Suits and Rogues

Chapter 16

Odin expected to wake up with various types of pain attacking his whole body. What he didn't expect is to wake up like he had gone through heaven and reborn as good as new (which is what happened).

His eyes opened to see the familiar healing pod that Lyra uses to heal her customers. Warm biege fairy lights float above along with differently colored lotus flowers with a bud of light at their center. Odin could feel the velvet and cottony foam beneath him that he knows came from Amphibia - the amphibian lands. They make the best foams in the whole world and the foams usually have Agnite in it - a healing chemical that heals any wound or illness. Once added with Lyra's great healing abilities, Odin could understand why he had gone back to topmost shape almost immediately.

A gentle whoosh of air alerted him of Lyra's presence. "I'm surprised your wolf didn't attempt to kill me when I was healing you." She said in that enticing voice of hers.

"You'd be far more surprised once you find out the hell I've been through since the last time I'm here." was his reply as he sat up. Immediately, fairies flew towards him holding cups of drinks, some food, and clothing. It's only then that he realized he's naked.

"Why? Is it worse than your past dilemmas?" Lyra asked as she sat on one of the intricate chairs in the room and hiking a flawless leg over her other. The slit in her red dress showcasing her flawlessness while also bringing more vibrance to her beauty. From her sultry gaze and body language, Odin immediately noticed what she wants.

"Worse..." he stared her down as he put on a shirt. "...and it will befall on you too if you don't stop what you're doing." He threatened.

"Oh? And what am I doing?" She hiked a slender eyebrow and sat up straighter, causing her cleavage to be more prominent. She's a gorgeous female, Odin admits, but she's not Odin's type. Lyra has this secretive aura to her and in Odin's experience, those secrets usually lead to disaster and are very dangerous. He has enough on his plate already. If he gets tangled up with Lyra, his end will come faster than he wants it to.

"Seducing me. Now drop it." He growled as he accepts a boxer from a fairy.

"How can I when you're practically displayed in front of me?!" Lyra exclaimed teasingly before laughing at the grumpy alpha's soured expression.

"Who told you to look?" Odin grumbled as he puts on the clothes offered by the fairies.

"My female hormones." Lyra teased but respectfully turned around to give him privacy.

"You're not dumb to listen to those." Was his reply; making her snicker.

"Geez! You sound like you're not into women. Tell me, are you gay?"

Odin tensed at her question. Albeit teasing and seemingly innocent, he still couldn't help but feel exposed, attacked, and a bit defensive.

At his dark expression and gloomy aura, the fairies immediately flew away and hid in fear.

Upon not hearing a retort, Lyra chanced a look behind her to see the brooding alpha looking murderous into the distance. She hopes she did not say anything that will set him off. She knows how disastrous things get when this alpha loses his temper. Even with her advanced magic, she still doesn't want to face such damage.

"Uhh...did I say something wrong?" She asked tentatively.

His eyes piercing eyes darted to her and she gulped nervously at how his eyes had darkened considerably. That's a telltale sign that he's on the verge of lashing out.

Did he get insulted at her "gay" joke? Is he one of those males who get all defensive at a "gay" joke? Seriously? But then again, he is an alpha. They are prideful creatures so that is probably the reason why.

Lyra sighed. In her almost a hundred years of existence, she still couldn't understand the appeal to the ladies. Who would want to be mated or tied down to a prideful and dominant male?

'Speak for yourself. You were just seducing him a while ago.' Her conscience scolded her.

'Can you blame me? He's yummy and a total hottie if only he's not grumpy and murderous most of the time.' She retorted.

Before she could have an inner argument with herself, Odin spoke.

"What do you know?" The dark edge to his voice alerted her.

"Uhh...what do you mean?" She asked; confused at his question.

"Cut the crap, witch! We both know what you're capable of so tell me what you know."

At his words, it's Lyra's expression that darkened. "I suggest you watch your tone."

"Make me." Odin growled; already losing his temper.

