Chapter 22 #2
“You asked about expectations.”
Her spine stiffened as he made his way in front of her, hands clasped behind his back as though he were addressing soldiers and not the woman he had taken to his room.
“You will be my Naravekh—do you know what that means?”
“I know well enough.”
He looked up in thought. “I am in courtship with Kyntha…”
Hearing her name made her flinch. Darion noticed her reaction, but did not say anything. “She will be my mate. My priority. The one who sits to my right at all functions and, should she bear me an alpha, it will be her son who becomes my heir.”
Darion stared at her pointedly until she gave him a shaky nod to show her understanding. He grunted softly and continued.
“Your most important role is to ensure I have plenty of heirs to choose from, should my mate be unable to fulfill her duties. As an omega, one born human at that, I have high hopes this won’t be difficult to achieve.”
Fern’s mouth went dry, and her hand crept down to rest on her lower stomach. She had not escaped her fate to serve as a broodmare after all. Only now being an omega meant she was good enough for an alpha.
Her eyes slowly slid to his large bed, and she supposed she could take small joy in knowing that if she’d always been meant to serve the clan on her back, at least now she’d be comfortable doing it.
“Omegas are… more fertile, then?”
The fire popped, and she flinched again.
“Much. Now, your secondary role, in between birthing pups, is to make my life easier, in whatever capacity that means.”
She attempted to swallow the nervous lump that had started growing in her throat. “Could… you give me some examples?”
He slowly paced in front of her. “While my mate is expected to push me to be a better leader, a better wolf, I will want no pushing from you whatsoever. You will be expected to offer peace rather than conflict when I come to you. You will make no demands of me, and you will not question me, especially before the clan. Is that example enough?”
For once, her wolf seemed troubled, her earlier excitement dulling. But she wouldn’t elaborate why, preferring to now silently watch from the shadows.
“Aye, it is enough.”
He looked at her quickly, then turned back.
“I understand now that some of your more vexatious quirks come from your designation, and I will strive to be more forgiving of them going forward. But I must also insist you do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself when other wolfkin are present. Your scent is too distracting, and I don’t want to have to reprimand you in front of the other alphas. Are we clear on this?”
Her gaze fell to the floor. “We are clear,” she answered.
“Good. Now, disrobe.”
Fern’s eyes widened, and she looked up in shock, but made no move at first.
Darion stepped closer. “You seemed comfortable enough on my brother’s lap with your breasts against his bare chest.”
“I… I was moon drunk. I needed the comfort.”
He tilted his head. “And you don’t anymore?”
“You’re still too terrifying to be comforting,” she answered honestly.
His lips curled into a smile, spreading to show his predatory teeth. “As I should be.”
Darion’s hands shot out and peeled the cloak off, pushing it over her shoulders and letting the gray fabric pool on the floor around her feet.
Her arms shot up to cover herself, but he grabbed her wrists, holding them in the air between them as he devoured her through sight.
“Omega,” he purred, the tone low and vibration so slow it sounded more like a growl.
He let go of her wrists as a hand cupped one of her breasts, weighing it in his palm. Fern gasped, her nipples hardening while her inner thighs became slick.
“Are you a virgin?” he asked, his lips lowering to her neck, teeth scraping her skin.
“N-no, I’m not…”
He chuckled. “Then why do you tremble like one?”
His mouth suctioned around the spot where her neck connected with her shoulders, and she whimpered loudly, not knowing the place had ever been such a sensitive spot before. She could climax from that alone. Her hands found his upper arms to bring him closer and to keep herself from falling.
Her whole body was hot and tingling, as though lightning now traveled through her bloodstream.
She didn’t understand how quickly his touch could undo her, how easily her body turned desperate for him. It was worse than being moon drunk, because this felt like a fire he’d ignited knowing only he could put it out.
His other hand slid down her side, rounding her backside and gripping it tightly, and he began bringing her, step by step, back to his bed, when the door burst open.
Darion immediately drew her behind him, his body coiling and then easing in rapid succession.
“So it’s true!”
Kyntha stood, half covered herself, tears staining her cheeks, her hair mussed. And a red mark in the same spot on her neck where Darion had just been attending on Fern.
“Kyntha,” he called softly. “Please, let me explain…”
She stomped towards him and began beating his chest with her fists, as though she might actually hurt him. “You promised me you would not take a Naravekh unless I failed to bear you pups. You promised!”
“Kyntha,” he said again, his voice a slight warning.
“And the Ashpaw? Of all the she-wolves in the castle? You take her? Knowing how she disrespects me with her jealous stares!”
Jealous stares? Fern had done nothing but avoid looking in Kyntha’s direction as much as possible.
Her wolf rolled her eyes. Never trust the pup who cries the loudest.
What does that mean?
It’s a wolf saying, she replied. You wouldn’t understand.
“Kyntha, stop.” It was not a bark, but close enough that the words could seize her body into stillness. “She is an omega.”
Kyntha remained still, but her eyes widened in shock. She sniffed the air, and then her face crumpled like a newborn babe’s and she began to wail, the sound so loud and shrill that Fern needed to cover her ears.
Darion abandoned Fern and embraced his mate-to-be, shushing her and enduring her sobs and struggles, as though she could not decide whether she wanted to fight him or be held by him.
And Fern could do nothing but watch.
“I can’t… I can’t be near her. I can’t think with her here. Her scent is too cloying…”
“Fern.”
She looked up, Darion’s expression stern.
“Leave.”
She froze for a moment. “But…”
“What did I say about questioning me?” he snapped.
Fern bolted for the door, grabbing her cloak on the floor on the way out.
The door slammed shut behind her, and once she’d caught her breath, she realized she didn’t know where she was supposed to go.
“Why did you take her?”
“I will be the Head Alpha soon, and she’s an omega. She had to go to me.”
Fern leaned against the wall opposite the door, then slid down until she hit the floor, wincing at each overheard word.
“But it’s not fair! She will need you, she will take you away from me…”
“No, nothing will take me away from you.”
“But she’s an omega, and you’re an alpha, and—”
“Do you doubt my control? My love for you, which eclipses everything?”
“But I saw you—”
“Shh, it was the moon that rode me, that is all. She means nothing to me…”
Fern squeezed her eyes tight to fight the tears, her chest suppressing the building sob.
“Then show me. Show me how much I mean to you.”
A groan. A gasp. A growl, and bodies falling on something soft.
Furniture squeaked.
“Fuck, my love… so perfect, so mine. The only one I need.”
A familiar scent hit her before the sound of him did, and she looked up to find Reinn—fully dressed now—walking quietly towards her.
He placed his finger in front of his lips to signal a request for silence, and then leaned against the door. A loud thud and a moan from Kyntha had him grimacing and taking a step back.
Then he looked down at her. “Why are you here?”
Fern sniffed. “He told me to leave, but not where to go.”
A muscle feathered in his jaw as he looked at her, thoughts and calculations made quickly behind his amber eyes.
“Well, you certainly can’t stay there.”
He bent down and offered her his hand. “Come. You look like you might want a bath.”
Fern sniffed, wiping a tear off her cheek with the back of her hand. “Are you telling me I need one?”
He sighed. “Desperately.”