My Mate Is An Omega
My Mate Is A Virgin Chapter 34

Andromeda

POV

Joining my king's friends for a run was interesting. I thought I would have gotten used to the creatures after not only living with them for a month, but also being mated to one of them. However, I don't think I would ever be capable of fully understanding them; they were too different from me. Whereas lynxes were calm, poised and calculating, wolves were loud, hyperactive and goofy - not in a bad way though. They had a carefree nature us cats would never be able to master.

It was also amusing to witness how the pack dynamic works firsthand. Even though I had spent quite some time in their land, I never had the chance to accompany them in one of their many rituals. I had joined my mate for countless runs, but it was always just the two of us. Watching Phoenix interacting with his old family warmed my heart. Despite him not being magically tied to Diamond Tempest anymore, his bonds remained; the other wolves still loved, respected and cared for him. Considering how frail the ties in cat society were, I knew it was another thing we would never understand.

Thankfully, I had my wolf mate with me to teach me a few of his kind's secrets.

After the run, we returned to the guest suite and fell asleep almost immediately. The next morning, I woke up before Jasper. As I laid beside him with my face on his chest, comforted by his embrace, I shifted slowly in his arms, lifting my head up to look at him. I didn't usually get an opportunity to watch him sleep, and I surely wouldn't miss this one.

The first thing I noticed was how much more relaxed he was in comparison to the previous evening. His chest barely moved with each serene breath he took, his heart playing a calm, warming melody as it beat right underneath my ear. It was hard to resist the desire to bring my fingers up to his gorgeous face and trace every line of his peaceful expression. Sadly, I couldn't admire my king for long, as his pale blue eyes slowly opened up, immediately landing on me.

"You have such a beautiful smile, My Queen. What a wonder it is to wake up to it." Jasper tightened his grip around me, pulling me up just enough to plant a long kiss on the top of my head. His fingers running up and down my arm sent shivers down my whole body. "No smart remarks today?" I chuckled. "My, you truly are in a good mood, eh?"

"How could I not be? I just woke up next to the loveliest woman in the world."

"You do everyday, yet I don't recall ever seeing you this untroubled," I quickly pointed out as I snuggled into his chest. "I'm glad that spending time with your friends helped relieve some of your stress."

"I suppose the run did have a very positive effect on me," he finally confessed.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as a melancholic thought crossed my mind. "I wish you could feel as much at home in our kingdom as you do here."

"Hey." He brought his hand to my chin, forcing me to look back at him. "My home is wherever you are. I told you this before, but I don't mind repeating it as many times as I have to, okay?" The sincerity in his eyes made all of my doubts go away. "And I do feel at home in Snow Pelt, by the way. I sure as hell didn't in the beginning, and I have yet to get used to a few of cats' customs, but that's part of the adaptation process. I will figure it all out...as soon as I'm done making sense of the whole 'phoenix' shit." "You make it sound like it's an awful thing." I rolled my eyes at him. "Goddess forbid you replace out one of your abilities is immortality or some s**t!"

"Now, that'd be terrible indeed. My endless days would be spent in utter misery once I didn't have you by my side anymore," he joked. Well, kind of - there was a hint of true fear in his eyes. But it soon vanished as he brought his face closer to mine to kiss my lips. "Are you ready to tell my mother?" I whispered.

"That's something I'm actually looking forward to. I'm sure she'll be more excited about it than any of us."

"Excited? I have yet to witness her display any sort of emotion." I laughed. "Though she has always been quite fond of you for some reason."

"I'im not surprised, honestly." He shrugged, and if I didn't know him well, I might have believed he was being serious. "Of course the former queen wouldn't fail to recognize how awesome I am."

"Alright, player." I waved him off as I rolled away from him. "Go pack your stuff and get dressed. We'll be leaving soon."

"Your wish is my command, My Queen." He smirked.

About thirty minutes later, we were both ready. The Snow Pelt guards who had come with us were right outside the door, waiting to take our luggage to the car. Once they left, we headed downstairs to meet the ranked members of Diamond Tempest in the dining hall for our last meal together before it was time to hit the road.

I had to admit, it felt good being around them. From the day I was born, I was raised to become a queen; I had to act like a queen, behave like a queen, talk like a queen. Since I was a kitten, I wasn't allowed to display emotion in public or lower my head for a single second. It was annoying and stressful at first, but it soon became natural. Still, it was nice to have an opportunity to just let loose for once in my life.

It was easy to notice how comfortable my mate felt here, but I hadn't yet noticed that this place and these people were slowly becoming my own safe haven, too.

When time came for us to say goodbye, Jasper wasn't the only one with a tight heart. His friend, Sasha, whom I had finally had the pleasure to meet, was getting ready to leave with her Alpha as well, and Lancaster made sure to accompany us four to our respective cars. The hybrid leader was holding his pup close to his chest with an arm, while the other one was wrapped around his Luna's waist. The Beta couple was right behind them, along with the new Gamma.

