by Delta James
Watching his brother pull on his jeans, Nordic sweater, and mukluks, Josh said, “The least you can do is throw me your parka.”
“Why?” laughed Alex. “I’m not the one who got all growly and shifted before taking his clothes off.”
“Yeah, but its cold out here and a long way back to your cabin.”
Alex lived off the land. The population of Shuyak Island was anywhere between four and ten, depending on the season and who you asked. While he would have preferred to live in a cave as his ancestors had done, being a part of the world meant having to have some kind of address, even if that was a Forest Service cabin in the middle of nowhere with a post office box on Kodiak Island.
“And again, I’m not the guy who wasn’t careful with his clothes. I sure hope Allie doesn’t get too pissed.”
Joshua laughed, his eyes glowing not with the feral light of being a bear-shifter, but with the love he had borne for his wife since they were in high school.
“Nothing I can’t romance her out of,” Josh said grinning.
Alex shook his head. “That’s not our way.”
“We aren’t true Kodiaks, Alex. You know dad always said our kind mate for life.”
“I’m not disputing that fact, but if she were my woman, she’d damn well do as I told her or pay the price for her disobedience,” he scoffed.
“Easier said than done, big brother. And unless things have changed, your mate still eludes you in Seattle. I knew when I married...”
“Mated, Joshua. Bears don’t marry.”
Josh held up his left hand, wriggling his fingers to indicate his wedding band. “This one did, and I knew when I did it that I’d have to make accommodations.”
“In other words, go belly-up whenever Allie has a sharp word for you.”
Alex liked his sister-in-law, but he thought his brother had long ago given up his status as the head of their household, a common mistake as far as Alex was concerned.
“That’s not how it is, and you know it.”
“What I know, little brother, is that she has you pussy whipped and wrapped around her little finger.”
Josh bristled. “Not true. When you marry outside of our kind, you have to make certain adjustments. Allie still answers to me and I make her toe the line...”
“Is that what you call it when she racks up speeding tickets or overspends on frivolous things?”
“What may seem silly to you means a lot to her. It isn’t easy for cheechakos. She gave up a lot to marry me and live in Alaska.”
Not wanting to hurt his brother’s feelings for no reason, Alex teased, “I thought you made up for that in the sack.”
Josh laughed. “I do. Why do you think she’s still here?”
“Not for that,” Alex said indicating Joshua’s genitals that were contracting and shrinking from the cold.
“Gimme that damn parka and we can compare equipment when we get back to your place.”
Alex tossed him the warm coat. “You could be in Florida and you still wouldn’t measure up.”
Josh grabbed the parka and cuffed his brother’s head again. “You really are an asshole, you know that?”
“You’re right, little brother, I really am.”
* * *
“Have you got everything together for tomorrow?” asked Ben, standing in the living area of Flynn’s houseboat.
“I don’t...”
“What?”
She stuffed a last pair of wool socks into her pack.
“I don’t know. He’s been very polite and certainly having him arrange for his driver to pick me up and to use his private plane is nice. There’s just something about him and this whole trip that kind of sets my teeth on edge. I know how silly that sounds; it’s nothing specific, just something I can’t quite put my finger on.”
Ben reached out for her, grasping her forearm, and forcing her to stop and look at him. “It doesn’t sound silly to me. If you have any misgivings, we can cancel.”
“No. That would be bad for Daredevil. He’s booking that huge retreat, he’s done absolutely nothing wrong, and I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, but if you think there’s something hinky in all of this...”
“Nothing I can put my finger on. I’m probably just still jet lagged.”
“Flynn...”
“Ben, let it rest. A week, ten days at the most and I’ll be back. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it’ll only be a day or two. The bears should be active; it’s mating season.”
“Aren’t they more aggressive? Is it safe?”
“I should be able to keep him safe on Kodiak. He wanted to go to Shuyak, but I let him know that wasn’t happening.”
She finished the last of her packing just before ten. She knew Koto’s driver would be waiting for her.
“Don’t fret. It’ll be fine. He’ll get his picture. If his show does well, maybe he’ll mention us in the credits.” She glanced down at her watch. “Do me a favor? Close up the boat for me.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll let you know when we’re headed home.”
“If you’re sure...”
“I am.”
“Then stay safe; have a good time and I’ll see you in the next couple of weeks. I’ll lock up the boat.”
She nodded and headed up the boat ramp to the limo. At the top of the rise, she stopped and looked back, waving to her brother.
* * *
“How long are you here for?” Alex asked his brother.
“Just for a week or so. Allie’s never really cared for mating season. And now that we have kids, it’s not as easy as it was.”
“And again... not our way.”
“We’ll see what happens if you ever decide to settle down and have kids. Speaking of which... when are you going to find a mate? Oh, that’s right; you found her and she ran off, managing to elude you for the past two years.”
Alex knew his brother had long given up the hope that he would turn from the old ways and embrace the new as so many of their kind had done. He knew it worked for Joshua and a lot of the other shifters of their generation and those who were coming after him, but it rankled that civilization had so encroached on their habitat that they were being forced to change. Technically, Alex was clan leader, certainly the alpha of what was left of those who lived among the islands located off the coast of Alaska.
