The encounter left her in a better mood, so when another of the warriors approached her on her way to dinner, she wasn’t as nervous as she had been before. A redhead with a thick, matching red beard, he was one of the men who had tried to draw her into conversation a few times, but she’d pretended not to hear or acted too busy to talk.
He walked with her to the cavern and went so far as to take a seat at the table with her, Larok, and Freida. It seemed to give the others confidence to do the same, because they were shortly joined by three more of the alphas. There likely would have been more if the table hadn’t become too crowded for anyone else to fit.
Autumn wilted under the attention of so many at once, but she did her best to engage with all of them as she ate. She’d been getting hints of their personalities when she watched them interact in the cavern and speaking with them confirmed some of her speculations.
There were a couple of the men she didn’t feel any interest in, but she didn’t know if she should give them more time and she wasn’t brave enough to let them go. She didn’t feel like she was being fair by judging them after avoiding all contact for days.
Autumn considered the issue as she listened to the alphas with part of her attention. They’d become so occupied with jockeying for position they were barely paying attention to her by the time she finished her meal. Noticing Larok was already done and waiting for her, she gave him a nod and rose.
The four alphas turned their attention to her as Larok stood beside her. She wouldn’t go to the sleeping cavern without him, still not sure enough to risk being caught there alone, so he escorted her each night. The men seemed to have figured that out, because by the time she dropped off her dishes and made it to her bed, the rest of the men were right behind them.
Autumn still slept fully dressed, only changing in the women’s bathing cave, but she’d grown used to the men’s nudity. A majority of them showed no hesitance about strutting around naked, some going so far as to be sure to catch her attention when they did so.
Aesir was guaranteed to find an excuse to strip and walk around the room. The cocky alpha had no shame.
Autumn had to admit to sneaking peeks at the men whenever she thought she wouldn’t be caught. Curiosity got the better of her as she grew accustomed to their scents and developed interest in some of them. Darcon and Kull were the only ones who never went bare, their consideration increasing her opinion of them even as it lit a desire to see them as she had the others.
Shoving those thoughts aside, Autumn snuggled into her bed. The men replaced her blankets daily, assuring she continued to get doses of their scent as she slept. After the second night, the one she’d used in the small cave with only her scent on it had disappeared, and she was left with no choice but to use one of theirs. Autumn knew they were conditioning her, but she couldn’t find a reason to complain about it as she sucked in a deep breath of heady alpha pheromones.
Chapter Five
Kantor
A full week had passed since they moved into the cavern with the omega, yet she still hadn’t made a choice or even dismissed anyone. She didn’t seem to have any clear favorites either, which reassured him a bit, but Kantor was already tired of waiting.
He had plans, and he didn’t have much longer to enact them.
Autumn was never alone, which made it hard to get close to her. The constant presence of other alphas grated on his nerves, yet she showed no signs of being ready to let any of them go. He wouldn’t be able to do what he needed if the crowd wasn’t thinned.
Approaching Larok when he finally caught the man without the little redhead nearby, Kantor broached the subject.
“It’s been a week already, how long does she have to choose?”
He knew his demand wasn’t diplomatic, but Kantor didn’t care. His question drew the attention of a couple of the nearby men, two of whom were part of his competition.
“As long as she chooses before she goes into heat, what does it matter?”
Kantor clenched his teeth around the irritated growl that wanted to slip free.
“The cavern is crowded. It’s hard for her to get to know us with so many taking up her time.”
“Exactly why she hasn’t made any decisions yet,” Larok retorted.
Forcing his hands to uncurl, Kantor nodded and turned away. It didn’t seem like he would get anywhere trying to convince Larok to pressure her, so he’d have to go for a more direct approach without turning himself into the bad guy.
It took him a while to find Autumn, and when he did, she was having lunch with a few of the other alphas. She was laughing at something with Kull, leaving Kantor to wonder what the muscle-bound dolt could have said. Even Darcon was smiling, though the expression disappeared as Kantor approached and took a seat at the table.
Not wanting to be as blunt with her since he knew it would come across wrong, he greeted Autumn and waited for an opportunity to bring up the issue. Aesir joining them gave him the perfect opening when she noticed his black eye.
“Oh, gods, Aesir! What happened?”
Aesir grinned at her, tossing his hair over his shoulder like he’d done some heroic deed and was basking in the glory of his battle wounds.
“Ciaron and Vanduk started fighting. Of course Gorath had to join in once fists started swinging. I was trying to break it up when I caught a blow meant for one of the others.”
Darcon snorted, rolling his eyes as Kull raised a brow at Aesir’s story. None of them believed that was the full story, but it seemed the little omega didn’t know Aesir well enough to call his bluff.
Kantor watched the look of shocked horror spread over Autumn’s face and jumped in to take advantage of the opportunity before one of the others said something to ruin it.
“That’s what happens when so many alphas are kept in close quarters for so long. We aren’t made to deal with the constant presence of other alphas. Or to let a lesser dynamic choose our fate. It’ll get worse the longer we’re all kept hanging.”
Autumn’s gaze turned to him as Darcon sent a glare his way.
“You’re welcome to leave at any time.”
Darcon’s comment was a hair away from being a growl, and Kantor lifted a lip to bare his teeth at the other alpha before remembering himself. He didn’t want Autumn thinking he was one of the ones who were too aggressive to get along. He was shocked Darcon hadn’t broken his façade and someone’s face yet, but if he could contain himself then so could Kantor.
“I’m just saying fights are bound to happen with so many competing for the same prize. Aggression would be less likely if there were less alphas involved.”
Aesir chuckled, drawing his attention as he put an arm across the back of Autumn’s chair.
“Who’s competing?”
His smug smile grated Kantor’s nerves, but the way Autumn was glancing around at all of them made him hope that perhaps she had listened. Things would be easier with less people in the way.
Darcon
Kantor was right, but he was still being an ass. Darcon could see what he was doing, trying to pressure Autumn to make a decision and start cutting some of the alphas, and while he could agree that it would be nice not to vie against so many for her attention, there was a tiny bit of worry that he might be one of her culls.