Chapter 14 #2
“Do not apologize to me,” Falk snapped. “Apologize to Ren.”
The man scowled. His lips only started moving when Falk’s hand curled even tighter into the fabric at his throat. “I’m sorry—I’m so sorry I looked at you. I shouldn’t have. I apologize?—”
“It’s fine,” Ren said quickly.
At his words, Falk let the man go. The Alpha turned and ran, nearly stumbling away from them and Ren stared at Falk in disbelief. The Alpha turned back to him, jaw tight as he tried to continue on their way.
Ren punched him hard in the shoulder. “What was that?” he demanded.
“I didn’t like how he looked at you,” Falk muttered, his hand back to settling on the small of Ren’s back to lead him forward again. “He looked at you like you were a piece of meat-”
“Yeah, he looked at me like I’m an Omega,” Ren snapped. “Most Alphas look at me like that!”
“I don’t like it.” Falk shook his head.
“What’s different now from the other hundred times Alphas have looked at me?” Ren knew his voice was too loud. He was practically yelling barely a few inches away from him.
“By now, everyone should know you are mine,” Falk said.
“Yeah, sure, everyone already knows you’re my guardian nowadays, Falk!” Ren scoffed. “It doesn’t mean you can growl at every Alpha who looks at me!”
The rest of the day felt like the two of them were moving on eggshells around each other, scared to set the other off.
Ren was so tense the entire evening that when he finally laid down to sleep, his muscles ached.
He only got a moment to relax before Falk was sliding under the blankets beside him and he stiffened all over again.
The next day was no better. Ren wondered what was hanging between them— if it was words that needed to be said or just both of their bad moods being taken out on each other.
They still went through the motions of their new normal morning—breakfast brought to Ren in bed and Falk handing him a single little flower even closer to death than the previous day.
The return of autumn wouldn’t be good for this routine Falk had made for them.
Ren settled down when he got to work, able to lose himself in the projects Chaya handed him as well as sitting down with Des to continue teaching him the latest knit pattern that he had asked to learn.
He almost forgot the strange atmosphere of the previous twenty-four hours until Falk came to pick him up, hard lines still creasing his face.
Ren’s eye twitched.
“I would like to go see Flory this evening,” Ren said as he fell into step beside Falk.
“No,” Falk snapped and shook his head. “We are going back to our rooms.”
“No,” Ren said just as sharply. “I do not want to deal with you for a whole evening again.”
“Deal with me?” Falk questioned.
“Yes, you and your terrible mood,” Ren said, waving a hand at him. Even his scent was being affected by whatever internal turmoil Falk was facing; the comforting, spicy scent was leaning more towards singed and smoky.
“No,” Falk repeated. “We are going back to our rooms.”
Ren scowled, wanting to argue, but the tension in Falk’s shoulders made him stay quiet. He poked and prodded Falk enough most days, but even he knew when to not disturb a Wolf.
“I’m taking a bath,” Ren announced the moment they stepped into their chambers.
“Fine,” Falk said shortly. The Alpha stomped into the room, unbuckling the different straps he had to wear for his Warrior uniform as though the leather had wronged him personally. Ren only averted his gaze when Falk practically ripped his shirt off over his head and threw it onto the bed.
Ren pointedly shut the bathroom door hard, making sure Falk heard it.
But truly, a bath could fix all of Ren’s problems. He believed all wars and fights could be solved if everyone took a bath and calmed down a bit.
He sighed happily as he lowered himself into the water. Steam curled up in little wisps from the surface and the heat pinked Ren’s skin. He shut his eyes as he leaned back, sinking down until the water lapped at his chin and jaw, soaking his too-long hair curling against his shoulders.
He let his mind drift off for a while, let himself enjoy thinking about the mundane things he never thought would be his everyday concerns—the project Chaya had given him, the stories Flory and Des had told him during lunch (“Kade was definitely staring at you,” Flory had laughed and poked Des’s red cheeks as he tried to brush Flory off.
“He was not,” Des had grumbled), how he should ask where to get his haircut in the castle, how he wanted to go out on patrol with Falk again to see the farms once more before the snow came, how he?—
The knock on the door was far stronger than it usually was when Falk checked on him. “Ren?”
Ren huffed in annoyance when Falk jiggled the doorknob, the lock staying in place even as Falk shoved at it harder. He ignored him, sinking down lower in the water until it covered his mouth.
