My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 454

Vidar

I stirred porridge on the hearth, smoke stinging my eyes. An early start, but it paid to be practical. The scent of herbs and oats filled the air as I worked the spoon in a steady circle. Behind me, a battered door scraped open.

"Alpha," Gunnar said. He crossed the room with those long strides of his. "The count's come in on the refugees."

I glanced over my shoulder. "Numbers?"

"Two hundred and ten from Thornwood, and another hundred and thirty from Redhand. They're hungry, sick, and scared. Most of them are in the east hall."

I set the spoon down and turned to face him. "Have they told us what happened?"

"Nods and tears, mostly." Gunnar shrugged. "Einar's country is between them and us. The nearest of the two fell more than a fortnight's ride east."

"Alright." I rubbed my jaw, feeling the rasp of stubble. "Send word to the quartermaster to move the stores to the west cellar. I want a headcount on our own men too. Now that these folk are here, we'll need to tighten our belts."

"Already done." Gunnar shifted his weight. "Thought you'd want to know straight away."

I grunted. "Well enough." I turned back to the hearth. "Get one of the stewards to oversee this. There's cornmeal and carrots in the larder. Make sure everyone gets a share before we send it over to feed the visitors."

"I'll see to it." He hesitated, then added, "I checked the guard rosters. We can spare two hundred men to escort them back to Einar's, if need be."

I kept my eyes on the bubbling oats. "Not yet. They're too weak to travel, and I'll not thin our ranks with winter coming."

A knock came then, and I called out, "Enter."

In walked the quartermaster, a wiry man with a quill behind his ear. "Alpha Sarn. I've taken stock of the cellar. We've enough to last two moons if we stretch it. But the newcomers will eat through that in half the time."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify