-Loren- 

The next day he awoke to loud bangs outside his door. The soft and serene state he had slept in was gone the second it started. He opened his eyes and sat up straight.  Instantly on edge, he was on his feet and on his way over to the door, grabbing his trousers and shirt off the floor. Judging by the sound of the banging, he quickly realized that someone was going crazy on either Mae or Hagan's door. He jumped into his trousers and secured them around his waist, buckling his belt but choosing to leave his socks and boots by his bed. 

As soon as he reached the door, he put his ear against the wood and carefully listened to what was going on in the antechamber, managing to catch the exact moment when the twins both stumbled out of their burrows. 

"What's up?" He heard Mae grunt with sleep still present in her voice. He pulled his shirt over his head quickly, mindful not to make any sound or not to miss anything of what was being said. 

"Yes, what the fuck Yrsa...?" Hagan groaned. Agreeing with his sister for a change.

"Get outside. Now." Evor's rough voice commanded before Yrsta had made a sound. "There's trouble up north." 

"What kind of trouble?" It was Mae who spoke first. Suddenly sounding like she had been awake for hours. 

"Guards... or soldiers." Evor spoke. "Not sure whether they're with Loren or the other one but they are too close for comfort and we need to make sure they don't wander in on any of our burrows." 

Ice cold fear rushed through his body at the sound of those words. Despite that he could not recall when he had last slept as good as he had up until a minute ago, it now felt like had been nothing but a dream. His muscles tensed, his eyes widened and his breath got caught in his throat as he waited in suspense for the chief to go on. 

"Who is on duty?" Hagan asked. 

"Karr." Evor replied. "He sent one of his to bring us the intel and we need to go right now." 

"Has something happened?" Mae wondered.

 "Not yet." The twins' father spoke. "But according to Karr's message, they are roaming the woods for some reason and they have gotten too close for Karr to just sit and watch. " 

"Have they been made?" 

"No... but they are worried that they are looking for something since they have ventured off the roads and in among the trees. Karr is calling for reinforcments." 

"If it's trouble, then it's probably not his people." Mae argued. He could hear that she was referring to him. 

"We don't know that." Yrsa objected, clearly speaking in favor of Hagan and his decision to bring Ulf to the Guild. "It could be his people out looking for him. Could be-" 

"What do you want us to do now? How many are going?" Mae spoke as if though Yrsa was not even in the room anymore. 

"Gather your packs. Bring him as well." Evor said darkly. "Mae, let him pick a real weapon from the armory and meet me up top." That was the end of the conversation. That his son had breathed the words 'both packs?' seemed to have flown past him or he had simply not cared to answer it since he had given the order for exactly the amount of packs that were going. 

"I will take care of it." Mae answered her father calmly. 

"You're going to give him a weapon?" Loren heard Hagan shout after his father who seemed to have left as soon as he had given the order. Whatever answer he got in return, Loren was not able to hear from where he was. 

"What are you waiting for?" Mae snarled at Yrsa who seemed to have lingered longer than needed. Get out." 

"I will take as much time as I want." Yrsa bit back. "Bitch." Loren acted before thinking when that last word reached him. It filled him with a rage he was barely able to contain.He opened the door out into the antechamber so harshly and impulsively that he caught both of them off guard.

Yrsa's whip-like braid flew back as she turned to face whoever was walking in on them. It swung sharply from left to right at her back. Hagan's personal defender and guard dog stared straight at him with despise in her eyes as she realized that it was him. Her fingers were lightly caressing the handle to that big dagger of hers and he could read in her eyes that she would hurt him if he gave her a good enough reason. 

Mae's eyes barely landed on him before returning to the one who had been asked to leave. Loren's eyes scanned her quickly, noticing that the black area around her eye had started to take on a yellowish hue. Healing slowly. Her lip was less swollen than the night before, but it the cut still looked painful from where he stood. 

"Get. Out." He told Yrsa darkly as he stepped into the antechamber. 

"So this is where you have been hiding him." Yrsa seethed at Mae. "In your burrow." 

Her burrow? He thought in shock but kept it well hidden from the women in front of him. 

