by T. S. Ryder
"I know that this is all a surprise," Stephen said. "It's a surprise for me as well. But I want you to know that everything is up to Iduna. I'll respect her decision, no matter what decision she makes."
Iduna clasped her mother's hand. "I invited Stephen to stay for supper."
"I hate to intrude," Stephen said. "I don't want to put you out at all."
Iduna's father, Tyson, made a low noise in his throat the way he did when he was upset, but her mother intervened, smiling at Stephen.
"It's no trouble. And you," her mother pointed at Iduna. "Go sit down and put up your feet. Don't argue with me, just because you've read every baby book written doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. I hope you've been drinking water today."
Iduna sighed but went inside as her mother followed. Her father and Stephen lingered outside.
"Mr. Jackson and I will talk a little," Tyson said.
Iduna couldn't help but be disappointed. The last thing she wanted was for Stephen to be driven away by her father, who could be a little overprotective at times.
In the living room, her mother made her sit on the couch with a pillow under her feet and sat next to her. She had the 'we need to talk' expression on her face and Iduna flinched. She was twenty-five years old, but her parents still treated her like she was a teenager–or even younger–sometimes.
"What are you thinking?" her mother asked.
"That water retention is paradoxically caused by not drinking enough water."
Her mother sighed. "I mean with this Jackson man. He's far too old to be your mate."
"Mommy, I never said that he was my mate. I said that he was the sperm donor who fathered my child."
"I heard what you said. But I also saw the way you looked at him. He's old enough to be your father!"
Iduna frowned. "He can't be more than fifteen or twenty years older than me. I suppose technically he's old enough to be my father, but on average—"
"Don't get smart with me."
That again. Iduna folded her arms and was silent. She wasn't trying to 'get smart', she was just being logical. Her parents were teachers, they should know these things. Unfortunately, Iduna had been cursed to live in a community that thought she was a know-it-all. Just because she knew more than them. But there was so much she didn't know and wanted to. If they only knew what facts she kept inside her head…
"The point is that I saw how you looked at him. It's the same look you get when there is a new shipment of books in at the library. He's too old. You tell Mr. Fancy Pants to pack up and go, do you hear me? I'm not going to have a man like that take advantage of a naive girl like you."
"I am not na—"
The crack of a gunshot interrupted her.
Chapter Two – Stephen
Stephen had just finished explaining his intentions, and reiterating that ultimately his involvement in the baby's life was up to Iduna when a gunshot made him jump. Before he could even process it, more gunfire erupted. He dropped instinctively. A hail of bullets rushed over his head. A truck, splattered with mud, drove by. Half a dozen men were in the back of the truck firing hunting rifles and semi-automatic weapons into the air.
There was a ground-splitting roar beside him. Tyson sprang to his feet, more lithely than Stephen would expect from someone with such white hair, and charged the truck. His form shifted smoothly into that of a giant bear, brown fur glistening.
Another roar sounded from inside the house, and Stephen was just able to roll out of Charity's path. He pushed himself to his knees. Bears were tearing out of their houses all down the street, charging the truck from every direction. The men with the guns, faces obscured by goggles and mud, laughed and continued to shoot their weapons.
Stephen scrambled to his feet and rushed into the house. "Iduna!"
She was on the floor in the living room, wrapped around her belly, her eyes wide. "Stephen?"
He threw herself over her as more bullets tore through the air. Glass shattered. Stephen cupped her head with his hands, using his body to shield her. His Wolf growled and beat against his chest. Normally it wasn't this strong except during the Full Moon.
"I should be out there," Iduna whispered. "I should be helping drive them away. Or catch them. We need to catch them. They're always coming. Nobody has died yet but last time three of the children were injured."
Stephen crouched, focusing on the sound of the vehicle outside. It was fading into the distance. He stroked Iduna's tight black curls, a sense of protectiveness rearing its head. He had never wanted to be part of violence and for that reason had elected not to participate in the Alpha trials that his Wolf community had held when the old Alpha died without an heir. It just wasn't the kind of Wolf he was.
