She walked away from the counter as she heard him come out of the bathroom; he had a towel in his hand and was rubbing his hair. He had a T-shirt on that clung to him in all the right places and his leather pants that gripped his hips and his butt just right.
“When we get through this, can you take me for a ride on your bike?”
He looked up, puzzled. “Sure.”
“You have no idea how many times I’ve sat up on the mountain and listened to your bike as it approached and then watched you fly by. Wondering where you were going and who you were seeing.”
He came to her and held her close. “There has never been anyone else, Freyja. Not since I’ve known it was you. I want you to know that.”
She smiled weakly. “I thought you would be out there sowing your wild oats.”
“I promise you, Freyja. Not since I’ve known. Even looking at a woman used to make me feel like a cheat.”
She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
His fingers slid into her hair, and he wound it around his finger. “I love you, Freyja. I have long before you were my mate. I guess I always knew, always hoped, but I would never act on it. Not until I knew for sure. And then when I did...”
“It’s the past, Will. Let’s go downstairs together and put our future straight. I want our children to inherit every part of their birthright. I know I said it didn’t matter, and in a way it doesn’t.” She lifted her eyes to his, tears sparkling there. A mixture of sorrow and anger. “But to some part of me, it does. The part that has watched the Beltane Rites and seen the joy on the faces of those who have passed their long life to their mates. That’s why I want to stop Carson.”
“Then let’s go,” he said, holding out his hand. She took it and they went downstairs together. Mated and united.
Chapter Nine – Will
They went down into the bar, Will trying to keep his head held high when he came face to face with Freyja’s father. He had no idea what reception he was about to get. It wasn’t only the thought of the Chief of Bear Bluff knowing what he had just been doing with his daughter. It was the ten years of messing her around and denying her too. Did he know it had been ten years? Or did he think they had just realised the mating bond?
He wished he had spent more time asking Freyja exactly what she had told her father instead of fucking her. He shook that thought away. No, he didn’t. He would put everything on hold to slip his cock inside her at every opportunity.
“Will,” Stuart McCormac said, thrusting his hand out for Will to shake.
Good start, thought Will. “Sir, it’s good to see you again.” How long had it been? Maybe decades since he had seen Stuart. Normally he would have been able to say he had never aged a day, but that wouldn’t be true.
“Will. It’s good to finally meet you.” A young man, well, in bear terms maybe only one hundred and fifty years old, stood before him. His face was sunken with sorrow and Will knew instantly this was Eirik McCormac. He was toned and buffed, wearing his youth well. He had that mixture of easy good looks coupled with almost coltish self-confidence. But that self-confidence was under attack right now surrounded by his elders.
“Eirik. Well met,” Will said in the formal greeting to those from rival clans that were unknown to you.
“Well met, Will.” Eirik lowered his eyes in submission.
Will clapped him on the arm, hard. “Be proud of your heritage, Eirik.”
Eirik raised his eyes to Will’s. “Thank you, Will.”
“Let’s not waste any more time,” Stuart said. “Freyja has told me about Carson. I almost cannot believe her words but I have bought her up to be honest and true.”
“I’m not sure what she’s told you, but I can answer any questions you have.”
Stuart glanced at Freyja. “You are her mate, apparently.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And this is something you have known for some time.”
“Yes.”
“Freyja is my only child, Will. I am grateful that you tried to shield her from dishonour.”
“But I was foolish to fall for my brother’s lies.”
“Ah, brothers.” He glanced at Eirik. “We cannot be held responsible for their actions. Nor those of our fathers.”
Eirik looked at Stuart. “I appreciate your words, Uncle Stuart. But it still does not excuse what happened. The Clan’s land should have been protected. For a normal member of the Clan to mate and produce a cub from one who is not his mate is one thing. But for someone so involved in the Clan’s affairs, the holder of the deeds to our ancient and most sacred lands. I find it hard to believe I ever knew my father at all.”
“Putting everything aside, we need to come up with some way to bargain with Carson. I cannot believe he would expect my daughter to be his mistress in return for not desecrating our land.” He looked hard at Will now. “If this had happened on our soil, then I would have power over him. Does your clan leader have any sway over Carson?”
Will thought about it for a moment. “I haven’t spoken directly to our clan leader for some years. We don’t walk the same path.”
“You mean he frowned upon your business dealings?” Stuart asked.
“No. I don’t think so. All my business is legal and ethical.”
“Father, please don’t turn this into an interrogation. Will is none of your concern.”
“On the contrary. He is mated to my daughter and my daughter is the future of our Clan.”
“That is something so far in the future it would be stupid to even contemplate what things will be like then,” Freyja countered.
“I have to think of this. I never expected Wayne to die so suddenly.” He looked so sad, so worn out, that Will wanted to turn away from him. It was too painful to watch a man who should be proud and strong be brought down to this. To be told he would lose the land unless his daughter gave herself to a man who wasn’t her mate. Then the full enormity of the situation hit him.
