By the time night settled over District 2, Corvin had been gone for hours.
The rest of the day gave Averik nothing new to hate. No second visitor came to the gate, no message arrived from Unit 2, and Corvin had left without giving him anything that turned Roderic’s warning into proof. Averik ate, let Snow occupy an unreasonable amount of space beside the hearth, and left tomorrow’s work for tomorrow.
Cold whitened the outer edge of the bedroom window after dark. Under the blankets, Evelyn lay tucked against his side with one hand over his chest, her silver hair loose across his shoulder and pillow. The red ends brushed his ribs whenever she shifted.
They were quiet for a while before her thumb moved over his skin.
"I love you, Averik."
He looked down at her. "You’ve been saying that a lot lately."
A faint smile touched her mouth. "I know. I still want to say it." Her fingers curled lightly against him. "And I’m happy you finally said it too. I waited a long time to hear it from you."
Averik let her sit in that confession for a moment. Color crept into her cheeks anyway.
He caught her chin and turned her face up. His thumb brushed one cheek, then slid into the silver hair beside her ear. "You’re very beautiful."
Her smile softened when he added, "My sweet Evelyn." He combed his fingers through her hair once and came back to her face. "And somehow still ridiculously cute."
A small embarrassed sound escaped her. Evelyn hid her face against his chest, and Averik gave a quiet laugh.
"There. Exactly that."
"Averik..." she murmured into him, warm and shy.
His hand moved down her waist beneath the blanket. She wore only her panties. He stroked the outside of her thigh, then closed his palm around the soft curve of her ass.
Evelyn stopped breathing for half a heartbeat and pressed closer when he squeezed. The second squeeze was harder. Her hips answered it before she could hide the reaction.
Slap!
His palm cracked across her ass. "Ah...!" Evelyn jolted, then tucked her face deeper against his chest.
Averik smiled. "Sit up."
She rose beside him, loose hair falling over one shoulder. Her gaze dipped toward the blanket over his waist and returned to his face, shy enough to be obvious and pleased enough that the shyness fooled no one.
"Would Averik like me to take care of him?" she asked softly.
He settled higher against the headboard. "You know what I want. Do it properly."
Evelyn’s lips curved. "Mm... I know. I’ll make you feel good."
She drew the blanket down and wrapped her hand around his cock. Slow strokes brought him fully hard while she leaned in and kissed the head. Her tongue circled the slit before she closed her lips around him. Slurp.
"Mm..."
Averik gathered her hair away from her face. His other hand rested on her ass as she worked him with her mouth and hand together, tongue pressing along the underside each time she took him deeper. Slurp... slurp.
"Better," he said.
The praise showed in her eyes. Evelyn took more of him, her mouth sliding lower until her throat tightened. Gulk.
"Nnh..."
She came up for air with wet lips and a quick breath. Averik rubbed the curve of her ass once. "Again."
Evelyn opened for him immediately. This time his fist closed in her hair and controlled the descent. He gave her a moment to adjust, then guided her lower until her fingers tightened against his thigh. Ghk.
Her throat clenched around him. He felt it work through one hard swallow before loosening his grip enough for her to lift her head.
She breathed against his stomach, eyes wet and bright. Before he said anything, she kissed the head again and whispered, "Please... keep going. I want to do this well for you."
That pleased him enough to make him hook his fingers under the edge of her panties. His hand found the heat between her thighs, already slick enough that the first slow pass made Evelyn shiver. "Mm... Averik..."
He dragged a fingertip through her wet pussy and stopped at the entrance. Her hips tipped toward him, asking before her mouth did. "Greedy."
Evelyn glanced up from beside his cock. "Only for Averik."
"Then earn it."
She bent over him again and closed her lips around him as he pushed two fingers inside her. Squelch.
"Mmh...!"
The moan hummed around his cock. Averik curled his fingers and Evelyn sucked harder, one hand stroking what she couldn’t comfortably take. He worked by her reactions, shifting pressure until her thighs tightened and her hips began following his hand without thought.
When his fingertips pressed the spot that made her rhythm break, her mouth slipped off him. "Ngh...!"
Averik squeezed her ass. "Don’t stop."
"I-I won’t..." Evelyn swallowed and caught her breath. "I want to keep serving you. Please let me."
She returned to him, mouth closing around the head. The next curl of his fingers drew a wet squelch and a muffled "Mmmh...!" from her as she sucked.
Averik tightened his fist in her hair and set a deeper rhythm. Evelyn followed it eagerly, throat working around him while he kept his other hand moving between her thighs.
Ghk.
Her ass trembled beneath his palm. Every involuntary shift of her hips gave him another answer. He used them, driving his fingers into the same place until her knees pressed harder into the mattress. "Ah~ mm...!"
She pulled away only long enough to breathe, licked from his base toward the head, and took him again. Slurp.
Averik’s jaw tightened. "Fuck. That’s good."
Evelyn answered with a pleased little sound and stroked him faster. His fingers sank into her with a wet squelch, squelch. He pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed.