But if any of those gun-toting idiots came into this house, he'd kill them before letting them hurt Iduna.
"Are you hurt?" he asked her as the gunfire stopped abruptly, replaced by the sound of squealing tires.
She shook her head. "I just haven't been able to shift since I got pregnant. I don’t know why."
"Does this happen often?" He pulled back and helped her sit.
Her liquid black eyes were wide and a gleam of perspiration coated her dark skin, but she seemed remarkably calm. "Often? Perhaps. It's becoming more frequent and more destructive."
"Who are they?"
"Humans. Anti-Shifter zealots. We think they're from the nearby human city, but we can't get the police to take us seriously. They say it's just harmless pranks or that it's out of their jurisdiction. Most of the people in the community have started talking about shooting back, but I think—do you smell smoke?"
Stephen raised his head. There was a distinctive scent of smoke and gasoline in the air. His Wolf growled again. He wrapped his arms around Iduna's slender waist, hefting her to her feet before he rushed to the door. Red flames were licking up around the porch of the house across the street.
Harmless pranks? How could anybody not take this seriously? Stephen threw the door open.
"Fire!" he shouted, running towards the building. "Fire!"
The sound of an engine made him whip around. The mud-splattered truck was screeching down the street again. The humans in the truck laughed as they lobbed out small, smoking containers at the houses and bushes. Wherever these hit, flames burst into the air.
Stephen had turned back to the house before he realized what he was doing. There was only one thought in his head. These humans were out for blood, and he would not let them hurt Iduna.
She stood in the doorway to the house, eyes wide, a hand pressed to her mouth. He lifted her bodily, racing for his car. They had only seconds before the truck would be on them. A stream of curses flew from his mouth as he kicked open the car door and slid Iduna in. She was saying something, but he couldn't hear her over the noise of the truck. He jumped into his own seat.
The car roared to life. Stephen slammed the gas pedal to the floor, and they shot off. The whine of the engine filled his ears.
"My parents," Iduna gasped, leaning between the two front seats. "I don't have my phone!"
Stephen hesitated a moment, slowing down. He glanced in the rearview mirror. They were on the road that headed out of town, which was the same road the truck and those zealots would follow.
He could see that a horde of Bears was almost on the truck now and it sped up, heading straight for them. Stephen stepped on the gas again. There wasn't time to swerve out of their way. He would just have to outrun them, find a place to get out of their way.
One of the men hung out of the window, aiming his rifle at them as they fled. Stephen's lungs locked. This was no harmless prank. These people wanted to kill. Iduna whimpered something about her parents.
"Get down," Stephen shouted, pressing the gas down as far as it would go.
He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as he flew by buildings. The truck gained on them.
Crack!
The window shattered. Iduna screamed.
Stephen sme
lled blood. It curled around his nostrils, sweet like honeysuckle, raw as a fresh kill, as biting as a winter's wind. His Wolf rose howling, fury in his bones. His teeth sharpened in his mouth and a growl rose in him as his Wolf stopped just below the surface. He had never wanted to kill before. He had never wanted to tear out someone's throat and watch as the life faded from their eyes. Not until that moment.
Another gunshot rang in his ears, but all he could hear were Iduna's soft whimpers of pain.
He yanked hard on the steering wheel, slamming on the brakes at the same time. They swung in a circle, just avoiding being rammed by the truck. The hunters shot past him. Stephen didn't wait to see if they would slow down or come back for them. He leaped from the car and ran at them, howling as fury poured through his veins.
The familiar sensation of his Wolf surfacing spread through his body. His skin prickled, sight sharpened. He could see the blue eyes of the man with the gun widen as the Wolf made one tremendous leap. The human shouted. The truck swerved.
