Page 32 of Advocate Omega (Unforeseen Paths #1)

Zander

Admittedly, I don’t know much about fated mates.

Growing up, that kind of stuff wasn’t really talked about.

I spent my formative years trapped with my father, wishing for freedom.

But sometimes, when he was missing his alphas, he would tell me about the fates, and how sometimes wolves were exceptionally lucky and they’d find their mate in another life.

My parents weren’t fated, but I hope they did find each other again.

It’s strange to me knowing that there’s a very real possibility I found mine.

The male currently holding my hand, beaming from head to toe with pride and fondness.

I used to think that having a bond would mean I would have to sacrifice who I was.

That being tied to someone would somehow prevent me from…

having a life. I think that was just the sad little boy inside me who grew up in a cage.

Because I can’t let go of Lucan. Even if I didn’t get triggered into heat—even if it was just pure coincidence—I…fuck…I love him. He deserves to know that. He deserves to know that it goes beyond me just accepting that we are a pair—bonded. I really love him.

Lucan is more than I ever imagined an alpha could be. Strong but gentle. Dominant but without malice. He cares deeply, gives freely, and moves through life with honor.

Is he perfect? No.

No one is.

But he’s perfect for me.

He lifts me when I drag myself down. He pushes me to reach for my goals and take them.

I don’t feel belittled or less than. Every time I talk, he wants to listen.

Every time I second-guess myself, he reminds me that I’m just as strong as him, if not stronger.

Yes, our lust burns hotter than the sun, but it’s also the in-between moments that make this connection so much deeper.

How easily I can be myself without having to stifle certain parts or mince my words.

Gods, I’m fucking in love with Lucan.

Who would’ve thought?

Who would’ve thought that a rejected alpha and a very reluctant omega would cross paths and complete each other?

I sniffle loudly as emotions crash into me from all sides. I’m so in love with him, and I’m still not sure if I can give him the one thing he wants most in this world.

“What is it?” he asks, pulling me to a stop outside the shaman’s house.

I swipe at my eyes quickly and bite my trembling lower lip.

“Oh, sweet thing, why are you crying?” He squats down and kisses my tears away. A pained whine leaves him as he nuzzles and presses his lips to my cheeks.

“If I’m not…” I choke, fighting back another wave of grief. “If I’m not all Sorrel then…I might not—what if I can’t—”

“Shhh,” he soothes, petting my hair and leaving sweet kisses on my lips. “Don’t worry about that.”

“But I am ,” I blubber. “You want kids! What if I have Terra blood? What if I’m not…”

“Look at me, precious. Look into my eyes and listen to me.”

I try to, sniffling loudly because I don’t want this to ruin everything. “If the time comes, and you want to have pups, that won’t be an issue.”

“Huh? How? Isn’t the entire reason everything happened because your clan is going barren?”

“Our omegas.” I blink rapidly. “ Our omegas, my heart. You,” he presses a palm to my belly, “are more than capable of accepting my seed.”

“Ew,” I whine. “Don’t call it that.”

He laughs and kisses me again. “Fine. Not that.”

“So I can? I could do it?”

“Sweet, had I not given you that preventive, you already would have.”

I gape at him. “Seriously?”

A flash of pain crosses his features. “Yes.”

“How?!”

“Because the first heat is often the most fertile for an omega, and my blood is ancient.”

“I was…” I stop to really absorb this. “There was a good chance I was pregnant?”

He nods.

“And you stopped it?”

Another nod.

“Luc,” I whimper and throw my arms around him. “You want kids so badly, though. Why would you do that?”

He holds me back and stands, lifting me off the ground. I hurry to lock my legs around his hips. “Because you mean more to me. And it’s your choice. I would’ve worn a fucking condom if you’d given me half a moment to ask.”

I laugh and kiss him. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s quite all right, my love.”

“Love?” I cock my head to study him.

He blushes, then clears his throat. “Too soon?”

I shake my head and squeeze his cheeks. “Everything we’ve done is too soon. But not this. Not love.”

“Never love,” he agrees with a pleased rumble. “I love you, Zander. Very much.”

I brush his long, dark hair away from his face. “I love you too,” I whisper. “I really do.”

“My mate,” he growls and bites my neck. “My sweet mate.”

“Ahem,” a throat clears.

We pull apart a fraction to find Gabe’s creepy grandma staring at us and leaning on her white cane. “Where did she come from?” I whisper.

The initial shock has worn off, and we follow the shaman, Morgana , into her home.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t cats.

One flies through my spread legs and out the front door.

She hobbles over to a bright purple rocking chair in the living room that looks straight out of an old fart magazine.

Paisleys, lace, and complementary matching quilts drape over her plush sofa.

A nice coffee table rests in the center with a stack of playing cards, some suspicious bones in a bowl, and a lit incense.

She shoos a cat off her chair and gestures for us to sit.

“I thought cats hate wolves,” I murmur.

Lucan gives me a look, then shrugs.

We take a seat on her couch, still holding hands, and wait.

Her milky brown eye gives me the shivers. So does her intense stare. But when she smiles, I see the familial resemblance to my friend. “It would appear you don’t need me.”

That makes Lucan sit up straighter. “What do you mean?”

She nods to our interlaced fingers. “You two have bonded.”

“We have accepted each other, yes,” he says carefully. “But you made it seem…”

“Oh, that,” she chortles and reaches for her bones. Giving the bowl a little shake, she blows on them, spits, and then sets them back on the table. “Next time Zander goes into heat, release your venom in your bite.”

“Huh?” I gape at her. “What about the bones? The incense? Isn’t there like…I don’t know…something magical meant to happen? Sparkles? A bright beam of light?”

