Page 27 of No Potions Needed

Ormund

Many years ago on Pharenos

When Dern was well enough, I took him to my nest. Nests weren’t just nests like the birds here on Earthside make. They were whole buildings woven with the same material. We had literal nests and mostly they were used for egg keeping but we had houses too. They were made of the same nesting material, though. We’ve visited a plethora of worlds since then but nowhere else have I seen such houses built.

Though, Dern could walk with the assistance of a stick or leaning against my side he was not well enough for our claiming vows. My mind often wandered to the possibility, but his wellbeing was the most important thing in the universe to me. I’d go without ever relieving myself again if it meant my mate was happy and healthy. He always claimed I made him wait too long. I made him wait the appropriate amount of time, though, and not a moment longer.

For the first week he was at my nest, I doted on him, feeding him whatever he would agree to eat. I helped him with bathing and the exercises that Kaladar insisted he needed to keep up with. Every time we touched each other I wanted him more and his scent let me know he felt the same way.

Instead, I distracted him with the prize who was still chained up in our backyard. Elke’s mental condition was going downhill fast. I could only imagine how the wolf felt when he realized no one was coming to his rescue. Wolves were pack animals. They counted on each other for everything, and Elke thought himself a beloved leader of his pack. He was wrong of course. If he were as beloved as he claimed to be they’d have been here already. His impending death wouldn’t even be the last straw before a war started. That would be a different omega born in a different pack but that was someone else’s story to tell.

At first, I was as bullheaded as my mate. I wouldn’t let Dern anywhere near the ex-pack leader. My mate was strong but he was still recovering, and I wouldn’t risk his safety to satisfy his thirst for vengeance. There was still around the clock security keeping eyes on him while inside the nest Dern recovered.

One evening, after a few weeks of living together, Dern was particularly restless. His face was flushed and until I took a good whiff of him, I nearly called for the healer, fearing an infection had set in. Only, I’d seen that flush on other omegas before. The magic of the true-mate response was about to force our hands. Not that it took much encouragement to get us there.

“Would you rather me make you feel better or let you take your vengeance tonight?” I asked, as we lounged on the sofa together.

Dern’s soft, nimble fingers toyed with the edges of my feathers. I was his favorite stem toy whenever he needed to clear his mind and find that quiet, confident place inside himself. I didn’t mind. Each touch was tormented and delight all wrapped in one. He wouldn’t take forever to heal but both of us were more than ready to find out what lai on the other side of our claiming vows.

“Do I have to choose one or the other?” Dern asked after thinking about it for a long, pensive moment.

“I think one will make you too tired for the other,” I shrugged.

“You’re starting to think it’s cruel to keep him alive and tormented,” Dern said.

“I think if we are to exact vengeance through his death that we should do it soon,” I nodded. “No amount of pain inflicted into his mortal coil will revive your parents or undo the harm he laid upon your head. We are not cruel by nature. We protect who is ours but at this point he isn’t a danger to anyone. He isn’t anything but a wolf losing his mind.”

“Are you having second thoughts?” Dern asked me.

“No. His crime is too great. We have to make an example of him. He cannot go around harming omegas and his own pack mates. It’s not a healthy precedent to allow him to set.”

“You’re softer than you want people to know,” Dern said, rolling onto his side to face me. He now moved in most ways without pain, but I always waited for him to wince. I hated that anyone had the chance to cause him such long lasting pain.

“I am not soft nor am I hard hearted. I am me and will do what must be done,” I said.

“Would it change your opinion of me if I said I think I’ll enjoy ending his life?” Dern asked.

“No,” I said, without pausing too long. “This is a unique situation. He harmed you. It was because of him your parents died. I think some glee is normal. Executing him won’t bring back your parents but it will allow you some closure. Then we can celebrate your parents. We brought them up the mountain and they are in our little cemetery. Phoenixes do not pass often but they are in good, if dead company.”

Dern patted his own face, realizing what I did not long before initiating our conversation. He was in the earliest stage of a heat.

“Would it offend you and whatever alphahood is if I said I think I want him out of the way before this fit kicks into full gear?” Dern asked, swinging his legs off the sofa and sitting up. His mind was made up. This would be the night Elke paid for his crimes.

“No,” I shook my head. “All I want is for you to be well, Dern. Sometimes it takes murder to make some people well and that’s okay. Some people don’t deserve to grow grey and wrinkled. Elke is one of those people.”

“Can I kiss you before I choose my weapon?” Dern asked and I sat up so fast I nearly knocked my mate off the sofa. I caught him at the last minute and pulled him into my lap. He laughed – that gorgeous sound that always squeezed my heart like a torniquet.

“I bet that’s why I chose you in the Other World,” I laughed, pressing my forehead against his.

“Because I laugh when you nearly knock me over being a giant brute?” he teased, toying with my feathers again.

“That too,” I laughed and caught his mouth with mine for our first real kiss. He sighed against my lips, leaning hard against me. My dick came to life under him----

Chapter Twenty

Dern

At the Care Home in the Appalachian Wolf Pack Territory

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