For Ship.
A translation of At the end of the world by Ship.
THE STORY IS NOT MINE!
this is a translation of the Italian story 'At the end of the world' by Ship.
Cover image by Jessica
CHAPTER 4 OF 14
..
Merlin looked around. Then he stripped, leaving his few clothes on the rocks.
It was late afternoon.
He was in a deeper part of the cave, where the underground pod allowed refreshing. He wanted to take a bath and cool off, to shake off the dust of the past two days, which had exhausted him and left him at the mercy of some emotions that had overwhelmed him...
He had to get over the fact that he had to put aside the idea of returning free soon, accepting the Alpha's orders, even if his reasons to impose such a ban on their departure were more than reasonable.
However, his inner tension didn't allow him to think clearly and to turn away the prejudices...
Merlin put his foot in the water, releasing a pleasant and liberating sigh, comforted by the fact that he had reached that place.
Once reached the inner lake, a farther pod had attracted him. So he had crossed a small corridor and found himself in a den far from the main cave, where a larger and slightly deeper lake had turned to be cooler on his skin, so much that he had decided to take a bath in that place, surrounded by a dimmer light.
Perhaps it had been that so dim light with slightly bluish reflections to persuade him into remaining there.
It was healing his nerves and relaxing his tension, since it was more restful and the water was so cool.
There, the sun's rays that penetrated the thin holes in the cave walls and that lightly colored the pond came in only in part and you could breathe the purest twilight.
And the water, wonderfully fresh, reinvigorated his naked body in a moment.
Merlin, emerging from the apnea, breathed deeply, putting air into his lungs, pleasantly relaxed. He swam from side to side. Then, he stood on a far bank, leaning against a rock. He closed his eyes. His mind blank after so long. His heart finally calm.
If it had been possible, he would have stayed for the rest of the day in that place. To cure his instincts, now overpowering awoken. To cure his long asleep senses, now awoken and alert, lulled by a new tension, returned to the surface and the cause of many changes inside of him, such as his perception of things, the desires of his body and his thoughts.
"Fuck..."
Merlin had hit the rock behind him with his head, shuddering and shivering in an attempt to bring order into his world, when a voice coming out of the water like a dream strongly shattered his new tranquility, returning him to hell.
Him.
Once again to upset him.
"Is the water too cold for you?"
Merlin re-emerged from the fire of hell, but with his throat still burning. He had recognized his voice, but the figure of Alpha was still hidden from view.
The brunet ran a hand through his hair, a few drops slipped from his forehead to his lips. He drank them in an attempt to find relief for his burning throat.
"I can't see you. Since when have you been here? You've stayed in the shadows all the time."
An angry scolding.
Arthur approached him, completely wet and naked. A faint ray lighted him. His eyes were light blue, mistaken with the blue light around him.
"I was swimming... like you"
Arthur's voice, low and full of shadows and night made a shiver run along Merlin's neck, caressing his Omega body.
"You are feeling better..."
The other did not answer, but listened to the water move.
Merlin suddenly felt his stomach tighten, realizing that perhaps earlier Arthur had seen him stripping naked and getting into the lake. The shore where he stood was in fact the most enlightened.
When the Alpha came near him, Merlin swallowed a few times, overwhelmed by his beauty, his prowess, the force with which the Alpha's essence was entering him, making him sink all the time he was close.
An alarm bell rang in his heart, warning him and urging him to run. But the overwhelming attraction he was experiencing was stopping him.
Then, thinking that the best defense is a good offense, he decided to attack.
"Why didn't you show yourself earlier? You were..."
Arthur smiled with a grimace, widening his white smile in the water drops on his cheeks, staring at him in a way that blocked Merlin's breath in his stomach.
"Are you asking me if I saw you naked?"
Merlin glared at him and the Alpha's smile raised even more on one side, continuing.
"Yes. I saw you. But you shouldn't feel embarrassed ... we are even now. You'd seen me naked first, after all. Are you nervous?"
Merlin clenched his fists, staying still and feeling a slight dizziness.
The air was beginning to become unbearable, permeated by the smell of the Alpha's pheromones.
Of his Alpha.
He heard him laughing at his slight nervousness.
Then his heart began to beat faster, to shiver, his head to spin.
Merlin trembled, fighting the urge to turn his head and offer Arthur his neck, begging him to claim him, to take him.
