Chapter 40 - 39. Overwhelming Emotions

A heavy silence had settled between them. Silver thought he had made the rounds of the unusual situations his son rushed headlong in. Still, hearing that Eden and his mate wanted to submit to an ancient ritual that is now prohibited shocked him. The leader of Bloodhood was well aware of what the legend said about the trial. He looked at Glen's face and before he even spoke the alpha answered him.

"I was the one who asked him. Eden and I, both know we are fated mates, but outsiders won't believe our words. After what happened today, I finally understood. They will try to challenge me or use more sly and treacherous ways to reach Eden. I don't want something to happen to him. "

Elma raised her hand to interrupt the young alpha. Her expression, like everyone else's except Connor and Greg, expressed his utter incomprehension.

"I'm sorry to butt in. I assume it's a pack discussion but this little guy here is like my son so, I'm going to tell you my thoughts. Why would you go to such lengths? You only have to mark him and they won't be able to do anything against you anymore. "

"I'm just a newcomer and I don't know much about werewolves and interactions between packs. However, since the day I came to Bloodhood territory, I feel like some packs are waiting for timeliness to launch an onslaught on us. From where I am, they are looking for loopholes in Bloodhood's strength. Ignoring their agitation would be the worst thing to do and the best strategy to fuel their animosity. They won't stop because I've marked Eden."

"Are you suggesting that we should justify the decisions we made in front of the other packs?"

Silver had asked the question in a disapproving tone. The alpha took great pride in his pack. He carried and embodied the legacy of the traditional pack with all the dignity it imposes, without ever being arrogant.

"I don't intend to justify anything. The Moon Goddess gave us the greatest blessing a werewolf can receive but they are trying to make a fuss. I just want them to admit their own defeat. "

"What if it's only a legend?"

"Then they will have to prove it." Eden had just answered.

The Omega who hadn't heard his mate's plan beforehand had fully understood his motives.

At first, puzzled at how this would force their enemy to confess defeat, the leader opened wide eyes before narrowing them to observe his son's alpha.

"That's a very snaky plan." Silver commented.

Confused, Elma looked between the two dominants and admitted her cluelessness.

"I don't get it. How is it a snaky plan? "

"Because to prove this is only a legend, they'll have to let one of their alpha get bitten by his omega partner. They must put the lives of their own heirs on the line if they are to deny that we are fated mates. " Eden replied.

The blond had understood very well what Glen wanted to do. With this plan, Bloodhood won't have to lift a finger to punish those who try to harm them.

"So, you guys are convinced it's not a legend?" The female alpha asked.

"It's not," Eden muttered. The omega was lost in his thoughts. He had spent so much time guessing what kind of ordeal he was going to have to go through to test his bond with his mate, and not for a second had the idea of ​​the omega mark occurred to him. The blond young man wasn't listening anymore. The system had asked him to challenge their link, but was that really what the Moon Goddess expected?

What if they're just going to do something dangerous? Outside of his intuition, nothing told him that this was indeed the solution. But if that was a test and not just a legend, it meant there was a real risk that his alpha would die if he didn't get their Goddess' protection before the next full moon. And even if they were successful, there was still the curse that would take his mate off in less than three months if they couldn't figure out how to break it. Was he going to lose his mate right after he finally has been accepted? Eden's eyes clouded over and a wave of panic washed over him.

A voice snapped the omega out of his thoughts. He looked up at Glen who was looking at him with concern. He realized that the alpha had wrapped him in his arms and released his pheromones to comfort him.

"Eden, are you…"

"Sorry. It's nothing. I'm just… "His eyes started to water again and he paused without finishing his sentence.

Seeing his face, the alpha understood what was bothering him and turned to the leader of Purple Eyes.

"A lot has happened today, I think we should rest. Is there anywhere we can rest for a moment? "

"Sure. Go to my residence. My daughter Norah is waiting for you, I just told her. Eden knows the way. "

"We will join you as soon as we have finished here, " Silver added, being careful to control even his voice to not trigger his son's worries.

The two werewolves bid their goodbye and walked away. Glen had taken his omega's hand and continued to slowly release his pheromones. Eden's expression exuded the same force as his father. However, he sensed something fragile that prompted the need to protect him. A cloud of smoke escaped the omega's parted lips every time he exhaled and his eyes wet from tears had reddened with the cold. The weather was freezing cold, but with their high temperature, neither of them felt embarrassed as they weren't going to be outside for long. They walked in silence, Glen continuing to steal glances from his omega.

They arrived at the alpha's residence which was a two-story villa in addition to the ground floor. The Troyes white facade was much more subdued than Glen had imagined given the dominant's colorful personality. They hadn't yet raised their arms to ring the bell when a tornado opened the door for them.

"He's here, Rafael, he's here!" A female omega with a scarlet red mane screamed inside the house for God-knows-who before grabbing Glen's hand and pulling him to her.

