My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 36

Jasper POV

Although I had only been without my mate for a short while - I could even still smell her on me - the thought of being reunited with her released endorphins into my bloodstream. The hormones made it hard for me to continue my poised, slow walk down the hallway, when all I wanted was to do was rush back into her arms.

On my way out of the castle, my eyes subconsciously darted to the giant clock placed right above the double doors. My blind happiness was briefly replaced by a pinch of concern as I realized the huntresses had only been gone for an hour - most hunts usually lasted from two to three hours. I took a deep breath to shake away the feeling. That didn't necessarily mean something had gone wrong; they could have just gotten lucky and come across a large herd of moose, or even bison, shortly after they left. Considering how skilled these females were, that was definitely a possibility.

However, my uneasiness only grew as I approached the crowd near the borders of my territory. The lynxes, who had been chanting and cheering mere seconds ago, had now gone dead silent. I did my best to hide my concerns behind a neutral expression as I cleared my throat to get their attention. The members immediately bowed their heads at me as they split, opening a pathway that led straight to my queen.

I lost my breath when my gaze landed on a sight I didn't expect to see.

Five of the girls were still in animal form. I was already familiar enough with their lynxes to recognize Marina, Alula, Tessa, Laina, and Mackenzie. They were carrying the spoils of the hunt, which consisted of two bears - presumably a mother and its yearling - and a bison - probably a female, judging by its size. It wasn't a lot, but it would be enough to feed the clan for the next seven days. What truly concerned me were the huntresses who had already shifted back.

Kindra and Adriana were working together to support Calynn, who had one arm wrapped around each of the women's necks. Through the opening in the brunette's robe, I could easily spot the giant gash on her left thigh. The blood oozing out of the wound painted her entire leg red, as well as the snow underneath her bare feet. Her breathing was ragged, and she had trouble trying to hide the pain in her face.

Two nurses rushed to the injured lynx's side carrying an orange fold stretcher. Adriana and Kindra helped lay her friend on it, and I barely had time to process what was happening before Calynn was taken away to the hospital. After watching her disappear over the hill towards the castle, my attention turned back to my mate, and our eyes met for the first time since her return.

I knew Andromeda well enough to notice the mix of guilt and anger in her diamonds even when she could conceal her emotions so well. She stared at me for a few seconds before finally breaking eye-contact in order to address her subjects.

"Members of Snow Pelt." Every single one of the lynxes lowered their heads the second her voice echoed. "Sadly, our hunt was cut short by an unfortunate accident. We do hope the prey we were able to bring home will keep you all fed until next week." There was silence for a moment before they all replied, "Goddess bless the hunt! Goddess bless the huntresses!"

A group of servants approached the dead animals to carry them away to the storage, and with that, the crowd started to disperse. While the five huntresses transformed back into their human forms, Andromeda and I kept glancing at each other in silence. I knew she could hear my rapidly-beating heart, and I knew she didn't wish to discuss the matter here. She exchanged a few words with her team before the women marched towards the castle, most of them bowing their heads as they walked past me. At least, my queen closed the distance between us. "Let's go to our room."

As soon as she grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers, her emotions became stronger. I wanted nothing more than to understand what had gone wrong, but I knew I wouldn't get any answers until we were in private. All I could do was rub the back of her hand with my thumb in an attempt to comfort her. And the second we walked into the Queen's Chambers, I turned to her with a questioning gaze.

"What happened to Calynn?"

"We ran into a group of rogues mid-way through our hunt," she clarified, heaving a sigh. Her fingers massaged her forehead in distress, and I instinctively snaked my arms around her. In a matter of seconds, I could feel her relax a little. "They were after our prey. We had just taken down two bison when they came out of their hiding spots and grabbed the larger one. Calynn is known to be fearless, and a bit reckless at times. I guess she got angry and tried to retrieve our catch, but the rogues fought back and slashed her thigh." She shifted a little in my embrace, pulling me towards the bathroom. "Adriana and Kindra chased them off, but they still managed to escape with our prey."

I let go of her hand, watching her turn on the water to fill the bathtub. The momentary silence allowed me to think, and soon enough I was the one cursing myself.

"I should have come with you," I stated as I gripped the marble sink tightly to prevent myself from punching a whole in the wall. "Had I been there-"

"No," my mate's voice was firm as she abruptly turned her head around to face me. "This only proves we made the right decision by leaving you here. How would you have reacted if you witnessed Calynn getting hurt?"