When he could focus again, he realized that Arthur was turning away and heading toward the shore.
He sighed, relaxing. At least until he saw Arthur sitting on some rocks, staring at him without the slightest intention to get dressed and leave.
That impudence returned him to reason.
"Are you going to stay there? I would like to get out of the water"
The urge to run away was sudden, strong.
"Go ahead, then"
Arthur kept staring stubbornly at him, absolutely comfortable, beautiful and cheeky. This moved a mixture of frustration and excitement inside the brunet. Merlin couldn't help but admire his splendid nudity.
As a doctor, he was able to explain the nature of Alphas by heart, their physical characteristics...
Yet, at that time, he could only see the perfection of his Alpha's naked body, of his muscles, perfectly designed by the water.
The blond had taken off the bandages from his shoulder and side in order to swim. Merlin couldn't look away, while he was like that, completely exposed.
He couldn't even look at the groin area that he had admired so much while treating him … the memory of having seen and touched him made a shiver of languid heat explode between his legs, stirring him.
"Could you at least hand me my clothes, please? I would like to get out of the water with some clothes on"
Arthur laughed again. This time a darker and forced laugh.
"It's a bit too late to hide..."
But then he got up, picked up his clothes and went into the water towards him to give them to the brunet, but without covering himself. Indeed, he looked at him with a defiance expression, almost as if ordering him to watch.
Merlin felt that Arthur's wanted him to look at him, to admire him.
Arthur wanted to impose his dominance, to write his damn name on him.
As a true male Alpha, he was using his best instinctive ability to subdue him.
And Merlin, as a good Omega, was suffering his spell, defeated.
Arthur took possession of the space around him, holding Merlin with his eyes. He didn't come too close, forcing the Omega to go out of the water at least a bit, to expose himself.
Unnerved and upset about his own weakness and for not being able to react to the game Arthur was forcing him to play, Merlin reached him, intent on collecting his clothes and run away.
Therefore, as soon as he found himself in front of the Alpha, he grabbed his clothes sharply, recovering from a violent tremor. He just hadn't been able to not look at his whole body.
Wet, he looked almost like a God …
His red, full, soft mouth...
His broad and steel shoulders...
His sculpted and powerful abs …
His groin with his huge manhood, typical of the Alphas, soared on the water and was an irresistible call, along with the cloud of pheromones fighting to claim him.
Merlin blushed.
And the redness spread, becoming excitement.
He tried desperately to escape, as he felt his penis harden in response to the whole situation. However, Arthur's look was penetrating him insistently. Merlin could feel it on himself like a blanket.
The Alpha's smile showed a big win.
"What's wrong? Are you ashamed of what you are feeling? It is natural to feel excited and submissive in front of a Prime. Are you embarrassed? As a doctor, you should know that even if you are a Beta you can feel my influence ... obviously, not like an Omega, but you can feel it nevertheless"
His voice was darker now. His pheromones enveloped him, forcing him to give up somehow. His body refused to move.
Arthur came up behind him, one-step from his back, and instinctively, Merlin turned away, while every cell of his body lit up because of the Alpha's closeness.
When Merlin looked at him and discovered him alert, excited in turn, a shiver shook him from head to foot, making the air around them almost unbreathable. You could cut some tension with a knife.
He had to leave. Immediately.
Otherwise, he knew what would happen.
His body would not listen to reason anymore, but only to his instinct.
Merlin adopted defiant pose, determined to escape. He kept his clothes in hand without putting them on, trying not to succumb. He was trying to get away as soon as possible.
It was a mistake.
Exactly the attitude that he shouldn't have showed.
Because of his escape attempt, the Alpha felt his hunting instinct awaking.
Arthur laughed and lowered the tone of his voice and even his smell changed, becoming darker, while he reached Merlin fast.
"Stop running away from me"
Merlin didn't stop, conscious that it would be impossible to escape him now.
This time with a single step, Arthur was on him, grabbing his wrist, tugging and turning Merlin toward him. His breath glued to his ear...
Hot.
"Tell me something about all this nervousness of yours... when was the last time you fucked? Have you ever been with an Alpha?"
His voice was almost inaudible.
He was speaking on his lips, breathing hard.
"None of your business. Let me go..."
