Free Web NovelChapter 70: Chapter 70
Cedric and Jann returned in time for lunch, managing to find some crabapples, olives, and blackberries.
After lunch most of the group members retired to their tents, there was really nothing much to be done and it was too hot to go hiking. Not to mention that they were already exhausted from their earlier activities.
Henri was the only one left seated on the tree trunks, he prodded at the dying embers of the fireplace with a long stick, unable to take another nap after just waking up from one.
He spent a considerable time doing this, until the last of the embers crumbled to ash. He wanted to relight the fire just for the fun of it but Louis took all the matchboxes with him, how cruel.
Henri looked up when he heard footsteps, his brows furrowing when he saw Seton coming over. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Henri couldn’t still figure out his motive for wanting to join a group where he clearly wasn’t welcome. Why? For him? That made no sense. freēwēbnovel.com
"Why did you join our group?" He blurted out after sitting quietly with Seton for a few minutes.
Seton glanced down at his hands, his usually cold eyes warming slightly. "Why else? To spend more time with his Highness, of course."
Henri fought the urge to move to another trunk. "I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make the effort."
"I hope to eventually change your mind." Seton said calmly.
Henri didn’t get it, what had he possibly done to attract Seton’s attention so much that he would act out of character? Perhaps it was also how calm he was, like he was merely waiting for Henri to see sense in his proposition, like accepting his advances was inevitable, it was unsettling.
Was the Alpha delusional? That was the worst possible outcome and he was already bad enough on a good day.
Henri fell silent, wishing the embers were still burning so he could have something to distract himself with or perhaps a book.
Seton, on the other hand, turned to lie down on the trunk so that his head was right beside Henri and he slipped his eyes shut, breathing deeply, it was almost like he was asleep.
Henri glanced at him, wary. Although Seton seemed to have turned over a new leaf and was peaceful and polite, he still didn’t trust the Alpha. He also wasn’t obligated to feel pity for him, so he got up and walked to his tent without turning around.
Behind him, Seton slowly rose to a sitting position to watch Henri leave. He had expected that to happen so it didn’t surprise him.
He could have remained where he was before, right in his tent, watching Henri through the slit in his tent flaps but that wasn’t nearly enough.
Seton had been surprised when the serious-looking Alpha that liked to stick to Henri waded through the lake to him. But that hadn’t been nearly as surprising as the reason that he had come over.
Seton was painfully aware that Henri was an Omega, perhaps more than anyone else, that sole fact had set up shop at the center of his head.
~ His father would be fine with it if they were an Omega, right? His father wouldn’t burn them alive and brand him with a poker heated in the fire that consumed them if they were an Omega, right? ~
So while he was well aware that Henri was an Omega, finding out that his scent also ran sweet, set it in stone.
Louis? Had personally come over to him to tell him not to mention it to Henri and just pretend like the Omega’s scent was the same as everyone else’s.
Seton agreed, there was no gain in refusing or going ahead to tell Henri what he already knew. He hadn’t expected the sweet scent in question to be quite this addicting.
So much so that he gave up the chance to watch Henri for as much as he liked for more of it. It was calming, the screaming in his mind quieting for a brief while,
He dug his nails into the hard bark of the trunk he was seated on as the last of Henri’s scent got swept away by the wind. It was only a matter of time, not much longer now.
He had waited for an answer to his unanswered question for years, one could almost say it was fate the way they met. An Omega he could actually feel something for.
Absent-mindedly, he reached behind him to run his fingers over the scar that ran along the base of his spine. It was long healed but the edges were still ragged, the scar an ugly sight.
The brand was that of a twelve-point star with a stylized ’L’ at its center. It was the registered brand of the Leroy family.
Seton Leroy’s father hadn’t branded him with it as some sick, twisted way of showing who he belonged to but as a reminder that was even worse off than that.
-*-
Henri spent most of the afternoon listlessly waiting for dusk, he could almost physically visualize how refreshed he would be after a dip in the lake.
It was boring with how quiet it was; the afternoon moved slowly, a soft breeze rustling the leaves in the trees. The silence only highlighted the sounds of the forest, bugs and birds chirping in harmony.
He was woken a short while later by Louis calling his name. He poked his head out of his tent with squinted eyes and a confused expression, his hair wild.
Louis stifled the laughter that threatened to bubble up, it was rather nice to see Henri unwind and not be as put together as he usually was. "It’s about dusk, are you ready to take that dip in the lake?"
Henri froze for a few seconds, trying to process what Louis was talking about. He blinked a couple of times, his brain finally catching up to the rest of his body.
"It’s already dusk?" He asked at the same time that he looked past Louis to see that the sun was indeed beginning to set.
"Yes, should I have let you sleep longer?"
Henri waved a hand and retreated back into the safety of his tent. "No, it’s fine, give me a moment."
"Sure," Louis said, waiting patiently outside his tent.
