12. For the pack

When they arrived in front of the hospital, Eden began to feel nervous even though Trinity had assured him that his father's life were no longer in danger. However, knowing that the person who embodied strength for him was in his most vulnerable state, this thought alone made him feel uneasy.

The omega followed the dominant through the halls of the hospital he was visiting for the first time in his life. As a member of a traditional pack, although he knew a lot about human society, he usually didn't go to places where they lived alongside werewolves.

The hospital where his father had been transferred was one of them.

The facility was located in the territory of the Black Moon, a civilian pack located in a city where humans and werewolves coexisted. However, the existence of his kind was still an undercover secret that only a few humans shared. Such towns required constant discretion and laws enforced by the Werewolf Intelligence Agency, a government agency responsible for mediating between humans and werewolves.

After several security checks, Trinity had led Eden through an endless maze of corridors before finally getting into an elevator. Once inside the canister cabin, the healer entered a code and the floor button panel slid open to reveal a box on which she entered a number. The cabin started up. A few seconds later a bell rang and the doors opened onto a corridor whose whiteness accentuated by artificial light made Eden blink.

Once his eyes were accommodated to the bright light, he followed Trinity. He was on guard at first but, he relaxed as they passed one of their own in his werewolf form. They walked across a large reception hall, they made their way to the general surgery ward. Trinity then started to check the number on the bedroom plate and stopped in front of the number 801. The dominant knocked twice on the door and lowered the handle gently.

Silver Bloodhood was chatting with his mate sitting next to his bed. Eden, who didn't expect to see his mother, whom he had not seen since their argument, froze for a moment. The Luna's eyes stared at her son for a second before turning to her Alpha, an unreadable expression on her face. The leader smiled weakly before waving his son inside.

Eden hesitated a moment, then thanked the healer and stepped into the room. The male omega strode up to bed. A smile finally broke out on his face when he noticed that the wound his father had on his neck had almost disappeared. The skin was still pink and covered with scar tissue.

"It's nice to see you. "

"Yes. I heard you got a hell of a long sleep. It looks like it did you good."

Eden laughed, shaking his head. "The biggest nap of my life. And yes it did me good. "

"Glad to hear it."

They were silent for a while. Eden breathed with joy the pheromones of the Alpha which reassured him. He looked down on the sheet that slightly revealed the bandage the surgeons put on after the operation and noticed that the veins were a light tone of blue as the skin was pale.

"W-what did the doctors say?" Eden asked, anxious. "When will you come home?"

"Soon, Son. I still have to wait a bit more before the infection that is delaying my recovery is fully cured, " Silver explain explained, pointing to the IV hanging from his arm. "Once this is over, I can go home."

Hearing this, Eden's face beamed briefly before darkening again. He bowed his head like he was painfully remembering something. Silver watched as the omega groped his fingers. With a deep sigh, he asked his mate to leave them alone. Snow Bloodhood stood up to kiss her dominant's forehead and walked away to the front door. She grabbed the doorknob and stopped.

"I-I see you at home Eden," she said in a choked voice.

The omega turned and met his mother's gaze, who was staring at him apprehensively. His smile appeared once again, lighting up his honey-colored eyes.

"Yes, Mum. Bye."

Snow opened the door, her shoulders a little straighter, and left the room to leave her two men. Silver patted the sheet beside him, inviting his son to sit by his side. Eden carefully settled next to his father, still fidgeting his fingers until he felt the comforting pheromones his father was emitting.

"Thanks." The omega said with a smile. "Dad ... I'm sorry for what happened that night. I know we should have handled this matter way better. Instead, you got hurt and… "

"Enough, Eden. Before you say anything, I want to talk to you. " Silver announced in a deep voice.

The teenager lowered his head, ready to endure his father's words. His stomach had turned upside down and he now wished he hadn't eaten so much before he left, because even though werewolves couldn't get sick and have an upset stomach, he was pretty sure he was having indigestion from stress.

"As a leader, what happened that night taught me a lesson. At Bloodhood, we try to live as close as possible to how our ancestors lived when the first werewolves appeared. We were inspired by them to build the pack which is, even today, one of the most respected in the region and everywhere else.

