I Was The Only Omega In The Beast World-Chapter 144: CP: Sanctuary Site Analysis

The celebration that night was not planned.

It happened the way such things always happened with Alex’s family—organically, chaotically, with no one quite sure who had started it but everyone somehow involved. The wolves contributed meat from the morning’s hunt. Granite produced honey he’d been hoarding for reasons he refused to explain. Sally found berries she insisted were safe to eat and had to be physically restrained from testing them on herself.

The snakelings, who had been beside themselves with worry for two days, expressed their relief by climbing every adult in sight and refusing to come down.

"You were GONE," Siddy announced from his perch on Lucas’s head—a position he’d claimed within minutes of their return and showed no signs of relinquishing. "For AGES. We counted."

"How long?" Lucas asked, with the particular patience of someone who had recently learned that engaging with snakelings was the only way to survive their attention.

"One hundred and forty-seven meals," Siddy said. "Father made us count because he said numbers would make it FEEL smaller but they didn’t. It felt BIG."

River, who had wrapped himself around Lucas’s arm with the quiet persistence of a creature who had decided on a new favorite perch, added: " Father Naga kept looking at the eastern path. He said he wasn’t worried but he smelled worried."

"I did not smell worried," Naga said from across the fire, where he was coiled in his usual protective loop around the group. The end of his tail swish once with the particular eye avoidance that Alex had learned meant embarrassment. "I smelled... alert."

"Same thing," River said placidly.

"It is not the same thing."

"To a nose it is."

Naga opened his mouth, closed it, and looked at Alex with an expression that said very clearly: Your child.

"He’s not wrong," Alex said, because he was learning that honesty was usually the safest policy with his family.

"He’s your child," Naga said.

"They’re all our children. That’s the point."

Naga’s tail thumped again—pleasure this time, quickly suppressed. But Alex caught it, and the warmth that spread through his chest at the sight was enough to carry him through the rest of the evening.

---

The celebration wound down slowly, as celebrations with children always did. The snakelings, exhausted from two days of worry and one evening of frantic climbing, began to drop one by one. Sterling fell asleep mid-sentence, his head dropping onto Granite’s paw. Onyx followed seconds later, curled into a tight coil against Naga’s side. Ripple was the last to go, his eyes finally closing while he was still clinging to Lucas’s shoulder.

Lucas sat very still, the small serpent draped across his neck like a living scarf.

"He does that," Alex said quietly, settling beside him. "Falls asleep in weird places. He was a climber before he could talk."

"I don’t mind," Lucas said. His voice was low, careful not to wake the sleeping child. "He’s light."

"He’s not as light as he thinks he is. You’ll have pins and needles in about ten minutes."

"I don’t mind."

Alex looked at him—at the wolf lord who had waited four years, who had thrown himself into death’s path without hesitation, who now sat perfectly still with a sleeping snake child draped across his shoulders like he’d been doing it his whole life.

"You’re good with them," Alex said.

"I’m sitting very still while your child uses me as furniture."

"That’s most of parenting."

Lucas’s mouth curved. "Is it?"

"Sixty percent. The other forty percent is preventing them from eating things they shouldn’t and answering questions that have no answers."

"What questions have no answers?"

"Where do stars go during the day. Why the sky is blue. Whether fish dream. Whether we dream when we’re sleeping or if we’re just... waiting for the next thing to happen."

Lucas was quiet for a moment. "Which of them asked that last one?"

"River. He was three."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I didn’t know. That no one knows. That maybe it’s both, depending on the night." Alex paused. "He said that was acceptable, but he’d like more observation before making a final decision."

Lucas laughed—a real laugh, low and warm, the kind that came from somewhere genuine.

"He’s going to be dangerous when he’s older," Lucas said.

"He’s dangerous now. He just hasn’t decided what to do with it yet."

They sat in comfortable silence, the fire crackling between them, the sounds of their family settling into the rhythms of sleep around them. Somewhere in the darkness, wolves moved on patrol. Somewhere beyond the treeline, the Curse lands waited, empty and patient, ready to become something new.

"System," Alex said quietly, "any update on the sanctuary site analysis?"

[Running final assessment now. Preliminary results suggest the eastern ridge offers the best foundation—stable bedrock, natural spring access, defensible positions on three sides. Construction would require clearing approximately two acres of old-growth forest, which will need to be done carefully to avoid destabilizing the slope.]

"Two acres," Alex repeated. "That’s... a lot."

[It’s the minimum for what you need: housing for your immediate family, space for visiting delegations, storage for supplies, defensive structures, and room for the children to grow. The site can expand later, but the initial footprint needs to accommodate your current needs.]

"Six kids who climb everything and four mates who each require different environmental conditions."

[Precisely. Naga requires warm, dry spaces with structural support for his coils. Zale needs continuous access to water—a spring-fed pool within the main structure is recommended. Leo needs high perches and open air. Lucas requires...] System paused. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Lucas requires what?"

[Space. Territory. The ability to move between indoor and outdoor spaces freely. Wolves don’t do well in enclosed environments for extended periods. The sanctuary design needs to account for that.]

Alex filed the information away. "What about materials?"

[Stone from the eastern quarry is suitable for foundation work. Timber from the clearing itself can be used for framing. The wolf, bear, and serpent tribes have all offered resources—Lucas specifically mentioned that his pack has access to ironwood from the northern forests, which would be ideal for structural beams.]

"Ironwood?"

[Exceptionally durable. Fire-resistant. Water-resistant. Takes approximately three times as long to work as regular timber, but lasts five times as long. For a permanent structure, it’s worth the extra labor.]

"And the lion tribe?"

[No resources offered. That’s expected—Kaelen agreed to non-interference, not active support. Raqasha’s reparations demand was a separate negotiation. The sanctuary itself is neutral ground. Asking the lions to contribute resources would compromise that neutrality.]

Alex nodded slowly. "So we build with what we have. Stone from the quarry, timber from the land, ironwood from the wolves. The serpents can handle the water systems—"

[If Naga is willing to design them, yes. Serpent tribe engineering is sophisticated. They’ve been residing in difficult terrain for centuries.]

"He’ll want to be involved. He’s been talking about the sanctuary since before we had approval."