Thirty-two nights after meeting the General
There was a relief in working on my own. I preferred it this way, having worked alone for so many years back in my hometown. Working at a new pace did require practice. The infirmary had become packed with an increasing number of injured soldiers to tend to over the past few days.
My last patient of the day was a young alpha soldier who had injured his hip.
There was a wound on his thigh as well. When he noticed that I was the healer who approached him, he inched away from me first. His back hit the wall behind his bed and there was nowhere left to go.
I was amused that these big alphas were afraid of me.
A little omega with no sharp claws to reveal in battle, unlike all the other healers.
Inge was helping a heavily pregnant omega on the next bed over.
He smiled at the soldier to reassure him.
“I’m not going to eat you,” I said. He sheepishly laughed at me.
“Sorry,” he said. He sat still then. He must have decided that I was indeed no threat.
“I’m going to assess the problem,” I said. I moved his leg up and down, holding his hip still. He made no sound, but I saw his mouth contort when his leg cracked as I lowered it.
“Where does it hurt?” He did not respond for a while.
In fact, no one was speaking. It took me a while to realise that something was amiss.
I looked around, and saw every face in the room turning towards the outside entrance to the infirmary.
In the doorway stood the alpha that had plagued my thoughts for days.
General Axel stood in the doorway, clad in fur, his hair as messy as always, scanning the infirmary.
It was his brother Inge that addressed him first.
“Are you injured, Ax- I mean, my lord?” he asked.
The General stepped into the infirmary with confident strides.
He peered around at the full beds, the makeshift stretcher, and the little cot that held a preterm baby.
That was when his eyes landed on me. On my fiery red hair, now braided in the same fashion as the other omegas in Kanna.
On the leather gloves I was wearing. On my belt that held at least ten flasks of medicine.
On my hand pressing into the patient’s hip.
“Get back to work,” Axel commanded. Reluctantly, the healers complied. I tried to do the same. I decided the patient’s wound needed to be stitched. It was hard to do my job with Axel’s eyes boring into my back. I knew he was approaching me by the way his scent got thicker.
“Omega,” Axel said. I knew he was speaking to me. He must have been right behind me. At least the soldier I was stitching was distracted by the General addressing me in such a manner. That must have made the process less painful.
“I am working, my lord,” I said. I heard a chuckle coming from Inge, who was still working close to me. Inge later told me that he was amused that someone else dared to talk back to his brother.
“Are you well?” the General asked. I continued to close the wound.
“Yes.” I finished up the last stitch. “I am healing a patient right now.” This did not matter to Axel, who inched closer to me and peered down at the injured alpha on the bed.
“Not anymore,” Axel said, motioning towards the wound that was now closed. I ignored him, in favour of putting salve around the wound.
“All done,” I told the soldier. He did not dare respond.
That was to be expected, with the General looming over him.
“No training for at least a fortnight. You need to stay the night here. From tomorrow on, come see us once a day so we can check on the wound.” I gave him the instructions firmly.
The soldier nodded. I turned towards Axel.
He just stood there, staring at me. I let out an audible sigh.
“Did you need anything, my lord?” I asked. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Healing suits you,” he said. General Axel did not seem the type to come visit former prisoners to make small talk. Was the purpose of his visit to question me? To make sure I was not causing trouble?
I wished he would have chosen a better time. I did not know what to do with the situation. He was standing quite close to me, in the middle of the infirmary, while my gloves were covered in blood.
“Thank you?” I replied. Axel looked over at Inge. The older omega was not focused on anything but the exchange between the two of us. I assumed the rest of the healers were much the same. I could not see them because they were behind me, but I felt the stares.
“Furs,” he said. I furrowed my brow.
“What?” I asked. He did not explain. He just took the fur that was wrapped around his shoulders, and moved behind me to wrap the furs around me instead.
I was gobsmacked. My cheeks heated up when I realised the man was handing me gifts in the middle of the infirmary.
I heard whispers coming from several corners of the room.
How did Axel expect me to respond to this?
“Stay warm,” he said. And the strange man walked off. His face had remained impassive. He said very few words. It was the same Axel I had met before. But this time, he gave me furs. I stood there, shocked, as the General disappeared out of the outside entrance.
“By the gods!” Inge said. His eyes opened wide. My face must have mirrored his. “Get back to work, everybody. Nothing to see here.” As Inge said this, he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me towards our living quarters.
I stumbled along as best I could with my short legs. Inge closed the door behind us. I hoped no one tried to eavesdrop on us, pressing their ears against the door.
“What was that?” Inge asked. I shrugged my shoulders. We just stood there, in the living quarters, facing each other. I had no answer to give him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why was ‘Axel the emotionless’ in our infirmary, handing you furs?” If he was still trying to whisper, he was failing at it.
“He might be concerned that as a Southerner, I will get cold,” I said. It was a terrible excuse, as there were more than enough blankets to keep me warm.
“Don’t be ridiculous, alphas don’t give furs to omegas they aren’t courting. It would give the omega the wrong idea.” Inge came close to me and buried his nose in Axel's furs. When he came up again, he gagged. “He scented this!”
That piqued my interest. I could tell his scent surrounded me. The shock of it all had made me put it out of my mind for a bit, but I felt my face get hot when I realised the implications. This was most definitely a courting gift.
“Oh no,” Inge said. He touched my cheek, and pinched the flesh. I let out a yelp. “Look at you! You’re blushing!” he exclaimed. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me a bit, as if I had committed a grave offence. He clearly gave up on whispering. “You’re interested!”
I frowned at him. I wanted to deny it. I really did. I let out a sigh.
“He locked you up in a tower not too long ago, in case you forgot?” Inge said. I was fully aware of that. I could not defend my attraction to the brutish alpha either. He had zero decorum and barely enough respect for others to speak to them using full sentences.
“What does this all mean, Inge?” I asked. With his hands on my shoulders, he looked at me with a grave expression.
“It means you have terrible taste in alphas.”