The Alpha’s Little Omega

CHAPTER FOUR

His eyes bore into me like twin suns burning through my soul. They glowed with an intensity that made my weak wolf cower deep inside me, refusing to emerge. I had never felt power like this..

"Blood must beget blood."

His voice rumbled across the room like rolling thunder and when his gaze shifted from me to Liam, I nearly collapsed with relief.

My gaze snapped to Liam, eyes demanding what was happening. But he only stumbled forward, his perfect mask of charm had crumbled completely revealing the coward I always suspected lurked beneath. Yet when he spoke, his voice dripped with eager agreement.

"Yes! Yes, you can kill her. She is my sister. Take her life and the debt is paid. We are square."

I could feel myself slipping toward shock.. that cold darkness where nothing could hurt me anymore.

My wolf whimpered inside me, weak and fragile hidden somewhere beneath the scars and the sickness. She had always been faint compared to other wolves but right now she quivered with a sorrow that echoed my own.

I shook my head, trying to form a single word but couldn't as I was too shocked…to hear my mate claiming I was his sister, that I should be used as a blood debt.

How dare he?!

How much more would he break me?

Hasn't he done enough already?

“Yes, that’s right,” Nadia added eagerly. “She is his sister. You can do whatever you want to her. Let her feel exactly what your sister felt when she died. Cut her into pieces. Grind her bones. Do whatever you want.”

I stared at them as they took turns deciding my fate. And somehow, that hurt even more than the rejection.

“No,” I shook my head, taking a step back as I could not believe the scene unfolding before me. “No, that is not true. They are lying. I am not his..."

"Silence."

My mouth snapped shut and every instinct screamed at me to submit, to bow.. to grovel. This was the supreme Alpha... a ruler of seven packs and his power rolled off him in waves that made my knees shake.

Alpha Darell's eyes returned to me and for one long terrible moment, I saw something flicker within that golden gaze. Whatever it was, it vanished before I could name it..

"No." He said.

I blinked, certain I had misheard. Liam's face twisted in confusion.

“What?” Liam demanded. “What do you mean, no? I don’t understand. Take her life and let us put an end to this unpleasantness.”

"No."

This time the word came out as a growl and every hair on my body stood on end while my wolf cowered deeper, pressing herself against the walls of my consciousness.

Liam let out a scoff. “Then I’m sorry to tell you that you get nothing else if you refuse her. Have you forgotten the rules? Even if you’re a Supreme Alpha, you have no right to kill another…”

But before Liam could finish his sentence, Alpha Darell moved at a lightning speed. One moment he was standing still and the next, his claws flashed through the air. A wet slicing sound echoed across the courtyard and blood exploded from Liam’s throat, spraying across the ground, across Nadia’s face.

For a heartbeat, nobody moved.

I just stood there frozen, my eyes widened in horror as I watched Liam's eyes bulging as he clutched at his ruined throat. Blood poured between his fingers. He collapsed to the ground, choking and gasping, his legs kicking wildly beneath him like a chicken whose head had been severed.

Then, slowly…the movement stopped. Silence followed and Liam lay still.

Dead.

My gaze rose shakily and looked at Alpha Darrell, who was now cleaning his bloody hand with a white handkerchief and his expression…there was not even a trace of any emotion.

"Kill them all."

His voice carried no emotion whatsoever. It was cold, flat and completely devoid of feeling as if he had just finished tying up a minor loose end rather than slaughtering an alpha and ordering a m******e.

"Leave no one standing."

The black-armored warriors scattered like shadows given form and the screaming intensified as soldiers fell and servants ran. The beautiful wedding celebration became a bloodbath before my eyes.

I stood frozen, watching the chaos unfold. My brain refused to process what I had just seen. Liam was dead..! The man who had broken me was gone in a single instant.

Survival instinct won out over everything else.. run, my wolf whispered. While they are distracted, run.

It was a simple thought but the only one that made sense. My weak legs were already moving before I consciously decided to flee.

I stumbled over fallen bodies, slipped on pooling blood, my lungs burning with every gasping breath.

The dungeon had left me weak.. malnourished and beaten. My wolf could barely muster enough strength to carry me at anything faster than a walk, but I pushed anyway.

The forest edge loomed ahead. Dark and wild and full of unknown dangers but I did not care.. anything was better than standing in that room full of death.

I crashed through the first line of trees, branches whipping at my face and arms as the sounds of battle faded behind me, replaced by the pounding of my own heart and my own ragged breathing. Every step sent pain shooting through my bruised ribs. My thighs burned with exertion and my vision spotted with darkness at the edges.

Keep going, I told myself. Keep moving. Do not stop.

I did not know how long I ran. Minutes? Hours? Time had lost all meaning. I just kept putting one trembling foot in front of the other, pushing deeper into the forest, desperate to put as much distance as possible between myself and Green Hill Pack.

