Prachaya fearlessly faced the imperial army led by Prince Gamon.
Prince Gamon's eyes  narrowed looking at the slender omega  lazily sauntering towards them.

" Unhand my soldiers " he thundered, motioning at half his companions caught in to traps and now hanging upside down, by their ankles to the trees.

The omega nodded, a small smile dancing on his lips as he raised his hand in air in some sort of a signal and all his soldiers were lowered down slowly.

As the omega reached near their troop, he offered customary bow to the prince and raised gracefully.
" What is the meaning of this? " clenching his teeth, Gamon flicked his gaze towards his trapped soldier's .

" Forgive me your highness, some of our guest come not only unannounced but in ill will too. " The omega answered
Turning towards the soldier's, he bowed individually to all the soldier's caught in traps and then turned to the prince.
" I dearly apologize the inconvenience our  traps has caused the royal troop. "

After apologizing, he again addressed the prince
" What brings you to our borders crown heir? " He asked, in his annoyingly melodic voice.

" Where is my brother ? " Gamon thundered.

" Prince Perawat is safe and healing in moontribe's care, as he should be. ." Prachaya answered. " Prince Perawat Will return to palace as soon as he is completely healed, which shouldn't take more than two weeks.
Being so close to svelton borders, Ours is not a town crown heir should dwell around. If I may be bold, You should return too, your highness. "

" Not before I see Prince Perawat. "

" He is safe wherever he is. "

" I should just take your word for it, are you taking me for a fool? "

Prachaya racked his mind. " What would make you believe my words, Prince Gamon."

" Nothing." Gamon thundered.

" How about a blood oath? " Prachaya suggested in his ever calm tone. " I can take a blood oath that your brother is safe, sound and alive. And I or any member of my tribe under my watch have never harmed him nor do we have any design on his life. Will it satisfy you? "

" Now. ." Gamon growled.

Prachaya pulled a dagger from his boot, he cut his thumb without flinching , the cut was deep— blood poured freely
" I, Prachaya Suthiluck," he looked skywards "leader and healer of Moon tribe promise on the honour of my tribe and every drop of blood in my body. Let the sun, moon, and my ancestors be the witness to this promise I am making to Prince Gamon of Rojanapt Kingdom. Your brother and younger prince of Rojanapat Kingdom, his highness Perawat  Rojanapat is safe, healthy and alive. I have done everythig in my capability to heal him from poison and keep him safe from every attack. I have never planned, intiated, assisted or instigated any type of coup against prince perawat or House of Roajanapat .. I have never sought any type of deadly harm to him in the past, present nor do I have any such intentions in future. If a single word of my promise falls short of my honest intentions to protect Prince perawat, may the divine hand of law befall on me. "

Gamon nodded and stepped back along with his wolves.

" Retreat . We must join the pack before celebrations for blue moon begin " Gamon commanded over mind link.

" about the Ankeneh alpha..." the advisor hesitatingly asked over mind link.

" We will investigate the matter once we have alpha perawat safely back with us. "

Gamon looked at the chief of the tribe. " I am sorry for interrupting your celebrations, chief moontribe. I hope your tribe Will forgive us for we genuinely feared safety of our prince."

"Our moon tribe understands your concern Prince Rojanapat and wishes safety and health to younger Prince Rojanapat. Blessed be. "

" Blessed be." Gamon repeated the formal greet and ordered their return.

" Alpha... " Prachaya called, suddenly making his mind "our moon tribe would be honored and overjoyed  if you would join today's celebrations. "

Gamon stared at the omega, weighing his options  before deciding.
Although he had filmsy protection of blood oath. He hadn't had time to see if it had any loopholes.
If he chooses to accept the offer, they would step in to the heart of moontribe.
It hadn't lost on him that his soldier's could still be killed and he himself too can be murdered If the omega decided to take a chance to be cursed for fulfilling revenge.

But If he could stay at moon tribe for some days, he could not only check up on his brother, he could also investigate about the ankeneh.

" I will be pleased to worship the moon on your soil, omega. " Gamon replied, mindlinking his troop to keep their eyes and ears open. Accepting their invitation did not mean he was suddenly trusting the moon tribe chief.

The moment they marched ahead towards the boundary, a shrill whistle tore through the air and sveltons leapt out of thin air, from all sides, their claws aiming straight for the throats of royal entourage.

" Surround the prince " Advisor shouted out , while Prachaya raised the wall of vines at the same time. The kins of prince Gamon instantly formed a human shield around him.

Claws of sphinx (Sveltons are sphinx shifters- half lion,half eagle) got stuck in to the mesh of vines suddenly erupting from the ground.