"We saw you at the stadium. It was so impressive. And when you've transformed and got rid of all those Grey Wolf pack traitors… Ahhhh " A shrill cry replaced the end of the sentence and the teenager fanned her own face to mimic her emotion.

The alpha not knowing how to react glanced at his mate who smiled weakly.

"Norah, I think you're scaring him."

"Oh, sorry. Sometimes I get carried away. " She said letting go of the dominant's hand, which immediately moved closer to his mate.

"Sometimes?"

The voice came from the stairs. Phoenix eyes with dark gray orbs, a heart-shaped face with soft, plump cheeks, and the same scarlet red hair but styled in a disciplined ponytail restrained by a black ribbon. Rafael Softmane went downstairs and joined his older sister Norah. The boy who gave off an aura of maturity despite his young age greeted Eden with a soft smile and gave Glen a polite nod.

"We have prepared a room for you. Mom told us you needed to rest? "

"Yes, and if it's not too much, I need a bath. I feel sticky after everything that happened." Eden explained with a shy smile, but frank.

Norah's face fell as she realized the state her friend and his mate were in. She wrinkled her nose and turned to her brother.

"Rafael, take them to the bedroom right away and… give them a bag to put their clothes in, please. I'll burn them." She said staring at a red stain on Eden's t-shirt. "I'll make you something to eat."

"No, Norah, that's nice, but don't bother ..."

"It wasn't a question," the girl replied stubbornly.

Eden surrendered with a smile and waited for the female omega to move away to follow her younger brother. The barely seven-year-old boy turned his back and started to walk forward, immediately followed by the two werewolves. They went up to the first floor and very quickly arrived at a door that Rafael opened before taking his leave.

Eden entered the room, unusually quiet. When Glen closed the door behind them, the omega already headed for the bathroom.

"I will have a bath."

"Wait, Eden. I… "

"Sorry I need to be alone…"

"No, you don't. Your pheromones are leaking and it's making me restless because I want but I don't know how to comfort you. Is it about the Omega's mark? We are fated mate I don't think we are risking anything. "

"That's not true!" Eden cut him off. His voice was shaking and Glen could hear the tears he was holding in. "There is a risk. We can't be sure nothing will happen and even without that ... "

Eden stopped and stared at Glen. He had to tell him if he want Glen to understand why he is acting this way He took a long breath and flicked up the screen. When the digital dashboard was in front of his eyes, he looked Glen straight in the eye.

"Share."

The alpha who couldn't understand the storm of emotions his mate was going through flinched when a screen popped up before his eyes. The light blue frame obstructing his field of vision was strangely familiar to him. The alpha then realized that it was this screen that had appeared in front of him the two times he had transformed.

"You can see it, can't you?"

Taken aback by the question, Glen was silent. He looked between Eden and the screen, unable to understand what was happening. He had always believed that this screen was a vision brought about by his transformation. He never thought it could be real let alone his mate could see it and even control it.

"When I woke up that day after my heat, this screen popped up with a message telling me that the conditions for me to access the system were finally met. I thought of a bad joke, an illusion. I thought it was anything but reality. I quickly realized that what I was seeing was true. "

He changed the screen and brought up his own data and let Glen read it.

"At first I was excited because the system told me I could get stronger using it regardless of being an omega and then I found out."

Eden changed the screen and displayed his mate's data. Glen's eyes scanned the screen to the last lines. When he read the last sentence and saw the countdown seconds ticking by, his face fell. He immediately turned to Eden and the words of the old woman he had met a few days earlier echoed in his head. Was all of this really a curse? Who could have wanted to curse him?

"I know you did well and that the option of me marking you is the best choice, both for us and for the pack. But if it's an ordeal it means that you are really at risk and even without it there's the curse and… "

Eden burst into tears and the dominant rushed towards him. Glen hugged the warm body shaken by tears against his chest.

After a few minutes enveloped in the pheromones of his alpha, the omega had finally calmed down. He had dried his tears and explained the whole situation to the Dominant, not missing any details. Whether it was the reason for his sleep or the quest where they were to challenge their bond, he left nothing behind. When he had finished, Eden raised his golden eyes to the medium ocean green irises which gazed at him.

"Can you display the part that talks about the quest?"

Eden obeyed and displayed the part which described his mate's curse. The alpha had received the news with more confidence than he expected.

"You're calmer than I thought you would be."

"I'm not. Truthfully speaking, I just want to rip apart whoever is trying to mess with me. But I have to discover who this bitch of witch is. Do you think we will get more information if we complete this first step as your system asked you? "

Eden simply nodded. Glen then stood, lifting him in his arms, and walked towards the bathroom. Startled, the omega wrapped his arms around the neck of his dominant. The alpha approached the tub and gently set Eden down on the ledge.

"I know you're afraid but I promised to do everything to never hurt you. It means that won't sit idly by and accept my death. So… "

He waved off his t-shirt and dropped it to the floor and placed his body between Eden's legs.

"Let's go through this together.. Please, mark me. "