Chapter 12 #2
“I’ll be right back,” Chaya said warily. “Please… stay here for just a moment.”
Ren didn’t answer, just watched her go. He sighed as he hugged his legs to his chest, leaning his cheek on his knees as he closed his eyes, giving them a break before he got a headache. He had been getting a lot of those recently.
He looked up when he heard someone walk in. His eyes widened when he realized who had come back rather than Chaya.
“Someone called for a governess?” Flory said, a small smile playing on her lips. Her dark hair curled around her scalp, even shorter than it was the last time he saw her.
Ren shrugged helplessly. “Falk is in a meeting today.”
“Didn’t they give you something better to do with your time than follow Falk around like some lost puppy?”
Ren nodded and said, “Yeah, I work here at Chaya’s shop now and Falk was supposed to pick me up by now.” He tilted his head to one side as Flory fell onto the couch a few feet away from him and said, “Sorry you had to come sit here with me.”
“I didn’t have to do anything,” Flory said, peeking open one eye to squint over at Ren.
Ren grumbled and stared down at where his hands were playing with the hem of his pants, glaring as though the threads coming off had wronged him personally. “I figured you hated me.”
“Why would I hate you?” Flory asked.
“You didn’t seem to exactly like me the last time I saw you,” Ren pointed out.
Flory huffed and said, “I figured if you’re going to be with Falk now, we might as well get along.”
Ren’s head snapped up to her, the words leaving his mouth far sharper than he meant them to. “I am not with Falk.”
Flory’s eyebrows rose. “Are you not? Isn’t he courting you? Everyone knows he is. He’s made it quite clear.”
“Has he?” Ren asked, incredulous. “Because he was very direct in telling me he didn’t want to be my mate.”
“Really?” Flory sounded so baffled Ren almost questioned his own memory of Falk’s words to him.
“I mean, Falk hasn’t ever courted an Omega, and maybe he’s not the most traditional about it, but anyone who knows him knows he claimed you as his own.
” Before Ren could cut in, Flory continued, “We all thought it was a bit weird since you’re only eighteen, but considering the situation, it’s not the strangest thing that could have happened. ”
Ren’s eyebrows pinched together. “Do Wolves here at the castle court each other before age twenty?”
“Sometimes.” Flory shrugged. “Mont and I claimed each other when I was nineteen. It’s not a big deal. The twentieth birthday thing is a bit old fashioned.”
Ren kept hearing the things he had been told his entire life be described as old fashioned.
“Mont is a bit older than me though,” Flory hummed, “and we have been friends since we were children, so it made sense for us.”
“And now… you’re pregnant?” Ren questioned, remembering when Flory came out of the fertility clinic.
“No.” Flory laughed, shaking her head. “I’m still a bit young for that but we figured we’d start now with all of the prenatal things you’re supposed to do. My parents had trouble conceiving, so I’m worried I will as well.”
Ren just hummed in acknowledgement, letting them fall into an easy silence until he remembered what he had wanted to ask. “You said it’s obvious to people who know Falk he is courting me,” he said. “What do you mean?”
“I also grew up with Falk.” Flory shrugged.
“We weren’t as close as me and Mont or even Oren, but we all know him well enough to notice the change.
He hasn’t ever been interested in Omegas.
We honestly assumed he was one of those Alphas who was attracted to other Alphas”—Ren blinked rapidly—he had never even heard of something like that—“or he would end up alone for the rest of his life.”
“Really?” Ren muttered. “He’s so…”
“Handsome?” Flory asked, trying to finish his sentence.
Ren shook his head, “He’s such a good Warrior. He would have found someone. All Alphas want an Omega eventually—or they at least want a family.”
“Yeah, and he did,” Flory said, looking over at Ren pointedly. “So stop ignoring his advances. Let him court you.”
“But he’s not,” Ren argued. “He directly told me he was not going to mark me as his mate.”
“Maybe you misunderstood him.” Flory shrugged. “Because he is definitely courting you. I’ve never seen Falk smile more than he has since you came out of prison. Plus, he’s put so much effort into everything when it comes to you. He’s even given you gifts which was very unexpected of him.”
“No, he hasn’t.” Ren shook his head. “He hasn’t given me any courting gifts.”
Flory pointed at his head. “What’s that?”
Ren scowled before he reached up and pulled the little white flower from his hair. “He keeps putting these on me. I don’t know why.” He folded his hand around the little bud, careful not to squish it entirely, but wanting to hide it.
“The fact Falk even picked a single flower for you is shocking.” Flory laughed.
“He hates flowers. He says they smell awful and are ugly and he’s never seen the point in them.
When Mont got me bouquets every day during our courting, Falk refused to come visit me in my rooms because he said the flowers were too much. ”
Ren wanted to correct her—wanted to tell Flory about how Falk brought him flowers when he was in the infirmary and how, every time he put one in Ren’s hair, he described it as “pretty.”
Flory patted his leg after several long heartbeats of silence. She groaned as she got back up to her feet. “Do you want to come get dinner with me?” Flory asked.
Ren stared at her in awe before shaking his head slowly. “I have to… I have to wait for Falk?—”
“Or a trusted person,” Flory hummed. “I am definitely a trusted person in the eyes of everyone at this castle.”
Ren wanted to ask why, wanted to ask who Flory even was, but kept his lips sealed. He let Flory pull him to his feet, steadying him when he wobbled a bit, his head dizzy.
As they started walking, Flory said, “we should see if Des is available today as well.”
Ren perked up. “You know Des?”
“Of course I do,” Flory laughed. “He’s my best friend besides Oren and Mont.”
Ren couldn’t seem to keep up with how all of these Wolves were connected, but he didn’t question it as he followed after Flory.