Chapter 23 #2
Fern opened her eyes, lifting her brows in question, and Reinn watched her in the mirror with a smirk tugging at his lips. “Just making sure you hadn’t fallen asleep on me there.”
She closed her eyes again and yawned. “I’m close, but go on.”
“As you command me,” he said with a small laugh. “Anyway, what it all really means is that I’ve grown up being told that the Sabletail Clan is my sworn enemy, and it takes more than sixty days of pointless rituals for me to see Darion as…” He rolled his eyes. “Family.”
“I see…” Fern said, Reinn needing to keep pulling her head up as it began to droop forward.
“Alright, that’s enough history and politics for one day. Let’s get you into bed.”
“Your bed?”
He picked her up. “I don’t see another one in here, do you?”
Reinn lay her down, pulling a very thick blanket on top of her. Then he gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, little sunbeam.”
Surrounded by soft fabrics and pillows so plush she sunk through them like they were clouds, she breathed in Reinn’s scent, strong and spicy, and then drifted off to sleep.
* * *
“How dare you bring my omega into your bed?”
Fern was ripped from her dream—something about running in the woods—by the noise at the door, where Darion was currently yelling into Reinn’s face.
Reinn did not seem bothered.
“I did not share it with her, if that’s your concern. Although I think perhaps you should be asking yourself how I managed to keep her in my room without you noticing for nearly eight hours.”
Fern looked out the window, the early afternoon sky now pitch black.
“I was busy,” he growled through gritted teeth.
“Aye, I’m sure the entire castle heard how busy you were.”
Darion grabbed the collar of his tunic, their faces separated by only a few inches. “So you thought to busy yourself with my omega?”
Fern clutched at the blanket, worried this could turn to violence at any moment.
She didn’t want Reinn punished for taking care of her. “Please,” she said on a whimper. “Please don’t fight.”
The two instantly whipped their heads towards her, and Reinn wrenched Darion’s hands off him as he came to her side. “Nothing to worry about,” he cooed, smoothing down her hair.
Darion came to her other side, and then grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her out of the bed. “Never make me look for you again,” he hissed, dragging her towards the door on stumbling feet.
“Then tell her where to go!” Reinn barked. “You forced her out of your room with no further instruction.” Darion paused, chest heaving, and Reinn continued. “I found her distraught, curled up outside your door while having to listen to how busy you were. Is that really how you plan to treat her?”
Reinn came closer, his voice lowering. “Because I distinctly remember your father saying something about mating her to someone else if you weren’t up to the task of treating her properly.”
Darion ground his teeth together before replying, “Kyntha was distraught. She needed reassurance.”
“And Fern wasn’t?”
“I cannot soothe both at once!”
“Then you should not have both!”
Fern moved her way between them, placing her hands on Darion’s chest. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“Fern,” Reinn sighed, the disappointment in his voice cutting, but she continued anyway.
“I shouldn’t have allowed him to take me. It won’t happen again.”
Darion stared at the other alpha for another beat and then lowered his gaze to look at her, his eyes cooling for a moment before igniting once more. “No, it won’t. Come.”
And then they left, the door closing behind them.
They walked back the way she remembered coming from earlier, when he finally stopped, still breathing heavy from the anger, and turned towards her. “You swear he did not touch you?”
Fern fought the urge to avert her gaze, and instead looked him the eye so he would know she was not lying. “Only my head.”
He opened his mouth then closed it. And then his brow scrunched. “Your head?”
Fern proudly showed off her hair—it was a little damp, still, and tangled slightly from sleep. But it was smooth, shiny, and smelled like the oil Reinn had used. “He helped me with my hair. See?” she said with a smile, hoping that was innocent enough to appease him.
Instead, something chilling crossed his features. “You let him groom you?”
Her smile froze, and her heart faltered on a beat. “I… is that bad? I didn’t know—”
The empty hand at his side balled into a shaking fist, and she flinched on instinct.
It was that small reaction that seemed to calm him down, and he loosened his grip on her, taking a few deep breaths.
“You are still ignorant of wolfkin culture, so I will forgive you this insult to my claim for now. But aye, allowing another alpha to groom you is very bad. And Reinn knew that.”
Fern looked down, tears clouding her eyes, and he bowed slightly to meet them. “And now you know that, too.”
She sniffed. “I do, Alpha.”