"Once again, thank you for coming." Lance smiled at us. "As leaders of your own families, I really appreciate you replaceing time off your busy routines to celebrate Oberon's birth."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Ninebark's Luna approached the pup, gently tickling his belly and causing him to wiggle a little in his father's arm. "Auntie Sasha will be back soon with a lot more gifts, okay?"

"You can try to bribe him all you want." My mate's characteristic playful smirk lit up his face. Sasha frowned the second her gaze landed on him. "Soon he will be old enough to pick a favorite relative, and we all know who that's gonna be." "Yes, me. Obviously." The woman scoffed.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Jasper provoked.

"You two haven't changed a thing, have you?" Caitlyn shook her head, stopping their bickering at once. I brought my hand up to my mouth in an attempt to hide my chuckles.

"What's so funny, My Queen?" I heard my mate's voice inside my head and immediately rolled my eyes at him.

"You are." I closed our connection before turning my attention back to the Alpha and Luna. "Thank you for your hospitality, Lance. Cait." I nodded at them. "And congratulations again."

"Please, it was our pleasure, Dree. You and Jasper will always be welcome here," the Luna assured us.

After properly saying goodbye to everyone, the guards opened the doors of the limousine for me and their king. We had an amazing - and very enlightening - time at Diamond Tempest, but we were both ready to head back home. I held my mate's hand throughout the entire ride, and I was relieved to realize he was more confident about who he was. Jokes aside, I could only imagine how scary it was for him to learn about his abilities in such a sudden way.

"Sudden? Our king has always been hotter than hell. I'm not surprised he can control fire." Genevra huffed just as a Cheshire-cat grin played on her lips. "I am curious to know what he can do with it though..."

"You dirty lynx!" I accused. But I couldn't deny the way the images she projected to me made my insides burn with desire.

"Your thoughts are the same as mine, Dree. Don't try to hide it."

"Is something...wrong, My Queen?" Jasper's voice caught my attention, putting an end to my conversation with Genevra. As I turned to him, I noticed his eyes turning a more vivid shade of white. s**t! He could smell my arousal.

I cleared my throat. "Nothing, My King. I was just...thinking."

"Care to share those thoughts with me? They seem rather interesting." His husky voice made it hard for me to hold in a purr.

Just then, the door burst open, startling me. I hadn't even realized the car had stopped.

"Welcome back home, My Queen. My King." One of the guards bowed his head at us.

My mate and I exchanged glances, almost as if we were weighing our options. In the end, he sighed heavily, stepping out of the limo. Entering king mode, he held his head up high, his expression unreadable as he held his hand out to me. Flashing him one last smile, I mimicked his actions and took his hand. Arm-in-arm, we walked past the crowd of members who were waiting to receive us in front of the castle.

"Like I said, cats can be quite cold..." He whispered, still facing the entrance as the lynxes all bowed before us. "But it's impossible not to feel welcome here. Diamond Tempest is where I grew up, but my heart is now elsewhere. Snow Pelt is my home," he stated with such certainty that I almost lost my posture for a second. Then, he brought my hand up to his lips, causing sparks to explode inside me as he kissed it. It was all I needed to keep moving forward.

Once we entered the castle, we headed straight to the forum for a meeting with my mother. I told her we had found new information on Jasper's origins, but we all agreed it would be best to discuss the details in more privacy. As expected, she was already on her seat at the table when we walked past the double doors, with Adriana right beside her.

"Welcome home, My Queen. My King." My best friend stood up to greet us.

"I hope you had a safe trip, my daughter." The former queen bowed her head curtly.

"We did," I replied before turning to my mate, who nodded at me. "And we have news."

After taking my seat between my right hand and my king, I proceeded to repeat everything the witch had told us back at Diamond Tempest. The two of them listened carefully to the new information. Only when I was done, my mother's voice echoed through the

room.

"Fascinating." Her eyes glistened like never before. Like any cat, she was very fond of power. "My right hand and I have been reading the books in the royal library, but we didn't come across anything relevant. Are you sure this...witch, you mentioned is not mistaken?"

"Cordelia is roughly three hundred years old. She has managed to gather a lot of knowledge throughout her long life," Jasper assured her. "As absurd as it all sounds, I believe she's right." "Very well. Have you studied your next course of action?" She asked me.

"Yes. Like I mentioned, Cordelia insisted King Jasper should train in order to master his abilities."

"I'd be honored to be his tutor, My Queen," Adriana chimed in. "Although I don't know about the king's powers any more than you do, It would be my pleasure to research the topic and prepare the most adequate training schedule to make sure he progresses quickly." "Thank you, Adriana." My mate's smile denoted that he was well aware of my right hand's intentions; she had already been training him in secret, so this arrangement would work perfectly.

