The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 146: Chapter 146

Rowan POV:
“He’s gone… It’s finally gone…”
A weak voice broke the silence.
I looked up and saw Emma crawling out from under a pile of rubble. Her blonde hair was matted with dust, her clothes were torn, and her body was trembling.
She looked pathetic, beaten. But there was a strange kind of relief in her eyes.
“You!” Isabelle snarled, her eyes blazing with fury.
She stepped towards Emma, her claws extending, her silver fur bristling. “You did this!”
“Let her speak, Isabelle.” My voice, laced with Alpha command, stopped her.
My wolf was still reeling from everything that had happened—seeing my father, Catrina’s transformation, Lucas’s close call.
It was a mess of emotions, but my Alpha instincts took over. I needed to stay in control, to get answers.
Emma flinched at Isabelle’s anger and looked at me, pleading for mercy.
“I… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” she stammered, her voice weak.
She was desperate to explain.
“I was tricked. Damien’s magic… it clouded my mind. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“His magic…” I said, looking at Damien’s shriveled heart lying on the ground. It was a reminder of the darkness that had almost consumed us.
“His magic only works on your darkest desires, Emma. It makes you do things you already wanted to do, deep down. If you were able to take Lucas, to hurt Catrina… it’s because a part of you wanted to. Because you were jealous. Angry. Obsessed.”
“I’m so sorry, Rowan,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She fell to her knees, her head bowed, tears streaming down her face. “I know what I did was wrong. It was… unforgivable.”
“Unforgivable? You think saying sorry can fix this?” I growled, my wolf snarling.
He wanted to tear her apart for the pain she’d caused, the fear she’d put Catrina and Lucas through.
“Your obsession with me… was it more important than my son’s life? Than Catrina’s safety?”
I turned away from her, disgust filling me. I couldn’t even look at her, couldn’t stand the sight of her fake regret.
“You’re nothing but a selfish human, Emma,” I spat. “You played a dangerous game, and now… we’re all paying the price.”
I started to walk away, but her voice, weak and desperate, stopped me.
“I… I don’t think I’m going to make it.”
I turned back, my eyes narrowed. She was clutching her arm, her face pale.
“What are you talking about?” Isabelle asked sharply.
Slowly, Emma pulled up her sleeve. Deep cuts, ragged and bloody, covered her arm. It was a horrifying sight. It made my wolf whimper, a flicker of pity mixing with my anger.
“In… college… I read about… survival,” she whispered, her voice fading, her eyes losing focus. “How to… stay alive…”
She looked at me, her blue eyes, usually so bright, were dull with pain. A shadow of death hung over her.
“I… I kept Lucas alive, Rowan,” she confessed. “For days… I fed him… my blood.”
“What?” Isabelle gasped. “Why?”
“Damien… he didn’t care about the baby,” Emma said, her voice barely a whisper now. “He just wanted to use him. To lure Catrina. I… I wanted to help. I’m… glad he’s okay now.”
Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, her breathing shallow, her pulse weak. The smell of blood was strong now, mixed with her fading scent.
“Why would she do that?” Isabelle whispered, her voice full of horror and a touch of… admiration?
She risked her own life, her own blood, to save Lucas. My wolf growled, a grudging respect creeping into his voice.
King Korvash looked at Emma, his face grim, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
“That was… unwise,” he said, his voice laced with worry. “Drinking human blood… at such a young age… it could be dangerous for the pup.”
“Dangerous?” I echoed, my heart sinking. A new fear, a different kind of terror, washed over me.
“What do you mean, dangerous?”
“He could…” King Korvash hesitated, his gaze flickering towards me. He seemed reluctant to say it.
“He could… what, Korvash?” I pressed, my wolf pacing restlessly, my instincts screaming for answers. I had to protect my son.
“He could… lose his connection to his wolf,” King Korvash said finally. His voice was a whisper, his words confirming my worst fears.
“Human blood… it’s not compatible with ours. It can… suppress the wolf spirit, weaken the bond. If Lucas’s wolf doesn’t emerge… he’ll be… wolfless, Rowan.”
My world tilted. It wasn’t fair. Lucas, my son, the future Alpha, might never be able to shift? Might never experience the power, the freedom, of being a wolf?
“No. It can’t be. It’s not fair!” My wolf howled in despair.
“There has to be a way,” I whispered, my eyes fixed on Lucas, his tiny chest rising and falling.
I could lose him, not to death, but to… humanity.
“There has to be something we can do.”
“We’ll find a way, Rowan,” Isabelle said, putting her hand on my shoulder. Her touch was a comfort. “We’ll find answers. We won’t give up on him. I promise.”
But even her words couldn’t erase the guilt that gnawed at me.
It’s my fault. I pushed Catrina away. I doubted her. I made her vulnerable.
And now she’s… she’s fading because of it.
The thought was a poison, a constant reminder of my failure to be the Alpha, the mate, she needed me to be.
“Alpha… she’s not breathing.”
Carson’s voice, a terrified whisper, shattered the silence.
I looked up, my blood turning to ice. Carson was kneeling beside Emma, his golden eyes wide with alarm.
“What… what do you mean?” I stammered, my wolf suddenly still, focused on Emma, on her fading scent.
“She’s… she’s gone, Alpha,” Carson choked out. “She’s… dead.”
A wave of shock washed over me. Emma, the girl who had caused so much pain, was gone.
But even before dying, she’d shown a spark of goodness, sacrificing herself for my son.
But I couldn’t dwell on it now. Catrina was still unconscious, her soul fading, and King Korvash’s words echoed in my ears.
“We have to save her.” My wolf howled. “We can’t lose her, too!”