My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 14

Lancaster

POV

"Us, wolves, are known for sticking together through winter." Dario's voice sounded loud and clear. He didn't need a microphone to amplify his sound, as long as the rest of the pack remained silent. And as soon as I heard him, I knew I was late.

I tried my best to make my way through the crowd without damaging the delicate white flowers, which only slowed me down. After training, all wolves were requested to attend the Alpha's speech in the center of the town square, right before breakfast. However, I had to add a stop on my route to take care of a very important detail.

"While most creatures hibernate alone to shelter themselves from the cold, we hold on to our community. We hunt together to make sure no one starves, and we keep each other warm."

Unsure where exactly Caitlyn was, I closed my eyes for a second in an attempt to ignore both the leader's voice and the thousands of fragrances so I could concentrate on a single one - the earthly, sweet, and spicy scent that brought me inexplicable peace. It wasn't hard to distinguish my mate's smell, even among three hundred wolves. Our souls were tied; we would always be able to replace our way into each other's arms.

My face lit up the second I spotted the brunette standing at the front. We had only been apart for a couple hours, but even a second away from her felt like an eternity. Focused on the speech, she didn't notice when I approached her, allowing me to surprise her with a sweet kiss on her cheek.

"Lance!" Caitlyn giggled, her eyes glistening as they landed on me. "You're a little-" She stopped mid-sentence when her gaze landed on the bouquet of jasmine flowers in my hands. "Happy first day of spring!" I pulled her closer to me, our noses touching as I handed her the bouquet.

She was at a loss for words, and it warmed my heart. "Thank you, Lance. These are so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, though." I finally allowed our lips to touch, welcoming the usual electricity. As soon as I tasted her, I could see the colors of the fireworks exploding in my chest.

"It's important to remember that we replace our strength in our pack. As long as we stay together, it doesn't matter how thick the snow is, or how long winter lasts; in the end, spring is sure to follow." Dario continued. I reluctantly pulled away from my mate to pay attention to him. "Together, we have survived yet another year, and today we celebrate the arrival of springtime! Let us all embrace the change and blossom into better versions of ourselves, so we can keep thriving for many more winters to come." "Poetic," I observed, arching an eyebrow at the old man. It didn't sound like him at all.

"I suggested he added that last part," Caitlyn replied shyly, and suddenly everything made sense. "You think it was too much?"

"Not at all. I think it's perfect." I winked at her, earning one of her bright smiles in response.

After cheering and howling to celebrate the arrival of a new season, the crowd of wolves started to disperse. I pulled my mate towards a quieter corner, leaning my back against one of the many tall pine trees and wrapping her in my arms. I dove my nose into her gleaming chestnut hair, getting lost in her waves as if it was a chocolate sea. Her scent was even sweeter mixed with the fragrance of the jasmines.

"How was training today?" There was a hint of concern in her voice. When her fingertips traced my face, I immediately knew she was looking for new bruises.

"I'm fine, beautiful. It's been a week since the attack. I'm as good as new," I reassured her, playing with her hair as I stared into her hazel eyes. "Luke is also staying true to the promise he made to you. He hasn't been going all out on me. I think he's really scared of what you'd do to him if I got home with as little as a scratch."

"As if the Beta's son would fear an Omega." She rolled her eyes at me.

"A feisty, powerful, and brilliant one," I replied playfully, kissing her one last time. "You wanna go meet the others at the cafeteria?"

"Sure."

It wasn't hard to replace our group once we entered the building - the three of them were sitting at our usual table in the corner. After we filled our plates, we joined them. Sasha congratulated my mate on the speech she helped Dario write, while James and Luke exchanged confused looks; I doubt they had paid any attention to our Alpha's discourse.

"Were we supposed to listen to that?" Jasper arched an eyebrow, confirming my suspicions. "I mean, he says the same thing every year."

The Gamma's daughter brought her palm to her face in disappointment. "You were standing right there! What the hell were you doing that you didn't listen to a word he said?"

"Uhh..." The stray looked away, a mischievous grin on his face.

