Eden peered at his father's reaction. The shrill ringing that had punctured his eardrums to the point of bleeding had ceased and his system screen was back to normal, but he knew that it wasn't over. Quite the contrary. It was the beginning.
The new threat, his mate did everything to try to repel it alone and, once again, the alpha put his life in danger. Time was running out and they had to come up with a plan.
Silver Bloodhood froze as he saw flashing through his mind the memories of the conversation his son had with the divine messenger. In an unknown dimension, Glen was fighting against a creature almost as strong as him. And this creature wasn't the only one of its kind.
Vampires. Those wizards turned into bloodthirsty creatures after a failed spell and were a danger to civilian humans but also to werewolves and wizards. If they succeeded in breaking free from the prison where the gods themselves had locked them up, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the whole world would be endangered.
Black, the Dark Wizard was power-hungry. He killed anyone who got in the way of his quest to become more powerful but he had nothing to do with those creatures Silver saw in his son's link. The Warriors of Oidhche were bloodthirsty. Kill was for them the goal itself and not a simple means to fulfill their goal. Humans, wizards, and even werewolves would be preys to their blood hunt if they managed to escape.
The Bloodhood leader clenched his fist at the thought of his son's mate once again being on the front line and alone in the face of a treacherous enemy.
He was lost in thought, already thinking about what they could do to help him when Eden's voice sounded again, but this time the omega male's voice was hesitant.
“There is something else that you need to know. I won't be able to fight by your side as I did against Black.”
"What are you talking about? Who do we have to fight this time?” Dante immediately asked.
The young beta still had no idea of what was going on because Eden hadn't told him anything yet. However, their closeness and their friendship which had lasted almost forever had awakened his instinct as “claws and fangs of the pack”. Something within him wanted to keep Eden away from the fights as much as possible and it had been like that since before the encounter with the Hunters.
At that moment, the blond-haired werewolf demanded that he protect him. It was the first time that Eden had ever acted like this, despite his omega blood rank. From then on, the beta's protective instincts had been on alert.
Eden had never shown weakness. Fierce and strong, he was a fighter and a strategist worthy of the best elements of their pack, and this long before he owned the system. The gift granted by the Goddess had only tenfold his strength and his pre-existing intelligence to make the heir to Bloodhood a werewolf strong enough to guide all the werewolves.
Dante and the leader of Bloodhood both stared at Eden who was tweaking his fingers, his head bowed down to his thighs. With each passing second, the werewolf seemed more and more wavering which wasn't like him at all. He finally opened his mouth, breaking the expectation that had made the atmosphere inside the cavern heavy.
"I can't shift anymore."
As soon as he said those words, both the young beta and Silver flinched. The alpha was the first to react.
“Is it a new curse? What do you know? We need as much information as possible to be able to help you…”
A smile passed over the face of the omega seeing his father so panicked. He then met his best friend's gaze and knew that the latter had understood. Eden then decided to fix the course of his father's thoughts before he misunderstood further. He couldn't blame him for thinking like that. After all, curses were a familiar thing for them.
His mate, Glen had been affected by a curse that had prevented him from shifting for most of his life. It was the reason the alpha was taken in by the Everetts, a human family member of the WIA. The couple who had two other boys had raised and loved him as their own child. Although Maria, Laurent, and their youngest son Anthony had died in a car accident when Glen was eighteen, breaking the heart of the werewolf and that of their other son Connor, thanks to them, the dominant knew the warmth of a loving family. It had soothed his wound of being rejected and almost killed when he was just a child by his father, the alpha of Red Creek pack. Knowing everything, Eden understood why his father reacted like this and his smile grew even bigger.
“It's not a curse Dad. It’s perfectly normal.”
"Normal? How can it be normal that you can't shift?" continued the alpha still in full panic.
“Dad! Please calm down. I'm telling you that it's utterly normal!”
“But…”
“What is natural for an omega or a dominant female and prevents their transformation for more or less nine months?”
The Bloodhood leader's mouth remained open even though he knew the answer perfectly. It was Dante who spoke the words aloud first.
"You're pregnant."
The words echoed around the room and a brief silence greeted the statement. The male omega then nodded softly. The news was a happy one but his smile was sad and the two dominants knew why. Eden was separated from his mate and the world would probably go to war if civilians stuck to their hatred toward the werewolves. As if that weren't enough, the young omega had been chosen to guide his kind through all this chaos. The weight on his shoulders was huge.
Silver clenched his fists. This battle was shaping up to be just as dangerous as the previous one, if not even more dangerous. He then frowned realizing something.
“It's too early for you to be sure. I can't even smell your pheromones*. How do you…”
“I saw the future when I was in the White room and I can already feel their power inside me.”