" Shoot " Prachaya shouted.
The hidden moontribe warriors on the trees launched the volley of poison tipped arrows .

" our first priority is to escort the prince and his companions to saftey " Prachaya mindlinked his chief enforcer before mindlinking the other enforcing troops.

The task wasn't as easy as it looked. Although they were on their own territory svelton had wings — and deadlier poison tipped weapons at their disposal.
The same poison tipped weapon they had attacked prince Perawat with. The omega inside prachaya seethed remembering ice cold, near-dead body of his alpha.

He unwrapped the urumi (whip sword) from his waist and charged it in the air— it's whip like blades curling around the sveltons in low flight— a jerk of his wrist dragged them down to the ground where his tribe enforcers were ready to finish them off by chopping their necks. .

The icy blue shown Bright in his eyes.
None of the sveltons that had come today would go back alive — it will be his mating gift to his alpha. He vowed. His wolf nodded in agreement
His wolf vowed. Although, usually alphas are the one to present such gifts; he doesn't think his alpha would mind being presented the heads of his enemies. The omega spirit inside him reminded how Perawat's eyes flashed every time he talked about prachaya's sword weilding skills.

Grinning ferally, Prachaya weilded his urumi like a whip— whip of doom for sveltons. Every sphinx being caught in his sword was sure to be sent to judgement in the next second.
......... ...

The other enforcers on western, southern and northern borders too fought valiantly, cutting through svelton limbs like one chops vegetables.
But the more they wounded or chopped the svelton's limbs — the faster they healed, stronger their regenerated limbs were.
The only solution was to chop sphinx's heads or stab through their necks, which was proving to be next to impossible as the sphinxes flew out of their reach.

..........

" Chief...they are not dying..." A panicked cry over his mindlink halted him. Chief enforcer from south had shared the scene over mindlink. As soon as any limb of sveltons were being chopped — it was regenerating strong in next blink.

" Go for their heads " Prachaya instructed " I will make sure they won't fly out of reach..."

And so he did. He wrapped his urumi around his waist and closing his eyes, while he expanded his senses, feeling all the land falling under his territory. 

The familiar soothing smell of moonflower filled his senses. He let his mind wander with roots, webbed into intricate patterns. He floated along with winds and stilled his consciousness over the waters. Making the land a part of him and being the part of the land as well.

Although he had denounced the leadership of the land, such trivial matters did not concern the spirit of these lands. Fortunately, it still considered Prachaya it's leader and calmly extended him the reigns — the pulsing golden thread weaved with thousands of thin threadlings.

Prachaya envisioned the domestic boundary of pack— reinforcing it's protection, he grappled the invisible threads of elements —interwoven and interlocked— feeling the expanse of land and the people on it. He let the breeze caressing his face calm his senses before grabbing over the golden strands only visible to him and yanked it hard — making the cords taut— as bowstring just before releasing the arrow.

The moment he let go of the hold— he heard the delicate balance snap. The shrill cry of disturbed harmony rang silently in his ears as the very air thickened around them, the plants froze and water stilled like the tail of a scorpion just before a strike.

And in the next moments chaos descended as the air around them coiled like python around prey— creating tiny cyclones  that caught the sphinxes in its vortex— crushing them like leaves under elephant paws  .... vines rose high, coiling like a serpent around the royal troop and spat them in to the boundary of pack grounds. Safe . Secure.
..........

" We have escorted the royal entourage to pack grounds " As soon as Prachaya got the message he opened his eyes, clenching his teeth— he focussed on a tiny cyclones before him — willing it to churn it's content — the air swirled dangerously — crunching sounds a music to his ears as grey whorl tinged with red, a few drops fell on his skin and singed him.
Prachaya's wolf welcomed the burn.

They were nothing in face of the torture he had faced and survived. Few pinpricks of burn didn't compare to nails being pulled out one by one or the maddening torture of his hairs being pulled one at a time. It didn't even hold a candle to the slicing of skin he had suffered.

Nor did it cover even half of what his alpha had faced. Sveltons deserved to taste what they dished out for the world — the misery, the pain, the torture , the anguish and darkness — they deserve to glance at the world of abyss they had thrown millions of wolves in to. And he— the moon chosen omega wolf was here to deliver all they had sown.

With a chilling smile he floated from one vortex to another — with his bloodied urumi gliding through dance of destruction while the cyclone crushed, grinded and broke the bones of sveltons — the crunching sound although got buried under howling storm but the screams did manage to overpower the winds howling.

No svelton will leave the land on his own legs . Not under his watch.

