"No, I\'m still cursed. But a lot of things have changed and now, we have everything it takes to confront and kill her. The battle has only begun."

Eden frowned when he heard his mate\'s words. He already knew it, because he had seen it with his perception, but hearing it left him with an unpleasant feeling. The witch who had cursed Glen was powerful, even more than the omega had imagined.

After today, he knew she wasn\'t acting alone, even though for some reason that dark energy creature hadn\'t attacked him as she had asked. Eden however could not omit it, because, with what he had seen thanks to his system, if this wolf called \'Dark\' started to fight seriously, the outcome would not be obvious. Far from there.

There were a lot of holes and unknowns that they still had to fill to be ready for their next confrontation, but they were no longer alone. They had now found the Skinwalkers.

Eden wiggled and sat down on his mate\'s lap before looking up at the people who were standing near Connor. The WIA agent was staring at him and his alpha and he could see how relieved the man was that they made it out safe and sound.

The young werewolf\'s eyes then slid shyly over the unfamiliar faces and he felt some reserve on their part, but no animosity. He then remembered what the old Soul Healer had told them and cleared his throat, ready to break the ice.

"Hm… Hello? It\'s a little late for introductions I guess, but I\'m Eden. Eden Bloodhood and hm… Thank you I guess? For well, everything?" The omega referred to the spell the woman had performed on Glen to cut the thousands of ties that connected him to the witch.

Even if in the heat of the moment, Eden hadn\'t been able to take a careful look, he guessed how precious her help had been. "Also, could you explain to me what you did to my mate please, and what has changed about his curse?"

He looked at the older woman who, after Light\'s departure had walked back to her place next to the man he assumed was the Chief.

The resemblance between the three strangers as well as their intertwined smells told the omega that they were a family. Probably parents and their daughter. In any case, they were close enough for it to appear that way.

A soft smile curved Silphie\'s lips and after a short glance exchanged with the man at her side, she bowed her head in front of Eden. The young man flinched at her gesture, but let her speak.

"I cut the connections between the source of the curse and Light. In this way, she will no longer be able to supply it with dark energy.

It gives us, I think, at least time to organize ourselves before our next confrontation with her." She noticed Eden\'s disappointed look.

"I guess it wasn\'t possible to lift the curse directly? Or maybe it\'s because I couldn\'t give you enough time?" He asked, feeling suddenly guilty.

When he heard her words, Glen put his hand on his mate\'s back. Eden met his gaze and the alpha shook his head. Before he could speak, Silphie resumed her speech.

"You are not at fault. Unfortunately, the spell is impossible to lift without Light\'s death because it\'s made of dark energy. She is the only one to use and control this energy so I guess if she disappears, this energy will disappear along with her."

Eden welcomed the news with a hint of disappointment. He had hoped for a different answer. He paused before suddenly looking around the room. His eyes fell on the Soul Healer.

During the appearance of the witch, the old werewolf had turned out to be completely helpless once again. She had watched for the second time that day, a scene where she was powerless. Even though she had regained her memory, with the knowledge of Soul Healers that had been lost, she was unable to properly perform her role as a guardian.

The Elder listened to the exchange with a distracted air and Eden\'s voice brought her out of her reverie.

"What about the ritual of the Omega\'s mark? Can we complete it at the next full moon?"

The omega\'s golden eyes stared at her expectantly. The old werewolf\'s face softened and she moved closer to the group. Her eyes trailed over Eden with a frown before landing on Glen. The crease between her eyes tightened, but she swallowed her questions.

"Yes. Now that the curse no longer poses a threat to the alpha\'s bond, nothing prevents him from claiming you."

With a light blush, Eden turned to Glen. His cheerful look faded when he saw his dominant\'s troubled eyes In his chest, Eden\'s heart sank, but he focused back on the conversation.

"Hm… What was your name again?" Eden said, addressing the older woman.

"I\'m Silphie,"

"Oh, nice to meet you and you\'re a Skinwalker right..?"

"Yes that\'s right, I\'m a Skinwalker, but first and foremost I\'m a witch. I became a member of Blue Moon when I married the leader of the Skinwalkers.

"Oh…" Eden glanced briefly at Connor, remembering the conversation with the Soul healer about Skinwalkers\' marriages, then continued. "I have a lot of questions to ask you so, to start who is this Light? I assumed that she was the b... the witch who cursed my mate, but who is she? And why put such a curse on Glen?"

"It is true that with the Soul Healers deprived of their memory, you have no idea who this witch is." Silphie realized before pausing. "I suggest you take a break while your alpha can cover up his body," she offered as she watched Glen cling to the fabric of the plaid to hide his naked skin as best he could. "Next, we\'ll answer all your questions and tell you the story of the Skinwalkers and the Bloodhood pack."

Eden nodded in agreement but couldn\'t help the question stuck on his mind since he heard The Elder, back in the forest.

"Is it true that Bloodhood is the original pack? That of the wolves blessed by the Moon Goddess who became the first werewolves?"

Silphie nodded in agreement and answered him.

