Capturing the Alpha (Shifters of Nunavut Book 1)

by Rivard, Viola

  “I heard there’s a town a few days from here. Is that where you get the tea?” She was eager to make conversation with someone besides the males, and something about Marl intrigued her.

  “I get it from Nataq, a small village not far from here. It’s much closer to the den than Port Trent.”

  “How do you pay for it?”

  “We sell odds and ends to the locals—mostly furs.”

  “Do they know what you are?”

  “Some think I’m a shifter,” Marl said, her eyes twinkling. “But it doesn’t stop them from buying out my meat supply in the winter.”

  Enzo said, “They only think mom’s a shifter because she lets them. Anytime someone tries to make her pay full price for something, she does this crazy-eyed face and starts to shake until they offer it to her for next to nothing.”

  Tallow said, “Yeah, but it doesn’t always work. The last time I went with her, the shopkeeper shoed us out like we were wet dogs. Kya had to flirt with his son to get us back into the shop during the late shift.”

  Marl scowled at Tallow. “The only reason it didn’t work is because you started laughing.”

  “You looked so stupid,” Tallow moaned, smacking her head. “And it was so unnecessary. All Kya or I had to do was flash out fangs and he probably would have pissed himself.”

  “Wait, so you’re human?” Ginnifer cut in. “Are there more humans here?”

  Marl’s face brightened considerably as she favored Ginnifer with a smile. “Right now, there’s only old June and I, but there have been others.”

  Ginnifer knew that Zane’s mother had been a shifter, but she wondered if his father had been one of the types of males Breeze had told her about, the kind that took more than one mate at a time. She cast a quick glance at Enzo, but with his messy black hair, broad cheekbones, and eyes that were more yellow than gold, she couldn’t see any resemblance to Zane or Indigo.

  Ginnifer asked Marl, “Do you think that maybe I could interview you sometime?”

  “Sure. How about this evening? My room is the one with the flowers around the door.”

  Ginnifer made a mental note of that and thanked her. She hoped that in the privacy of her room, Marl would speak frankly about pack life from a human perspective, and maybe even about the former alpha.

  “You can interview me as well,” Roch said. He’d placed a hand on her knee to get her attention, but didn’t remove it.

  “And me,” Kuva said. The big male was already offering her another slice of meat. She took it, and then patted Roch’s hand away.

  The group continued to chat. Tallow and Boaz were speaking too quietly for her to hear over the hum of noise in the room, so she did her best to contribute to Breeze and Marl’s conversation, that way none of the males could isolate her. Dealing with them didn’t intimidate her, but she got the impression that if she were too nice to either of them, they might start getting crazy ideas in their heads. Kuva probably already had some.

  There was a lull in the conversation, and without realizing what she was doing, Ginnifer began scanning the crowd. She found the alpha almost immediately, standing between a stocky male and a muscular female with dark eyes. Both appeared to be talking to him at the same time. Her gaze fell on the female, who she thought was pretty, in an athletic sort of way. She wondered if that was Coral, and then quickly looked away.

  She tried to tune back into the conversation, but she couldn’t stop herself from casting furtive glances in Zane’s direction. The more she looked at him, the more she noticed things beyond his physical appeal. The left corner of his mouth slanted easily into a smile, but he never showed his teeth, and the half-smile didn’t quite reached his eyes. Aside from that, his expression rarely changed from its calm neutrality, except when something bothered him, then she noticed the barest twitch of his right cheek, as he clenched his jaw.

  Though she made a point not to stare too long, he eventually caught her. No surprise registered on his face as his eyes locked with hers, and she wondered if he’d been aware of her the whole time. His eyes moved to the left, the motion quick and exaggerated. As second later, she saw him excuse himself, and he glided away from the two shifters, heading left towards the main exit of the common room.

  Ginnifer sucked in her bottom lip. Had that been a signal for her to follow him? And even if it was, should she do it?

