My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 15

Caitlyn

POV

The unofficial tournament didn't last long after the Beta arrived. Despite being some of the strongest warriors in the pack, my mate and his best friend didn't stand a chance against James, which proved how powerful he and his counterpart were. Surprisingly, Sasha was the only one who managed to knock down the second in command, though she couldn't hold him for longer than a second. Since it was just a friendly combat, he probably let his guard down, not expecting a she-wolf who never took part in training to be such a good fighter. Still, the Gamma's daughter exhibited a proud smile even after being defeated. Seeing her so content left a bittersweet taste in my mouth; I was happy that her potential was recognized, but it was sad to know Diamond Tempest would never allow her to fully use it.

The next morning, I was back to the Alpha's office. One week into my new position, I was feeling a lot more confident. I rarely required Dario's assistance with my daily tasks, and since I had proven to be a quick learner, he was considering shortening my training by a couple of weeks so that my salary would be raised sooner. Up until now, Lance had been providing for me, since the money I managed to save during my time in my previous pack was barely of any help. The idea of being able to assist him brought me relief; I wanted to work with him to build our future together.

After lunch, our leader called an emergency meeting in his office with his Beta, Gamma, and the pack's witch. At first, I thought I wasn't supposed to stay in the room while they discussed private pack matters, but Dario insisted I was present - he said he trusted me enough to know I wouldn't share any of the information, and he thought it was important for his assistant to be aware of everything going on. As nervous as I was, I followed his orders and greeted each of the ranked members as they walked into the room. "Good afternoon, Alpha. Caitlyn." James bowed his head at the leader before nodding at me. Alden did the same as he walked past me. Cordelia was the only one who didn't bother addressing the man by his title; witches could care less about pack hierarchy. She also pretty much ignored me, which wasn't surprising. After all, I was just an assistant.

Once everyone was seated, I offered each of them a cup and poured them some coffee, starting with Dario. Somehow, I was already expecting the witch to stop me when I got to her.

"I can make my own, honey." Unamused, the woman arched an eyebrow at me. A second later, she snapped her fingers and a golden cup of tea magically appeared in her hands. "Show-off," Faye scoffed inside my head.

"Thank you, Caitlyn." The Alpha nodded at me, gesturing for me to take my seat near the huge floor-to-ceiling window before turning back to his team. "I called you here so we can discuss our werebear problem... again." The way he massaged his temples was just one of the ways he could show how distressed he was. "During our visit to Ninebark Pack, Alpha Cedar gave us a few tips on how to avoid these pests. Considering one of them still managed to enter our territory and attack one of our warriors, I take it that none of the safety measures we adopted are working properly. Alden, is there an update on how the bear got past our Sentinels?"

"No, Alpha." The Gamma lowered his head. Now that I had a chance to properly look at him, I realized Sasha was a faithful copy of her father. "Upon further investigation, the Sentinels' reports haven't changed. Judging by how the beast sneaked past them, only being detected by the stray when he was inches away, I suspect they might be using potions to mask their scents now."

"Which means they probably have a witch of their own," Cordelia observed. "And that they do consist of an organized sleuth. If they have magical assistance, they certainly aren't a group of lone bears uniting forces to steal some food."

"If they're not after food, what do they hope to accomplish by attacking our pack?" James asked.

"Too many questions when what I need are answers," Dario snarled, catching everyone's attention. "I contacted Alpha Cedar again a few days ago. He congratulated you on your new position by the way, Caitlyn," he whispered to me, clearing his throat soon after. "Following the advice of the leader of their ally sleuth, he suggested we send our Sentinels to the borders covered in bear scent. It will trick the creatures into thinking we have an alliance with a neighboring sleuth, which should keep them away. Alden, I want this change implemented by tonight. Cordelia will help you with the scent-changing potions."

"Yes, Alpha," the Gamma promptly replied with a look of concern on his face. "However, I'm afraid this alone won't solve our problems. Our defenses have been badly damaged in the previous attacks, and we have lost a significant number of our warriors. If they decide to attack us now, we will be in a tough position. We need more warriors."

For the past few minutes, I had zoned out staring at the change in scenery through the huge window - the previously white landscape was now blooming with different colors as life began to grow back after the harsh winter. I could still hear them in the background, I just wasn't dedicating as much attention to their conversation anymore.