"You know what? Don't tell me." The black-haired girl waved him off.

Luke cleared his throat. "Changing the subject... are you ready for the Spring Tournament?"

"Spring Tournament?" my mate repeated, c*****g her head to the side.

"Oh, right. It's our tradition to gather after work on the first day of Spring to let our wolves out to fight each other. Just friendly combat," I clarified before turning back to my best friend. "I had completely forgotten about it." "It's our wolfish way to welcome the warmer weather," he continued. "Will you be joining us this year, Cait?"

"Me?" Her eyes widened with surprise, showing a hint of nervousness. "I don't think so. Faye and I aren't really fighters."

"You could be the referee then," Jasper suggested. "We could use one. I'm pretty sure I heard Topaz whimper in defeat when Phoenix pinned her down last time, yet she knocked us as soon as we let her go." He glared at Sasha. "As if Topaz would whimper," the Gamma's daughter scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

Before they could engage in a never-ending argument, Caitlyn chimed in. "Okay. I guess I can do that."

"Great. It's settled then." The ginger boy smiled brightly. "We will meet at the clearing at six-thirty sharp."

***

As soon as I was done with work, I met my mate in front of the pack house so we could head to the clearing together. The town square was more crowded than usual, since a lot of the wolves gathered here to welcome springtime by listening to music, dancing, and just enjoying each other's company in general. Like Dario pointed out in his speech earlier, the season marked our society's victory through another cold winter - it was a valid reason to celebrate.

The more we distanced ourselves from the main part of the territory, the less pack members we encountered. There were still a few couples and children hunting for the first blooming flowers and gifting them to each other, but they started to disappear the deeper we got into the forest.

The second we arrived at the spot, my mate's eyes glistened in awe at the sight before her. The once frozen white fields had melted entirely, allowing the dark green grass to bring life to our home again. A few colorful flowers were already blooming, adding some much needed color to the landscape after so many monochromatic months. The sun had already started to set, mixing the sky in oranges and purples as its final rays painted the tree crowns golden. "Seems like we're the first to arrive," I observed, taking a quick look around.

Not too long after, I heard my best friend's voice. "Ready to get your a*s kicked, Stray?" I could almost feel the excitement behind his smirk.

Wolves are among the most aggressive shifters. Though we are civilized enough to live in community, our animal side craves the thrill of a good combat; we never miss the chance to prove our strength and to become stronger. Diamond Tempest was a relatively peaceful pack since we had a good relationship with most of our neighboring packs, yet the recent bear attacks have been providing us with a good dose of action. However, by the way Atlas growled at Luke's comment inside my head, I guessed it wasn't enough. "Try saying that again once I have your muzzle under my paw," I retorted with a playful smile.

"All you boys do is bark. Topaz will shut you all up soon enough." Sasha joined us, a mischievous grin on her face. Jasper was right by her side.

"If you're done talking..." he scoffed, standing in front of us and cracking his fingers. "I'm ready to go. Which one of the pups wants to take me on first?"

"You do realize you're the youngest out of all of us, right?" the Beta's son teased.

"Not now that Caitlyn's here. She's the new pupper." He winked at my mate, who frowned in response.

"Alright, I'll go." I took a step forward, but stopped when I felt Caitlyn's fingers wrap around my arm. Not a second later, I heard her voice inside my head. "You sure you're ready to fight? The nurses said-"

"All of my wounds have healed. You checked my body thoroughly last night if I remember correctly." I had to fight back my instinct to go back and kiss her when I noticed her cheeks turning red. "It's okay, beautiful. Atlas hasn't been let out for the past week, he's dying to stretch his legs. Besides, you're the referee. If you think either of us is going too far, all you have to do is stop the fight."

"You coming or what?" Jasper crossed his arms in front of his chest impatiently. I flashed my mate one last reassuring look before approaching him.

