Page 80 of His Stolen Omega

Levi knelt in front of the rabbit and reached down to touch the moon cake.

“In case he gets hungry,” Elm said, laughing afterward.

“Did you copy this?”

“Copy what?”

“This design,” Levi said. “After only seeing it once?”

He scrunched up his nose and then held out his hand to catch snowflakes. “Ew. I’d never copy someone else’s work. I mean…Well, I guess I sort of did. My mom always puts that pattern on the ones she makes. It’s a family thing my great grandma started.”

Now he was hungry again.

“Got any snacks in that massive kitchen?” He glanced over and then stilled. “What?”

The alpha was still crouched by the statue, but his expression was…different.

Elm shivered, partially because of the chill, and partially because of how the odd attention made him feel, but it was enough to have the alpha standing and stalking toward him.

“Hold on—Hey!” He was lifted over Levi’s shoulder and carried away without another word.

Chapter 19:

Levi didn’t bring Elm inside.

Instead, he carried him around the side of the front of the house, onto a mostly hidden stone path that wrapped its way toward the back. Elm hung over his shoulder, trying not to throw up on the alpha’s back, head swinging dizzily.

The second he was set down, he swayed, needing Levi’s help to steady himself. In the time it took him to regain his bearings, the alpha stripped him out of the coat and his boots.

“Get in.” Levi helped him take a single step forward, and the second Elm’s feet touched water, he snapped out of it enough to take in his surroundings.

“What is this?”

They were somewhere on the side of the main part of the lodge. A pool built into the ground filled with clear teal water greeted him, whisps of steam twirling across the surface. Outdoor lights outlined the perimeter, and there were a couple pieces of furniture on the patio, though it was covered in snow.

“A natural hot spring,” Levi told him. He’d cleared off a chair and set both of their coats over it, and was in the process of removing his boots. As soon as he was done, he reached for Elm’s hand, stepping in after him.

There were stones around the edge, like the one Elm was standing on. Levi moved off of it first, dropping into the pool so the water ended up at his waist, then he reached for Elm and helped him down the rest of the way, leading them to the other side where a longer stone served as a bench.

“Sit.” He eased Elm down and started massaging his hands beneath the water.

Elm sighed as he was engulfed by warmth, the water over his shoulders now, so he was mostly submerged. His eyes grew heavy and he let them close, resting his head back against heated stone as the alpha worked feeling back into his limbs.

Maybe he shouldn’t have gone outside.

“Building a snow rabbit in this weather,” he clicked his tongue and chuckled. “Not my brightest idea.”

The alpha hummed in acknowledgement, but that was it.

Elm peeled his eyes open and stared at the alpha.

He seemed hyper focused on his task, as though he actually thought there was a chance Elm would suffer cold damage, even though he’d been wearing gloves and not out for all that long.

“Why do you like rabbits so much?” Maybe if he distracted him, Levi would lose that weirdly intense expression.

“I had one once,” the alpha said. “I spent all my time looking after it.” His tone turned bitter. “More time than my parents spent with me.”

“Did you secretly want to be cared for, Levi?” Elm didn’t know much about the Morningstars, other than that they were a crime family, and had been for generations. The White Frost was apparently older than the Eumia even, a pillar of the underworld that even the Imperials who legally ruled the planet couldn’t knock down.