Ok, so I will just throw a reminder in here that is says EVENTUAL happy ending, mm-kay.

Thanks so much for all the love and support this rare pair is getting. 3

It makes me happy! Ok, on with it. Enjoy!

Some helpful note:

agapi moumy love

Fíltatos my dear

Omega verse crash course: think of the world having the two biological genders we have, and then there's the Alpa/Beta/Omega traits. On top of that. Not everyone is an alpha/beta/omega. And only Alphas can impregnate omegas.

PLEASE NOTE! THIS STORY WILL ONLY BE UPDATED ON AO3. I'M MIGRATING ALL MY STORIES OVER THERE AS FF IS OLD AND OUTDATED. PLEASE HEAD ON OVER THERE TO LEAVE KUDOS AND COMMENT THERE. BESIDES POSTING FIRST CHAPTERS OF MY NEW STORIES THIS ACCOUNT WILL BE INACTIVE. LINK in bio. Username: LMjuniper

Hope to see you on AO3!

~Elm

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"You're carrying her child, yet the misthios has yet to show her face." Dike puts the glass of lemon juice on the table next to Daphnae's bed. Daphnae doesn't like the way Dike talks about the alpha. If she was in a better mood, not with child, and constantly nauseous Daphnae would have objected. But this child, curse the gods, is as stubborn as her pater.

"Kassandra will be here when she can." Daphnae walks over from the small desk she's been sat at.

"But there has been no word from her. No messengers, no snoopy eagle. She could be dead for all you know."

An image of a lifeless Kassandra flashes in Daphnae's mind. "No." She shakes her head. Kassandra is still alive. She knows it, she feels it in her very bones. She can feel it as clearly as she can feel the bout of nausea and dizziness wash over her. Again.

"Fíltatos…" Dike's voice is softer when she steps forward to help Daphnae steady herself. And Daphnae finds herself clinging to the other woman's arms, leaning into her for support.

Dike is one of the strongest of her sisters. One of the proudest. An alpha and her scent is a pleasant combination of pride and loyalty. It makes the omega feel safe, as safe as she can feel when her alpha is not around to carry her through her pregnancy.

"This is madness," Dike murmurs as she helps Daphnae sit down on the bed. "If the Council found out. They would send you away for what you've done. You know what tradition means to them."

She sighs and puts her hand on the small bump on her belly. Kassandra is no doubt the messenger. She has already slain six out of the eight legendary animals. And just like Daphnae herself once did, Kassandra must challenge the leader. She'll have to kill the leader. Or die herself. This is how the mantle of leadership was passed on. Unless she does not finish the quest. If she tells Kassandra, she'd be betraying her sisters. For her own selfish reasons. She'd be betraying Artemis. An offense greater than any other. Punishable with exile.

Daphnae, as the leader of the Daughters, was not to do anything that could compromise the challenger's quest. Not only had she taken the Beast Slayer to her bed and into her heart. She had mated with the alpha, the offspring now growing inside her. If the council found out they would exile her and have one of her sisters take her role as the leader. The one to face Kassandra.

Dike wants to be the leader. She wants to step out from the shadows. But the beastmaster knows she was not sent by the gods. Is she too honorable, Daphnae asks herself, to take the leadership by revealing their leader's secret?

"Why have you not told them yet?" She looks into Dike's eyes.

The proud beastmaster crouches down in front of Daphnae with a sigh. "I am an alpha. The sisters don't have to know I'm not the pater."

"What?"

"You are already marked by an alpha, so I cannot mark you unless you break the bond. The others won't know, but if Iphgenia visits, she'll know. She'll smell the Beast Slayer on you." Dike puts her hand on top of Daphne's that still rests on her belly. "I will step up, and no one needs to know. Not even the child."

Daphnae smiles then. Dike, for all her temper and hotheadedness, is not malicious. She reaches out for the beastmaster and touches the warm cheek with her hand. "Kassandra will be here. But I am forever grateful for your friendship."

Dike's gaze lowers. "I understand." Then she stands back up, smiles and leaves Daphnae to her own thoughts. And she thinks of the Beast Slayer, her alpha, where she might be, what she might do, and if she thinks of Daphnae as much as the huntress thinks of her.

Ω

Agapi mou,

When you have time come see me in Chios. We have things we must discuss.

