My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 36

Caitlyn POV

For the first few seconds, there was only silence. Not only had we been caught off guard by the unexpected challenge, but we were also trying to figure out if it was some kind of joke. I didn't know what Caleb had been doing for the past two months, nor did I care, but he was clearly in no shape to fight. Even if he was, how dare he try to ruin what my mate and I had! Back when he rejected me, I actually believed it was my fault. He had brainwashed me to believe I wasn't worthy of his love. In the end, he made the choice to reject me. Why was he suddenly so adamant to win me back? Was it greed, because he wanted to have a Luna by his side? Or did he just make it his life mission to destroy my happiness? "He must be out of his f*****g mind!" Faye yelled inside my head, furious at him for ignoring our last warning.

Once the surprise was gone, I only felt rage. It was extremely hard to make me mad, but this jack head was pushing all of my buttons. Furrowing my brows, I took a step forward to end this foolishness before he could create an even bigger mess. However, I was stopped by my mate, who roughly placed his arm just above my chest as if he was shielding me. As soon as we touched, I was flooded by bad energy. Lance's aura was... frightening, honestly. He was always such a calm and loving guy; I had only seen him angry once, and even then, he wasn't nearly as scary as he was now.

He had gone through a lot in the past few days, and having Caleb threaten to take me from him was the last straw.

"What did you just call me?" A low growl reverberated in my mate's throat - it was probably Atlas taking control.

"A stray. That's what you are," the Gamma snorted. Was he even still Gamma? "Play Alpha all you want, but you can't fool me. You're just a wolf with no name."

"What the hell are you doing, Gamma?!" Cedar finally intervened, glaring at his friend. "You will apologize to Alpha Lancaster, now! Then, you better get out of my sight!" He tried to sound angry, but I noticed his true intentions. He knew Caleb had no chance; he was trying to stop him for his own good.

"No." My mate's determination startled us. His green eyes had gone darker as they locked on the blonde man. "I accept your challenge."

"Lance..." I tried to call him, but he was too far gone.

He shook me off, completely dismissing my attempt to hold him back. My heart started beating faster as fear consumed me. I couldn't let him do it; he already had too many problems in his hands, I didn't want him to suffer anymore. I stretched my hand out to try to grab him again, but this time, it was Luke who stopped me.

"Just let him, Cait. He needs it." The Beta squeezed my shoulder gently, trying to comfort me. It didn't help much.

The two men started circling each other a few feet away from us, mentally delimitting their arena. I couldn't believe this was actually happening right after we got ourselves a game-changing deal; our moments of peace never lasted long enough for us to actually enjoy them. I took one last look at my former Alpha and my current Beta, hoping they would try to stop the fight before it began. However, all they did was stand still, carefully analyzing the situation.

There weren't many rules for a challenge. Although they didn't happen so often, most wolves were familiar with the event. It was a common method wolves used to settle disagreements, much like duels for humans before they were outlawed in the 19th century. They should be supervised by an Elder or an Alpha, and the loser was the one who submitted first. Since wolves were proud creatures, most challenges ended in death; the thought alone sent chills down my spine.

I was pulled back from my thoughts the moment I heard the familiar sound of bones cracking. Atlas quickly assumed an offensive stance with raised hackles, but it took a while for me to recognize the blonde wolf with white markings on his face and paws. His condition was even worse than Caleb's; he was so skinny it was actually possible to see his ribs, his legs shaking as they barely had the energy to support the weight of his own body. Boris had once been such a beautiful, strong wolf; it pained me to see him in such a deplorable state.

"I have a feeling the look on your face isn't of fear for your mate." I knew Cedar was talking to me, but I couldn't take my eyes off the two beasts. "You have a good heart, Caitlyn. I've always known it. But you shouldn't feel bad for him. He chose this for himself." He sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder. "If anything, at least the challenge made his wolf come out." He finally caught my attention, causing me to turn to him with confusion. "Boris has refused to come out ever since Caleb rejected you."

Suddenly, it all made sense; why he wasn't showing up for training anymore, how he had gotten so weak in such a short time. The human side couldn't survive without their animal counterpart because both souls were tied to each other as one. Boris' rejection had taken a toll on him, which made me realize Caleb's wolf hadn't been conniving with his decision to break our bond; he was a victim in the situation, and I actually felt sorry for him. However, if he finally chose to come out, it meant he was ready to kill my mate too. And that was something I couldn't forgive.

***

Lancaster POV

I was trying really hard to remain calm. My life had turned upside down in the blink of an eye, but I took every blow without a single complaint. I was overworked and sleep deprived, yet I kept marching forward because I couldn't bear the thought of letting everyone down. Through it all, Caitlyn was the one who kept me sane. There was no way I would have survived this rollercoaster of emotions without her. And when that bastard threatened to take her away from me, I finally lost it.