“You saw… the future?” Silver repeated hesitantly.
“The Moon Goddess allowed me to see it so that I realize what I have to protect. That's how I got to see the twins, their baby brother, and…” His eyes turned to Dante for a moment but before he continued his father's voice sounded, higher than usual.
“T-twins? Little brother? Eden you…”
“There is a future where Glen and I have three children,” he said with a calm voice, holding his father's gaze. “The twins I'm already pregnant with and one adorable omega. The three of them are the most lovable little ones. And they are not the only ones…”
Once again Eden's gaze fell on Dante as he wondered whether or not he should tell him that in this same future, there was complete happiness awaiting him. As he wondered, the male omega noticed that his father was no longer moving. The alpha was completely frozen in place and his face showed an expression of complete shock.
"Dad?"
The Dominant's eyes were locked on him. Eden frowned. His father's reaction was not negative but it was not what he expected.
“You said it was a possible future, does that mean that for the moment nothing is certain? Does that mean that if things go wrong…”
Eden nodded without letting the dominant go further in his reasoning. He didn't want to hide the truth from his father. Especially not with all that awaited them.
Suddenly, Silver Bloodhood stormed out of the cave without a word and the blond-haired werewolf couldn't help the pang of disappointment that swept over him at the same time. His fingers gripped the fur that lay on his legs and he lowered his head.
Dante who knew why his leader had reacted like that, put his hand on his best friend's shoulder who then lifted his head to look at him.
“Alpha Silver is happy don’t worry. You know him after all. You've known he's been waiting for this day pretty much since you met your mate," Dante said with a teasing smile.
The corners of his lips fell very quickly and a veil darkened the brilliance of his gaze. Eden then knew that something was wrong and kept silent to encourage his friend to continue.
"He is happy but I think he's also terrified. You know how our pack treats pregnant werewolves, especially omegas. Their well-being and safety are everyone’s top priority.” Eden's head turned to him upon hearing those words and the beta continued. “While you were unconscious, some packs reacted to the interview that was broadcast. They said they were grateful that you fought alongside them and they confess that your presence prevented many unnecessary deaths. But they also say you're just an omega and you shouldn't be arrogant. For them, you have crossed the line by claiming that you are a king and you must quickly return to your place. Some are getting restless and I think Alpha Silver is worried that the packs that already hate Bloodhood will try to come after you."
Eden let out a bitter laugh that made his heart clench in his chest. It was a scenario he had foreseen but which was nonetheless painful.
The blonde-haired werewolf had used his extraordinary strength to fight and get rid of the Hunters who were about to kill their allies. They used his strength and leaned on him claiming that this power was a sign that he was a special werewolf, different from the others and therefore it was the most normal thing for him to fight on the front line. But when he was publicly presented as King of the Werewolves, the same ones immediately called him arrogant.
"It didn't take long," he said, putting his hand on his stomach. "And now I can't even transform to shut them up."
“Even without shifting, none of them is a match for you and you know it. But you are pregnant, Eden. You know how complicated an omega's pregnancy is for both the omega and the baby. That's why I don't want you to worry about that. I already told you. It's a good thing that they speak loud. It's better to know who is really with us and who is against us. We'll handle them and we'll make sure nothing happens to you or the babies until Glen is back. Ok?”
His assurance was comforting. Enough for the blonde-haired werewolf's shoulders to loosen up. At least until he sees the images of his mate again, his chest pierced by a bloodthirsty monster. Dante could tell that he was tense again so he resumed his questions.
“Now tell me what's going on. Why were you in the magic dimension this time?”
________
Glen barely felt any pain, yet he knew what had just happened. He had proof of that in the blood that was beginning to drip onto the floor after soaking his sweater. The alpha felt a strange sensation and realized that it was caused by the vampire's fingers moving through his abdomen.
Ryans had his fingers around his heart and a single movement would be enough to crush the organ. However, this scenario never happened.
The second after the vampire's arm dug into his flesh, the werewolf heard the system bell ringing in his head. Even before reading what was written on the blue holographic screen, he knew that his mate had done something that would help him out of this hopeless situation. Ryans' knuckles were about to move for his claws to pierce the muscle but suddenly the beeping stopped and the vampire's limb was severed with one neat cut.
________
*Sub/omega's pheromones: Joy/Satisfaction - Fear/worry/distress - Comfort (only in Sub/dom interactions - Seduction/sexual - Pregnancy
Dominant's pheromones: Anger - Intimidation - Worry - Comfort (only in Sub/dom interactions) - Seduction/sexual
Pheromones specific to alphas: Domination - Alpha pheromones (develop at the same time as the toxins)
Pheromones specific to betas: Beta pheromones (if powerful enough they can force another dominant to submit but it's rare)
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