Chapter 35 –– Dowry

Unlike me, Noam didn’t have that many friends for him to hang out with. That was why, he was so clingy and in need of my constant attention to the point that my friends couldn’t even see me because I was with Noam all the time. My friends would mock me because after I was in relationship with Noam, I spent less time with them. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to spend more time with my friends, but sometimes, whenever it was time for me to choose them or Noam, I chose Noam most of the time.

I don’t know why or since when, but Noam’s need for constant reassurance became even more intense. He would ask me if I loved him every 10 minutes; he kept asking for validation all the time; and kept comparing himself to other omegas. He would even ask things that I don’t even know how to answer anymore. At one point, I felt suffocated. I felt like being in a relationship with him held me back. I couldn't even be myself with him. I missed the old me who could hang out with my friends without having to consider my partner’s feelings all the time.

One day, I saw Noam hanging out with Omar. At first, I thought ”good for him" that he found someone else to socialise with besides me. However, after I found out that Omar had a different intention in mind, I couldn’t help but see Noam in a different light. I know it was not his fault, but seeing him with someone else made me think, ”maybe I wasn’t meant for him. Maybe it was for the better.”

In the end, I started to drift away from him. I thought some space was all I needed, and we could go back to being how we were once I got some space to breathe. However, Noam did not even allow me to have some space. He would go after me, pin me down with more questions, and made me choose between him or the others. It was really stressful, because I did love him, but I also needed my own space as an individual. To me, it felt like we were merging into a same person, which was something I felt super uncomfortable with. I may have made a mistake in how I behaved towards him during those times, but I did not know any other way for him to understand. In the end, when he indirectly asked me to choose between myself and him, I chose me by distancing myself from him.

He told me that I had changed and I was not the person he used to know back when we started dating. Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that. I’m not sure if I'd changed, or that was just who I was. What I know for sure is that, both versions that he saw and knew were the real me. My love for him was genuine and true. Even though I wish we didn’t end the way we did, I didn’t regret the time I spent with him. He was truly a special person in my heart, whether he knows it or not.

“When you asked me to come with you to your cousin’s mating ceremony, I just said yes and didn’t even bother to ask the name of the groom. I just realised who the groom was on our way to the party because I recognized the road that led to Noam's house.”

Jared told Enoch the truth about what he had been hiding from Enoch. Enoch listened closely, despite feeling a bit of resentment towards Jared for having it hidden from him.

“I felt dread on our way here, but I couldn’t just bail my way out right when we were halfway reaching the destination. In the end, I pretended like I didn’t know the place. Until I saw Noam at the party.”

“Of course...”

Enoch listened sympathetically. Despite how he felt towards Jared, he still tried his best to understand it from Jared’s point of view.

“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t expect the groom’s brother to be at his own brother’s mating reception, but it still took me by surprise. I didn’t realise how much he had changed the past few years...”

Just like how Noam was surprised to see Jared, the same was true for him. They both had grown since they last met, becoming two very distinct individuals.

After hearing the whole story from Jared, Enoch finally understood his connection to the groom’s brother. He just realised how small the world was, that his cousin was actually related to his partner’s ex. Weirdly enough, everyone was interconnected, including Enoch and Noam who became family without them realising it.

When Noam was going down the stairs, he saw Dawoud and Moshe along the way. The two of them were searching for Noam and were just about to go to the rooftop to check if he was there. Turned out, their hunch was right.

Noam made eye contact with both of his suitors. He noticed their expression. Noam had a feeling that Dawoud and Moshe overheard his conversation with Jared on the rooftop, but he didn't have the time to care for it. He then passed by them without saying a single word.

Dawoud and Moshe were perplexed by his action. They never saw this side of Noam before. They looked at each other with pure confusion, not knowing what to do now that their intended left them by themselves. In the end, they decided to follow Noam downstairs, back to the living room.

After Noam reached the living room, he saw his suitors' parents talking to his mothers. They were discussing about Noam's decision to take whom as his mate.

"As discussed earlier, we would offer this much as the dowry if Noam decided to take our son as his mate."

Noam overheard their conversation. He was shocked to hear how much his suitors' parents were willing to give to his mothers in exchange for him to be their son's mate. Upon hearing it, Noam felt offended. He felt like his mothers were trying to sell him off like a livestock.

"Is that it? Is that how much I am worth to you?"

Noam presented himself in front of the parents. They were surprised to see him, didn't notice that he was there listening to their conversation this whole time.

"Noam, calm down," Chieftain Nura said, knowing full well that her son would become furious after hearing their conversation.

"How can I? You chose money over your own son. How could you!"

Noam was frustrated. His face got all red and he couldn't contain his emotions anymore. He had never been this furious in his life.

