His mind flickered back to the way she had treated him. He had taken her hard and she hadn’t even flinched. She had taken everything he’d given her, and had still wanted more.
“I think you handled me just fine,” she murmured. She rocked her hips against him and let out a soft whimper. “Now can we please do that again?”
Chapter 20
Indigo rubbed her thigh against Sten’s hard length. It was a half-hearted attempt to coax him into taking her again, the most her tired body could manage. Sten didn’t stop her, but he didn’t do anything to encourage her either.
“How are you not in a coma?” he asked in a voice thick with exhaustion.
“Are you kidding?” she asked, sounding every bit as drained. “How do you not want to do this all day, every day?”
Before, she had never understood why other females were so obsessed with sex. Now, after a long, sleepless night in Sten’s bed, she wondered why they ever bothered doing anything else. It was the most fun, the most exciting, and the most pleasurable experience of her life, and she hadn’t wanted it to end.
Their limbs were tangled together, and one of Sten’s hands rested on the back of her neck. His thumb rubbed lazy circles on her flesh. Lips curving, she nuzzled her face against his chest.
“Would that I could live in a world like that,” he murmured, his lips resting on the top of her head. “But there is the matter of finding food. And sleeping, there is that as well. Though I doubt we’ll be doing much of that today.”
Sighing, Indigo rolled so that she straddled his hips. Keeping her head up felt like too much work, so she laid it on his chest as she stared up at him. His eyes were closed, but there was a small smile on his lips.
Sten said, “If you try mounting me again, I might just use the last of my strength fending you off.”
Indigo laughed. She almost wanted to test him, but moving had made her realize how sore she was. It was a good kind of sore, but she knew that if they had sex again, she’d be rather uncomfortable.
Her head rose and fell with his breathing, and she could feel his heart thrumming a strong beat against the side of her face. She decided that this was enough for now. After all, they had every night of the rest of their lives to spend together…
“Sten?”
His response was a questioning grunt.
“Will this be like…” No, that sounded too weak. She needed to be clear and direct. “I don’t want the sort of relationship that other shifters have. I want it to be just the two of us.”
Zane and Tallow were two of the only shifters she knew that didn’t share their beds with multiple partners. There were rarely hurt feelings or jealousy when a male decided to sleep with a different female, because it freed his current bed partner up to be with a different male. Indigo didn’t understand it at all. Just the thought of Sten being with another female made her hackles rise.
“Oh?” Sten’s voice was silky smooth again, and he drew the question out with a slow smile. “Is it too late for me to reconsider?”
Indigo knew that he was teasing her, but it didn’t make her feel any less flustered. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and then drew her claw down the center of his chest.
“You’re mine,” she told him. “No one else’s. Ever.”
Sten opened his eyes to stare up at her. She thought that even if there were more light, his expression would be no less inscrutable. As the silent moment stretched on, she began to realize how ridiculous she must have sounded. She climbed off him, blushing faintly.
“We should wash up,” she said, turning around to look for the pelt she’d worn. “Didn’t you say that there are warm pools to bathe in here?”
The pelt came down over her shoulders, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. She let out a shaky breath.
“I’ll take you there.”
They encountered no one on their way to the bath, so Indigo hadn’t expected that the room would already be occupied. The air was warm, and the pool was much larger than she’d expected. The water had a blue green glow that illuminated the cavern and the four shifters that were currently bathing.
She recognized three of them, though only one was from her pack. Kya lounged in the water with her arms spread across the rim of the pool. At some point, she had taken her braids out, leaving her dark hair in long, fluffy waves. She was saying something to Sylvestre, but they both turned to face Sten and Indigo as they approached.
The other wolf she recognized was Ciel, whose white hair was black at the roots. He was every bit as scarred as the other Amarok males that she’d seen, though they didn’t make him look quite so handsome, probably because many were on his face. He had an arm hooked around a petite blonde Amarok female, and although he was speaking to her, her big blue eyes watched Sylvestre warily.
