“I imagine so. It was over sixty years ago.”
Sten’s father had been around the world, though he’d seen very little of it. He’d been born during a time when shifters were curiosities in many places, caged for crowds like circus animals and forced to shift at the crack of a whip. He had bided his time for years, waiting for his handlers to slip up, and the massacre that had ensued had made humans the world over think twice before trying to imprison a shifter.
“Was he a pup?”
“A juvenile,” Sten said.
“So, that would make him about eighty now?”
“He’s dead.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
He almost let slip that it had been he and Erik that had killed him, but that would lead to far more probing questions.
“It was a long time ago,” he said evenly.
“Before you came to Nunavut?”
He nodded.
“And how long ago was that?”
Sten could see the question she was steadily honing in on, and his lips twitched. “I’m unsure of my exact age, but I do know that I’m old enough to have sired you, Indigo.”
She feigned surprise rather well, but her tongue was not so smooth. “That, it’s, I wasn’t asking that.”
Aside from her perpetual arousal, Sten didn’t find Indigo’s company to be objectionable. Now that she was mostly coherent, she was actually quite humorous. That was the problem, though. He didn’t want to like any of the Siluit wolves.
“I know you’re attracted to me,” he said bluntly. “And if you were a decade older and not Zane’s sister, I would have no reservations about having you tonight. But circumstances such as they are, it’s best you go find a male your own age to share a bed with.”
For a moment, she looked stunned, as though he’d given her a verbal slap in the face. It wasn’t nearly as harsh as he could have been, so he didn’t feel bad.
Leaping up from the bed, Indigo’s shock gave way to indignation, and she glowered down at him. “I didn’t come in here to have sex with you.”
She sounded rather convincing.
Sten’s voice was a purr. “You came into my room smelling of arousal, and then you crawled into my bed. What would you have me infer?”
She blushed furiously, but remained indignant. “I was bringing you food, and there are no chairs, where else was I supposed to sit? And besides, if I wanted to have sex with you, I wouldn’t have bothered making polite conversation.”
That was perhaps the funniest thing she’d said yet. Arching a brow, he asked, “Oh? What would you have done?”
He expected her to flounder under the question, but something flickered in her gaze, a feral, hungry look that seemed entirely out of place on such a young, innocent face. He felt another pulse of desire shoot through him, even stronger than the one from earlier in the night. He didn’t understand why. In no way was she the type of female that usually appealed to him. Not that many did these days.
Sten gave up on trying to predict her, and waited for whatever she was going to do next. He felt the faintest twinge of disappointment when she turned her back on him.
Holding her head high, she said, “I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of knowing.”
“It is my loss,” he said, the words sounding patronizing, even though they were anything but. “Goodnight, Indigo.”
Chapter 6
“I need you to kiss me.”
Roch sat up straight in his bed, blinking rapidly. When his eyes focused, he looked at Indigo with confusion. “What did you say? And what are you doing in here?”
Indigo flopped down onto his fur pallet beside him, her jaw set with determination. “I came in here to kiss you. Once we’re done, I’m going to need you to rate my performance on a scale of one to ten. After that, I’ll take constructive criticism, and then we can repeat it as many times as necessary, until I’m at least a seven. No, an eight. Definitely an eight.”
Roch rubbed a hand over his face. “Did Kya put you up to this? Go tell her that I said it was—”
“Kya has nothing to do with this.” She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Focus. This is important and I don’t have much time.”
Roch swatted her hand away. “What is this about?”
“That’s not important.”
Indigo wasn’t about to tell him that she’d just come from Sten’s room, or that the only thing that had stopped her from pouncing on the insufferable male was her own insecurity.
She’d wanted to climb back into his bed and kiss him so passionately, so wildly, that he’d have no choice but to claim her on the spot. Kya said males were like that—once you really got them going, they were like boulders down a hill.
The only thing that had stopped her from going through with her plan had been the realization that she wasn’t a particularly good kisser. At least, she hadn’t been the last time she’d done it. If she tried to seduce Sten with a lukewarm kiss, her attempt would likely backfire.
“Like hell,” Roch grumbled. “Unless you can get your brother to come down and personally tell me that it’s all right for me to fuck you—”
“No need to be crude,” she said. “And I don’t want to have sex with you.”
Why does everyone think I want to have sex with them tonight?
Well, she had wanted to sleep with Sten, but that hadn’t been why she’d gone in to see him. She was still appalled by his audacity. It hadn’t occurred to her that her mate would be kind of an asshole.
“Why are you coming to me?” Roch asked, his tone becoming conversational, rather than affronted. “Why not go ask Enzo? You two had a thing before, right?”
Shortly after she’d given up on Roch, Indigo had turned her sights on Enzo. She’d reasoned that he was nice, and because he wasn’t particularly attractive, he’d be less likely to stray from a relationship. Their brief fling, all four days of awkward embraces and slobbery kisses, had taught her that she was a little shallow. Once she’d broken things off with him, she’d resolved herself to finding a partner that was at least somewhat handsome, as well as experienced.
