts to the side and I catch sight of a woman who picked berries.

Her hair was thick, slightly curly, pinned into a bun on top of her head, such a dark color that I couldn't tell if it was black or blue or maybe even maroon. She looked young, so young that I couldn’t tell if she was my age or not. Her fingers were stained with what seemed to be berry juices, and her slender oval face held a natural smile on it. She wasn’t looking at me, but I was certain she knew I was there. I stood behind a thick tree, mesmerised by her beauty. She felt ethereal. Her skin glowed and had a glass like sheen to it. Her eyes were round like a deer’s, surrounded by thick lush lashes. Her lips- oh… her lips-

“Going to keep me waiting much longer?” she spoke and her voice did not match her softness. It sounded much like a crow's voice, rough on the edges and it startled me.

It shakes something so deep within me that it suddenly jolts me awake.

I look around, puzzled. A dream? I repeat the words over and over as I look around me and eventually make peace with the fact that I had fallen asleep on the ground, in the forest.

I push myself up and shake off the leaves and dirt that stuck to my clothes, while something within me blooms with the need to find the ethereal woman again. To find the ivy-covered house and pluck its secrets free.

As if I were on autopilot, I turn on my heels and start walking mindlessly, allowing my intuition to guide me, my eyes closed, as I picture the place again.

I can hear the cacophony of sounds that the forest is drowned in, I can hear my footsteps, and I can pick on another pair of footsteps. More urgent. Rushed…. Rushed towards me!

My heart picks up again and as I consider starting to run, the footsteps stop and a loud voice drowns out every other sound around me.

“Are you really going to leave just like that? Again!?”