"Okay, the rules are simple," Sasha started, loud and clear. "First one to immobilize the opponent for five seconds wins. Remember, this is a friendly combat, so we're not allowed to draw blood. If you purposely hurt your opponent, it's an automatic loss." She wrapped one arm around the Omega's neck, bringing her closer. "Cait will be the referee; while we're here, she has as much power as the Alpha. If she tells us to stop, we stop." She looked at my mate one last time. "When you're ready, tell them to shift." "Right." Caitlyn took a deep breath as everyone stepped backwards, offering us some space. "Shift!"

In the blink of an eye, both my friend and I let our beasts come out. Pieces of fabric floated in the air after our clothes shredded while our bodies changed and grew. As soon as Atlas was freed, he joyfully sniffed the fresh spring air before his vivid yellowish-green eyes landed on our opponent.

Jasper's wolf, Phoenix, was a few inches shorter than us. He had a pretty unique coat, which was mainly of an auburn shade with speckles of black running along his back. His muzzle, as well as the two long socks on his front legs, were also black. His eyes were almost white, contrasting with his darker body. A low growl echoed in his throat as he assumed an attacking stance, inviting us to make the first move. Of course, we didn't hesitate.

Atlas pounced at his friend at once, almost knocking him down. After regaining his balance, Phoenix was fast enough to grab us by the scruff, forcing us to the ground. The sounds we made while fighting made it seem a lot more violent than it actually was; although it was often hard for a werewolf to measure its own strength, we knew how to use our paws and teeth without opening wounds.

A few good minutes of exchanging blows passed until we managed to replace an opening. The ginger wolf jumped on our back, holding us by the collar in an attempt to keep us still as he put all of his weight on his paws, trying to pin us down. Being slightly bulkier than him, we shook our body until we were able to break free. In a swift movement, we closed our jaw around Phoenix's neck, using all of our strength to knock him to the ground. Once he was down, it was easy to secure him in place. Still, he never stopped fighting until time was up.

"Lance and Atlas have won the first round!" I heard Caitlyn announce.

My light brown wolf immediately lifted his head up, barking proudly at our mate as we stepped away from Phoenix. Atlas flashed his friend a victorious wolfish grin, receiving an annoyed growl in response.

"I'm next! Come on Luke!" I watched Sasha pull the Beta's son by his arm. "The winner of this round will fight Lance, the loser will fight Jasper. Are you ready, your majesty?" she made a mock bow, playing with the name of Luke's wolf.

"I'm always ready to kick your a*s," my best friend replied.

"Alright, you two. Shift!" my mate commanded.

The way King held his head up once he assumed his wolf form would make anyone believe he truly had royal blood. His pearly white fur with blueish-gray markings shone majestically under the last sun rays. In front of him, the Gamma she-wolf stood tall. Her coat was entirely onyx-colored, and her intense blue eyes resembled precious gemstones. She let out a melodic howl, allowing the Beta to make the first move.

Although Topaz wasn't allowed to officially join warrior training, she had the spirit of a fighter. She would often invite either of us to spar with her, and despite lacking proper training, she still managed to beat us a few times. It was a shame our current ranked members didn't recognize a female's potential, afraid enemies would target them first to weaken their mates in the battlefield. Although Sasha claimed to have given up on becoming a pack warrior, Topaz seemed adamant to prove everyone wrong. "What is going on here?" The she-wolf was about to defeat King when we heard a familiar voice. As soon as we turned in the direction of the sound, we all stiffened. Beta James was standing a few feet from us, but his frown could be seen from a mile away. "Dario has made it clear that no one is to get this close to the borders until we figure out how that bear managed to sneak past our security. Especially you, Lance." I swallowed dry when his gaze landed on Atlas. "If I tell the Alpha about how you blatantly disobeyed his orders, you will all be in serious trouble. However..." Little by little, his frown was undone as the corner of his lips turned up in a smirk. "I suppose it won't be a problem as long as I stay here to supervise you." We immediately understood the hidden meaning behind his words, and after exchanging a few looks, we were all ready to fight our Beta.

Needless to say, everyone was on the floor whimpering in a matter of minutes. The only one giggling at the scene was my mate, who had remained in human form while we battled each other. And her laughter alone was enough to take all of my pain away.