He had been getting on my nerves since the first time I met him. It was beyond me how the Moon Goddess could have paired such a pure, sweet soul with this worthless piece of s**t. In the beginning, I actually saw him as a threat - the former mate born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Rank meant a lot in our society, and I had been born with less than nothing. However, as I got to know Caitlyn better, I realized she didn't care about any of that.

The more I learned about her past relationship, the more I despised Caleb. I was an extremely peaceful man, but I hated him with every fiber of my body. I tried to push the feeling away, concentrating on the love my mate and I shared. Even when I smelled his foul scent on her earlier, I did my best to ignore it. To say it was hard was an understatement. Atlas wanted me to track him down then and end him for messing with my precious she-wolf. I only managed to stay calm throughout the meeting because I noticed she wasn't hurt; whatever she had gone through, she had already taken care of. I still wasn't happy of course, but she reminded me we had other responsibilities to deal with.

"That's alright." Atlas had a wolfish grin on his face. He licked his lips, fantasizing about the taste of our rival's blood. "There's nothing standing on our way now. I'll f*****g kill him now, and we'll have one less problem on our list!"

At that moment, I agreed with him. I didn't enjoy taking lives, but as a warrior, I had learned it was sometimes necessary to protect your family. When Atlas' green eyes locked on the pathetic beast in front of me, I only saw him as a threat I needed to exterminate. As long as he lived, he would be a menace to my mate, to our love. I had taken too many risks in my life, and I knew very well this was one I couldn't afford to make. He, on the other hand, would pay the price for the way he hurt Caitlyn, for his audacity to destroy the most precious thing I had - I would make sure of it.

The world seemed to disappear for a moment. I couldn't hear or see anything else, my mind focused strictly on the combat. As soon as the light blonde wolf leapt in our direction, we were ready to stop him. He was so slow it was simple to dodge his predictable attack, and we wasted no time to sink our teeth into his flesh. His first pain-filled howl echoed around the town square, causing us to grunt in delight. One of the first lessons a warrior is taught in training is to respect life; if you need to kill, you should do it as fast as possible so your enemy can go in no pain. However, considering how weak Boris was, it would be too easy to just finish him off. My beast had completely taken over, and he wanted blood.

We let go of the opponent's neck, our gaze locked on him as he struggled to pick himself up after just one blow. His golden fur was now colored red, blood dripping from the open wound on his shoulder. A few seconds later, he tried to strike once more, only to fail as miserably as the last time. Every time he pounced on us, we injured him again. And again. And again. Until he was too weak to stand - that's when the real fun began.

Atlas jumped at the fallen creature, our canines digging deep into his skin. His sounds became more desperate as we kept biting and clawing at him, a crimson pool forming underneath him. He coughed frantically, drowning in his own blood. It wasn't enough; he needed to suffer more. I wanted to make him pay. I needed to make him pay.

But then, the sweet voice of an angel pulled me from my rush of madness.

"Stop, Lance! Please!" It took us a few seconds to recognize our mate's voice. We blinked a few times, blood dripping from our jaws as I stood completely still on top of the creature. "Please, Lance! Just... come back to me," she whispered.

Atlas slowly turned his head to look at her, and when I saw her watery eyes, my heart sank. I looked back at the wolf beneath me, finally taking in his terrible shape. There were wounds covering his whole body. He could barely breathe. A shocked gasp escaped my lips as I realized what I had done. Was I really going to kill him? "He deserves it!" My wolf growled.

"Maybe." I shook my head, trying to regain my composure. "But he didn't stand a chance from the start. He is no threat, Atlas. Just a pathetic, stupid creature," I spat. "And I won't let him turn us into a monster. I won't let our mate be scared of us." Atlas turned to the brunette again, whimpering as he too noticed the despair in her beautiful hazel eyes.

At last, he gave me back control. I took a look at myself; my hands were shaking from the anger and the loss of control, my skin was covered in blood. Before I could even process the situation, I felt something warm and soft wrap around my shoulders. Caitlyn was standing right next to me, covering my naked body in a towel. She got lost in my eyes for a second before pulling me into a tight hug. Her heart was beating so fast... did I really scare her that much? At that moment, I remembered she had never been on a battlefield. She had never seen something so brutal. I cursed myself for making her watch such a gruesome scene.

"I'm sorry," I breathed out into her ear, placing one hand on the back of her head to bring her closer to me.

"It's okay," she reassured me, her hands traveling along my back over the thick fabric of the towel. "Thank you for coming back to me."

"You know I always will," I told her sincerely, pulling her away to look into her eyes. "All you have to do is call me." She nodded.

