Darius hugged Ophelia tightly in his arms, Ophelia silently rubbed his back as they stood there. It was clear that Darius wanted to do something else but, it was hard to do that with the others so close by. If they took too long they'd notice Darius was gone and then notice Ophelia was gone. While Lewis might try to cover for them, anyone with a brain would be able to put two and two together when they came back smelling like each other.

Ophelia felt one of Darius's hands trail down her back to her butt, she chuckled softly at the wandering hand. She saw Darius smile before burying his face under her chin. "Reeds." he sighed her name, his voice muffled. On and off Ophelia felt the vague rumblings of a purr leak from Darius. Nothing audible but still there, Ophelia grinned unable to help herself. For a military commander like Darius, the fact he was trying to hide his purrs was adorable.

Ophelia wanted to say something witty or clever but instead, she just kissed the top of his head. She heard an audible purr leak from Darius before stopping. Gritting her teeth she hugged him a bit tighter. She wanted nothing more than to take him a few yards away from camp right then and there.

While the two of them would bicker and poke fun of each other from time to time. Ophelia had to be honest with herself that she liked being with Darius. She also liked that Darius felt safe enough with her to purr. "Why won't you tell me what your type is?" Darius asked his voice still muffled. "Now where's the fun in that commander?" Ophelia replied instantly, Darius pulled away giving her a dirty look. 

It seemed he only liked playing games when he made up the rules. Ophelia smirked at him finding it amusing, "I'll tell me mine if you tell me yours." She relented, Darius narrowed his eyes, "I already told you." He responded, Ophelia, paused thinking and then snorted when she remembered. "Right, you only like me for my muscles." She responded amused, Darius scoffed, "I said I liked strength Reeds. That doesn't just mean muscles." He replied snippily. "Alright. Alright. Fair enough." Ophelia sighed despite Darius's behavior Ophelia felt her mood remain pretty good.

It did help to have a pretty omega in her arms, especially one with a vice grip that made sure she didn't move an inch away from him. Ophelia leaned down and looked at Darius, there were a million and one things to say. She thought carefully and smiled, "I'm a bit like you, I like strong omegas." Ophelia replied, "But it's okay if they're soft from time to time. I kind of like spoiling them." She confessed kissing Darius's forehead. 

Darius stared at her, his cheeks didn't turn pink and he didn't seem flustered. But Ophelia saw his eyes waiver before softening a familiar sight for Ophelia, it reminded her of the looks he gave her that night. "Reeds..." He spoke in a hushed tone, he reached for her wrapping his arms around her neck and pulling her down. Just as the two of them were about to kiss-...

"Commander!" Hart's voice was heard calling him, Darius froze and growled lowly obviously annoyed. "Son of a bitch." He hissed, he turned to look towards where Hart's voice was coming from but Ophelia grabbed his chin having him look back at her. She then leaned forward and pecked his lips softly. "Another time commander." She whispered in a soft voice. Darius's brows furrowed, "I'd rather it be now." he complained as he pulled away. 

"If it was now we'd never make it to our destination," Ophelia replied letting go of Darius. As she did she felt Darius squeeze her ass firmly. "Really?" She complained, Darius smirked at her before letting her go. He walked towards where Hart was calling from leaving Ophelia behind.

Ophelia sighed feeling her cheeks burn and pain radiate from her backside. "He didn't need to squeeze that hard." Ophelia rubbed her backside a bit as she picked up the sticks she had sat down. Headed back to camp she added the sticks to the fire and felt a smug stare dig into her face. Seeing Lewis sitting near her tent, the older man grinned at her with his face in his hands. Ophelia looked away unable to look him in the eyes. 

She had been caught red-handed and now the old alpha knew that she had been lying through her teeth before. Though to be fair, Ophelia wasn't sure then if that had been a one-time thing. It wasn't as if she was going to push the issue either. The last thing she wanted was to look like one of those alphas that followed omegas around after a little bit of attention was thrown their way.

So Ophelia did her best to ignore him, only then noticing the glares she was getting from the cadets. Settling down next to the fire, she leaned against some crates nearby. Ophelia sighed and decided to close her eyes briefly before she felt something land in her lap. Looking up she saw Hart standing there, his long blond hair pulled back into a loose bun. 

Ophelia then looked down and saw a book in her lap. "You can read can't you?" Hart asked stiffly, "Yeah?" Ophelia replied, "Read it." He ordered, Ophelia looked between Hart and the book. She picked it up flipping it over to the cover, "Battle Tactics of Time and Memorium?" Ophelia read before looking up at Hart again. "Why?" She asked, Hart's eyes narrowed. "You know why." He replied before turning and walking off headed to his tent. 

Ophelia felt deeply confused, she looked over at Lewis who shrugged unsure why Hart had handed her a book. Ophelia let out a sigh not finding anything better to do and decided to read the book as ordered. The night passed slowly and Ophelia took the first watch, refusing to share a tent with the growling bear that was Lewis as he slept. Ophelia took her chances with staying outside.

While not the first time Ophelia had slept under the stars, it was strangely alarming how used to her tent that Ophelia had gotten during her time in the military. To have a constant roof, although canvas as it were. It was an unusual feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach. The three cadets that seemed to hate Ophelia kept to themselves near the cart

Ophelia did her best to use the campfire to read, though it was getting harder as her eyes got more tired. Giving up she shut the book after using the ribbon attached to it to mark her place. It felt like she had closed her eyes for a moment before she felt a presence beside her. Opening them she looked over at saw Hart sitting nearby. 

The camp was quiet the others were fast asleep, save for Darius's tent had a candlelight burning low inside. Ophelia shifted sitting up straight and yawning, "How far along in the book?" Hart questioned, "About a third of the way." Ophelia replied glancing over at him she then looked back to the fire. Thanks to her tending it, it still burned steadily. 

For a good long while things were quiet again save for the crackling of the fire. 

"I've never seen him act that way around someone." Hart spoke up suddenly, "Who?" Ophelia asked, Hart stared at her and silently rose an eyebrow. It took Ophelia a moment because she was tired before she understood.

Oh right, Darius.

"So you saw then?" Ophelia asked, "Vaguely, I mostly heard bits and pieces. It didn't take a genius to figure things out." Hart spoke calmly, Ophelia watched him fiddle with his hands squeezing and releasing them as he spoke. "Aside from the flirting you two openly done in public," Hart added with a pointed stare. "You're not God so don't judge me." Ophelia retorted flatly. 

Hart let out a soft snort in response, "I'm going to give you reading assignments from now on cadet be sure to complete them." Hart stood up, "What if I don't want to?" Ophelia questioned, it's not as if she minded a chance to read was a luxury for Ophelia. She was just curious about his reasoning. "If you want to keep his attention you will." Hart looked down at her, "You said you're as well read as you need to be. You'll need to be better read from now how Cadet Reeds." Hart announced before heading back to his tent. Ophelia watched him and waited for the flap to close.

Sitting there for a moment she let out a sigh picking up the book and opening it up once again.