"Noam, this is not what you think it is...." his mama added, trying to calm him down.

In Noam's point of view, he considered his mama to be on the same side of his mother and they teamed up to be against him. Noam felt betrayed and felt like he had nobody to support him.

"I am sick of all this!"

Noam shouted on the top of his lungs. His voice echoed through the whole room, reaching even Jared and Enoch upstairs on the rooftop. Everyone halted in shock. They were silenced, unable to mutter a single word.

"I wish I had never been born."

The moment Noam said that, a tear dripped down his face. Suddenly, the aura around him changed to the point that everybody in the room could feel it. His tail disappeared and so did his hyena ears. His paws, fangs, and claws were all gone at the same moment. Noam suddenly felt dizzy and weak. He blacked out and passed out on the floor.

Before falling on the floor, Dawoud managed to catch him and carried him on his arms. Everyone panicked, didn't expect that Noam would pass out out of the blue. His mother then told Dawoud to bring Noam to his bedroom while she called for a healer. His mama called his brother to come have a check on his brother. Meanwhile, Talia and her fathers kept the guests in check so that they wouldn't panic because of the incident.

Inside Noam's bedroom, everyone involved gathered. Yeshua, Talia, Moshe, Dawoud, Jared, Enoch, and his mothers were all waiting for him to wake up.

After around an hour, Noam finally woke up. The first thing he saw after opening his eyes were a pair of black cat ears, belonging to someone he didn't recognize.

"How is he?"

His brother, Yeshua, stood by Noam and asked about his condition. Yeshua and Talia’s senior–– Beryl–– was the healer who checked on Noam. He used to work as a medic back in the military along with Yeshua and Talia.

"I've heard of it but I never thought I could meet one in this lifetime. I think he might be a returner to ancestors."

Beryl was mesmerized to see Noam's condition. His tail disappeared, and ears appeared on the side of his head, instead of on top of it. He lost all of the characteristics that made him a Werebeast. He looked like some kind of hairless monkey, yet still recognizable.

Everyone couldn't understand what Beryl meant by what he said. Talia who was holding Beryl's baby asked for further clarification.

"What does that mean?"

Beryl tried to find the right words to explain it, but in the end, he realised he did not know that much about it either.

"I think it's better for Noam to see my mate. He'll know all the answers."

Rather than giving some false information, Beryl suggested Noam to see his mate for further information. Yeshua and Talia looked at each other. They somewhat understood what Beryl meant by it.

"I see. Sage Soloman must know about this....." Yeshua mumbled.

Noam did not understand a single thing they were talking about. He didn't really listen to them well because he had a very bad headache that made him lose focus.

After they were done checking his physique, Noam's mothers–– Varda and Chieftain Nura–– asked everyone to leave the room. They wanted to have a private talk with Noam.

"How are you doing, son?" Varda asked.

Noam remained in silence. He was still mad after hearing the conversation they had earlier about exchanging him for a sum of money.

"I'm sorry to make you feel like we're exchanging you for money. To be honest, that was not our intention. However, in the end, we cannot deny that that how it might seem to you," Varda explained.

Noam didn't say anything and kept on listening. He was trying to figure out why his mothers would do such a thing to him.

"Our village is not in a good condition. This dry season, we are having droughts everywhere that people are getting sick. Even the pond at the park was all dried up." Chieftain Nura explained.

Noam just heard of this news for the very first time. He did notice that the pond at the park was dried up when he had the talk with Yeshua two months ago. However, he did not expect that it was that bad. He didn't realise what his village was going through.

"That's why we needed some aid. Coincidentally, Chieftain Zara and Chieftain Hamza were looking for a mate for their sons too. So, we thought this was a good opportunity to get our village and theirs come closer together."

"By sacrificing me?" Noam asked.

"As much as we hate to hear you say that, yes," Chieftain Nura answered firmly.

Noam was disappointed in her answer. Right now, what he needed was for her to be his mother, not to be the chieftain of the village.

"However, in the end, all we want is for you to be happy. We don't want to put your life in misery by having you bound to the wrong person as your mate."

Chieftain Nura held Noam's hands. She could no longer feel the paws on his hands, but she still loved her son regardless.

"We will let you decide. If you decide not to be mated with any of them, we will respect your decision. We will let you decide how you want your life to be."

Varda and Nura looked at Noam in the eyes. Right now, they were prioritizing their son over the village.

"Then...how about the village?" Noam asked.

"We will find another way," Varda answered.

Even though they both knew full well that it would be hard to find an alternative to resolve the village's current problem, they could not bear having their son hate them because of a decision his mothers made for him. In the end, Varda and Nura let Noam choose his own path.

"Then, I...."

Varda and Nura listened closely to hear the decision Noam would take; whether to choose one of his suitors, or none at all.