“And besides,” Roch was still saying. “Enzo’s still all mopey on account of his mom dying. You’d be doing him a favor. Not to mention, your brother probably wouldn’t want to kick him while he’s down.”
“It can’t be Zo,” she told him. “He’s…like a brother to me.”
Roch scoffed. “Yea, a brother who would jump at the first opportunity to rut with you.”
“Again, you’re being very crude tonight.”
He looked away, running one of his big hands through his hair. “Shit, I’m sorry. It’s Coral. My head’s a mess.”
She nodded her understanding. Earlier that morning, Coral’s scent had begun to change, indicating that she’d soon be fertile. Zane had been prompt in having Kya take her to the cave on the other side of the island, but the males of the pack had been on edge all day. It was probably worst of all for Roch, who had tried to elope with Coral last spring.
Hesitantly, she asked, “Do you…love her?”
His lips twisted. “No. She’s pretty, and not bad company once you get to know her. I wouldn’t have minded having her as a mate, I suppose. But I guess that’s stupid, huh? If Zane can barely keep Siluit together, what chance would I stand protecting a mate and pups?”
Roch looked miserable, which was a rare sight on a male that seemed perpetually self-assured. She couldn’t help but give him a quick hug.
“This thing with the bears, it’s not going to last forever, you know. I don’t think taking Coral as your mate would be wise, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find a mate once you’ve established a pack of your own.”
It was almost a given that Roch would form his own pack someday. Everyone, her brother included, knew that Roch was too dominant to be a beta male for long.
Roch tousled her hair. “Be honest. Why are you here? If this is some elaborate ploy to seduce me, I think you’ve overestimated
how difficult that’d be.”
“Not you. There’s another male.” She held up a hand before he could speak. “Who it is isn’t important. Will you help me, or not?”
He rubbed a chin that was flecked with pale stubble. “Put a hand on the back of my neck.”
Indigo almost asked why, before she realized that he’d accepted her request. She scooted closer and reached out to place a cool palm on the back of his neck. Roch took her other hand and put it on his side, before pulling her into his lap.
“You don’t have to keep them there,” he told her. “In fact, you should move them around, once you’re comfortable.”
“I am comfortable,” she said, glad it was too dark for him to see her blushing.
She heard Roch chuckle as he mirrored her position, only instead of her neck, his hand went to the back of her head, his fingers threading into her hair. When their lips met, Indigo was reminded of why she’d really come to him, rather than Enzo.
Roch was a very good kisser.
She could still remember the first time they’d kissed. With only his lips, he had awakened a whole host of new desires in her, and within a few moments, she’d been fully prepared to let him do whatever he’d wanted with her body. But when he’d pushed his tongue into her mouth, she’d been so startled that she’d gasped and accidentally cut his tongue with her canine. Roch had pushed her back rather unceremoniously, and to her eternal humiliation, asked her if she’d ever been with a male before.
This time, Roch was tentative about taking the plunge. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, waiting for her to part for him. She did so, being equally cautious as he slipped inside. This was the part that always confused her. The characters in her stories made it seem so natural, but she had no idea what, specifically, she was supposed to do with his tongue. She almost pulled back to ask for instructions, but another idea occurred to her.
Sten’s scent was still lodged in her nose, and she decided to imagine it was him, holding her in his muscular arms and against his scarred chest, his mouth locked with hers. Just the thought of him made her blood heat, and she sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth, before curling her own tongue around his.
Groaning, he pulled her closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Her hands began to move of their own accord, one caressing his torso, the other massaging the back of his neck. His skin heated beneath her fingertips, and the more brazen her touch became, the harder he kissed her.
She became so enveloped in her fantasy of Sten that she almost forgot that she was supposed to be practicing. That knowledge came hurtling back to her when Roch’s hands slid to her hips, holding them in place as he flexed against her.
When she’d sat beside him earlier, Roch’s bed pelt had been covering his groin. At some point, it had been pushed away, and she felt a mixture of shock and embarrassment as his bare erection pressed against the inside of her thigh.
It took two pushes, the second considerably harder than the first, to get Roch to let her go. Indigo scrambled from his lap at the same time Roch held up his hands in a submissive gesture. He was breathing heavily, and the air was thick with the scent of his arousal.
He rubbed at his cheek, staring at her through rounded eyes. When he spoke, his voice was a husky rasp. “I didn’t realize you’d been with other males since we were together. I mean, besides Enzo. Is that what you’ve been doing all those times you ran off?”
“What are you babbling about?” Indigo groused as she straightened out her pelt.
Roch dropped his hands. “The way you kissed me, it was different than before.”
She was about to tell him that that was almost two years ago, but she stopped herself. Aside from Enzo, she hadn’t kissed anyone else, so it stood to reason that she wouldn’t have gotten much better at it. She looked at Roch again, this time taking in the sheen of sweat on his brow and the way he leaned towards her as he spoke. She thought she could see his pupils dilated.
She cocked her head. “If I didn’t stop you, you would have had sex with me just now, wouldn’t you?”
“Probably,” he said tightly. “And your brother would have skinned me for it.”
