Dropping the lifeless body to the ground, he stretched out the tension from his neck and jaw. Adjusting his grip, he checked his wolf’s compulsion to feed and dragged the heavy carcass back to the cave.
Nea was still on guard. He dropped the boar at her feet and backed away. Shifting back to human, he pulled on his clothes.
“How is Annike?”
Good, it was an easy birth. You have a son, Tore.
He dropped to his knees, overwhelmed at the news. His heart swelled with pride. A son. His instincts had been right. Hope surged through his veins. A son would carry on his name and continue the Vargr legacy. But more importantly, this was a child born to his pack. Tore knew it would be the first of many. In a few years there would be more sons, maybe a daughter.
Then Tore remembered, there was another born to his clan that he had yet to meet. “What did you have Nea?”
Also a son, she said. I named him Rune. She looked away for a second. Would you like to meet him?
“Will you trust me? I’ll stay in my human form, I won’t shift.”
She took a moment to study his face. After careful contemplation, she pulled herself to her feet and went back to the cave. She returned carrying the pup by its scruff. Exercising caution, she laid him between her legs. Giving the pup three long licks, she sized Tore up. Rune made a small whining sound and settled into her warmth.
A sense of awe threatened to overwhelm him. Less than a week old, the pup was so much smaller than he’d imagined. With weak, just opened eyes and a soft gray down, Rune looked like a domesticated dog and too cute to be wolf.
“He’s so beautiful, Nea.”
Thank you. Sadness filled her eyes. I wish the circumstances were different, but he is mine and I love him.
She got to her feet. Picking up Rune, she placed him in Tore’s lap. His hands trembled as he wrapped them around the pup’s tiny form. He weighed nothing.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Nea lay down in front of him and nodded. The pup filled his two hands, its belly round, distended with his mother’s milk. Laying him in his lap, Tore stroked one finger down his back. It nuzzled against his hand. Rune’s tiny snout rooted and he latched onto Tore’s finger.
Annike appeared next to Nea and rubbed her head against her friend. Crouching down she watched her mate stroking Rune. Tore pushed his fingers through Annike’s thick chocolate fur, relishing the feel of touching her again. “How are you doing?”
I’m well. Nea tells me it was an easy birth. I guess him arriving a few weeks early made the difference. I’ll eat in a minute and then sleep.
He showed her Nea’s pup sleeping in his hands.
“Is our son as beautiful as Rune?”
She laughed. Of course he is! Annike wandered over to the boar. She looked exhausted. She sniffed at the carcass, but didn’t eat. After a moment, she vanished into the cave. She returned seconds later, her pup in her mouth. He was much smaller than Nea’s but they had similar coloring. Tore lay Rune, gently in his lap.
“He’s small compared to Rune. Is he okay?”
Rune was born late, ours early. Besides, our pup is only hours old, Nea’s has had time to fatten up. Don’t worry he is strong and healthy, in a few weeks he’ll catch up.
Annike placed him into Tore’s outstretched hands. The pup’s warmth melted his heart and love flooded through him. Tears poured from his eyes as he cradled his son. An overwhelming urge to protect and nurture this vulnerable creature surged through Tore’s veins.
This was his son, made from love, given life against the odds. Isak had tried to prevent this, exiled them to avoid it. But now, every sacrifice or hardship they’d gone through, melted away. Tore was wiping the slate clean. From today, there was no past. Only a future! A future that Tore would build for his mate, his son and his clan. Tore threw his arms around Annike. He buried his face into her pelt, allowing the tears to flow, dampening her fur. Pulling himself together, he kissed her snout and picked up his son. “What have you called him?”
Kjell, Annike said.
“Kjell and Rune are fine names for my sons.”
The she-wolves exchanged a look of surprise between them.
Thank you, Tore. I’m honored that you’d take Rune as your son, Nea said.
