My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 28

Lancaster POV No, no, no!

The adrenaline was pumping in my veins, powered by the rage that consumed me. I didn't think twice before lunging at the filthy creature who dared injure my Alpha, ready to get my revenge. Its eyes widened when he finally noticed me, but it was too late. Atlas closed his strong jaws around the bear's muzzle - their weakest spot. It screeched in agony before shaking his head in a desperate attempt to get rid of us. Although he succeeded, we had no intention of ceasing our attack; our anger had caused us to go berserk. While the enemy was distracted writhing in pain, we took a quick moment to assess its condition. There was a deep cut on its stomach, as well as an injury on one of its legs. James and Dario had weakened the creature enough, all I had to do was land the final blow. Atlas was foaming as he jumped into the air, aiming for its neck. Bears were usually pretty slow due to their size and weight, but this one managed to raise its arm to protect his jugular.

Our fury only grew bigger when we sunk our teeth into its paw, ripping out yet another cry from it. My wolf resembled a rabid animal as he shook his head violently, never letting go. I could feel its skin tearing under our canines, its bones cracking the more pressure we applied. At last, I felt us lose our grip on him as the creature howled in excruciating pain. I was confused at first, until I realized we hadn't let go of it - we had ripped its paw off completely.

For a single second, I allowed myself to be shocked. It was already hard enough for a wolf to pierce a bear's tough hide; how did we manage to dismember one? In face of my confusion, the creature took the opportunity to run away, and I immediately realized my mistake. Atlas bared his fangs, ready to chase the enemy down. We were faster, so I had no doubt we could get to him. There was no way in hell I would let the fucker attack my pack, hurt my Alpha and run away once he was too injured to keep fighting. However, just as we took our first step, I put all of my fury aside when I heard a faint sound.

"Lance... let it go."

Realizing it was Dario's voice, I immediately turned around. I was shocked to replace out he had shifted back into his human form, as his wolf was probably too weak. Atlas retreated to the back of my head, allowing me control so I could help our leader. I took one last look at our surroundings, making sure there were no more bears - there were no more wolves either. I approached the bleeding man carefully, my heart stopping the second I noticed his condition was much worse than I had expected. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, a huge chunk of his stomach bitten out. The scene was so gruesome I felt bile rising up my throat, and it took all of my strength to fight it back.

"You've done great, Son. You always served this pack well," he kept talking, his voice barely audible. Looking into his blue eyes, it was easy to see the color in them was slowly fading. "You will look after it for me, won't you?"

"You can do this yourself, Alpha," I reassured him. Or was I reassuring myself? My hands were shaking; I had no idea what to do with them. There was no way to stop the bleeding "I'll take you to the hospital, Sir. The doctors will take care of you, and Cyclone will help you heal."

There was silence for a moment. "Cyclone is already gone, Son," he confessed in deep sadness. Once again, my eyes widened in shock. It was extremely rare for a werewolf to lose their counterpart; it mostly happened when the human side was too weak, so the animal side sacrificed themselves to allow their other half to live. It was almost impossible for them to survive without each other though.

"Wh-what do you mean, Sir?" I stuttered. Part of me knew exactly what he meant, but another part refused to believe it. "There's gotta be a way... I will replace a way!"

"Not this time, I'm afraid." He flashed me a small smile. A gasp escaped my lips when I felt his hand grasp mine. "I don't have much time, Lance. Please listen to me." I opened my mouth, but couldn't bring myself to disobey him. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't replace my voice. "You shall be the one to inherit the pack. It always belonged to you."

"I can't do this, Sir. I'm just an Omega," I argued frantically, my hands and knees already covered in his blood. It was making me sick.

"You are so much more than that, Lance," he said adamantly. "I always considered you my own son. I never knew how to show it, but I trained you well. You are my legacy, Lance. Take my name, and make it thrive."

"Sir..."

"From now on, you are no longer a stray. You are my son, Lancaster Stark."

I was perplexed. None of this made any sense. Why was this happening? My breathing was ragged and I couldn't think straight. My gaze shifted between the man's face and the blood; the evidence was right in front of me, but it all still felt so surreal. A loud scream cut through the morning as Dario writhed on the ground, making me panic. What could I even do for him?

To my relief, he eventually stopped, taking in a deep breath. "Allow me to make one last selfish request." There was only pain in his eyes when he looked at me, and it tore my heart. "Put me out of my misery."

"No! I would never-"

"Please, Lance," he begged, his voice getting weaker and weaker. "I don't want to die by their filthy paws. Let me go in peace."