"I wouldn't have let them get away." A growl reverberated in my throat. I didn't care that the males were certainly bigger than me; I would not have hesitated to defend my family.

"I thought so." She stood up to look into my eyes, leaving the water running as she took a few steps in my direction. "What if you lost it and used your powers against them? What if word got around that you're a Phoenix Wolf?" "Wouldn't that be a good thing? The rogues would finally leave us alone," I concluded, bringing both hands to her face as I craved to feel her skin. "They wouldn't mess with a strong king."

"You're smarter than this, Jasper. You're just hot-headed right now." She placed her hands above mine, pulling them away as she turned around. Quietly, she gestured for me to help remove her robe. "Yes, cats can easily recognize strength. But drawing too much attention is never a good thing; wherever there's power, there's people trying to take it for themselves." Her diamond eyes pierced right through me as she glanced at me over her shoulders. "Isn't that what happened when the bears found out about your Luna?" I opened my mouth to counter, but I couldn't replace any valid arguments. I clenched my jaw, staring at her for a while longer before I gave up. With a heavy sigh I looked away.

"You're right."

"I usually am." It was my mate's turn to cup my cheek. When our gazes met again, she forced a smile. "Bathe with me?"

Mimicking her gesture, I brought her hand to my lips, planting a soft kiss on the back of it. "Of course, My Queen."

***

The warm water helped ease both mine and my mate's stress. Once we were both fully dressed, and with our heads in the right place, we decided to go visit the injured huntress in the hospital, which consisted of a smaller building close to the castle. The rest of the team was already there, keeping their friend company as the doctor tended to the wounds.

"My Queen. My King." The older man bowed his head at us the moment he saw us. By the time we walked into the room, she had just finished bandaging the woman's leg.

"How grave is it?" I had to ask, shifting my gaze from the man to his patient. Her expression was much more relaxed now, though it was probably due to the painkillers.

"Honestly, it looked worse than it actually was, My King. The wound was deep, and it required a couple dozen stitches, but the situation wasn't too concerning. I applied antibiotic creams and a few different herbs to help her body heal. She will most likely be as good as new for next week's hunt." He turned around to flash her a small smile before his attention fell on me again. "I will excuse myself to allow you some more privacy. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. Queen Andromeda. King Jasper. Huntresses." He lowered his head to all of us before leaving the small room.

"I am fine, My King." Calynn reassured me with one of her sweet smiles. "You must not be concerned."

After hearing the doctor's insight and seeing the girl with my own eyes, I finally started believing her. "What did you get yourself into, Snow Pelt's most skilled warrior?" A relieved smile played on my lips as I folded my arms over my chest.

"I underestimated the enemy." She sighed, frowning a little. "Because females are the ones who run the clan, it's easy to forget that most males are still stronger than us. Especially newly-turned rogues."

"Those lynxes were in pretty good shape. They probably left their clans less than a week ago," Marina observed.

"We should track them down and kill them," Laina snarled. "If we let them live, they might become a bigger problem."

"Unlikely." My mate shrugged. "Most rogues don't survive out in the wild for more than a month. They will probably be killed or die of starvation soon. It's not worth putting our time and resources into going after them."

"Yeah. There are more important matters we should be focused on now." Kindra stared daggers at me for a brief second. It was quite intimidating in the beginning, but I was so used to it by now it barely had any effect on me. "But if we do come across them, I'll feed on their corpses to make up for the prey they stole from us."

"I didn't know lynxes were cannibals." Again, she glared at me. I still couldn't tell if her threat was serious, but coming from her, I didn't doubt it.

"We're not. She's kidding," Adriana chimed in, though the look on her face as she turned to Kindra made me think she wasn't really sure. Either way, she shook her head before glancing at Calynn, pointing at her leg. "That will leave a big a*s scar. It'll be one hell of a trophy!"

"Another one to add to the collection!" The brunette laughed. "I hope it looks cool."

"It sure will. You'll probably beat my record." The right hand lifted her shirt to expose a scar that started just under her armpit and went all the way down to her hips. "Goddess. How did you get that?" My eyes widened in horror. That must have hurt like hell.

"First time hunting moose." Adriana showed me an apologetic look. "Those antlers can be quite problematic." She lowered her shirt again, straightening her clothes before continuing, "Anyway, we should give Calynn some peace and quiet. She must rest." I was taken by surprise when her firm hand grasped my shoulder. "And we have some training to do." She then glanced at my mate. "May I steal him for a while, My Queen?"