***
Over the next few weeks, they settled into a new routine. Each day Tore hunted for the three of them, refusing to let the girls’ help, wanting them to recover fully. He also continued to work his job at the warehouse on the outskirts of town. Before coming home at night, he searched for a place to live.
The pups grew quickly during this time. They would take on their human forms soon. Tore was beginning to despair at finding a place they could afford. Finally, a colleague at the warehouse introduced Tore to an uncle who had a small cabin available.
Tore looked at the details of the place as he spoke to the man from a pay phone. Cheap, the guy had said. It didn’t matter how small or basic it was, as long as they could afford it. When he finished the call, he felt relieved. The landlord had agreed to show him around. Tore worked out some numbers. He could just about manage the rent, until the girls could begin working.
That evening, Tore settled down to sleep outside the cave. Annike came out and snuggled up to him. Shifting to human, he sat next to her and she wrapped her arms around his naked skin.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nea and I have been talking. We’re concerned about moving into the town.”
He stroked her hair and kissed her. “It’ll be fine. I’m seeing a place next week. I have a good feeling about it.”
“That’s great, but we’re worried about what it’s going to look like when we show up? What will they say when they see you with two young mothers? Do you remember the looks we got when people saw us together while Nea and I were pregnant? They’ll ask questions, poke their nose into our business. I’m scared they’ll find out that we’re Lycans.”
Living so close to humans, worried Tore too. But they had no choice. This was their world now. Like it or not, they needed somewhere in town. He needed to be closer to work and they had to have a place safer than the cave for their sons. Once they settled, they could handle the gossips.
He patted her hand. “It’s okay. We’ll just have to be careful, keep to ourselves.”
“What if they only see one mother and think that the boys are twins,” she suggested.
Tore grinned, “How will we do that? I can’t hide one of you.”
“If Nea stayed in her wolf form, we could convince the neighbors she was a pet,” Annike said.
Tore burst out laughing “Nea a dog!”
“It was Nea’s idea. When we’re home, we can keep the shades closed, and she could shift then,” explained Annike.
“You think she’d pass as a pet?”
Annike sighed. “I think it’s worth a try.”
They would look more like a normal family. “I suppose it could work.”
Annike stood to return to the cave. She held out her hand. “You should come in with us now. You need to get used to being with the kids.”
“You sure?”
Annike nodded. He took her hand. “If you think it’ll be safe…”
Pressing her finger to his lips, she silenced him. “You won’t hurt them.”
They were Tore’s boys. His blood. His clan. She was right. There was no way he’d harm them, but there was nothing wrong with being cautious.
7
A week later, Max Albright met Tore outside his old hunting cabin. When they’d talked on the phone, Max had warned that the cabin had none of the modern facilities a young wife and mother would expect. Tore didn’t dare tell him they’d been living in a cave the past few weeks. In the end, he convinced Albright. “We aren’t city folks with grand tastes. This place is more than adequate for our needs.”
“Too many youngsters want too much these days,” Max said, as they stood back in the yard. “It’s good to find a young fellow content with what h
e has.”
But even so, Max insisted on giving him a long list of negatives before agreeing to let Tore rent. “There’s a few problems, I need to fix. Them slates for one, and a couple of small plumbing issues. I’d planned on putting in some upgrades before letting it, that sink in the bathroom, a lick of paint to freshen it up. That sort of thing.”
Tore wanted his family settled. The boys were already in their human form. The cave wasn’t safe for them. “If it’s okay with you sir, I’m pretty handy at fixing things up. We need a place as soon as possible. So, if it’s okay, I can carry out all the repairs for you. Then we could move in straight away.”
“Hmmm, could you deal with the roof? Replace that sink?”
“No problem, done all that stuff before. I can repaint the rooms too, do all those little maintenance jobs you pointed out.”
Max took a few minutes to think while Tore grew anxious and crossed his fingers.
“I like you, Mr. Vargr. Admire that you’re not worried about a bit of hard work. But if you did all that laboring for me, I’d feel bad about charging you rent. So how about this? You move in straight away, and I’ll give you the place rent-free for a month or two while you do the work. Now does that sound fair?”