Will spoke firmly now. “I will go and talk to our Clan leader.”
Chapter Ten – Freyja
“Thank you, Will,” she said.
“Yes. Thank you, Will. I know you don’t have to do this for us.”
“Freyja is part of my life, part of me now. So I am doing this for her.” He wanted to go now, before he overanalysed the situation. “Freyja, will you come with me?”
“To see your clan leader?”
“Yes. I think it would be best.”
“OK. Dad?”
“Of course. Eirik and I will go home. You are welcome in our town when you have finished your business here, Will.”
Will nodded, and said, “I need to get my jacket.” He went back upstairs, leaving the three Bear Bluff residents alone.
“He’s a good man, Freyja. But it’s good that you are going with him; make sure our case is heard.”
“Tell me, Dad. If the roles were reversed and it was me coming to plead Will’s case, would you listen and side with him over one of our own?”
“Clan is everything, Freyja. And it is true that illegitimate or otherwise, Carson is one of our own, but he is also of Bear Creek.”
“So the answer would be no.”
“Clan is everything. But right is right. What Carson is doing is wrong. I hope our Clan would respect another’s rights.” Eirik spoke clearly and forcefully for the first time.
“You are wiser than your father ever was, Eirik. You give me hope for the future. If the deeds are returned, you will be the holder. I have faith in you.”
“Thank you, Uncle. And Freyja, I am so happy for you. I hope I am as fortunate one day to have a mate who will put me above all else.” Eirik hugged her.
“Thank you, Eirik. Don't take it so hard on yourself. There is no proof that what Carson says is true.”
“If it was a lie, why did my father believe it?”
She had no answer, so her father and Eirik left and she suddenly felt so self-conscious. She was standing in the place Will had hidden away in
for so long. She looked around, taking in the pool tables and the bar. The smell of stale food hung in the air, and she knew that any time soon the doors would open and his friends, his family, would arrive. What would they make of her and how she had taken Will away from them? Would they resent her, or be pleased for their leader?
“Ready?” he asked, appearing at her side.
“Yes. Although I’m not sure that me tagging along is such a good idea. If I had turned up to speak to my father unannounced with the daughter of a rival Clan in tow, he would throw me out.”
“I think our Clan leader is a little easier going. Plus, I think he will be interested to meet you.”
“There is nothing interesting about me. Especially when I’m dressed in work clothes.”
“You look beautiful. Come on, I expect we’ll be early enough to catch him at breakfast.”
He disappeared behind the bar and then reappeared with a spare helmet. “Here, you’ll need this.”
“We’re going on your bike?”
“I thought you wanted to ride on it.”
“I know. But my dad will see.”
“Seriously? You are worried that your dad will see you on a bike with your mate. He does understand that you are the most precious thing to me now and that I will take care of you?”
“If you were a Bear Bluff bear he wouldn’t worry. But you are an unknown to him. So he doesn’t trust you.”
“You aren’t like him, are you?”
“No. I follow my mom. My dad is old fashioned, very set in his ways. I suppose that’s part of having the weight of the Clan on your shoulders for so long.”
“I can see when you’re the chief, I will have to use my hands to massage the stress away and maybe there are other ways I could take your mind off it all.”
“Firstly, it’s going to be years until I am the chief. Second, by then we'll have kids and everything. So being the leader of the Clan will be easy if they're anything like you were when you were younger.”
“Me. What about you? The heights you scaled with no safety rope.”
She turned and threaded her hands around his neck. “Life was so simple then.”
“Yes, it was. Now it’s more complicated, but we get to have sex.”
She shook her head. “Do you take anything seriously?”
He tilted her chin up and looked at her. “I have spent the last ten years being serious. I know we have to sort this mess out, but just being with you makes everything seem possible.”
“Oh Will. I do love you.” They kissed then, taking their time, shutting everything else out of their minds while they shared this one long, lingering moment.
“Helmet,” he said, passing it to her.
She fitted it on her head. “Perfect.”
“Of course. I know the exact size of any part of your body.”
“You do not.”
“I have had to etch it into my memory. Do you know how many nights I’ve imagined us being together?”
“And what did you imagine us doing?”
“Once we’ve been to see the Clan chief, I am more than happy to show you.”
“I will hold you to that.”
“You won’t have to. There is one very specific fantasy I am going to fulfil today.”
She raised her eyebrow at him. “Really. And do I have a say in whether or not I want to take part in this fantasy? For all I know, it involves whips and chains.”
“Now, where did you get ideas like that from? I would have thought you were much too well brought up.”
“This is your fantasy we’re talking about, remember.”
He smiled. “I am going to disappoint you. It’s a lot simpler than that.”
“Tell me.”
“No,” he said, kissing her cheek and then doing her helmet up. “It’s a surprise.”
He put on his own helmet and they went out to the front of the hangout. She walked behind him, watching him move in those trousers, which were like a second skin stretched across his toned butt. Putting the key in the ignition, he looked back at her and then lifted his leg to slip onto his bike. She stood and took in the scene before her. Her man straddling a beast of a machine.
