My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 26

Andromeda POV "Everything alright?"

Once the message was over, I found my mate's concern-filled eyes on mine. As we laid on the mattress, still collecting ourselves after our intimate moment, he brought his hand up to my face. He gently traced my cheekbones and jawline with his fingers, until his thumb stopped at my bottom lip. A heavy sigh coming out of his mouth let me know his hunger hadn't been satisfied yet. As much as it annoyed me, I knew my obligations wouldn't allow us to spend more time together. I grabbed his hand in mine, pulling it closer to my chest to get his attention.

"Yes. I'll just have to leave for a moment." I slowly sat up in bed, careful not to reopen my wound. Although if it hadn't started bleeding after a rough s*x session, I doubt it would now. "The royal court has called a last-minute meeting that I must attend." "Would you like me to come with you?" He got up to stare into my eyes.

My ever-growing desire to have him near made me want to say yes. Deep down, I knew that wouldn't be the wisest answer though. Jasper was smart, but I doubt he was capable of understanding how grave the situation was. The clan's future queen had just been attacked; everyone would be hot-heated and pointing fingers simply to replace someone to blame. Allowing him to come would be like throwing him to the wolves - or in this case, to the lynxes.

"There's no need to." I forced a smile, leaning closer to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be back in a minute." He seemed a little disappointed, but he just nodded without arguing.

Before I could change my mind, I stood up and headed to the closet. Since the court had already been gathered, I probably wouldn't have time to take a proper shower without being constantly scolded by my mother for taking too long. It wasn't too bad, though; Jasper had made sure to clean my wound thoroughly, and I could easily mask the smell of s*x with a strong cologne.

After quickly styling my hair in an updo, leaving my prince's mark exposed, I chose a plain black, silk chiffon dress with an open back and a lace halter neck that covered my injury. As I was searching for the zipper, I heard footsteps behind me, followed by a hot breath on my shoulder. Without uttering a word, Jasper helped zip up my dress before letting his hand travel up my exposed back, sending shivers down my spine. He then grasped my waist, gently turning me around to face him. I noticed he had gotten dressed in his robe again.

"I'll be waiting to shower with you." He smirked, brushing his lips against mine.

"I'm looking forward to that," I replied with a chuckle, reluctantly pulling away from him to leave the room. The sooner I was done with this meeting, the sooner I would be back in his arms.

I rushed down the stairs and through the hallways until I arrived in front of tall black double doors. I pushed them open without ceremony, and as I took my first step into the room, all eyes fell on me. The royal court was composed of the king, the queen, her right hand, the team of huntresses, and two counselors. They were all female, except for my father, of course.

"Princess Andromeda." Adriana lowered her head at me. It was impossible not to notice how differently she behaved in the presence of my mother. "How's your recovery going so far?"

"Good. I'm certain my injuries looked far worse than they actually were," I reassured her with a nod.

"Now that my daughter is here, we may finally start," Mother announced as she took her seat. The rest of the court followed, including me. "As most of you are already aware, the Princess was attacked by a rogue male on her return from the hunt. According to her right hand's report though, she wasn't the target. Isn't that correct, Adriana?"

My best friend flashed me an apologetic look. She didn't want to put my mate in the spotlight, but she couldn't lie to my mom. "Yes, My Queen. It appears the rogue was after the Prince."

"Which is why he shouldn't have been allowed to come with us." I fought the urge to roll my eyes when I heard Laina's voice. To my surprise, Kindra remained silent, probably to appease her mate. "His unnecessary and reckless exposure caused our Chief Huntress to get hurt."

"It was my fault, My Queen." Calynn lowered her head in shame. "I sensed the rogue's presence before everyone else. I failed to understand he was coming for our Prince, and instinctively protected the Princess instead."

"You did the right thing. It is not your job to protect the future king, and Princess Andromeda wouldn't have to if he hadn't been there in the first place," Laina argued.

"His presence had a huge impact on the hunt, though." I was surprised when Alula spoke up. Being the youngest of the group, and fairly shy, she mostly just listened. "If it weren't for his strategy and initiative, we would have come back with seven times less food." "Huntresses!" My mother growled, causing them to immediately go silent. "We are not here to discuss Prince Jasper's participation in the hunt. There is a far more relevant issue we should be worried about."

"The attempted attack upon the future king of our clan suggests that the rumors about him not being a lynx are spreading...rather fast," Manaia, Mom's right hand and Adriana's mother, observed.

A sigh escaped my lips as I heard her words. I was aware of the attacker's intention from the start, and I knew very well what it would mean for my kingdom.

Cat clans are composed mostly of females, because males are extremely territorial and will often try to claim the king's title. A great majority of the young men of a clan are kicked out upon reaching adulthood, thus becoming rogues. They are often killed by other predators, such as bears, wolf packs, and even other rogues, in just a few months. However, until then, they will relentlessly try to attack another clan to dethrone their ruling leader and claim his crown. Only males mated to females in the clan, or those who are children of the royal court, are allowed to stay.

"It only makes sense." My father chimed in. "Everyone knows wolves rely on the strength of their pack. Desperate rogues certainly see him as an easy target."

"They are wrong," I spoke, unable to keep quiet as my anger rose. "My Prince is anything but weak."

"He held a high rank in his former pack, yes, but even an Alpha will hardly match a male lynx's strength. Concealing the truth won't do us any good." My mother's statement annoyed me, but her next words surprised me. "However, the Goddess has chosen him to be my heir's mate, and therefore the leader of our clan. Although we might not understand her reasoning yet, her wishes are to be respected," she commanded. No one dared refute her. "What we must do now is prepare ourselves. It is likely the rogues will grow braver and attempt to sneak into our territory for a chance to claim Snow Pelt."