It was obvious by their scents that Sylvestre and Kya had slept together the night before, which was a relief to Indigo. She hoped it meant that she’d be getting no sly looks from the other female, and that did turn out to be the case. Kya only gave her a pleasant smile, while Sten and Sylvestre greeted one another with nods of acknowledgement. It all felt so causal that Indigo started feeling comfortable.
That lasted up until Sten removed his pelt, and she caught Kya and the other female eyeing his naked body. She jerked off her own pelt, tossing it aside with a little too much force, and then walked over to the edge to dip her toes in the water. It wasn’t just warm, it was quite hot.
“Is this safe?” she asked.
She heard Kya laugh. “She’s never taken a hot bath before.”
“Seriously?” Sylvestre asked.
Indigo looked up to see Kya making a pouty face. “The baths in Siluit are ice cold.”
Sten came up behind Indigo, putting his hands on her waist. “It may be a little uncomfortable at first, but you’ll grow accustomed to it.”
Despite the heat, she shivered.
“And then, you’ll never be able to take a cold bath again,” Ciel said.
Sten stepped around her, climbing into the pool without the slightest hesitation. The water came up to his neck.
“How deep is it?” she asked.
Sten reached his hands up towards her. “Come.”
Swallowing hard, she put her hands in his and let him pull her into the steaming water. It was uncomfortable, particularly on her sore nether regions, but after a moment spent clinging to Sten’s chest, she did grow accustomed to the temperature.
“Whatever you do, don’t let her go,” Sylvestre said wryly. He mussed up Kya’s hair. “If she’s anything like her friend here, then she can’t swim either.”
Normally, touching Kya’s hair resulted in a black eye. Indigo had even seen Zane duck a punch for the offense, though it had been when he and Kya were both juveniles. But when Sylvestre did it, Kya only elbowed him in the side, and there was a small smile on her lips.
“I can swim in my wolf form,” Indigo said, remembering the night she’d cross the inlet to get to Sten. “Just not in human form.”
Kya came to her defense. “Yeah, swimming on my stomach makes sense, but standing straight up? What do you do, just kick at the water? Never works for me.” She glanced at Indigo. “I think we’ll have plenty of time to practice though. I’ve heard a rumor that we’re going to be staying here until the end of winter.”
Indigo’s eyes widened and she felt a fluttering of excitement in her belly. “Where did you hear that?”
“It’s not a rumor,” the blonde female said. She had a lyrical voice that was sullied by a snotty tone. “Astrid told me so this morning. It’s all she wanted to talk about, how she’ll get to spend so much time with her stupid sister. I told her that I don’t think we can be friends anymore. If I have to spend the rest of my winter listening to a crying pup—”
“Shut up, Ila,” Sylvestre said, causing the female’s mouth to immediately snap shut. He looked at Sten. “Did Erik tell you about this?”
“Last I spoke to him, he was t
aking the matter under consideration.”
Indigo was surprised that Sten hadn’t mentioned it to her, though she wasn’t sure when he would have had the opportunity. They hadn’t spoken before he’d pounced on her the night before, and after that she wouldn’t have wanted to waste a moment talking.
“I suppose it’s a good thing,” Sylvestre said, stretching his long arms. “But I’m not sure how we’re going to feed them all when we’re already on rations ourselves. Speaking of which, Ciel and I are going to scout the western pass, see if we can find any muskoxen by the lake. Erik suggested we bring you.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Sten said flatly.
Indigo gingerly washed herself up as the males talked. She tried engaging Kya in conversation a couple times, but Kya seemed more interested in inserting herself into Sten and Sylvestre’s discussion. She kept looking up at Sylvestre with doe eyes, and Indigo couldn’t fathom what he’d done to make her so smitten. The only male who’d ever held Kya’s attention for any length of time had been Zane, and she had never mooned over him like this.
When Sylvestre climbed out of the pool, Kya followed, offering to join him for the hunt. This time, it was Indigo’s turn to laugh. Half the reason Kya kept her hair braided was so that she’d have an excuse not to be ordered to hunt.
