Chapter 56 - 55. What The Mark Is

Eden flinched and his chest tightened. He did his best to keep his emotions in check and to stay calm. Golden orbs looked at the old healer sitting across the table and then turned to his mate who was sitting next to him.

When Glen told him he wanted to wait until he got the mark because he didn't want to hurt him, the male omega had easily complied. He had realized that he wasn't free to act selfishly as the heir to Bloodhood. However, that didn't mean he wasn't determined to take the cursed alpha as his mate. No matter what the difficulty, he would lift the curse and form a complete pair with the alpha that was creeping more and more into his heart every moment. The Dominant did so with a naturalness that left him utterly dumbfounded.

Although his father had always told him that he would be free to choose his mate, because of his problematic fur, Eden had long been convinced that he would only ever have a mating of convenience to ensure the survival of his pack. It was his duty and his burden as heir. At least that was before he met his alpha.

Cursed, without a pack, human behaved and deadly dangerous, the alpha was nothing he hoped for. Instead, Glen brought the omega everything he needed. He felt complete.

Despite the curse, Eden could feel how he had been deeply blessed by the Moon Goddess itself every time his eyes met the middle ocean green irises. The alpha emanated a sincerity that Eden thought he had to give up on.

With him, the blonde was inclined to think he could win over the real love he yearned for and he wouldn't give it up for the world. He had been deep in thought for several seconds when he heard Glen's voice call him. The omega slowly turned his head towards him. The thought of not being able to be marked by his mate was causing him a pain that he couldn't quite stifle.

"It's because of the Omega's mark."

"What?" Once again Eden felt exposed.

The old woman gazed at him with a look that didn't betray her emotions.

"The pandemonium of emotions you're feeling is due to the Omega' mark. It's the first step to a complete bond." She paused and seemed to think for a moment.

The Elder stood up and walked to the front door to step out of the room for a moment. The two werewolves she hadn't said anything to, looked at each other in puzzlement. However, her absence didn't last more than a few seconds. She returned with a small cloth bag closed with a cord. The old woman returned to her seat under the inquiring gaze of the two werewolves who wondered what she was about to say. She opened the bag and poured the contents into her hand.

Five neatly folded pieces of paper fell into the palms of her hands. She put three back in the bag she put aside and held them out to the couple.

"This is a mix of herbs used when we train the Soul Healers disciples. It enables the untrained apprentice to reach the trance state necessary to detect the auras and spiritual forms of their patients as well as all the energy canals that circulate around them.

Both of you, take one. You will thus be able to see what I'm telling you by yourself. It will save time and it will help you to understand each other better, but also to understand your respective alpha and omega natures. "

Eden glanced suspiciously at the woman again. He grabbed one and gave it to his mate before helping himself with the last.

"Is it safe?" The blonde asked the healer on principle even though he suspected the answer. He doubted she would purposely harm them but, it can't hurt asking.

The silver hair moved slowly as the woman nodded to confirm the harmlessness of the mixture.

The omega unfolded the paper to reveal a pastel green powder. He exchanged a look with his mate. Glen looked back to the powder and narrowed his eyes at it as if he was expecting an answer to his silent questions. With a shrug, the dominant made up his mind. He poured the powder on his tongue and waited. Eden, who was staring at him, did the same and crumpled the small square of paper between his fingers.

Bitterness is the first thing that affected Eden. The blond waited several seconds and nothing happened. Sitting across from them, the healer waited patiently. Glen was the first to feel the symptoms. As if in all his senses had sharpened, the werewolf became hypersensitive to everything around him. His attention was drawn to the strange curls of smoke that circulated throughout the room around their three bodies.

At first imprecise, the pale haze turned into canals of smoke. He looked down at his body and his eyes widened in horror. Hundreds of smoke canals ran through his body and seemed to drain a luminous vaporous substance out of his body while others let in thick black smoke.

His curse. He could see the action of his curse. It was draining his strength and replacing it with that black smoke. He understood without any explanation. This black smoke that was going inside his body was preventing him from shifting properly.

