Chapter 42 War’s History

“Well, you certainly are thorough, aren’t you, Rye?”

The man in question growled at Millicent as she waltzed through the door without knocking. Kari flushed. He knew exactly what she referred to.

Ryedir had been overzealous in scent marking him last night and removing all traces of the perfume that lingered on him. He had certainly put Kari through his paces. He practically came dry at the end just from the man’s fingers and had been too exhausted to react to the cum that splattered on his face to then be rubbed into his neck.

It was embarrassing to think about now but there had been something thrilling about seeing such a wild-eyed look on the normally restrained alpha. He had honestly thought the man might finally lose to instincts and go back on his word to only claim Kari once he agreed. But by some great feat of will, Kari remains unbonded and unmated, just very thoroughly marked.

Millicent moved to stand beside the other omega and gently ran her fingers through his Silvery Ash hair, earning herself a louder growl this time.

“Honestly, Rye, I’m an omega too. What do you think am I going to do?” Something in her tone suggested she was doing everything on purpose just to get a reaction from the alpha. It set him a little on edge. Baiting alphas was not a good idea at the best of times and Ryedir still seemed a little wild this morning.

The man forced his shoulders to relax and stepped back a little to continue dressing. He had dressed Kari himself that morning in what he could only assume was a fit of possessive need to not have anyone else touch him.

“Go away, Millicent. Surely you have better things to do than bait me.”

“Oh no. It’s such a rare opportunity to see the sibling who is usually the most put-together be almost fraying at the seams. I will never get such a good opportunity again to see you bite back, Rye. No doubt after this, you will hide your cute little omega away from the greedy court vultures and I will never get to come visit. You take far too good care of your province, brother. I’m never needed to come and put people in their place.”

She gave a dramatic sigh before continuing in a bored tone. “I quite adore your little omega, but neither Nera nor Aspen approve. Nera’s a beta so she’ll never understand the whole alpha/omega thing. Not that you’ll ever get her approval unless you marry for money or land or some other such advantage.”

Ryedir snorted. “I have enough to deal with without adding more to it. The Halshany Vesnice is richer than even the Ramstain Vesnice. Why would I want more money or wealth at the expense of an arranged marriage? I’m not a power hungry idiot wanting any advantage I can get my hands on regardless of the cost to myself.”

“No, you of all people don’t need such a thing,” Millicent agreed. She was still gently petting Kari and he wasn’t sure what to do. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the gesture but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable either.

He could see Ryedir keeping a sharp eye on them even as he dressed and wondered if his need to go to Ryedir was an unconscious desire to soothe his alpha’s ruffled feathers. Deciding that’s probably what it was, he squashed down the urge to move towards the alpha and instead stayed put. He wasn’t going to pander to the man like a weak-willed little omega.

“Stress relief is a wonderful thing,” Millicent said wistfully. “As is someone you can actually trust. Nera is all work and no play. I feel like she will snap one day. Aspen, on the other hand, is far too much play and has little right to look down on your choices when he has bedded half the court.”

Ryedir grunted. “Still up to his tricks, is he?”

“Oh yes. He always comes through the pass from the Northern Vesnice before the first winter snow fall blocks travel and spends his winter days idling away in court, sleeping with all the pretties and just generally causing trouble. Gets in my way.” She sniffed in disdain. “I pity his poor steward who has to run the province himself. You would have thought the responsibility would have at least curbed some of his dallying. Perhaps he needs to land himself the right omega.”

“I feel sorry for anyone who gets stuck with that foppish dandy. But I don’t particularly care what they think of me or my business. They can have an opinion once they can keep their provinces in check.”

Millicent giggled and much to Kari’s relief, finally stopped her petting. “You always were the black sheep of the family. It’s why you are my favorite big brother after all. I think Juean finally appreciates you and your odd ways. You might not help out with the vultures at court but at least he doesn’t have to deal with concerns from your province. You would like his omega, I think. She will be a puppet queen, but she’ll make a good wife and mother and is loyal almost to a fault. She’s a quiet, unwavering strength. The type that will not lead a battle but will be the last one standing, back straight and unfaltering. A northerner, so perhaps that explains why she’s less wishy-washy than those around here.”

Kari’s confusion must have shown on his face as Ryedir explained, “A puppet queen is when a woman sits on the throne but does not wield the power entitled to her and instead her official actions are dictated by others. The queen is afforded a great amount of power but not all those that claim that title can wield it. It’s easy to drown in the political shifts here. There has been more than one puppet king in Niamrea’s history as well. Usually it’s the spouse or the steward who wield the power instead. Our mother, for example, was an excellent woman but our father was the one who held the reins of the kingdom.”

“It worked well until she died, then he went mad with grief and started a war in his madness. Rather unfortunate timing for the Aithyean King to do something so stupid as to try to claim one of our mining towns on the border,” Millicent added in with a small frown.