My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 46

Jasper

POV

What did you do, Dree?

Time was frozen still as I watched the massive beast drop my mate on the ground. There were no other sounds aside from the dull thud of her body collapsing, unmoving, onto the snow. It rang inside my head, deafening. Genevra had fallen with her back to me, making it impossible for me to know exactly how grave her wound was. Judging by the sea of red that quickly painted the whiteness around her, I had the feeling it was bad.

What... What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to be on the battlefield. Had she seen me? Had she sensed my fear? I should have controlled my emotions better; now, she had gotten hurt because of me. What about Calynn and Marina though? Weren't they supposed to guard my queen? They had failed her.

But then again, so had I.

At first, I didn't feel anything. It took me a few hours to process the event - or was it seconds? Maybe even less? It was suddenly hard to measure the time. I shook my head, realizing how irrelevant it was to count the minutes. Then, an intense wave of pain struck me. Although Phoenix was silent, petrified as he laid on the ground, I knew how badly he wanted to scream. I wanted to scream too. My head started pounding, my mind began to race. If time had been frozen a moment ago, it was now moving too fast. The fear. The pain. The horror. The despair. The rage.

The rage.

Blue flames danced in my wolf's eyes as he slowly rose to his feet again. His glare was locked on the enemy who had dared to hurt our queen. He wanted revenge. I couldn't keep his feral side under control any longer, and neither did I want to. All I wanted was to see the fucker burn. I wanted to see the world burn.

The snow melted underneath Phoenix's paws as he let out a furious howl, wilder than the fire raging inside of him. Actually, it was a roar - a king's roar. It immediately caught the enemy king's attention, but when his yellow eyes landed on us, they weren't filled with pride anymore; they were filled with fear. Yes, I wanted him to fear me.

I would make him f*****g fear me!

As my vision turned red, it was hard to understand how Phoenix's powers were manifesting. Flames must have covered his whole body considering how the simple sight of us made the almighty king tremble.

"I should have ended him..." My wolf's words were nothing but a mere regretful thought at the beginning, soon turning into a death sentence as he raised his tone. "I should have ended him from the start!"

Blinded by his rage, what happened next was a blur. First, I tasted blood. Then, there were screams; the loudest, most sickening screams I had ever heard. I smelled fire, and rotten flesh. As Phoenix regained a bit of his humanity, I was finally able to understand what he was doing.

He was burning the other king alive.

In the end, there was just a carbonized, unidentifiable corpse underneath my wolf's paws. His weight was enough to make it shatter into ashes, which were slowly taken by the wind. There wasn't even blood around us, and soon enough, there would be no evidence at all of what had happened as the tiny pieces of the enemy floated into the air.

It was gruesome. In any other situation, I would probably have felt sick by what my wolf, the other half of my soul, had done. But not now, no. The leader inside of me could only feel pride for eliminating the filthy creature that posed a threat to my kingdom. To my family. To my mate.

"Genevra..." Phoenix cried out, his anger dying down as his sadness took over.

With him weakened by his exhaustion and his grief, I easily stole control. I forced him to retreat, transforming back into my human form as I pathetically crawled on the snow towards my queen. The first sob escaped my lips when I watched the beautiful silvery- white lynx shift back as well, making it clear that she was too injured to stay in animal form.

I don't know how I found the strength to lift my mate's perfectly-sculpted frame in my shaky arms.

"Dree..." I whispered, a tingle of hope still alive inside of me.

It was gone the second I looked into her eyes. Her once bright, fire-filled diamonds were dull. Lifeless.

"No... No, no, no, no!" My desperate cries echoed through the battlefield as I shook my mate's body.

The warriors around me stopped fighting. Not because of my agonized screams, but because the attacking army probably felt the bond they shared with their king break. According to the werecat rules, a war should end once one of the kings emerged victorious from the combat. There was no point for the rest of the pawns to continue to battle each other; Snow Pelt had already won.

Yet it didn't feel like victory to me at all.

"Dree, please..."

My eyes turned to the gash on her throat. I instinctively lifted my fingers to touch it, unable to believe the wound was real, but I couldn't bring myself to. Instead, I touched my forehead to hers, losing my breath the second I realized her skin wasn't hot like it used to be; it was cold. One of my shaky hands wrapped around her wrist, only to confirm the obvious - she had no pulse.

