My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 20

Lancaster POV

The magnetic pull I felt towards my mate was even stronger this morning. I wish I could spend more time with her, but since I couldn't, I would make the most out of these last few minutes with her.

Caitlyn was still asleep. We had stayed up late last night, so it was only natural for her to be tired. All the pleasure I had given her took a toll on her delicate body; she was so exhausted I had to carry her back home after she passed out in the hot spring. She had been sleeping peacefully since then, with a serene smile on her face that brought me inexplicable joy. Unlike me, she had a couple of hours before she needed to get up for work, so I didn't want to wake her up. But that doesn't mean I couldn't still admire her. The warm light of the first gleaming sun rays pierced through the curtains, making my mate glow as if she was an angel descending from Heaven. Her beautiful face drew me in. No longer able to resist my desire to feel her, I carefully lifted one of my hands to brush her soft cheek, barely touching her porcelain skin. She let out a quiet moan of appreciation, but the sound of her slow and steady heartbeat let me know she was still in dreamland. I gently removed her chestnut hair, smooth like chocolate waves, from her shoulder, exposing her neck to me. The second my eyes landed on the mark on her neck, my heart stopped.

This incredible woman was mine, forever.

Atlas purred in delight inside my head at the sight in front of us. I pulled up the thin strap of her light pink babydoll to allow me a clear view of my most recent work. My fingertips curiously traced the spot where I bit her the night before; it had healed completely, now remaining as a seal of our complete bond. I leaned forward as quietly as I could, brushing my lips against the spot before planting a soft kiss on it. Pleasant tingles rushed through me, and from the way she smiled even brighter, I knew she felt it too. "I'll be back soon, beautiful," I whispered, though I wasn't sure she could hear me.

It took all of my strength to leave Caitlyn behind, but as a warrior, duty called. I rolled out of bed, taking one last glance at her over my shoulder before getting dressed in only my shorts and leaving our home. All I had to do was get through the first few hours of the day, then I'd meet her for lunch; I really wanted to see her for breakfast, but I had been skipping it to get a little more work done.

As I made my way towards the gym, I noticed how some of the new female warriors looked at me differently. At first, I was confused, but I immediately understood the situation when I realized they were staring at my mark. Being a stray and an average-looking guy, the she-wolves never paid much attention to me. It seemed that now that another girl had staked her claim on me, I became a lot more interesting. However, I didn't care the least about them; I just held my head high, proudly exhibiting the mark on my neck. "That's right! Let them stare all they want." Atlas proudly stated. "Mate is the only one who will ever have us!"

"I think I can live with that," I joked.

ד'

The warriors were already stretching when I entered the structure. It didn't take long for me to find my friends; Jasper's auburn hair made him stand out in the crowd. Distracted with their exercises, neither of them lifted their faces to look at me. "You're becoming quite lazy, stray. You were never late before," Luke scolded me.

"I have to agree. The fact that I arrived here before you is something for you to be concerned about," the ginger boy pointed out playfully. "I must admit it took me a lot of determination to get up for training after having not only one, but two hotties worshiping me last night," he chanted shamelessly. "Thinking I might leave my days as a butcher behind and become a full-time waiter. Turns out the bitches don't find wolves covered in blood as attractive as a man in a uniform." "Wait, you had them both at the same time?" the Beta's son uttered in disbelief.

"Exactly." Jasper winked. "I had one of them kissing me while the other one sucked hard on my..." His eyes widened when he finally turned his attention to me. Then, a mischievous grin crossed his face. "Hell, seems like I wasn't the only one who had a lot of fun last night!"

"What?" Luke arched an eyebrow in confusion before he followed the stray's gaze. He had almost the same reaction to my mark. "Damn! What happened to shy, virgin Lance?"

"Definitely not a virgin anymore." I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"And not single either," Jasper observed, shaking his head in disappointment. "You let the first girl you had s*x with put you on a leash. You should have experimented a little bit before."