Beast. That gave her an idea of what she would like to do later. It had been such a long time since they had run together as bears. Once this was all over, she longed to climb the mountain, just the two of them and make love in the forest or in the open meadows in the moonlight.
She had to content herself now with sliding on to the bike behind him and putting her arms around his waist. Holding on tightly, she gripped with her legs too. As he raced off up the road, they passed her father in the car with Eirik. She only hoped that the sheriff or anyone else didn’t stop them. For the clan chief of Bear Bluff to enter Bear Creek, permission should have been sought. She sighed against Will. There had to be a way to make things easier between the clans. Maybe fate was stepping in here too. This whole fiasco would work itself out for the best with the two clans brought closer together.
Yet as they drove along the lanes leading to the clan chief’s house she thought herself whimsical and foolish. The mating bond worked for no other reason than the pairing of the best genes to make the strongest offspring to maintain the stock. That was what her father had told her as she grew up. Her mother had different ideas, but her father called her a hopeless romantic, his words filled with scorn. Yet on her mother’s birthday and Valentine's Day, he always bought her flowers.
Maybe they complemented each other. As she and Will complemented each other. He was hard and toned, she was curvy and round. He was organised and resilient, she was pitiful and weak. No, she had strength, she really did; only as they drove up the drive to the Bear Creek Clan Chief’s residence, she was in awe of its magnificence and felt totally out of her league.
This was nothing like the ranch she had been brought up on. How the clans differed surprised her. Only around twelve miles in distance but a world apart.
Chapter Eleven – Will
“William Frasier. I wondered when the time would come for you to pay me a long overdue visit.”
“Malcolm.”
“Come in, I was just about to start breakfast. And Freyja, Stuart's daughter. It is a pleasure to meet you. Come in.”
“Are you sure,” Freyja asked nervously.
“Of course.”
“We old bears like to sit down to a proper breakfast. It would be good to have some young company. Gracie,” he shouted. “We have guests.”
“Hello,” said a woman in her mid-fifties, carrying a plate of pancakes and setting them down on the table.
“Hello,” Will said, kissing Gracie on the cheeks.
“These two are full of young love; I think you’ll be having a wedding on your hands before long, Malcolm. There have been a spate of them lately, must be something in that mountain air.” Gracie beamed good-naturedly.
Malcolm agreed. “I don’t know if the wedding will be here or in Bear Bluff. These cross-clan matings happen so seldom. I don’t think there is a precedent, but since it’s your father he might like to officiate.”
“But who is going to give her away if her father officiates?” Gracie asked.
“Wait,” said Will, holding up his hands. “Those discussions can keep. We haven’t come to talk about the wedding.”
“Ah. You’ve come about that other business.”
“You know? About Garrow's Creek?”
“Know might be a bit too strong a word. Heard rumours, yes. But I didn’t think even Carson could sink that low. So I figured it was murmurings among disgruntled shareholders.” Malcolm poured everyone orange juice while Gracie laid the extra plates.
Will and Freyja sat opposite each other; he smiled at her reassuringly, sensing how nervous she was. “I went to see him yesterday.”
“Did you? I thought you two didn’t have anything to do with each other.”
“Freyja came to me and asked if I could help her clan.”
“And yo
u finally faced you duty and took her as your mate. Quite a day you had.”
“Do you know why I never took Freyja as my mate?” Will asked.
“No. No one seemed to know. None of my usual sources had a clue. But I have watched you grow up into a fine young man, Will, so I trusted you had your reasons. Other than mixing between the Clans.”
“No. It had nothing to do with Freyja being from another clan. Carson told me I was adopted.”
Malcolm placed his fork down and looked critically at Will. “And you believed him?”
“He showed me what I thought was proof. Told me about my mother. I was naive enough to believe him. And too ashamed to ask my father for the truth.”
“Ashamed?” Malcolm shook his head. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Oh, I see, he told you about the cave. About the poor unfortunate creature who gave birth to him. Oh, Will. I thought your father would take that to his grave. No one ever spoke about it since the day when he brought Carson down from the mountain and gave him a home.”
“Carson admitted his lie yesterday.”
“Why?”
Will looked at Freyja and saw the tears in her eyes. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “He wanted me to know that he lied, and he wants to trade Freyja for the land at Garrow’s Creek.”
Malcolm gripped the table and the air filled with latent electricity. The Clan Chief of Bear Creek was fighting to contain his bear. Gracie looked at her husband and said nothing. But she looked so calm that Will knew Malcolm would be able to control himself. So he sat in silence too, keeping constant eye contact with Freyja, who looked scared. She had every right to be. If Malcolm couldn’t control himself his bear might just attack her as being a trespasser in his territory.
Slowly, Malcolm calmed down and the air became normal. Will let out the breath he had been holding and looked at Malcolm. “He said that if Freyja became his mistress then he would not desecrate their ancient lands.”
“How did he get the deeds?” Malcolm asked.
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