Page 167 of The Ashpaw: Part One

He walked to the other side of the temple to where his family and the Ironcoat alphas awaited him, glad he had cleared the rest of his debts. Today, before all the wolfkin, his smoke would turn white.

The alphas were several cups deep into ale by the time he entered, raising them and cheering.

Darion grinned as his Uncle Norden slapped him heartily on the back. “So how was it?”

His grin faltered, and he chuckled. “I think perhaps you’ve drank too much… the ceremony hasn’t even started yet.”

He threw his head back and laughed, the other alphas joining him.

“No,” his father said, a rare smile on his face. “We mean the heat.”

His cheeks reddened, and his jaw set tight. Darion was already aware everyone knew exactly what he’d been doing for the past few days, but for his omega to be the subject of conversation in such a manner made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

Uncle Karn spoke next. “Once you started tending her properly, it was like the whole clan could feel it. Even my mate, long past her breeding years, was so changed by her scent she dragged me to her furs and wouldn’t let me leave all night.”

Reinn snorted, picking at his nails from where he stood, leaning against the wall. “I swear, does this clan know nothing about omegas?”

The Sabletails raised their hackles in unison, and Reinn rolled his eyes. “The scent of an omega in heat will not only attract wolfkin wanting to breed her, but it becomes an aphrodisiac once she is tended. That is why clans have fought over them in the past—an omega can increase fertility for all the wolfkin in her vicinity.”

When he was met with confused stares, he shook his head, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “Have none of you heard about the ‘pup boom’ that occurs after an omega’s heat?”

Again, no one answered, and he pushed off the wall, muttering under his breath as he left, slamming the door shut behind him.

The echo rang uncomfortably in the silence that followed.

“Sounds like someone’s in need of a little tending himself,” Cyran snorted.

The alphas laughed again, the atmosphere shifting to something more light, but Darion still felt the weight of Reinn’s words.

The healer had given him a book on omegas, and yet he’d avoided reading it for weeks because he had not wanted to make Kyntha upset.

But if he had, he might have noticed Fern’s symptoms himself. Might have known better than to make promises to Kyntha he couldn’t keep. Would have tended her heat no matter what knowing the benefits for the clan…

No, he told himself. I cannot live in guilt, I will only move forward. Today, I start anew.

The alphas spoke amongst themselves as Darion began to dress, on his own this time. Cyran poured a fresh cup of ale, approaching him and handing it over.

“I must warn you, my sister will be in an even worse mood tonight than my cousin after you ignored her to tend your omega,” Cyran said, patting him roughly on the shoulder. “I don’t know how you’ll be able to go from the real thing to her. You have my deepest condolences.”

Darion and his wolf growled, their feelings aligned. Why did the alphas in this room continue to speak of his she-wolves this way? That part of them was for him and him alone to enjoy, to speculate, to even think about. And no one, not even kin by blood or union, should ever be allowed to discuss Fern or Kyntha so casually.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Cyran nearly choked on the sip of ale he’d just taken, wiping his mouth and staring at him incredulously. “You haven’t noticed?”

Darion ground his teeth so tightly he was surprised he didn’t crack a molar. “Speak plainly, I have no time for this.”

Eidan raised his head from where he sat nearby, and Darion noticed that he was the only alpha in the room not drinking. Not celebrating.

What in Solas’s Hells was his problem? Still sour Fern had chosen Darion over him?

And then Cyran sighed deeply, recapturing his focus.

“My cousin is more right than you even know.” He looked down, chuckling softly before his eyes rose to meet his. “You really never noticed how Kyntha mimics omega behavior around you?”

“I…”

Darion paused. Kyntha was…