Slowly, her breathing was stabilizing, as was mine. She tugged on my hand, ready to lead us inside so we could have a private moment to calm ourselves down. However, before we could leave, Cedar's voice caught our attention. He was standing in front of the fallen wolf, who was still trying to catch his breath. The creature's eyes locked on his Alpha.

"Let me speak to Caleb, Boris," he demanded.

Another painful howl was heard as his broken bones cracked and his torn skin shrunk. The pitiful man was on his shaking knees, too weak to stand back up. Crouching beside him, the Alpha threw a clean towel around his beaten body. The Gamma quickly grabbed it, wrapping it tighter around his skin.

"T-thank you, A-Alpha," he stuttered in a barely audible voice. Without uttering a word, Cedar stood back up. However, he remained still in his spot, a stern look on his face as he held his head high.

"Caleb Tremblay," the leader called loud and clear. The pack members who had been roaming around stopped to listen. Even the weak wolf managed to lift his head up, his eyes wide with realization. He knew what was coming. "You have brought shame to our pack many times. Today, you will finally lose your Gamma title." Shocked gasps could be heard as the man made a brief pause, raising his voice. "I, Alpha Cedar Adalwolf of Ninebark Pack, hereby pronounce your demotion to Omega. You are to move out of the pack house and into one of the vacant houses of the village near the borders."

Caleb just lowered his head in shame; he didn't have the strength to argue. Somewhere in his deranged mind, he probably knew he had long lost his reason. My mate and I were both speechless as we watched the Alpha turn around, leaving his former third-in- command on the floor. He stopped right next to us, but didn't turn to face us.

"I'm sorry for the trouble caused to both of you, Alpha Lancaster and Luna Caitlyn." He sighed, letting his emotions show for the first time. "I hope we can put this unfortunate event behind us; we still have an alliance to celebrate. Meanwhile, please make yourselves at home."

"Thank you, Alpha Cedar." I nodded at him before he walked away.

***

"I'm so glad you're not hurt." Caitlyn stated after thoroughly checking my body for the third time.

After taking a much needed shower, we laid down in bed to try to get our minds off our rough day. Aside from the meeting, we both had been through stressful situations, but nothing healed us more than spending time alone with each other. I pulled her closer to me, diving my nose into her wet hair to breathe in her tranquilizing scent. My hands traveled across her bare skin, desperate to feel her; not in a s****l way, though. I just needed the contact.

"I'm sorry for scaring you back there," I confessed. "I regret losing control like that in front of you. I hope it won't change the way you see me."

"I wasn't scared of you, Lance." She snuggled into my chest. "I know you would never hurt me, and I understand why you were so mad."

"Why were you crying then?" I gently pulled away to raise an eyebrow at her.

She looked away. "I don't know. I just didn't wanna watch you... you know." She was so pure she couldn't even bring herself to describe what I was going to do. "He might be a d**k, and he definitely deserves to suffer. But he has brought me enough pain already. I just want to forget and move on."

"Let me help you get it out of your mind then," I whispered, inching closer.

My lips tenderly brushed against hers, carefully feeling her smooth texture. My tongue traced her lips before gently pushing them apart. She gladly let me in, moaning in delight as she ravished my taste. We had shared many kisses, but every single one of them was as passionate and maddening as the first.

It seemed the recent events had made us great at letting go of the bad by focusing on the good. We cuddled and kissed for a while longer until Luke mindlinked me to remind us of the dinner celebration. By the time he knocked on our door to accompany us to the private dining hall, we were dressed and ready.

"Our very first deal, huh?" My best friend smiled at us as we made our way through the hallway. "And it was only possible because of our amazing Luna. My father wasn't kidding when he said you think fast."

"He said that?" My mate blushed before shaking her head. "It was nothing."

"It was amazing," I insisted, kissing her red cheeks.

"Definitely. We deserve to celebrate." Luke chuckled.

"I'm starving, by the way. Who knew political meetings could be so stressful?" I said jokingly.

"It's done now. We're free to enjoy our achievement," Cait observed with a smile. "I can't believe Cedar even allowed Megan to join us. I'm so excited to talk to her in person after so long."

"Let's see if that friend of yours is as incredible as you say," the Beta scoffed.

"Best friend," my mate corrected. "And she is."

Once we made it to the entrance of the private dining hall, an Omega opened the wooden double doors for us. I smelled the marvelous aroma of fresh, high quality meat before I even laid my eyes on the table. There was a variety of fine dishes scattered around, and it instantly spiked my appetite. Alpha Cedar was waiting for us by the head of the table, his Beta standing right by his side. To my surprise, my mate's best friend was already there, but I couldn't quite comprehend her expression; she was tense, her eyes wide. When I turned around, I noticed Luke had the same look on his face.

The next second, she flew out of her chair in my best friend's direction, leaving us all perplexed.