The power of the land and it's elements flowed through him unrestricted— the surge sweet like honey. He reveled in it. The anguished cries of sveltons only made it sweeter.
............

" Chief...stop..." the chief enforcer cried in caution " you have over exterted yourself...your nose is bleeding. "

But the omega was lost to blood rage. His once vivid frosty blue orbs were now tainted with stains of red.

" Chief..." Other warriors too started pleading the omega to come to his senses but no one dared to come in to the range of his bloody urumi , knowing that the weilder will now not be able to distinguish them from sveltons...anything or anyone in his path will be considered an enemy — a sacrifice to his urumi.

...............

The chief enforcer glanced at their leader — lost to everything but his warrior instincts— the instinct to destroy anything and everything that stood between saftey of his people and him.
Chief tried to find any opening in Prachaya's attacks but there were none through which he could even attempt to subdue their leader.

" Go to your posts " he ordered his soldiers.
" Neel, bring the healer ...tell her to bring sedatives. "

It was their best bet. To sedate the chief and wait for his blood lust to dissipate . Just what they had done last time Prachaya had fallen to blood lust, fourteen years ago.

..................

" Here...crown Heir..." the tribal soldiers had escorted Gamon to a large hall drenched with scent of omegas and pups. The wolves huddled near southern corner of the room.

" If bad comes to worst...south corner has a trap door whose tunnel leads to Merab (another pack) which will provide you safe passage and buy time to reinforce your strength. " The escorting soldier informed him.

Gamon nodded, bristling at the implication that he needed to be saved like an omega. He was a crown prince.
He didn't need saving, especially from the flying halflings( sveltons/sphinxes) .

Unaware of itself, thought of strengthless omegas dragged his mind to the beautiful warrior omega and his graceful urumi — dancing like a lightening — striking the sveltons to death. He had heard a lot about the tragic life of beautiful omega chief of moon tribe. He had never imagined him to be the deadly sword weilder — graceful like a swan, agile like a grass strand and strong like a wild elephant —  reincarnation of death himself.

He had seen a few warriors mastering urumi — rare ones mastered the multi pronged beauty Prachaya was weilding today. How did they miss from recruiting this gem. It's true that the law does not allow omegas to be warriors — but he could have had Prachaya as military strategist or trainer or best— as an assasin and spy.

" Phi ..." the voice broke his reverie.

"Brother...Nong..." he raced to his brother, engulfing him " How are you? Are they treating you well ? "

He could feel his brother smile " Very well. If it weren't for moon tribe and their chief , I won't be alive to talk to you..." Perawat answered.

" Don't talk like that... I would have called for foreign healers...we would have found a way..." he later added thoughtfully " Not that I am not greatful to our moon tribe "

Perawat smiled. " How come you are here brother ? "

" State business..." Gamon answered. " We shall talk about it later. "

Perawat nodded.
" How is the moon tribe holding against sveltons ? "

" Without any advanced device at their disposal...they are holding pretty good..." he replied.

" They don't need advance weapons phi. I have seen some of them train— they are the weapon themselves— in their hand, anything is weapon. "

" True."

Their conversation was struck down as a soldier came running , panting and wheezing, he had to take few deep breaths before he could speak

" Healer....you are needed at the border....hurry "

" How many critically injured ? " The healer asked, already taking out healing potions from her trunk.

" It's not even been half an hour since I was escorted inside. " Gamon wondered " they won already? "

Perawat smirked. " I told you...they are better than the best."

"It's the chief..." the soldier's voice shook with concern and fear..." he...he lost control..."

Perawat's ears perked up. Lost control ?

The healer jumped to her feet while fishing out a small glass bottle ..." Is it bad ? "

" He is not recognising any of us..."

" Take me to him..."

They hurried out, Perawat too  ran behind them, his mind running miles to make a guess of situation. Gamon and others followed him.

.........

All stood helpless as the jingling sounds of steel blades of urumi filled the place, swelling up in the empty spaces left by spectators.

Perawat stood agape, looking at the omega— blue blazing eyes rimmed fiery red filled with unnown fear. His sweet, smiling face— a series of sharp contours and jawline. 
Blood matted his carefully done braids at lower ends and it was also smeared near his jaw.  The black robe had worn to battle got coloured with spoltches of red as if they were inherent designs, never out of place.
The urumi's long blade flicked in air like tongue of snake– already sensing it's prey.

The omega glided between one bloody cyclone to another, his delicate wrist flipping precisely to inflict deadliest blow.
Prachaya looked heinous or pitiful to others but not to perawat who knew Prachaya had not lost to intent to kill or lust of blood or the power of kill — he had lost himself to fear.

