Claimed (The Circulate Series)

by K. R. Smith

  John turned my way, “my wife has been stewing about this, since she heard of your coupling. She and a couple of the women in the tribe, even had a meeting about it!”

  “Tradition is tradition,” she said sternly, “and since Flint is First in the Lokoti Werewolf pack, he should know better, than to try to skip on his own Housewarming.”

  This gave me a jolt, at having another person know about my husband’s supernatural condition.

  “Er, you know about that?” My eyes widened at their candour.

  “Know about it…?” John chuckled. “I hunt with the old bear, every full moon.”

  The news made my eyes bulge, when I realized that there were two Lokoti Werewolves in the room. Then I remembered something else they said. “Hang on, what do you mean Flint is First in the pack?”

  “Exactly that,” John shrugged, “he’s our leader.”

  My surprised eyes, swung in his direction; “you’re the leader of the pack?”

  Flint simply smiled as his answer, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

  “Yes and what kind of example were you setting to your younger members, waiting so long to take a mate?” She jokingly chastised.

  He answered with, “I was waiting for Jessica.”

  This made my heart warm, as I took hold of his hand and he squeezed it back.

  Unka moved the conversation on, when she put her arm about my shoulders and together we looked about the house.

  “Well my dear, are we going to add ‘the woman’s touch’ to the old bear’s bachelor pad, or what?”

  “We certainly are!” I laughed along, with this friendly and funny woman.

  “Now what kind of couches do you want?” She started to plan.

  “Um, I don’t know.” I pondered. “I was thinking of ordering some catalogues, or looking up some furniture stores online.”

  “Online?” She gave a funny look.

  “The internet, Mom.” Mark advised.

  “The internet?” She quizzed. “I thought that was just a school thing?”

  “We got a new computer room at school,” Sean explained, “we’ve been telling Mom, how we surf the internet during class.”

  “And email our friends,” Alice put in.

  Unka rolled her eyes at me, “emails are electronic letters that are sent down phone lines, apparently… however that works!”

  “Ah yeah, I use the internet frequently.” I tried not to snicker. “I’ll be emailing my best friend back in Seattle, on a regular basis.”

  “Sounds too complicated for me!” She waved it off. “Mark, where’s my bag?”

  Her eldest handed over her large handbag, which he had been carrying for her. Out of which, Unka pulled out a small pile of decorating magazines. This woman had more savvy than I gave her credit for!

  “The kids can keep their internet, while I go about things the old fashioned way.” She said stubbornly. “Here you go Jessica, you can have these. Some of them are a couple of months old, I have John pick them up for me when he’s in Fairbanks. But it’ll give you an idea of what to do with this place.”

  “Thank you Unka!” I gushed appreciatively, as I gazed upon the magazines as if they were the best thing since sliced bread.

  “This one is exclusively on furniture and these ones here, are about interior decorating. Some of the shops and companies they mention, are in Fairbanks. We can pick up whatnot and bring back here. Give us a month and we’ll have your house set up good and proper!” She promised.

  “A month long Housewarming?” John chuckled to Flint. “Sounds like it’s goin’ to be some month, now don’t it?”

  “It does,” he agreed.

  “But don’t you two fret,” John went on, “the pack as well as the tribe, want to get involved. Many hands make light work, so you’re not going to be doing it all, yourselves. I think everyone wants to take part in celebrating the tribe’s oldest bachelor, finally taking a mate.”

  I felt my face heat up in humility, as everyone looked on me like an exciting change had come.

  “Let’s not just stand here, let’s get her things in from the truck.” Unka organized. “Now Jessica, as the men bring in your boxes, you wait inside with me and tell us where you want everything.”

  Then I watched the males in the shapes of Flint, John, Mark and Sean obey her command, by streaming out the front door.

  I saw that although the Lokoti had their established roles of men and women; women were by no means trodden on. This filled me with relief, as a couple of times I’d been scared by Flint’s sexism. I can’t imagine a Lokoti male, ever telling Unka what she could or couldn’t do.

