As delicate as she appeared, Sten could have wrestled Indigo into submission with both of his hands tied. And then, there was the matter of her age. He hadn’t liked females as young as her when he’d been twenty himself. He liked his females to be experienced, and he had no desire to teach one how best to please him.
But none of this had stopped his wolf from flooding him with images of her when he’d lain in bed, trying to sleep. Last night, the fixation hadn’t made any sense to him, but today he realized that his wolf must have picked up on her natural scent, which at the time had been buried under the clashing smells of seawater, blood, and arousal. He couldn’t place what it was about her scent that drew him in, he only knew that it was one of the most alluring things he’d ever smelled, and he could understand why his wolf wanted to rut with her until they both passed out from exhaustion.
Indigo quickened her pace as they neared her room, going ahead of him to peek past the door coverings. Turning to him, she held a finger up to her rosebud lips.
“Maia’s sleeping,” she whispered. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared inside as Sten reached the door. He pulled the coverings back just far enough to get a glimpse of Indigo’s bed. A pup lay sleeping in the center of it, her chubby arm flung over her eyes. He let the coverings fall back into place, and a moment later Indigo emerged, carrying a bulky canvas bag.
Sten waited until they were farther down the hall to speak. “Whose pup is she?”
He didn’t think it could be hers. Not only because Indigo was too young, but also because it was one of many pups he’d seen when he’d taken his breakfast in the central chamber. As far as he could smell, few of the pups bore any relation to one another, and none of them seemed to be related to the alpha, or any adult in the den, for that matter.
“I’ve never met her parents,” Indigo said, frowning at the floor. “Her mother didn’t even leave a note when she dropped her off in Nataq. That’s more common with the older ones, though.”
“Nataq?”
She looked up at him, her brows rising. “Oh, sorry. I guess I’m not used to talking to outsiders. Nataq is where pretty much all of the pups come from. My friend Kya, her mother Ruth lives there. She takes in unwanted pups, mostly from Nunavut, but human women have brought them from as far south as Calgary. Maia is older than most that come. Their mothers usually give them to Ruth when they’re just under a year old.”
“That makes sense.”
For whatever reason, she’d tied her hair up while she was in her room. It left the curve of her neck bare, and he noticed a birthmark just above her shoulder. Shaped like a four-pointed star, it was a single shade darker than her golden tan skin. Easy to miss, but once he saw it, his eyes were drawn to it. His wolf seemed to think it would make a perfect place to position one of his fangs before he sank them into her flesh. Before he could catch himself, Sten decided that it would be better to leave the birthmark intact, and between the marks of his teeth.
He immediately retracted the stray thought, but his wolf had already grown excited. Thinking it was being helpful, it began firing off images of all the ways they could bite her without marring her birthmark.
“What do you mean?”
She was looking up at him, her eyebrows drawn together over her violet eyes. It took Sten a few seconds to remember what they’d been talking about, and when he spoke, his voice sounded unusually deep.
“It coincides with the end of Canadian maternity leave, give or take a few months,” he said. “They’d already be under a great deal of financial strain by then anyway, and would have no choice by to go back to work. Going back to work means needing childcare, and unless they have close family that can provide fulltime care while overlooking the fact that their child might spontaneously shift into a wolf, then they’d have no choice but to bring them to a pack, or else become destitute.”
She considered his words for a while before she spoke. “So it’s a financial decision?” The word sounded bitter on her tongue. “They give up their pups because of money? All this time I thought it was because they wanted to keep their pups safe.”
“Money is security to humans,” he said patiently. “Without it, they wouldn’t have clothes, homes, or food, and they certainly couldn’t provide for a pup.”
“I’d still find a way,” she said, her small hands clenching into fists. “Even if I were human, I’d find a way to provide for my pup.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
A small smile played on his lips as his eyes sought out the mark on her neck. Her ponytail had fallen over her shoulder, covering it up, and Sten’s fingers itched to push it aside.
As they past through the main room, the other shifters cast them furtive glances. Some were still eating their lunch, a meal consisting mostly of fish. That morning, Sten had been astounded to find out that the wolves ate three large meals each day. In Amarok, they didn’t even eat that frequently in the summer, when prey was more readily available.
He flicked his gaze from side to side, though his nose had already told him that Ginnifer was not among the shifters. She’d made no effort to reach out to him since the morning, and he didn’t think she would. He’d yet to speak to Zane, but he had no plans to make another appeal. Ultimately, the choice was Ginnifer’s.
And if she knew what was coming, do you really think she would choose to stay here?
It was not his responsibility. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Zane was their alpha, and it was his job to ensure that his mate and pack were safe.
They walked in silence until reaching the mouth of the cave. Indigo took a deep breath of the fresh air, smiling serenely. She began to pull off her dress, but Sten placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll carry you.”
“Oh,” she said, her hand going to her injured arm.
He could see that it was mostly healed now, and the stitches could probably come out the following morning. He wondered who would do it for her, or if she would pull them out herself.
She looked away as Sten undressed, which he found amusing. He almost teased her, but managed to refrain.