"Seriously? I practically saved you from death's door, been a hospitable host and friend to you, and just because of a harmless joke you became a f*****g a jerk! The nerve you f*****g have!" Lyra snapped at him; irritated at his attitude. How dare he disrespect her after doing good things to him?!

"Watch.your.tone." that's probably the last warning she'll get from Odin but she's seriously fed up with him. It does not even register to her that he could easily overpower her.

"Bullshit! What's your problem?!" She bursted out angrily and in a split second, Odin is in front of her with her neck grasped tightly in his strong hands.

Lyra choked as Odin's murderous face looms over her. His usually bright silvery-gray eyes had gone stormy gray and his aura is letting out dangerous waves in the air that causes goosebumps and fear to course through her body.

"You want the full list? Here's my problem: I am born, I am alive, my father hates me, my pack don't like and trust me, my employees had turned their backs on me, the council keeps biting me in the ass, the enforcers are trying to kill me, the most wolves of my specie are against me along with half of the creature population, even rogues are coming after me, I've committed a crime and betrayed my pack, I was kicked out of my pack and company, some bastard tried causing massive destruction to my species, I am highly susceptible to be framed as the murderer of some enforcers, I failed to conduct business with an important businessman, some light entity tried to kill me, the goddess gave me a loyalty test that I unintentionally failed, my wolf has gone missing, I had to cut ties with the only remaining friend I have, I just found out that my position in the pack and company has been a lie, I found out my f*****g mate is a f*****g hated rogue and a male, that f*****g secret got exposed in the most humiliating way, and now everybody hates me!" Odin growled. Upon registering Lyra's shocked and hurt expression, he jolted out of his anger and let her go.

He turned around and went back to the healing pod in frustration. A strong part of him wants to throw a tantrum since that's the only way he can express himself. However, he's aware he had hurt Lyra already. Damaging her belongings will make things worse.

"And now..." he sighed dejectedly as he leans on the pod with his heads bowed down in shame and defeat. "I hurt you. I...keep messing things up, huh?" He swallowed the lump in his throat. He's tired of his feelings. It felt like nothing good ever comes out of it. He should've heeded his father's teachings of not feeling anything for it will only bring problems. It's his loose temper that created a rift between him and the pack. And now, it's causing him to lose the remaining people he has left.

"I deserve it." He confessed, clenching his fist and forcing himself to stop feeling anything.

Lyra feels sorry for him. She knows he don't have it easy and understands where he's coming from. However, that murderous look on his eyes earlier scared her along with the sudden darkness that suddenly came from him. It's her second time sensing the dark shift in his aura. Her fairies sensed it the last time he came to her shop and she also sensed it when she tried to heal him and his wolf surfaced. She knew him long enough to know that his aura had never been like that. This just worries her even more.

"Let me hit you once then we're even." She tried joking but face-palmed herself when Odin immediately agreed.

"I was joking!" She told him when he stood in front of her stiffly; waiting for her to hit him.

"Don't hold back. Hit me as hard or as many as you want. I'll take it." Was his serious reply.

"It was a joke! A sorry would suffice!" She exclaimed.

"A sorry won't erase that." He said while pointing at the bruises he left on her neck. "And I deserve it for disrespecting and hurting you. You've shown me nothing but kindness and...I'm an asshole for repaying you with hurt. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. Want something to eat? From your beat up state yesterday, I bet you haven't eaten yet."

It's only then that Odin realized how starving he was. Still, he has to receive his punishment first.

"As soon as you deliver the punishment, I'll go treat you to that new restaurant that just opened nearby." He replied.

Lyra sputtered. "P-p-punishment?! Geez, Odin, what kind of people have you been hanging around with? Friends don't do that to each other." She looked at him incredulously.

Odin stood shocked. "Friend?" He asked. Lyra considers him a friend? He thought it was only a one-sided friendship from his part.

"Yes, friend. Duh!" She rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously, we don't do that even when we mess up sometimes."