  The rest of the afternoon went by with laughter, fun and organizing; and I saw just how far Unka’s influence extended. She had not only decided that I was a friend, but she was kind and mothering in a way, I didn’t find condescending. Whenever somebody was about to put a box somewhere, she halted them and asked me if I wanted it to be moved somewhere else. Then as soon as I had spoken, the males obeyed.

  Unka seemed to know exactly what she was doing. As she helped me organize, she’d pause and ask me how I liked my linen folded, or kitchen utensils arranged. I could tell she was trying not to step on my toes, or overrun my house. Instead, she acted like a second-in-command, by issuing orders to the men or children, which were requests she received from me.

  Once my household goods from Seattle were put away, she sent her husband and eldest home, to pick up the food she’d made. While they were gone, I told her my ideas of tiling the bathroom and laundry. She nodded along, envisioning my plans and she especially agreed to the separate shower idea.

  When John and Mark returned, they unpacked large Tupperware containers full of cold chicken, slices of ham, potato salad, green salad, bread rolls and butter. We all sat down at the dining table and ate, particularly me since I was so hungry! Also, I felt appreciative towards the older woman, for cooking for me on my first night in my new home.

  “Thank you so much, Unka.” I said repeatedly, as I spooned some extra potato salad on my plate. “This is delicious!”

  “I thought you’d be tired from your journey,” she said understandingly, “I’d prefer not to cook, after driving three days straight.”

  “Especially in your condition,” her husband added on.

  Their children watched, as I also helped myself to a second bread roll, which I slathered in butter. Having an audience, made me feel a little self conscious. Was I making a pig out of myself?

  “Um Flint, would you like half of this bread roll?” I offered weakly, although I would have happily eaten the whole thing myself.

  “No, you eat up, Jessica.” He put it back on my plate. “Eat as much as you want.”

  “You are eating for two.” His best friend agreed. “And the food is all yours, since we’re leaving the leftovers behind.”

  “Really?” My expression perked up, giving away my delight.

  “Women who carry the young of a Lokoti Werewolf, always eat more than women who are mated to human males.” Unka declared. “Just you wait until the cravings start.”

  Right as she said that, I’d picked up the potato salad again to put even more on my plate.

  “I think they already have,” John chuckled, and soon he was joined by the rest of the table.

  “Whoops,” I blushed and put the container down again.

  But then Flint picked it up, recommenced with my serving and then he did the same for himself. Next, he picked up the chicken and lastly, the ham. As he picked up his fork to eat his second large helping, he passed me a wink.

  “Don’t ever feel bad about eating, Jessica.” She giggled. “Because your Lokoti Werewolf husband, is always gonna eat more than you.”

  *****

  I became further acquainted with the bathroom, when I had a leisurely, long, hot shower. Using the wall to lean on, I climbed out of the tub before proceeding to the sink, to brush my teeth. By the time I exited, a cloud of steam billowed out behind.


  Wearing my flannel, yellow pajamas, I walked in to find Flint reading in bed. He was perusing the pages, by his bedside lamp. But I could tell he was waiting for me, for as soon as I came in, he put his book aside before pulling back the covers, to welcome me.

  Instead of lying down beside, I climbed into his lap to straddle him. Then my hands ran up and down his bronzed, bare chest. He smiled softly, with his dark eyes looking particularly warm.

  “Flint…?”

  “Yes, Jessica?”

  This made me smile, the way he always said my name in full. It also made me ask something else instead of what I had been wanting to. “Why don’t you ever call me ‘Jess’?”

  “I like your full name.” He said simply.

  “Everyone else back in Seattle calls me Jess, but you and the Wisetail’s, call me Jessica.”

  “Do you prefer, ‘Jess’?”

  “I don’t mind, I was just wondering.”