“I don’t think you know my brother as well as you think you do.”
“I know that he’ll probably kill that Amarok wolf if he catches the two of you together. Or he’ll be killed.”
Indigo’s blood ran cold. “What makes you think I’m interested in Sten?”
Roch rolled his eyes. “You just happened to want to use me as your test mouth on the night you come back to the den with that male, wearing his pelt and smelling like—”
“Okay, okay, fine,” she said, speaking loud enough to drown out the last of his words. “But I’m not interested in Sten, not in the way you think. It’s complicated.”
Indigo stood, ignoring Roch’s doubtful look. “I should go.”
He grabbed her hand before she could turn away. “Wait.” Indecision flashed over his handsome features as he considered her. Finally, he let her hand go. “You should take a bath, you smell like fish.”
Chapter 7
Sten did not need a window to the outside to know that he’d risen before dawn. His muscles still ached from travel, and he felt weary right down to his bones. If he’d had any less discipline, he would have covered himself back up and went back to sleep, but he forced himself to remember all he had yet to do. Within a few moments he had lit the lantern beside his bed, and was getting dressed.
After donning his pants, he went to put on his shirt, and noticed that the topmost button was missing. He frowned, fingering the space where it had been. Though he never buttoned his shirts all the way up, it was a sign that the shirt would soon need replacing.
Not that he’d be able to replace it anytime soon.
Even if this war, such as it was, resolved itself tomorrow, he would go straight back to his den and stay there for a month. For the past season, he’d either been on one of Erik’s errands, or in charge of the den. Even when Sabine had been left in charge, she had shirked most of her responsibilities off on him, and now that she was dead, the full weight would rest on him the next time Erik decided to run off.
As he was tying his hair into a braid, Sten’s keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching. He felt a flicker of anticipation, as he expected Indigo to walk in. Then, he gave his head a vigorous shake. There was no reason he should want to see her again.
Even so, he felt disappointed as he heard the awkward, almost lumbering gait that could not have belonged to Indigo. For all her clumsiness during their first encounter, she had proven herself to be rather graceful on her feet, if not quite with her speech.
“May I come in?”
The voice was unfamiliar, but as soon as the female drew back the coverings of his door, he knew who she was. Ginnifer’s scent was very similar to her sister’s, though if it hadn’t been, Sten would have had a difficult time recognizing their relation. While Astrid was short, with tan skin and curly hair, Ginnifer was quite tall, with skin almost as pale as Sten’s and her long brown hair didn’t have a single kink in it. She didn’t have her sister’s round face, and it made her look much older, despite being two years younger.
He found her quite beautiful, though his wolf only gave a disdainful sniff. It had little interest in females that were already claimed. Most of the time, anyway.
She looked him over with shrewd eyes, her lips pursed. “So you’re Erik’s brother. I thought you’d be…scarier.”
Something about her did remind him of Astrid, though he couldn’t place it. Whatever it was, it made him drop his cool façade, and he gave her a sly smile. “I thought you’d be thinner.”
The jibe earned Sten a laugh and a wide grin. “I will be the thin sister again,” she said, patting the top of her belly. “Soon enough.”
She waddled over to the bed, sighing audibly as she took a seat beside Sten. First Zane’s sister had been in Sten’s bed, and now Zane’s mate. The alpha really n
eeded to keep a better handle on his females.
“I’ve gotta cut straight to the chase,” she told him. “Pretty soon my handlers are going to figure out I’m gone and come looking for me. I need to know how my sister is doing.”
Sten had figured that was the reason she’d come. It would have been too much to hope that she’d come to ask if he’d take her to Amarok.
“She is well,” he told her. “Happy, I believe.”
The last time he’d seen Astrid, she’d been asleep in his brother’s arms. It had been the middle of the day, and Erik had complained that she was using her pregnancy as an excuse to be lazy, though he’d spoken softly and made no effort to rouse her.
“Your brother, he…” Her gaze turned penetrating. “I’ve heard a lot of bad things about him. If even half of them are true, then I think I have cause to be worried about her.”
Sten inclined his head. “I’m sure that more than half of them are true, but you should know that Erik would never hurt your sister.”
Not intentionally, anyway. His brother was very inexperienced with the needs of humans, and his ignorance had already endangered Astrid’s life. But Erik had been very receptive to learning about how to care for his new mate, demonstrating that though he may not love her, he did care for her wellbeing.
“I’m talking just talking about physically,” Ginnifer said, though she had seemed to relax a bit. “My sister, she can be so bossy sometimes, but when push comes to shove, she almost never asserts herself.”
“You might be surprised by how much she has changed.”
Throughout their conversation, he tried to think of how he could bring up the subject of coming to Amarok. He knew that appealing to Zane would be hard enough without Ginnifer’s support. If the alpha couldn’t even keep his betas in line, he stood no chance of convincing his mate to do anything she didn’t want to. For once, a compelling argument failed him, and he decided to cut straight to the point.
“Astrid wants you to come to Amarok,” he told her. “For a few weeks, perhaps, while your pack handles the bear shifters.”
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 5