Merlin feared that his legs would give way. He realized he was feeling his excitement rising to the rhythm of the other's breath, now that he was pressed to his neck. All the while, Arthur was sniffing him, eyes closed.
"Mmm... I don't think you have. Given your overreaction to a natural submission"
Merlin could hear him smiling against his skin.
Forcing him to surrender at every beat.
"... Would you like to try it?"
Merlin clung desperately to his last glimmer of reason...
"Let me go. Do you want to take me by force?"
He felt Arthur letting go slowly.
"I wouldn't need to. I could give you the chance to get away from me ... but I warn you now ... in the end, you would be the one begging me to take you"
His words was like an arrow in the chest.
The hunt was on.
Merlin wouldn't escape him anymore and he knew it.
Arthur wanted him.
The Alpha had decided to have him and nothing would stop him from taking what he wanted, not even all the force used to resist him.
Merlin tried nevertheless, to escape from what he was feeling more than to really escape the other.
Everything changed in an instant.
.
Merlin began to retreat fast. Then he dived into the water to swim away, but Arthur was on him with two strokes. The temptation to yield possessed his every cell, making him close his eyes, while the prince imprisoned him in his arms, preventing him to breathe, but not to object once again.
"Now you must have re-dislocated your shoulder..."
His breathing was already accelerating, excited, and that was filling him with anger.
Arthur smiled.
"I think you love playing cat and mouse... you're excited. Your body is already claiming me. You're shaking..."
Merlin raised his hand to hit him, one last desperate attempt not to succumb. Arthur grabbed his wrist, blocking it. Then, he deposited a kiss and bit it. His lips infused lava inside Merlin's veins, sending uncontrollable shivers in all his body, making him moan.
"You know you can't get away from me"
Arthur sank into his neck, biting him slowly and fully breathing him.
Merlin wanted to scream to defend himself ... but his voice came out weak.
"Why are you doing this?"
Arthur bit him harder, going up along the curve of his jaw. His breath was hot.
"Because I want you... and because I feel it, I know, you want me too..."
Arthur literally assaulted his lips, opening them by force.
"... and because I'm an Alpha and this should be enough as an explanation... It's my nature, as is yours to submit to me."
"I am a Beta ... I am not obliged..."
Saying those words hurt him, because he knew he was denying himself.
Merlin had to hold on to his huge shoulders in order not to stagger. He was lost in the kiss, in his pretentious tongue that was invading him, in his breath out of control...
"But you can feel my power nevertheless ... in fact, your body is already giving in..."
Merlin broke into shivers, lost under his caresses. One hand of the Alpha came to block his neck in a vice; the other stroked his back first, then boldly between his buttocks, slipping down.
"Someone could walk in here any second..."
Actually, it was more like a silent prayer. The hope that the moment would be broken.
Before the end.
Suddenly Merlin gave in, definitely.
"No one would ask questions..."
Arthur went down, finding instinctively what he wanted: Merlin's hole, already wet with desire.
"Are they used to see their leader in certain situations?"
Arthur glared at him and bit him hard. Merlin moaned.
"You talk too much ... soon, you will not have enough air to..."
A groan escaped the lips of both men, when Arthur caressed him with his fingers more intimately, slowly invading his most prohibited areas, when he found the center of his pleasure, penetrating him slowly...
"... I can feel you want me. I feel you vibrating beneath my hands"
Merlin almost choked because of an unexpected moan when Arthur's took his hand, bringing it to his majestic sex, when he became aware of his desire to stroke it, to feel the Alpha coming alive under his touch.
"Prepare yourself, Merlin, because I am about to take you"
It was the first time Arthur called him by his name and that unleashed intimacy made him surrender.
Merlin took his sex in hand, defeated, willing. He felt it in all its length, stroking it slowly with his eyes closed and languid lips, lost in that heat...
It was impossible to stop.
It was impossible not to feel deeply Omega in that pure and intense moment, not to fall within his nature.
Arthur picked up his breath, moving in Merlin's hand, slowly but eagerly looking for it, as he watched him fall and beg him through shivers.
"Didn't I tell you would have begged me? Isn't this begging?"
Merlin let out a slow sigh. He let Arthur invade his mouth hard, beaten by the sensations he was feeling.
"Come here"
A pure, intrusive, undeniable order: a stab in his will, the end, the desire.