“Female Kodiak shifters aren’t as plentiful as they once were. Of course, if you’d turned Allie, your daughters would have added to our numbers in due time.”
“Allie had enough trouble accepting what I was; she didn’t want to be turned.”
Alex arched his eyebrow, “At the risk of repeating myself yet again, not our way.”
“You think I should have turned her after she said no?”
“I think you should have claimed your mate properly and not given her a choice in the matter.”
Josh grinned. “You really are a Neanderthal. No wonder you don’t have a mate. I don’t even think your attitude would fly with the females of our kind.”
“Actually, neither Neanderthal nor asshole. I am Kodiak and clan leader. I will hold to the old ways as long as I can.”
“So, you think you’re going to find some female you can chase down, claim, and breed with no courting, no nuance, no romance?”
“Courting and romance can come after dominance is established and she has submitted to me,” said Alex curtly.
Grinning at his brother, Josh clapped him on the back. “Yeah, good luck with that. I might remind you that you tried that once, and last time I checked you had yet to find her again.”
“I will find her.”
“It’s been two years. Maybe you ought to seek another...”
“No,” growled Alex. “I will find her and when I do, she’ll regret having run from me.”
Josh shook his head. Alex never visited anymore. Any vacation he took was spent in Seattle hunting the woman he was convinced was his mate. Josh was only able to visit once a y
ear for a week or two when the need to rut was the hardest to resist. Visiting Alex made it easier for Josh as he was not in the proximity of his mate. For a Kodiak, mating season in the presence of his mate meant one thing and one thing only, breeding her long, hard, and often.
Josh was right, though, finding his mate had proved to be elusive. He was loath to admit it to Joshua, but in his own way he was an incurable romantic. Alex believed that at some point he would find his mate and they would live as closely as possible to the ways of their ancestors.
They’d been out fishing and were returning to the cabin. During the Summer, there was never a true night. It was full light from four in the morning to midnight. Further south, they had a few more twilight or darker hours, but the entire region experienced what was called the season of the midnight sun. Conversely, from November through January, it was almost an eternal night. Although Kodiak shifters experienced the instinct and overwhelming urge to mate in May and June, with offspring being born in January or February, most Kodiak shifters found they coupled more during the eternal night with their offspring born seven to eight months later.
“Do you think you’ll have trouble this year?” asked Josh.
“Not with humans. I’ve managed to find a reason to quash any passes to the park or licenses for hunting or fishing. Amongst our kind and the true blooded Kodiaks, things could get a little dicey. For the past few years some of our younger male shifters have taken to mixing it up with the true blood bears. So far, I haven’t heard of them trying to mate with the sows, but I worry with habitat shrinking for both species that there could be real trouble down the road.”
“What would be the point? We can only turn humans, not true bloods. And have you ever wondered why bears and pigs use the same designations for their males and females? I wonder about these things.”
Alex grinned, enjoying his brother’s penchant for wandering off topic. “I don’t think about that kind of minutia. I do know that there’s some talk that maybe it isn’t true... maybe we can turn true bloods too. Frustration is at an all-time high and the fact that unlike true bloods we mate for life is becoming an issue.”
“Why would they believe some idiocy like that?”
“Strong sex drives combined with a lack of available females can create a lot of tension.”
“That’s the case all over Alaska where men outnumber women...”
“Yes, but ours is compounded by many feeling human females shouldn’t be turned without consent.”
“An idea you don’t subscribe to.”
Alex shrugged. “It’s an idea that could lead to the extinction of our species.”
“Are you saying that you’d turn a woman if she didn’t want to be turned?” Josh asked incredulously.
“If she was my mate, yes,” he said nonchalantly.
“Then I’d better never meet her...”
“You mean Allie had better never meet her.”
Josh grinned. “That too.”
Alex grunted. “Someday, little brother, you may well have to become the dominant partner in your relationship.”
“Equal partners works for us.”
“Until push comes to shove.”
The two twin brothers eyed each other, realizing that at least for now, this was an issue that would not be resolved between them.
They finished cleaning the fish, Josh preparing those they would eat for supper and Alex preserving the rest for consumption later in the year. After dinner, they started a game of chess. The two were fairly evenly matched and so agreed to pause the game shortly before midnight. Alex pulled the blackout curtains over the windows to make the cabin as dark as possible to encourage sleeping and then turned in.
Chapter Four
Flynn leaned back as the private plane took off, sipping a mimosa that had been supplied by a flight attendant. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Koto’s jet seemed a bit on the warm side. Other than that, she had to admit to herself she was impressed. She’d been in noncommercial planes, but most had been floatplanes, and all had been propeller driven. The smooth speed with which the jet took off along with its luxurious appointments ensured a pleasant three to four-hour flight.
“Do we have an itinerary?’ asked Henry Koto.