"Just make sure to give him back to me in one piece." Andromeda smirked as she walked past me, whispering into my ear, "I'll be waiting for you in our room. Good luck."

Her hot breath and sensual tone made it hard for me to hold in a groan. I watched as she headed towards the exit, my eyes instinctively scanning through her curves until they landed on her round, delicious a*s. She knew how to get my attention too f*****g well, and now I couldn't think of anything else aside from how badly I wanted to-

"Cahem." I blinked a few times as Adriana cleared her throat. She smacked me on the back, forcing me to start walking. As soon as we stepped out of the hospital room where the other huntresses were, she leaned over my shoulder. "You can stop drooling now, wolfie. She's all yours, and the sooner we get done with your training, the quicker you can get back to her."

"I wasn't-"

"It's okay. I know she's hot as shit." The woman shrugged. "Tried to convince her to join me and some other girls on a foursome almost a year ago, but she wasn't too interested."

I widened my eyes as I remembered what my mate had told me and my friends on the night of our double date. "It was you?!"

"Oh, so you heard that story." She laughed.

"Are you...?"

She shook her head. "I'm bis****l. But then again, most cats are."

Damn, these girls were wild!

We continued our walk towards the training grounds mostly in silence. Since the gym was entirely made of glass, they decided it would be best if I practiced my abilities in the arena, which was completely enclosed. As soon as we arrived at our destination, Adriana closed the door to make sure no one would barge in and see something they weren't supposed to see.

"Alright, let's get started!" Adriana clapped her hands, an amused smile on her face. "Work your magic." "What?"

"Do your fire thing."

"I, uh...I don't know how to activate it."

"Oh." She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "How did you do it the first time?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," I confessed.

"Hm. According to what I managed to read so far, something triggered the awakening of your powers."

"Yeah. Cordelia said it was probably the moment I finally started believing in myself, or something like that."

"Great, it'll be easier then." She smiled, taking a few steps back. "I thought I would have to beat you up to get you angry."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary." I showed her an ironic smirk.

"If all you have to do is believe... Let's try this. Close your eyes, and focus on your powers."

I hesitated for a moment. It sounded too simple to work.

"Didn't you hear what she just said, dumbass?" Phoenix barked. "If you don't believe in yourself, it won't work. Just shut up and trust me for once. I'll help channel our powers."

"And how will you do that?"

"I'll figure it out! Now, do what she says!" he snarled, losing his patience.

Well, here goes nothing.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. My wolf suppressed our heightened senses to lower our response to external stimuli, allowing me to concentrate solely on the task. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't nervous; I guess I had had enough time to digest the news about who I was, and Dree did a wonderful job helping me accept this unexpected side.

Although my mind was clear, I was still unsure of what I had to do. I tried remembering my duel with Wade, thinking about the fire inside of me... Nothing. Then, Phoenix started projecting memories to me. Memories of when I was still a pup, and the other wolves made fun of me for being an orphan. Of the day when I lost my virginity because I couldn't say no. Of my hundreds of meaningless f***s, as I threw away my time and my potential just to convince everyone that I was the trash they wanted me to be.

I clenched my fists, anger bubbling up in my throat. Why was my wolf reminding me of those dark times? I was foolish then, and it killed me to know I would never be able to erase my past. A moment later though, I was finally able to understand his intentions. He started showing me memories of the day I stepped in as Gamma, and from all of my achievements despite my lack of preparation. Of the moment I faced my past and claimed my mate. Of the day I left Diamond Tempest and the pack members' heartfelt goodbye. Of the night of my coronation.

Until now, I don't think I had ever stopped to think about how far I had come, but the quick timeline of memories made me truly understand my growth as a wolf, as a person, and as a king. It made me feel proud. It made me feel unstoppable.

"It's working!" Adriana's voice pulled me back from my thoughts, and my eyes shot open in surprise.

As I came back to my senses, I felt my right hand tickling. A sigh of surprise escaped through my lips as I looked down at it, only to realize there were flames dancing around it. I slowly brought my hand up to my face in order to inspect it. One by one, I moved my fingers, analyzing the way it made the fire dance. My fire.

At that moment, I felt truly powerful.

"This is sick," I whispered in awe.

An excited smile lit up the right hand's face as she uttered, "And it's only the beginning."