Page 55 of His Bonded Omega Mate
Hakeem stepped forward, approaching the new alpha lion. The elf exuded confidence and calm as he approached him. Hakeem seemed unbothered by Asher’s open aggression. “Young alpha, you have much to adjust to. I think some time in our lands will help you find control that you are lacking.” Asher growled, but Hakeem ignored it. “Come with me for a couple of days. Everything will look different in time.”
“What about Roan being around Tate?” Asher bit out.
“In your heart, you know that’s not a possibility. You need to listen to your inner self, and not your riled up lion. He has too much to learn to focus on the truth right now.” Hakeem cupped Asher’s face. The lion’s uncertainty bled through the mask he tried to wear. “Come with me and together, we can fix this.”
Asher looked at Tate. They must have shared something over their bond, because eventually, the alpha nodded and let Hakeem lead him away.
Blake and Ívarr had a short, whispered conversation before the elf approached Tate with an apologetic look. “As much as I’d like to give you time to bond, we need to find out what happened here. How you went from beta two days ago, albeit a sick one, to a healthy omega today.”
“I know.” Tate shrugged, trying to put on a front. “Will he be okay?”
“Asher is in the best hands with Hakeem.”
More Testing
Tate
OnceHakeemandabunch of elves had left with Asher, I could finally take a full breath. I felt gutted to my soul at how things had turned out. Asher was my mate, and I loved him, but after the morning’s events, I was also terrified of what he’d become.
Sure, in the past there had been moments where I thought that his tightly wound control would slip, yet I’d never felt any fear that he would turn on me. I guess it only affected me when I thought I might get hurt.
Seeing Asher turn on Roan like that had been like seeing a stranger in my mate’s body. That wasn’t the Ash that I knew and loved. I just didn’t get it. “Will Asher really be okay?” I asked Ívarr. He’d already answered my question, but I couldn’t help but ask again, needing the reassurance that the elder elf gave.
Ívarr was patient, as he explained. “Hakeem is the most qualified of our elves to help with shifter behavior issues. It is a declining practice, but some fae kept shifters as pets and slaves. There are still fighting rings that we elves work to dismantle.” Ívarr’s composed mask slipped, showing his frustration and a hint of helplessness. “When our peoples created our realm, we had not expected such barbaric practices to continue in our new home. Or so our history states.”
The elves and fae had left the human realm around two thousand years before. A dark, bitter time in the history of supernaturals. Without them, the humans, with their new religion, rose against us. We went into hiding, then became myths. Our unveiling only happened a couple of hundred years ago. Still within memory for some vampires and other supernaturals that were immortal, or long lived beyond shifters’ extended life expectancies.
“So, yes, Asher is in the best hands with Hakeem. He’s worked with shifters coming from very… difficult circumstances. He’s written many books on shifter psychology and pack dynamics. Although he will miss studying the pack—“
“He’s studying the pack?” I blurted out.
“Yes,” Blake said with a small smile. “I’d given permission to Hakeem to continue his observations while the elves made Sweetwater their home, at least for the time being.” He turned and gave his enforcers an order to disperse. “Let’s head to the clinic, shall we?”
“Clinic?” I shared a look with Hiroshi and Roan, who were still huddled together looking shell-shocked. Roan was covered with mostly healed injuries and blood. He needed a shower before he came to the clinic with us. “Can Roan get washed up first? I don’t want to go on my own, and Hiroshi won’t want to leave Roan behind.” Hiroshi sent me a grateful smile.
“Actually,” Ívarr began, “we need you all at the clinic to test you all for any contagion, or anomalies that could have caused this sudden change. We will need to establish a timeline of events.”
I tuned the elf out.Is that okay?Hiroshi’s mental presence was soothing. In my mind, I could see his tiger as they laid down for my raven to hop onto their head. I got a flash of memory from when I’d landed on their head before. The impression I got was that the tiger had loved carrying us around like that. My raven jumped up, fluttering his wings. No, their wings. My alter was now as changed as I was. I got a sense of pride from my alter. They loved being an omega, though they, too, were worried about our alpha mate. He did not feel safe to them. They mourned for our bond with Roan, as did I. We both knew somehow that we couldn’t re-bond with Roan. That was a one and done situation. Now he was bonded to Hiroshi, there was no mating with anyone else for him.
Please. I want to check him over. The healing I performed was quick and I might have missed something. I also don’t want you out of my sight.
“Shower and grab some comfortable clothes. We’ll wait inside to take you to the clinic.” Blake ordered as he ushered us towards our home.
I followed behind Roan and Hiroshi, watching as they went into their bathroom to clean up.
“Tate–” Ívarr called. “Would it be possible for you not to wash?”
“I, uh, Why?”
“Without putting too fine a point on it, you are covered in Asher and we require those samples, too. I can ask Hakeem to get those from Asher. However, I feel that his mental state is not quite right for that.”
Great. “Okay. Let me just put on some of my own clothes.”
“Tate?”
“Yes?”
“Did you mate Hiroshi?” What the fuck was with this questioning?