Then I stumbled over a root and hit the ground hard.

The impact drove the air from my lungs. I tried to rise, but my body refused to cooperate. My legs trembled too badly.

My arms shook as I tried to push myself up. It was like trying to move through water, except the water was made of exhaustion and pain and the lingering effects of whatever poison Liam had been feeding me for years.

"Come on," I gasped to myself, dragging my body a few more feet before collapsing again. "Move. You have to move. Please, just move."

And just then a rustle of leaves caught my attention.

I froze mid-struggle, my heart seizing in my chest. The forest had gone silent around me. Even the birds had stopped singing. That deep, primal part of my wolf that had been slumbering for years suddenly snapped awake, screaming warning after warning.

A gentle breeze drifted past my face.. and then he was there.

I screamed.

The sound was ragged and terrified and without dignity. My arms gave out beneath me and I fell backward into the dirt and leaves, scrambling uselessly as I tried to put distance between us. My weak wolf whined and cowered, absolutely paralyzed by the overwhelming alpha presence.

"Please," I whimpered, the word tearing from my throat before I could stop it. "Please, please, I'm not his sister. I swear it on my life. My parents died protecting this pack's borders when I was five. I have never been anything to him except... except..."

The words tangled in my throat, getting lost among the memories of all the things I had endured for a man who now lay in pieces in his own wedding hall.

Darell said nothing. He simply watched me with those burning golden eyes, his expression unreadable.

Silence stretched between us and his gaze never wavered. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and dangerously calm.

"Liar."

Tears spilled down my cheeks, burning the scratches on my face.

"I'm not lying. I swear on everything I have, I'm telling you the truth. My name is Ava Silverthorne. My parents died when I was little. I grew up in the pack's orphanage. I worked in the kitchens. I met Liam when I was fifteen and he was kind to me and I was stupid enough to love him for it... l"

"Stop."

I also stopped. My jaw clicked shut so fast I nearly bit my own tongue.

Darell took a step toward me.. then another and I shrank back against a tree trunk, my heartbeat ringing in my ears.

"I do not care about your name," he said, his voice dropping to something almost conversational. Almost thoughtful. "I do not care about your history or your grievances with Liam Greene. What I care about is that you bear his blood. That you carry the mark of his line, even if only through some half-acknowledged connection. My sister died under his order."

His golden eyes burned brighter and I saw something wounded beneath the cold mask.. something that looked remarkably like grief.

"Blood must beget blood. That is the law of our kind. That is the price for what he took from me."

“But why?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. “Why now?”

Even I didn’t know where the courage came from.

“You didn’t wage war when your father died. So why go on a rampage for your sister, you monster?!”

I said the words and the regret followed immediately. The image of his claws slashing across Liam’s throat flashed through my mind, and fear crawled beneath my skin.

Darrell stared at me.

And I watched his eyes darken.

Oh, Moon Goddess.

What have I done?

“I… I’m sor…”

The apology never left my lips. And without warning, he scooped me up. The motion was neither gentle nor rough.. simply efficient.

I found myself draped over his shoulder like a sack of flour, my head dangling against his back. The position compressed my stomach and made breathing difficult, but I was too shocked to protest.

"Put me down!" I squirmed, my weak fists pounding against his impossibly solid back. "What are you doing? I thought you were going to kill me! Do it right here, I dare you to do it right now..."

"Do not make me angry, omega."

His voice rumbled through his body, vibrating against my cheek. I went perfectly still, my breath catching in my throat.

Like a scared rat, I thought bitterly. That's exactly what I am now.

He began walking, his pace steady despite the awkward burden. I hung there, bouncing with each step, my stomach churning from the motion. Every breath was a struggle. My ribs ached. My head pounded. The world tilted and spun in unpleasant ways.

When he finally stopped, the sounds of battle had faded completely. But asI lifted my head, the sight before me made my stomach dropped.

We were standing at the edge of the pack grounds. Near a row of waiting black SUVs.

Darrell raised one hand.

"Stand down. Leave them now. The debt has been paid." He ordered and warriors obeyed immediately.

Then, before I could process what was happening, he pulled me off his shoulder and tossed me into the back seat of one of the vehicles.

I landed with a yelp.

“Wait!” I gasped, scrambling upright. “Where are you taking me? What are you going to do with…”

The door slammed shut in my face. I stared at the tinted window in disbelief. Then I lunged forward and began pounding on the door.

“Hey! Open this! You can’t just kidnap me! Do you know who I am?!”

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs.

What was happening?

Why wasn’t he killing me?

Just then, the door on the opposite side of the vehicle opened and the car shifted slightly under the added weight.

I turned only to see him sliding into the seat beside me.