Merlin almost cried when Arthur lifted his legs, fastening them around his waist; when he felt the blond filling with triumph and drunken pleasure once he had lifted the brunet against him.
"I want you. You can't escape me now. You know that, right?"
Merlin bit Arthur's lip strong, drinking those words, swallowing them.
Completely surrendered, lost, helpless.
In need of him.
"Then do it... Are you asking permission, Alpha?"
Arthur groaned. Then, he laughed and tightened his grip on Merlin's buttocks, impetuous.
Merlin felt Arthur lowering him slowly on his sex, penetrating him without hesitation, hard, invading. His heart sank listening to Arthur's groan of pleasure, as he slid into him hard, his eyes closed and his breath broken, remaining only a few centimeters from his body as an Alpha had to do when mating with a Beta...
He would have begged him to push in completely, claiming him as an Omega, but it would cost him too much revealing his true nature. So, he gritted his teeth to prevent his lips to open and release this plea.
He allowed Arthur to take him, imaging he was doing it completely, all the way, giving him his Knot and establishing the Bond with him...
He heard the blond cursing through clenched teeth, hoarse, because of the desire to sink inside more and the frustration for not being able to have him as he wanted, burning Merlin's skin with his mouth...
And then, he heard Arthur move, dragging Merlin with him out of the water. Then, he covered him with his heavy body ... the hard rocks under his back, Arthur's rhythmic movements above him while he took the brunet again, after a moment when he had left him in order to lay him down.
The wail Merlin released when Arthur pushed back in was high and strong. He had been unable to contain it.
He heard a gasp forming in his soul, as he listened to Arthur's passion in his womb. He caught his every breath imprisoning it in his chest, kissing his lips, afraid to break the silence in which he could feel the Alpha's heartbeat like a drum. The tide was increasing, dragged them away. Arthur groaned, creeping in his every atom.
He noticed that Arthur was feeling every fiber of him and a slow pain made him bite his skin. He said cruel and unfair words to break that power.
"This... is just a fuck ... you know that, right?"
Arthur paused and Merlin regretted his words ... but then the Alpha pushed in again, increasing his pace, as if to prove something, almost as if he wanted to force Merlin to yell at him to stay...
And Merlin would have done it...
If he had not had to suppress everything and send it back from where it was rising.
If he hadn't had to deny his Omega nature in order to have him.
With those thoughts and emotions, Merlin came suddenly, abandoning himself to the pleasure of a deeper push, while Arthur collapsed on him.
Listening to him moaning, the blond finished too, exploding inside the brunet.
.
When it was over, Merlin felt the loneliness due to the end of their dance invading him. The end of the closeness that had united them, isolating them from the outside world for as long as their orgasm had lasted.
Arthur straightened up, still excited but suddenly distant and impassive. Then he stood up, grabbed his clothes and dressed in silence, while Merlin looked at him defeated and sad, desperate to keep up everything that had shattered in him.
And he could feel it clearly ... something had fallen apart even in the other man.
Merlin knew he had hurt him with his last words... he could see it in his face. He perceived it in the blond's smell ... Arthur had had him; he had taken him as he had wanted, without consent, without Merlin wanting it too, or at least that was what Merlin had made him believe, and now everything was still between them, surrounded by silence.
Arthur stared at him, his body and hair still wet, tightening his mouth, his jaw hardening. In his eyes the look of someone who had tried something but had failed. That expression killed Merlin more than anything else since he met him. This is why the pain was stronger when Arthur's voice pierced him from side to side.
"Is this just a fuck? Is it really what you think?"
"I didn't ask more of you, I think."
Arthur answered even harder. He had felt it too, all their chemistry: he was just better at not denying it. However, he was confused, even more than Merlin, who knew the truth about them.
"You are the first ... not to ask for more"
Fire in his chest.
"Oh... Fear not. Tomorrow you will dominate someone else ...don't worry."
Merlin stood up, looking away, hurting himself in order not to give in.
"So ... you have nothing else to say? To ask me?"
"There's nothing else to ask for"
He found the courage to look at him. But he shattered when he had to impose himself not to beg. He felt devastated when Arthur stared at him, nodding. He was hurt, when the blond turned his back and told him to follow him.
"Let's go back. We need to meet the group"
Merlin stood up, hoping that the other would await him, but by the time he was dressed, the Alpha was gone.