However, Bloodhood is not just a copy of what our ancestors did before us. And that is something I forgot that night. Under the pretext of protecting our hierarchy, I didn't listen to you as I should have. It was my own neglect that brought me to this hospital bed. Not you, Son. You saw perfectly through Crescent Moon's bad intentions. Although I spend my time telling you that you are more than an omega and that you are an important part of the pack, that night I treated you like an omega. If anyone has to apologize, it's me Eden, not you. "

The Alpha was silent and watched the teen staring at him with a surprised expression on his face.

"Are you talking to me as the leader of the pack? Like from Dom to Sub? " Even said as he motioned between them.

The alpha chuckled and just nodded his head in response. The omega who had totally forgotten his nervousness and the discomfort he felt, stared at his father with a smile revealing his canines, light back in his eyes.

"Can you tell that one more time, I'd like to register with my ..."

"Don't push it!" Silver answered sternly.

"Ok, ok." Eden giggled. "So… We won't be… punished?"

The Alpha looked at his son who stared back at him, his look was filled with hope. Silver sighed deeply and run a hand in his face.

"I feel like I'm losing all my credibility as a father. My son is breaking the rules and I think punishing him is a bad thing. "

"That's not true!", he yelled. "You are willing to give me credit and you look beyond simple disobedience to see the bigger picture. All of this makes me respect you as a father, as a person, and as an Alpha."

"' I would die for my Alpha! I would die for my pack! '" The Alpha took on a slightly higher pitch voice to mimic his son's tone. "When your mother reported to me that you said, you'll never know how proud I was.

By the way, she was really upset, you know. But she stayed by your side the whole time. She didn't even rest until your condition improved. When you finally shifted to your human form, she ask you to be moved to your nest and she even allowed Dante and Cherry to look after you. So I hope the two of you can speak sincerely, hm? " Silver talked with a concerned look to his son who nodded in agreement. "I was proud of you, but at the same time, I have never been so afraid in my life. I don't want you to ever be in a situation where you have to put your life on the line to save the pack or to save me. Can you promise me that? "

Eden paused a second. He needed to think before conveying his true feelings because he hoped for his parents to understand him.

"I don't know if I can, Dad. I know you probably don't want to hear that but, that's who I am. I can't just close my eyes if I'm in a situation where my actions can make a difference. Of course, I won't forget my safety. I'm not that reckless and I kind of like my life. If you accept who I am, I will probably still run into dangerous situations a couple of times again, but I'll always make sure to come back to my family and my pack."

Silver locked eyes with his son and a rush of pride washed over him as his heart sank.

"You've grown well, Son."

"I know," Eden said with a smirk.

"You're a cocky one aren't you?". Silver snorted and rested his head and the pillow behind him. They remained quiet for a bit then the alpha broke the silence. "There is something else I want to talk about with you."

"Why do you sound like it's something that I don't want to hear about?"

His answer took the Alpha aback and he couldn't help but pause in awkward silence. "I guess this instinct of yours doesn't work only with enemies. "Eden… I'm going to host a reception with the leaders of all the packs around the country. We'll officially announce that Bloodhood is looking for his next successor. "

"What?"

Eden's heart started to pound loudly and the uneasiness that had finally disappeared returned, even more intense. An aftertaste formed in his mouth and his hands began to sweat and tremble.

"What happened showed me that too much time passed. As powerful as Bloodhood is, if anything ever happened to me, the pack would be in danger. It would then be easy for an enemy to either aim at you to seize power and to destroy the pack."

"But I have Dante and Beta Acher and..."

"None of them is an alpha, Eden. You have to be prepared for any eventuality and find your mate. With what happened, no one cannot disentangle the truth from the false for Crescent Moon, so I don't know if the news of the next alpha's ousting is something to be taken seriously or not. But besides them, Bloodhood is the only pack across the country that hasn't announced its successor yet. "

"But…" He lowered his head, unable to say more.

"I know what scares you, Son, but you're a wonderful young man and an even more beautiful omega. Don't be scared. We have to do it. For the pack."