The Rejected Omega’s Destiny

6. Trap room(five years later)

*** MORRIGHAN’S POV ***

That was the last time I saw Alarick. He was standing on the front porch, his back turned towards the pack. He was stiff, unmoving, most likely aware of the storm that was about to unleash its wrath over the land. I saw him, but not through my eyes. I saw him through the eyes of a beast that had been dormant for eighteen years. A beast with golden eyes and thick snow white hair. My wolf. My protector. My other half.

She watched him with hate and spite, and today, as I observed him from a distance, her feelings had not changed. She stirs and growls a low warning that echoes within my head, drowning any other sound around me.

It was dark. It was late, and the early winter wind had picked up, whipping harshly against my face, carrying my scent away from the pack as I stalked from the edge of the forest.

Alarick was walking fast, flanked by two of his men. His back was turned towards the pack house, and he walked with determination in my direction. I had the urge to turn on my heels and run away, but one thing was certain. He was not coming to meet me. He didn’t know I was there. I hardly doubt that he even remembered me, not after five years had passed in which we had not seen each other.

He looked… different and yet the same. His face still had the same sharp features, the same harsh almondy eyes, the same sunken cheeks. His hair was almost entirely gray and cut much shorter. The pointy ears had no more piercings in them, and his mixed ancestry showed a little more through the slenderness of his face.

Wolves were brutes like that. Broad faces and bodies ensured raw power.

While the two flanking him were two hunky brutes, Alarick was different. Slender. Still as buff as I remember him, but definitely more slender than those of our kind.

As expected, he stops in front of a house. The same house I was stalking from afar.

Why was he there? My heart picks up and just as I am about to shift and hide a little more within the darkness of the forest, the wind suddenly changes direction and ruffles my hair. My heart sinks, and my eyes grow wide with panic.

Alarick turns his head in my direction, and it feels as if he has spotted me.

Shit… s**t s**t s**t!

I take a step back, slowly, ready to run away any moment now, but to my surprise, Alarick makes no move toward me. His eyes peel away from me, and I see his figure leaning closer to one of the men at his side. There is a silent exchange of instructions, and Alarick enters the house, leaving the two men outside.

They hesitate a moment before they start walking away. And I can breathe freely again.

Now all I have to do is wait for Alarick to walk out of the house, and I can finish what I came here for.

My arms cross on my chest, and I lean against the tree, returning to my boring stalking position, while Aisi, my wolf, grows even more uneasy.

‘We should get away from here while we can.’ she tells me with determination, and I feel her tensing a little more.

‘I am not going anywhere without seeing Nora.’ I answer, my eyes narrowing lightly.

‘We are not safe here! I can not keep you safe either!’ She whines, and I can feel her itch to get out. If it were not for the micro-dose of wisteria I had ingested when we neared the pack grounds, she’d have already taken over and kept me away from this place.

‘I don’t need you to keep me safe. I know them. I know how to-’

Completely distracted by her tantrum, I didn’t catch up with my own stalkers until it was too late to get away. A twig snaps somewhere behind me and as my head turns to the side, a large hand from behind me covers my face, muffling any sounds I could make.

My first instinct is to run, and Aisi grows hard to control even with the wisteria still strong in my system. But I don’t. I stand still as I am harshly being pressed against the one who had my mouth covered, while the other person comes in sight.

I immediately recognise Darius, whose eyes widen for a moment as they meet mine. I guess the surprise is genuine.

“It’s you.” The man mutters, scanning me from head to toe, and immediately bursts into a mocking laughter. "I'm surprised you're still alive! I never guessed you're so repulsive that not even forest creatures want to eat you."

His surprise is immediately replaced by skepticism. He looked around, and his eyes narrowed and darkened to a point where I was certain he was going to lash out at me.

“How did you make it all the way here?” He growls, and I feel a cold chill rush through my veins as he snaps his eyes on my face again and our eyes lock. “Who else is here with you?!” He barks and grabs the front of my shirt, making me flinch.

It was not the first time Darius put his hands on me and by instinct, I raised my arms and wrapped them around my face, so he couldn't do any damage.

“That’s enough, Darius.” The man holding me instructed, and I realised I didn’t recognise the voice. “Alarick told us to bring her to him, not deal with her ourselves. She will answer to him.”

Darius’ jaw clenches, and he hesitantly lets go of my shirt.

With little courage, I peer at him through my fingers, every fiber of my being begging me to turn around and run before it was not too late.

“She answers to anyone who asks her something!” He barks and as the hand around my mouth lowers followed by mine, his rises and falls against my cheek when the opportunity is given.

The slap echoes through the woods and the sharp pain makes my knees weak and my whole body tense. I don’t fall only thanks to the one holding me.

“DARIUS!” The man barks and the one in front of me smirks widely, showing off his sharp canines with pride.

“She is nothing but a mutt. A treacherous omega. I have been itching to do this for longer than I dare say.” he huffs, and I hold his gaze.

There was a spark of pleasure in his eyes at the sight of blood that trickled from my nose. It ripples in a rush, staining my lips and filling my mouth with the metallic taste I knew quite well. My cheek burned from the impact, and the numbness within me made me unable to even look at him.

I despised him! No. Even more. I hated him!

‘I’ll rip his head off of his shoulders!’ Aisi howls loudly, and I close my eyes and lower my head just to keep her from showing herself.

There was no use to fight him. Turning into one of the bullies has never been my goal.

A low, dark giggle escapes Darius, and he grabs my arm, tearing me away from the other man, and forcing me to walk.

I keep my head low and the tip of my tongue between my teeth, piercing it with one of my fangs as Aisi trashes within, ready to take the wheel at any given moment.

I expect them to drag me to the cellars of the pack house and deal with me first thing in the morning, but I am dragged towards the house Alarick is in right now. Nora’s home. As I realise this, my heart starts picking up, and I grow anxious.

Why? Did he know it was me? Did he know I was here? He couldn’t…

Darius stops in front of the front door, and he knocks loud enough to alert the whole pack. The door opens a moment later, and I am face to face with none other but Alarick.

He fixes me with his eyes, half lidded, darkened by his thoughts. His lips are pressed in a thin line, and he doesn’t seem to be breathing. None of his muscles move, and I feel his icy gaze pierce a hole through my soul. Even Aisi has grown still and silent, and I understand I am left alone to face this man.

“We found her.” Darius starts speaking, and Alarick interrupts him without any tact.

“I know where you found her.” He simply says and moves out of the doorstep, wordlessly inviting me in.

Darius lets go of me and pushes me forward. I stumble past Alarick, watching him from the corner of my eyes, with caution and distrust, and just as our eyes meet, I think I understand what is going on.

I had walked right into a trap, hadn’t I?

The panic rises, and my breathing quickens.

Just how stupid could I be?