After a long, silent walk, Sten stopped and pulled up the patterned hide that covered his doorway. He waited as she teetered on the threshold, feeling a mix of anticipation and uneasiness. She sniffed the air, and then looked up at him quizzically.
“This is…your room?”
He nodded. “You don’t have to stay here. I can take you to where the rest of your pack is sleeping.”
When he’d left the main room, Henna and Beau had been breaking the Siluit wolves into small groups and rooming them together in the upper chambers of the den. Sten had had every intention of bringing Indigo to sleep with the rest of her pack, but on impulse, he’d found himself guiding her to his room. It was rare that he did things without thinking them through, especially when they involved Halley, and he felt a sliver of doubt as Indigo finally entered.
Once she was inside, he stepped in and went ahead of her to light the candles on the table. To a human, the two small flames would have barely lit the room, but for Sten’s eyes the room was awash in warm light. He sat down on his pelt-covered couch and rested his arm on the back as he watched Indigo look around.
When he’d first seen her room back in Siluit, he’d had the passing thought that he would like to show her his own. At the time, there had been nothing sexual about it; he had simply thought that she might appreciate the smoothed walls, carpeting, and human furniture. He also had a modest book collection, nowhere near as large as Indigo’s, and they were mostly in Dutch, the language his mother had taught him to read as a pup.
There were two additional chambers attached to the living room. His own room was seldom used, and most nights he fell asleep on the couch. There were no coverings over the other room. Sten supposed he’d have to put them up within the next few years, but for now he could still peer in from his place on the couch, and watch Halley sleep.
Indigo was standing in front of that room now. Her brows were knitted close together as she stared at the sleeping pup.
“She’s yours?” she whispered.
“Her name is Halley,” he said. “And you don’t have to speak so quietly. It’s difficult to get her down, but once she is, she sleeps like the dead.”
Indigo swallowed, before giving him a faltering smile. She padded over to the couch, taking a seat on the far end. He didn’t like the gulf between them, but he also wouldn’t be the one to close it.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you had a daughter?” she asked, folding her hands in her lap.
“It never came up.”
It seemed like a weak excuse, but it was not in his nature to divulge information about himself, and there was no part of himself that he guarded more than his pup. Then, there was also the fact that bringing up Halley would have led to questions he didn’t care to answer. Questions that he was now bracing himself for.
“You have a mate?” she asked.
“No.”
“Did you have a mate?”
“Yes.”
“Did she…”
“She’s alive.”
“Is she here?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
Each question hit him like a small blow to the chest, but he maintained a calm façade. It had been years since he’d left Ontario to bring Halley to Amarok. The wound should have long since scarred over, but it hadn’t.
“I’d rather not talk about her here,” Sten said, throwing a look in Halley’s direction. Indigo followed his gaze, and then blushed and tugged at her earlobe.
“I’m sorry. All this time I… I hadn’t really considered that you’d had a past. I know now that that’s stupid, but…”
“It’s not stupid,” he said, leaning back and crossing his legs. “Does it bother you that I have a daughter?”
“No,” she said sharply. Then her blush deepened, and in a much quieter voice, she added, “I was surprised, that’s all. She’s very pretty. I wouldn’t have guessed she was your daughter, if not for her scent. She doesn’t look very much like you.”
“Not at a glance,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips. “But the more you see her, the more you’ll notice the similarities.”
Indigo sucked on her bottom lip, and he felt a pulse of desire shoot through his gut. Unless she decided to rip off her clothes and straddle him, there was no way he would touch her tonight.
No, not even then.
He never laid with females in his own room, and he wouldn’t have his daughter puzzling on why a strange female was covered in his scent.
“Will I see more of her?” Sten didn’t think her face could be any redder. “What I mean is, do you want me around?”
Sten almost laughed. “Would you leave me alone if I didn’t?”
And finally, she smiled. “You never told me I had to.”
“Then I suppose you will.”
His abdomen tightened as she crawled over to him, climbing into his lap. He hadn’t realized that it was possible to become hard so quickly, and he had no time to conceal his erection. When she felt it, she crinkled her nose playfully. He wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t trust himself, and especially not her, to know when to stop. She had been surprisingly aggressive the last time, and he knew that she would only grow bolder as she became more comfortable with him.
Indigo closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. “Is this only for tonight? Or can I stay here every night?”
Sten wrapped an arm around her and threaded his fingers through her hair. Holding her felt right.
“We can discuss it in the morning,” he said, brushing his lips against the top of her head.
Indigo fell asleep quickly, but Sten remained awake for a long time, contemplating the female in his arms. In one week, she would be expected to leave with her pack. He had no real basis for asking her to stay, and it would be unfair, considering he was always away from the den.
But he still wanted her.
Chapter 15
Sten woke to the scent of meat cooking somewhere in the den. The smell was not nearly as appealing as Indigo’s. He still couldn’t place what exactly was so enticing about the way she smelled. Her scent had no parallels within nature, at least, none that he’d encountered in his long life.