"Ahn... Averik, I’m..."
He rubbed harder. Her hips bucked.
"Ahh...! Please..."
"Take me deeper."
Evelyn obeyed. He guided her down, felt the first gag catch in her throat, let her rise enough for air, then sent her back down with a firmer hand in her hair. Ghk.
"Nnh..." He drew her up just enough to breathe and pushed her down once more. Ggk.
Her throat flexed tight around him. At the same time, her pussy squeezed his fingers so hard their rhythm nearly stalled.
Averik drove his fingers in faster. Squelch!
Evelyn’s body seized. Wet heat burst over his hand and soaked the sheet beneath her thighs. SQUIRT!
"Ahhh...! Averik!" She tore her mouth off him with the cry, shaking around his fingers, but her hand kept stroking his cock through the aftershock.
Averik caught her jaw and turned her face toward him. "Open."
Still trembling, Evelyn parted her lips. He brought her back to him, and she took the head into her mouth, sucking through another shiver while he held her hair.
"Stay there." Evelyn held the position, and his release hit her tongue a heartbeat later. SPURT!
Evelyn moaned with her mouth full and swallowed. Gulp. Another thick pulse followed, then another smaller one, and she took each without pulling away until his grip finally loosened.
Only then did she lift her head. Her breathing was uneven, her lower lip wet, and the satisfaction on her face made Averik smile.
"That’s my sweet wife." The words put fresh color in her cheeks.
He withdrew his fingers from her soaked pussy and held them near her mouth. "Clean them."
Evelyn leaned in at once. Her tongue passed over his fingers before her lips closed around them, sucking away her own wetness while keeping her eyes on him. Slurp.
"Mm~"
Averik glanced at the dark wet patch across the sheet and laughed quietly. "Look at that. Your pussy has made a complete mess of my bed."
Evelyn blushed harder as he rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. "Maybe I should ask Unit One to find me a servant."
Her eyes widened. "Mm... please don’t, Averik." She shifted closer on her knees and put one hand on his thigh. The words came quickly, soft but urgent. "I can serve you myself. I want to. You don’t need someone else for that."
Averik watched the flash of possessiveness she failed to hide and let her worry for another second before smiling. "Yeah, yeah. My sweet Evelyn."
Slap! His hand landed across her ass again. Evelyn gasped and then laughed quietly, the tension leaving her face.
"Enough." Averik caught her by the waist and pulled her back against him. "It’s late. Sleep."
"Mm~ we’re not continuing until fini-... Sorry." She settled against his side with one leg over his and kissed him before he could pull the blanket up. Averik kissed her back. When she followed his mouth for another, he gave her that too, then a slower kiss that left her smiling against him.
By the time Evelyn tucked her face beneath his chin, her breathing had settled. Averik ran his hand through her hair, left it at the back of her neck, and closed his eyes.
***
Morning arrived with Evelyn kissing him awake.
The first kiss barely stirred him. The second did. The third caught the corner of his mouth when he turned his head. Evelyn smiled against him. "Good morning."
"You planning to keep doing that until I get up?"
"I was hoping it might work," she said, amusement warming her voice.
Averik caught her cheek in one hand. She leaned into his palm immediately. He tapped her cheek lightly, then kissed her properly. Evelyn made a content sound against his mouth as his other hand slipped beneath the blanket and squeezed her ass.
She laughed when he did it again.
Slap!
"Ah..."
Averik pulled back just enough to look at her. "All right. Up."
Evelyn’s eyes stayed warm. "If you’d like, I’ll make breakfast while you decide what you want to bring later."
"Do that."
She kissed him once more before leaving the bed.
***
By the time they had eaten and dressed for the cold, the house had shifted from private warmth into work.
Averik gave Roderic’s revolver a quick check, saw the few dry ammunition boxes behind it, and put everything back. There wasn’t enough ammunition to start carrying the gun around inside the fortress.
Across the room, Evelyn checked her spear in a few practiced movements, found nothing that needed attention, and returned it to its place.
Averik looked over. "Anything wrong with it?"
"Nothing I can see," she said. "If we’re only going to Unit One today, I’d rather leave it here until we actually go outside. Would that be all right with you?"
"That’s what I was thinking."
Her smile was small. "Then I’ll keep it ready for later."
Snow had already eaten and was circling near the entryway with the hopeful look of a beast that had watched two people put on winter coats and reached the obvious conclusion.
Averik caught the wolf by the thick fur at the side of her neck. "Not today. Stay here and guard the house until we get back."
The bond carried the order. Snow’s ears flattened, and she huffed directly into his face.
Averik rubbed between her ears. "Complain all you want. You’re still staying."
Her tail struck the floor once, hard.
Evelyn covered a smile with one gloved hand. "She’ll forgive you once you come back."
"After I pay her in meat."
"Probably more than once," Evelyn said, her smile widening.
Averik opened the door. "Extortion."
Snow sneezed at him. He shut the door before she could improve her argument.
