My Mate Is An Omega
Chapter 50

Lancaster POV

Never before did my beautiful mate hug me so tight. She had her arms wrapped tightly around my waist, her delicate face resting on my chest as we stood in the middle of the room. I placed one of my hands on the back of her head, pressing her closer against me, while the other gently rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see the first stars light up the sky. The sun had just set, and I knew everyone was waiting for me. "Just one more minute," Caitlyn pleaded as if she could read my mind.

"I have to go, beautiful," I hesitantly reminded her, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. It took all of my strength to push her slightly away from me. My fingers instinctively moved to her cheek, inviting her to look at me. The sadness in her bright hazel eyes broke my heart. "The sooner I go, the sooner I can return. Once the situation is dealt with, I'll come right back into your arms, and there will be nothing else in our way. I promise you."

She stared at me for a while longer just to lengthen our time together. In the end, she took a deep breath, holding her head up high; she gave in to her Luna instincts, realizing the pack should come first. The warriors were ready to get their revenge against the creatures who brutally murdered their friends and family. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't moved by my hatred anymore. Instead, my love spoke louder; I wanted to protect my fiancée and return safely to spend the rest of my life with her.

With fingers intertwined, we made our way downstairs. The two fox leaders, as well as the lynx queen, were waiting in front of our multispecies army. Although Alpha Cedar couldn't be present, he had sent us fifty of his warriors according to the deal we had previously made. The wolves from Ninebark had been living with us for almost a month now, and they would stay for another thirty days as a safety measure. However, I hoped they wouldn't be necessary after tonight.

"Chief Zorro. Chief Kiara. Queen Nymeia." My Luna nodded at the other leaders, who promptly returned the gesture. She had grown so much in such a short time. I still had doubts about my skills to be an Alpha, but she seemed to have been born for her new position. "Thank you for joining us."

"Of course. This is the moment we have been waiting for," Nymeia replied sternly.

"Though we, foxes, are mostly peaceful, we recognize this is the only way to keep ourselves safe," Kiara observed, exchanging glances with Zorro. Their skulks had been allies for the past few years, after their species began to rise again. Since then, they had been struggling to defend themselves from the bears.

"Everyone ready to go?" I asked, taking a look at the soldiers in formation.

"Yes. The teams have been organized, and they're just waiting for our command," Zorro informed.

It was time. My gaze fell on Caitlyn one last time as I squeezed her hand tightly, showing her a calming smile. She eventually did the same, appearing slightly more relaxed. It gave me enough strength to take a few steps forward, eyeing every single of the shifters in the crowd.

"Wolves, foxes, lynxes..." I addressed them in a firm, clear tone. "Tonight, we will unite to finally put an end to the killing. We have lost countless lives to our common enemy, and it's time for payback!"

Roars and battle cries of agreement broke through the silence. I gave the army the command to shift and march forward, and though the foxes and cats had been instructed to follow me, they still waited for their respective leaders' orders to obey me. In the blink of an eye, millions of pieces of fabric floated in the air as powerful beasts took the places of their humans. As soon as Atlas was freed, he turned around to take one last look at our mate.

"I'll be waiting for you," Caitlyn's sweet voice echoed inside our head. My light brown wolf nodded at her with determination before howling and rushing to the front to lead the army.

We slowly marched out of Diamond Tempest's territory, trying to make as little noise as possible. It was hard for our large group not to draw too much attention, but if we managed to sneak in, it would give us a huge advantage. After Cordelia discovered the exact location of their hideout, we sent a few scouts to check the area. Thanks to them, we found out that the bears usually went to sleep right after sunset, and that they didn't have guards at the entrance of the cave. They probably didn't expect to be attacked; lucky for us, bears were mostly muscle and no brains.

Atlas stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he spotted the cave. The shifters behind us did the same; we had discussed our strategy many times, so they knew to proceed with caution. As expected, there didn't seem to be any bears outside guarding the area. Just to be sure, my wolf lifted his nose, sniffing the air a few times. The whole place reeked of the filthy creatures, but the scent would be stronger if they were nearer. With a curt nod, we commanded our army to follow us.

After taking a few steps over the cold, rocky ground, my eyes landed on three huge sleeping beasts. I had to hold in a growl as a deep hatred filled my heart, but not for the reason I had expected. Of course, I still wanted to avenge Dario, but nothing would bring him back - it was the living I was the most concerned about. As I watched those abominable creatures resting peacefully without a care in the world, all I could think about was the threat they represented to my pack. To my mate. And I would do it for her.

Exactly like we had planned, three lynxes went ahead while we waited. Werecats were known for being nimble-footed and having the most individual strength out of the entire paranormal world. It was impressive to witness them in action; the sleeping bears had their throats slashed before they even opened their eyes, and they bled to death within seconds. However, the commotion finally seemed to wake the others. Atlas' fur bristled, our sharp claws grazing against the hard floor as we prepared ourselves for combat. Our loud howl echoed through the cave, followed by the different sounds of the critters that composed our group. At the first sight of angry pairs of yellow and red eyes in the darkness, advancing in our direction, we didn't hesitate. Atlas rushed forward with our Beta right beside us - it was time to replace out if our strategy was really going to work. The bear tried to swat at us with its huge paw. We quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the blow; they were strong, but their movements were usually slow. We kept going, sinking our teeth into the beast's right leg, using all of our strength to pierce its rough skin. It let out a furious growl, but before it could try to get rid of us, King closed his jaws around its other hind paw. Securing the enemy in place was only the first part of our plan. Soon enough, Chief Zorro's black and orange fox swiftly climbed onto the bear, easily getting to its neck. Foxes weren't the strongest shifters, but they were definitely the fastest, and their small size made it harder for them to be hit. The leader used its sharp fangs to pierce the creature's scruff, forcing it to instinctively throw its head back, thus exposing its neck. It offered the lynx Queen easy access to the jugular; since werecats had stronger jaw power, their massive canines could easily penetrate the bear's hide. In a quick movement, Nymeia ripped off a chunk of the creature's throat. By the time it fell to the ground, it had already been drained of its life.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as Jasper, Sasha, Chief Kiara, and one of the best lynx huntresses took down another one of the bears in the exact same way. The other teams didn't seem to be having any problems either. Slowly, the loud roars of our enemies started to die down, being suppressed by our army's barks, growls, and hisses.