  She told herself that if he wanted to talk to her about something, he would have done it in front of the others. No good could come of following him alone into a dark tunnel.

  “Are you well, Gin?” Kuva had leaned in close to her, a concerned look on his face. “Your heart, it is beating fast.”

  She gave him a quick pat in on the shoulder. “I’m okay.” Her voice was unnaturally high-pitched, and she took a breath to steady herself. “Really. I actually need to go pee. I’ll be back right, um, right back.”

  Ginnifer got up, hoping she hadn’t attracted the attention of anyone else. She told herself to go back to her room and get some work done, but her feet stubbornly headed after Zane.

  The evening meal was in full swing now, and few of the shifters paid her any mind as she passed. When she made it to the mouth of the tunnel, she peered into the darkness, squinting for any sign of Zane.

  Darkness had always made her nervous. It was one of those odd fears that she still carried from childhood, which she doubted she’d ever get over entirely. She considered going back to get a lantern, but she didn’t want to risk drawing too much attention to herself. Squaring her shoulders, she stepped into the chilly passageway.

  She walked carefully, and was relieved when her eyes began to adjust. It wasn’t completely dark, there was a very faint light up ahead.

  Anxiety faded, replaced with anticipation. Would Zane be waiting somewhere in the tunnel? She imagined him pulling her into the shadows and pushing her against the wall, those soft, hot lips covering hers. The memory of their last, long kiss was still so fresh and vivid in her mind that her body began to ache for him. Her conscience was curiously silent.

  “Do you have any idea what you smell like when you’re aroused?”

  Ginnifer had been expecting to cross his path, but she still gave a small jump. Zane hadn’t grabbed her or tried to kiss her again. In the dim light, she could see him leaning against the wall. His posture was relaxed, his expression strained.

  She’d remembered what Indigo had said, about the shifters being able to smell arousal, and she didn’t like it one bit. She also thought that if they went down that road of conversation, she really might end up against the wall.

  “You wanted me to follow you, right?” she asked brusquely. “Did you want to talk about something?”

  “No.” He let his response hang long enough to fluster her, and then he flashed her a smile, his canines catching the scant light. She felt a fluttering sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Do you have your camera?”

  She nodded. “Always.”

  “All right, then. Let’s go.”

  ***

  Dark clouds netted the sky, with faint blue light glowing in the spaces between them. The air was still, but Zane could still hear the sounds of his pack behind them and waterfowl ahead in the distance.

  He felt more alert than usual, and could almost feel his wolf in his head, peering out through his eyes and periodically searching the area for threats. The island was easily the safest place in his territory, and nothing ever came close to breeching its banks, but he left most of his rationality behind when he was with this particular female.

  “I didn’t realize it was so late,” she said, looking anywhere but at him. “Boaz and I were working a lot longer than I thought.”

  The mention of Boaz made his claws tingle. Once again, the human male’s scent was all over her. Zane’s own scent was gone, which he found almost as irritating.

  “These clothes are so much warmer than mine,” she said, absently rubbing the fur at her neck.

  When Zane had first seen her enter the cen
tral chamber, he’d almost growled in appreciation. She’d forsaken her numerous layers of bulky clothing for a more practical one made of soft, padded leather and lined with stoat fur. He liked seeing her in fur, and it hadn’t helped that her long hair was swept to one side, exposing the smooth column of her neck.

  She kept talking, as though she was afraid of the silence. Zane let her, because he wasn’t sure what he would say if given the opportunity. Likely something he shouldn’t. Given his unnaturally strong attraction to her, he should have been avoiding her altogether, not taking her for a stroll around his territory.

  “And they’re so comfy, too. And good craftsmanship. My sister would love them. She works for a fashion magazine. The top might even fit her, though I don’t know where she’d wear it, Miami is really hot. Still, the outfit would be nice to have. Maybe Breeze will let me have it when I leave.”

