My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 30

Lancaster POV

To say I was confused by the unexpected visit was an understatement. I didn't have the details about Dario's relationship with the witch or how they had met, but I knew the two of them were close. Although it was unusual for a wolf to make an alliance with a witch, he trusted her with his life. However, what I did know for a fact was that she despised me deeply. She would give me dirty looks ever since I was a pup, always making sure to stay away from me. Once, I heard her say she was sure I was a bad omen. The only reason I could think of as to why she didn't try to get rid of me before was because she held Dario in high regard. With him gone, there was nothing stopping her - was that why she had come to see me?

Her intimidating red eyes glowed brighter as she used her powers to close the door behind us, locking it. I took an apprehensive step backwards when she approached me. In my mind, there wasn't a single possible scenario in which an interaction between her and I would end well. It was impossible for me to read her intentions, my heart beating faster with each second of silence that went by.

"He was right." When she finally spoke, her words were more like a whisper. She looked away from me, her eyes shifting from side to side as if she was absorbed in thought. "He was right, and I was wrong."

"What?" I couldn't understand her words, but her behavior made me feel less tense. It didn't feel like I was in a dangerous situation anymore; still, I kept my guard up as I approached her.

"Dario was right about you. You were loyal to him." She stared back at me, her gaze instantly causing me to freeze. "I thought you would be the one to destroy him, but James said he witnessed the scene. I saw you kill him, but-"

"What do you mean you saw me?" Every word that came out of her mouth made less sense than the last. "You were there? During the battle?"

"Yes. Just not at the same moment in time."

"Okay, listen. I'm trying really hard to understand what you're saying, but you're not helping me at all. I've had an awful day, my head is a mess, my body aches," I blurted out, my filter gone due to the physical and mental fatigue. "You're gonna have to give me a clearer explanation here."

She finally stopped pacing around to focus on me. This time, I didn't move when she came closer. "I had a vision of you when we bumped into each other in the hall a few months ago, right before the attacks started. My visions are never wrong; I saw you slit his throat."

Out of instinct, I forced my eyes shut when the images of the most tragic moment of my life flooded my mind. Unwilling to go there for the millionth time in the same day, I shook my head, blinking a few times as I considered whether I should tell the witch what happened on the battlefield or not. Part of me was afraid of trusting her, but a voice inside my head reminded me Dario confided in her. I sighed in defeat as I turned my back to her, too ashamed to look into her eyes as I confessed my sins.

"A bear ripped out a part of his stomach when James was too injured to protect him. He was suffering, and I was the only one who could help him," I revealed, my voice low as a whisper. "I didn't want to, but I had no choice. He made me promise I would take the Alpha title, though I'm not sure why."

"I see," was all she said before the room went completely silent.

For a while, I wondered if she had left the room without warning me. Witches were pretty good at showing up out of nowhere and disappearing without a trace. However, I saw something metallic glisten from the corner of my eye; it caught my attention, causing me to turn around abruptly. When I did, my eyes widened as soon as they locked on the silver blade in the woman's hands. I acted out of pure impulse when I repeated the defense technique Dario had told me a couple of months ago. In less than a second, I had the dagger against the witch's neck, both of us staring at each other with caution.

"What are you doing?" she questioned at last.

"I could ask you the same thing," I retorted, my heart beating faster to pump adrenaline into my veins.

"Well, I can show you if you let me go!"

"How do I know you won't try to kill me?"

She arched an eyebrow at me, almost as if I had just offended her. "Because I could already have done that if I wanted to."

A few more heavy breaths left my lips. Dario trusted her, I reminded myself before reluctantly letting her go. For a few seconds, our gazes were locked as we studied each other's reactions. To my surprise, she stretched her arms at me, holding the blade in her open palms as she bowed before me.

"I would like to offer you this silver dagger as a symbol of my loyalty to you. It is the same token I offered to Hector when he allowed me to hide in his pack," Cordelia stated, causing a thousand questions to pop in my head.

"Hector? As in Dario's father?" She nodded. "How old are you?"