When they returned to the main cave, they had no time to think or even to exchange glances with the other.
As soon as he arrived, Merlin felt immediately the heavy air in the cave and stared at Lancelot, who was approaching him at once to update him. Arthur was bent with Percival on something that was on the floor and immediately Merlin asked for explanations.
"What's going on, Lance?"
His friend looked at him in the eyes.
"Earlier Percival, Gwaine, Leon and Elyan had gone out to verify that the storm had stopped completely, to check that the roads were free... then, Percival and Gwaine returned with a helpless traveler, collected on the street ... you can imagine what the problem is"
Merlin stared at him.
"The yellow fever?"
Lancelot nodded.
"I think so. The others don't know it... I'm afraid they don't know what it is. I was waiting for you before talking about it. I came to call you but Arthur said you were coming..."
Merlin felt his heart shivering at the thought of what he was not confessing to his friend, of what had happened. He was about to speak about the stranger, but Arthur was calling him, and didn't have time to.
"Merlin... What can you tell us about this poor man?"
The Prince continued not to look at his face, when he reached them. He needed to keep a cool attitude and not to give in to his pride.
He had accepted the distance imposed by Merlin with dignity and toughness. And now he was an impenetrable wall ... far from what they had shared.
Merlin's breath fell for a moment.
Merlin leaned on the man, working close the Alpha that hadn't moved. Arthur stared at his actions but never looked at him. He checked the man's vitals and lastly his pupils, just to have a confirmation.
"Well?"
Arthur was again a leader, dominant, leaving aside his personal issues.
"He is dying. We cannot do anything for him ... the storm must have caught him while he was already ill. He has the yellow fever."
Arthur looked directly at him this time.
"The yellow fever? Never heard of it. A new epidemic?"
Merlin nodded, trying to keep a neutral attitude.
"Have you met no man or villages affected by this disease during your journey?"
Arthur shook his head, worried.
"No. We have travelled in the territories of the North and from the East to the West ... we have just got here in the South ... and so far, we have never heard of it..."
Merlin stared at him.
"It's an epidemic that is spreading quickly. So we cannot be certain that the lands you have already visited aren't affected NOW"
Arthur seemed to think about something. Then he returned his attention on him.
"What is it?"
Merlin answered calmly.
"It is a disease that affects the bowels and the liver. It causes a very high fever. It is decimating the population here in the South. Few heal; many die. At the moment we have no cure. People heal through their own immune system. We don't know why some can defeat the disease and others can't... we still don't know what the physical conditions are that help the immune system of some people to eliminate the fever..."
Arthur got up and Merlin saw him fixing the other Alphas at his side, especially his sister Morgana, who Merlin felt tense, trembling.
However, he turned to him again.
"You think that this epidemic might have arrived in my kingdom now?"
Merlin looked at him.
"I can't be sure. But I'm afraid so. It depends on how long you are away. It has intensified in the past two months"
Arthur folded his arms. Then he stared at his sister who was approaching him.
"Arthur, we have to go back ... the people ... we have to make sure they are fine, that everything is okay. Mordred ... he is our only doctor ... we have to see if he needs help and support, if he still doesn't know anything, if he is not able to..."
Arthur denied and clenched his jaw.
"We cannot abandon our mission."
Merlin wondered what mission. In the past two days he kept hearing that word hanging in the air, but no one had ever said more than that.
Morgana trembled. Her voice lauder.
"We cannot leave things like this! We should at least check! Send some of us back to our kingdom! Send me! Arthur ... we need to..."
Merlin stared at the inner torment in Arthur, who at that time was really fighting with in his feelings. He felt a horrible feeling in his stomach when he saw him finally making a decision.
His new tone already expressed a hint of something that Merlin wouldn't have liked, that would have definitely complicated things.
"Everything has changed because of this new fact. There are new decisions to take. We have to continue our journey, but the conditions have changed. I speak for everyone"
He turned toward Merlin.
"I am referring to you and Lancelot too"
Merlin snapped, now alert.
"What do you mean?"
Arthur stared.
He had desperately looked for a pretext to keep Merlin with him and, although he felt purely selfish in that moment, nature had just offered him a perfect one.
