Stopping by the side of it, he loosened his hold on her small body, lifting a hand to brush her auburn locks from her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, cheeks glistening with her tears.
“I’ve brought you to bed. Be a good girl and climb in,” he whispered to her as he leaned forward.
Pulling back her blankets, warmth bloomed in his chest to see the one he’d left for her was the one she had in the middle. The others were laid to the sides or across the foot.
She blinked up at him as Darcon sat her on the bed, her mouth opening like she was going to protest when he pulled away, but her lips closed again without a sound. He covered her with the blanket holding his scent before stroking a hand down her cheek.
“Go to sleep now. You’ll feel better in the morning. I’ll be here if you need me.”
He ignored the sounds of the others around him, focus centered on the green eyes staring up at him. It took every bit of his control not to lean over again and press his lips to hers, Darcon’s nails digging into his palms as his fists clenched.
Autumn gave him a small nod before her eyelids fluttered closed. He pulled in a deep breath and turned to his pallet, wondering what he would do if Autumn ended up choosing someone else.
Kantor
The way Autumn threw herself at Darcon made Kantor want to hurl, and the alpha’s show of weakness was appalling. Offering comfort was a smooth move, but the purring where everyone could hear was taking it a step too far.
Omega or not, Kantor was getting tired of Autumn’s sniveling. He’d heard her moping over her father and how she missed home and her family more than once over the past few weeks. He couldn’t understand how any of the alphas wanted such a weak omega as a mate. He wished he could move on and forget about her, but the only way to have a chance at being close to her was to stay in her pathetic little group of beggars.
This wasn’t how their dynamics were supposed to interact. Alphas were dominant. They took what they wanted. They didn’t play nice and let an omega tell them if she wanted mated or not.
He didn’t realize he’d slipped and let his true feeling show until he heard a growl. Catching Kull’s stare, he smoothed his features, raising a brow at the man’s threat.
As dull as he was, Kantor wouldn’t put it past him to be stupid enough to attack. He would usually welcome the fight and the chance to prove himself the better alpha, but it could affect his plans and they were too close to screw it up because he couldn’t hold his temper.
Kantor wanted to follow when the others headed from the room, but he wasn’t willing to drop his gaze even though the other alpha stopped growling. He’d never seen Kull worked up before, and he had to fight against the urge to push the big man just to see what would happen.
Shrugging off the threat he posed, Kantor stood to join the others in the cavern, dropping a threat of his own for Kull to think about. The others might not know it yet, but change was coming.
With Verik returning soon, it meant it was time to quit stalling and put the plans into motion. He’d let Vargan know to be on guard for his chance as soon as he could slip away in the morning.
Chapter Twelve
Autumn
Sleep claimed her quickly and Autumn awoke with a bit more clarity. The overwhelming wave of emotion had ebbed, leaving her feeling drained despite sleeping so long. She could tell from the angle of the light coming in one of the ventilation holes in the roof that it was late morning and well past the time she usually woke.
Rubbing gritty eyes, Autumn hoped to see Dracon or Kull, but the only person in the cavern with her was Roggern. He watched her slide from the bed before bringing over a bowl with a scrap of cloth.
“I’ve warmed some water for you. Freida said you had the day off, so we let you sleep in. How are you feeling?”
She took the cloth from the bowl, the water comfortably warm on her chilled fingers. Passing it over her face and neck, she gave the alpha a weak smile.
“I’m okay.”
“I’m not due for duty until later. I was thinking about going down to the beach to see if any shells have washed ashore. Would you like to accompany me?”
His hopeful expression held a bit of wariness, like he was expecting her to deny him but was asking anyway, but Autumn was grateful for the chance to have something to occupy her. Sitting around the cavern all day would only lead to more tears.
Giving him a nod as she placed the rag back into the bowl, she watched a smile cross his face. A hint of warmth bloomed in her chest at pleasing the alpha, but it was outweighed by a sense of guilt.
Roggern was not who she was going to choose as her mate, and Autumn felt bad that her acceptance of his offer gave the impression that he still had a chance. If nothing else, the news last night had allowed her to accept her true feelings.
She hadn’t turned to Larok, the closest thing she had to a father figure, for comfort. She’d turned to Darcon.
The sense of loss and disappointment when he left her in bed alone was further proof that the others no longer stood a chance. The draw she’d felt to Darcon from the beginning had become too strong to deny, but Autumn didn’t think she was capable of making that announcement just yet.
Roggern pulled her out of her thoughts when he asked if she wanted to grab breakfast before heading out. She doubted the hollow feeling in her gut would be filled by food, but she agreed, grabbing the cloak she’d been given after slipping on her boots. They hadn’t reached the stormy part of the year yet, but the wind blowing off the ocean would still be cold.
Autumn ate the usual morning porridge without tasting it, telling Freida what they were planning when she saw her by the stream, before following Roggern out the main entrance. She hadn’t left the caverns since her arrival weeks earlier, and even the pale sunlight coming through the cloud cover caused her eyes to sting.
She noticed Kantor coming down the ravine toward the entrance, but Roggern had already turned toward the water, so she hurried to catch up. There was a thin trail down the cliff where the ravine ended, worn by years of use. Though it was wide enough for an alpha to walk unimpeded, the drop off the side had Autumn hugging the wall and debating whether she’d made a poor decision. Wind tugged her hair in every direction, blinding her until she reached up and wrapped her hand around the majority of it.
Roggern kept an eye on her as they descended, glancing over his shoulder every few steps and keeping his stride to her slow, crab-crawl. She would have liked to hold onto him for security but was afraid a stumble would send them both over the edge.
Breathing a sigh of relief when they reached the sandy shoreline, she paused to lean against a boulder and get a better grip on her hair. She was surprised when Roggern moved behind her and pushed her hands away.
A bit of tugging and mumbling, and he’d wrangled Autumn’s wayward locks into a club tied off with a piece of leather he pulled from his pocket. Shooting him a grateful smile, she walked beside him as they made their way closer to the dark water.
Though the wind gusted and threatened to whip her cloak from her hands, she managed to keep ahold of it and was comfortable within its folds. Unsure what to say, she trailed along beside the alpha, eyes searching the sand for a hint of color that would reveal a buried shell.
They eventually came around a hill of sand and tumbled boulders that helped block the wind. The constant noise faded into the background, leaving them in relative silence until he finally spoke.