"362." My jaw dropped at her answer. I was aware that witches could live long, but I didn't know they could be so old and look so young.

I shook my head, realizing the information was irrelevant. "Wait, you said you gave this dagger to Diamond Tempest's first leader? Dario told me this weapon belonged to a traitor who tried to backstab his father to steal his title." Curious, I took the blade in my hands to examine it.

"Nope. This is definitely the one I gave him." Without warning, she abruptly placed her palm against my forehead. An image was projected into my mind as if she had hijacked it. It was a memory; the day she met Hector for the first time. An instant later, I opened my eyes again. Honestly, I was too tired to question what had happened. I just wanted my answers.

"Why would he lie to me about it?" I couldn't help but feel a little hurt.

"To test you, apparently," Cordelia replied casually. "It seems I was indeed able to get my concerns through to him, but I take it you didn't try to kill him when he told you this made up story." "Of course not!" I growled.

This time it was her to sigh in defeat. "I was a fool. In three hundred years of experience, I should have been able to figure out I wasn't seeing the whole vision. If I had concentrated on why the higher spirits allowed me to see it instead of prematurely accusing you, I might have been able to save him." She lowered her head. For the first time, I actually felt sympathy for her.

"We all wish we could have done something differently, don't we?" I let out a sad laugh.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you, Lance." There was regret in her eyes as she turned back to me. "Staying true to the promise I made to Hector, I will serve you as well as I served the Starks. From what I heard, you are one of them now." She smiled fondly, and I found myself returning the gesture.

"It's good to know I will have you as an ally." I stretched my hand out for her to shake it.

***

Caitlyn and I shared the small bed in our little house near the border for the last time that night. I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep at all after everything I had been through in the last twenty-four hours, but I guess I underestimated how tired I truly was, both physically and mentally. As soon as I laid down beside my mate on the mattress, my body just shut down. Her marvelous scent worked like aromatherapy; breathing it in helped me heal in my sleep. There were no nightmares, no panic. After the worst day of my entire life, there was only peace.

When I finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Had I slept until noon? The moment I tried lifting my head up, a terrible headache struck me. Instinctively, I brought my hand to my eyes, massaging them as I let out a low grunt. Through my haze, it took a while for me to notice my mate wasn't by my side anymore. A loud noise coming from the kitchen startled me, successfully awakening me for once. Were we under attack again? Did they take her? My eyes widened as I jumped out of bed, rushing outside the room, my heart beating violently.

Only for me to replace Caitlyn standing in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by cooking pots on the floor.

"Oh, you're up!" The smile that lit up her face when she saw me was brighter than the sun. It slowly faded as she analyzed my condition. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No. I've been up for a few minutes." I scratched my head in a failed attempt to get rid of my headache. Soon after, I furrowed my brows at her. "What are you doing?"

"Boxing our stuff. The workers should be here to help us move into the pack house shortly." Due to my rushed awakening and morning confusion, I had completely forgotten James had requested us to leave our house before lunch today - it was too risky for the new Alpha and Luna to live so close to the borders.

I finally took a look around, spotting the multiple cardboard boxes near the entrance. "I'm sorry you had to do all of this by yourself."

"It's alright. I wanted to let you rest." She smiled sweetly, picking up the kitchen utensils scattered around the floor. "We don't have a lot anyway."

"We kinda do now," I recalled, trying to sound positive; something good had to come out of this tragedy.

"Yeah." She shrugged, pointing at the cooking pots. "Do you think we should take these?"

"I don't think we will be doing much cooking anymore, beautiful." I took a few steps closer, wrapping her in my arms. I needed to feel her, take in her scent. "Never seen Dario anywhere near a stove."

"Oh. Maybe we should return these then," she observed.

After we shared a good morning kiss, I had a lot more disposition to help her separate what we would be taking with us to our new room. As soon as we were done, the workers arrived to carry the little we had to the pack house. We offered to assist them, but they insisted the Alpha couple shouldn't worry about such mundane issues; adjusting to this new life would certainly take some getting used to. So, we just went ahead to check the Alpha suite on the top floor of the main building. James had handed me the keys to it the night before when he visited me at the office to let me know that all of Dario's belongings had already been put away.