  “Jessica is a very pretty name.” He said fondly.

  I tittered back, “I like your name, too. It’s very natural sounding… like a scene stolen from nature.”

  Then teasingly, I brushed his lips with mine, which I could tell he also liked, by the way he gripped tighter onto my waist.

  I pulled back to ask my next question. “Flint…?”

  “Yes?”

  “How and when did John and Unka, get together? She looks so much older than him, does he have a ‘cougar’ fetish?” I joked.

  “John’s actually twenty years older than Unka.”

  My mouth fell open in surprise, “you’re kidding me!”

  “No,” he chuckled, “but outsiders think it’s the other way around, because of our slower aging process.”

  “You mean the Lokoti Tribe’s slower aging process, or a Lokoti Werewolf’s?”

  “A Lokoti Werewolf’s.”

  I sighed, as I momentarily looked away, to stare at what would come to be called ‘my side of the bed’. I mused, “it answers the question, why I originally thought you were 39 years old.”

  He said optimistically, “but it’s a good thing that I’m much older than you.”

  This made me give a funny look, “why?”

  “A Lokoti Werewolf can live for two hundred years.” He explained. “If you should die before me; I won’t be left alone for years until I join you, in the next life.”

  My hands rested on his warm chest, as I examined the earnest expression on his face.

  I tried to joke again, “yeah but you can marry another, ‘young bit of stuff’, when I’m gone.”

  “No,” he said unhappily.

  “No?”

  “Just as the mating process is for life, we mate once and never again.” He frowned. “If anything happened to you, I would mourn you all my remaining years.”

  “Oh.” I sat up straighter, in further surprise. “So if I got hit by a truck tomorrow -”

  “Then I would be alone for the rest of my life, starting tomorrow.” He interrupted. “Now let’s talk about something else.”

  The idea clearly disturbed him, so he comforted himself by holding his new wife closer.

  I felt his large hands, slip under my pajama shirt, to stroke the skin underneath. Then my right hand caught a wisp of his long, black hair and playfully, I tickled his face with it. It made him guffaw quietly, as his hands moved up and down, under my clothes.

  After a long moment, I had to ask because the curiosity was killing me; “why would you remain alone, if something happened to me?”

  His dark gaze met and held mine; “the same reason why you shake, when we’re apart.”

  I remembered, “because mating is a biological and empathic joining?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is this the same for the other Lokoti Werewolves?”

  “Yes.”

  “So if Unka dies before John…”

  “He will live out the rest of his life, alone.”

  My face screwed up, “that does sound depressing, let’s talk about something else.”

  Flint was more than happy to, although we didn’t have much more discussion. Instead, he switched off his lamp and then lay lower in the bed, whilst ensuring I remained on top. As such, I found myself lying over him, basking in the heat coming off his body. The hypnotizing rocking of his chest, slowly rising and falling with his steady breathing, lulled me into a relaxed state.

  Sleepily, I yawned out; “g’night, Flint.”

  “Sweet dreams, Jessica Riverclaw.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  TO: christine_steel@smartfinancestrategies.com

  FROM: jessicariverclaw@warmmail.com

  SUBJECT: The Quiet Life

  DATE: 30/ 10/ 1999

  Dear Chris and Fritz,

  I hope you two are getting along better, back in Seattle. Sorry Chris, about Fritz scratching up your furniture. I don’t think he hates you, as he always used to love your visits. Maybe he’s marking his territory, in his new surroundings? Give him time, and soon you’ll have a warm, little, purring machine, sleeping soundly on the end of your bed.

  My house isn’t chaotic anymore, with all the renovations done. It was completed in two weeks, thanks to the help we received from our friends and neighbours. I think I mentioned in my last email, Flint took another two weeks off work, to do the house? But his best friend John Wisetail did the same, so the two could work together. He and his wife Unka, also came shopping with us in Fairbanks when we bought the new couches and electric stove/ oven. What we couldn’t fit in the back of Flint’s pick up, they kindly put in theirs.