The steam had calmed quite a bit, telling Ren he had been soaking for much longer than normal, but it still curled pleasantly around his nose, relaxing him.
“Ren.”
The knocking was much louder this time. Ren scowled and said nothing. As the doorknob continued to rattle, he took a deep breath and let himself slide entirely under the water.
It was always so quiet when he did this.
He couldn’t hold his breath for long, but he loved how muffled everything sounded under the surface.
Even his own thoughts seemed to get lost in the water around him.
He sank down until he could rest his back against the bottom of the tub, his knees having to fold a bit more to give him the space.
Ren held his nose, squeezing his eyes shut to try to stay beneath the surface as long as possible.
He didn’t want to come up for air yet—didn’t want to deal with Falk, didn’t want to dance around him and be forced to stay in the same room with him, and didn’t want to give up the little bit of freedom he had when he was allowed to lock a door for once.
His lungs burned, but just as he was thinking of coming up for a breath, he felt hands on him.
Ren’s eyes flew open and he nearly inhaled a mouthful of water as he was dragged out of the water. He choked, yelping as he was pulled upwards. He stared at Falk who was wide eyed—an almost wild glint in his pupil.
Ren immediately wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hide his nudity as Falk dragged him almost entirely out of the bath.
“What are you doing?” Ren yelled, finally finding his voice and the ability to move his body.
He struggled against Falk’s grip—one of the Alpha’s arms tight around his waist and the other hauling him up with a grip under his arm.
Falk didn’t stop until Ren’s feet were entirely lifted up and off of the bottom of the tub, out of the water, and placed back on solid ground.
Ren scrambled against Falk and screamed again, “Let go of me! What do you think you’re doing? ”
Ren was pulled against Falk’s chest. He squirmed, fighting against Falk for a moment before he realized Falk was hugging him.
He blinked. Falk’s arms were holding him, not pushing or pulling or grabbing at him. They were wrapped around him so firmly, as though trying to hold him together—one wrapped around his waist and the other around his shoulders, locking Ren’s arms down by his sides.
He was going to make a comment about how Falk was getting soaked by the bath water to cover up how strange he felt being embraced like this while fully undressed, but stayed silent when Falk tightened around him, his face pressing into Ren’s neck, his nose on Ren’s scent gland.
“What?” Ren whispered in confusion.
“Please don’t,” Falk murmured, arms tightening impossibly more around him until Ren felt like he was trying to press the air right out of his lungs. He was going to ask what Falk meant when he repeated, “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Ren murmured.
“Don’t do that—please don’t. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you so upset. I didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry, Ren.”
“I didn’t—you didn’t—what are you talking about?” Ren stammered.
Falk just squeezed Ren, his hands curling around him as though they were never going to let him go.
It took Ren a bit, trying to figure out what had happened to get them to this point—Ren dripping water onto the tiled floor while Falk held him. He folded the events of the last few days over and over in his head until it hit him all at once.
“Falk,” Ren whispered, his hands coming up as much as they could to press on Falk’s waist. “I wasn’t… trying to kill myself.”
Falk stiffened. He shook his head frantically. “You don’t have to lie to me, Ren. You don’t have to?—”
“But I really wasn’t,” Ren interrupted. “I really wasn’t—I wasn’t even thinking about something like that. I… I just needed some space.”
Falk pulled back enough to look down at Ren. His gaze made Ren nervous and he fidgeted slightly. The stare made him feel like Falk was peeling back his skin to see inside of him. There wasn’t even an inch between them and Ren could feel Falk’s panicked, quick breaths against his lips.
“You weren’t answering,” Falk breathed. “You weren’t answering and you… you’ve been acting so strangely and there’s the window and?—”
“You thought I threw myself out the window?” Ren asked, baffled. Falk's face fell slightly at Ren’s tone, so he quickly continued. “I really wasn’t that upset, Falk. I was just annoyed. I… I haven’t thought about… about trying to escape or anything like that in a long time. I promise,” he murmured.
“I don’t know if I believe you,” Falk whispered.
Ren sucked in a sharp breath. The words felt the same as if Falk had punched him in the throat. “This time you can believe me, I swear,” he said.
Falk stared at him for a few tense heartbeats, his gaze searching Ren’s, digging through his very soul to see if Ren was lying or not. Ren gasped as Falk pulled him close against him again, one hand trailing up to hold the back of Ren’s head, his fingers curling in his damp hair.