  “When are you leaving?” Zane asked. It seemed like a reasonable enough question.

  “I’d like to stay and really immerse myself in the pack, but…” She finally looked at Zane, and offered him a weak smile. “I don’t want to impose.”

  He knew that she wasn’t talking about eating his pack’s food or taking a bed. His gaze caught on her bare neck, not for the first time, and he thought that the smooth skin was taunting his fangs. His groin throbbed, and that alone should have told him that she needed to be gone sooner rather than later. Then his gaze moved to her questioning eyes, light brown and fringed with long, thick lashes, and any hope of rationality fled.

  “Stay as long as you’d like,” he said. Speaking to his wolf as much as to her, he added, “Coral and I will be mated by the end of spring. After that, having you here won’t be so…problematic.”

  She nodded, though he could see her lips straining with indecision. For a few seconds, it was quiet, save for the sounds of snow crunching beneath their feet. Just when he thought she wasn’t going to speak, she blurted, “Do you love her?”

  No one else would have asked him that question. No one pried at an alpha like that, save for perhaps Tallow and Indigo, but for them, the answer was plain to see.

  “I don’t, no.”

  She exhaled slowly. “So, why are you taking her as your mate, then?”

  There were many answers he could have given, but only one that he felt inclined to give.

  “Do you remember Sedna, the northern pack I told you about?”

  Ginnifer nodded.

  “Coral is the daughter of the alpha, Shale. Taking her as my mate will bring our packs closer together.”

  “So it’s like a political marriage, then?”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  Her next question surprised him. “Is she pretty?” She blushed a little, before saying, “I only ask because I’m curious as to why you’re not attracted to her. Which, I guess is presumptuous of me. Maybe you are attracted to her, and what happened between us was just… I mean, it’s stupid of me to think that you can’t be attracted to two people at once.”

  Zane let her talk, finding that he enjoyed seeing her flustered. His eyes strayed to her neck again, but he made himself look away.

  When she’d talked herself in circles, he interrupted her, saying, “You wouldn’t know it from how they glower at one another now, but Indigo and Coral used to be best friends. Coral’s home was always Sedna, but she spent the winters here during her childhood, so that when she was old enough to become my mate, she would be familiar with her new pack.”

  They started up a steep hill, and he resisted the urge to take her hand, knowing that it would only be an excuse to leave some of his scent on her.

  “So, you’ve known her since you were kids?” Ginnifer asked.

  Zane couldn’t hide his distasteful frown. “She wasn’t even ten when I became alpha. She and Indigo used to make snow cakes for me and every night they would invade my room, claiming that they’d had bad dreams.”

  He remembered those nights fondly, though at the time he’d thought nothing could have been more bothersome. He longed for the time was Indigo was small and fit so perfectly in one crook of his arm, and Coral would lay softly snoring in the other.

  “I should not have treated her so much like a sister,” Zane said. “But it was impossible for me to look at her as anything but a girl.”

  It still was.

  “You shouldn’t have to be with someone you don’t love.” Hastily, she added, “Not that I’m telling you not to, you know, go through with it. I’m the last person who should be giving you relationship advice, or anyone really, but I think you deserve to be happy.”

  Zane wanted to ask her if her Aaron made her happy, but he stopped himself. If she became emotional and vulnerable again, he would instinctively need to soothe her, and it would likely lead to a repeat of the other night. Just the thought of those fleeting moments, with her body pressed close to his, the rough fabric of her pants the only thing keeping him from being inside of her, made him begin to grow hard.

  He was glad when they reached the summit of the hill. Their conversation was forgotten as Ginnifer took in the landscape with a murmur of appreciation. A thick layer of snow still blanketed the earth, though much of it would melt soon. Far off to the horizon, the setting sun cast red and orange light over netted clouds. Beneath them, the surface of the inlet appeared to glitter.

  “That’s where we would have docked,” he said, pointing towards a small cove. “If not for the whale.”

