“What is it?” I asked.
“No idea. Apparently, it's from Axel himself.” This caught my attention. My mouth fell open. In Inge’s eyes, I saw no jest.
Despite my shock, I noticed the familiar way in which Inge spoke of the General. My stomach lurched at the thought, bubbles exploding within me, like in the boiling medicinal concoction I was stirring. But Inge was carrying a mating mark, while Axel was not.
It was not the only gift I received during those first weeks. In total, I received three packages. One of them contained a golden comb, another one held a silver knife, and the last one carried an emerald necklace. I kept the details on their contents to myself. What would the other healers think of me, knowing that for some reason, the General was sending me gifts?
Something about Axel’s interest terrified me. Not because I disliked it, but because I liked it too much. Was getting involved with someone so influential necessarily a good thing for my long-term chances of survival? Then again, it could also end up being the very thing that kept me from a worse fate.
Inge kept giving me looks. We were too busy for him to approach me. On the seventh day of the week, he mustered up the courage to ask me about the packages. We were washing up before bed in the common bath, and found ourselves alone.
“Is Axel threatening you?” he asked. I scoffed at this.
“What? Why would you say such a thing?” How could Inge speak of his General in such a manner out in the open? Would that not be considered treason?
“The packages. What are they?” he asked. I avoided his gaze.
“Nothing of importance,” I said.
“Fine. Don't tell me,” he said. The familiar feeling of a bubbling tummy returned to me. Inge spoke of Axel familiarly. Despite being mated, he was certainly a beautiful omega, and ina position of power as well. What if he was curious because he was entangled in an affair with the alpha?
“You call him by his first name,” I said.
“Who?”
“The General.” Inge stood up to get out of the bath.
“We grew up together,” he said. I kept my gaze averted, giving him privacy as he got dressed. “He is a younger brother to me.”
“Really?” While I felt relieved at this answer, I also at once had a million questions. “You grew up in the Empire, then?” I asked.
“No, I grew up here. The General first came to Kanna as a young teenager. My family took him in,” he said. “He was just a pup back then. And we were one of only a few families remaining in Kanna. Most of the packs settled in the forest after the kingdom collapsed. I never expected that such a quiet little boy would unite us all.”
That night I twisted and turned myself to sleep. Thoughts whirling as if they were being stirred. The idea that a man like Axel had a family was as ridiculous as the thought of him sending me presents. Yet Inge had described him as his little brother. On top of it all, the next day would see me attending to my own patients for the first time. Bubbles were exploding all over my body. I would do well tomorrow. For the night, I became seafoam.
Thirty-two nights after meeting the General
There was a relief in working on my own. I preferred it this way, having worked alone for so many years back in my hometown.Working at a new pace did require practice. The infirmary had become packed with an increasing number of injured soldiers to tend to over the past few days.
My last patient of the day was a young alpha soldier who had injured his hip. There was a wound on his thigh as well. When he noticed that I was the healer who approached him, he inched away from me first. His back hit the wall behind his bed and there was nowhere left to go. I was amused that these big alphas were afraid of me. A little omega with no sharp claws to reveal in battle, unlike all the other healers. Inge was helping a heavily pregnant omega on the next bed over.He smiled at the soldier to reassure him.
“I’m not going to eat you,” I said. He sheepishly laughed at me.
“Sorry,” he said. He sat still then. He must have decided that I was indeed no threat.
“I’m going to assess the problem,” I said. I moved his leg up and down, holding his hip still. He made no sound, but I saw his mouth contort when his leg cracked as I lowered it.
“Where does it hurt?” He did not respond for a while. In fact, no one was speaking. It took me a while to realise that something was amiss. I looked around, and saw every face in the room turning towards the outside entrance to the infirmary. In the doorway stood the alpha that had plagued my thoughts for days. General Axel stood in the doorway, clad in fur, his hair as messy as always, scanning the infirmary. It was his brother Inge that addressed him first.
“Are you injured, Ax- I mean, my lord?” he asked. The General stepped into the infirmary with confident strides. He peered around at the full beds, the makeshift stretcher, and the little cot that held a preterm baby. That was when his eyes landed on me. On my fiery red hair, now braided in the same fashion as the other omegas in Kanna. On the leather gloves I was wearing. On my belt that held at least ten flasks of medicine. On my hand pressing into the patient’s hip.
“Get back to work,” Axel commanded. Reluctantly, the healers complied. I tried to do the same. I decided the patient’s wound needed to be stitched. It was hard to do my job with Axel’s eyes boring into my back. I knew he was approaching me by the way his scent got thicker.
“Omega,” Axel said. I knew he was speaking to me. He must have been right behind me. At least the soldier I was stitching was distracted by the General addressing me in such a manner. That must have made the process less painful.
“I am working, my lord,” I said. I heard a chuckle coming from Inge, who was still working close to me. Inge later told me that he was amused that someone else dared to talk back to his brother.
“Are you well?” the General asked. I continued to close the wound.
