My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 33

Jasper POV

"A Phoenix Wolf?" I arched an eyebrow at the woman, who had her piercing red eyes locked on me. "Am I supposed to know what the hell that means?"

"Sit down, My King..." I didn't miss Cordelia's mocking tone as she addressed me by my title. She didn't care much about werewolf hierarchy even after living among us for half a century, so I shouldn't expect her to take werecat tradition seriously. "You're in for a wild ride." Reluctantly, I did as she said, pulling out one of the chairs to sit in front of her at the desk. Andromeda stood right behind me, hands on both my shoulders to keep me calm. Judging by the way my friends all gathered around us, either the witch hadn't told them in detail about what she thought I was, or they simply wanted to witness my reaction to learning everything. I took the heavy book in my hands when Cordelia pushed it towards me, but before I could start reading it, she broke the silence. "As you know, your kind values strength, which is why the weakest wolves, the Omegas, are placed at the bottom of your society."

"I'm well aware." I showed her an ironic smirk. "You don't need to teach me about my own species."

"Just for contextualization," she clarified, glaring at me. s**t, I had forgotten just how scary this woman could be. "Legend has it that, in order to offer the Omegas a second chance to...rise from the ashes, your Goddess, Selene, created the Phoenix Spirit. Much like a counterpart, it is paired with a wolf's soul before they're even born. Since there's only one Phoenix Spirit, there can only ever be one Phoenix Wolf in the entire world at a time. Once the chosen one dies, the spirit is reincarnated into another werewolf." "Hold on a second." I lifted my gaze from the book to stare into Cordelia's eyes. "You're saying that this phoenix s**t can only happen with Omegas, right?"

"The Phoenix Spirit is only ever paired with Omega wolves, yes." She frowned, clearly displeased by my lack of concern about terminology.

"And whenever the person who has it dies, someone else inherits it, which means there's technically a new Phoenix Wolf every hundred years or so." "Precisely."

"How come have I never heard about such a thing then?" I folded my arms in front of my chest as I leaned back against the chair. By now, I was convinced she was wrong about whatever she thought I was, yet my nervousness didn't seem to fade away. "I mean, if there were Omegas ascending into these fire-spitting creatures all the time, I'm pretty sure everyone would be talking about it."

"Good observation." A smile spread over the black-haired woman's lips. "You see, the Phoenix Spirit is always alive inside of a wolf, but it is rarely awakened. The last registered case dates to almost a thousand years ago." "This makes no sense at all." I scoffed.

"Wait," my mate chimed in. There was a look of clarity and disbelief in her face. Was she actually believing this nonsense? "My mother said that the union of a wolf and a cat shifter hasn't happened in the last millennium. Could the two occurrences be related?" Cordelia's smile grew bigger as she nodded. "I strongly believe that. The Moon Goddess always plans her children's destinies carefully, although it's up to them to reach their full potential. The way I see it, Jasper is now following the plans the Goddess had for him, but he could have rejected his mate and continued to avoid growing up, thus never awakening the Phoenix Spirit inside of him."

My eyes immediately scoured the room for Caitlyn, only to remember she was in her room with her son, as I was reminded of one of our last conversations. On the night I met Andromeda, I was dead set on rejecting her because it seemed like the less humiliating path to take. If it weren't for my former Luna, I would probably have followed through with my terrible idea and failed Selene. I shook my head; there was no proof I was the protagonist in Cordelia's fantastic story yet.

"Let's say you're right..." My voice cracked as I struggled to get the words out. "How did I even awaken this crazy spirit bird? I mean, I've been mated with Andromeda for two months. Our bond was completed more than a month ago. If my mate is the reason why I somehow reached my 'full potential,' why did nothing ever happen until a few days ago?"

"You said you were defending your title as king when it happened, right?" Lance's voice echoed through the room. "Maybe because you were losing, it woke up as a last resort."

