Page 10 of Blood Fist

Corric gasped. His father was taking lives? But…no. His father always said it was the Clansmen who attacked Kaledonean patrols. It was the Clansmen who wanted more land, more resources. That they craved bloodshed.

He was so busy trying to piece it together he missed some of their conversation.

“Restrina,” Sehleh looked like she was about to cry. “He was sending apupto be mated. He hasn’t even presented!”

Corric flinched at the term. He hadn’t been a pup in years, the term typically reserved only for very young children. But Sehleh said it fondly, full of love. Like it wasn’t an insult at all.

“Sending him away won’t make us any better than the monster who sent him here.”

Restrina’s face pinched, her earrings swinging. “I have to think of the clan.”

“What about you?” Sehleh asked, deliberately keeping her voice low. “Restrina, we follow you not because of the strength in your arm, but for the strength of your heart. Your sword doesn’t keep us warm and fed. Your sword doesn’t keep crops in the ground and cover over widow’s heads. You have never turned down someone in need.”

Jaw clenched, the chief shook her head. “It could start a war.”

“Some things are worth fighting for. That boy is worth fighting for.”

Thick tears dripped onto his cheeks. Corric hadn’t even realized he was crying. He suddenly knew he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to return to his father, or to the dead garden. Corric wanted the nest, the ponies, the tents, and the strange foods.

She thinks I’m worth it.

Without thinking, he scrambled to his feet, stumbling through the flap. The women startled, looking up at him with wide eyes. He stopped halfway to them, his hand buried in his shirt as he tried to get a hold of himself.

His eyes found Restrina’s. They were wide, surprised, but not angry. He held them, even though it was hard.

“P-Please let me stay,” he started, his voice wobbling and wet.

Sehleh moved to stand, but he didn’t look away from the chief.

“I don’t want to be a Tylock anymore. I don’t want to be an omega. I don’t want to be anything but Corric. Please. I’ll do anything, I-I’ll be good. I promise. I’ll do chores and keep things clean and…and I’ll learn and…” he couldn’t breathe, emotion and tears clogging his throat.

“Don’t send me back,” he pleaded, no longer able to see anything through the watery haze.

Sehleh dragged him into a hug. He buried his face into her ample chest, sniffling as she stroked the back of his head and shushed him. Corric breathed in the smell of fresh bread and tried to stop crying. The exhaustion and fear and thewhat ifsand the hope of it all were weighing on him so heavily he couldn’t stop.

“Oh, hush, sweet boy. Take a deep breath for me,” Sehleh was cooing, fingers carding through his longhair. “Of course, you’re good. We know that. We know.”

He hiccupped, trying to tell her he would be, that he would learn everything he needed to learn, that he would try his hardest.

“Corric,” she said his name softly, tipping his chin up to meet her eyes. “You don’t have to be anything. Just yourself. That’s more than enough.”

She wiped his tears and snot without hesitation. When his vision cleared, he could see her smile was wobbly, eyes wet. Sehleh brushed damp bangs from his face.

“You are so strong, Corric. Strong, and smart, and brave. And I can’t wait to watch you grow up.”

He jerked his head up, looking for the lie in Sehleh’s face. But there was none. He turned to face Restrina, only to see her standing, hands clenched at her sides. She looked a lot like Ridan with her face like that. The fire behind her, lighting up her hair in a golden halo.

Chief Restrina stepped forward, her eyes cool, as she looked down at him. She reached forward to push some hair behind his ears, subtly scenting him. Pepper tickled his nose, softer than it had been before. Warm, almost. It surrounded him and he felt safe. Protected.

“It’s late. Get to bed, kid.”

Sehleh guided him back to the nest, helping him get settled. She pulled a thin blanket over him, soft fingers tickling his back until he drifted off.

Adjusting to life in the clans was easier than Corric expected. Most days he spent sticking close to Ridan and Jonen. In a lot of ways, it felt like a borrowed life—like he was reading a novel and pretending he was living the protagonist’s life. Wearing someone else’sclothes, eating food he didn’t recognize, meeting new people. It was a story unfolding in increments so small he didn’t realize how grand it was until he was looking back at it.

Their mornings started early. Sehleh made them a simple but hearty breakfast and always insisted on scenting them before they left for the day. She held each boy close, nuzzling them until they smelled like freshly baked bread. Ridan usually wiggled around like an angry cat; face scrunched up the whole time. Despite his protests, he dutifully presented himself, subtly trying to scent the beta woman back.

Corric loved the scenting. He never knew what to do, hands feeling heavy and clumsy at his sides. But he couldn’t deny the sense of peace that overcame him, the buzzing under his skin settling as he breathed in the woman’s scent.