Page 30 of His Impossible Elf Mate
“Everything okay?” Axel muttered into my neck.
“Just needed to hold you. It’s been a long day.”
“Want to talk about it?” He yawned and stretched before wrapping himself around me more. It felt like every inch of our bodies was touching.
“No, but I have fixed things with Ívarr, so something positive came out of today.”
“That, and we are together.”
“Yes, that too. You are my reason for being, Axel. You bring me light, hope, love. I just hope you know how much I love you.”
He yawned again. “If I was more awake, I’d push you for details.” Axel reached up for a long, slow kiss. When he broke away, he smiled, one full of tender affection. “You’re more than I could have dreamed of. I love you too.”
Without being aware of the conflict in my heart, Axel knew what to say to make me harden my resolve.
The elves were staying in Sweetwater. This was where we were supposed to be. We just needed some faith that our goddess had a plan.
Until then, I was going to hold Axel close and never let him go.
Solace
Teárlach
During the time I was estranged from my friend, Roan had formed his poly bond with Tate and Asher. This was only the start of the revelations that rocked the Sweetwater pack.
First, their bond evolved. Changed.
Hiroshi first admitted to James that his marks were changing when he failed to fall pregnant immediately. Understandably, the omega was upset at his perceived failure to conceive. With all the magic in his system, a pregnancy in his first heat with Roan would have been a miracle, and likely would have failed to gestate properly. It was a kindness that his body had more time.
A month after their unconventional bonding, Tate came to the clinic for testing, demonstrating unusual symptoms. He also admitted difficulties within their bonds, with feeling distant towards one of his mates and a lack of intimacy between that mate and another of their grouping.
Teagan and Ívarr performed all the necessary tests, even taking samples from Tate’s cousin, Jake, in order to compare them since they were close cousins. Their mothers were identical twins, making their DNA as close as half siblings. Though they didn’t come up with anything to be the cause of the illness Tate was suffering with, the data collected would be useful later, when we knew the cause.
The day after his visit to the clinic, we knew why Tate had been sick. It was from his transformation into an omega from a beta and the sign of his first heat.
Not only that, Asher, who had also been a beta, was now presenting as an alpha.
Then, just to add more to an already strange case, the new omega had two mates, an omega, and his new alpha. Hiroshi and Tate reaffirmed their bond as Hiroshi also went into heat again.
Unfortunately, the new alpha struggled with his instincts and became overprotective of Tate to his detriment and even Tate’s safety. The pair had to be separated, which was heartbreaking for the new omega as much as it was for the new alpha. Hakeem told me of Asher’s shame at his inability to control his lion.
He talked about it at length, the subjects of shifters and their behaviors endlessly fascinating to my friend. Hakeem believed the sudden influx of alpha pheromones and the rut he endured whilst Tate wasin heat was the root cause of the behavior. The new lion alpha had much to adjust to.
We lost Hakeem back to Abrocaelum as my friend took control of Asher’s behavior modification. The young alpha needed to learn the control that most alphas slowly learned throughout their lifetimes. In the blink of an eye, Asher had undergone this massive change. He had much to learn and a very short-tempered lion to contend with.
Tate underwent another barrage of tests, Hiroshi and Roan joining him. Hakeem took the samples we needed from Asher when he was in Abrocaelum. The young alpha was too unpredictable in Sweetwater to spend any length of time at the clinic or with his mate.
Nothing about the tests gave us a reason for what had happened. Tate bore them well, but he became withdrawn as he adjusted to his new instincts as an omega and the loss of his alpha mate. They attempted many visits, but Asher’s lion was too volatile for prolonged contact. He was jealous and liable to lash out.
Just a couple of weeks after his heat, Hiroshi presented himself to the clinic with a positive pregnancy test. James confirmed the pregnancy by finding two heartbeats.
Only hours later, the clinic was confirming a second pregnancy. This time, Tate’s.
The former beta had done what we had thought was impossible. Not only had he changed his designation,he had then mated to more than one person, and finally, fallen pregnant.
Though many were ecstatic about the pregnancy, naturally, Tate had reservations. He had gone through so much change. There was a huge scene which half the pack witnessed where it looked like Asher might attack his mate, or more likely, Roan. The Alpha had to step in, with Blake reminding all the pack that an omega had the ultimate choice whether they would carry a baby to term or not.
My respect for the young Alpha rose by leagues. He was an example of what a leader should be.
