The Omega's Quest

13. Warring hearts

WHILE SITTING ON THE COUCH, Oscar was thinking of the events that led to his relationship failing. Who would have thought that facing his destined mate would be as hard? Yes, that same person the universe chose for him, and not just anyone who chose him for himself.

They were in a room discussing the details of the day Jason disappeared.

"You see? Here, Jason had been out of the house for two hours already. As I dug up from the group Oscar gave, I saw that he posted about something that made him furious." Ivan pointed to the screenshot of the message projected on the wall. Then, he pointed at the timestamp caught by the CCTV.

"You got this from snooping overnight?" Oscar was astounded at his mate’s detective skills. He had to give it to him, Ivan was a very good observer.

"Yes. Just imagine what I can do if I continue working on this for a week." Ivan smirked before showing another slide. "This here was an encrypted comment which made Jason rush to the nursery before running out crying." He then rewound the CCTV video and played the part he just mentioned.

"Can we check what the comment said?" George asked while staring at the screen. His eyes were glassy as he watched Jason run out of their house.

On the other hand, Oscar was feeling extremely guilty for letting Jason go without fighting for their love. Would they have been happier if he wasn’t as cowardly as he was back then? He guessed he wouldn’t know. Jason would always just remain as his unfading ‘what-if’.

"I have been trying to crack it, but I keep bumping into walls." Ivan slumped in his office chair, tweaking his gadget to find another clue. "Look at this other video. This one was shot a week before he left. He didn’t look too happy here either. I must say, it seems like Jason hadn’t been okay for a while before he disappeared. It was hard to find the starting point and reason for it. I need to backtrack the messages on the group page."

"Do you think someone from UOFC sent that comment?" Oscar threw the question to everyone in the room.

The query got George to think deeply, as Ivan shook his head.

"That is not the case. You see, there's a unique code for each user, and all authorised accounts by UOFC do not start with a letter." Ivan pointed to the second character in the code.

"How about a person who worked with UOFC before? I mean, there are a lot of employees. Someone might be goofing around." Oscar was sceptical about the employees. Tony complained once that some irate employees were posting nasty things about the organisation and the fighters.

"I have checked the codes of those who were employed during Jason’s time in UOFC. No one came up with the same code. The thing is, I wanted to get a pattern from the other omegas. You know? They might be gone because of this same user here."

"Brilliant! Keep working on that, my friend." George stood up and then turned to Oscar. "I need to leave for now. Alpha Byron wants to see you, Oscar. I will check on him first, then have Elliot fetch you."

The room felt bigger as soon as the alpha left. Oscar looked around until his eyes fell on Ivan. His intention at first was just to watch his mate while working. However, one thought eventually led to another, and he ended up admiring how Ivan looked. His mate had the most expressive yet most piercing eyes he had seen. The mate pull was getting stronger and he had been holding himself back from blurting out how much Ivan fascinated every inch of him.

No, Oscar, stop thinking good things about him. He reminded himself.

Any mate-related feelings were off his table for now. Romance was not even a part of his plan. He couldn’t be that stupid to simply give in to the pull, right?

"I can sense you are staring at me." It was Ivan who started a conversation.

Oscar scrambled to get a good response. His sanity was fading at the moment while Ivan smiled at him. It took him twenty seconds to finally get a grip of himself and speak.

"I... was not doing that on purpose. I m-mean, sorry," Oscar stammered, talking in broken words.

"No need to be sorry. It is cool, mate." Then, as if his first smile hadn’t blown Oscar just yet, Ivan smiled again.

"What did you call me?" Oscar furrowed his eyebrows. His emotions were already on overdrive. Two opposing thoughts were racing through his mind. One wanted to leave upon hearing that Byron was coming, and the other wanted to stay and be with Ivan for longer.

"What about it, mate?" Ivan used the endearment again.

"You said, mate." Oscar pointed out. There was no sense going around it.

"Oh that! Well, you are my destined mate. I’ve been wanting to call you that since we met, but then you know what happened." Ivan chuckled at the memory. He had stopped watching the video and turned to Oscar.

"Oh yeah, that was funny. On a serious note, I felt the mate pull the moment you knocked on my door. However, I can not accept you. I am done with having romantic relationships," Oscar firmly said. He was so good at hiding his desire to cry. Not even once did he imagine himself rejecting such a good-looking guy.

"Why? We are destined to be together. Can’t you just stop going against it?" Ivan remained cool even after Oscar’s rejection. It was one of the characteristics Oscar honestly liked about him— he was consistent.

"I am not going against it. I am ignoring it. The bond can’t dictate what I want to do with my life. I am already broken." Oscar felt the burden of being unloved rubon him harder. He tried to keep his cool about it, but then the pain just wouldn’t go away. He looked away from Ivan upon feeling his eyes heat up. He wouldn’t want his mate to see him cry, but then, he just couldn’t control his emotions when he was with him either. Byron did a number of hideous things to him, to the point that he had no choice but to let go.