The moment I opened the door, both Caitlyn and I were flabbergasted. The room was gigantic; there surely was enough space for a dozen people to live here. It followed a different, luxurious black and white color scheme. Tall light gray walls were decorated with large paintings, and fluffy rugs added a cozy feeling to the glistening black marble floor. There was a huge curved television next to a spacious black leather couch. The best part, however, was the large comfortable-looking king size bed which had been strategically placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that showed a perfect view of the lake.

"Wow. Did he decorate all of this?" my mate whispered in disbelief.

"Well, on top of his architecture degree, he majored in interior design." I couldn't help but smile. At first, I was hesitant about staying in the same room the Alpha had lived his entire life, but it somehow made me feel like he was still close to me.

"I guess the weight of leading an entire pack comes with some benefits," she joked, trying to light up the mood.

I immediately pulled her into my arms, catching her off-guard. The way her lips parted to release a gasp whenever I surprised her was the reason why I loved doing it. Carefully, I moved a strand of her smooth wavy hair behind her ear so I could properly admire her beautiful face. There was so much love in those hazel eyes of hers; I couldn't stop staring into them.

"If there's one thing that makes me happy about this whole situation, it's that I'll finally be able to give you the princess life you deserve."

"I never needed any of this, Lance. All I need is you." She pushed her face against my chest, hugging me tighter. When everything was wrong, she made it feel so right.

"Alright lovebirds, that's enough. There's children watching." Luke's voice instantly made us both turn around.

"I hope you don't mean me. I'm literally one year younger than you." Sasha frowned.

"What are you guys doing here?" I arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Damn, you don't need to hold back your excitement to see us," my best friend scoffed, crossing his arms. Upon further investigation, I noticed there were a few very short maids right behind them.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but... the Alpha couple must look presentable." The former Gamma's daughter smiled apologetically. Instinctively, Caitlyn and I looked down at our clothes. "Don't worry, we're here to help you. The maids will take your measurements so we can order more appropriate outfits for both of you online." She stretched her hand out to my mate. "Cait, can you come with me to my room?"

The brunette turned to me with hesitation in her eyes, but we both knew she didn't really have a choice. She flashed me one last smile before taking our friend's hand and disappearing through the door of our new room, which we didn't even have a chance to properly check out. Seconds later, two of the maids walked in, demanding I take my shirt off. A little invasive, but okay.

"You staying for the show?" I raised an eyebrow playfully at my Beta as I unbuttoned my shirt.

He instantly smirked. "Don't be shy. It's nothing I haven't seen before." Well, he wasn't wrong; warriors were used to seeing each other naked. He tried to wink at me, but I stopped him by throwing my shirt at his face. As the maids surrounded me to take my body measurements, I heard him clear his throat. "Anyway... how are you holding up?" There was true concern in his semblance.

I lowered my head. "It's only been a day, Luke."

"I know. Stupid question." He was silent for a while. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you, man. I think you'll make a fine Alpha, even though you probably can't see that right now. As your Beta, you can count on me for anything and everything." He smiled sympathetically.

For long seconds, I just stared at him, processing his words. Luke was my best friend, but he had never voiced his support in such a direct way. "Thank you, man. I appreciate it."

"Anytime."

Once the issue was settled, he quickly changed the subject. We chatted for a bit while the Omegas finished their work, which thankfully didn't take too long. As soon as they left, accompanied by the new Beta, my mate made it back to the room - alone. When she rushed into my arms, I thought we would finally have a moment to ourselves, but I was obviously wrong. It seemed we would never get a second of peace in our new busy lives.

"Sorry to interrupt your first day of luxury, but there's actual work for you to do." When James poked his head through the door, I noticed he was wearing his usual scowl. "I wouldn't have it any other way," I sighed, forcing a smile as I pulled away from my mate.