“I don’t have a lot of experience with tracking,” Kya said, shooting Indigo a dirty look. “But I’m a fast learner.”
Sylvestre eyed her speculatively, before saying, “Now isn’t really the time for us to gamble with our food supply. If you want to learn, Ila can take you hunting for rabbits.”
Ila flinched as he looked at her. “Yes,” she said tightly. “I can teach you.”
Kya looked none too pleased, but she nodded.
As Sylvestre was drying himself, Kya’s nose wrinkled. Indigo instinctively sniffed the air, and was surprised to smell Coral and Lake. She could tell by her scent that Coral was no longer fertile, but she did smell strongly of old sweat. A moment later they both appeared, and Lake’s arm was around Coral’s waist, holding her upright as Coral walked slowly on shaky legs.
If Lake was right, then it had been a week since Coral had been able to eat anything, and it showed in her gaunt cheeks and sunken eyes. Rather than diminishing her natural beauty, it made Coral look vulnerable and delicate.
“There you are,” Lake growled, glaring at Kya.
As Kya looked away in embarrassment, Indigo remembered that Kya was supposed to have taken over for Lake the night before. She definitely couldn’t have done that and spent the night in Sylvestre’s bed.
“Sorry, I fell asleep.”
Lake looked between her and Sylvestre, who was toweling his long mane of hair. “Don’t insult me, I can smell him all over you.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Kya grumbled. “But I figured it was almost over. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
Coral rubbed her faced. Weakly, she said, “I’m hungry.”
“You have to wash up first,” Lake said.
Lake released her hold on Coral as they neared the edge of the water, and Coral staggered, falling to the side. Indigo was too far to have caught her, but she pushed herself over to the edge stretching out her arms. It was Sylvestre who caught her, and he gave Lake a look that was so sharp that even Indigo found herself backing away.
Coral folded against him like a ragdoll. As he lifted her up into his arms, Indigo was reminded of Erik and Astrid, mostly because he was so much bigger than her. Sylvestre carried her the rest of the way to the water, and then passed her off to Indigo and Kya.
“Take her over there,” he said, pointing towards one side of the pool. “It should be shallow enough for you to stand there and bathe her.”
Sten helped them to get Coral over to the shallow area. Sylvestre watched them the whole time, not taking his eyes from Coral until Ciel was calling for him to go.
Coral spent most of her bath slumped against Indigo’s chest, sleeping and drooling. While she and Kya washed Coral up, Sten spoke briefly with the female named Ila. From what she managed to overhear in between Kya and Lake’s bickering, Ila seemed to be concerned that Sylvestre was plotting against her. For what, Indigo had no idea, and Sten didn’t seem to take her very seriously. Despite her attractiveness, Indigo did not feel that jealous of Ila. She had a pouty look to her, and it was obvious that Sten didn’t like her.
Sten left first, heading out to get Halley. It was almost half an hour before Indigo managed to get Coral washed and dried, still doing most of the work herself. She did manage to get Kya to help carry Coral from the room, though Coral woke halfway up and insisted on walking herself.
As they entered the chilly Siluit quarters, Kya was explaining the room divisions to Coral. Another fight sparked up when she asked where Coral would like to rest and have her things brought to.
“I don’t want to be around anyone,” Coral said. “I just want to be left alone.”
Lake made a sound of disgust. “It’s that attitude that makes everyone hate you, Coral.”
“Lake,” Indigo snapped. “Why would you say that?”
“I don’t need you defending me,” Coral sneered, jerking away from Indigo.
Indigo was taken aback, and then pissed off. Every time she started feeling bad for Coral, she turned nasty all over again.
Before she could say anything, their attention was turned to Tallow, who was stomping down the hall right towards them.
“There you are,” she hissed as she seized Indigo by the arm. “You were supposed to be here first thing in the morning.”
Indigo gasped. “Is everything all right?”
“No, everything is not all right. We’ve been looking for you for an hour but this den is a fucking death trap of a maze.”
Indigo pulled her arm free. “Will you stop ranting and tell me what’s going on?”