"Your Majesty." Kindra bowed her head as she finally joined us. "I would like to suggest that Prince Jasper remains in the territory, where it's safer, for the time being. As a preventive measure."

"He is your future king, not a prisoner!" I glared at her. She tried to stare at me for a few seconds, but in the end, she couldn't defy my authority. "I will not keep him locked inside of the castle."

"You have a point, Kindra. However, I must remind you; hiding him away would only fuel the rumors by proving the Prince is weak." Yet again, my mother took me by surprise. "Prince Jasper is to roam freely, but from now on, the Huntresses Team will be in charge of protecting him from other males."

"And leave the Princess vulnerable?" The oldest huntress argued.

"As Chief Huntress and future queen, my daughter is more than capable of defending herself, as she has proved today. Besides, she will never be targeted by a rogue. Clan-less males will do everything in their power to conquer her. Eliminating her is the opposite of their interest."

"Yes, My Queen." I almost sighed in relief when Kindra admitted defeat.

For the next hour, we continued to discuss our course of action to confront the current situation. By the time the court was dismissed, my head was pounding. As I made my way back to the Princess' Chambers, I tried to think of how I would pass the information on to Jasper. I didn't want to bombard him with such harsh facts as he was just starting to replace his confidence, but I also knew I couldn't keep it from him. Most of the precautions we had decided to take were temporary; in the long term, we would have to tackle the issue head on.

As I finally stepped into the room, I expected to replace my mate still drowning in guilt. When his eyes landed on me, seeing a fiery determination in them was a welcomed surprise, though it also left me confused. What had changed in my absence? Jasper POV

***

I couldn't possibly know with precision what the court needed to discuss, but I wasn't stupid. It was pretty straightforward. There had been an attack, in which the future queen got injured. They surely needed to study the details, ponder on whether this had been an isolated case, or if there could be more to follow. My experience led me to believe that nothing was ever as simple as the first option.

Once my princess left, I was bored out of my mind, and overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt I just couldn't shake, I decided to spend my time analyzing the attack myself. During my time as Gamma, I had to study about all of our allies, their characteristics, their history. Much like most werecat clans, Snow Pelt had few enemies. Because they were rarely at war, what Diamond Tempest offered them in exchange for an alliance was a monthly supply of food. Although I couldn't scratch out the possibility of this being the beginning of an organized attack against the kingdom, it seemed highly unlikely.

Then, there was the fact that the male lynx jumped straight at me. It was obvious I was his target, but why? He could have taken me as an easy prey, since even the strongest wolves would have trouble taking down a werecat on their own. It didn't make a lot of sense, though. It was too much of a risk for him to go for a wolf surrounded by a group of huntresses. It also sounded foolish, considering it'd be a lot easier for him to just steal one of the carcasses we were carrying. Besides, I was more inclined to think he had a deeper motivation to come for me; after all, trouble seemed to follow me wherever I went.

My eyes widened as it finally dawned on me. The male must have realized I was the future king, and he thought it would be an opportunity to steal my title, my princess, and my clan. Of course! How could I not have realized it sooner? Well, maybe because I didn't expect the rumors to start spreading so soon. The clan hadn't even formally announced me as their Prince yet. Still, it was the only answer to my question.

The excitement of figuring the situation out on my own only lasted a second before I was overwhelmed by a feeling of impotence. My insecurities also kicked in as I realized the huntresses were probably trashing me to the queen, blaming me for causing Andromeda to get hurt. If I was truly right...what could I even do to turn the tides?

"Maybe the queen is right. You should start behaving like the king you are supposed to be," Phoenix chimed in.

"Just a few months ago I was a stray with no ambition. I'm sorry if I can't think like a f*****g leader all of a sudden." I scrunched my brows at him.

"That's the point though. You were used to living without goals, but you don't have that luxury anymore. Find your desire to become more, and feed it." "I'm not sure I have said desire."

"Yes, you do," he insisted. "You were born with it. All your life you were scared that the fire inside of you would get you burned, but you have to embrace it."

"You mean I should believe I can achieve something impossible, such as becoming as strong as a lynx?" I scoffed.

"It's only impossible if you believe it to be."

At first, I thought he was insane. But for some reason I couldn't even understand, his words made sense to me. They awakened the embers inside of my chest. A while ago, I had no problem being invisible, but now it bothered me. It bothered me to be weak. I wanted to be the strong mate my princess deserved. And most importantly, I wanted to be strong for me.

The second I heard the door open, my eyes instinctively searched for Andromeda. Whether she could feel it through our bond or see it in my face, she seemed confused by my sudden determination. To be honest, so was I.

"Is something wrong?" Her voice was full of concern.

I immediately stood up from the bed and rushed to her encounter. "Yes. A lot of things. And I'm ready to start fixing them."

"Okay?"

"The meeting. It was about me, wasn't it?"

She hesitated. "Kinda. I actually wanted to talk to you-"

"I know. I'm weaker than you."

"That's not-"

"I'm weaker than everyone in the clan. There's no denying that." I could tell she wanted to argue with me, but she wanted to let me talk. "But I want to prove my strength. As the King." I took a step forward, staring deeply into her eyes. "As your mate." "Jasper..."

"Let me train with the huntresses," I spat, further confusing her. "I wanna be as strong as they are, no matter how hard I have to work for it."

A proud smile lit up her face. "Well, the males usually spar separately, but...I'll see if Adriana can train you in secret."

"Thank you, my princess." I wrapped my arms around her waist as I pulled her closer to me. She laughed a little, shaking her head. "What?"

"I truly wish I could know how your mind works."

I couldn't help but laugh with her. If she only knew I was still figuring that out as well...