"Our ancestors lived side by side for times that my people still cherish today."

"You have a funny way of showing your love," Connor commented and Elias glowered at him.

"I know you have a lot of questions," the woman continued unfazed. "The sooner we settle down to chat, the better."

Eden did not insist. He rose from his mate\'s legs and followed him as the leader of the Skinwalkers led them to the bedroom he had stormed out of when he woke up.

"I\'ll get you some clothes right back." He added when he saw Glen staring at the loose bandage around his ankle now that he was back to human form. "We treated you while you were unconscious. That\'s the wound this outsider in the forest caused you." Elias had spoken in a contemptuous tone and Glen frowned.

"Outsider?"

"The man who came with you and the Soul Healer. He hurt you with a blade imbued with wolfbane." He continued in the same tone and Glen\'s gaze turned cold. He glared at the man.

"This man has been my best friend since I\'m three years old. He would probably take a couple of blows and even more for me and I\'ll do the same. If he did it, it\'s because he had no other choice."

After finishing his sentence, Glen turned away without paying any more time or attention to the man who, startled, blinked and then turned towards the exit before leaving the room without saying anything.

"They seemed pretty hostile toward Connor," Eden stated and the alpha shrugged.

"It\'s way better than the option where they force him to stay with them and take the place of leader. I\'d hate him to be forced to do something he doesn\'t want to. Connor will start a war if someone tries to separate him from Greg."

"Have they been dating for a long time? If I got what The Elder said correctly, Connor must love him for marking him with his Skinwalker power."

Glen chuckled, his grip firmly holding the plaid around his waist.

"Greg is Connor\'s first love. He had the biggest crush on him when we were just high school students. I\'ll tell you the whole story another day, but I can already tell you that it\'s not because of some brotherly love that Connor accompanied me twice a week to the WIA lab where Greg worked under his father."

From the threshold, a voice interrupted them.

"Hey! Why are you lying? There was at least twenty percent of brotherly love."

Connor\'s sparkling, provocative gaze examined them. Leaning casually against the frame, he tossed clothes at Glen who caught them in midair.

"Twenty percent? And I\'m the one lying? I would be surprised if there were five percent." He retorted, with a raised eyebrow and the agent rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Twenty, five. Is it really important to quantify? There were some, that\'s all that matters, right?" Eden snorted in front of the man\'s dishonesty and Connor winked at him before walking away.

Near the door, Alana who had just overheard the conversation followed the light brown-haired man with her gaze. The agent, who didn\'t like the woman who had been arrogant and hostile towards him since their meeting, ignored him and moved on without taking a look.

"You\'ve marked a male?"

Connor paused at her question and his head spun long enough to make brief eye contact with the Skinwalker who immediately regretted her words.

"Don\'t stick your nose where it doesn\'t belong."

The agent strode to return to the Soul Healer and Alana heard the once again cheerful voice calling out to the old werewolf.

"Hey, Oldie, why the long face?"

Inside the bedroom, Glen had already put on the pants right on his bare skin and was about to do the same with the sapphire blue sweater he was holding in his hands. Eden approached the door and the alpha heard the click of the door as his head popped through the neckline of the cloth.

He fixed his appearance and his long black hair before giving his mate a quizzical look. The latter was playing with his fingers and the alpha could tell something was wrong. He waited for the young man to speak to him.

"You know, I haven\'t quite mastered this link thing yet, so if you don\'t talk to me, I won\'t know what\'s going through your mind."

Eden stared at him with his golden eyes and Glen\'s heart skipped a beat at his beauty. That face was unfair. No one should be allowed to be so irresistible.

"Are you having second thoughts?" the blond finally asked nervously.

The alpha\'s head tilted to express his incomprehension and Eden gulped.

"You didn\'t seem very delighted that we could complete the bond and finally mate so I assume that…"

Eden\'s body slammed against the door as Glen shoved him after rushing over to kiss him. His lips, possessive and greedy, crashed against those of Eden who had not seen the reaction coming and was utterly startled. The blond gasped for breath and opened his mouth letting Glen\'s tongue slide in.

The hot and passionate kiss left them drunk on all the untold feelings, and when they were both out of breath, Glen broke contact, his lips still slightly brushing those of the omega.

"I hoped this question came from the messy feelings storm The Elder told us about."

"But you…"

His words were drowned out by another kiss, shorter but just as languorous. The alpha put a dominating hand on his mate\'s throat and forced him to raise his head so that their eyes met.

The medium-sea green eyes plunged into the golden irises and Eden had a terrible time not drowning in their intensity.

"Don\'t get me wrong, as soon as this trial is done I\'ll mark you as mine." The dominant tilted his mate\'s head to expose the base of his neck and started to kiss him, switching from brief wet kisses to light nibbles. "We talked about it. About us and our relationship. I don\'t want to mate with you yet. I want us to wait to be, deeply, and inexorably in love with each other."

Eden hummed in answer, distracted by the kisses his man was showering him with all over his neck. Suddenly, something struck his mind and he pushed the alpha away.

"Wait, what about sex?"