Loren took two steps towards her when she was not making any advances to leave, crowding her space just enough so she would not feel like she had the upper hand in any way. Yrsa made her best to make it look like she was standing her ground, that she would leave only when it suited her. Taking her sweet time eyeing him with poisonous eyes for a couple of seconds before leaving. Her chin held high as if she had better things to do than being in the same room as them. Acting like she chose to leave instead of the fact that she had been told to do so. 

Mae watched her brother's pack member leave. Loren was a little impressed that she had not jumped Yrsa for being so uppity and disrespectful. There was no doubt in his mind that had it been Hagan, a brawl would have been started by now. 

She turned to look at him and opened her mouth first when the door had been shut after Yrsa. "How much of that did you hear?" 

"All of it." He admitted right away. "Woke up to the banging." 

Mae pulled her right hand through her hair when she was reminded that they had been asleep before all of this. A yawn tore its way out of her before she looked to him again. Her dark eyes fell to his feet. "Get your boots. We are fetching you a blade and a coat. Then we are leaving." She said. 

Minutes later, Loren was following Mae through the tunnel. They walked past the first door to the right, then the one to the left which led into the bath. Neither of them uttering a single word about what had happened between them the night before. 

The sight of Mae riding him in her bed flashed before his eyes as he had let his eyes fall to her ass for a split second. He desperately tried to think of something else right away when he felt blood rushing to his crotch. Blinking fervently as if that would help get the images of her looking down on him with a carnal hunger in her eyes, beads of sweat on running slowly down her chest while his hands were digging into her hips. 

Realizing he was losing against is body, he tried to focus on where they were heading. There was not enough time because they entered the second door to the left. Mae held the door open for him and gave the room, the armory, a theatrical gesture with her right hand.

"I'll see if there is anything you can use." She said while avoiding his gaze. Nervously he looked down when she was not looking to see if his body had betrayed him and showed her what he had been thinking of in the tunnel. There was no signs, visible. Could it be that she had been thinking of the same thing he had on their way?

Loren eyed the room, wall to wall covered in blades, axes and spears. Tables filled with daggers. Buckets filled with arrows and bows hanging from the walls. 

"Here." Mae said as she pressed something against his chest and into his hands. Loren gripped the handle to the weapon she had given him. It felt like it had been shaped perfectly to fit the form of his hand, the leather on the handle worn to the shape of his fingers. "It is yours after all." 

"Wha-" He looked down at the weapon in befuddlement. In his right hand he was holding a sword. He studied it closely. It did not look familiar, but it felt like it was his. Everything from the handle to its weight and how it felt holding it. He held up the sword in eye level and intently inspected its edge. She handed him the scabbard as he was studying it. 

Someone has been taking care of it... it looks sharp. Tended to... 

"You sharpened it." He remarked. Not admitting that it was his just yet. 

"Aye." Mae said, turning her back to him. Deliberately trying to look like she was looking for something else.  Giving him the impression that she might very well been thinking of their night together. 

"How thoughtful." He mused in a low chuckle and gave the sword a couple of swings before putting it back in its scabbard and securing it to his belt. "You did a fine job. Thank you." 

"Well, it looked like shite." She said and grabbed some things before turning to look at him. 

Their eyes met for a short moment before she handed him a dagger as well. "Take this... and grab a coat from that chest over there." She instructed and pointed to where he was supposed to look. 

"Did I do something wrong?" Loren asked head on when he noticed that she was deliberately avoiding his gaze. "Hey." He said when she tried to walk past him towards the door. 

Carefully he put himself in front of her. Blocking her way so she would have to look at him and give him an answer. 

"We do not have time to stand around and chat." She scolded him but there was no sharpness to her voiced like there usually was. "We are in a hurry. Get out of my way and grab a coat." 

"Look at me and I will." He told her quietly. Mae let out a feigned sigh of annoyance and did as he said. Looking up at him she lifted her eyebrows in anticipation of him holding up his end of moving. Loren looked into her eyes. Let himself drown in them despite what she had just said about them being in a hurry. Tension hung in the air and he was not sure if it was remnants from their time in her bed and therefore did not act upon it. 

"Loren." She reminded him much softer than she should have. Destroying his self control piece by piece. 

"Did I do something wrong last night?" He whispered and fought the violent urge to take a step closer to her.

"No." She mumbled, her eyes darting to the left in order to look at something else. Something that was not him. 