Tallow whirled around. “What do you think is going on? Ginnifer is...” She shook her hands in a gesture of confusion. “Her waters have broken.”
* * *
Ginnifer was lying flushed and sweating in bed when Indigo arrived, toting her bulky medical bag. Ginnifer appeared uncomfortable, but not in any more pain than usual, which set Indigo at ease. At least, until the mob descended upon her.
She’d expected Zane and Tallow to be there, but it seemed that half the females in the pack had also clustered around Ginnifer, some offering words of support and comfort, and others squabbling about what should be done. Indigo had not yet set her bag down when they crowded around her, speaking over one another to fill her in on what she had missed.
Indigo shouldered her way through them to get to Ginnifer. Zane was by her side, and Indigo stiffened as his eyes narrowed on her.
“I apologize,” she said, unwilling to make excuses for herself. She doubted the bath had been able to fully wash away Sten’s scent, and anyone who smelled her would have been able to infer where she’d been and what she’d been doing.
“You’re here now,” Zane said, his features softening as he looked down at his mate. “That’s what matters.”
Indigo kneeled beside Ginnifer, ignoring the females that shuffled around behind her. “Tallow said your water broke. Are you having contractions?”
Ginnifer opened her mouth to respond, but her face contorted with a grimace, and only a low whine came out. She seized Indigo’s hand and squeezed it hard enough to make Indigo wince.
The females began talking all at once. Yakone instructed Ginnifer on how to breathe, and was immediately contradicted by Jery and Tula, both of whom knew of ways to breathe that would lessen the pain. Tallow opted for a completely different strategy, and informed Ginnifer that she shouldn’t already be whining, as this was nothing compared to how much pain she would be in later. That prompted Zane to snap at Tallow, and as the two argued, Ginnifer began to cry.
Indigo managed to tune them out while she listened to Luken’s heartbeat, but it was hard. When she sat up, she took one look at Ginnifer�
�s tear-streaked face, and then stood. She was not the tallest in the room, but the glare she threw around commanded everyone’s attention.
“It’s hot in here, and I can’t hear myself think with all of you flapping your mouths. Get out.”
For a moment, no one moved, and it took Indigo narrowing her eyes to slits to get most of them to leave. Tallow lingered, but a few choice words from Zane had the beta female muttering expletives as she stalked out. When it was just the three of them, Indigo fixed her attention on Zane.
“You, too.” Before he could protest, she went on to say, “You make me nervous, and I can’t be nervous right now. Please go, take a walk, get some fresh air, keep yourself busy, and I’ll send for you once your son is here.”
To her amazement, Zane nodded. “Give us a minute?”
Indigo busied herself with unpacking her bag. She tried not to overtly listen in as her brother spoke words of love and encouragement to his mate. Briefly, she doubted her decision to make him leave, but once he’d finally left, Ginnifer let out a long sigh and cast her a grateful look.
“Thank you. It was so much harder, seeing how worried he was.”
Indigo understood her perfectly. “Now that it’s just us, tell me what’s happened so far.”
She listened as Ginnifer quickly recounted her morning, sheepishly adding that she’d been having contractions since the night before, but hadn’t wanted to worry anyone. As she spoke, the next contraction came, and she took Indigo’s hand again and squeezed. As she waited for it to pass, a feeling of calm came over Indigo, peaceful waves hiding an undertow of fear, anticipation, and excitement.
I can do this.
Chapter 21
For something that was so long in the making, Luken arrived quickly. Indigo hadn’t been with Ginnifer two hours before she was placing the wriggling pup on his mother’s chest. By the third hour, Zane and Astrid were by Ginnifer’s side, marveling over the tiny new life.
In a cool basin of water, Indigo finished washing her hands. She pressed the damp cloth to her face, wiping up the tears that had fallen. She’d managed to stay calm—remarkably calm—the entire time, even when she’d first seen Luken’s beautiful face, but when she’d seen her brother see his son for the first time, emotions had overwhelmed her.
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 17