Shifting was a complicated process for him. The shift had always come easily to him, but being in wolf form meant surrendering a small part of his humanity. It was the same for all wolves, but not nearly as dangerous as it was for Sten. Where other shifters in wolf form might have to repress the urge to dig a hole or chase a fox, he walked the razor’s edge of violence.
Carefully, he loosened the mental bonds that kept his wolf at bay. The animal came bursting out, catapulting him into a shift that was fast enough to make him nauseous. He wasted no time in tightening the bonds, this time using them like short reins to keep the animal firmly under his control.
Once he was confident in his hold over the wolf, he turned towards Indigo. She was still standing with her back towards him, idly shuffling her feet. His eyes settled on her shoulder again. Deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort to stop himself, he walked over to her and nudged the ponytail aside. His senses were heightened in wolf form, and the smell of her neck pulled at him. He wanted to lick and bite her.
Ignorant of his nefarious thoughts, she smiled at him and then turned to hop onto his back. She was atop him in one fluid and unexpectedly graceful motion. She sat with both legs dangling to one side, her hand gently holding onto the scruff of his neck.
Once they were outside, she gave him directions, but the scent was easy enough to follow. To the north, he could smell Zane, Tallow, Henna, and Brynn, along with the scent of an unfamiliar male, and a great deal of blood.
In this form, his wolf did not have to send him images of what it wanted. Sten could feel its desires as strongly as if they were his own, and only sound judgment kept him from acting on impulse.
Usually, his wolf’s insatiable curiosity would have driven him to investigate whatever was up ahead, but today the animal had other priorities. It was cold outside. The female on his back was warm
. The Siluit alpha was away from the den. Sten could turn back now, abscond with the female, and find out if she tasted as good as she smelled.
He ignored the thoughts, for the most part. A couple of times, his mind tried to wander, but he always managed to reel it back.
Accustomed to the mountains that riddled the Amarok territory, Sten had little difficulty traversing the hilly island. The sun had dipped considerably low by the time the others came into view, but it would still be some time before nightfall.
Of the four wolf shifters, only Tallow was in animal form, pacing a worn path in the snow with apparent impatience. The others looked up as he approached, but kept their attention divided between him and the male that lay on the ground.
He was a large male, obviously a bear shifter by his scent, with a thick brown beard that was matted with blood. He had several wounds, but Sten only paid attention to one, the large puncture in his abdomen, through which Sten could see the male’s insides. His eyes were closed, though his chest rose and fell with erratic breaths.
Not waiting for Sten to stop, Indigo hopped off his back and ran ahead of him. His wolf nearly snapped out to take the back of her dress in its fangs. She should not go ahead of him like that, not until he had more time to assess the danger. The others couldn’t be trusted to do so. Especially not the other alpha. Only Sten could protect her. He needed to keep her safe.
Shut up.
Sten was glad when she was off his back, because it meant that he could shift and get the wolf’s idiotic thoughts out of his head. Once in his human form, he realized that he hadn’t brought anything to wear. While his shifter body gave him a considerable amount of resistance to the cold, he was still uncomfortable, especially with the ocean winds threading through the hills.
To his relief, Henna approached him, offering him a small, but serviceable white pelt. Wrapping it around his shoulders, it hung just short of his knees.
“That’s mine,” called Tallow, now standing nude in her human form, arms folded beneath high breasts.
Henna gave the younger female a demure smile. “If you claim it is your property, you may challenge Sten for the right to it.”
“I don’t have to challenge him,” Tallow ground out. “Because it’s mine.”
Brynn laughed, shaking her head at Sten. “You see what we’ve been dealing with the past few weeks? They’re so entitled. They think they can put their name on something and it belongs to them.”
“As though that is how the world works,” Henna said. “They even leave food lying around, expecting no one will take it from them.”
Henna and the other Amarok betas had already expounded upon their grievances earlier that morning, which told Sten that they were only doing this to harass Tallow. He wasn’t sure if it was working, as the red in the Siluit beta’s face could have been anger just as well as embarrassment. On the whole, he did agree that the Siluit wolves were far too soft, but it was not their place to disparage them.
Sten held up a hand to silence the females, and then glanced at Tallow. “If you’d like it back, you need only ask.”
Tallow eyed him disdainfully, sensing the obvious trap. If she asked him for her pelt back, it would mean accepting that it was Sten’s to give, rather than hers by right. If she continued to argue without directly challenging him, then she would appear weaker still. It was a tactic used often in Amarok, and Sten saw nothing wrong with employing it on the arrogant female.
She turned her nose up, as he’d suspected she would. “Keep it. I don’t want anything that smells like you.”
Without another word, she shifted back into her wolf form, nose still held high as she resumed her pacing. Brynn and Henna exchanged satisfied looks, while Sten shifted his attention to Indigo. She was conversing with her brother, both unaware of the drama that had unfolded between the betas. He tuned into their conversation as he approached them.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can do,” she said, wringing her hands. “This isn’t a broken bone or a busted lip. There has to be a lot of internal damage.”
“Do as much as you can,” Zane said, patting his sister on the head. “That’s all I ask.”
