The Alpha Can’t Sense His Mate

ITHRA

Zadok took out his blade, ready to fight. “Get behind me.” He hissed, eyes focused on our newfound mutual enemy.

I took out my blade and thanked God for Zadok, who thought it wise to pick them up earlier. I couldn’t imagine being in this situation with nothing to defend ourselves.

“We need to go south,” Zadok said to my hearing, our backs touched as we prepared for the battle. “No matter what, make sure you don’t get hurt.”

I nearly rolled my eyes at his insinuation. “I can take care of myself.” I brisked, “Just focus on getting us out of here.”

“I don’t care what happens,” A slash of Zadok’s sword split a scorpion in half. “You must protect yourself first.” He said, “And that’s an order!”

I didn’t bother to reply to that. I was too busy with the influx of scorpions that seemed to multiply by the minute.

Maintaining close distance from Zadok, I killed every scorpion, leaving dead bodies in my wake.

Zadok wasn’t doing too bad. He was doing beautifully. I almost got distracted by the way he killed every slimy scorpion that thought to do him harm.

Following his instructions, we fought southwards, moving towards the direction with hopes that we would get out of this cursed valley soon. No such luck because no matter how hard we fought or how fast we moved, there were no signs of exit.

Another growing concern was the multiplication of the scorpions that wanted to get a sting on us. I didn’t need a soothsayer to know that it would only spell doom if they got a sting on us.

If a scorpion’s sting was deadly, I couldn’t imagine how destructive a sting from a scorpion in this dead forest would be. And I wasn’t trying to find out either.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Ithra! Watch out!” I heard the panicked voice of Zadok, and I ducked instinctively.

His sword goes above my head, slicing a scorpion standing behind me. “You need to be focused-”

Zadok didn’t finish his reprimand before he got stung by a scorpion on his back.

“No!” I yelled, and with a powerful thrust of the sword, I killed the scorpion that dared to hurt Zadok on my watch.

That didn’t mean anything because I was a second too late. Zadok had been stung because of my carelessness.

It seemed like the scorpions could tell he had been stung because, within seconds, they charged at him. The amount of scorpions drastically increased, and for some reason, the majority was on Zadok.

“Are you alright?!” I yelled across to him, fighting off the scorpions on my end.

Zadok didn’t reply. I didn’t have the space to look around and see what went on around him. I couldn’t afford any mishaps. But I was worried nonetheless.

With a spin, I took down a line of scorpions around me. I saw Zadok on his knees, and my heart nearly fell off its hinges.

“Zadok!” I cried, fighting my way to him.

Scorpions were round about him, and his sword was out of his reach. He was fighting back with what I believed to be the last of his strength.

His face held a greenish colour, and his right arm seemed immobile. He was infected, and it was spreading fast! I had to get to him.

The scorpions multiplied, keeping me in a spot for over fifteen minutes. Zadok was at the mercy of the scorpions around him. It was all my fault! Had I not been absent-minded, he wouldn’t have gotten hit by the scorpion.

A loud hiss from Zadok forced me to look towards his direction, just in time to see him fall on the floor, with his mouth oozing blood. Fear gripped me, and I made to reach him. I felt the sting of a scorpion at the centre of my head.

Immediately, I felt its content rush into my blood, circulating my system. It didn’t take a minute before I began to feel its effects on my face.

I wasn’t discouraged. I continued on my quest to get to Zadok. Much more than me, he needed attention. I couldn’t let him die. We were in this together, and hell would freeze over before I let him go.

The scorpions didn’t care about my convictions. They tore me apart, stinging me until I could barely walk. Gone was the swordswoman that tore thousands of scorpions. Gone was the powerful and determined woman confident in her abilities.

What replaced her was a crawling woman, desperate to get to her partner and save his life no matter the cost. He couldn’t die on me. Not now, and not ever.

I was finally able to get to him. The stings of the scorpions didn’t let me celebrate my little wins. I figured I was looking defeated, but that was beside the point.

Zadok could barely open his eyes when I got to him. “Get up, Champ,” I said, “We have to get out of here.”

Before the words went out my mouth, he got stung by another scorpion, and blood poured from his head. Rage ate at my heart, and all I saw was red.

“Get out!” I roared in anger. For some reason, I felt full of strength.

I felt myself draw power from the mountains above me. The scorpions didn’t mind my shout. They continued their havoc on an unconscious Zadok, and that’s when I knew I’d had it with them.

A surge of power connected through me. It fed on my anger so much that I felt pressure on my heart. I needed to disburse this power, or it would kill me. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I was sure it would kill me if I didn’t let it out.

Power shouldn’t be tied down. It was to be shared. And so I did.

I smirked when a burst of light hit my surroundings, shaking the forest to its core. Snapping of the scorpions was heard. This time around, they weren’t fighting to finish us off.

They were running for their lives!

All was in vain because, within three seconds, the light burned them all to dust, leaving me and Zadok on the floor, surrounded by the dust of our attackers.