Over the course of the night they had come to lie side by side on the couch, her small body just barely fitting beside his. Her face lay in front of his, and he realized that even her breath smelled good.
“What are you?” he murmured as he ran a finger down her back. She squirmed in sleepy protest, her thigh brushing against his erection.
Sten’s lips pressed to a thin slash as he saw her trying not to smile. He reached up and gently flicked her nose.
Her eyes popped open, and she grinned at him. “Good morning.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “Did anyone come looking for me?”
“It seems they were able to manage without you,” he said, reluctantly sitting up. He gave a quick glance towards Halley’s room, more out of habit than anything else. She wouldn’t have been able to leave the room without him noticing.
Halley was still sleeping soundly, but he knew she would wake at any moment. The smell of breakfast was too irresistible a lure. It posed a problem for him, because he was painfully aroused. He couldn’t have Halley see him like this, and being near Indigo wasn’t going to improve the situation.
“Halley will be waking up soon,” he told her. “When she gets up, I need you to get her dressed and take her to breakfast. I’ll meet you in the main room.”
As he spoke, a look of horror spread over her face. “Aren’t you going to introduce us first? And why do I have to do it? I have important things I could be doing. I should go check on Astrid.”
She tried sitting up, but Sten pushed her back down. Against his better judgment, he leaned in to kiss her. All of the stiffness left her body as she melted beneath his lips. Sten wished that kissing her had the same effect on him, for the moment at least. After only a few seconds, he had no choice but to pull back. Indigo stared up at him, lo
oking thoroughly placated. He had not expected it to be quite so easy.
“Make sure she dresses in clothing,” Sten said as he stood. “I want her to play with the other pups, not roll around on the floor with the dog.”
Sten ignored the startled look she gave him, as she remembered what he’d asked her to do. He paused before leaving, and indulged in yet another strange impulse. Grabbing one of the pelts from a shelf, he went over and placed it on top of Indigo.
“In case you get cold,” he told her.
He knew full well that she had brought her own things to wear, but they were things that smelled like her and her pack. If she wore his pelt, even the most brazen Amarok male would think twice before approaching her.
Indigo was already wrapping herself in the pelt as he left the room. His wolf growled with satisfaction.
Once he was away from her, Sten’s head cleared, though his arousal lingered for a while longer. He bathed quickly, intent on getting back to his room before Indigo and Halley left. Several of his pack mates tried to stop him and make conversation, most of them prying for gossip about the Siluit wolves, who were now sharing the main room, but keeping to themselves. The first few times, Sten found a way to politely disengage, but by the fourth time he was approached, he shot the offending wolf a threatening look and continued walking.
For his own peace of mind, and to reassure Indigo, he stopped by Astrid’s room on the way. Erik was still lying beside his mate, but Zane and Ginnifer were gone. Astrid was sleeping, and Erik’s eyes were closed, but as Sten turned to leave, his brother spoke to him.
“She hasn’t woken, but her scent doesn’t smell like death anymore.”
Sten turned around. “Where are the others?”
“Her sister and Zane—” he scowled as he said the other alpha’s name, “went to eat. If you see them, tell them not to come back. I still cannot believe you brought the entire fucking pack to my den.”
Sten didn’t bat an eye at the complaint. If he hadn’t brought the Siluit wolves, then chances were that Astrid would have died, and Erik’s unborn pup with her. The end didn’t justify the means, but Sten thought that in this case, his brother would give him a pass.
“It was your right to refuse them,” Sten said patiently.
“I was not thinking clearly. Now Zane and his worthless brood are here for a week.”
“They aren’t worthless,” Sten said. “Until now, they’ve lived peaceful lives. They haven’t had the advantages that come with constant conflict. And they have something we lack—they’re young.”
Erik sniffed. “We are not old.”
That was debatable, or it would be, if he were talking to anyone besides Erik. “I’m referring to our pack. Yves is the youngest we have aside from Halley, and he isn’t a day younger than twenty. In three decades, we’ll all be too old to defend our territory.”
Erik rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes. “That is a problem for later. Besides, if we take them in, which I assume you are proposing, then we are backed into the opposite corner now. It will be a decade before any of them are fit to defend the pack and in the meantime, they will drain resources from our capable fighters.”
“Perhaps, but I’d caution you to give it more consideration before discarding the idea. However much of a burden the pups may be, the adults and juveniles can be trained. And in between their training, they could be hunting while our fighters guard the den.”
Astrid shifted slightly, turning her head towards Erik and letting out a soft sigh. Both males waited to see if she’d open her eyes, but they remained shut. Erik brushed his thumb across the side of her face.
“Having her sister here will be good for her,” Sten said, playing his final card. “And when your pup comes, you will want Indigo here.”
Saying her name made Sten realize why he was advocating so strongly to keep Siluit with Amarok. There were other factors—he firmly believed everything he’d said to his brother, and he also wanted Halley to have other pups to play with, but a large part of it was selfishness.
“I’ll think on it,” Erik said, closing his eyes.