Fear for lives and dignity of his people, his tribe children and....his alpha. Prachaya had lost to strong urge to protect. He was lost to inherent sense of duty in him— which made him shoulder the burden of protection solely— pushing him in to this trance state.

" Prepare the needles " Healers voice pierced his monologue, helplessly he watched the tribals dipping the needles in sedatives and forming a circle around prachaya. A few seconds later, all thirty needles flied through the air, precisely sticking in to prachaya's exposed neck and back of hands. He cried in anguish, jaws set against each other— fighting the forceful sedation.

" It's not working. It was most potent drug I have " The healer said dejected— almost sympathetically.

It was not that the drug wasn't working — it was just that Pracahaya's Wolf was trying to burn down the drug in his body with all his might and miraculously– he was succeeding at it.
Perawat understood the struggle. It looked like his brother Gamon did understand too.

" Calm down omega — you are safe.." Gamon coaxed, using his alpha voice.

" You are safe...calm down, put the weapon down. " Gamon ordered again , the omega's ears twitched in alarm hearing this, he looked wide eyed at Gamon — confused, almost not understanding.

" Put your urumi down." Gamon ordered , walking towards the omega, unconsciously crossing the invisible protection circle omega has created for them.
The moment Gamon crossed the threshold, omega snarled— all teeth and canines. Twirling on his feet, he swung the urumi in air, it crackled like lightning before tearing patch of grass under Gamon's feet.
Swinging his urumi , omega attacked, forcing the prince back till the prince was beyond the danger area perceived by him.

" Submit" Gamon ordered. Eyes flashing black.

" I said submit omega" Gamon thundered, putting all his strength behind that one command. " You will come out of your trance and submit now..."

It may work on his alpha soldier's but right now, prachaya was like an omega protecting his or her kids— he ran on pure adrenaline and no sense of preservation.

The more Gamon was aggressive, the more it aggravated the omega— pushing him to believe the thin layer of security he had established was evaporating like fog in a sun. And it only pushed him to be more aggressively protective.

Dark clouds started Gathering in the sky and thunder rumbled ominously.
Prachaya drew upon the power of land and his own steel blade urumi blazed blue as if forged from blue flames of star core — he started slashing through enemies only he could see. 

" Chief..." the tribe cried collectively, their eyes shimmering with tears and resignation.

"Phi.." Lek cried horrified. " No...Phi...you can't do that...you will die...come back. " he ran towards the omega...two tribals pulled him back. " There is no use now..."

" How dare you ? .." Lek screamed at the two holding him."leave me... can't you see? Chief has linked his life force with the land.  Yai...Yai...do something. " The omega glared at his mate's stoic face..
He ran to perawat "Alpha..alpha...do something. Phi is using his last resort— his life power to channelise the energy — do something phi...or he will die at this rate ..."

Die. The word stuck like thunder bolt. His mate could die...he is dying to protect them... what can he do ?

Need to protect ' his wolf chanted.

Yes. He needs to protect his mate. But how?

Prachaya wasn't having any of it. At this instance, he in his mind was apex protector. He could one protect the protector?

" Do something ? " Lek shook him vigorously.

There is no use ....someone said.
He can't be saved now. He has linked his life force with land.

No use ...

He— an alpha is useless — not even useful to protect his mate. To shield him from horror he is living inside his mind.
What use does he have boasting title of most feared general? Most accomplished warrior? Most skilled weapon weilder?

'Prachaya protect. ' his wolf chanted. 'Prachaya needs  protect.' He asserted with force.

Prachaya needs to protect... he did not need protection. He needed someone to protect. But did he have it in him to show weakness infront of whole tribe and Royal cavalry?
Can he do that for his mate? Can he make himself weak so his mate could draw strength from him?

Yes. Both he and his wolf replied. Bloody Yes!

Had he not promised him to be his anchor? Had he not promised him to be his root, his support system. Had he not asked him to bring bloody chaos if it is needed for prachaya to feel safe ?

Now, the chaos was here, and it was time to keep his promise.

Shifting his nails to claws he tore open the skin of his left hand from elbow to wrist, letting the blood flow freely and walked towards Prachaya— like a lost traveller to beacon of light .
..............

Prachaya..

No matter how much sveltons he cut with his blade. They kept coming back— as if being reborn out of thin air.  He could feel them strengthening in their confinement.

They even tricked his pack members in thinking they were safe. So, all of them gathered around him , thinking their moon blessed had defeated sveltons like he does each and every time.

But only he knows that he haven't defeated them even once yet. He had maimed, killed and mutilated many sveltons daring to put their mangy claws over his packmates. But he had not been able to defeat them— for they came back stronger every single time.

