"It wasn't the first time I saw it," Marianne stated again after Suri gave them the account. "I'm not just paranoid, I swear. It's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence."
Elias rubbed his brow, feeling his insides begin to churn. The room they sat in suddenly felt cramped. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Marianne nodded. "Although I wish I weren't."
"Marianne." Wilhelm hoarsely croaked, the pleasantries attained from the festival completely gone from his system at the seriousness of the situation his mate was insinuating at washed over him. "It can't be…it hasn't happened in over three hundred years! And you're saying that it's happening to our son? Our little boy? It can't be!"
"Do you think I want this?" Marianne whispered fearfully, eyes turning back to blazing azure. "Do you think I would want my only son to turn out to be an Omega?"
"Quiet!" Elias raised his voice, slamming his hand against the table as he jerked his head from side to side. "You know the lore…if an Omega appears in a pack, it means there is danger coming. Something is going to threaten our pack, and Nature is just trying to throw in a lifeline just in case it happens—this doesn't just concern our two sons, but also the safety of our whole pack!"
"But we don't know what this danger is!" Wilhelm growled, eyes turning silver as he stared at his friend and Alpha. "It could come in ten years or twenty!"
"Or it might come tomorrow!" Elias growled in turn. "That's the danger to it! We don't know what will happen!"
Suri stiffened. "But Matt? What about Matt?"
"If what you saw is indeed true…." Elias sighed. All the cheer from the earlier festivities had evaporated. "Then we need to prepare for the worst. You can't keep a mate bond from forming. It might stay suppressed for some time, but eventually, it will make itself known, and there will be nothing Eric or Matt could do about it."
"So what do we do?" Wilhelm croaked, fearing for the future of his pack and family. "What can we do?"
"What is the main problem with two males mating?" Elias said, thinking out loud for the benefit of himself as well as the others. "It's the delivery of the litter. There is no way to get the pups out when the time comes…."
"Mhm." Marianne nodded, tightening her hands in her lap to prevent her fingers from trembling. "The carrying mate dies when the sac holding the pups breaks and the body fluid drowns the babes. After that…give or take a couple of hours, the other mate dies when the severity of the lost bond overwhelms them…my father explained it once my mother died…as a gaping hole…like feeling as if someone just tore half your body and thrown it out…."
"Yes," Elias nodded. "The issue lies with getting the pups…so we need to think of a way of getting them out in time…."
"How about if we kidnap a surgeon?" Wilhelm suggested suddenly, straightening in his chair. "We can't go to them because one," He counted off. "Eric is a male, and two, because he'll start to shift during the birthing process…but if we kidnap a surgeon and bring him here…then he can save our son when the time comes!"
"No! That's too risky!" Marianne shook her head adamantly. "What if something goes wrong? What if we can't get the surgeon in time? There are too many variables! I don't like it!"
"But we still need a surgeon." Suri agreed, seeing the way Wilhelm was looking at the issue. "We need someone who could perform the surgery and take the pups out."
"Hold on a minute," Elias raised his hand, brow knitted together in concentration. "Let's think for a second…suppose they do end up mating…that can only happen once both have finished phasing and Eric hasn't even started yet. Not to mention the fact that phasing could take up to four maybe five years. Then…who is to say that right after they mate, Eric will conceive? From the stories we heard, the previous male lycan pair didn't conceive until well into their adulthood…I think one of them was at least twenty-nine when they finally conceived."
"But I come from a long line of fertile Lycans!" Marianne blurted out, eyes growing wider as her fear grew. "I had three litters! And so did my mother before me! Eric carries that potential—we can't just assume he won't bear until late into his adulthood."
"What if," Suri suddenly said, hands bunching in her shirt. "What if we send one of our own to become a surgeon? They go to the human high schools anyway once they finish their elementary education here. What if instead of pushing one of them in to the police academy or into the emergency medical assistance, we send one to become a surgeon?"
"Suri," Wilhelm said, shaking his head. "Do you know how difficult it is to become a surgeon? Not only does this lycan need to agree to do this, but they also need to be smart enough to get through the rigorous course material. It's not something just anyone can do!"
Marianne suddenly looked up, "Max can."
"Mari—"
"No," Marianne shook her head, interjecting. "He can. I've heard everything Eric has said about him, and I've also seen. He's smart. Smarter than even the boys five years older than him…and…and he loves both Eric and Matt…he would do it. He's smart enough, and he would be willing enough."
"But he's only eleven years old!" Wilhelm proclaimed, turning to his mate in shock. "He's just a little boy!"
"He can do it!" Marianne reaffirmed, "He can pass the high school entry exam right now if we give it to him! I've seen him doing Yuri's homework before because he was bored! He can do it!"
"But he can't completely control his shifting yet," Elias frowned. "That's why we only send our kids beyond the border once they reach around high school age. They have much stronger control on their shifting then. Even now, Matt subconsciously begins to shift. I doubt Max would be able to control himself."
