“Will you want another alpha now? Now that you have me?” Snow asked, looking up through his lashes.
“I might occasionally enjoy sinking my cock into an alpha—but only if my omega desires seeing it.”
Snow smiled up at him. “Your omega just might enjoy seeing that. Very much, in fact.”
Vor chuckled. “Then perhaps I should provide you with some entertainment sometime soon.” He stole a kiss. “As long as you don’t turn into a jealous Klaus while I’m fucking another man.”
“You’ve allowed me to enjoy all the alphas here. How could I say no to you wanting to enjoy the same?”
Vor stole another kiss. “I’ll do as you ask, Snow. We can be as free with our bodies and needs as you will us to be. If ever anything crosses a line, all you need do is tell me and we’ll stop.”
Us.Snow smiled at that.
He also warmed at the power Vor offered him.
“We should both have a say in that, don’t you think?” Snow asked.
Vor grinned. “I’m in agreement.”
Snow cuddled close to Vor. “Equal in our pleasures and decisions. I like the sound of that.”
Chapter Ten
After cleaning up their morning meal and testing out a new naan recipe, Snow paced the cottage’s main hall. The day was bright and warm, the first sign that spring was truly upon them. Their time was growing thinner before his next heat, and he was no closer to coming up with a solution to their predicament. He’d picked all of their brains, searching for answers about the wizard, but they hadn’t known much more than they’d already told him.
Perhaps answers lay in the grove of trees they worked to clear. He’d yet to follow them to their work site. Snow wasn’t exactly sure where they trekked to each morning but assumed he’d hear the chopping of their axes once he crossed the meadow, traveling their well-worn footpath. He pulled a wicker basket down from the wall and laid a clean cloth inside. Snow filled it with smoked ham, a hunk of cheese, three flagons of ale, and some of the naan he’d just made. After borrowing a pair of braies, a tunic, and boots from the smallest of the alphas, Lazlo, he took off across the meadow. Silence came after he’d crossed it and moved into the trees, but it didn’t take long for a shout andthe subsequent crash of a tree in the distance to calm his nerves and lend a direction.
When he appeared to find his men hard at work, his belly tightened. All of them chopped away, the sun shining down on their glistening muscles. How was he supposed to think about a solution given that?
“Snow?”Shen asked, his axe stilling for a moment as he turned to eye him.
One by one, the alphas stopped their chopping and looked his way.
“I came to offer a mid-day meal to give you strength,” Snow said matter-of-factly as he stepped into the center of the clearing they’d made. Inhaling deep, he could scent their alpha pheromones mixing with the aroma of freshly cut trees, and it was a dizzying delight.
Shen smiled. “Do I smell garlic naan?”
“Hopefully I’ve made you proud,” Snow said, holding back his prideful grin. “I also have ham, cheese, and ale.”
A pained look crossed Shen’s face instead of the smile Snow expected. He faced the tree he’d been chopping and swung his axe a few times.
Shen paused and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Sorry, my dear Snow White… we can’t stop to eat. Wemustchop.”
“You can’t stop for even a few moments to eat?” Snow asked them.
“A brief moment is all,” Shen replied. “Not long enough to enjoy your beauty as we should.”
They all grimaced and lifted their axes, chopping a few times. They glanced his way in between; their expressions filled with longing… and sadness.
Snow rested the basket on a nearby trunk, refusing to accept defeat. He used the trunk like a table, preparing their small feast. After pulling the foods out, he cut some ham and cheese and wrapped it in the still slightly-warm naan. He brought the first one to Shen, along with one of the flagons.
“You’re a god amongst men,” Shen muttered, pausing long enough to take a long drink and a big bite. Moaning, his eyes rolled back in his head as he chewed. “Your naan is almost as good as mine.” He winked before stealing a kiss.“Almost.”He stole another kiss and another bite before returning to his chopping.
Snow took the half-eaten bread to Hwa, who did the same as Shen. A few bites, a few drinks, and a few kisses. Slowly, he had fed all of the men and ensured they’d had enough ale to wash it down with. His last stop was Vor. Snow stood on a stump beside the tree Vor was chopping and gazed at their progress. Piles of felled trees littered the space, some of them appearing to have been cut prior to that day. What a waste it was—of wood, manpower,andtime. There were those who could’ve used that wood for good causes.
“Have you tried pulling out the trunks? Maybe they wouldn’t grow back,” Snow said.
Vor paused a moment, looking like he desperately wanted to roll his eyes. “Yes. We’ve tried pulling the trunks out with no luck. The trees return regardless. We’ve laid the heaviest logs across the spots where the trees grew to impede them. Still they rose. We’ve buried logs into the holes the trunks left behind. Again,no luck. We’ve burned the trees down to the roots, and they returned.”