As Indigo crouched down beside the prone male, Sten came to stand beside the alpha. Zane gave him a tight frown.
“I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“We still needed to speak,” Sten said. “This seemed as good a time as any. I’ll be leaving by tonight.”
Zane nodded, but said nothing as he stared down at his sister and the bear shifter. She’d started to pull instruments from her canvas bag, working quickly, but deliberately. The shifter didn’t stir as she began cleaning the wound, but Sten cast a pointed look in Henna’s direction. A moment later, Henna was standing over the bear shifter, watching him for any signs of stirring.
“That wound doesn’t look like it was from a wolf,” Sten said.
“It’s not,” Zane said. “Tallow and I found him like this a few hours ago. “He must have been trying to hunt the muskoxen on the other side of the inlet.”
“Why are you trying to keep him alive?”
“It might give us leverage when we host the bear tribe.”
Sten arched a brow. “So you’ve decided to let them come?”
“What other choice do I have?” Zane asked, scowling.
“You could leave,” Sten said. “Let the bears take this land and find territory elsewhere.”
That was definitely not what he was supposed to say. Erik wanted Siluit and the bear clans to fight, if only so that they could distract one another through the remainder of the winter. But Erik had been assuming Siluit was capable of putting up a fight, which they weren’t. If even a quarter of the bear herd broke off to take Siluit, the den would fall within the month.
“I’m not leaving my territory,” Zane said stubbornly. “It’s belonged to my family for a dozen generations. I won’t be the one to lose it.”
Sten wanted to sigh. The land was no different than the pelt on Sten’s back—it belonged to whoever could hold it. Zane was strong, but not nearly strong enough to compensate for the weaknesses of his pack.
With nimble fingers, Indigo had the puncture sealed within moments, and was examining the bear shifter’s other wounds. She turned her attention to a head wound, pushing aside matted clumps of hair to find the source. Watching her, Sten could feel his wolf’s displeasure, and it sent images of dragging her away to the water and washing the other male’s blood from her skin.
“We’re going to need to get him back to the den,” Indigo said, not looking up from her work. “With as much blood as he’s lost, he could very easily freeze to death.” Under her breath, she muttered, “Not that he’s going to live much longer anyway.”
“He’s too big for any of us to carry,” Zane said. “Tallow, go get the sled and we’ll carry him back on that.”
While the beta female had backed down from Sten, she instantly bristled at the command from her alpha. Her fur stood up on her back, and she gave Zane a derisive snort. Zane growled his frustration, and Sten was equally frustrated when the alpha backed down.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Zane said. He looked to Sten. “Do you mind watching the females until I get back?”
Sten nodded. As soon as the Siluit alpha had turned his back, he glanced over at Henna, whose eyes were sparkling with mirth. He shook his head, warning her to be silent, but couldn’t help smirking.
As soon as Zane was out of sight, Tallow stormed off, heading in the opposite direction. None of the other females paid her any mind. Indigo remained focused on stitching, while Henna broke out into laughter and Brynn spat at the ground. Sten’s amusement faded as he realized that Zane had left the three of them alone with his sister. Inadvertently or not, it aggravated him. They were not his pack and Zane did not know them well enough to trust that they would protect her.
“Females,” Brynn seethed. “You should have seen his face when he saw that Erik had sent six females to help defend his
den. It was almost as precious as his face when Vale nearly snapped his strongest beta male in two during a training exercise.”
“Oh, stop,” Henna said, wagging her hand. “You have to admit, it’s kind of cute, him thinking we need protection.”
“It’s not cute, it’s shameful,” Brynn said. “If he taught his females how to fight, instead of letting them spend their days weaving baskets or—” she looked at Indigo, “—burying their noses in books, then maybe their pack wouldn’t be bleeding numbers.”
Sten looked at Indigo, who was now bandaging the head wound, her eyes narrowed slightly. A fluttering of lashes drew Sten’s gaze, not Indigo’s but the bear shifter’s. Time slowed as Sten saw the male begin to raise his hand. Not waiting to see if the others noticed, he lunged forward and slammed his foot down on the male’s wrist.
Indigo shrieked and scrambled back, while Brynn and Henna ran up to flank the bear shifter. The male tried to say something, but only dark blood bubbled up out of his mouth. He seized, his body flailing in jerky movements.
“Do something,” Brynn snapped. “He’s going to die.”
When Sten realized she was talking to Indigo, a snarl tore from his chest. Words dripping with scorn, he said, “Let him die.”
The betas immediately backed off, both of them averting their gazes in twin gestures of submission. Sten grabbed Indigo by the arm and pulled her back from the thrashing male.
So much had happened seemingly at once, and he’d reacted entirely on instinct. He tried taking a moment to collect his thoughts, but Indigo turned, throwing her arms around his torso and burying her head into his chest. He flexed his hand, staring at it for a few seconds, before bringing it up to stroke her back. Something inside of him lurched in her direction, and his caress grew firm, until he was pressing her against his body.
I can’t leave her here.
He couldn’t leave any of them there. Not the pups, not Astrid’s sister, or the juveniles, not even stubborn Tallow.
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 7