"He will!" Marianne insisted. "If he knows what is at stake, I know he will!"
"Regardless," Wilhelm sighed, "We can't agree on this unless we tell Max's parents anyway. They need to know about this before we go ahead with anything in any case."
"Mhm." Elias nodded, turning to the door. "Then we'll just need to call them over now."
:::
Max sucked on a persimmon, his tongue lapping up the sweet juice as it trickled down his fingers. Seated beside his two favorite people, he was content to watch the fire blaze while he licked at the sticky sweetness coating his forearm.
"Ugh," He heard Ricky say beside him. "Max…you need to wash that off. It's not going to get any better if you keep licking at it."
Turning his head, Max watched as Ricky grabbed a napkin and poured a little bit of water onto it before grabbing hold of his arm and wiping away the sticky patch.
"Seriously," Ricky blew his bangs out of his eyes as he wiped. "You're not a baby anymore. I shouldn't still be doing this."
"I didn't ask you to," Max grumbled, not about to admit how much he liked Eric fussing over him.
"Lighten up, Ricky," Matt said and smiled as he threw Max a conspiratory look. "He can lick at it if he wants. It tastes better that way."
Wrinkling his nose, Ricky gave Matt a grudgingly obtuse gaze. "Says the idiot who stuck his hand into a beehive."
"For the love of God, it was one time!" Matt growled, exasperated. "And I was seven! Let it go, for god's sake!"
"Never!" Ricky grinned, sucking in his cheeks cutely. "It was my all-time favorite of all the 'I told you so's we've ever had!"
"Max!"
All three heads perked up at the call, eyes taking in the rushing form of one of Max's sisters, Dina.
"What?" Max straightened up, curious as to what could make his bratty sister leave her group of friends and come looking for him.
"Mom and dad are calling for you," She said in a rush. "They are inside the Alpha's hut, so go! I'm going back to my friends."
And with that, the long-legged girl bounded off, leaving Max to grumble in annoyance.
"At my place?" Matt frowned, finding it a little strange. "I wonder what's up?"
"Have no idea," Max sighed as he stood.
Without a word, Max started to jog towards the Alpha's hut, leaving behind his friends as he dutifully went to see his parents.
When he had approached the Alpha's hut, he was surprised to see not only his parents but Eric and Matt's as well.
"Come inside, Maximillian." His father said. A troubled expression was on his face as the adults turned to walk back into the hut.
Max bounded up after them, even more, intrigued, entering the hut and closing the door behind him as the adults went to take a seat on the floor in the living space. Sensing something was going on, Max quietly sat beside his mother and father, eyes glued to the Alpha.
A few minutes of silence had passed before the Alpha turned his head to look at him.
"Max," He started a little hesitantly. "I'm about to tell you something, and you must promise me you'll keep this a secret until the time is right. Do you understand?"
Max dutifully nodded, knowing how serious this was if the Alpha was addressing him personally and in the privacy of his own home.
"Have you heard of the story of the two male Lycans mating?" Elias started, keeping a close eye on the boy. When Max nodded, he continued. "Well, as you've heard…when it came time for the pups to be born…they all died because no one could get the babes out in time."
Max nodded again, feeling something in his stomach drop as the adults exchanged anxious glances. They were worried, afraid of something. He could feel it.
"Max," The Alpha said. "We think…that something like that is going to happen to our pack. Actually, we believe it has already started the process of occurring…Ehm…my son…Matt and Eric…we think they might become mates…."
Max stiffened, eyes going wide. "B—But—"
"It's not going to happen now…Eric hasn't even started phasing yet," Elias assured.
"No! He has!" Max blurted, suddenly scared. "He just started phasing tonight! During the festival!"
A crushing silence descended on all those present in the room.
"Wilhelm…" Marianne whimpered, eyes wide. Her hands fisted in her mate's shirt as tears filled her eyes.
"We…well…" Elias tensed his jaw before spoke. "We need to save them, Max…and there is only one way to do that."
"How?" Max asked, scared of what might happen to Ricky and Matt. They couldn't die!
No!
He wouldn't allow that!
"We need someone to take out the babes when the time comes," Elias said solemnly, "And for that, we need to send someone to go to medical school and attain the knowledge of a surge—"
"I'll do it!" Max interjected, hands shaking as he leaned forwards, eyes wide. "I can do it!"
"It's not going to be easy, Max." His mother whispered, her eyes misting. "No one has ever gone there from the pack. You would be the first. You'll have to master your shifting and enter high school much earlier than everyone else your age—and then rush through that as well. You won't have the time to e-enjoy it."
"I don't care." Max shook his head, eyes trained on his mother and father. "I can do it." He turned to the Alpha, determination glowing in his eyes. "I will do it."