"I'm good, thanks." I waved him off. "But I'm curious. What does Phoenix think of your taste test?"

"He's cool with it." The ginger boy shrugged. "He's a part of me, you know. We share the same fire."

"Wish I could say the same thing about King," Luke snorted.

"Alright, pups!" The Beta's powerful growl echoed through the gym, instantly making everyone shut up and bow at him. "It's Monday, and you boys know what that means. Girls, I'll explain it to you a single time, so listen carefully. Every week, I pick out one warrior to fight me before we officially start training. Think of it as some kind of ritual." A sinister smile crossed his face; this was one of the only occasions in which he would show any emotions. "So, who wants to take Diesel on today?"

There was utter silence as Jame's piercing yellow eyes scoured through the crowd. He took his time analyzing each one of his warriors, enjoying the tension that filled the air. No one had ever been able to defeat him in combat, so fighting him was usually very painful and humiliating - no sane wolf wanted to go through it. After what felt like hours, his gaze finally landed on someone. A cold chill ran down my spine as I realized he was staring straight at me.

"How about you, stray?" the Beta challenged, making me stiffen. "There's been rumors about you being the strongest warrior of Diamond Tempest ever since you fought that bear off on your own. I'll give you a chance to prove them right or wrong." I hesitated for a second, but not because of fear. The thought of fighting the second in command, who could only lose to the Alpha himself, should scare me at least a little bit. Instead, I felt weirdly calm; confident, even. "We can do this," my wolf reassured me. For some reason, I kind of believed him.

I walked closer to the Beta, standing in front of him as everyone else took a step back. Some of the warriors had concerned looks in their faces, while others were ready to watch me get my a*s kicked. They started whispering, talking about how many seconds I would last before James landed his final blow. Taking a deep breath, I ignored them all. The older warrior snorted when he saw my mark, and of course he wouldn't miss the opportunity to tease me about it.

"You're lucky your mate is not here, kid. It would suck for her to see you on the floor whimpering when I'm done with you." I knew most of his attitude was part of his 'ruthless coach' act, but it still bothered me for some reason. I could feel the hairs in the back of my neck bristle as the beast inside of me growled fiercely.

"Bring it on, Beta."

My response startled him, but just for a second. Soon enough, James was back to wearing his usual frown. He cracked his knuckles before distancing himself from me, allowing his counterpart enough room to come out. As soon as the dark brown beast with intense golden eyes was released, the crowd cheered in excitement. Diesel nodded at me, giving me permission to shift. Atlas was ready to come to the surface, so I quickly gave him control.

Once they were freed, the two beasts slowly surrounded each other, studying their opponents. There were no snarls or growls. It was a strategic combat; instinct was less valuable than our brains. However, Atlas never had a lot of patience, and he soon ran out of it. In a fast movement, we jumped at our Beta, aiming for his throat.

The dark coated wolf had no trouble dodging us, taking advantage of our proximity to close his jaws around our neck. Perceiving his intention to knock us down, we fought to regain our balance so we could struggle out of his grip. Our freedom didn't last long though, as Diesel was not only known for his impressive strength, but also for his high speed. He headbutted us on the side, succeeding in forcing us to the floor. Before we could even get up, his sharp teeth were back to our neck, immobilizing us.

A fight was considered lost when a wolf had their jaws around another's jugular, for it was almost impossible to get out of such a situation. Stubborn as always, Atlas and I weren't ready to give up just yet. Lying on the floor, we ignored the pressure around our neck and searched for a way to escape. Using all of our strength, we managed to move our head forward just a little, so we could bite the Beta's leg in an attempt to distract him.

What I wasn't expecting, however, was to hear the sound of his bones breaking as his blood stained our teeth.

Diesel howled in pain, instinctively letting go of us. Without wasting another second, we pushed him to the ground, holding him to immobilize him the same way he had gotten us before. The dark brown wolf struggled for a while, but we tightened our grip around him until he couldn't move at all. The beast's golden eyes widened with shock as he realized he had lost. And like him, every other warrior gasped in disbelief.

