~Daliah's POV~
The last thing I remember was my skin feeling so hot, it felt as though it was being ripped into shreds, torn from the bones and lit with a blazing fire.
A choked sob escaped my lips as I peeled my eyes open and I squinted when a blinding light hit my eyes, momentarily causing me to snap my eyelids back shut.
"Argh!" I groaned, sitting up but cried out again when an indescribable pain hit my ribs, my back… in fact everywhere! It was intense… bad. I felt like I was about to die, that's if I wasn't already dead, yet.
"Don't try to sit up, Dahlia, you're still in a lot of pain." A soft feminine voice called out to me and I flinched in unawareness as I turned in the direction of the sound.
Now, I managed to peel my eyelids open—slowly— and when I did, I was met with the view of a petite brunette dressed in brown work clothes with an apron marked: 'healthcare' draped around her small frame. She smiled warmly at me. "Hi, I'm Ava, one of the pack's doctors."
But I didn't smile back, I couldn't. I was petrified.
How did I get here?
What happened to me?
Worst of all, why do I feel like I've been stomped upon by a thousand horses?
A sharp pain wracked my guts and I winced as memories of the previous day flew past my mind's eye like images on a broken tape. I could remember the meeting with the Alpha… I remembered running into Ms Jennifer too and her not so subtle threats…then there was Beta Orion and Amara…
And then the pain. The blinding hot pain.
Wolfsbane.
Who did this to me? Why would they do this to me?
As if noticing the confusion on my face, the pretty doctor stepped closer and I stilled as she began to examine me carefully, gently, as if afraid to not cause me any more pain than what I already suffered from, and then she pulled away. I exhaled.
"Do you need anything?" She asked.
My throat felt dry and my lips were chapped. There was nothing I wanted more than… "Water please." I rasped. "I need some water."
I almost smiled when almost immediately, she pushed a cup of water into my hands but just before I could take the first sip, the door was pushed open and I was hit with the most delicious smell I've ever come across, and with it came a very intimidating aura.
My head dropped into a bow on its own accord and I frowned when Alpha Zarek came into view, his eyes stormy. He drawled; "Dahlia…"
As soon as my name left his lips, a swarm of butterflies erupted at the base of my stomach and I froze when he stalked over to the bed, plopped on the wooden chair close by and pulled my hands into his overly large ones.
Right! Exactly what I needed right now!
The feel of his hands against mine sent tingles up my spine. It consumed me, chilling me to my bones. I was just about to give into the warmth accompanied by him when suddenly, a pair of bright blue eyes flashed in my mind's eye. Ms Jennifer. I shuddered, instantly pulling my hands away and almost groaned in frustration when his warmth left as well.
"Alpha… good afternoon." I rasped, bowing slightly. The action made the pain in my lower abdomen flare and I trembled as a soft cry pierced my lips. "Good evening."
I wasn't sure what time it was.
Alpha Zarek didn't respond. He simply frowned as his intense gaze traveled around my face as if searching for something, and when he probably didn't find whatever it was, he drawled; "What happened?"
It took me a minute to understand that he was asking about how I'd gotten to be in this position but seeing as I didn't know how that happened either, I shrugged. "I don't know." I said, "last night, after I was done with my chores, I went to bed… and this happened. My bed was soaked through with wolfsbane."
"Three nights ago."
"Huh?"
"It didn't happen last night. It was three nights ago. You've been out for two days," he answered and my jaws dropped.
Suddenly, my heart rate picked up. If I have been out for two days, then what about… "My daughter? Where's Amara? How is she?" I rushed out, ignoring the pain shooting through my body.
Panic like no other consumed me and I shuddered when Alpha Zarek glanced away from me to stare pointedly at the door. My heart plummeted. Then he turned back to me. "She's fine… she's just beyond that door and will be let in as soon as we're done here."
I nodded.
Something in his jaw ticked then and he muttered; "You do not suspect anyone?"
"No." I answered quickly… too quickly; it made him cock his eyebrows at me suspiciously.
Truthfully, I suspected Ms Jennifer but how the hell was I supposed to say that when she is literally his fiancèe?
I mean, besides her, who would go to these lengths just to hurt me? Who else hated me so much as to plot such painful death… or suffering for me?
Maybe this was her way of warning me to back away from Alpha Zarek, the same man who was currently seated in front of me, his eyes gazing into mine with a stare so soft and so intense, it made my stomach churn.
And I should back off; but how was I supposed to if he keeps coming back? Just how?
"Dahlia?"
I shook my head. "I don't know why anyone would want to do this to me. I do not suspect anyone."
He didn't believe me. That was pretty evident in the way his face fell. "You do know that you don't have to protect them, right?"
"Yes," I muttered, breathing through my lips when it felt like my lungs were beginning to close up on me. "I'm not protecting anyone."
Liar.
He nodded then, still frowning, but thankfully he dropped the topic and rose to his feet. "I'll see you around."
I hope you don't.
But I never said that out loud. I could never. I noticed the way his eyes traced the burn marks on my exposed flesh, noticed the way his frown seemed to intensify whenever he caught sight of new ones. His eyes darkened when he looked down at my neck and I nearly dropped dead when he leaned even closer, his eyes never leaving the spot on my neck.
He snarled; "I'll find who did this. And I sincerely hope that you're not protecting them, little wolf."
His voice was low. Deadly. It sent chills down my spine but before I could respond, he turned away and left without uttering another word.
I gulped.
It wasn't until after he was gone that I released the breath I didn't even know I was holding. My body trembled frantically as a sheen of sweat broke out on my skin. It was then that I realized with surprise that the female doctor, Ava, was no longer in the room. She'd left and I hadn't even noticed when she slipped out.
That was just how well Alpha Zarek clouded my senses, sucking out all the attention in the room.
"Mommy!" A voice snapped me out of my reverie and a smile cracked my face when I saw Amara running towards the bed with a wide grin.
Just like a deflated balloon, my sour mood dissipated, replaced instead with a warmth that even the Alpha couldn't provide.
She jumped into the bed to throw her little arms around my neck and even though that action hurt– a whole lot– I let her.
"Mommy, I missed you!" She cried. "You slept for two days, Tiffany said you may never wake up!"
It was then that I realized the extent to which my unconsciousness had affected her. My heart broke. "Mom was sick." I murmured.
"You're still sick." She pointed out, leaning away to trace her fingers along the burn marks on my arm and neck, her expression solemn. "Does it hurt?"
"A lot." I say.
"I'm sorry," she answered and my chest ached when I saw the tears glistening in her eyes. Tears that she had refused to let fall.
Hurting, I pulled her into my chest and kissed her head. "I am fine now, okay?"
"Okay," she responded with a small smile. The tears in her eyes remained. "Beta Orion says he'll take care of you… he wants you to be Tiffany's mom too and that way, he can protect both of us from…"
"Did he say that to you?" I snapped, interrupting her and she shook her head as she looked up at me.
"No. He told Tiffany."
Just then, the door creaked open and someone peered into the room. My breath caught in my throat because it was none other than Beta Orion himself.
He smiled. "Hi."