Chaire

Kassandra has read the scroll more times than she cares to admit. It's Daphnae's handwriting no doubt. She's seen it many times. Daphnae would sometimes draw prayers to Artemis in a patch of soil by the temple. Her handwriting is neat. Easy to read. Whereas Kassandras is scrawly like someone drank too much of Markos' wine and tried to write a note. Pray to the gods she shall never have to write a love letter to Daphnae.

It's probably foolish, but the note makes her miss the huntress even more. It's an odd feeling. A pull in her chest she cannot resist. Usually, when it came to women, the pull happened somewhere far below. But like a fine wine, Kassandra cannot stop craving the huntress.

The toned body, her soft lips, or the dimples near the curve on her lower back that no one else but Kassandra gets to see. A tingle darts up her spine. Thinking of the nights they spent together is helping very little Kassandra realises when her neck tingles with desire.

She better stop thinking of Daphnae's dark voice. How it dips into a low growl when Kassandra's fingers hits the right spot. Or how softly it whispers against Kassandra skin when they lay curled up in the bedrolls, Daphnae sharing her dreams and inner secrets. Things Daphnae has never told anyone else. Only Kassandra. And Kassandra shares hers just as freely with the omega.

There are moments when Kassandra lies on her back, and Daphnae rests her chin on Kassandra's chest. She adores the way Daphnae looks then. Naked, her long black hair pooling across her shoulders, her smokey eyes that wrinkle when laughter rolls off the her lips, free and happy. Kassandra could spend an eternity soaking in those moments. She's unlike any woman Kassandra has ever met.

Daphnae holds herself with pride, her body well-toned from years of hunting and living life in the wild with the Daughters. She handles her swords and bows with expertise, her body and mind moving in beautiful harmony. There is nothing dainty about Daphnae. Not like the women in Athens. Dressed in silk garments and heavy jewellry. No one could fight in something so impractical.

Of all the women Kassandra has met during her travels only one reminds her a little of Daphnae. Kyra, another strong woman, a leader as well, who revered Artemis above all the other gods. Good at hunting. Excellent at surviving. If fates had it different, Kyra would have made a good Daughter, Kassandra thinks to herself as an island takes form at the golden rim of the horizon ahead of them. Kyra had been very special. Perhaps the first woman Kassandra could have liked. But she had Thaletas. So Kassandra had stepped back. If Kyra hadn't already been involved with him, perhaps things could have worked out differently for them. The thought is an unpleasant one because although Kyra is an amazing woman, she is not Daphnae. And Kassandra cannot imagine her live without the omega.

She smiles to herself at the thought. Barnabas was right. The gods did work in curious ways, and if she just followed them they would get her to where she was meant to be. She thinks of the pelt in her cabin. Only one more of the legendary animals to kill. Daphnae will be pleased when it's done. The corner of her mouth will curl upwards, and this is why, more than anything, Kassandra goes out of her way to find them. Anything to see Daphnae smile. But it will have to wait. She's been gone long enough. Five months, and Chios is so close Kassandra can almost scent the omega in the air around her.

Ω

Another month passes and then in the middle of the night Kassandra sneaks past all the sisters and into Daphnae's hut. She is lucky Dike is away with a hunting party. She could have sensed Kassandra before she even got into camp.

"Agapi mou!" Daphnae laughs and pulls the eagle bearer into her arms. How she has missed the alpha's smell.

"I've missed you to, agapi." Kassandra grins when Daphnae buries her face at her neck and takes a deep breath, inhaling her entire presence. Then she exhales a slow breath as if she's been holding it for a long time. Then her hand is on Daphnae's neck, her lips caressing the huntress'. Gentle, lovingly pouring every ounce of herself into it and it leaves the omega breathless. Her tongue slips between their lips, Daphnae welcoming the familiar taste. How could she have been without this for so long? She thinks to herself when Kassandra's hand slips across her hips, down and around to the inside of her thigh.

"Wait," Daphnae tries to breathe her mind struggling in a war between desire and duty.

"What?" Kassandra mutters, her breathe hot against Daphnae's lips. "Don't tell me you've gotten so used to taking care of yourself you don't need me." The alpha teases her.

"No," Daphnae growls. Nothing compares to Kassandra's touches, to how she knows every inch of the omega's body. Which to touch, nip, or suck. Or when. A shiver of pleasure runs through Daphnae and it takes all her willpower to pull away. "Do not try to distract me." She [chides] the alpha who chuckles in return.