The shaman sighs, reaches back for the bowl, and takes a bone out. She tosses it at Lucan, and he catches it. “The fates spoke about you two well before you ever showed up here.”

While my gullible mate stares in awe at the bone in his hand, I’m not so convinced. “That’s a chicken bone,” I point out. “Specifically from a flat. Those are from your dinner.”

She grins. “Observant.”

“No, just a foodie,” I argue. “What does that mean? His venom .”

“Lucan is one of the Great Wolves.”

“We can produce a venom,” he says absently, still looking at the bone.

“He bit me a bunch last time,” I tell her, wondering what the hell she’s talking about. “Like…a bunch .”

“I didn’t mark you,” he puts the bone in the bowl, “I wanted to, but I didn’t.”

I glance between the two of them, thoroughly confused.

But, finally, Morgana throws on her shaman hat and puts me out of my misery. That milky eye goes completely white. The incense smoke billows up into a thick cloud above us. Now this is what I was expecting.

“This is your weave of fate.” Her voice drops an octave as twinkling lights appear.

“Each point has connecting strands that all end up here.” She points at two thick braided ropes of silver.

“Once marked by your fated, those threads will become one.” She blinks rapidly, the smoke vanishing.

“This is what you must do to seal the bond.”

“We need to have sex,” I say dryly. “And he’s got to put poison in my body.”

“It’s hardly a poison, sweet. You will enjoy it.”

“Not just sex,” Morgana snips. “A heat. The pairing will ensure a healthy breeding as well.”

My eyes bug out of my head. “I’ll get pregnant?”

“There is no greater chance of success than a breeding during a mating ritual.”

I peek at Lucan. He’s still as a statue, but his heart is racing.

“Can we skip a few heats before we do that?” I ask.

She snorts and beckons her cat. “You two are fated. Spending a little time as a couple couldn’t hurt.”

Okay, I like the sound of that. “It’s just I have things to do, you know? I can’t be all pregnant and… weepy .”

I watch the fat orange feline crawl into her lap and purr. “It’s really true?” Lucan says to her. “You aren’t playing games?”

“I would not lie about this,” she scolds. “ True mates are rare enough as it is. It is a gift from the fates and should be cherished above all else.”

Lucan squeezes my hand. “Thank you, shaman. For your wisdom and help.”

He stands, taking me with him.

“One more thing,” she says, warning in her tone. “When in doubt, go north.”

“North?” I ask. “North?”

She doesn’t look at me, though. Her eyes are glued to Lucan’s. “North.”

“Understood.”

Gabe is over the moon with the news of our roles as fated mates.

Granted, we haven’t made it official , but he sobs against me, blubbering how happy he is.

I want to be happy, too. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing.

Yet, Morgana’s creepy warning lingers. Lucan told me not to worry about it, and the message was meant for him, not me. I don’t like being left out of things.

I don’t like not knowing.

Now isn’t the time for a tantrum over it, though.

I have to be focused. Our mission isn’t something I can be distracted from.

All my hard work, my impromptu shift into my wolf form, all the planning and conversations with endless strangers have to amount to something.

We have to succeed. It’s the only thing that matters right now.

After we gather this information about how they capture and enslave wolves, we can make a plan to take the Terra Clan down.

I can’t fucking wait.

We linger at Gabe and Griffin’s house for a bit longer, say our goodbyes, and then we get in Lucan’s truck.

The small group of wolves climbs into the few vehicles behind us.

I buckle in, glance out the window to see my emotional wreck of a friend waving at me.

He’s probably my best friend, in all honesty.

And before I can regret it, I unbuckle and launch out of the truck.

“Zan!” Lucan calls, confused.

I ignore him and make a beeline for my friend. He catches my embrace with a soft oomph . “You’re my best friend,” I tell Gabe.

He whines and nuzzles me. “You’re mine too.”

“And I love you,” I tack on, kissing his cheek.

“It’ll be fine,” he tells me, pressing his forehead to mine. “This is your purpose, Zan. I can feel it. And it’s only observing. No battle yet.”

I squeeze his hands, trying not to shake. “Are you sure?” I whisper.

“Yes,” he insists. “Yes, I’m sure. And with Lucan by your side, nothing can go wrong.”

Nodding, I pull back and meet Griffin’s eyes. “You take care of him,” I order.

He narrows his eyes. “I always do.”

“I mean it! He’s…you better or else.”

Gabe laughs. “We will be fine .”

“And the baby?” I ask sheepishly before pressing a hand to his belly. It’s already swollen and obvious. Not giant by any means, but the little bump makes me irrationally giddy.

Wolves don’t have long pregnancies.

“Perfect.” He beams, then looks at Griffin with moon eyes.

Griffin clears his throat and approaches me. “I know you are independent, strong-willed, and stubborn.”

Lucan growls from the truck. Griffin swallows hard but shakes off the skittishness. “ Listen to him. Alright? If he says jump, you jump.”

You see, this feels like another fucking warning. “What if I don’t want to jump? This isn’t even supposed to be dangerous. We aren’t rolling in there ready to start a fight.”

Griffin groans. “Don’t you go acting like him, too,” he tells Gabe, who blushes. “I’ll have a stroke.”

“We jump together,” he coos and pats Griffin’s chest.

Nodding, the alpha returns his attention to me and says, “Be resilient, be brave, but don’t be stubborn, okay?”

Well, that seems like an insult, but I refrain from bristling and mumble, “Fine.”

“Good luck,” Gabe says, sniffling.

We hug three more times before I go back to the truck.