Chapter 146: Chapter 146

/Aiden POV/

I didn't know where I went wrong in my life. No. I was aware but did not want to acknowledge it for the sake of my mind. However, the problem is that I cannot change anything now. Staring into Slyvies desperate eyes only made me realise how much of a fool I have been.

Rose was right all along. I sent her away in hopes that my guilt towards Sylvie would ease. When in reality, she's a pawn from Reece side, thrust into my life for my failure. Even though she had no choice but to surrender to fate, I couldn't help the resentment gnawing in my chest.

I would never be able to trust her on anything again. As harsh as it may sound, I did not want to be fooled by her again.

"Are you sure this will work?"

The question jolted me out of my thoughts, blinking at the omega standing in front of me. I hummed, my hands folded behind my back.

"We can try. Reece is still a mystery to me but if there's one thing sure about him is that he wants to get rid of my mother. He won't stop the attempts."

She made an understanding noise in the back of her throat.

"Meanwhile, I want you to get out of here."

Her eyes widened at my blatant comment, mouth parting as she looked at me. I saw her shake her head, joining her hands together and pleading, "I gave you my word. I won't do it again. Please trust me."

"I can't,", I said with a clench of my jaw. "You have been fooling me for a long time, and I let you get me every single time. I get that you may have no choice in doing this, but Sylvie, you could have come clean from the start. Twice, I opened the pack borders for you, and still, you tricked me."

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, but they did not make me flinch this time. My words were nothing if not honest, and she needed to hear them out.

"I-I am so sorry."

"Your apology means nothing." I curled my hands in fists. "I would have lost my mother because of you, and the thought makes me want to kill you right now."

The omega whimpered at my tone, curling into herself and head bent down. I took a sharp breath, pinching the bridge of my nose as I composed myself.

"You will be staying with our pack witch, Jade, till my plan works out. The pack guards will escort you there. Don't pull any tricks with Jade, or she won't hesitate to snap your neck. Got it?"

Slyvie nodded her head. I waited by the door, watching as the omega slowly filtered away and disappeared behind the doors. Watching her leave, didn't pain me anymore, a relief sinking in my being. The chapter of the person who once held my affection was forever closed. I had given up on her long before, but it took me now to realise that.

Rose successfully filled the void she had left, and no one could replace my true mate.

As soon as the omega was gone, I rushed inside to see my unconscious mother.

"I'm sorry, mom," I whispered, running a hand down her forehead, my voice cracking. What secret did my mother know? Why was she being hunted? I had so many questions but no one to answer.

Taking one last look at her, I turned on my feet, rushing out of the room. With my body against the wall, I phoned the pack doctor and summoned him to my mother's room. All the while, Slyvie stood in front of me, waiting for the guards to escort her.

In a few minutes, the guards came, and I instructed them to take Sylvie away. Once she was out of my sight, I let out a huge sigh, my body sagging against the wall and knees folded together.

"Alpha Aiden." The doctor bowed to me, his frame trembling as I slowly rose to my feet. He took a step back; his head still bent down.

"How can you be so fucking clueless as to what's going in the clinic?! There was a blackout, and none of you did anything about it!"

"We have been trying to find the problem...."

"Shut up!" Raising my voice, my teeth gritted together as I slowly looked over my shoulder. "That's my mom in there! If something were to happen to her, I would have killed every single one of you. I want you to appoint your staff outside her room right now, do not let anyone in except for my mate to this section. Scan each and everyone who steps into this clinic, go it?"

"Y-Yes, Alpha."

***

With my slouched shoulders, I dragged my body towards the cabin, vision blurring at times. I should have asked the doctor to check in the drug Slyvie gave me, but I had to see Rose. Apologise and make up to my mate for not going with her gut feeling and also missing dinner.

Pushing open our bedroom door, I leaned against the wall, admiring her tangled between heaps of blankets. She was clad in one of my hoodies, cheeks smushed in the pillow, and hair falling over her face. A smile automatically curled into my lips at sight, and I timidly made my way.

The thought of waking her up in the middle of the night did not sit right, not when I had no inkling of time, only that it was still dark outside.

As I sank on the space next to her, the mattress gave way under my weight and made the two of us sway slightly. My arm came to wrap around her waist, a relieved sigh escaping past my lips. I fluttered my eyes

"Aiden." She slowly started, wriggling close to me, turning into the sliver of space.

"Did I wake you?"

"No." Her fingers bunched the front of my shirt, nose scrunching as she sniffed, burrowing her face closer to my neck. "What's that smell?"

"Huh?"

"There's strange herbs smell coming from you."

"Oh." I let out a breath, the back of my neck prickling. "You can smell it?"

"Mhm. What's going on?"

I hesitated for a second before taking a deep breath and telling her everything that went down in the clinic. Her face twisted at the mention of the near attack on my mother.

"I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier."You were right about Sylvie."

"Moons! I should have stayed with you." She tried to get up, but I held her down, exhaling noisily, face turning red. I saw her canines digging into the side of her mouth, the dark look in her eyes almost taking me back. "I want to kill Slyvie! How dare she drug you? Let me go!"

"Baby...please calm down. She's not worth your anger. It's only a matter of the day, and she can leave our pack for good."

"I hate her!"

"Again, I am sorry. I am," My voice was barely above a whisper, touching a hand to her face, palm fitting perfectly against the curve of her jaw. I let the pad of my thumb brush the delicate skin by her ear, tickling along her hairline.

With a soft hum, my mate leaned down and pressed our lips together.

"Rose...the poison...." I mumbled between our kiss, trying to pull away when she made a sound.

"I am a healer. It's fine."

It's a far cry from the kiss we shared before, slow and breathy, almost lazy. For a moment, I was too stunned to move or react in any way whatsoever. With a bit of squeezing against my neck, I angled my head, letting eyelids flutter shut, giving in to the pressure of her lovely mouth.

It's far too clumsy, but it's also everything these past couple of hours have been; careless and full of heat. My hands clawed at her hoodie with my free hand, dipping low on her back to find bare skin.

Rose almost flinched from the sensation of my cold fingers teasing her spine, her hands wounded around my neck. And from one beat to the next, I slowly flipped her over, careful not to crush her, head spinning in more ways than one. My body covered hers entirely, pressing the omega into the mattress, her pelvis digging into mine in the most electrifying way.

"Baby," I pulled away, eyes shut, barely recognising my voice, but she cut me off, her hand slinking down to my chest. Her hot tears pressed into my skin, my pulse practically hammering in my throat and between my legs. As her fingers dug in my stomach, I could feel my vision getting blurry, a faint ringing echoing around.

Abruptly I pulled away from the omega, bile rushing to my mouth. Rushing to the bathroom, my body hunched over, and I retched in the sink, vision blackening.

"Aiden..." I could feel a warm hand rubbing over my back, her scent surrounding me. "Are you okay?"

Pulling away, I met her eyes, wiping the back of my mouth. The heaviness from earlier completely disappeared, replaced by a surge of something energetic. I felt light all of a sudden, in a good way.

"Mhm...I might have thrown up that poison from earlier."

"Poor you." She raised on her tip-toes and pressed a wet kiss on my cheek. "Let's get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah."

***