The walk from District 2 to District 1 took them through streets already thick with the day’s movement.
Carts groaned over packed snow. Workers carried bundles between patched buildings. Steam leaked from an old heating line near a wall brace, turned white in the air, and froze against the metal above it.
Evelyn walked beside him with her hood up, pale coat bright against the gray streets. She didn’t cling to his arm. There were too many people, too much ice underfoot, and work waiting ahead. Averik preferred that when they were moving with purpose.
District 1 changed the closer they came to the Unit complex. Fewer families passed them. More gear sat outside doors. More coats carried repairs in the places people tore them beyond the wall rather than inside it.
Unit One was awake in a way the intake hall hadn’t been on Awakening night. Two people argued over a sled runner near the entrance. Someone farther inside dragged a crate across the floor while another voice called for a strap. A pair of field members stood over a rough route sketch with their gloves still on.
Nobody looked as though they’d been waiting for Averik, which suited him.
Caedren noticed them first. He had a bundle of marker stakes under one arm and was speaking to a woman in a snow-dusted coat. He finished whatever he was telling her, handed off two stakes, then looked toward Averik and Evelyn. "You came back."
Averik stopped in front of him. "Looks that way."
Caedren’s mouth shifted, not quite a smile. "Garran’s inside. Give him a minute."
He turned before either of them could answer and carried the remaining stakes toward a side rack.
Evelyn leaned a little closer to Averik. "He sounds a little like Garran."
"Less tired."
"Just a little less," she said, hiding a smile.
Garran appeared before they could decide how much less. He came out of a side room with two Unit members behind him, finished a sentence about a damaged crawler hitch, then waved them toward the yard. Only after they left did his attention settle on Averik.
"So," Garran said. "You made your own choice."
"Unit One."
"I gathered that from you standing in my doorway."
Averik’s mouth twitched as Garran looked at Evelyn, then back to him. "Changed your mind about waiting?"
"No. I waited until I had a reason." Averik hooked both thumbs into his coat pockets. "Unit One goes farther. I need beasts, ground, and enough real work to see what Beast Tamer can actually do outside Vardel. Sitting inside won’t teach me that."
Garran studied him. "Good. If you’d come back talking about duty and your father’s legacy, I’d have sent you home until you recovered."
Averik snorted. "You knew him. Did that sound likely?"
"No. That’s why I checked."
Evelyn lowered her face for a moment, hiding a small smile.
Garran’s gaze touched her. "And you?"
She answered him without looking to Averik for permission. "I’ll go with Averik when he goes outside. I’m not looking for my own post here. If you need something from me while I’m with him, tell me where I’d be most useful."
Averik liked the answer. Garran did too, judging by the single nod he gave her.
"Your experience helps," Garran said. Then he looked back at Averik. "Your reason is good enough for me. We’ll put you on outward work when there’s a place that makes sense. Until then, learn how Unit One actually moves before you decide every beast beyond the wall belongs to you."
"Eventually." That pulled a tired half-laugh from Garran. He turned his head. "Caedren."
The younger man looked over from the rack.
"Take them through the outward side."
Caedren set the last stake down. "Now?"
"Unless you’ve discovered a second morning somewhere."
Caedren sighed. "Right. Come on, then."
Averik and Evelyn followed.
Caedren didn’t give them a tour, which made Averik appreciate him almost immediately.
He pointed out only what mattered as they crossed the working side of the Unit complex: where outward teams gathered before the gate, which passage stayed clear when crawlers came in, and which corner became a bad place to stand when people returned in a hurry.
"Most of the farther routes leave through the primary gate," Caedren said when they stepped back into the cold. "Unit One handles more of that traffic than the other districts. If you’re hunting for beasts, this is where you’ll start."
"That’s the idea."
Caedren kept his eyes ahead. "Just don’t expect them to wait where you want them."
"I know."
"Good. Saves me a longer speech."
Their boots crunched over packed snow as the wall rose ahead of them.
District 1’s primary gate cut a broad controlled opening through the fortress wall. Workers moved around the inner approach with carts, rope, stacked timber, and the ugly practical clutter of people who expected things to come back damaged. A harder stream of cold pushed through the open lane than anything between the houses.
Averik looked past the gate structure toward the white beyond. Garran’s debt and Unit reputation mattered only as far as they opened that route. Whatever waited outside would teach him more than another week behind Vardel’s walls.
He had just started to ask Caedren how often the farther teams changed direction when a shout came from the outer side.
"Clear the lane!"
Every head near the gate turned. Caedren moved first, all conversation gone from his face. Two workers dropped what they were doing and hauled a handcart out of the center lane while someone nearer the gate waved the foot traffic back.
A small patrol was coming in fast enough to look wrong before Averik could make out details. Two people supported a third between them. The injured man’s boots dragged crooked grooves through the snow, one foot barely finding the ground. Another Unit member followed close behind, looking back toward the outer gate while shouting for space.
Then the second group came through.
Four people carried a rough stretcher between them.
The person on it wasn’t moving at all.