No way. There was no way I could do this. Why was he even asking me to do this?

"He's suffering," my wolf observed, his ears down in a silent grief. "We can help him."

"I can't do this, Atlas! I can't kill him!" I was freaking out.

"We'll do this together. We have to."

Completely defeated, I rose my head to the sky and screamed at the top of my lungs. It was a song of frustration, agony, pain. There was just no way around this, was there? He wouldn't survive, especially not without his wolf. And I was the only one who could send him straight into the arms of the Goddess in the respectful way he deserved to go. I forced my eyes shut, clenching my teeth as I raised my hand in the air. My nails grew bigger, turning into black claws as my counterpart lent me his strength. "Thank you, Son," the man breathed out in relief when he noticed my gesture.

Before I could change my mind, I slashed his throat in a single quick movement, putting an end to his suffering. And just like that, he was gone.

All I could do was stare at him for long minutes until a wave of emotions rolled through me. Another desperate scream was released, my throat burning as though it was bleeding. I lowered my head in defeat, letting my hands fall over the unmoving chest of the man who had raised me. The one who adopted me when not even my real parents wanted me. Tears rolled down my face like waterfalls, and I started sobbing like a helpless little pup.

"I'm sorry, Father..." I whispered subconsciously. I kept repeating the same words until I felt a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look up.

"Rise, boy," Beta James growled loudly. His injuries looked even worse in human form, but he somehow managed to make his way to me. Did he witness everything? "You're a Stark now. Honor your name."

My eyes widened in disbelief as I stopped crying. For some reason, I felt compelled to oblige; gathering all of my strength, I picked myself up off the ground. We left the battlefield in silence and without looking back.

***

Caitlyn POV

Inside of the safety bunker, time seemed to be frozen still. It was impossible to hear anything from the outside, which also made it hard to tell how much time had gone by. Most of the mothers, children, elders, and Omegas who couldn't fight were sitting on the floor, patiently waiting for the moment when the doors would be open. I, on the other hand, couldn't seem to relax. As I remained standing, the only solution I could replace to keep myself from pacing around the tight room was to tap my foot repeatedly against the metal floor.

Just a few minutes after I said goodbye to Lance, I felt him cut our connection, so I had no idea if he was doing okay. Not that I would be able to help him in any way, but it made me uneasy to not feel what he was feeling. What if he had gotten badly injured... or worse?

"If they were killed, we would feel the bond break," Faye observed. She was worried about our mate too, but she was doing a much better job at controlling her emotions. "They probably shut down our connection so we wouldn't feel his pain if he got injured. They're warriors, and while it's likely they'll get hurt, I have faith they'll stay true to the promise they made to us."

"I know, but... It's so hard to be here while they're risking their lives out there."

"It is." She sighed. "But it's a choice we made. We were given the chance to become warriors, yet we decided against it. All we can do now is wait."

I hate to admit it, but she was right. Finally giving up, I rested my back against one of the metal walls, only to be struck by an intense pain moments later. The melancholic howls that echoed through the tiny space let me know I hadn't been the only one to feel it, and just like that, my anxiety was back. Lost in thought, I relentlessly tried to figure out what was going on; I had felt tingles of pain due to the loss of pack members as they perished in combat, but this was so much stronger. I didn't know how many minutes or hours had gone by when a loud bang was heard. The light of the morning invaded the dark room as the heavy metal door opened.

My eyes glistened with hope as I jolted up, but it didn't last long. My heart fell when I saw Luke standing on the outside, noticing my mate was nowhere to be found. Little by little, the pack members who couldn't fight started to evacuate the bunker calmly while I rushed towards the Beta's son. He looked worn and battered, defeated. But if he was here, it meant we had won, right?

"Lance... where's Lance?" I asked frantically. The man sighed and looked away, making me even more desperate. "Please don't tell me that-" "He's fine," he finally assured. "He's with my father and Sasha at the Alpha's office. A doctor has been sent there to take a look at their injuries." "What? Why are they there?"

"Just stay with me, okay?" He touched my shoulder in an attempt to help me relax. "I need to help the pack members first, then we can go see them."

Lacking a better option, I nodded. It wasn't so bad to wait a few more minutes, knowing my mate was safe, after spending so many hours in the dark. Once Luke had made sure all of the wolves of our pack were fine and able to head back to their houses safely, he led me towards the packhouse. Each step I took down the tall hallways made my heart beat faster; I felt like it was about to explode. When my friend finally opened the door to the office, my eyes immediately locked on Lance. Completely ignoring everyone else in the room, I rushed up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He winced, but soon leaned into my touch.

