The Rejected Omega’s Destiny

11.Forest path

Her eyes round slightly, and she slowly straightens herself when she understands I was not going to hurt her now.

“What?” She mouths with uncertainty, staring at me puzzled.

“Where are you going, Morrighan?” I ask, accentuating each word to make sure she understood me, while taking another step forward.

Morrighan tenses a little more, her eyes looking down at my feet and at the distance between us, while she ponders about what to answer me.

“I don’t know.” She eventually blurts out the answer, her voice flat, her eyes fixated on the ground, her thoughts somewhere else.

“What lie is this?” I hiss, reaching my arm out and grabbing her shirt, pulling her towards me.

Big mistake. Her scent slams against me with the force of a goddamn bulldozer, clouding my mind and flooding my senses with nothing but greed and need.

Her eyes move up to meet my gaze and my heart skips a beat when she meets my eyes. There was no ounce of insincerity in her moon stone eyes and I feel like a brute.

“I need to find her-“ she mouths, slowly, her eyes losing focus from my face as she clearly searches through her mind for something. “The witch.” She tries to make it a little clearer for me, but nothing makes much sense right now.

“What in the world are you talking about? What witch?” I demand to know, every fiber of my being softening as her scent fills my lungs.

What was this? Why was my resolve growing weak? Why was my grip softening?

“I think I know how to find her-“ she continues, her voice just as flat, her eyes still out of focus.

I grow alarmed as her stance softens as well, and I fear that her knees are about to give in, so I let her go before she falls on top of me and move out of her way. I could not afford to be the one who caught her if she fell. I could not allow myself to become something I could not be for her.

As I let go of her shirt, she seems to snap back to reality. She takes in a deep shaky breath, and she peers up at me with uncertainty. Her lips press in a thin line, and she slowly lowers her gaze, seemingly making peace with something.

“I think The Goddess showed me where to find help for Nora.” She confesses, her voice flat, her shoulder slightly slouched with what I thought was humbleness and timidity.

“The Goddess?” I huff and roll my eyes, fighting the urge to laugh at her. “Why would She help someone like you?” I ask, a little bitter.

The Goddess only revealed herself to her chosen ones! To those worthy of her presence. There was no way She’d have ever looked down at someone like Morrighan-

“Because I asked her to.” Morrighan replies with plain simplicity that wipes off the smug smirk on my face.

She turns on her heels and completely disregards my presence as she starts walking further into the forest.

My heart skips a beat and I feel Fenris grow agitated as well.

She was slipping right between my fingers again…

A shudder of ice cold pain shatters my composure and I find myself rushing to follow after her.

I grab her wrist and stop her from going any further.

“You’re not going anywhere without telling me where you’re heading off to!” I demand, hiding my desperation between a low frown and an angry grimace.

I could not allow her to just walk away again. Not when she had just gotten back…

“Alpha Alarick!” A loud call pulls the both of us to reality and she even flinches lightly, pulling at her arm to free it.

But my grip grows stronger.

“You’re not going anywhere without me, omega.” I growl, and she seems to simply comply as I urge her to start walking further into the forest, disregarding the call coming from the direction of the pack.

* MORRIGHAN'S POV *

Alarick seems adamant about following me. For a few minutes, we walk in silence, my wrist still in his grasp as he follows right behind me, uncomfortably so. Truly, I had grown somehow used to him tailgating me and by the time he releases my arm, I have a feeling he was about to call it quits. But he doesn't. The man simply continues to follow me as I make my way through the forest, trying to find my way around the trees, back to the witch's hut.

Times passes slower as silence weights heavily on my shoulders. I could feel his eyes on me, and when he wasn't looking at me, he was looking around, searching for any sign of an ambush or treachery. I was somehow proud he thought me this bitter. Bitter enough to scheme something and get him killed.

I wasn't. Despite Aisi's displeasure, I did not plan to end Alarick. Or the pack. I did not plan to spill poison into their wells or kill their coops, or anything of the sorts that would bring them harm. It was a waste of energy, time and resources really. Revenge was far from being on my to do list. There were a bunch of things I felt, all conflicting, like a ball of a bunch of yarn strands, all messy and tangled together. I did not have the energy to pluck each strand free.

'We should have him get lost in the forest and then dodge him!' Aisi growls, her words filled with amusement.

It makes me smile too. I catch myself even letting out a half amused huff.

And Alarick acknowledged it almost immediately.

"What's so funny?" he hums, his voice low, incredibly calm, surprising me.

It makes me skeptical. I peer at him through the corner of my eyes and meet his gaze. I should not have been surprised that he was looking at me, but I can feel my cheeks tint a soft shade of pink, and I immediately look away and pick up the pace.

I don't plan to answer though. I don't plan to say anything to him. So I speed up a little more, as I catch scent of the berry shrubs I dreamed of. The smell of sage, berries, smoke and wine grows thicker, stronger, with each passing tree line. And Alarick feels it too. I don't know why or how, but I feel him grow tense and uneasy and I can somehow almost even hear his unsettled thoughts and skeptic questions, as he remains very close by my side, much like a stalking bodyguard, very much on his toes and ready to pounce.

I don't know how much time passes, but frustration grows. We have started walking in circles. And no matter what we did, we could not pinpoint the location of the hut.

"Where are we?!" Alarick barks at me all of a sudden, and I stop abruptly, trying to recall my dream and not drown myself in his accusation. How did I find the hut? "There's nothing here!" he adds with clear frustration, looking around once more, before focusing on me.

He was growing angry, and beside that, I could also feel that he thought I had betrayed him. The way his green eyes darken as he saunters towards me makes the blood in my veins grow cold and my heart start beating faster.

"Where did you bring me, mutt?" he growls through gritted teeth, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my skin turn to goosebumps.

I turn away from him, growing more and more agitated as I simply could not remember, for the sake of my life, how to break through the barrier that shielded the hut. I suck in a sharp breath and look around, turn once more and stop in my tracks.

In a little clearing before us, the hut stands unbothered, covered by ivy and surrounded by berry shrubs. My heart skips a beat and every cell in my body relaxes.

A chuckle escapes me, and I cover my face with both my hands, completely exhausted, the overwhelming sensation of having just dodged danger making my knees grow weak.

"Ho- how did you-" Alarick stammers as he finally sees the hut, his body a few inches away from mine, as he had been ready to snatch me.

With the little strength I have in my body, I start walking towards the hut.

"Morrighan-" Alarick calls out, uncertain if he was supposed to allow me to get away from him. "We might not be safe her-"

"Where am I safe, Alarick? In your pack?" I blurt out, without even thinking of it anymore, my back still turned to him, my shoulders shrugging lightly. "I'd rather have a witch drain the life out of me than any of you lay your hands on me again." I confess, completely ignoring him at this point, as I step in front of the house and bang my fist against the wooden door, loud enough to raise someone from a damn comatose.

Before the door opens, I feel a thick, rough arm wrap around me from behind and my blood runs cold in my body. Was he going to forcefully drag me away from here?!