"That's not exactly how it works," Cordelia continued before her eyes landed on me again. "You probably would have never reached your full potential without your mate, but that's not a mandatory detail for the Phoenix Spirit to finally arise. Your mate is part of your destiny, obviously, but she has nothing to do with your special abilities, nor has your survival instinct. Do you know what a phoenix is?"

"A mythical fire bird," I replied plainly.

"But what is its essence?"

"Once it dies, it is reborn from its own ashes?" I arched an eyebrow at her, still struggling to understand what she meant - or maybe I was just in denial.

"Bingo." She snapped her fingers at me. "You were the lowest in the pack. A wolf with no name, abandoned by your own parents. The wolves who held higher ranks were constantly reminding you of how worthless you were until you believed it. You didn't excel at anything, and you were satisfied with that. You were pretty much a failure."

"Thank you for your kind words, Cordelia." I smirked again.

She rolled her eyes. "The point is, you hit rock bottom. You had no ambitions, no emotions. It's like you were dead inside, right?"

"Well, this is getting very personal, and miserable." When she kept staring at me, I knew she was waiting for an answer. I sighed before whispering, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Then, something changed. You suddenly didn't feel comfortable pretending to be worthless anymore. Only you know when that flame started burning." This time, I glanced at Sasha. There was no understanding in her eyes, probably because she had little memory of the night she stumbled into my room utterly drunk. However, I knew she was the one to ask me the question I should have been asking myself since the beginning. "As the days went by, it started burning brighter. Maybe replaceing your mate was an incentive for you to become... more. You slowly started believing in yourself. And when you were challenged, instead of giving up thinking you had no chance against a lynx, who was bigger and stronger than you, you refused to accept defeat. Against all odds, Jasper, you thought you could win. You were full of life again."

"You were reborn," Andromeda concluded, catching my attention. I was stunned to see her diamond eyes glistening with...pride? "That's how you awakened the Phoenix inside of you."

I swallowed dry as I stared at her, thoughtful. For the first time, the craziness I was being told seemed to make perfect sense. I closed my eyes, taking a moment to digest the idea. It was true, I had grown a lot in the past couple of months, mostly due to my mate. But it was still surreal to think I was...special.

No one was shocked when we learned about Lance being a bear hybrid; he was the strongest warrior in our pack despite being an Omega by blood. It's like we were already expecting him to be something greater. And Caitlyn... Well, she had always been smart and perceptive, not to mention her very accurate sixth sense. Learning that she was an Original wasn't farfetched either.

But me? No one expected Jasper Stray to be anything other than a laid-back manwhore. Everyone was already dumbfounded by me being destined to become king. And now this?

"Are you sure?" was all I managed to utter, my eyes filled with confusion as I glanced at Cordelia.

"Well, your wolf's name is Phoenix. Can't get any more straightforward than that." The Beta Female shrugged.

"Actually, that's just an ironic coincidence," the witch revealed before answering my question. "The alternative would be for you to be a pyromancer. For that, you'd have to be a witch hybrid, but considering that both your parents are pure wolves of Omega blood, I don't see how that'd be possible."

I ran my hands through my hair, yet it didn't ease my stress. A heavy sigh forced its way out of my lips as I analyzed the drawings in the book Cordelia had previously handed me. Despite how bad I wanted to research the topic, my mind was too hazy for me to read the words. Until I managed to collect myself, the witch was my only source of information.

"Alright. What can a Phoenix Wolf do then?"

"That's the fun part." She grinned.

***

"Well, shit." I rested my back against the wall, bringing both hands up to cover my face after I closed the door of our guest suite.

My head was a total mess after the meeting with Cordelia. Although I had gotten the answers I had been desperately searching for, it didn't bring me peace at all. Coming to terms with the fact that I was supposed to be the king of a werecat clan was already hard, but this? This was surreal.

Apparently, I possessed the ability to control fire. I should have the same affinity with the element as a pyromancer, although my wolf's outburst during the challenge suggested we had poor control over it. Cordelia said it was normal considering I had just discovered my newly awakened powers.