  “This is amazing,” she said, her camera already in hand.

  He was quiet for a few minutes, allowing her to film the landscape. Once she’d gotten several panoramic shots, he began to point out different things, explaining how the region would change once spring came, telling about the caribou herds that would soon flood the region, and the types of fish they pulled from the waters. When he told her where the muskoxen calved, a grin flashed on her face.

  “Kuva caught one this morning! It was so good, I’ve never had anything like it.”

  His wolf bristled at the memory of watching Kuva feed her, and then that scrap of a male, Roch, putting his hand on her. He had seen that, and much more. When she’d entered the central chamber, and while she’d sat eating, many of the males had turned her way, their food lying forgotten on their plates.

  “I will save some of the leather and wool from the next one that’s caught,” he told her. “One of the females can make you your own outfit from it.”

  “Are you going to hunt it yourself?”

  Hunting muskoxen alone was something he often reprimanded cocky juvenile males for, especially in the winter when they clustered together and the females were as vicious as the bulls. But when she smiled up at him, Zane felt like he could take down a whole herd himself.

  “Of course I will.”

  “And I can come with you and help you catch it?”

  He snorted with his amusement. “How do you intend on helping me?”

  “I dunno. I could probably scare it towards you. Hey, don’t laugh!”

  Zane covered his mouth with his free hand. Words muffled, he said, “I’m not laughing.”

  Her eyes narrowed in consternation. “I helped catch a marsh buck once.”

  “What is a marsh buck?”

  “It’s a type of antelope.”

  Which still told him nothing. “And how big was it?”

  She thought for a minute, and then raised her hand to just above her hip. “But that’s not including its horns and they’re very fast.”

  Still humoring her, Zane asked, “How big do you think a muskox is?”

  “I haven’t seen one up close yet.” She raised her hand to mid-waist. “Maybe, this big?”

  He took her hand by the wrist, raising it to just above her breasts. “Easily that tall, and there are bulls that are twice as long. And when they catch sight of a predator, they form a tight circle around their calves, so that they have eyes in every direction.”

  Ginnifer rolled her eyes. “All I’m hearing is tha
t you don’t think you can keep me safe from a bunch of snow cows.”

  She was laughing, and suddenly Zane’s abdomen felt taut and he wanted badly to kiss her.

  “I will take you to see snow cows,” he said, his voice husky. “But you will have to stay wherever I tell you to and not move from that spot until I say so.”

  “You’re the boss,” she said, giving him a playful jab with her finger. He wanted to take that finger and nip it. “Can I bring my camera?”

  “Of course.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  When she got back to the den, Ginnifer was relieved to find that Breeze wasn’t in their room. She crawled into the bed, climbing under one of the furry blankets. If there’d been a pillow, she’d have probably screamed into it. Instead, she put her head in her hands and moaned.

  Her conscience, she was now beginning to realize, sounded an awful lot like her older sister, who’d always had a way of calling Ginnifer on her bullshit.

  What do you think you’re doing?

  “I’m filming a documentary,” Ginnifer mumbled, and then repeated the mantra as though to ward away the nagging voice.

  You’re blatantly flirting with a man who is already involved with someone. Not to mention, emotionally cheating on your fiancé, who is probably in Syria building houses for orphans.

  “It’s his fault for not marrying me,” she whispered in response. “How long does he expect to string me along?”

  Maybe, if you stopped smiling and nodding every time Aaron went off to save the world, he would realize that you want to settle down.

  “Because it’s so easy to tell him that I’m more important than the people he works with.”

  Or maybe, the reason you keep smiling and nodding is because you know that if you were stuck with him for more than a few months at a time, you’d realize that he’s nothing but a teenage infatuation that you’re too stubborn to break up with.

  “Ginnifer?”

  She jumped, giving a small yelp as Boaz’s head appeared in the doorway. He gave her a quizzical look.

  “Are you okay? You’ve been really…skittish lately.”