Chapter 70 - 69. Stranger

The legend of the original pack. The founding myth of the werewolves race. Of course, like all his kinds, Eden had learned it from an early age. Even Glen who hadn't grown up in his pack knew this story which tells how wolves had been blessed by the Moon Goddess for their acts of war and loyalty to a human tribe. They acquired human souls and the ability to transform.

Even though it was something they had learned, like everyone else, they had never sought to confirm the truth.

The Omega was turned to the Soul Healer, whose face was indecipherable. He knew the old werewolf had no reason to tell him this story if it wasn't the truth. Eden searched deep in her eyes for clues of what the truth would change for his pack.

The wind picked up, chasing a cloud in the sky that had taken on a dark blue hue. An almost full moon lit up the forest. The werewolf turned away and was about to resume walking when her body suddenly froze. She barely had time to turn around and the scene unfolded in slow motion.

Connor pushed the young werewolf back with a blow to his heart plexus. The strength of the blow startled the Omega. He didn't understand immediately why the agent was suddenly attacking him. He hovered a short distance before regaining control of his body.

Eden stretched out his chest and landed with his legs bent on the ground, one hand supported to stabilize himself.

When he looked up to hold Connor to account, he saw the man facing a half-transformed Glen.

Sharp fangs and claws extended to the alpha whose face was partly covered in fur glared at the man that prevented him from approaching his omega which called him out. He felt it.

"W-What the… Why?"

Glen threw up his hand to claw at the agent, but the agent parried. Connor jumped up to catch the werewolf off guard before his arm was in position to strike him properly. Arms crossed above his head, he blocked the claws that never fell down and, with the momentum, he took support the thigh of the alpha and knocked his chin with a blow.

The Dominant took several steps back before regaining his balance just as Connor landed on the ground after a somersault. With a gesture, the agent pulled out the cinquedea he had hidden, blade down, edge pointed at the werewolf and assumed a defensive stance.

"I beg you, don't make me use this against you."

Eden looked at the two friends who were facing each other and his eyes met those of his mate. A violent headache suddenly gripped him as the system bell rang. He winced in pain as he started losing control. His body quivered and Eden put one knee on the ground. He lifted his head to the moon that was already roaming the winter sky and gasped, eyes wide.

"Eden, no! Please, control yourself !! "

Too late. An explosion of pheromones dispersed in the space around them. Completely bewildered by what was to happen, the werewolf was paralyzed in place.

When the scent reached the alpha, his pupils dilated. He took a deep breath in the enticing and intoxicating pheromones of his mate, and the second after, his limbs dislocated with a violence that made him scream. Glen shifted and a black and white wolf defied Connor with his green gaze. The agen's eyes were going back and forth between his friend and Eden who was on all fours on the ground.

"Do something! Calm him down!"

The old werewolf came out of her torpor and rushed towards Eden to shake him by the shoulders.

Inside the male omega's head, the system's ring had transformed into a shrill noise that made his eardrums vibrate. The Omega wasn't even in his right mind enough to read his system messages, but at least one thing was certain, his alpha's bloodlust had activated. 

In increasingly intense waves, Eden released his pheromones in a desperate call intended for his alpha. His arms began to shake and soon all strength was gone. He was about to fall, his face first on the ground when the Soul Healer barely caught up.

She hugged Eden who was panting heavily. Despite the cold, his skin was hot. The old werewolf deployed her pheromones to mask the scent of Eden's, and try to calm the alpha who was losing all reason because of it, but the attempt had the opposite effect.

When he smelled another Dominant wrap his omega in his pheromones, the Alpha lost what little sanity he had left.

Without worrying about Connor anymore, he ran towards Eden. The agent clicked his tongue and resigned himself to attack Glen who had just passed him. He turned and threw his knife which stuck right in one of the two-tone wolf's hind legs, right on the ligament between the heel and the shin. The alpha collapsed to the ground and a howl rose from  how maw as the tissue was burned by the wolfsbane contained in the blade.

Despite the pain, the alpha limped up with a soft whimper to walk towards his mate. It was stronger than him. All his instincts told him to. He needed him.

The Soul Healer gulped.

"Goddess, is that the trial you put your children through? Please, don't let him claim the boy! Protect them! " She pressed the omega's head to her chest and waited helplessly for the alpha to come near them.

Connor pulled out a new dagger and was about to throw it when he parried a stroke of an unknown opponent with his forearm. The attack wasn't strong, but it was enough to distract him and, when he turned back to Eden, the black and white wolf was already in front of him. The agent tried to rush towards Glen without caring about his attacker, when a woman stepped in front of him, arms outstretched to block his way.