"We can't make any more alliances at the moment, and our current ones have helped us in every way they could." Dario's tone was slightly higher, denouncing his rising anger. "With the financial problems we are facing, since all of the pack's money has been

directed towards useless attempts to fortify our defenses, we can't afford to establish new alliances or pay for more warriors. Beta James, you are in charge of our army. Recruit more wolves!"

"Sure. If Cordelia can snap her fingers and give me some new pack members to train, I'll be happy to do it," the second in command joked. "All of the available pack members have been turned into warriors."

James' words made something dawn on me, and I immediately turned my attention back to the conversation. A brilliant idea crossed my mind - an opportunity to successfully combine business with pleasure. It wouldn't be easy, but it was worth a try. "Not all of them," I pointed out, catching everyone's attention. By the way they looked at me, I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to talk. However, I held onto my brief moment of braveness and went on, "There are a lot of available she-wolves who could be turned into warriors. If they start training now, they could help defend our pack in the event of another attack."

There was silence for a while. "I know your old pack allowed females to become warriors, but this is not how I run Diamond Tempest. She-wolves can never be as strong as males. If we place them on the battlefield, we will offer our enemies an easy way to destroy our entire army by letting them take advantage of the mate bond." He frowned. I immediately knew I had made a mistake when I noticed his aura expand. "Besides, you're only here as a listener." He turned around, opening his mouth to continue the discussion, but I interrupted him.

I interrupted the Alpha. And a second of blind madness was all it took.

"With all due respect, Sir, you're wrong." As he glared at me with his icy cold eyes, I froze for an instant. I had already disrespected him; I couldn't stop talking now. "Females can be as strong as males with the correct training. My best friend Megan is a warrior, and she can take down any other warrior that holds the same rank as her." Cold sweat was dripping down my forehead, but I kept going. "S-sasha... Your daughter, Alden... I saw her fighting yesterday. Her she-wolf managed to overpower Jasper's wolf more than a few times, and she even stood her ground against Luke. Imagine how powerful she could become if she had the proper training"

Dario was ready to scold me when James spoke. "It's true, Alpha. I witnessed the young warriors sparring in the clearing yesterday." My eyes widened in disbelief; a Beta was agreeing with me. Standing by me. "If Sasha was allowed to become a warrior, I have no doubts she would be just as strong as any of our men. Should there be any other she-wolves like her in our pack, it might be our best shot at solving our warrior problem."

It was extremely hard to perceive the Alpha's emotions. As an experienced wise man, he had the ability to maintain a neutral semblance at every moment, not giving away any of his feelings. However, if I had to guess, I would say he was torn; part of him was annoyed at my audacity to speak without being given permission, while another was thoughtful, considering my suggestion. I'm sure if he wasn't in such a tough position he wouldn't think twice before dismissing me, which is why I never tried to explain my new friend's dream to him.

In the end, he turned to his Gamma. "This is your daughter we're talking about. Would you allow her on the battlefield if females were admitted into the army?"

"Honestly, Alpha, I would like to say no." The black-haired man looked straight into his leader's eyes. "But Sasha is a grown woman, I don't think I should stop her if she has her mind set on something. I don't have the right to."

Dario sighed heavily. "It's settled then." He turned to me, his usual frown a little less intense. "Since you had the idea, it will be your responsibility to prepare my speech for the announcement. It should be done by tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Alpha." I failed to hide my cheerful smile, but to be honest, I wasn't really trying.

"James, you will be in charge of conducting the tryouts and selecting the best female warriors. In our current situation, we cannot be picky, but we can't afford to make mistakes either. I trust you will train them to the best of your ability in the short time we have available." "Yes, Alpha." The Beta nodded.

"Alden..."

"I will be informing the Sentinels about the new requirement as soon as Cordelia has the potions ready," the Gamma stated.

"Good. You're all dismissed." He rose from his seat, standing in front of the glass wall as everyone else stood up to leave. "Except for you, Caitlyn. You have a lot of work to do."

***

I walked out of the pack house at exactly 5pm, and was surprised to replace my mate already waiting for me in front of the gigantic building. It was much easier for him to head straight home after work, but he insisted on picking me up every day so we could walk together. He didn't even wait for me to go down the stairs before he pulled me into his arms, spinning me around as his lips crashed against mine. I enjoyed the sparks for a few good seconds before pulling away from him.

