Chapter Six

Kane

Nothing tries to ambush us on our way back to omega’s den. Thank fuck. It’s hard enough protecting her when she isn’t out cold in my arms.

Sunlight dwindles behind us as we reach the front door. Shielding omega’s head , I shoulder my way inside. The dead wooden frame splinters, dust exploding over my cloak.

Christ, this place is a shithole.

The floorboards groan, sinking against my every step. I consider putting her in front of the fireplace, then—noting the distinct lack of fire wood —redirect to the bedroom. She barely stirs as I lie her down.

“Stupid omega,” I mutter. Her kind aren’t built for the wilds—definitely not in winter, and definitely not alone.

Omega scowls, curling into herself. My heart skips a beat.

Can she hear me ?

She fists the sheets, clenching and unclenching, like she can’t quite find what she’s looking for. Cautiously, I offer my hand.

Her fingers latch around mine in an instant. It’s weird—for all her feverishness, her hands are cool, and dry.

That dread in the pit of my stomach, wondering if she’s actually on death’s door, eases up as she tugs me in closer. And closer. Like she’s confused how I can still be so far away.

She’s not the only one, my inner alpha grumbles.

Before I know it, this sleeping, delirious omega is dragging me into bed. I manage to unfasten my cloak just in time to hit the mattress, my bare chest pressing up against her. She murmursincoherently, her weak breath tingling my sternum.

My thoughts go blank. She’s so soft, and small, and melts everything she touches. Is that the fever, I wonder, or is that just what it’s like to be this close to an omega?

Either way, Iknow what I have to do.

I pull her closer. When she whimpers, the sound travels halfway to my cock before I restrain myself.

All I can do is hold her, make her sweat, and sweat, and sweat, until all the sickness leaves her body.

Eventually her breaths even, and her muscles go slack, and she returns to deep sleep. I feel myself drifting off, too—dragged under by a tidal wave of calm.

As if, for the first time in my life, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

***

Thunk !

My eyes snap open. The room is so dark it takes me a couple seconds to adjust.

“What the hell are you doing!”

Ah . Guess omega’s awake.

She must’ve leapt out of bed—still picking herself off the floor—when she saw me. How stupid can one omega be? If I was going to hurt her, or worse, she’d be hurt or worse by now.

“Helping,” I answer at last. Then, pointedly, add, “ Again .”

“Get out,” she snaps.

Rage fires through my blood. “That really the thanks I get?”

“I didn’t ask for your help.” She grips the bed frame. “This is my cabin. Touch me again and I’ll—I’ll—!”

“You’ll what?”

To my surprise—and, fine, horror —her big green eyes fill up with tears. Instinctively, I stand, not sure if I want to hold her or shake her. Omega. Crying. Fucking fix it ! my alpha snaps.

Only as she takes a step back, terror spiking from her scent, do I realize what’s happened. Or, what she thinks has happened.

I freeze. Ah, hell.

“Omega,” I growl, “I didn’t touch you.”

She sniffles. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Debatable.”

Her eyes glisten. I bite my tongue. C'mon, Kane. Don’t be a jackass .

Tautly, I explain, “I was trying to sweat your damn fever out. That’s it.”

She gestures down her body, scantily clad in that flimsy white underdress. “And you had to take my clothes off to do that?”

I might actually laugh if it weren’t for those damn pheromones—so bitter, so gut-wrenchingly genuine.

With all the patience I can muster, I tell her, “This is all you had on.” I point down, where her boots are still sloppily laced. “I didn’t take off shit.”

Omega shuffles her feet. She doesn’t break my gaze for several agonizing moments until, finally, her scent mellows.

“Okay. Good.” She folds her arms. “For you, I mean. ’Cause, you know, if you had …” she swallows. “I–I’d kill you.”

I return to the edge of the bed, leaving a wide berth in case she decides to join me.

“The bear,” she says suddenly, quieter. “That was real.”

I grunt in affirmation.

“Okay.” I sense her frustration, her stubbornness, finally quashed by a muted, “Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

She scowls at me, taking me in with skin-prickling interest. I guess she’s never seen me so up close before. Or so … bare.

Finally, she asks, “How did you know where my cabin was?”

“Didn’t realize it was a secret.” I decide not to mention how many hours I’ve spent in her trees, watching the windows flicker with candlelight, tracing her silhouette as it moved from room to room.

More sourness in omega’s scent. “Great. That’s just great. If you knew where I was this whole time, why’d you always wait to ambush me?”

Ambush ? My inner alpha cringes at the word.

“Dunno.” I avert my gaze. “Figured you wouldn’t like it.”

“So you were being polite?”

I roll my eyes.

Finally—fucking finally—omega sits down next to me. She puts a pillow between us, like that tiny barrier makes a difference. Her scent courses through my veins. Her fevered heat is still a part of me.

Softly, she says, “You can’t stay here. Even if you did …”

“Save your life?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. You also stole my fish, stalked me, and, for some reason, took your cloak off in my bed.”

“Got your fever down, didn’t it?”

She gives the cutest little omega growl, making my cock twitch.

“Tomorrow morning,” she says, “I need you gone. Understand?”

Instantly my inner alpha rages. The last time I left you alone, you almost got eaten by a bear. I don’t even know this omega—don’t know her name, or what she’s doing here, or why someone hasn’t bonded her yet. And yet …

“I meant what I said,” she mutters, like she senses me withdrawing. “The thank you part.”

She’s staring into me, her cheeks flushed, green eyes focused, long auburn hair half-spilled out of its braid.

Beautiful, my inner alpha purrs.

“You’re welcome,” I bite out.

We sit in silence. I keep waiting for my eyes to get heavy, counting down the seconds until I can convince her to return to my arms, so we can share the mattress once more. Instead, the night churns on, and neither one of us speaks.

Finally, I declare, “Name’s Kane. Since you didn’t ask.”

She hesitates. “I’m … Will.”

“Will?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.”

I give her a couple seconds, and sure enough, she adds, “Short for Willow . Like the tree.”

I look at her again, realizing it fits. Strong, but crooked. Graceful, even when she’s standing still.

Will. Willow .

Like the tree.