"Don't interrupt the ritual!"

"I won't say it twice! Move! " He spat, angry.

"The more you try to pull them apart, the worse it will be! The Warrior is marked, isn't he? "

Connor didn't listen to her words and tried to force his way through, but the woman was quick and blocked his way. Once again, the agent feigned and managed to find a loophole. He started to rush but stopped dead suddenly.

A few steps away, the two-colored wolf had just laid down on the ground a few inches from Eden without attacking him. Moans of pain lifted his chest and Connor's heart sank. The blonde pulled himself out of the Soul Healer's embrace and dragged his body to cover the short distance between him and his mate. The omega's arms were too small to wrap around the gigantic wolf, but Eden tightened his grip around the coat and closed his eyes, appeased.

When he felt his mate against him, the wolf calmed down too.

Connor's arm dropped and he released the breath he was holding. He put his knife away and took a step towards Glen. The stranger's hand rested on her shoulder and the agent paused without bothering to turn to her.

"This is the second time you've touched me. Many have died after just one attempt. I will say it nicely because you have kept me from hurting a friend who is very precious to me, but this will be the last time. Back off. "

The young woman flinched, taken aback by the threat she felt emanating from Connor. She had felt his nature identical to her, just as she had seen the power of his aura. She bit back her questions and withdrew her hand.

The agent made it to Glen and bent down to immediately remove the blade from the wolf's paw who didn't react violently. He looked at the blond hugging the huge wolf, his chest rising and falling along with his breathing.

Connor didn't understand what had just happened. What had calmed Glen down? Was it Eden? Yet he was convinced that the alpha was about to attack him because of the pheromones that had suddenly exploded. He turned to the grey-haired werewolf who was sitting on the ground a few feet away from the couple.

"Explain what happened! Did you know this was going to happen? "

The Soul Healer's utterly lost look answered his question and the agent heard the stranger's footsteps getting closer.

"It's the effect of the moon. The mark is challenging them. The seizures will grow stronger until the evening of the full moon. The omega won't stop asking his mate for his mark and the alpha will have to control himself each time to not give in. Keeping them apart is the worst thing to do. They have to find a way to… " She looked down at the couple on the ground and the words stayed stuck in her throat. Her fist clenched and her eyes exuded anger.

"She cursed him. She cursed the warrior of the Goddess! " She had yelled and turned to the Soul Healer whose head snapped at the stranger and met his reproachful gaze.

"How could you have neglected your role as a guardian? The Warrior is cursed! " The woman had suddenly lost her temper. "You were supposed to protect and prepare the Warrior when he appeared. How is he supposed to protect the King from Her now that he's cursed? " Wrath could be heard in her voice which crackled as its volume increased.

"What are you telling ?" The old werewolf was taken aback by the behavior and the words of the young woman stood in front of her.

"Are you not even able to do your duty and be there to help them properly during the ritual? What kind of Soul Healer are you? Didn't your predecessors teach you anything? The ordeal of the Omega's mark has been made to create the link between an alpha and his omega. Everything should only happen between them and no one should intervene at the risk of damaging the link and causing the death of the mates. "

"Are you insane? Are you asking us to stand idly by? If Glen ever hurts him… "

"It's the rule!"

"And you think I'll listen to your stupid rules? Who the hell do you think you are? "

"No, you who the hell are you?"

Connor and the woman glared at each other.

"I'm Alana, daughter of the chief of the Skinwalkers. I can feel your aura as a Skinwalker and yet you aren't part of the clan. Our kind aren't supposed to exist outside of these lands. Who are you ?" She seemed troubled, but her eyes met Connor's angry gaze with equal fury.

Before the agent answered, she turned her head to the wolf who let out a whimper and saw the omega try to comfort him.

"I can't believe you hurt him! If you don't have an antidote, we have to act as quickly as possible, alphas are more vulnerable to injury during the trial. We don't want it to worsen. I'll take you to our village. We also have to tell the chief that She's started to reveal her game."

________

Eden opened his eyes. He moved painfully and straightened his chest to sit up. His head was aching from the ringing echoing inside his head and making his eardrums vibrate. He felt dizzy and a dark tunnel narrowed his vision. The Omega pressed a hand to his eyes, hoping to clear the confusion, then looked around.

He was in the magic dimension, but something was wrong. The place which was usually a dazzling white was traversed by thousands of channels of smoke which crossed it from all sides. They were like the ones that pierced his mate's body.

Eden felt weak and could barely move. He tried to stand up, but his strength gave up and he collapsed to the ground again.. The canals that ran through the room were closing in on him.