Page 118 of Blood Fist

My warrior’s heart.

Chief Restrina had been right. Minds were easier to change than hearts.

Ridan huffed, mumbling something about Brune being ridiculous, but he didn’t pull away. Brune would hold him as long as Ridan let him.

Brune chuffed happily when Ridan scented him, dragging his wrists up Brune’s arm and leaving his sweet pepper scent behind. With his eyes closed, the omega began purring gently. It was barely audible, but Brune could feel it in his chest. He tightened his arms around him.

“Do you want me to take you to your nest?”

Ridan only grunted before the tent flap flew open and a wild-eyed Jonen was pushing through.

“Corricis missing,” he panted, curls falling into his face.

Head jerking up off Brune’s chest, Ridan stared at Jonen for a moment while he processed what he said. “What do you mean?”

Jonen ran his fingers through his tangled hair. His shirt was half untucked, the laces flopping where he hadn’t bothered tying them. “We…he fell asleep in my tent last night. When I woke up, he was gone. His clothes are still in my tent. He’s not in your nest and no one has seen him.”

“Are his horses here?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Ridan relaxed. “He’s probably just out and about.”

“You don’t understand,” Jonen pleaded, advancing on the table. He reeked of distress; his black tea scent curdled around Corric’s faint icy scent. “Corric was upset last night. He wouldn’t tell me why, but he…Ridan he tried to get me to claim him. Right then.”

That made Ridan pause. “What exactly did he say?”

Jonen paled. “Not much. He barged into my tent and demanded that I…uh…h-he wanted me to touch him. To claim him. But he was crying, and his scent was so strong. I thought maybe he would tell me in the morning, but he’s gone.”

Brune knew little about courting, but he knew the clan had very loose taboos on coupling before the courting period was over. It was largely left to the couple to decide what they wanted to do, and Jonen had mentioned that they both wanted to wait. Corric wanted to be sure the claim was solid, and the weather had turned warmer before there was risk of pups.

All of which sounded out of character for what Corric said last night.

Ridan’s face was grim. “We’ll check the entire camp. If we can’t find him, check his favorite spots. If he’s upset, he might have gone off to be alone.”

Despite the size of camp, it didn’t take long for them to search the entirety of it. Oosa and Shesto helped once they found out, and between the five of them, they scoured the camp only to find no trace of the omega.

They were stumped until they ran into Derry. The blacksmith begrudgingly told them what happened on the mountain the day before, saying Corric swore him and Halm to secrecy. Brune had to pull Ridan off the smaller omega when he found out, unclenching his fists from around Derry’s ears.

The other omega apologized profusely, but Jonen was already halfway to the stables. They set a brutal pace for such a cold morning, giving the horses almost no time to warmup before kicking them into a run.

Breathless and covered in dust, they leapt from their horses and made their way up the mountain. Jonen was a battering ram, racing up the mountain without pause. Head bowed, he barreled through trees and brush, Ridan not far behind.

They didn’t stop until he crested the last hill and slammed to a stop so quickly Ridan nearly barreled into him.

The trails up the mountain all looked as they had the day Brune had traversed them with Ridan so many months ago. But when he caught up to the two, he saw what had them rooted to the spot.

Ice covered the ground leading up to the tunnel. It glinted in the sunlight, almost too bright to look at. The thick sheet of ice extended out from the sealed over entrance of the tunnel, water dripping down its sheersurface as it slowly melted under the winter sun. At least half a hand thick, the ice looked impenetrable.

But where had it come from? Not even the springs had frozen over yet.

“Corric?” Jonen called, his voice barely carrying before it was snatched by the high mountain wind.

Jonen advanced forward, calling Corric’s name periodically. Ridan was busy looking at the surrounding brush, scenting the wind for any trace of their packmate. Brune felt a sense of unease prickle at the back of his neck. Almost like he was being watched. A quick glance around found nothing but mountain shrubbery. Still, the feeling lingered.

Brune stepped onto the ice cautiously. He’d only ever seen ice in small quantities—frozen puddles in the streets of Kaldonea. That ice had been thin and nearly black with dirt. This ice was so pure it was nearly transparent. Gingerly, he slid his way across. It wasn’t even terribly slick.

The tunnel was completely sealed off by what looked to be a solid wall of ice. Creeping closer, Brune tapped at the wall with a knuckle. Solid. Leaning forward, he shaded his eyes against the bright sun so he could peer inside the tunnel.