People may rejoice and celebrate every win but he knows , each and every time, sveltons had the last laugh over them.

Prachaya knows, he knows of their black magic practices– their evil ways. He knows They had taken his flesh and blood while he was kept captive— and did something evil with it. He created new breed of sveltons — somehow amplifying their regeneration ability manifolds — making them almost impossible to kill.

His gut tells him— that is why they tore out his womb — the organ having capacity to give birth to a new life. His instinct tells him their is some connection as if each and every dark svelton he had killed today hold a tiny part of him. Each of their death was personally felt— like pinpricks to his hearts— he can feel them like he can feel each of his pack members if he opens the link enough. And that is how he located them— captured them in tiny cyclones — containing them in the eye of storm while he drained them of their life.

Yet, they came back. He could feel them smothering like a wick of candle as he broke their neck joint .  About to die off but somehow they flared back to life. Frustrated, he flung his urumi precisely through storm. He will make their heads roll on ground. Now, he will see how they come back!

He took a deep breath and concentrated on the warm golden energy flowing through him and surrounding. Shrinking it in to a point, he was about to attack when he felt someone entering his protective circle.

Furious, he opened his eyes. It was an alpha. He felt familiar. Very familiar. But prachaya had no time to put a finger on that familiarity.
He flung his urumi in warning, to drag the alpha back— it's steel blade thumped on the ground just a finger short from alpha's toes.

" glory to the moon blessed..." the alpha whispered, falling on his knees, baring his neck in submission.
Crowd gasped collectively.

Pracahaya cocked his head in confusion. Alpha was submitting to him. Why?

" Submit" The alpha mind linked to the pack. All the present wolves except prince Gamon and his entourage fell to their knees " glory to the moon blessed. "

Though Prachaya's eolf felt their submission all his attention was focussed on the strange alpha.

" chief..." the alpha whimpered. And that's when it hit him. The familiar smell. The smell of blood. Alpha's blood. His alpha. His alpha was injured. Alpha Perawat was bleeding!
Where ? He couldn't see the wound..

" my chief..." Alpha collapsed on the ground, falling at his inches away from his feet like a sack of potatoes. Prachaya gasped, his grasp on urumi shook as the alpha's  human form suddenly changed to his golden wolf's that too belly up.
He stared at the alpha— unblinking.
He didn't know how to respond to the level of submission, trust and humility. 

The crowd murmured in shock and admiration. People had heard about resplendent aura and unparalleled beauty of Prince Perawat's eolf but not many had seen him in all his glory. The moment aloha rolled on his back, showing his belly, the crowd fell silent.

Lost to the shell shocked crowd, Prachaya kept staring at the alpha whose front legs were matted with blood.
The alpha was so injured that his Wolf had to step in? He couldn't even hold his human form?

Alpha moaned in delirium and the urumi dropped from Pracahaya's hand.
Bending down to his knees he prodded the wolf "alpha..."
No answer.

" Alpha... alpha..." he called again. Yet no response..

Prachaya reverently slid his hand under wolf's back and picked up the golden wolf cradling him to his chest.

" Hurt.." Prachaya murmured. " Alpha hurt..." he needed healing.

" Alpha ..." Pracahaya called in vain. The alpha wasn't budging.

"Hurt" a tear slid from Prachaya's eyes.
Despite all his efforts his alpha was hurt. .

The power running through him thrummed in his blood, singing sweetly in his veins. He channeled the power to his alpha— trying to heal him.
"Heal" he murmured.
Closing his eyes, he tightly hugged the alpha's wolf to his heart.

Prachaya was barely able to maintain  the hundreds of channels of energy he had created to maintain the cyclone containing sveltons. One more for healing the alpha taxed badly on him, flaying his nerves like he was being slow cooked on open flame.
Despite popular belief, he wasn't the controller of all the energy— he was more of a conduit– rather than controlling he manipulated it by constituting different channels to aim the energy amd it taxed on him. At best it wore him out , gave him intense physical fatigue. At worst, which happened more often than not, it extinguished his life force little by little.

At the moment, he had created too many channels — making him exhaust his reserve – now every channel costed him minutes of his life.

Prachaya felt his heart shutting off, darkness started descending over the back of his mind. Within minutes, he felt himself sway and the world darkened as his heart dropped in his stomach.
One question filled his whole existence.  Did the alpha survive ?

Unbeknownst to him, The vines rose from the ground and wrapped their existence — hiding them from eyes of others,  behind the thick canopy as the omega fell unconcious in the arms of alpha wolf who quickly changed to human. Holding him close to his heart just as he had done moments ago.