Chapter: 49
******

Conri chased him around the fountain, the sound of his little giggles was like music to his ears, and remedy to his aching heart. The little guy was all smiles as he took off in circles, jumping up and down on the fountain's stone. As much as his life was miserable these days, he knew that even with the pain in his heart, these feelings wouldn't change. The child's laughter was like the sweetest melody he ever heard, it could heal him, mend his broken heart all by itself. His smile had been like the sun rising from behind clouds from the moment he set eyes on him. Holding a striking resemblance to him, the boy often reminded him of himself when he was a mindless little kid, pure and innocent, unaware of how truly unfair life could get. It made him want to protect him and keep him safe. He wanted to be with him, to watch over him every second they were together. You never know what ugly fate pokes around the corner, and by the Goddess, he was ready to protect him until the very end.

"Come on, Daddy!" He called, his laughter rising above the garden, the wind picking them up and Conri smiled when his laughter echoed around him. He was just so adorable, that Conri couldn't help but think that this beautiful creature had been sent specifically for him. The little boy would often stop when they reached his destination, turn around to face him, and then proceed to take flight once more, laughing merrily. "Run faster, Daddy!" And as Conri chased after him, he began to see the difference between loving a child and a Mate. It was the first time he'd ever felt something for another person other than the pain of love, so much that he could have killed anyone or anything for it.

Although he hadn't been present in his life for two years yet he loves him. A love without expectations, without boundaries, and without any need to control it. Love without judgments, revenge, and fear. Just pure and unbridled love. It filled him, making him feel warm from the inside out. He had felt so empty after the Witch's downfall. Felt worse, knowing that his Mate plotted with his mother to see that he suffered. He does not deserve it, and somehow he couldn't help but feel that even Caleb doesn't deserve it either. But, this is where they found themselves, and they have both made wrong choices.

But, someone has to be blamed.

Three weeks after defeating the Witch and her son, he sat beside Leon's healing bed, tending to him and trying to fill the void growing within him with thoughts of his Soulmate instead of drowning in pain from his Mate's betrayal. He needed a distraction, and he found it while nursing Leon back to life. Both Leon and Creiff had tried on different occasions to bring up the talks concerning his Mate and he would shut them down every time. Just the mention of his name leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and a ringing in his ears. He didn't want to talk about him, he couldn't even look at the other man, not for one moment, and so he had tried to avoid him, not see eye to eye with him.

And it had worked until today.

A part of him keeps pushing him to look behind. But, he had resisted it, and because of that, when Kael offered him a piece of apple, he mindlessly opened his mouth and took it. He saw the devious smile on the Fox's lips when he took the apple from his hand, like one who was plotting, or simply one whose attempt is to make other Omega's jealous. Either way, Conri didn't mind, didn't even care. Anything that would stop him from looking behind him.

He knew without a doubt what he would find waiting should he look, and so he fought against the pull.

Once Leon was healed and ready to return to Deivl, Conri knew it was time he found himself another distraction. He went to pick up his son and brought him back home with him. But, for two nights the boy wouldn't sleep, he kept asking after his Birth Omega, and when he would come home. Conri, who didn't like to see the little boy cry, went back on his word that day.

Anything to keep the little man happy.

*******

"Alpha," The Beta greeted, bowing deeply for the Lycan.

"Anya, you're my best tracker, please, find Kael and bring him back to the Manor," He told her and she nodded with a slight frown.

"But, isn't there a ban against him ever returning to River Bay?"

"I will have that lifted before you both get here, my son won't stop seeking after his Birth Omega, it's starting to drive me crazy," He said.

Anya smiled softly. "He's still young, he needs his Birth Omega," She agreed with a chuckle.

"Yes, but he lived with my Birth Omega, and I never heard a complaint of this sort," Conri retorted, his eyes filled with worry.

"Well, he is Phoenix, I'm sure a Demigod has a trick or two to keep a young Pup distracted," Anya replied, and both laughed.

"You're right, nobody does it better than my Birth Omega," Conri agreed. "Find him as soon as possible, and bring him back,"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yes, Alpha." With that, she left him alone. Conri sat in his study for another hour before leaving to have dinner with his son. He had already made his decision. And before Anya's return the ban on the Fox has been lifted granting him entrance into River Bay once again.

He was having dinner with his son when Anya entered with Kael in tow. Raphael jumped with joy when his gaze met his Birth Omega's smiling face, and it somewhat brought a smile to the Lycan's face. They shared dinner that night, and when he had tucked his boy to sleep, he dragged Kael into his office, shut the doors, and began to lay down rules.

"You are only here because Raphael wants you to be... Now, do not come close to me, don't speak to me, and please, do not touch me, it's weird when you do that. I don't want you all over me, learn your place and keep to it. And since we all know what your true form is, you will not keep parading around my Pack as a Werewolf when you're in fact a Fox, take your true form and stick with it... Have I made myself clear?" He asked the other man sternly.

