Chapter 21 #2
Her cheek rested against his bare chest, and she rubbed it there.
He was so warm, and when he began to purr, she let out a small sigh.
“And my wolf knew?”
“Your wolf has always known,” Eidan said softly. “She just didn’t know how to tell you.”
Is that true?
Her wolf shrugged.
You’re awful.
You’re scent-marking the Head Alpha and he purrs for you. I think I did just fine.
“Then what comes next? Am I still…”
“The Ashpaw? Gods, no,” he said quickly. “No, your failures have been nullified and your status returned and elevated. You will live in the private quarters of the castle. You will not work. You will not suffer.”
It all sounded so nice…
And then another voice, not her wolf’s, whispered from the dark recesses of her mind.
I wouldn’t count on it…
* * *
There was a huge spread of food brought into the Council Chambers, all meant to be picked up with fingers and eaten at one’s leisure.
Norden had tried to persuade Fern into some clothes once they’d arrived and settled. But she still needed the feeling of bare skin on hers, and compromised when he wrapped a cloak around her shoulders as she sat straddled in Eidan’s lap, her chest against his, her face buried in his neck.
He tempted her with bites of fruit and cheese, which she only took because he’d reward her with fingers digging through her hair to massage her scalp.
Fern was glad to be facing away from the alphas, because she was sure the expressions she was making would be very undignified.
“She’ll need a mate before the next full moon,” Alastair said, the room murmuring their agreement. “Harland’s loss of control is but a taste of what we have to fear if the rest of the clan believes there’s an omega for the taking.”
Fern shivered at the mention of Harland, her memory of the previous night hazy.
But she recalled the fear, the danger…
The manic look in his eyes, as beast and man, when he chased her down, ready to consume her.
And the bloodshed when he’d failed.
She did not think she’d whimpered, but Eidan’s large hand was at her back, bringing her down into a tighter hold.
“He can’t hurt you, Fern. He’s gone,” he whispered in her ear.
Heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door, and it was pushed open violently.
“What is so important that you had to bring me from my furs the morning after a shift?” he asked, loud and angry.
Fern dared to turn her head towards him from where she sat, her wolf thumping her tail excitedly.
“You!” he snarled.
She flinched, and Eidan snarled back.
“Darion, get your head out of your arse for one second and—”
“The Ashpaw has disrupted my bedding of Kyntha for the last time. My patience has run out!”
“Son,” Alastair warned, but Darion would not listen.
Fern retreated under the cloak, tears streaming down her face and body shaking.
I told you, she said to her wolf. He hates us…
He’s confused. Once he realizes what we are, he will want us.
If anything, it made Fern feel worse to know he’d only want her now that she was rare.
When she was just Fern, he wouldn’t have cared if she’d died.
“No, Father. She is my mistake to fix and it appears the only way to do so is by blood.”
She felt him come closer, thunder in his approach, as he tried to rip her from Eidan’s lap.
“You have interceded for the last time, brother. Give her here so I can set the clan straight.”
“Darion, you will stand down this instant!”
The alpha command boomed through the room, each of them bowing their heads and bending their spines.
Fern kept her face hidden, unable to look at anyone as she sobbed.
She’d been given another chance and was already failing.
Reinn got up from his chair and crouched beside her, whispering in her ear.
“He’s an awful brute, isn’t he?”
When she let out a soft, pitiful little whine, he tutted, patting her back.
“You seem to have left all of your common sense in bed with my cousin,” he said, rising to face Darion. The tone was light, but the cut of the words was sharp. “If you’d actually stop for a moment and take a deep breath, you’d realize exactly why you were called in today.”
Fern heard him growl, and then inhale deeply.
There was silence.
And then he nearly choked.
“No…”
“Aye,” Alastair confirmed. “She shifted last night. She is…”
“Lying,” he hissed. “There’s no other explanation for it.”
“Oh, for the gods’ sakes…” Eidan grumbled. He stood, taking Fern with him, then gently set her on her feet and turned her around. “Look at her. Smell her. Do you really think any wolfkin could fake this?”
His hand wrapped under her chin and brought her face up to see Darion’s.
He still looked so angry, pupils wide and nostrils flaring, and Fern had to struggle not to close her eyes.
And then he took a step forward, the movement strained as though something held him back.
And then another.
Finally, their toes met, and though it hurt to see the hatred burning in him, it slowly ebbed away as he breathed her in. The tension in his shoulders lessened. His body leaned towards her.
“Omega,” he finally conceded, his tone softer. The fire was gone. He swallowed audibly, his hand reaching out to touch her.
Not to strike, but to caress, and she leaned forward to meet him.
“I—”
“Have been punishing her for nothing,” Eidan snapped, bringing her back.
And yet they still reached for each other.
“We’re lucky there was no permanent damage,” Alastair said. “But Darion… this bias you hold against her nearly cost the clan an omega.”
“Omega or not, she was always an innocent wolfkin!” Eidan yelled. “Any Solvekh who’d been abandoned for ten years would have needed time to adjust, but you set her expectations so high it was as if you’d meant for her to fail, only so you could punish her.”
Tears welled in Fern’s eyes. Eidan’s words were kind, but they did not comfort.
“Well?” Eidan asked, fuming.
Her breath caught in her chest as Darion stepped forward again. “You are right. I… misjudged her.”
The room waited for more, but after a few moments, it appeared that was the end of it.
It was almost worse than his rage, his quiet reduction of all the pain and anguish of the past month into a simple… misjudgment. A wrong assumption.
As though it hadn’t almost cost her her life.
“Darion, we will speak more on this later. For now, I will need you to renounce your bond so she may be properly mated.”
“Renounce?” he asked slowly, tilting his head. His gaze drifted to Fern, inspecting her like he was really seeing her for the first time.
“Aye, an unmated omega is a dangerous temptation for a clan of wolfkin in want of heirs. Eidan is the obvious choice…”
Eidan stood taller beside her, shielding her from Darion’s sudden interest in her form.
“But Reinn has also expressed his interest in her, and perhaps offering him the omega would further solidify our new truce with the Ironcoats.”
Reinn said he wanted her? When?
Earlier, her wolf preened. You were too busy rubbing up on them to remember.
“I will leave the choice to you.”
Fern’s heart raced. Just like that, a mate—a husband, as she understood it—was to be chosen for her without anyone asking what she wanted.
She didn’t object to either Eidan or Reinn, but the process wasn’t exactly ideal.
Eidan sensed her growing discomfort, and wrapped an arm around her, whispering in her ear. “It would be an honor to be your mated alpha, Fern—”
And then Darion opened his mouth, his decision made.
“No.”
The room did not speak for a moment, expressions turning to confusion as they all looked at each other to confirm what they thought they heard.
“Did you have someone else in mind?” Karn asked.
“I mean no, I will not renounce my bond.”
Alastair sighed. “Darion—”
“I found the omega, and she will remain mine.”