***
As they walked up to the cabin, Tore was desperate for Annike to love it. He watched her face, as they approached the front door. Annike didn’t give anything away. He let the girls in, and stood outside with their few possessions while he took control of his nerves. Tore took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Annike bounced up and down on the old, green leather sofa. “Oh Nea, how cute is this!”
Her friend ran her hands across a small row of kitchen cabinets and pulled open the door of a battered and scratched full size refrigerator.
“Oooh, a fridge. It’s huge and so clean.”
The girls wandered down a corridor that led to two bedrooms and a narrow bathroom.
“Look it’s got a claw-foot tub!” Annike clapped her hands as she turned the taps on and off, repeatedly.
Nea popped her head around the door. “Um, and a horrendous green sink.” She wrinkled her nose at the rust marks beneath the faucets.
“I’m gonna change that,” Tore said.
The girls nodded and went into the small bedrooms. They tried out the beds, opened and closed the pine chests, and peered into a tiny closet.
When they’d seen everything, Annike stood on tiptoe and kissed Tore on the cheek. “This is amazing. It’s even bigger than the cabins we had at the clan. It’s perfect.”
“How much will it cost?” Nea asked, cradling Rune in her arms.
Tore rocked Kjell. He started to explain the arrangement he’d made with their landlord. A knock at the door interrupted him. Nea laid Rune on the sofa and hurried into a bedroom to shift. Moments later, she lay down by the stove and kept a watchful eye on her son.
Tore answered the door.
A round-faced woman carrying a large plastic bin stood on the stoop. Behind her, was their red-faced landlord. “Hello, dearies, welcome to our neighborhood.” She bustled in, uninvited.
Max smiled an apology and wiped his feet on an invisible doormat. “It’s not what I’d call a neighborhood,” he grumbled at his wife’s back. “There isn’t another house in sight, Eliza.”
She waved him off. “Go and get the other boxes.”
Eliza noticed Kjell in Annike’s arms. She put down the container she was carrying and rushed over to see the baby.
“I’m Eliza.” She shook Annike’s hand and then pushed her finger into Kjell’s tiny fist.
“The grumpy guy is Max… And who are you, little fella?”
Annike introduced Kjell.
“Oh my, you are such a sweetie. What an unusual name, dear.”
“Swedish, a family tradition,” Annike explained.
“Would you like to hold him?” She handed the baby to Eliza, who cooed with delight. Annike picked Rune up off the sofa. Nea narrowed her eyes at her. Be careful with him!
Eliza’s eyes widened at the sight of the second baby.
“Twins? Oh how adorable. Now that must be hard work. Now, if you ever need a babysitter, you just call me. I’m dying to play grandma and, since our Billy hasn’t given me any kiddies yet, I’m just about as eager as they come.”
Max lugged several more boxes over the threshold and plunked them in a neat pile by the door.
“Sorry ‘bout Eliza and me busting in so soon, she can be kind of determined. These are a few things, she thought would help y’all get settled.”
Eliza handed Kjell to Tore and dragged Annike over to look at the boxes.
“Max told me you had bad luck. Lost everything in a fire? It must have been terrible. As soon as I heard, I said, we just have to help out the poor dears! It’s the Christian thing to do.” Eliza glared at Max.
Fire? Annike questioned Tore.
I had to tell them something. I’ll explain later. He replied.
Max rolled his eyes at his wife. “Here, Tore come give me a hand with something on the truck.”
Tore followed Max outside. “Now, I hope you don’t mind that Eliza barged in as if she owned the place, which she does of course, but that don’t excuse her behavior. And please don’t think y’all need to be polite. You do not need to accept any of this crap she’s offloading. If it’ll help you get on your feet, then that’s fine, but give me the word and I’ll haul it all outta here, y’all hear!”
