My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 23

Caitlyn POV

Our connection was cut before I could even ask what was going on. Goddess, what was up with his mysteries? I jumped up from my chair in a hurry, causing Sasha to turn to me with surprise. Luke, on the other hand, seemed so focused on the movie he barely even noticed me. I blurted out some excuse before rushing out of the cinema room, running back home as fast as I could. The second I stepped outside, I realized the sun had been replaced by the moon in the dark blue sky; I hadn't even noticed how much time passed by. When I made it to the backyard of our little house, I was out of breath - werewolves have great stamina, but since I wasn't a warrior, my body wasn't used to expelling so much energy in a short amount of time. As soon as I managed to refill the air in my lungs, I looked up to replace the warrior leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a silly smile on his face, like he didn't have a care in the world. It instantly made me frown.

"What the frick, Lance?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" I yelled in annoyance.

His smile grew brighter as he completely ignored my question. "Look around. Do you notice anything... different?"

Part of me wanted to punch him in the face. Another part, however, kind of liked the games he played. My eyes scoured through the garden as I caught myself obliging, trying to figure out what had changed. I didn't come to the back often, and I was still getting used to seeing the green grass instead of the snow fields. For the first few minutes, I couldn't understand what he meant - the few colorful flowers seemed to be in the same spot as before, even the new vegetable garden I had been trying to grow was untouched. Still, I had the feeling the open space looked more... empty. Then, it finally dawned on me. A shocked gasp left my mouth when I noticed that Lance was standing at the exact spot where one of his statues once was - the beautiful totem pole of a bear on top of a wolf.

"What happened to it?" I asked, concerned.

"I sold it. To take you on a trip to Whistler."

At first I was extremely happy, but it didn't take long for a pinch of sadness to fill me. "But Lance... you love that statue."

"I love you more," he retorted, approaching me. "I know how much you miss your old home, which is why I planned for us to travel to Ninebark, grab your best friend, and spend the day at the Olympic Plaza."

"Tomorrow?!" I widened my eyes, a mix of excitement and confusion filling my heart. "But you have warrior training! And how are we even going to get there?"

"You worry too much, beautiful." He laughed, moving a strand of my hair behind my ear to take a closer look at my face. "Dario said I had a valid reason to skip training tomorrow, and Luke let me take his car. All you have to do is tell Megan."

Now it made sense why the Beta's son wasn't confused when I left the cinema room - he already knew what Lance wanted to talk to me about. It calmed me down realizing Lance had everything under control, and once the hesitation was gone, I could finally allow myself to be thrilled. I jumped into my mate's arms, watching his eyes widen as I caught him by surprise, but soon he wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, my mate." His eyes glistened when he saw me smile brighter than ever. Then, he leaned forward to kiss me passionately.

***

That night, I could barely sleep due to my excitement. Megan and I had never been apart for more than a few hours; all of a sudden, I found my second chance mate in another pack and had to move away. Diamond Tempest welcomed me with open arms, and I knew my best friend was in good company at Ninebark too, but it didn't make up for the absence I felt of not having her with me anymore. When I called her, she was thrilled to hear the news. After long weeks without seeing each other, we just had to wait a few more hours to be reunited.

At first light of day, Lance took his best friend's truck and we hit the road. It was a two-hour drive to my old pack, but I enjoyed every single second of it. The view following the Sea to Sky Highway was breathtaking, and it looked even better when I was with my mate; all through the ride, we chatted and sang old songs together. Every mile we crossed made my heart beat faster, and before I knew it, we had arrived. When I spotted the tall girl with ombre white hair, I couldn't hold my excitement any longer. "Meg!" I screamed as I jumped out of the car, running towards her.

"Cait!" she yelled back, matching my level of enthusiasm.

We threw ourselves against each other in a much anticipated hug, almost falling to the floor in the process. For a good few minutes, we just remained wrapped in each other's arms, laughing like little kids. I could feel Lance's gaze on us as he patiently waited for us outside the truck. Although I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling.

"I missed you so much, my partner in crime," Megan chanted.

"I missed you too." I finally pulled away a little. Holding her at arm's length, I took a good look at her. "How have you been? How's everyone?"