As the alpha scrutinized his body, he noticed a canal formed of brilliant smoke that touched the left side of his chest, where his heart was found. He watched the flow and saw that the substance was entering his body. Unlike the other black ones, it didn't look harmful.

Glen already suspected the point of origin but followed the stream with undisguised anticipation. His gaze fell on his omega's chest, right where his heart was, and a smile spread across his face.

The dominant was beaming. He saw with his own eyes the connection to his mate and this simple fact made him ecstatic. He lifted his eyes to Eden's face and he frowned at the horror that distorted the features of the magnificent man who was his, as he could see with the connection between their two hearts.

The dominant then remembered the hundreds of canals that drained and poisoned him. If he had been shocked, it was obvi that his mate was too. He smiled reassuringly this time, as if to tell his mate he wasn't in pain. Unfortunately, this did not have the desired effect. Eden's expression hardened and the blond turned away from his mate to face the old healer.

"Tell me all we need to know to find the people who did this."

His voice was a whisper barely audible to a human ear, but loud enough to be easily picked up by their supernatural ears. The alpha noticed the muscles in his jaw clenching as Eden gritted his teeth to swallow his anger. The Elder noticed the fire in the Omega's eyes and resumed her speech.

"First you have to understand something. The Omega's mark is the first step in a complete bond. In the ritual as it was originally performed, the alpha was marked by his omega. The bite was a gesture of humility in which the dominant asked the Moon Goddess for protection for their mating and their pack. The alpha had to resist the urge to bite his mate before the next full moon. If the alpha was successful, the mating was approved by the Goddess and of course, the alpha survived. He could then bite and mark his omega and complete the bond. The mates could thus run their pack under the divine protection of the Goddess. "

She paused to check that the two werewolves were following her explanation.

"If the alpha couldn't resist his urges and tried to claim his omega before the full moon, the sub would die of poisoning from his toxin. His death inevitably leads to that of the dominant because a marked alpha cannot support the loss of his omega mate. "

"Why does one undergo this?"

"To challenge the dominant's will to lead his pack with benevolence. Omegas are the most fragile and the bottom of the hierarchy in a pack. For an alpha to agree to be bitten by one of them is a sign of humility and a promise to the Goddess that he will protect even the weakest of his pack despite his selfish desires and his strength.

An alpha who denied his urges and passed the test was worthy of the protection and blessing of the Goddess. Conversely, failure was a calamity every time. The packs were left without an heir after the death of their next leader and his mate. This is the reason why this ritual had been forgotten and today it's forbidden for an omega to mark his alpha. "

"You said earlier that it was the Omega Mark's fault, what were you talking about?"

"Your anxieties, your fears, your doubts, but also your affection, your love, and your trust. All your emotions are transmitted to your Alpha through this bond created by the Omega's mark. In your case, you were already fated mates, so the mark only exacerbated the existing connection.

Even so, these emotions that you share with your Alpha are all signals that prompt him to bite you to complete the bond and allay the distress you feel because you want him to claim you. That's why it's an ordeal. Because the alpha has to resist his impulses brought on by his mate's emotions even if it pains him. "

"You said there was a risk the curse would spread to Eden if I ever bite him."

"This is a guess, so let me explain. When an alpha successfully waited until the next full moon to mark his mate. The marking will create the same canal of emotions but from the alpha to the omega, " She illustrated her words by pointing to Glen's heart and traced a line in the void between them to Eden's left pectoral. "Now your turn, if a canal transfers that black smoke to your mate, what would be the result?"

"The curse may befall him." The dominant had spoken in a voice that didn't hide his despondency.

"That's why you need to go to the Skinwalkers' lands before the next full moon. We, Soul Healers, heal spiritual wounds we aren't strong enough. Skinwalkers have powers that can fight any form of spiritual attack including curses. If you want a chance to lift your curse and stay together with your mate, you must ask them for help. "

A ringtone caught Eden's attention and he turned on the screen.

[Your skill 'Perception' is now a legendary grade skill]