Sten took his leave, knowing that at least for the moment, he had done all that he could. He headed for his room, still wondering what the hell he was planning to do about Indigo.
* * *
Indigo’s eyes roamed over the page of her book, seeing the words, but not actually reading them. There was a flurry of activity in her head, and for once, her life was far more interesting than a storybook.
She glanced over her shoulder, peering into Halley’s room. She’d been doing it almost every minute since Sten had left, and each time, the pup had still been curled up in her bed, a small lump in a pile of furs. This time, the bed was bare.
Indigo set the book down and turned all the way around. She squinted into the darkness, but saw no sign of the pup.
“What’s your book about?”
It wasn’t Halley’s soft voice that startled Indigo, but rather the fact that she’d somehow managed to slip out of her room and end up on the far side of the couch without her noticing. She sank back down into her seat, biting down on her lip as she looked at the pup.
Halley sat with her legs drawn up to her chest, a shaggy grey pelt wrapped over her shoulders. Under Halley’s intense scrutiny, it was easy for Indigo to see parts of her father in her. Halley had his eyes, not the color, but the shape, and the same lips as well. Their noses were similar, but hers was a bit more rounded. She really was a beautiful pup.
Indigo ran a hand over the book. “This is an adventure story. Do you like reading?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
The way Halley stared directly into her eyes was unnerving, and Indigo found herself clearing her throat.
“You must be Halley,” she said awkwardly. “I’m Indigo. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Why are you in my room?”
The question actually put Indigo at ease, because Halley only sounded curious, not accusatory.
“Your father asked me to help you get dressed and take you down to breakfast,” Indigo explained.
Halley looked down at her pelt. “But I’m already dressed.”
She remembered that Sten had wanted Halley to wear clothes, but she knew that if Halley was anything like Indigo had been at her age, then ordering her to get dressed would only backfire.
Instead, she said, “Okay, well do you mind waiting while I get dressed?”
Indigo got up and grabbed her bag. She had to pull out a dozen books before reaching her clothes, and her choices were limited. Trying not to think about all of the clothes she’d left behind at Siluit, she unfolded her lavender dress. The fabric made it almost wrinkle-proof, but she still took her time smoothing out the skirt, before she shouldered out of the pelt and slipped the dress on.
She picked up Sten’s pelt as she stood. She recognized the white fur as belonging to a bear, the animal and not a shifter, she hoped. As much as she despised the bear shifters, wearing their fur felt rather macabre.
“Do you have a mirror?” She asked Halley.
The pup stood, and Indigo was surprised to see that the top of Halley’s head came up to her chest. Indigo was rather tall for a female, and it seemed like Halley would be even taller once she stopped growing.
Halley led her to her bedroom, and she pointed at a long floor mirror with ornate silver trim. Indigo glided over to it, giving herself a quick examination. She ran a comb through her hair, and debated whether to wear it in a ponytail or not. Ultimately, she decided to wear it down, and she pinched her cheeks to give them some color.
As Indigo was putting on a pair of her mother’s pearl earrings, Halley finally spoke up. “Does it hurt to put those in your ears?”
Indigo smiled. “It only hurt the first time. Now that the holes are there, it’s completely painless.”
“How did the holes get there?”
“I had to poke them with needles.”
“Did it hurt?”
>
“A little, yes.”
“Will you do it to my ears?”
Indigo glanced down at Halley, who was looking up at her hopefully. “You’d have to ask your father first.”
Halley’s shoulders sagged. “He’ll probably say no. Sylvestre said he would give me a tattoo of a shooting star right here.” She lifted the pelt to show Indigo her forearm. “But papa said he couldn’t.”
“I see,” Indigo said. She cringed, wondering who in their right mind would offer to give a pup a tattoo.
“I like your dress,” Halley said. “I have one, too. Do you want to see it?”
“I’d love to.”
Indigo finished fluffing out her hair as Halley scampered over to her shelf and grabbed a filmy blue dress. Halley put it on, and then came to stand beside Indigo, admiring herself in the mirror.
“That’s a beautiful dress,” Indigo told her. “You look very pretty.”
It didn’t look like a dress for a little girl to play in. The hem came nearly to the floor, and it was layered in silk and a filmy material Indigo thought was called chiffon. It made her look like a little princess.
“Astrid made it for me,” Halley said, fluffing out her hair in imitation of Indigo. “She used to design clothes before she became Uncle Erik’s mate.”
The mention of Ginnifer’s sister had Indigo experiencing a flash of guilt. She knew that Ginnifer, or Zane, or God forbid, Erik, would have come for her if she’d been needed, but she still wished that Sten would have let her check in on Astrid before he’d left.
“You look very pretty, too,” Halley said.
Indigo beamed at her. “Thank you.” She felt a bit nervous as she held out her hand. “How about we go get something to eat, and then I’ll introduce you to some of the pups from my pack.”
A grin split Halley’s face, and she let out a string of words, made incoherent by her excitement. She seized Indigo’s hand and pulled her from the room, their feet slapping noisily on the floor as they dashed into the passageway.
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 13