"You asked me that over the phone a week ago. Nothing's changed." She laughed. The next second, her eyes widened with realization as she noticed the mark on my neck. Then, she glanced at my mate, quickly identifying his mark. A sassy smirk lit up her face when she turned back to me. "It seems you have a lot to tell me, though."

"You'll have plenty of time to catch up," my warrior chimed in. "Come on, a day of adventures awaits us!"

"I'm glad to see you've been taking care of my girl." My best friend smiled at the man as we both walked back in his direction. "I'd hate to have to punch your face."

"Good to see you too, Megan." He laughed, opening the door for us.

It didn't take long for us to arrive at the Olympic Plaza, which was the first thing that caught my attention since my reunion with my best friend. Despite living so close to the village for my entire life, Omegas didn't make enough money to come to such an extraordinary place. All of the money my mother made was designated towards buying food and clothes for me, as well as some cooler toys and other gifts for my birthday. I had heard some of the higher-ranking members mention the Olympic Plaza a few times, which made me wonder what it was like. However, seeing it with my own eyes was a completely different experience.

In early April, the mountain was still covered in snow; the hundreds of people walking around had thick jackets to protect them from the cold. The whole village consisted of multiple wooden buildings, as well as a tall clock tower. Right at the entrance, the silver olympic rings stole the spotlight, and we didn't miss the opportunity to take some pictures. Still at the main square, there was a skating rink which was the first attraction we went to.

After that, we decided to take a stroll across the village to visit several different stores. Since neither of us had had breakfast yet, we tried a few of the tasty snacks the shops offered while Megan and I updated each other about everything that had happened while we were apart. Lance was a great listener; he tried his best to keep his hands off me in order not to make my best friend uncomfortable, though he couldn't help it sometimes. And well, I wasn't complaining.

In a couple of hours, we had checked pretty much every single one of the stores - and bought us some souvenirs - so we decided to take a look at the other activities. I was shocked at how expensive everything was, but Lance insisted he could afford it after selling his statue. We started off with the Peak to Peak Gondola which was a Guinness World Record-breaker for the longest and highest lift, connecting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. It was magical to see my home from the sky, and it made me realize how beautiful the place truly was.

At the top, we walked the Cloudraker Skybridge, which was both breathtaking and a little intimidating. I didn't have a fear of heights, but one had to be incredibly brave not to feel a chill down the spine walking the suspension bridge. And of course, Megan didn't hesitate to run and jump from one side to the other, while I clinged to the ropes as if my life depended on it. She was even daring enough to try bungee jumping, which was definitely a no-go for me.

By the end of our adventure, we stopped by COWS ice cream to get waffle cones with scoops of their famous Cownadian Maple flavor, and it was the end of our ride. I had warned my mother about me visiting Ninebark, so she insisted on cooking us dinner. At the end of such a wonderful day, it was nice to get to eat my mother's delicious homemade food. She received me and Lance with warm hugs, while offering Megan her usual scowl.

"So you became Dario's assistant?" The old lady asked as we sat together at the table. Megan had told her about it, but both of them were hearing the details for the first time. "Seems like the Moon Goddess was adamant about giving you an important position. I'm so proud of you, my dear." She smiled fondly at me, and I returned the gesture.

"I second that!" my best friend declared, not bothering to finish the food in her mouth before trying to speak. "Look at you, giving the females a voice by confronting your sexist new Alpha about letting women join warrior training!"

"He's not- Dario's not a sexist!" I defend.

"He's just... antiquated." Lance shrugged with a playful smile on his face. "Thankfully, he has an amazing assistant who can help him see things from a different point of view. I think I speak for the whole pack when I say you'll do wonders for Diamond Tempest." His words made me blush. He didn't miss the opportunity to kiss me on my cheek, making me turn even redder.

"I'm so happy that you and Lance have found each other! The two of you are so cute." My mother sighed. "You remind me of your father and I when we were your age..." "Mom!"

"That was uncalled for." Megan coughed.

My mother frowned at her. "You were uncalled for."

"Ouch. And here I was thinking you loved me like your own daughter!"

"I never-" The older woman sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "You know what? Forget it."