"Y- Yes Alpha," Kael said, and bowed his head slightly.

"Have a good night." Conri dismissed and flopped down on his sofa. His eyes were heavy with sleep and for the first time in a long while he slept.

But the dreams from the past would not grant him a good night's rest.

It has been like this since that night.

******

"Are you tired, Daddy?" The boy asked, coming closer to tug at his sleeves.

Conri chuckled, "Do you ever get tired, young man?" He asked with a grin.

"No!" He whined, stomping his feet.

["Alpha, we need your attention in Crystal,"] Dom Linked him and he heaved.

"Alright, baby, play with your Birth Omega," He said and ruffled his hair before standing up and pulling him up too. "I have a meeting to attend,"

The little fella frowned. "Daddy please don't go," He protested and tugged on his sleeve lightly.

"I'm sorry little one, I'll make sure we do whatever you want tomorrow," He promised and kissed his forehead.

As he turned to leave, his eyes went straight to the Gates and there he was. Plastered against the iron bars, his knuckles white as he clutched at the bars. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He looked broken, shattered. Like he was barely hanging on to life like he had been crying for an hour, a day, a month. He seemed lost, desperate. His face was pale and drawn, and his hair had become disheveled. His clothes were crumpled, torn, and stained with blood. He looked to have lost a few pounds too. His eyes were red-rimmed and sunken. His jaw was clenched so tightly that it looked like his teeth were going to shatter. His breathing came out in pants, and his whole posture was shaking with every movement he made. Conri couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or anger and he hated it when he looked at him like that like he was the wrongdoer. The sinner.

This was all his fault.

He brought this upon himself.

Then why does he look at him like that?

And most importantly, why does he feel as if he had done something wrong, and needed to explain himself to him?

["Alpha?"] Colleen called this time, and Conri looked away from the gates and turned toward the Manor. ["Are you coming?"]

["On my way,"] He replied and turned one more time, to find the guards shooing him away from the gates. He saw him bow deeply to them and saw him wipe his tears. Conri looked away quickly once again, refusing to look at him any longer. ["Is my ride ready?"] He asked as he hurried into the Manor, mounting the stairs, and into his bedroom, where he proceeded to get into a more formal outfit.

["Already waiting,"]  Dom replied.

["Good, be there in ten,"] He replied and hurried out of his bedroom.

But first, he needed to make a quick stop at the kitchen to speak with the Head of Staff.

******

The board room was packed with Alphas when Conri entered. Every seat was filled, the men and women standing as he walked in. All the Alphas bowed deeply. Conri ushered them to sit, and as he walked over to the CEO chair, some of the Alphas stared at him with curious looks on their faces. When he sat down they immediately resumed the conversation, whispering amongst themselves. The digital screen lit up, showing a map of the island and its surrounding areas. There appeared to be three main points marked on it. One is on the northern edge of the island closest to the sea. Two were situated between the southern tip and the eastern edge.

"As you can all see this Island holds promise, and should we decide on a new location to build more settlements we can all agree that these islands would make perfect choices. However, we also have three potential places that may prove to be suitable for the construction of more Pack Lands, for the new arrivals... I heard that a Family of Banshee has arrived from across the sea, and is looking for land to begin their new territory near the southern end of the island," As he paused, everyone in the room murmured among themselves. All except Conri who seem to have spaced out from the second he sat down.

The only image that stuck in his mind was that of the Tiger.

He was haunting him.

This is why he had tried to avoid them meeting since that night.

And as he sat there with wandering thoughts, his phone began to buzz on the table, grabbing it quickly, the Lycan placed it to his ears, and the Room went silent. "Speak," He ordered whoever was on the other end.

"A- Alpha, it's an emergency," Reynold's voice sounded panicked on the other line, "There was an attack outside the borders of the City..."

"What?!" Conri roared, getting on his feet.

"Some Rogue attack, they took Your- mmm- they took the Weretiger," Reynold said, trying hard to get the words out properly.

"What do you mean they took him?" Conri barked, trying hard to control his tone and not snap at the Beta.

"I'm sorry, Alpha,"

"I specifically ordered you to immediately have some guards discreetly go over to the farm, and bring him back to the Manor, so he can assist in the kitchen instead, didn't I?"

"Yes," The Beta said with a sigh, "It was my fault, as soon as you left, Kael ordered that his specialty be made, and I lost track of time, and by the time the guards I sent out arrived there, it was rather too late,"

"Dammit!!" Conri smashed his phone to the wall and growled so deeply the Alphas seated around the table gasped in fright. ["Leon?"] He called into his Link and heard the other reply breathlessly.

["Conri, what's wrong?"] Leon asked worriedly.

["Is Dare with you?"]