Tore felt bad lying about the fire, but he’d needed some way of explaining why they had nothing. He slapped Max on the back. “We’re grateful for everything.” He meant it too. They only had two backpacks worth of possessions and no money to buy the things they needed. “Max, that’s beautiful.”
A handmade wooden crib stood on the back of Max’s truck. Amazed at the Albright’s generosity, Tore shook his hand. “I don’t know how we can ever repay you.”
Max waved him off. “It was Billy’s, his grandfather made it for him. I’d hoped to get more use outta it, than we did. I reckon your boys will outgrow it, before Billy even thinks about having kids. You might as well put it to good use. I’ll pick it up when you’re done.”
An hour later, the Albright’s got up to leave. On their way out, Max spotted Nea lying by the stove.
“Jeez, look at that thing!” he said. “Looks more wolf than dog.”
Tore called Nea to come to him. She sat obediently at his feet, while he placed his hand on her head in reassurance. He hoped she didn’t take offense.
Max and Eliza fussed over her. “She sure is a well behaved dog,” Eliza said as she made her way to their truck.
Nea walked at Tore’s heel but she made her feelings known, muttering her complaints inside his head.
“You just watch out for them babes o’ yours though. Dogs can be unpredictable. You might wanna think about chaining her up outside at night, just to be safe,” Eliza said.
Nea tensed at his feet, uttering a tirade of expletives. Trying not to smirk, Tore said, “Oh, she’s fine.” He Petted Nea and held on to her scruff, fearing she might take a chunk out of Eliza’s ankle.
“Nea’s an old dog, she’s been with my family for years, soft as butter,” he reassured them.
As soon as Max and Eliza’s truck disappeared around the bend, Nea shifted. With her arms folded across her chest and her hip hitched, she glared at Tore.
“Old dog!” She spat, prodding him hard in the chest. He pulled off his shirt and handed it to her. “You’d better watch it, Tore! Plenty of old dogs learn new tricks and plenty more can turn on their masters!” she said, pulling on the tee and flouncing back to the house.
Tore chuckled to himself and followed her in.
The lounge was in chaos. Surrounded by the contents of opened boxes, Annike was examining everything.
“Tore, Nea, look at this baby stuff!”
She held up clothes in different sizes. Nea grabbed a handful of tiny sheets and blankets. “They’re so s
oft.”
Tore picked up a couple of baby toys.
“You’d better be careful the dog doesn’t get hold of these!” He grinned as Nea scowled at him. Annike didn’t notice his comment. She was too busy ferrying dishes, mugs, cutlery and goodness knows what else into the kitchen. Nea snatched up the third box. It contained an assortment of mismatched towels, blankets and other linens. She stomped off in the direction of one of the bedrooms. He’d no doubt pay for his teasing later.
“Huhhh,” Annike said, disappointed as she looked into the final box. “I guess these are for you?” She thrust a box of tools towards Tore.
***
Max pulled up in his truck a few weekends later. He’d come to help create a list of supplies and devise a work plan for the cabin’s alterations.
Tore had just returned from hunting and was busy gutting and cleaning a small wild pig he’d caught.
Max looked over Tore’s shoulder and whistled.
“You’re a hunter, I see.”
“Took my first trip when I was seven,” Tore said.
“Like a bit of hunting myself. Maybe we could head out together. See if we could catch us a deer one day,” Max said.
“I tracked a buck this morning,” Tore told him. “He was by the river. We could go out tomorrow, see if we can pick up its trail.”
“You know, Marston, down at Gray Wolf Hunting Lodge, is looking for staff. He runs this purdy little hotel and cabin rental place where New Yorkers and other big city types come in to hunt. He’s always looking for men who can take them out. If you’re any good at tracking, you might wanna swing by there. They pay more than the warehouse and the guests give good tips.”
Tore thanked Max for the information. It sounded promising, and he could do with the extra cash. Monday, he’d pay Marston a visit.
The Wolf You Feed Arc Page 5
