Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
After cleaning up their morning meal and testing out a new naan recipe, Snow paced the cottage’s main hall.
The day was bright and warm, the first sign that spring was truly upon them.
Their time was growing thinner before his next heat, and he was no closer to coming up with a solution to their predicament.
He’d picked all of their brains, searching for answers about the wizard, but they hadn’t known much more than they’d already told him.
Perhaps answers lay in the grove of trees they worked to clear.
He’d yet to follow them to their work site.
Snow wasn’t exactly sure where they trekked to each morning but assumed he’d hear the chopping of their axes once he crossed the meadow, traveling their well-worn footpath.
He pulled a wicker basket down from the wall and laid a clean cloth inside.
Snow filled it with smoked ham, a hunk of cheese, three flagons of ale, and some of the naan he’d just made.
After borrowing a pair of braies, a tunic, and boots from the smallest of the alphas, Lazlo, he took off across the meadow.
Silence came after he’d crossed it and moved into the trees, but it didn’t take long for a shout and the subsequent crash of a tree in the distance to calm his nerves and lend a direction.
When he appeared to find his men hard at work, his belly tightened. All of them chopped away, the sun shining down on their glistening muscles. How was he supposed to think about a solution given that?
“Snow?” Shen asked, his axe stilling for a moment as he turned to eye him.
One by one, the alphas stopped their chopping and looked his way.
“I came to offer a mid-day meal to give you strength,” Snow said matter-of-factly as he stepped into the center of the clearing they’d made. Inhaling deep, he could scent their alpha pheromones mixing with the aroma of freshly cut trees, and it was a dizzying delight.
Shen smiled. “Do I smell garlic naan?”
“Hopefully I’ve made you proud,” Snow said, holding back his prideful grin. “I also have ham, cheese, and ale.”
A pained look crossed Shen’s face instead of the smile Snow expected. He faced the tree he’d been chopping and swung his axe a few times.
Shen paused and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Sorry, my dear Snow White… we can’t stop to eat. We must chop.”
“You can’t stop for even a few moments to eat?” Snow asked them.
“A brief moment is all,” Shen replied. “Not long enough to enjoy your beauty as we should.”
They all grimaced and lifted their axes, chopping a few times. They glanced his way in between; their expressions filled with longing… and sadness.
Snow rested the basket on a nearby trunk, refusing to accept defeat. He used the trunk like a table, preparing their small feast. After pulling the foods out, he cut some ham and cheese and wrapped it in the still slightly-warm naan. He brought the first one to Shen, along with one of the flagons.
“You’re a god amongst men,” Shen muttered, pausing long enough to take a long drink and a big bite.
Moaning, his eyes rolled back in his head as he chewed.
“Your naan is almost as good as mine.” He winked before stealing a kiss.
“Almost.” He stole another kiss and another bite before returning to his chopping.
Snow took the half-eaten bread to Hwa, who did the same as Shen.
A few bites, a few drinks, and a few kisses.
Slowly, he had fed all of the men and ensured they’d had enough ale to wash it down with.
His last stop was Vor. Snow stood on a stump beside the tree Vor was chopping and gazed at their progress.
Piles of felled trees littered the space, some of them appearing to have been cut prior to that day.
What a waste it was—of wood, manpower, and time.
There were those who could’ve used that wood for good causes.
“Have you tried pulling out the trunks? Maybe they wouldn’t grow back,” Snow said.
Vor paused a moment, looking like he desperately wanted to roll his eyes.
“Yes. We’ve tried pulling the trunks out with no luck.
The trees return regardless. We’ve laid the heaviest logs across the spots where the trees grew to impede them.
Still they rose. We’ve buried logs into the holes the trunks left behind.
Again, no luck. We’ve burned the trees down to the roots, and they returned. ”
“Have you salted and burned the ground after removing the trunks?”
Greer paused midway through a swing of his axe. He turned to stare wide-eyed at Snow. Vor did much the same until the two men spun for look at one another. No words were shared, just that shocked look and blinking.
After a few seconds, Vor focused on Snow again, his brow furrowing. “Salt the earth?”
Was his idea really so silly? Warmth crept over Snow’s face. “I—I only mentioned it because I overheard one of our soldiers once say that’s what we should’ve done to Fuelders after they’d burned down our crops. He said it would ensure nothing would grow for many years.”
