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Chapter Fourteen
Ivy
"My family died of illness too. Once my father realized Mother wasn’t going to make it, he sent me on a hunting trip. I didn’t know until later. We’d always gone hunting together, and I was so excited he had trusted me to go on my own, that I didn’t even think about what could happen while I was gone. By the time I got back, it was too late. I couldn’t stand to be there alone, so I kept hunting, and it’s become habit to spend more time away from the clan than in it.”
I stared up at the side of his face, but he kept his gaze trained on the trees ahead. He’d said he didn’t have a family, but I hadn’t realized we shared the reason why. I could feel his hesitance over speaking about it, but it was comforting to know someone else knew my pain.
Knew how that gaping hole in my chest felt.
“I’ve spent the seasons since hunting and trading meat and furs with a few trusted villages until the weather gets bad. I wait out the moons of snow when game is too scarce and conditions too harsh to camp in the forest by tanning hides and making things from them in my cave. Then I go back out once the worst of the weather clears.”
“You’re always alone?”
His brow was quirked at the concern in my voice, and heat rushed to my cheeks.
“I help the clan when it’s asked of me. I built the fireplace for the lodge the others made for their mates and young. Wulf has adopted me as pack, so I have him now too. His mother had been alone and couldn’t get out to hunt while nursing pups. Her mate must have died, and Wulf was the last one left.”
I looked over his shoulder at the wolf pup. He was running through the brush, yapping at anything that moved, and my heart squeezed at the thought of his poor mother dying trying to care for her babies.
“But what about…”
I trailed off, the words sticking in my throat. Surely he was like other males and sought out females to slake his needs.
A growl ripped form my throat before I strangled it.
“What about…?”
My blush deepened as De’drik’s grin widened. I knew he could smell which direction my thoughts had gone. It was unfair that my biology gave me away so thoroughly.
All those sharp teeth should have scared me, but the sight of them only made the warmth in my face spread lower. Everything about the monster screamed virile male, and I couldn’t keep my mind from wandering to what ifs when I was wrapped in his strong arms, pressed against the hard muscles of his chest.
“Umm… Interaction. Don’t you get lonely?”
I did, and I wasn’t half as alone as De’drik. I still spoke to people daily, even if was only to accept tasks or punishment.
I tried to imagine what it would be like to spend my days alone, with only the company of animals, and the image wasn’t as bad as it sounded at first. Only myself to worry about and clean up after. Able to do what I wanted whenever the thought struck.
It would be even better with an alpha who cared for me.
De’drik let out a huff, shaking his head.
“Being around others is difficult. I’m so used to the solitude that anything more than haggling with a trader feels strange. I’ve talked to you more than I’ve spoken all winter.”
I fought the urge to clench my legs as another huff of amusement sent shivers through my body. The few times I’d been the focus of male attention I’d been nothing but uncomfortable, but something about this monster set my blood boiling every time he looked at me with those hungry eyes. He tried to hide it, but I could see the interest in them.
The short fur on his cheeks made me want to reach out and stroke it, curious to see if it was softer than the fur on his chest and shoulders. I wondered how he would react.
And what if I touched his horn? Was it warm like the rest of him? I’d noticed him oiling them, but was there a reason other than cosmetic for it?
De’drik continued to walk as my mind wandered. He acted as if my weight was nothing to him. As strong as he was, I doubted I was much of a burden, but it was still awkward to be carried for so long.
We talked more about our lives, and while I enjoyed his stories, the reminder of my life, or lack thereof, made me pensive. The feeling of helplessness grated on my nerves, and by noon I’d become withdrawn.
De’drik didn’t seem to mind, just as comfortable with the silence as I was. After only two days together, I felt like he knew me better than anyone else did, and he was certainly the only person to ever show interest in my likes and thoughts.
That was sobering, and it made me question why I was trying to get back to people who wouldn’t care that I was gone except that they’d have to start paying a maid to do my chores. But what other choice did I have? I was a woman, an omega, alone, with no money or skills outside of keeping house.
I’d end up bonded to the first alpha who came across me during my heat, if one didn’t decide to lock me away before then and wait for it to come. Omegas were supposed to get to choose, but I wasn’t stupid. If my voice was the only one that needed to be silenced, it wouldn’t be hard.