“I had originally thought of going to Port Lions, but you talked about Shuyak. They aren’t giving out any permits or licenses for the island. But Ouzinkie’s terrain is more like Shuyak so I thought we’d head up there.”
“That sounds good, Flynn. We keep a floatplane up here in Alaska...”
I’ll just bet you do, thought Flynn.
“I’ll let our pilot know where we’re going,” said Henry, standing and heading up to the cockpit.
Flynn watched him go. She wasn’t sure why just about everything Henry Koto said rankled her, but it did. Normally she enjoyed leading adventure trips for her brother as well as getting to know the clients, but not this time. She didn’t like Henry Koto. She just wanted him to get his picture so she could be done with him.
They touched down on the island where an SUV waited to take them to the floatplane. Once on board, Henry’s skilled pilot took off and headed toward their final destination, Ouzinkie, which was on the northern tip of Kodiak. Flynn leaned back, not bothering to glance down at the scenery during the short flight.
The plane landed on the water, sidling up to a small dock. Stepping out, Flynn looked around.
Putting her hand on the pilot’s arm to stop him from off-loading their gear, she said, “I remember Ouzinkie as being a bit larger than this.”
“A private dock belonging to a client,” answered Koto smoothly as the last of the gear was off-loaded.
Flynn turned to look back at the shoreline and was startled when the floatplane’s engine came to life and the plane moved off.
“What’s his hurry?” she asked Koto.
“One of my brothers has need of him back in Seattle. We always try to put business ahead of vacations. I slipped our ride up here onto his schedule between other things.”
Although it sounded plausible, there was just something about Koto and the situation that was causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.
Hefting her pack onto her back, Flynn said, “Are you sure you want to keep on all those layers? I worry that you’ll get overheated. Where are we in relation to the town?”
“I’m fine. I detest the cold. We’re due west of Ouzinkie. Do we need to go there?”
“No, I have our permits and licenses, just getting my bearings. I think we should head north up the coastline. Depending on how far we get, we can either camp out on the beach or head inland a bit. This time of year, we could see bear signs here on the coast, but more likely, they will be up closer to the trees by some of the waterways.”
They hiked for the next few hours; Koto never removed any clothing and never even broke a sweat. Flynn pointed out various birds and other wildlife, including tracks of various animals.
“Is there something amiss, Flynn?” Koto asked when they stopped for a break.
“I’m a bit surprised you don’t have your camera out...”
“I’m only interested in the Kodiak,” he said interrupting her. “Why don’t we head inland? I’m still feeling pretty strong. Why don’t we see if we can’t find a spot to set up a base camp?”
Flynn nodded. “We can do that. You know, you seem rather at home up here; I wonder why you hired us?”
“I think I may have fooled you into thinking I’m better than I am,” said Koto self-deprecatingly. “I don’t mean to step on toes, and your expertise in the wildlife and tracking are well known.”
Flynn smiled. “I have on hiking boots; my guess is my toes are safe.”
“After you,” he said with a sweep of his arm.
Flynn ignored the prickly feeling along her skin as she walked past him and headed up into the trees. They made good time and found a good campsite close enough to the water to have it easily available but off any of the wildlife trails.
“I think this will be good site. There’s water relatively close, but we aren’t on a game trail. It’s flat and this big boulder will lessen the perimeter we have to worry about and will help reflect and hold heat. This is good ground to set up a cookfire...”
“So, you’re thinking a base camp and day hikes?”
Flynn nodded. “I am. It’s more efficient and a lot easier as you can cover more ground, carrying around less. We can use small day packs and there were plenty of bear signs. If we don’t get what you want, we can move to country we haven’t covered and set up again.”
“You see? I knew I’d picked the right guide.”
She extracted one of the fishing rods she’d brought and put it together handing it to him along with a small bait container.
“Do you mind walking down to the river and seeing if you can catch us some dinner? I’ll get the camp set up and when you get back, I’ll clean the fish and make us dinner. We can come up with a game plan for tomorrow and make it an early night.”
Koto took the proffered fishing gear and turned to go.
“Henry? You might want to take a rifle. It is mating season, and this is Kodiak country. You need to keep the gun handy and keep a sharp eye out.”
He chuckled. “Right. After all, that’s why I came.”
He turned and left. She watched his retreating back and started setting up a fire ring. She was moving his pack out of the way when a camera case fell out. Flynn opened it to ensure Koto’s equipment had not been damaged. She was no expert, but what she extracted from the case did not appear to be the kind of thing someone would use for photographs to be exhibited in an art gallery. It seemed fairly elemental to her.
She turned back to her own pack, planning to dig out the topographical map she had brought with her. Just as her fingers touched the map, a shot rang out... followed by a strangled and aborted scream.
* * *
Alex and Josh had spent several days that seemed to harken back to their childhood as well as strengthen their bond as brothers. Having stopped to have something to eat, they were both stretched out, basking in the sun.
“Allie always fusses at me when I stretch out to catch some rays,” said Josh with a smile and a certain wistfulness Alex was used to hearing when his twin brother spoke of his mate.
