Chapter 5 #2
He eyed Falk cautiously as he helped him fluff up his pillows and pile his mattress with soft blankets and clothes smelling strongly of cloves and smoke.
The Alpha wasn’t very good at making a nest; he was almost as bad as Ren was.
But he sat back and let Falk try—maybe if he let Falk take care of him, it would wipe that pitying, concerned expression from his face.
“Is this good?”
He couldn’t stand the soft, sweet tone Falk was using with him now—he couldn’t stand how Falk talked to him like he was a hurt child.
“No,” Ren deadpanned. “Alphas are terrible nest makers.”
He tried not to laugh at the hurt look Falk sent him before trying to rearrange a few things. Ren didn’t give him any pointers, just sat cross-legged on the bed beside his own, cuffed hands resting on his thighs while he watched him work.
“How about now?” Falk asked, looking back at him hopefully.
Ren sighed, shaking his head. “Alphas are hopeless.”
“Well, how about you make your new nest and I’ll go get you dinner?” Falk asked, putting out a hand to help Ren up as though he was some fragile, helpless little glass flower that couldn’t even stand on his own.
Ren ignored the hand like he ignored how badly his knees wobbled as he stood up. He ignored the pain shooting through his entire body when he took the few quick steps over to his bed and hauled himself back onto the mattress. He quickly got to work rearranging everything.
He didn’t put much effort into his nest. There was no way he would be allowed to stay in the infirmary for very long.
This Wolf King was cruel—she held Alphas’ lives far above Omegas, and was making a point with Ren’s case to make sure all Omegas knew what would happen to them if they fought back.
Ren had no doubt in his mind the King would be sending him right back to his cell the moment she heard Ren was awake and not actively dying.
By the time he was done, Falk had returned with a plate of food for Ren and himself.
Before he could even take his first bite, the doctor was beside him, handing him a glass of clear, thick liquid. It had a different smell than the one he had given Ren before—the one that made him pass out. Ren blinked up at him rapidly.
“It’s a pain killer. It is meant to be taken with food,” the doctor explained. “So, drink up, and then enjoy your dinner.”
Ren frowned but did as he was asked. He swallowed, shivering at the bitter taste and the heaving in his stomach. But he quickly forgot about it as he shoved a piece of bread into his mouth.
“Are you trying to court me?”
Ren laughed at how Falk’s eyes bulged and his entire body went rigid at the question. Falk muttered out a, “What? No! I?—”
“Seems like it. Have you forgotten that you are an Alpha and I’m an Omega?” Ren laughed, but still put out his hands to take the little bouquet of flowers Falk had brought him.
Flowers and plants didn’t really grow down in the valley around the castle.
It was too cold, too constantly shrouded in shadows from the cliffs and the massive building and they grew even less up on the cliffs where Ren had grown up.
So, Ren had never been given any flowers; he had never been courted or gotten any gifts from an Alpha before. He didn’t tell Falk this, though.
“I thought you’d like them,” Falk said. He took his seat in the chair beside Ren’s bed. “I know you are missing being able to go outside, so I figured it would be nice to bring something in for you.”
Ren thought being up in the castle and able to look out the windows at the sunny, blue sky would make him feel better, but Falk was right. Ren had been even more miserable the past day since he woke up. The outside was right there and he couldn’t get to it.
“Will they let me bring these down to the cell? Would they make it look pretty down there?” Ren hummed, shoving his nose into the little, pathetic white blooms that were already a bit wilted and sorry-looking.
“The doctor has gone to have a meeting with the King about your case,” Falk murmured. “Hopefully they will not make you go back down there—not yet at least.”
“Because the doctor says I’m insane?” Ren asked, tilting his head.
“Because you just miscarried your child and had to have surgery,” Falk corrected.
“You and the doctor make up such extensive lies,” Ren said.
“So do you.”
Ren smiled to himself as he hummed in acknowledgment. “You do not know anything about me, Warrior Falk. How do you know I am lying about anything?”
“I don’t know anything about you because you do not tell me anything,” Falk said sharply.
“How about we play that children’s game? I will ask you a question, and then you can ask me one.” Ren held up a pinky, grinning at Falk’s wary face, “I promise I will only tell the truth.”
Falk hesitated but reached out, letting his own pinky slip around Ren’s, squeezing it slightly before letting go.
“I’ll go first,” Ren said, putting down the bouquet of flowers on the bedside table. He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he leaned back against the wall. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” Falk said. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” Ren said easily, smiling at the slow, deep breath Falk took as he tried to decide if Ren was being honest or not. “Do you have a mate, Warrior Falk?”
“No,” Falk shook his head.
“Why not?”
“Ah, that’s another question,” Falk pointed out. Ren waved a hand at him, telling Falk to ask his own question. “Do you have a mate?”
“You can’t steal my questions every time,” Ren chastised.
He shook his head. “No, Falk. I don’t have a mate.
Like I said, I am eighteen. Wolves can only take mates after their twentieth birthday.
And, like I said, I’ve never been with anyone before.
I’m a virgin. It’s a bit difficult to be one if you have taken a mate,” Ren explained.
They just stared at each other for a few breaths. Ren wondered what was in the air between them making it so thick.
“Why were you assigned to be my guard?” Ren decided to ask.
“All rookies have to take a turn as a prison guard,” Falk said.
Ren’s lips twitched upwards as he leaned toward the Alpha. “That was not an answer, Falk. And you said you were going to be honest.”
The tightening of Falk’s jaw told him he had guessed correctly. “I am close with Oren?—”
“Who?” Ren interrupted, eyebrows furrowed.
“Our prince,” Falk said slowly. He cleared his throat and continued on, “I was the top of my class in basic training. It is true all rookies have to take a turn at every position, and I had yet to be a prison guard. But when you came here, they asked me to guard you because they were concerned with what you are able to do.”
“Ah, so they gave me the strongest Warrior to be my guard?” Ren laughed. “That makes me feel quite special.”