Chapter 3 #2
“Hendrich, the alpha who died, attempted to woo the wizard. He pretended escape over and over again, flirting with the omega each time he appeared,” Shen said.
“He hoped to seduce the wizard to reveal all of his secrets—and finding some sign of weakness he could exploit, of course. The wizard was too smart to fall for his traps. Hendrich ended up with his cock, knot, and balls removed.” Shen pointed to the side of the chimney, to a plaque that appeared to display Hendrich’s parts.
“The wizard mounted them here as a reminder of Hendrich’s folly. ”
Snow winced, looking away from the cruel sight.
“No wonder he gave up and chose death,” Owan lamented, grimacing. “I’d rather die than lose my favorite bits, too.”
Snow thought on that a moment, sure the alphas were fulfilling some need the wizard had—but what? “Has the wizard bedded any of you?”
“Nay,” Vor said. “He’s never touched any of us with lust that I know of. He toyed a bit with Hendrich, but I think that was just a spider welcoming the fly deeper into the web.”
The wizard wasn’t getting his tower if the trees continued to return, nor was he using the alphas for sex or reproduction. He left them alone, practically ignoring them from the sounds of it. What was it the wizard gained?
After replaying what they’d said, one thing Vor told him suddenly stood out. In all his years? Snow searched Vor’s face.
“How long have you been trapped here?”
Vor eyed Snow briefly before shrugging. “At last guess? Ten years. Maybe a dozen. I’ve stopped counting the days at this point.” He sighed. “What is the year now?”
Snow murmured the answer and watched as Vor’s expression tightened.
“Fourteen years I’ve now lost,” Vor muttered and returned to a prying a briar from Snow’s thigh.
Snow cringed, both in pain from the briar and the sadness in Vor’s eyes. Silence filled the room. Along with it was sadness and pain.
“I wish we could tell you more, Snow White. All we know is when the sun shines, our axes must be in motion. If not, we’re racked with physical pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt. As if our very skin is being peeled from our flesh,” Shen replied. “Our muscles torn from bone.”
Snow shook his head. It was unimaginable. The years the men had lost, seemingly for nothing more than being flawed men. “You toil all day for a fruitless endeavor. Why would the wizard task you with an unreachable goal?”
“There is little that makes sense in his madness,” Vor said.
“When I was alone, only two or three trees grew back each day, and I thought I might one day manage to clear it. Greer arrived next, and I was hopeful together we might accomplish it even faster, but thrice as many trees grew back. With each new alpha the wizard captured, more and more trees regrew overnight until nearly every one of them did. Still we chop, no matter how many regrow.”
“How cruel,” Snow whispered.
“Once the sun dips under the trees, we are free to do as we please, at least,” Shen said, adding a smile that almost appeared forced. “Like playing hero to beautiful, lost omegas who wander into our wood.”
“You speak as if he’s not the first,” Hwa said, chuckling.
Snow pulled his feet from their grasp. “I can’t take what little freedom you have away. The night is all you have.” He snatched the tool from Shen’s hand. “I can do this myself.”
Shen easily reclaimed the tool. Both men silently dragged Snow’s legs back onto their muscled thighs.
“Please,” Snow said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t rob you of what little time is yours.”
“You’re not robbing us of anything,” Vor said, massaging Snow’s heel with his strong fingers. “Quite the contrary.”
“Your presence is a gift,” Hwa added, joining them to pick the twigs and leaves from Snow’s hair.
Once Shen and Vor appeared done pulling the thorns and barbs from his body, they dampened the clean cloth in the warm water and cleaned the blood, dirt, and muck from his legs and feet.
Greer reappeared and watched them as he toweled his dark hair dry.
“Let me know when he’s ready for his bath,” Greer said. “I’ll make up another tub of clean water. Might want that bath before you coat his cuts with salve, you know.”
“Good point. We’re nearly done. Go ahead and put the tub in my bedroom, Greer,” Vor said, pinning his gaze to Snow’s. “We might as well share one to save time and water. I can clean his wounds there with him.”
“Making his bath comes with a fee,” Greer said, slinking closer. “I won’t do it for nothing.”
“And just what do you want for your services, Greer?” Vor asked, a hard edge to his voice.
“A peek at his nipples might do it,” Greer said, his smile cutting. “I bet they’re as red as his pretty lips.”
Vor rose. “You’ll see nothing.”
Snow stood, his feet aching. He pushed in front of Vor and lifted his torn tunic higher, exposing his chest. “Is this what you wanted?”
Greer stared greedily. “As red as I imagined them to be. Just like berries. They make me want to take a bite.”
Snow lowered his tunic when Greer advanced closer. “I’d love that bath now.”
Greer growled. “A taste first, love.”
“Nay,” Vor snapped. “He gave you what you asked for. Now do as he asked.”
Greer glowered. “Had I known he’d be that easy, I’d have demanded more.”
“But you didn’t,” Vor said. “Such is your luck.”
Greer shook his head, smiling at Snow. “I’ll ask for more next time.”