"I also believe it will be best to keep this a secret from the kingdom." I sighed. Even though we had already discussed the safety measures we would have to take, it still pained me to say it out loud. "From now on, King Jasper shall not participate in any of the hunts until he manages to fully master his powers, in order to prevent the information from spreading."

"Good." My mother seemed pleased. I was about to rise from my seat and end the meeting when she spoke again. "Andromeda. I don't think you need any help, but... if there is anything I can assist you with, please let me know."

Well, that was unusual. I fought the urge to arch my eyebrows and simply replied, "Of course, Mother."

"And King Jasper." My mate glanced at her immediately. "I am sure you will succeed at mastering your abilities, and that you'll put them to good use."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Mother. I will not fail you, nor my kingdom," he answered with determination.

Once we were out of the forum, we could afford to let our guard down a little. "You seem more confident now."

"It's impossible not to feel confident when I have such a powerful woman by my side." He smiled, sighing soon after. "I'm still a bit stressed about the whole thing, but I can handle it."

At that exact moment, an idea popped in my mind, and I beamed at him. "Maybe a date would help ease your tension? We haven't gone on one for a while."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, My Queen? You have a lot of work to do today. I do not wish to disturb you."

"Why are you being so f*****g formal? There's no one around us now." I laughed.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. I guess it's become a habit."

"Anyway..." I shook my head, still smiling. "We have a busy day ahead of us, yes, but we're free tonight."

"Do you have any plans?" He raised his brows with curiosity.

"I do, actually. Meet me at the gym before dinner." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, leaving him stunned as I rushed towards my office.

***

"Sparring is a good way to blow off some steam. Not sure it's fitting for a date though." As expected, Jasper was at our meeting spot on the time we agreed.

"We're not sparring," I whispered as I took his hand to drag him down the many hallways. "Where are we going then?"

"Shh! Be quiet!" I scolded him. Despite his confusion, he thankfully didn't ask any more questions.

As we approached the back of the stone building, he kept looking around the narrow corridors we crossed. He had never been in this part of the castle. There was nothing really relevant here; it was mostly the rooms of a few servants who worked inside the castle. He was even more bewildered when we stopped in front of a random bookshelf in a dead-end hall. Flashing him a wink, I carefully pushed the furniture to the side. The look on my mate's face when a secret entrance was revealed was priceless.

Noticing he was about to speak again, I brought my index finger to my lips, reminding him to stay silent. I took his hand once again, more gently this time, leading him down the stairway. It was a good thing that most shifters had great night vision, because there wasn't a single light down the steps. At the end of our brief dark journey, we reached a wooden door.

"Welcome to my secret hiding spot!" I chanted, breaking the silence as I pushed the door open.

A loud, fascinated gasp escaped my mate's lips as he took a few slow steps into the peculiar room. With only three walls and a fully open square where the fourth one should be, it was more like a chamber sculpted into the rock. Since the castle had been built by the edge of a cliff, a mesmerizing view laid before us; the snowy mountains underneath us, and the starry skies above us. I had also gone the extra mile and decorated the room with candles, as well as a short table and plates with fine food I had ordered specially for our date, but it could barely compete with the view for my mate's attention.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

He turned to me in awe. "What is this place?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I read that it was once supposed to be one of the cells for a dungeon, back when they were still building the castle. They apparently suspended the project when they realized carving the walls here could weaken the structure and cause the building to collapse." I made a brief pause, placing a hand on one of the cold stone walls as memories flooded back into my mind. "One time, while I was sneaking away from one of my many etiquette lessons, I came across the secret passageway. I used to come here all the time when I was younger, whenever I felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities."

The wild howled, catching my attention. The breeze flew through my golden hair, drawing me towards the landscape I had spent so many hours admiring in the past. I walked past my mate to stand right by the ledge, breathing in the cold night air. "Please, be careful, My Queen." Not even a second later, Jasper snaked his arms around my waist, holding me tightly. "Although phoenixes are birds, I'm not sure if flying is one of my hidden abilities."

A smile spread over my lips as I rested my hands on his arms, forcing him to loosen up his grip around me. "Just relax and feel the wind. Take in the view," I instructed him.

He was hesitant at first, but after taking a few deep breaths, he finally seemed to calm down. I slowly opened my arms, showing him what to do. He quickly followed me, his hands moving up my body to slide down my arms. They stopped right behind mine as he mimicked my pose. When I felt his chest inflating against my back as he inhaled deeply, I could tell he was finally letting go.

"It's truly beautiful, and...liberating," he whispered at last.

"I know, right?" I carefully turned around to face him, our lips mere inches away from each other. "This used to be my safe place. Somewhere I could go when I wanted to run away from the world." Relaxing, I let my hands wrap around his neck. My fingers easily found their way into his smooth, fiery hair. Staring into his pale blue eyes, I continued. "It can be yours too."

He pressed his forehead to mine as he smiled against my lips. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

The next moment, his mouth crashed against mine, and I could see colorful fireworks exploding around us even with my eyes closed.