"Something tells me you had a pretty good day." I giggled.

"Every day I get to spend with you is a good day," he replied, slowly putting me back on the floor. "But I do have great news."

"Really? I have some too."

"Go on."

"You first."

"Okay." He smiled brightly, intertwining our fingers as we started to make our way home. "I managed to deliver a slightly larger amount than usual today, and I got paid extra. If I keep up the rhythm, I'll be able to take you to see Megan in no time." "Lance..." I brought my hand up to his face, gently caressing his cheek. "I appreciate your effort, but I don't want you to overwork yourself because of me. As I told you, Dario is considering raising my salary in the next week or so, then-"

"As long as you're mine, I don't want you to worry about money," he uttered sincerely. "I don't mind working a little harder to make you happy."

"You already make me happy, silly!" I stopped abruptly, looking into his eyes. "And I wanna help with the bills, too. I can't feel like I'm part of your life until we start sharing everything, including the expenses."

The warrior shook his head, sighing in defeat. "Whatever you want, beautiful, you shall have."

"Can I get a unicorn?" I asked playfully, making him laugh.

"If they turn out to be real," he replied, wrapping his arm around my neck to bring me closer. "Now, what was your good news?"

"Oh, right." I smiled as I was flooded with excitement yet again. "Long story short, I kinda convinced Dario to allow women to become warriors."

"What?! How did you do that? Sasha's tried to convince him for years, only to be turned down every time!" Allowing me no time to reply, he continued, "Sasha! You have to tell her! She-"

"Shhh!" I put my hand over his mouth to shut him up before the whole pack found out about the news. "I will tell you everything when we get home. Until then, can I trust you to keep quiet? An announcement won't be made until tomorrow, and the Alpha will kill me if others replace out."

"Of course. Sorry." He smiled apologetically at me. "You know, I-"

Once again, my mate was interrupted - this time, by a vaguely familiar girl. I recognized her as Joanna, one of the three Kappas who were badmouthing me some time ago. They seemed to have grown fond of me since I invited them to have lunch with us, so I wasn't surprised when I noticed her walking towards me. Still, I couldn't quite figure out what she could possibly want with me.

"Hi, Caitlyn. And Lance. I'm sorry to bother you." Although she was looking into my eyes, her tone was timid and polite, which was a lot different than the first time we met. "You are the Alpha's assistant, right?"

"Uh... right." I glanced at my mate from the corner of my eye, noticing he seemed just as confused as I was.

"There's been blackouts in the house I share with my mother. I suspect it has something to do with the newly-installed electrical fences." Her explanation made little sense to me, until she continued, "I was wondering if you could maybe speak to the Alpha and see if there's anything we can do to fix it?"

I had to blink a few times to process what was happening. "I... Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll let him know."

"Thank you so much, Caitlyn! You really are a nice person." She smiled sweetly before leaving us.

"Damn. Is that the same girl from the cafeteria?" Lance asked, baffled. I nodded in response. "Wow. You've changed her."

"I told you they weren't that bad." I shrugged, taking his hand so we could keep walking. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

When my mate turned to me, he was wearing the brightest smile I had ever seen on his face. "I was just going to tell you how proud I am of you. In your second week of work, you have convinced the Alpha to change a rule he adamantly refused to change for decades. Now, pack members are coming to you to voice their concerns. You're pretty much a Delta."

I immediately waved him off. Deltas weren't essential pack members, and most small packs didn't have wolves to fill the position. They were responsible for taking care of every tiny detail to make sure the pack ran smoothly without demanding the Alpha's interference for basic daily tasks. They were also the most approachable ranked members, so they were usually the ones closer to the rest of the pack, and consequently the ones who took care of every problem the members came to face. Though I could see some similarities between my current position and a Delta's job, I was far from being as important.

"I'm serious!" Lance insisted. "Actually, with the influence you had over Dario, I would go as far as to say you behaved exactly like a Luna."

As absurd as his statement was, I allowed myself to smile just a little. Omegas didn't usually amount to anything. However, today I felt as if I had accomplished more than I had ever dreamed of. For a brief moment, it made me feel powerful.