She also said I should be very careful until I learned to master my fire, because depending on Phoenix's emotions, we could go from causing minor burns with our bite, to causing a building to burn to the ground. And the fun part? Since it was so rare for a Phoenix Spirit to be awakened, there wasn't enough information on the extension of my powers.

"It's gonna be fine. You heard what she said, we just have to practice our abilities," my wolf chimed in.

"Sounds easy enough, right?" I couldn't contain an ironic laugh. "Do you know where to start? Because I sure as f**k don't!"

"We'll figure it out. We've been doing just fine until now." His tone was calm as he tried to balance my anger.

"I think 'fine' is one hell of a hyperbole!" I barked back.

My internal dialogue with my wolf was interrupted when Andromeda placed her palm on my chest, right over my rapidly-beating heart, making its rhythm slow down underneath her calming touch. As I lowered my arms, removing my hands from my face, my eyes immediately landed on hers. Staring into them intensified the calming effect she had on me. In a matter of seconds, I forgot about why I was restless in the first place.

"Why are you so stressed, My King?" My mate reached out for my face, her fingers leisurely caressing my light stubble. "Isn't it relieving to finally know who you are?"

"Should I be relieved to learn that I'm a f*****g timebomb?" I spat, cursing myself the moment Andromeda winced at my harsh words. I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She flashed me a sympathetic smile. "It must be hard. You've been going through a lot lately."

"It's not your fault though, Dree. You don't deserve my childish anger."

"Well, I did make it harder for you in the beginning." Pain struck her, and it made my heart throb.

"I made it harder for myself. It's what I've always done," I confessed shamefully.

"Until you stopped running away," she pointed out. "And it made you who you are. You heard what Cordelia said, most of the wolves who are born with the Phoenix Spirit fail to reach their full potential. You're amazing, Jasper." "Amazing?" I let out a sad laugh, pulling her hand away from me as I intertwined our fingers. "I don't see how that makes me amazing."

"Really? For a former Gamma, you don't seem quite brilliant now." She giggled before looking into my eyes again. "A king is supposed to be the strongest member of a clan. The one who can defend it against all threats. Those who can't eventually have their title stolen by outsiders. Despite how hard you were training, and your recent success at killing your first rogue, you would never be able to match another lynx king's strength."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, my dear mate." I joked.

"I'm serious. No matter how hard you wish to become something, you can't do anything about your physical limitations. Each of us can only go so far," she clarified, sincerity in her eyes. "But this...this changes everything. Your powers level the playing field. Hell, they might even make you stronger than any other king!" Her smile melted my heart. "It's gonna be a wild ride, but I'll be with you through every step of the way. I'll help you in any way that I can. Together, there's nothing we can't do, remember?"

It was impossible not to smile at her as I pulled her closer to me, allowing our noses to touch. "Hearing you say it like that makes me believe I'm actually special."

"Good. Because you are," she insisted. "And I'm lucky to have you by my side, My King." She slowly pressed her lips against mine, and I closed my eyes to get lost in our kiss.

Talking to my mate made me feel a lot more relaxed. Sure, my true nature was still scary, but I could now see it in a different light. We spent a few minutes just lying together in bed as I enjoyed the calmness that her presence brought me before it was dinnertime. Like in the old times, we joined the rest of my friends at the dining hall. A lot had changed in the past year, but at the same time, it seemed like everything was still the same.

Andromeda and I returned to the guest suite where we would be spending the night afterwards. After a day of revelations, I was ready to jump into bed and fall asleep in my mate's arms. However, just as we were about to take a shower to get ready for bed, I heard a knock on the door. I was confused to see Lance standing outside.

"Sorry to bother you man. I was wondering if you would like to join us for a run?." He smiled. "We don't know when the whole gang will be together again."

I turned around to glance at my mate, who quickly nodded, before replying. "Sure. I could really use a run right now."