Greer and Vor stared at him as if he’d grown another head.
“I don’t know how right he was, of course,” Snow rambled, wishing he’d said nothing at all. “I am no farmer—or tree tender, whatever they’re called.” He shrugged. “I have heard salt is effective against repelling some magicks, as well, so mayhap it wouldn’t be the worst idea?”
After Greer and Vor both turned to strike their trees a few times, they both twisted back to stare at Snow.
“Forget I mentioned it,” Snow said, face burning.
“Scorched earth,” Greer said, shaking his head. He eyed Vor. “Why did we not think of that?”
Vor grabbed Snow and spun him in a circle before lowering him to the ground and stealing a kiss. He smiled down at Snow, his smile brighter than it had ever been. “Scorched earth.”
“Is it a good idea?” Snow asked, hopeful.
“We won’t know until we try—but it’s something we hadn’t thought to attempt before. We should have.”
“Should I run back and get some salt?” Snow asked, already spinning towards the root cellar. “There’s a large bag there.”
“Nay,” Vor said, gently grabbing his arm. “The bag is too heavy for you to haul. By the time you get back, the sun will already be low in the sky.” A pained look crossed his face. “We’ll try tomorrow.”
“And since the salt is in the root cellar, you’ll have an unending supply,” Snow said. Excitement made him bounce on his toes. “I so hope this works.”
Vor grimaced. “Me, too, my sweet, clever boy. But let us get back to work for now.” He stole another kiss. “We’ll see you at home soon.”
Home. While he didn’t want the cottage to be his home, wherever Vor was felt like it was. Snow gathered his basket of leftovers and offered them a wave goodbye. He tried not to get his hopes up on the walk back to the cottage, but joy filled his heart.
Scorched earth might save them.
His idea might save them.
That evening, it was all the alphas could talk about, their excitement heady. Snow owed them so much for saving him from the cold, dark forest. Hopefully he’d found their escape from it.
Two evenings later, Snow had a cauldron of curry prepared and more naan made.
He paced the main hall, frantic to know the results of their test from the day before.
Vor had made him promise to stay near the cottage all day.
Vor claimed he didn’t want Snow choking on the smoke from the fires, but he’d overheard Shen and Hwa whispering before they’d left, worried the wizard might sense them breaking the spell and make an appearance in the wood.
Snow wished he’d not promised anything after hearing that.
He should’ve walked to the clearing site with them that morning to see the results from the previous day instead of pacing the cottage awaiting news—all while worried they’d been harmed by the wizard.
If they were, it would have been his fault, and he wasn’t sure he could live with that guilt.
When the door finally swept open, their faces were grim as they trudged inside. None would meet his curious stare, their shoulders slumped.
“Oh no,” Snow whispered under his breath. “Did I make things worse again?”
Vor walked closer and stopped in front of him, towering above. He shook his head, sighing. “Not worse.”
Snow frowned, confused.
Vor burst into a wide, toothy smile. “The trees we salted and burned didn’t grow back. Not a single one.”
“What?!” Snow gasped, his heart stuttering in his chest. “They didn’t?!”
Vor picked him up and spun him around the cottage.
Snow was dizzy when his feet met the stone floor again, only to be gathered up into hug after hug and spun a few more times.
That night was a celebration. The ale flowed along with the last bottle of Greer’s brandy.
Snow’s curry was praised and devoured by seven hungry alphas—and Shen proclaimed it better than his own.
Even Klaus smiled and kissed his cheeks, pleased with him for once.
The celebration continued well into the night, with them naked and huddled together near the fire. The light from the flames danced over their naked, gleaming bodies while their shadows fell across the walls. The shapes almost appeared like an audience, willing them to go faster… harder.
As Shen drove into Snow, Vor drove into Shen from behind.
Snow lay back and delighted in seeing Shen’s pleasure, knowing how good it felt to have Vor deep inside himself.
This was his favorite coupling of all they’d shared.
Shen was gorgeous inside and out and the love Snow had for him grew by the hour.
Vor clearly had a soft spot for the beautifully bronzed alpha, too.
Snow could see it in the way Vor took his time preparing Shen and his lazed kisses on the man.
Shen, too, seemed eager to join them and offered his body to both of them often.