Loren could sense that she was being honest but felt increasingly uneasy by the fact that she seemed to have a hard time looking at him. "It seems like it." He said and did not care to hide his worries at all. He let it show on his face that he did care, and that he was worried about how she was acting. 

"Well, you didn't. Can we go now?" She asked but did not seem willing to wait around for an answer. She darted around him but he managed to catch her with his left arm just in time. "I have to go and get the others." Was the only words she spoke when his arm grazed her breasts. Mae looked as if she inhaled sharply but ever so quietly. Visibly affected by the touch.

Loren turned towards her, lowering his arm so she would not feel trapped. 

However, Mae remained where she was, did not hurry towards the door. Instead, to his surprise, she turned towards him as well. As if they were thinking the very same thing, the distance between them was replaced with their bodies and their lips met in a heated kiss. Her hands grabbing on to the sides of his torso and one of his venturing to her ass while the other holding her behind her neck. 

"How much of a hurry?" He breathed darkly against her lips before kissing her once more. 

"Too much for there to any time." She replied airily as he kneaded her left ass cheek with his right hand. A soft whimper slipped out of her. "Loren. There really isn't any time." She whispered against his lips. 

"I know." He growled reluctantly and was just about to withdraw himself from her when she stole one last kiss. "That didn't help at all." He told her hoarsely. 

"I know." She breathed. Clearly as aroused as he was. She pressed her lips together before looking up at him with lust in her eyes. 

"I will meet you topside." He said quietly. 

"Why-" 

He eyed his crotch hastily. Mae's eyes dove down and came back up after she had seen him. Hard and ready. 

She inhaled through her nose. "You're making it really hard to leave." She whispered and nudged the tip of her nose against his. Close enough for their upper lips to graze. "It would have been fun to do it in here..." 

"You're the one to talk." He growled. "Leave before I take you up on just that." 

•

"We should bring the deserter as well." Hagan muttered for himself, but loud enough for everyone around to hear as they waited for all of those who were still getting ready. '

They were waiting in the middle of the square. Hagan, Mae and him. And Yrsa of course. She was no more than five steps away from her pack leader at all time. She kept a close watch on Loren and Mae. He had caught her staring at them more than four times by now and he was growing sick of it but decided to keep it to himself until Mae said something. 

Loren could not help but to pout somewhat at the fact that there would have been at least some time for him and Mae down in the armory considering that they had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes by now. Not counting the time it had taken for Mae to alert her pack to get ready.

Loren glanced sideways in disbelief of what Hagan had just been uttered. 

"Why the fuck would we bring him?" Mae asked in a scoff. Voicing Loren's exact thoughts. Her eyes slicing through the air just to cut her brother down with just a look. 

"He is a proven flight risk." Loren filled in. Earning himself a dark look from Hagan but a pleased nod from the woman next to him. 

Hagan prepared to explain himself. Puffing his chest a little before speaking. His eyes looking at them as if he was about to explain something very simple to children."If it turns out that they are his people-" 

"Then what?" Mae interrupted. Loren pressed his lips together, pleased that she did not just do this to him but also in pure satisfaction that Hagan was being put in his place. "You think they will be happy to see him? A deserter of war?" She was merciless in tone and words. Mocking her twin and cutting his confidence down to his feet. "Great idea, H. Bring him why don't ye. See what happens." 

Loren was dying with laughter on the inside but managed to keep it down to sly half smirk. 

"Deserters are known to be hanged or beheaded." He filled in when he had managed to smooth out his lips into a neutral line. Giving Mae the support she was not used to getting once again. "Which is fine by me, I guess." He added. Those last words caused the twins to turn to look at him. Hagan had a disgruntled and hateful look in his eyes while Mae looked confused bordering to interesting in hearing more. 

"You guess you're fine with him dying?" Mae questioned him in a half chuckle. Giving him the opportunity to explain himself. Hagan leaned his head backwards a bit as he waited for the answer as well. 

"Well, I would prefer to kill him myself... or bring him back to my court." He answered her. Only speaking the first part loud enough for Hagan to hear, and the rest he made sure only she could hear. 

"Makes sense." Mae replied. "I guess." 

"Listen up!" Evor's voice  boomed across the square. 

---------------------------------------------

Thank you so much for reading friends! 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

And again, thank you for all of your kind words regarding our friend who was in the accident. He is doing better now and we are so happy that he is still with us! 

All the best, 

Jenny