["Actually he's under me right now... what's wrong, Conri?"]

["Rogue attack,"]

["Can't be from him, I'm positive, I've kept him grounded since I returned, he wouldn't dare do such a thing, not on my watch,"]

["Good to know,"]

["Wait,"] Leon stopped him from breaking the Link. ["You need my help?"] He asked.

["He's a moaner, take care of him, I've got this"] He teased and smiled when he felt Leon thrust deeper into the Rogue, emitting a loud moan. ["Fuck,"] Conri groaned, and ripped his suits from his skin, shifting. ["Have fun, Cat!"] He called one last time and broke the Link. Fully shifted now, he turned to the Board. "Sorry, I'm late for dinner," He waved them off, and leaped from the window, breaking glass in the process.

The Alphas all shared confused glances as they watched silently at what had just happened, and how the Lycan had leaped off the window of a twelve-floor building. Although they knew he would get himself down easily, it was the manner in which he jumped that worried them. What could possibly be so important that he would do that? A worker came into the room and began to mend the windows with her magic while Colleen ordered the meeting to proceed.

*******

The night was starting to awaken, bringing darkness to the land. The stars gleamed brightly and the moon illuminated the sky beautifully. Conri could faintly hear the song of the cicadas and crickets chirping somewhere in the trees of the forest nearby. He closed his eyes and let the breeze flow through his fur, the sound of leaves rustling filling his ears. He didn't need to keep his eyes open to see where he was going, he knew the scent of the Tiger and he followed it. He may have subjected him to a servant doesn't mean he stopped caring about him, and he couldn't be more sorry for those who dared touch him, and for their sake, he hoped they didn't touch even a strand of hair on his head.

["You didn't Reject him yet, did you?"]

["Shit, Leon, stop talking to me when you're having sex, it's weird, and it's making me honey,"] He complained, though he didn't bother to hide the amused smirk on his lips.

["Don't act like you don't want my attention,"] Leon teased with a chuckle. ["What happens when he sees you rescuing him?"] He asked, more seriously this time.

["He wouldn't know I rescued him, I'll make sure to put him to sleep before showing my face to him,"] Conri replied, picking up speed. ["And will make sure he doesn't remember it ever happening,"]

["Mmm, yeah... oh fuck, oh shit!"] Leon groaned and Conri hissed, breaking the Link and sealing it. No more distraction from his idiot Soulmate.

He arrived at a small clearing, and he waited, Sniffing the air for traces of the Tiger's scent. It took a moment but he finally caught it. He followed it to a thicket in the center of a clearing.

Coyotes.

He hissed and hid away, watching as they tried to force their way with the Tiger, he was tied up and pinned against the trunk of the tree in the center of the clearing by two of them. One was laying on top of his chest holding his arms, keeping them above his head, while the other kept his legs pressed down to the ground. He growled deeply.

Groaning, Rafa sent a beam of light visible only to his eyes which knocked the Tiger out, sending him into a deep slumber. Then he crawled out from his space and began to clap, the Coyotes turned around sharply looking for the intruder, and when they spotted Rafa, they began to shit their pants. "I hate two things in this life... One; Those who threaten my Packs.... And two; Those who touch what is Mine!" They made to run but they could not outrun the Lycan, his speed was incomparable, and within seconds they were all dead, ripped to shreds, and piled up like an all-you-can-eat buffet prepared specifically for demons.

He picked the sleeping Tiger up and walked.

Reynold waited restlessly on the Alpha's return, and when he did, he simply handed the sleeping Tiger to him with a simple instruction.

"You know what to do,"

Reynold nodded and turned the other way while Conri entered his room.

******

Kael groaned into his pillow when he spotted the Lycan through his window entering the Manor with that Tiger in his arms.

Those incompetent fools!

He thought they would have gotten rid of him before the Lycan was informed of his disappearance, but no! They had to go and act like the foolish animals that they were. Kael felt threatened from the moment he saw how the Lycan looked at the Tiger that afternoon. Conri may have warned him to stay away from him, but he knew it was only a matter of time until his Rut Period arrives, and he would take his chance again, maybe give the Alpha another son and this time, Conri would have no choice but to make him his Choiced Mate. After all, everyone in River Bay knows the Alpha has demoted his Luna, and all are eagerly waiting for the Lycan to Reject him for good this time.

But the wait was looking to be too long, and Kael's patience was reaching its limit, and with what he witnessed that afternoon, if he didn't act fast, things might go very wrong for him.

He will not allow that.

Caleb brought this upon himself when he betrayed his Mate. He does not deserve to be Mated to such a powerful Lycan. He thought he was all High and mighty, well, who is all high and mighty now? He is out of the Manor, and he stays out.

And if the Lycan decides to bring him back into the Manor, then he will make sure to make his stay a living nightmare until he runs back to the farm!