Stephen landed with all four paws on the bed of the truck. His howl was cut short as he seized the first man by the leg and yanked hard. The human yelled, his rifle slipping from his hands. Another of the hunters aimed but Stephen rolled, snarling as his body stretched over the first man. The second hunter pulled back.
The Wolf rolled again, shifting as he did so. He grabbed the gun, swinging around to point it at the other hunters. The one he had brought down lashed out. A fist slammed Stephen's face. The Wolf swung the gun blindly, grinning when it connected with flesh. But his triumph didn’t last long. The hunter that had hit him grabbed him by the throat. His teeth were bared in a savage snarl, gray eyes burning with hatred. The human all but threw Stephen off the truck.
The ground tore at his arms and shoulders as Stephen rolled on impact. The rifle was still clutched in his hands. He struggled to draw in breath as he aimed for the truck and let off a wild shot. The sound of a slug hitting the truck echoed between the trees. Tires squealed as the hunters fled. Stephen scrambled to his feet, firing the gun again and again, not even realizing when he ran out of bullets until the truck was no longer in sight.
"Crap," he muttered, collapsing to one knee. His shoulder burned and blood ran down his torso. He checked himself for bullet wounds and found only road rash.
Iduna was another matter. Stephen struggled to his feet and rushed back to the car. He was well aware that he was stark naked, but there wasn't anything he could do about that yet. Besides, they were both Shifters. Some degree of nudity just happened in their communities.
Not to mention the fact that they had nearly been killed. Really, his nakedness was the least of his concerns.
The Bear was still in the backseat, eyes closed. Had he gotten her killed? He yanked the door open, horror pounding through his body.
"Iduna!" he grasped her wrist. Her eyes flew open. Her pulse beat steady and strong. Stephen let out a gasp of relief and withdrew. "I'm sorry. I thought I was protecting you and I only put you in danger."
"I was already in danger. We don't know that you put me in more danger."
"Are you hurt?"
Iduna shivered. "My arm."
Stephen helped her sit. Blood coursed down her arm. A bullet was lodged in her flesh.
"We need a doctor to take that out. Where's the hospital?"
"It was shut down not long ago. The community has brought a lawsuit against the province for it, but right now we have to go to the human city for anything that won't heal by itself." Iduna flinched as she inspected her arm. "If the bullet isn't removed, then my muscle will regrow around it, perhaps causing an abscess. We need to go to the hospital."
"Yeah. And I need to dress."
Iduna nodded. "Do you have spare clothing?"
"Yes. I always keep an extra outfit in the trunk."
Stephen stroked her cheek before withdrawing sharply. What was he doing? They didn't know each other, he couldn’t just start touching her. Clearing his throat, he returned to the driver's seat. Right, hospital. And then he was going to find out what was going on. No one could just ride through a Shifter settlement with guns and starting fires.
Something was most definitely wrong here.
Chapter Three – Iduna
Iduna tried to avoid moving her arm. When she did, fiery bolts of pain shot through her. Even when she kept it still, it throbbed. It was only through sheer force of will that she didn't pass out. Her face was slick with perspiration and her vision swam in and out of focus. Shock. This couldn’t be good for the baby. She rested her good hand on her stomach, relieved to feel the baby moving around still.
"Stress can cause a woman to go into early labor, you know."
The car swerved as Stephen twisted in his seat, turning to look at her with wide eyes. "Are you going into labor?"
"The road!"
Stephen turned back to avoid going into the ditch as they rounded a corner. Iduna braced herself with her good arm, shaking her head. She never said she was going into labor. The way people jumped to conclusions like that confused her.
"Are you in labor?" Stephen's voice was pitched with stress, and Iduna could hear the whine of his Wolf in it.
Her own Bear responded with soothing grunts, and she froze, eyes widening. "When did you come back?"
Stephen gave her a startled glance in the rearview mirror.