It was relieving to see he was fine. There were a few bruises on his body, especially across his chest and stomach, but he was in much better shape than he had been on the day he decided to fight off a bear on his own. He seemed tired, and he wore the same look of defeat Luke had on his face. Why were they so heartbroken? Shouldn't they be celebrating their victory?

Once my worry was gone, I finally decided to take a look around. Judging by the sling securing Sasha's arm, I guessed she had broken it, and her father had his upper-half covered in bandages. James' condition seemed to be the worst out of all of them; at least thirty stitches had been needed to close a huge gash on his leg, and he seemed to have a few broken ribs. They were all there and accounted for, except...

"Where's Alpha Dario?"

Silence. I noticed my mate clench his fists as he looked away from me.

"Alpha Dario perished in combat," James revealed at last with his head low, making me gasp in horror.

"Wh-what? H-how?" I stuttered, my voice cracking.

"I failed to protect him," the Beta confessed.

"We all did," Lance added.

In a quick movement, James rose from his seat, grunting in pain. He would have fallen straight to the floor, had his son not caught him in time. However, the proud man soon dismissed him, too proud to be helped. Ignoring his pain, he walked towards the center of the room.

"There will be a time for us to mourn him, but our pack can't remain without a leader. We can't afford to be vulnerable, especially not at a time like this." I could feel the sadness in his voice as he tried to stay strong for the pack. He had just lost his best friend, but he had to act as if nothing had happened for the sake of his family. "Lance was the one who delivered the final blow. According to our laws, the one who kills the Alpha must take their title."

Sasha, Luke, and I gasped in shock, but my mate remained still, looking down. Was it true? What happened out there? He would never hurt Dario, so why? There were too many questions in my head, too much pain in my chest; but it wasn't the time to speak. I knew all I could do for now was listen.

"It was also the Alpha's decision to pass the title on to Lancaster, who shall no longer be known as a Stray, but as a Stark now," James went on as we listened attentively. "Not only I am a witness to Dario's final words, but I was aware of his desires to entrust his legacy to Lance, the one he considered to be his own son. I will live to make sure his wishes will come true."

During James' entire briefing, my mate didn't utter a word. He didn't talk to me. He didn't move. However, he had opened our connection again, and I could once again feel everything he was feeling. He was hurting, confused, lost; it tore me open. I was devastated too, still trying to figure out what was going on, but I had to help him through this moment. I hugged him tighter, brushing his shoulder with one of my hands to let him know he wasn't alone.

"The announcement of Diamond Tempest's new Alpha will happen immediately after Dario's funeral, which will be held tonight. There is only one last topic we must discuss." The Beta turned to Lance with empathy, slowly approaching him. "Since you are the new Alpha, you must choose your ranked members. I would be honored if you decide to pick my son to be your Beta, but you don't have to."

My mate finally lifted his head, flashing a small smile at his best friend. "I wouldn't have anyone else as my right hand man." The blonde man bowed respectfully at him, showing his gratitude.

"Good." James allowed himself to smile for a brief second amongst the chaos. "Is there anyone you have in mind to occupy the Gamma position?"

Instinctively, we all turned to Sasha. It was her father's turn to lower his head. "As much as I would love to pass my title on to my daughter, I am aware it is forbidden by our laws for a woman to take any of the high-ranking titles."

"Not all of them," Lance observed, his pale green eyes focusing on the black-haired girl. "She could still become a Delta."

"I'm honored, Lance." The girl bowed curtly at him. "But I'm not sure our pack needs a Delta. Especially not after our many losses..." She sighed. "However, I suggest you pick Jasper as your Gamma."

"The other stray?" The Beta arched an eyebrow at her. Honestly, all of us were confused.

"I have a feeling he doesn't show us his intellectual side, but I have seen his brain in action a few times. As a Gamma's daughter, I recognize he has the right skills for the position. With the proper training, he can definitely become a fine Gamma." Everyone turned to Lance, waiting for his final decision. He eventually nodded. "I have faith in you, Sasha, as I have in him. If you say he is the best to occupy the position, I trust you."

"It's settled then." James held his head up higher, taking one last glance at the wolves in the room. "Let's go. We should allow our new Alpha and Luna some private time."

I widened my eyes at the man's words - with everything going on, I hadn't realized what my mate becoming Alpha would mean for me. As everyone walked out of the office, leaving only us behind, I didn't even have time to digest all of the information. Suddenly, Lance dropped to the floor in front of me, letting out an agonized scream.