The strategy we worked so hard to create was working.

One by one, we kept eliminating the bears, who barely had a chance to retaliate. After months of watching my kind die by their filthy paws, it was relieving to watch them perish right before my eyes. The more Atlas tasted the blood of our enemies, the more our rage grew. His hunger for revenge became dire; I had to fight for control, refusing to let the beast inside of me completely take over. I promised Caitlyn I would come back home to her, and I couldn't afford to be blinded by rage.

The crimson liquid dripped from our light fur. I blinked. Caitlyn. Atlas licked his lips, ravishing the metallic taste of blood. I huffed. Caitlyn. Another bear down, and another, and another. Caitlyn, Caitlyn, Caitlyn. My mate, my fiancée, my reason for living. This was all for her. Nothing else would ever stand in our way, threaten our happiness.

"It's over," my best friend's voice inside my head suddenly made me stop. As I stood on top of a bear, I turned around to replace King standing a few feet behind me, with Pearl by his side - I could swear Megan's wolf was pearly white, but now her fur was completely scarlet. "There are no more bears here. Not alive, anyway," he informed me.

I finally allowed myself to take a look around, Atlas' green eyes scanning the dark environment. Luke was right; there should be around a hundred corpses, most of which were bears. I recognized a few of our warriors lying cold on the ground as well. It pained me for a second, but I tried to focus on the fact that it seemed we had way less losses than expected. The time to mourn the fallen ones would come, but now, it was time to celebrate. A proud, triumphant howl echoed in my wolf's throat.

We had won.

***

Caitlyn POV

Time couldn't go by any slower. Even as a pup, I had always been patient - it was one of the reasons why my mother says I never gave her any trouble growing up. However, as I sat on my chair in the Alpha's office, staring blankly out the window and tapping my fingers on the desk to count the seconds, waiting felt like torture. It was just my luck that all of my friends were warriors, so I had no one to talk to and distract myself.

"You have me," Faye reminded me, slightly offended. Due to my anxiety, I seemed to forget wolves were never really alone; we always had our counterparts to guide us, help us, comfort us. But did it really count when we were technically two halves of the same soul? "Of course it counts!" She scoffed before sighing. "I am just as worried as you are, but our mate is strong, and they're surrounded by skilled warriors. We even helped them prepare their combat strategy to make sure we would be at an advantage. They will be okay." "I know. But it doesn't help to just sit here and wait," I confessed, finally rising from my seat. "I wonder if we should have gone with them."

"We're not fighters, Cait. We would only cause them trouble." She was right. I might have been given the Luna title, but I was still an Omega. I wasn't strong enough to fight. "It has nothing to do with blood or rank. We just have other strengths, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's more than one way we can help; we already have."

Again, I could notice the truth in her words. The habit of constantly putting myself down was one I couldn't completely let go off, and it always came back when I was feeling stressed or insecure. I had to remind myself of how much Lance and I had contributed to Diamond Tempest's ascension, despite us both being Omegas without proper training. Even if I didn't have the desire to become a warrior, I had the determination to help my pack. "Among other qualities," she chuckled.

"Luna." An unfamiliar voice inside my head made me stiffen, but I soon realized it should be one of our Sentinels. "Our warriors have just returned home."

A gasp left my lips. "Thank you," I finally replied after taking a while to process the information. My heart was throbbing in my chest as I rushed to the door, but I stopped abruptly as soon as I stepped outside. "And thank you, Faye." "You'll always have me, girl. Quite literally," my she-wolf observed. "Especially if you have tequila." I had to laugh at her remark.

I climbed down the stairs as fast as I could, almost tripping a few times in my rush. After spending so many months together, it was actually painful to be away from my mate, especially when I knew he was in a dangerous situation. My mind was racing a million miles a minute, making my vision blurry as I beelined towards the town square. Lance. Lance. Lance. He was all I could think about.

And when I finally laid eyes on him, my heart almost stopped.

I forgot about my Luna etiquette lessons for a moment as I ran in his direction. He was already wearing one of the robes that were distributed by the Omegas to the homecoming warriors, but he was still covered in blood. I didn't even care about it though; all of my concerns disappeared the second I noticed his bright smile as he welcomed me into his arms. His bear hug was strong enough to force the air out of my lungs, and I loved it. I needed him as close as possible.

Lance gently pushed me back, devouring me with his hungry green eyes before pressing his lips against mine. A pleasant moan escaped my mouth, and he happily captured it with his own, a low possessive growl reverberating in his throat. He kissed me like we hadn't seen each other for days. When we pulled away, I realized the whole pack was silently surrounding us. My Alpha intertwined our fingers and he looked around, a fierce expression on his face as he rose his fist into the air.

"We won!" he announced triumphantly, and the crowd erupted in cheerful howls.