"Alright." Kassandra gives the typical shake of her head. The one when she's about to listen and decide whether or not she likes what she's hearing. And suddenly, Daphane feels nervous. Kassandra is a misthios. They are bonded, but will the restless eagle bearer and seafarer ever settle down?

"Kassandra." She untangles herself from the alpha and then, there in the dark, she pulls the garment that hides her bump to the side.

The alpha's eyes go wide and round and for the faintest of heartbeats she looks like she's going to smile. But then her expression goes pale and she pinches her sides with her hands and leans forwards and breathes heavily almost like she's been running up a mountain.

Kassandra has always been difficult to read, but even a fool could understand what was going through her mind right now. And it makes the huntress feel naked. Exposed. So she quickly covers her stomach again.

"How?" She finally breathes.

"How?!" Daphane tries, and fails, miserably so, to keep her voice calm. "We mated. Bonded. Multiple times, Kassandra. Do I need to explain how babies are made?"

Kassandra lets out a sound that's more of sigh than words. Then she holds her hands out. "But a child. Is it..?"

Daphnae snarls then. "How many alpha's do you think I mate with?"

"Sorry." Kassandra shakes her head. "Of course it is. I'm just...I'm shocked. I-I don't know what to say."

Daphnae looks at the woman she loves. The one she's given herself to completely. Never has she felt so high. Never has she fallen so far. And it broke everything inside her. But she is a Daughter. They do not break easily. And she would not break. She would hold her head high, like all the great women before her. "I cannot tell you what to think or feel, Kassandra."

The alpha exhaled heavily. "Daphne, I cherish you. I love you. But...I don't know that I want to be a pater."

Daphnae stares at the alpha as if she just took a blunt hunter's knife and jabbed it into the huntress' chest. "Are you saying what I think you're…" Her voice breaks then, unable to form words around the lump in her throat.

"No, I—" Kassandra reaches out to touch her, but drops her hands again when Daphnae tenses. "Between the cult, and Pythagoras, when will I have the time to raise a child? I don't even know how to raise a child."

Daphnae can hear the bitter chuckle slip across her own lips. "Perhaps you should have thought of that before you spilled inside me."

"I thought you took care of that!" The alpha motions her hands towards Daphnae palms upwards.

"I did, but there is always a risk. You knew this and you chose to bond with me. Mate with me."

Kassandra's shoulders slump forward. "I love you, but I don't know…"

"Just go." The huntress hugs herself and jerks her head towards the exit to her hut. "Leave, and do not return unless you know what you want."

"But Daphnae, what about that?" Kassandra lifts a hand towards her belly.

"I will raise this child as my own, as a Daughter and you will have no obligations to either of us. Now leave." It surprises Daphnae how steady her voice is when everything inside her is chaos. Like fine Roman pottery shattering into thousand pieces.

"But you cannot raise it alone."

"She is not alone." Dike's voice sounds from the doorway. "Now, please do as our leader asks or my sisters and I will escort you out."

Kassandra hesitates, staring at Daphnae for what feels like an eternity. But then she turns to look at her then. Confused, bewildered and lost. Like a child who doesn't remember their way back home.

"Go." Parts of her hopes Kassandra will stay, if only to defy the other alpha, but what kind of life would that be? It's a crushing feeling , like being stomped on by one of the titans, when the eagle bearer gives a final nod then disappears into the dark night.

It's the last time she sees or hears from Kassandra. And as the months go by Daphnae's belly grows bigger and bigger. She holds her head high. Just like she said she would. When she's out in the camp she exudes strength as a leader should. But if they saw her in her hut at night where she lay breaking into a million tiny pieces, they would not think so highly of her. A woman who cries and slowly witters away aching for her mate. A mate that will never return.

It's not until she's eight months into her pregnancy that she lets Dike mark her. Iphgenia and the council is arriving for a summon and she has little choice if she wants to stay with the Daughters. Dike isn't bad. She's kind, loyal, and trustworthy. And she worships the ground Daphnae walks on. But she is not Kassandra. And they both know this. They share a hut, and a bed but Dike knows that is all Daphnae will be able to give. And for now it's enough for Dike. For now it helps Daphnae keep her head above water. For now it helps her forget about Kassandra.

TBC on AO3