"You and Lancelot will join us. You will be part of our group. You will become part of the clan Pendragon, under my orders. You are coming with us"
Merlin attacked him, almost yelling at him. Lancelot was as shocked as him.
"You can't do this!"
Arthur stood with his arms folded, hard.
Adamant.
"Yes, I can."
"No, you can't! Keeping some Betas against their will? NO! We are free men and we too have a life you have to take into account! You cannot take our freedom and force us to join your house!"
"You can bet I can. I can force Betas to submit to my command if a serious situation requires their services ... if they become indispensable for the survival of my people ... and this is an emergency situation"
Merlin wanted to hit him, to scream ... but he knew he was right.
"This is tyranny!"
Arthur unfolded his arms.
"There's nothing more to discuss. You will come with us and that's it. We must understand what is happening and in the meantime continue our mission"
Merlin snapped.
"We too had one before meeting you! Lancelot and I were going to Gedref to ask for help! To discuss the epidemic, its causes and possible remedies with other healers! And now you're telling us that we are prisoners!"
Arthur started to answer, but remained silent to dominate him using his nature.
In the cave, no one was talking but the two of them and Merlin knew what the others were thinking.
How dared a Beta oppose a Prime?
And why Arthur was allow him to?
At that point, it seemed like the Alpha was having a discussion with his mate, not with a Beta, but with a figure that had suddenly become important for all of them. Because Arthur had invested him with such importance...
Merlin, perceiving everything, suffered, knowing that nature was restoring the balance without asking permission.
The other Alphas now was showing him the respect and reverence that was due to the rank that their leader had implicitly given him.
They knew Arthur had chosen him.
They could feel it.
Although they did not know how things were between them.
At least how they really were.
However, there was no time to explain because Leon entered the cave with Elyan in his arms, unconscious, and Arthur and the others ran forward. Guinevere was the first.
"Leon, what happened?"
The knight deposited his friend on the rock, remaining at his side.
"I don't know. We were walking ... I heard a thud and I found him passed out ... he never recovered. I've brought here his horse..."
Arthur lowered himself.
"Merlin..."
His first order for him, as his subject.
He walked over and when he did, he already knew what it was.
He checked if he had a fever, looked at his pupils, his corneas: they were yellow.
"He has been affected"
He felt Guinevere at his side panicking and Lancelot going to her.
"What do you mean? What's the matter with him? What can we do? Oh God, Arthur!"
Lancelot squeezed her more, while Merlin got up and put himself challenging in front of their boss.
"Nothing! All we can do is finding answers to this damned epidemic. Just this for now. And we cannot do that, because we are prisoners!"
Arthur stared at him impassively.
"One of my men got sick: this reinforces my beliefs and choices even more. There are no doctors among us. The only doctor of my clan, Mordred, is in our kingdom. It is imperative that you stay with us, along with your friend."
Merlin clenched his teeth and fists, realizing that there was no way out now.
Guinevere was still shaking and Lancelot spoke for the first time.
He seemed relieved he could stay with the Alphas.
"Merlin, we could take him to our village. I could take a horse and accompany him... with Gwen. Will would take care of him"
He kept talking to the others, but especially to Gwen, tightening her in his arms.
"Will is Merlin's second in our village… the one where you wanted to go when we met and that Merlin and I had just left. We don't know if he can heal ... but at least there, someone would look after him..."
Guinevere seemed to light up with hope at that. Therefore, Morgana attacked again.
"Arthur, we have to check how our people are... to speak with Mordred. It's necessary"
Merlin felt in her voice that this doctor must be something more than another member of the clan to her.
Perhaps he was her mate.
The other men stood in silence, waiting for Arthur's decision, and Merlin realized he too was suffering his power. The instinct to offer his neck in submission was eating him alive, as anger gave way to realization.
Arthur finally lifted up his eyes, looking at his men. His words were law.
"All right. I have decided. Lancelot and Guinevere will take Elyan to the village. But they will have to leave him there"
Merlin felt her stiffen in the Omega's arms, but said nothing.
"Morgana... you'll wait for them. When they get back to the cave, you will return to our kingdom. The three of you are going to make sure everything is all right there"
Merlin felt the woman breathing a sigh of relief...
"I, Merlin, Percival, Gwaine and Leon will go to Gedref..."
Merlin shook as he listened to him.