"My Bear. She hasn't been around much since I got pregnant. Thinking about it now, maybe I subconsciously suppressed her. After all, the baby is half-wolf. Maybe I knew that on some level and made her leave. Or maybe she could sense it and left on her own accord, so she wouldn’t accidently hurt the baby. That's probably why I haven't been able to shift since I got pregnant. Psychology is fascinating, isn't it? The way the mind works."
The car slowed.
"Why are we stopping?"
"Are you in labor?"
"No. I didn't say I was."
Stephen let out a sigh of relief. He began speeding up again. "You need to put your seatbelt on."
Iduna jumped in surprise, hissing when pain shot through her. Even though she knew that having her life in danger was as good an excuse to forget about a seatbelt as any, she kicked herself for doing it. She tried to buckle herself in one-handed, but the exercise was futile. Stephen pulled to the shoulder of the road and got out.
"Let me help you with that." Stephen opened her door and grasped the seatbelt. "Your shoulder will be healed by the time we get to the city anyway. I have a blanket in the trunk, I'll get it for you. You're supposed to stay warm after a traumatic event."
"Yes. Keeping a person warm helps to keep the blood in the vital organs, which is extremely important in staying alive. When someone goes into shock, their blood naturally goes to these places because of the body's reaction to stress and danger, and it expands extreme energy to get the blood back to the extremities when it's…" Iduna bit her lips together and nodded. "A blanket would be good. Do you have two? You should keep warm as well."
Stephen leaned around her to do up the seatbelt. "I only have one."
He disappeared briefly and returned with a blanket, which he tucked around her with gentle ease. Iduna leaned forward, breathing in his scent. He noticed and stopped. A smile crinkled his eyes. She could see herself reflected in them.
And her desire was echoed back just the same.
"Sometimes high adrenaline levels will also produce other hormones," she blurted out, then ducked her head and shied away from him.
It was just pregnancy hormones, mixed with the life-and-death situation, and it probably had something to do with Stephen being the father of her child, too. She had already decided that she wasn't going to have a mate, and even if she hadn’t, Stephen was a Wolf. There was bad blood between Wolves and Bears, with a long history of killing on both sides.
In fact, she didn't know if her mother's warning that Stephen was too old to be her mate was more of a warning that he was too Wolf to be her mate. Her parents could be very overprotective.<
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Her parents. Iduna's eyes widened in horror. "My parents! We just left without telling them where I was going. They're going to be so worried. They're going to think you kidnapped me."
"Your parents. Right." Stephen dug into his pocket and handed her his cellphone. Iduna quickly dialed her father's number.
"Pick up, pick up," she pled quietly, the low-lying levels of adrenaline that were still in her system kicking back into full force. Her heart pounded. No matter how much she told her the chances that either of her parents had been killed was remote, she couldn't suppress images of them laying on the road shot through by those hunting rifles.
Hunting rifles. As if they were nothing more than animals. As if they didn't have as much human as Bear in them.
Her father's voice broke her from her musings. Iduna couldn’t stop a small cry of relieve. "Daddy!"
"Iduna! Where are you?"
"I'm with Stephen. We tried to drive away but they shot us. At us." She glanced at her shoulder. The flesh had almost stitched itself over the bullet. No use worrying her parents until they could see she was fine with their own eyes. "We're going to the hospital to make sure the baby's okay."
"Are you okay?" Tyson's voice pitched lower, the way it did when he thought she was lying.
Or knew she was lying. "I had a fright but I'm okay. But the stress isn't good for the baby."
"Okay. Go to our campsite when you're done with the hospital, baby, just to be safe. Who knows when the hunters will come back. Your mother and I are fine. Don't worry about us."
Iduna nodded, relieved to hear father's reassurances. "Okay. I'll go to the camp. I love you, Daddy."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
She hung up and handed the phone back to Stephen. "They're fine."
Stephen stroked her cheek gently. He snatched his hand away like he had only a little while ago. Clearly, he was feeling the same draw to her as she was feeling towards him, but was reluctant to act on it. Because she was a Bear and he was a Wolf, or because of their age difference?