Why was this happening?

"King Jasper..." One of the huntresses approached us, but in my haze, I couldn't distinguish who she was.

"Leave us," I commanded, my voice low.

At that moment, I felt it - the excruciating pain of the precious bond we shared being broken. My head fell back, and I faced the clear sky as my blood-curdling cry cut through the morning. My hands gripped her skin tighter, pulling her closer to me as I tried to convince myself that none of this was real. I didn't want it to be real.

But I couldn't keep on denying it after feeling the rupture of the mate bond in every fiber of my body.

"King Jasper, please... The Queen..."

"I said, leave us!" I roared louder, crimson flames stealing my vision again as a circle of wild fire surrounded the two of us. "s**t! Don't do this to me, Dree! How can I... How can I live without you?" My tears mixed with her blood as they rolled down my cheeks. The wave of emotions was so overwhelming, they finally started pouring out.

And when I thought the pain couldn't get any worse, I heard Phoenix whimper faintly inside my head before he went completely silent. The void he left... It was dreadful, and when combined with the misery I was already experiencing, it made me want to die. He was dead, unable to bear the pain caused by the parting of his soulmate. The two most important parts of me were just...gone.

How was I supposed to keep living without them?

"Why?" I breathed out. "Why?!" I repeated louder, staring at the sky. I wanted the Goddess to answer me, but I couldn't see her. I couldn't see at all.

Consumed by the worst, most intense emotions I had ever felt, I gave in to my powers. I succumbed to the fire burning inside of me, hoping this time it would burn me. I didn't want to live anymore; how could I, when I had just lost everything? I held my mate's body as close as possible as the flames devoured us both, and I prayed. I prayed I would see her on the other side as I screamed into the morning.

I should have learned by now that Selene would never answer the cries or her forgotten child.

At last, the fire died down. I fell to my knees, emotionally and physically exhausted. It was way worse than death, but I guess I had been born to suffer. For the first time in my life, I felt the biting cold of the snow kissing my naked skin. My arms were just as weak as my legs, but I used my last drop of energy to continue holding my queen. I couldn't bring myself to let go of her. Maybe if I waited here, the winter would eventually put out my flames forever. Yes, I wanted nothing more than to-

"You truly are exquisite, My King." A weak voice broke my train of thought, making me stop breathing. An angelic melody I thought I would never hear again.

I was either dreaming, or dead. Those were the only two plausible explanations to the trick my ears were playing on me. Or at least, that's what I thought, until my eyes met those shiny diamonds. They were full of life again.

My queen, the love of my life...she was back. How? My heart started beating again, faster than ever. As I held her in my arms, I noticed there was a huge scar on Andromeda's throat where the marks of the fatal blow had once been. Before I could make any sense of the situation, she showed me a weak smile, closing her eyes one more time.

I was about to freak out again when I thought I heard my wolf grunt inside my head.

"Phoenix?!"

"Like a phoenix..." His voice was faint, but it was definitely him.

"You...You died. I felt it!"

"Yes... Like a phoenix, we died to be reborn from our own ashes," he continued. "And we also revived our mate."

What? How was that possible?

I shook my head; it didn't f*****g matter. Once again, I could feel the bond I shared with my mate. I could feel her heart beating against my chest, and it was all that mattered. Gathering my strength, I pulled myself back up, careful not to hurt her. My vision was back to normal now that the feelings blinding me were gone. Finally, I could recognize the eight huntresses of Snow Pelt standing in front of me with shocked looks on their faces.

"She's alive," I announced.

***

Andromeda POV:

"s**t, my head hurts."

Dying and being brought back to life was...quite the experience. The event had obviously taken a toll on my body, but I'm sure the annoyingly bright lights of the hospital weren't f*****g helping. Thankfully, I had been given a s**t ton of heavy painkillers; I'm sure I would be feeling a thousand times worse without them.

I didn't have a clear memory of what happened. Especially because, well, I had been dead for a good few minutes of it, or so I had been told. Apparently, after I was miraculously revived, my mate had rushed me to the hospital. Surprisingly enough, I had only been out for a couple of hours, but I hadn't heard from Genevra yet. According to the doctor though, she was fine, just hibernating. They expected her to stay asleep for the next few days.