Once the adrenaline was gone and I could think clearly again, a shriek of surprise left Atlas's mouth. We backed away immediately, trying to process what just happened. How had I been able to defeat the Beta? I knew we were stronger than most Omega warriors, but James was still leagues above us. And the fact that I had broken his wrist... how did I do that? It was like I didn't know my own strength anymore.

"We're stronger now, Lance," my wolf stated.

"What? How?"

"The mate bond. Our mate's mark is giving us strength."

I analyzed his words for a second. It was widely known that a werewolf could never reach the peak of their strength until they were one with their mate. Only after mating and marking their destined one could they be at full strength. But Caitlyn was just an Omega like me; I never expected she would make it possible for us to overpower a Beta wolf.

"Rank doesn't matter." Atlas rolled his eyes, as if that fact was obvious. "And James is old. He won't be the strongest warrior of the pack for much longer."

Lost in confusion, I didn't even notice the second in command had already shifted back into his human form. Everyone looked at him in horror as he wrapped one hand around his broken, bleeding wrist. My heart raced, and I quickly took back control over our body. "Beta James, I'm sorry!" I bowed my head at him as low as I could. "I don't know what... I didn't mean to..."

"Relax, boy," he commanded. Surprised, I looked back at him. "You shouldn't apologize for winning a fight. I'm impressed." Despite his words, he didn't seem proud; he seemed concerned. "Since you were able to defeat me, you have the right to skip training today." He nodded at me before turning back to his warriors. "The rest of you, partner up!"

***

Dario POV

When my Beta linked me during breakfast to warn me of Lance's performance in training, I was perplexed. I knew the boy was powerful; he had a hunger for fighting since he was younger, but to know he managed to take my second in command down surprised me. "James probably wasn't going at him with full force. It was just training, after all," my wolf, Cyclone, pointed out.

"You're right. It's still quite impressive, though," I replied. "No other warrior has ever managed to defeat him."

"You and your ranked members are getting older, and weaker. No Alpha should rule past their fifties," he reminded me. "We need to choose an heir to continue our legacy before we lose our pack to a stranger."

Although I agreed with him, the subject was quite sensitive for me. I had lost my unborn son two decades ago, but the pain never went away. Diamond Tempest would be his birthright; it felt wrong to give it to anyone else. For that sole reason, I kept postponing my retirement. However, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to delay it much longer.

in.'

A firm knock on the door pulled me back from my thoughts. At first, I thought my assistant was coming back for something she might have forgotten after I dismissed her for lunch. I was surprised to watch the onyx-haired witch walk inside after I muttered a 'come "Cordelia." I nodded at her. "What brings you here?"

"I heard that stray you adopted has just overpowered your Beta." Her habit to get straight to the point was usually quite appreciated, but today, it annoyed me. "How long will it be until he's strong enough to defeat you?"

"How do you know about what happened in training?" I questioned, crossing my hands over the table as she took a seat in front of me.

"The walls have eyes and ears." She shrugged.

I sighed, immediately understanding what she meant. "You put a spell around the pack's buildings."

"It's for the pack's safety. One of us should be concerned about it." The witch frowned.

"And you think I'm not?"

"With the way you allow that troublesome boy to be close to you, I don't think so," she spat, leaning forward. "He is dangerous, Dario. I told you many times, yet you keep ignoring my warnings. In my vision-"

"What exactly did you see, Cordelia? You're always talking about how Lance will be my downfall, but you give me no concrete evidence."

She remained silent for a while, a hint of pain flashing in her uncommon red eyes. "I could see you lying on the floor covered in blood, wounds all over your body. And the kid takes his claws out to finish the job. He slits your throat, Dario."

Although my semblance remained neutral, confusion consumed me. Her story could still be wrong, but the details made me hesitant. Was the loyal, obedient orphan boy really capable of hurting me? For the first time, I decided to trust Cordelia's words. I needed to do something about it.