Ivan came closer to him and soothed him. He was gentle when he rubbed Oscar’s back to give his mate strength. "It will get better. Let me patch you up. I will wait for as long as it takes." He knelt beside Oscar and tried to look him straight in the eye.

"Don’t. You are better off without me." Oscar pushed his mate away. He could not take it anymore. Ivan’s scent was already clouding his judgment, and that wasn’t good.

"I won’t reject you, just so you know. I will be here for you no matter what." Ivan held his hand and caressed it. He was sweet and understanding, the opposite of Byron.

"Thanks." Oscar wiped his tears and tried to compose himself. He had better look strong in front of Byron. He just couldn’t let his enemy see him this broken.

Gone are the days when Oscar fought inside the ring. He couldn’t wait for someone to rescue him, so he took the initiative to go against Byron. He was fighting for his freedom this time, and he just couldn’t back down that easily.

Nonetheless, amid the hate, Oscar still knew his husband’s scent really well. "I am going out to face my ex-husband. I can sense that he is nearby. Are you coming with me?" He turned around just in time as he reached the door. He felt bad leaving him alone, so he invited him.

"I am good here. Let me know if you need my support. I will gladly come." Ivan went back to his chair, and fixed his eyeglasses, although they were sitting fine on his nose.

"No worries, I can fight my own battles, Ivan. Thanks for the offer though, and see you later." Oscar smiled a bit.

It was kind of a bummer that his mate chose to stay in the room. However, Oscar thought that it was a good decision as well. He was getting distracted as hell just by the mere presence of his mate. Byron would easily deduce that something was going on between him and Ivan once his ex-husband noticed that. Not being close to Ivan while talking with Byron was the safest.

"STOP TELLING ME to get out, George! You know full well that he is my husband." Byron was enraged by the number of guards holding him up. His own guards just stood on the border, watching the commotion and waiting for their alpha’s order.

Both Elliot and George were standing in front of him with their crossed arms.As it looked like, the two were protecting Oscar, much like older brothers would protect their kin.

"You were never my husband!" yelled Oscar. Furious as he was, he was still trying his best not to shred Byron. How dare Byron have the audacity to call him his husband when he had never treated him like one before?

"Oscar, my love, you know that I took good care of you. Look at you! You’re distressed and thin. Come home." Byron tried to convince everyone. However, the one that mattered to him most remained unmoved by his words.

"Go and f**k your whores. I will never go back to you and your pack." Oscar was stern and stone-faced as he spoke. His wolf was howling in victory.

"Alpha George, I am sorry to get you in this trouble. I do not wish to talk to Byron anymore," said Oscar apologetically before turning around and going back to George’s house. He never looked back, and Elliot quickly followed him.

He was already some steps away when he heard George’s authoritative voice. "You heard the man. Oscar has decided. I am sorry, but you are no longer welcome to our pack, Alpha Byron. I am cutting all ties with you. Please leave immediately or my men will drag you out."

"I will be back, Oscar. I will take you with me next time I come here. I will not rest until you are safe and sound in our house. I need you. Please, come back to me." Byron’s strength began to falter. His words turned into sobs, then eventually, to wails.

Oscar just continued walking away with his head high. He was more than certain that he had done nothing wrong. It was the perfect time for Byron to learn his place in the world.

"Hang in there, dude," Elliot muttered to him pitifully. It was something that his friend had never shown to him before. It touched his heart in the softest way. Elliot was definitely a true friend, supporting and guiding him even in his darkest hours.

"Thanks. We both know this is not the end. However, I should not be afraid of him much longer. Jason's safety matters more than Byron’s threat." Oscar looked at his friend sideways.

"Yeah, Jason needs us. I wish I knew earlier." Elliot looked very regretful while walking beside him.

Oscar’s mind was clouded with all the possibilities of what Jason was going through. He once walked that path and it led him nowhere. It was where he learned that actions had better outcomes than just mere thoughts, and escaping and planning to escape were two different things. He wished he had planned more, but then, his will to escape sooner took the best of him. Should he have been smarter, he could have saved his friend Jason.

"Don’t go there, Elliot. It is a steep slope." Oscar stopped at the door of the house. Inside was his mate, who was patiently waiting for him to open up his heart. He was about to get inside when he took a step backward.

"Umh... Elliot? Do you think Byron would attack this place?" He just realised that he was putting Jason’s pack in danger. Not just Jason’s pack, but his family’s pack as well.

"He can try." a booming voice answered him from behind them. It was George, who was holding a baby’s hand as he walked. This small kid was Jason’s youngest child. She looked like a girl-version of her father.

"What do you mean, he can try?” Oscar said, silently, as fear crept over him. “I’m pretty sure he will. He has been purchasing items for wars. I never understood it until now."