Before my best friend could further annoy my mom, Lance introduced a new subject, saving us from unnecessary drama. It felt nice being with my family again; I loved them from the bottom of my heart, despite all of her flaws. I wish we could live together again someday, but until then, I was thankful to have been able to spend such a wonderful day with them. Hopefully, I will manage to save enough from my own salary so we can afford to do this again soon. Maybe I could even try to bring Megan to visit Diamond Tempest. I couldn't wait to introduce her to the rest of our friends; I knew they would get along very well.

The sun had already come down when we left my mother's house. With an aching heart, I bid her and my best friend farewell while Lance went to get the car. As I waited for him, I had the feeling I was being watched; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake away the bizarre sensation. It only went away when I saw my mate again and hopped in the truck with him. The moment he planted a soft kiss on the back of my hand, all of my troubles vanished.

"How did you like the surprise, beautiful?" he asked, taking his attention off the road for a second to stare into my eyes.

"It was wonderful, Lance," I replied sincerely. "Thank you for putting so much effort into planning this amazing day. I'm sorry you had to sell your favorite statue for it to be possible."

"It was more than worth it just to see the smile on your face throughout the whole day. I have no regrets," he reassured me. "I love you, Cait."

It suddenly dawned on me how lucky I was to have him in my life. I thought I was destined to be alone and miserable for the rest of my days after I was rejected by my former mate, but now, I realized it had been a blessing. No one could make me happier than Lance could.

"I love you too," I confessed, resting my head on his shoulder as we made our way back home.

***

Caleb POV:

It was my last day of working as a f*****g Omega; it should make me feel relieved, but it didn't. Despite my deep hatred for it, I was hesitant about what awaited me in the near future. After our last attempt to get Boris to come to the surface failed, I was completely forbidden to take part in training to prevent others from replaceing out about my wolf-less situation. I was still exercising my functions as a Gamma, heading the security team and making sure our defenses worked well. Cedar assured me he would still keep me as his Gamma while he searched for alternate ways to re-establish my connection with my counterpart.

However, I had caught him discussing the possibility of choosing someone to take my place more than a couple of times. And honestly, I couldn't blame him.

It sucked to feel this powerless. It sucked that another half of my soul was gone. As the days went by, it got harder to blame my Omega mate for my pathetic state - after all, she had been gone for weeks. My rage was slowly subsiding, leaving me feeling empty and alone. No one wanted to hang around with me after the cruel way I rejected Caitlyn; I thought they would understand my side eventually, but it became clear that they never would. Despite being the lowest of the low, she was still loved by the entire pack. And I was just the stupid man who threw it all away.

After cleaning the warrior bathrooms for the last time, I decided to take a walk near the borders, where there weren't a lot of pack members to look down on me. There was only a void inside of me as I idled around.

Until I noticed Boris twitch his ears inside my head.

I widened my eyes in shock. I hadn't felt him move ever since the last time we tried to get him to come out. At first, he only refused to talk to me, but now I could barely feel his presence at all. It was almost as if he had gone into a deep sleep. However, something made him wake up. He weakly lifted his nose into the air, and the faintest whimper left his mouth. That's when I saw the brunette standing a good distance away from me. What the hell was she doing here?

I hid behind one of the bushes before she could notice me. Was she alone? Maybe I could try to approach her, just to see if her presence could make my wolf come back to the surface. Before I could make a move, I noticed headlights and a truck stopping in front of her - the stupid stray was driving it. When I spotted the mark on both of their shoulders, Boris howled in pain. I thought Caitlyn could never be happy without me, but there she was, smiling as if that pathetic orphaned Omega was her entire world. She could have been mine. She should have been mine, but I let her go.

"Mate..." my wolf whispered. He had once been powerful and intimidating, but now his voice was weak as if he hadn't eaten in months.

He still yearned for her. Although our bond had been broken, I could still feel the pull, smell her unique scent. Then, it finally hit me - just like everyone told me, it had been my loss. Suddenly, I felt the desire to fix the mess I had created. But was it even possible at this point? Did I even have a chance to win her back after what I had done?

"Anything..." Boris continued. "I will do anything to get mate back."

A/N: The Sea to Sky Highway mentioned in the beginning of the chapter is a highway linking Vancouver to Whistler which "begins at sea-level and slowly winds upwards through the towering Coastal Mountains".