"There, we may be able to find answers to the epidemic, as Merlin said. But not only that. We will continue to seek the Catha of our mission... Gedref is a land we still haven't visited after all"
Merlin felt his heart becoming lighter, or at least in part. He promised himself to find out more about this mission to look for that Catha, since that in some way it had become their mission too, provided that Arthur decided to inform them, as new members of the clan...
"We will decide later what to do. If we find answers, we will return to Merlin and Lancelot's village to bring them, as the two of them were meant to do from the beginning, and we will check Elyan's conditions..."
Gwen sighed as he continued.
"Morgana... if everything is fine in our kingdom, in a week time we'll meet in the village. If on the other hand there are problems, sent there some knight to inform me"
She nodded, relieved.
Then Merlin turned, hearing Lancelot standing up and speaking again. His friend had already fully submitted to Arthur's dominant call and had willing pledged his services to him.
"I am the right man, my Prince, to accompany the Amazons to your kingdom. Once there, I could help your doctor if necessary. I have experience as Merlin's assistant"
Merlin stared at him. His friend had a new light in his eyes, a new purpose, a new path.
It hurt, but he was equally happy for him. Although he would lose his freedom, Lancelot had found a new purpose, and Merlin, as an Omega, couldn't blame him.
Arthur nodded.
"Very well then. We all leave in an hour. Gwen ... if necessary, in the village buy a horse. Merlin is using Elyan's"
She nodded and started to move, while also Lancelot got ready.
His friend approached him and looked at him in the eyes.
"Merlin... sometimes life chooses unexpected paths for us, but that doesn't mean that in the end we won't choose them willing..."
He patted him on the shoulder and walked away under Arthur's gaze, who stared at him impassively as he said goodbye to Merlin.
"Good luck in Gedref."
Merlin nodded.
"You too"
Arthur left his gaze.
"Hurry up ... we leave soon"
Morgana came up to talk to Merlin just before leaving. When she spoke, she sealed what had become a day that had changed everything.
"Merlin... Gwen and Arthur have broken up."
He stared at her impassively, genuinely surprised by that revelation.
"Why are you telling me this?"
She shrugged.
"Maybe because you're the only one who knows why? You don't need to pretend with me anymore. Arthur is my brother and I know him better than he knows himself, so I already know what has happened between you two today. You know... about that, I wanted to tell you about Mordred. He... is my man; he is a doctor and an... Omega. I can recognize the ointments that allow him to hide his nature and be only my mate… that allow him not to subject to the brutal laws that take away your freedom; that deny the Bond! Everyone else believes he is a Beta. I see that also you and Lance take these ointments... They are new, different and unrecognizable at the moment. At least to inexperienced eyes."
Merlin felt his veins freezing.
"You know ... he and I ... we always hope that one day things will be different... that Alphas and Omegas will resume their destiny and being able to freely follow their true nature. That they will live the BOND again. All of us must believe it"
"There is the death penalty in the five kingdoms for those who establish the Bond"
He didn't even try to lie to her. It would have been useless. He didn't have the strength for that, nor he wanted to.
"I know. But I believe in Arthur, in the world he wants and that he is trying with all his might to create..."
"Does he know... about you and Mordred?"
She shook her head no.
"At the moment he must focus only on his mission. However, when it is appropriate, the truth will come out. I believe it. I believe in him… in change"
The bite went down bitter, but it was accompanied by the honey flavor of hope.
"Try to believe. For you and him. For Lancelot and Gwen. And for all those like us. Because I can see it... you two are true mates, like Mordred and me. Arthur thinks you're a Beta and this is why his senses are confused, but instinctively he wants you, past reason. Give him a chance, Merlin. Arthur would never enslave an Omega or a Beta of his own accord. He respects you. The rules of this world are the ones that must be changed and I know he will succeed. Stay by his side, Merlin, during his journey"
He was astonished as she said goodbye with a pat on his back.
He turned to stare at Arthur, already sat on his horse. He saw the bandage on his shoulder that Gwen must have redone for him. Arthur had not asked him to do it because he was obviously still angry. However, he was fit again and at that time, he was even more majestic and regal than ever.
An absolute and beautiful leader.
His heart shattered, while the Alpha penetrated him with a final gaze, a silent order. Merlin mounted on his horse too.
Part of Merlin's heart would give his life to believe Morgana's words about the future of them all.