"I'm sorry, My Queen, but I don't know what side effects you might experience," the doctor explained apologetically. "We can give you more medicine to numb the pain if you'd like."

"I'm afraid if I take any more I won't be able to think clearly." I smiled sarcastically.

I grunted when he pointed a pen light to my eyes to finish his examination. "Well, there's nothing physically wrong with you, My Queen. You are free to go."

"Are you sure?" Jasper's voice was still filled with concern. He hadn't left my side since the bizarre event, and as much as I loved him, his worry was starting to annoy me. I just wanted to go to our room and sleep for the next three moons. "Less than two hours ago, she..." He lowered his voice, almost as if he was afraid to say the words out loud. "She had no pulse."

His blue eyes glistened, full of confusion and pain. It was obvious he wanted answers to the questions that were troubling him. Sadly, it seemed like he wouldn't be getting them.

"I'm afraid there are things science cannot explain, My King." The old man shrugged, flashing my mate a small smile. "For now, we should celebrate that the queen is healthy. Would you like me to give you some privacy?"

"Yes, please," I replied before my mate could say anything else.

He clearly wasn't comfortable about letting the doctor leave, but part of him was also reluctant to contradict me. Bowing his head in respect, the man walked out of the room. We were finally alone.

"This doesn't make sense," Jasper whispered, massaging his temples in distress. When he looked into my eyes, it was as if he was staring at a ghost. "I saw it. I felt it. I-"

Without thinking, I pressed my lips against his, silencing him for once. I hoped that letting him dwell in my taste would help him realize I was real. After hesitating for a moment, the magnetic pull between us encouraged him to kiss me back. He was hungrier than usual, but also gentle as his tongue carefully traced every inch of my mouth. Oh, my poor, sweet King; I could feel his pain, but I could only imagine what he had gone through.

"Isn't it obvious?" I chanted as I pulled away. There was still doubt in his eyes, but they also sparkled with hope. I slowly caressed his light stubble with the back of my fingers, eager to feel his skin. "You're a Phoenix. Your fire brought me back to life." He looked away, yet he never let go of my hands. "Fire only brings destruction."

"Not everything is black and white. I thought you would have learned that by now." Adding a little bit of force to my touch, I encouraged him to look at me again. "When will you stop questioning how amazing you are?" "Dree?" Before he could reply, my right hand poked her head through the door.

"Dree!"

"My queen!"

One by one, every single one of the other huntresses barged into the room. I sighed, realizing I would have to wait a while longer to get the peace and quiet I longed for. Shaking my head, I couldn't help but smile though. "Are you okay?" Alula cried, turning to my mate. "Is she okay, My King?"

"She looks...fine," Marina observed.

"How are you feeling, My Queen?" Calynn asked shyly.

"She just died! How do you think she's feeling?" Kindra rolled her eyes.

"My Queen! You-"

"I'm fine!" I yelled, catching their attention. "I'm fine," I repeated in a lower tone. "Please, be quiet. My head is gonna f*****g explode."

"Sorry, My Queen." Alula lowered her head. "We were all very worried about you."

I sighed. "I know. But I'm better now, okay?" I glanced at each of them, smiling sympathetically, before my gaze finally landed on my mate, making him stiffen. "Thanks to your King."

"By the way..." Adriana smirked. "Can we talk about how sick it was when you summoned the phoenix made of fire?"

"I did what?" Jasper blinked in confusion. Apparently, not even he knew exactly what he had done.

"No s**t! And when he created a fire barrier to keep us away? I won't lie, I was scared!" Tessa said excitedly.

"The king would never hurt us," Calynn stated confidently. "But yeah, it was kinda scary"

"It was f*****g awesome," Kindra uttered, making everyone's jaws drop. It was the first time she had complimented anyone in like, five years.

"Girls, I don't wanna ruin the vibe, but... As amazing as it was, we weren't the only ones to witness the king's doing," Marina pointed out. "The rumors will spread, and we must be prepared to deal with the consequences of it. "We will be," I replied firmly, lifting my face to look at my mate. When his eyes met mine, he smiled for the first time since everything happened.

"The Queen is right," he announced, raising his head as he turned to face the huntresses. His aura commanded respect, causing them all to lower their heads. "As long as we have each other, nothing will stop us."

His last sentence was a promise; one I was sure he intended to keep.