  John is a plumber by trade, but he and Flint are also handymen. I love John and Unka’s sense of humour, especially when they tease Flint. They always call him ‘the old bear’ and when they were renovating, I’d hear:

  “Flint, we can’t tile the new shower recess yet, until I put the pipes, taps and shower head in. Now hold your horses and go make us some coffee.”

  “Then put the pipes and taps in, so I can tile my new shower.”

  “You can’t see straight since you got married, you old bear. It’s a good thing you’ve got me, helping you. You’d tile the entire bathroom before realizing you forgot the plumbing! What’s Jessica supposed to do, stand in a cubicle with no water and pretend to wash herself?”

  Unka and I were sitting at the table, drinking coffee and munching on some cookies she’d made; and we burst out laughing when we heard that!

  I think you’ll love the bathroom and laundry, when you come up. I chose terracotta-red tiles for the floor, to go with the wooden floors of the house. Then on the walls, there are slate-grey tiles, so it’s keeping to the rustic, country style. The couches are a navy blue material, to go with the dark red curtains. By the fireplace, is a bear-skin rug, we purchased off somebody in the tribe who makes them, as well as suede jackets made from either caribou or moose hide.

  Flint bought me one and it looks authentic, complete with tassels and the odd bead work. It’s very warm, as it’s lined with fur. I’ll take you to see them when you visit, if you’d like one to take back to Seattle. They also make fur-in-lined, suede boots, which are also water proof and guaranteed to stave off frost bite.

  It’s already snowed a couple of times, usually at night. The snow melts during the day, but with the daylight getting shorter, reminds us that winter is coming. We have a fire burning every night and we’ve put radiator heaters in the bathroom, main bedroom and the two smaller bedrooms. You’ll be warm and cosy, I promise.

  You’ll also enjoy Flint’s cooking, as well as Unka’s. Funnily enough, you’ll have the chance to sample the rest of the tribe’s culinary expertise too. I don’t blame Unka, John or Flint since the secret that I’m a bad cook, has come out. But the tribe’s people keep paying me in food – LoL! Our fridge and freezer almost always has Tupperware containers full of casseroles, pasta bakes, stroganoff or something that someone has brought over.

  What happened was, people heard from Unka that I know my way around com
puters, and I was experienced in organizing events. At the end of the first week when she came over for coffee and cake (which she made), she brought somebody with her. The woman wanted to organize a birthday party for her 8 year old daughter, with a fairy theme since she was obsessed with them. The mother couldn’t buy what she needed in Alma, so I showed her how to look up places online in Fairbanks or Anchorage, which she could order from. I helped organize a fairy costume for the birthday girl, as well as a pink, glittery, themed party.

  It took us the whole afternoon, ordering online using my laptop, as well as phoning a couple of places. But the mother was so appreciative, the very next day she returned with a massive Tupperware container full of caribou casserole! It was delicious too, with lots of herbs and the meat was so tender, you hardly had to chew on it. I ended up dividing it into several smaller containers, to put in the freezer, to eat during the week.

  The party was a success and word got round. Sometimes when I’m picking up milk from the general store on tribal lands, or shopping in the supermarket in Alma, I’m approached. An older Lokoti will say, they just got a new computer but they don’t know how to set it up. I’d go over and set up the desktop, along with their printer/ scanner and show them how to use the internet, email, photocopy, scan, send attachments, fax, print etc. Then the next day, the person will turn up on my doorstep, with a meal they cooked up.

  I met the council of Lokoti Tribal Elders, when they asked for my help in organizing a tribal celebration in the Meeting Hall. Then a couple of days later, one of the Elder’s called by with smoked salmon… mmm, authentic, fresh, smoked salmon! A couple of the families in the tribe make it, and it tastes so much better than that what we used to buy in the supermarket. Once you try it Chris, you may not want to leave!