Odilia seemed to have been caught off guard by the sudden determination Edmund attacked with, and just barely got away with her shoulder grazed. She growled lowly and made an attack of her own, but this time Edmund met her head on and just knocked her aside.

The fight had gone from Ed dodging like a bullfighter to both parties lunging and snapping at each other like a real fight. As they got rowdier Sebastian couldn’t keep track of their movements. The dust clouds didn’t help and had Seb squinting as he stepped back to avoid it getting in his eyes.

It all came to a head when Edmund got a hold of Odilia’s neck and threw her out of the ring. A stunned silence settled over them all. There wasn’t even a whisper from the Wiker Pack members, but Sebastian could see some of them were looking scared. Especially when they glanced at Lance for his reaction.

The Wiker alpha had looked stunned, then angry, and finally settled on a cold, dark expression that went beyond anger.

“Well then, that seems to be the end of it,” a voice beside Sebastian said, breaking the silence.

Seb nearly fell backwards out of shock when he turned and saw the dryad who’d been perched in the tree was now standing beside him. They gave him a smile that seemed apologetic then went back to addressing Lance.

“Your champion has lost. The omega and the land now belong to the Kingsley pack. The new borders will be enforced by sunrise and the omega’s belongings should be moved to his new home.”

“I still hold parental rights over my son,” Lance growled.

The dryad frowned. “What makes you believe such?”

“The alpha is underage. He can’t take custody of anyone.”

“No, but this one can,” the dryad replied, pointing to Sebastian who blinked in confusion.

“Wait, what?”

The dryad made a motion with their hands and conjured up a manila folder. “Here. You are at the age of majority – which means the parental rights for the boy can be transferred to you, and he can peacefully join your pack. You should know by now, Lance, I don’t like doing extra work.”

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Sebastian looked at the papers. They seemed like legitimate adoption papers, signatures and everything.

“How did you...?”

“Darling, I’m a dryad,” they replied with a bright grin. “Now, I believe you should take care of your alpha. Here's a blanket for modesty’s sake.”

Too shocked to really say anything, Seb accepted the soft green blanket and over to where Edmund was still in his wolf form. He was standing and had been watching everything, and once Sebastian covered him with the blanket he shifted into his human form. Eddie grinned with pride at Seb and pulled him into a semi-awkward hug as he did his best to keep himself covered. Their happy moment however was broken by a sickening snap.

They looked up and Sebastian gasped as he saw Odilia’s limp body at Lance’s feet. The Wiker pack was watching in silent fear. Seb looked over at the truck where Luke was sitting, shaking in fear while he stared at the corpse. He immediately felt the need to go and comfort him, but then Lance shouted at Edmund.

“You’ll be next, boy. Mark my words, I will see you die a slow painful death for this.”

Edmund simply held Sebastian tight and growled at the man. “You can try, Fucker.”

Seb worried another fight would break out, but Lance just turned around and stormed off into the woods. His pack seemed to follow after him quickly and silently. Only a few seemed hesitant to move before they ran after their packmates.

The dryad walked over to Ed and Seb and said, “He’s angry, but not a threat. For now.” Edmund raised an eyebrow at them and they shrugged. “You just took away their only omega. Adjusting to life without a single caretaker won’t be easy on them.”

“Okay. Thank you...”

“Quiver,” They introduced. “And don’t thank me. If you’d lost, I’d have just stood by and let them tear you to shreds. Congratulations on your win though. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a corpse to clean up.”

Sebastian and Edmund were stunned to silence for what felt like the hundredth time that night, but this time what broke them out was Luke tackling them for a group hug.

“Thank the moon you’re alive!”

They all laughed in an almost hysteric relief. They had come so close to dying tonight but it was finally over. For now. Sebastian couldn’t have been more grateful as he mentally thanked whatever had given them this incredible moment.

Of course, things were far from perfect. Luke had basically been kicked out of his home, the Wiker pack was now hyper-aware of their presence in the town, and eventually, they’ll have to face Lance again, but holy shit they’re alive! They're alive and whole and, with a territory of their own, Sebastian and Edmund won’t have to worry about leaving behind their home.

For now, that was more than enough.