Odin remembered the time he had friends. Being socially awkward, he had frequently upset his friends due to his bluntness. Because of it, his friends would punish him by ignoring him until he gives them gifts or do anything they want. And when he hurts them, accidentally or not, they would always reciprocate it even when they are sparring or training. They said that when you hurt friends, they should hurt you too because in friendship, they are all equal. And since Odin had hurt Lyra, it's only fair that she hurts him back too.

"Still, it's not fair that I hurt you. You have to hurt me too to make it even." He insisted. He just found a new friend so he'll try his best to keep her.

Lyra threw her hands up in frustration. "That's not how friendship works!"

"Nor does hurting a friend." Odin retorted.

Seeing that she will not be able to convince him otherwise, she gave up. What kind of twisted view does he have about friendship? Surely, this is not his first time having a friend, right?

"Fine. You win, you stubborn asshole."

At her words, Odin waited patiently for her hit.

Seeing his prepared posture, Lyra prepared to deliver her best punch to the stoic alpha. She stretched her body, popped her knuckles, performed arm stretches, took a boxing stance while bouncing on the soles of her feet, made practice jabs to his direction, did a warm up exercise, cracked her neck, rotated her head, swung her arms, and lastly, she pulled her arm back, clenched her fist and charged towards Odin with a loud battle cry.

"Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!"

Odin just watched her antics and her charging towards him animatedly. From her speed, he expected a hit that is as painful as a normal werewolf's punch but once her fist connected to his chest, he only felt a slight pressure and nothing else.

"Satisfied yet?" Lyra smugly asked the shocked alpha. "I didn't hit you that hard, did I? Don't worry. I'll heal whatever my punch caused you. I hope your ribs didn't break or anything." Lyra boasted. It's not every day someone could shock this formidable alpha so Lyra is pretty proud of herself upon shocking the alpha with the force of her punch.

"I..." Odin hesitated. Naturally, he usually tells the truth, but seeing as he just befriended Lyra, she might be offended if he confessed that he barely felt a thing. Clearing his throat, he replied. "Ouch..."

Lyra smiled proudly at that. "Great! Now we're even so you don't have to worry about punishments or whatsoever. Now come and let's eat! I'm starving."

Odin could only follow her silently.

☆☆☆☆☆

"So...what's your plan now?" Lyra asked after they finished with their meal and Odin had filled her in with the recent events.

"I'm going to kill the hellhound."

Lyra choked on her drink. Sputtering, she asked him. "Are you f*****g serious?!"

"Yes." Odin affirmed.

"But-wha-wh-ha..?" Lyra stuttered; completely taken aback by his words. "But he's your mate! The one you've been waiting and searching for 50 years! And aren't your kind very committed and loyal to your mates? Ya dogs are head over heels for them regardless if you've met them or not! Rejection barely even happens! How much more of killing a mate?!"

"I guess I'll just have to be the first one then." was Odin's cool reply.

"But that's impossible and you know that! You even confessed that you could barely control yourself around him. I bet the moment you're face to face with him, you'll do nothing but jump him!"

Odin made a displeased face at that. "I don't think that will happen. My wolf is currently out of it and we all know that werewolves are mated and bonded through their wolves. Without our wolves' influence, the bond should not exist or at least have minimal effect."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Lyra questioned.

"Take the instance of a werewolf mated to a human. The human barely feels the pull and the bond. Since I don't have my wolf at the moment, I'm currently human."

"Makes sense. However, since you're human, does that also mean you don't have your werewolf abilities? Like the claws, fangs, high speed, massive strength, and all that?"

Odin paused at that. "When I fell from the building, I was not able to grow claws to stop my claw. My theory is that I'm too drained to do so and because of the shock of losing my wolf. But now that I'm at my best shape, things could be different."

"Want to test that out?" Lyra offered.

Odin nodded at her proposition and together, they teleported to Lyra's underground basement. A huge meteorite lay at the center of the basement that is 13 ft. in height and width.

"I'm not going into details about the hardness of that rock since you already know. Care to test it out?" Lyra gestured at the meteorite.

"Don't cry when I break it to pieces." Odin teased.

"Naah I'll just make you clean it."

With that said, Odin approached the meteorite. With a deep inhale, he swung his fist and hit the meteorite with as much strength as he could.

Craaaaaaacccckkkkk!!!

The meteorite broke in two and collapsed on the ground with a deafening echo.

"Woooohooo! Werewolf strength is still present!" Lyra cheered as Odin looked at his fist. A faint bruise showed on his fist and he looked at it gloomily.

"Why aren't you celebrating?" Lyra asked upon noticing his somber mood.

"Because that's not my whole strength but only half of it." He admitted as he turned around to face her.

"So...that means you're only half human since your abilities are still present right?" She asked.

Extending his hand, Odin willed it to grow claws but nothing happened. He attempted it with his fangs and still, nothing.

"Not all of it." Was his reply.

"Well...let's test your healing." Without any warning at all, Lyra stabbed his stomach with her ruby dagger coated in viper poison.

The wound healed almost immediately and Odin felt the poison being burned in his bloodstream.

"At least your healing still works." She commented and Odin nodded.

A few more tests later, they found out that Odin had most of his werewolf abilities besides heightened sense of sight and hearing along with growing fangs and claws. He also can't feel the pack link nor can he use it. He guessed that's probably the very reason he's still alive now because he would've died the moment his pack kicked him out with his wolf still inside him.

He might have to thank the goddess for that.

"So...how are you going to kill your mate?" Lyra asked as they walk towards the exit of her shop.

"I'll trick him. Get him to think I'm reconsidering with accepting him as my mate. Once he lets his guard down, I'll strike. It's all up to chance from there. However, with the element of surprise, I'll have the advantage and I'll finish him quick so he won't get a chance to defend himself." Odin explained.

"Still, I don't think you should kill him." Lyra replied softly; carefully threading on thin ice with the conversation.

"Lyra, it's the only chance I have to redeem myself or at least be accepted back into the pack."

"But still, you've looked for your mate for decades! You finally found him. He may not be what you expected or wished for but don't you think you'll be rejecting the very thing you've wanted and waited for the most if you kill him now? Odin, you know there's no second chance or third ones. You only have one mate in your life. Are you really willing to throw it all away for the pack that turned their back on you?"

Odin paused at her words. He knows she's right and from the pain in his heart, he also can't deny that his conscience agrees with her. Still...

"Lyra...remember what the goddess told me? She said she'll give me my real mate once I've proven my loyalty to her. That means that the hellhound is not my real mate. He's only a pawn to test me. And besides, if I have to choose between my pack and mate, I'll choose my pack regardless if they turned their back on me."

"Why?" Lyra asked sadly.

"Because if I sacrifice my pack, hundreds will suffer. If I sacrifice my mate, I'll be the one to suffer. I'd rather suffer because my life is not worth even one of theirs. They have families, friends, and mates who cares and loves them. They have people who will grieve for them. I only have a few." He turned his head to look at her. "And I know those few ones are strong enough to not grieve about me too long nor will they need me in their life. Compared to the pack, their life matters more than mine."

At Lyra's tearful expression, Odin gave her a gentle smile to reassure her that things will be ok.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He assured.

Feeling embarrassed, Lyra wiped her tears. "Yeah...yeah, you'll be fine. I mean, you're a tough bastard to kill." She joked in an attempt to hide her worry. With that mindset, people usually end up dead and Lyra is not ready to lose him yet.

Odin nodded. "I'll be off then. Find him for me, will you?"

"Sure! Don't worry. This witch is good in finding people and stuff. After all, that's my expertise." She replied with a smile and showcasing her arm muscles in a macho gesture. Too bad all she has are skin and flesh and not much muscle.

"Thank you...for everything." Odin said as he stepped out.

"Just don't die and you'll get more free favors from me." She joked and Odin smiled before disappearing towards the forest.

He's thankful to have Lyra as his friend and he feels bad for not doing enough to reassure her that he'll be back. But since he has a very limited time, he has to put his plan in action as soon as possible before his wolf returns and they both die from the severed pack bonds.

Since he already completed step 1, he has one more thing to do before proceeding to step 2.

With that thought, he headed towards the direction of his pack.