“We should give them some privacy,” Astrid said, coming to crouch beside her.
Indigo reluctantly nodded. Ginnifer was in Zane’s arms now, all cleaned up and content, with Luken asleep at her breast. Indigo wanted badly to stay and spend more time with them. She’d been so busy tending to Ginnifer that she’d only had one chance to hold him, and that was under the pretense of examining him.
There will be plenty of time later, she told herself.
It seemed that there was now a lot for Indigo to look forward to, so it made no sense that looking at Luken made her chest ache. It was a small feeling, one that couldn’t possibly overshadow how thrilled she was.
She and Astrid said goodbye. Zane gave a vague response and Ginnifer didn’t even look up. A small crowd of shifters had gathered outside of the room, all expecting to be able to come in and see the new pup. While Indigo dealt with Tallow, Astrid reassured them all that they’d get to see the pup later, when Zane and Ginnifer invited them in.
“You did so great in there,” Astrid said as they were making their way down the hall. “I really hope you can be here when I give birth. I have nightmares about Ila and Lusa squatting over my… It’s actually kind of gross. I won’t go into details.”
Indigo smiled, though it was mostly out of giddiness. “Are you kidding? That was exhilarating. Of course I’ll be here for you. I wouldn’t dare miss it.”
They ran into Erik a moment later. The alpha was swathed in a black pelt and his hair was tied in a knot at the back of his neck. He looked much better rested than the last time Indigo had seen him, but no less scary. There was a hard edge to him that made her wolf want to give him a wide berth, and seeing how much Astrid adored him did nothing to ease that instinctive wariness.
Nose wrinkling, he asked, “What is that smell?”
“The miracle of childbirth,” Astrid said, throwing her arms around his broad torso. “You have a nephew!”
Erik snorted. “I do not. That pup is in no way related to me.”
“You’re my mate.” Even with him leaning down, Astrid had to jump to be able to kiss Erik on the cheek. “That makes you my family.”
Erik scowled, but he pulled her into a loose embrace. “I came to bring you back to your room. You’re supposed to be resting.”
“But Indigo and I are going to go eat a celebratory meal,” she protested.
Erik looked at Indigo for the first time, arching a brow. It made him look more like his brother than usual, and she felt a pang of longing. She wanted to find Sten.
“Actually, I’m kind of worn out. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Erik eyed her for a little too long, and she grew self-conscious wondering if he knew about her and Sten. But he only said, “Hn” before walking away with his mate in tow. Astrid gave her an awkward wave as her mate hauled her around a bend.
She liked Astrid a lot, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever get the chance to know the other female like she did Ginnifer, not with the way Erik hoarded her for himself. She was glad that Sten wasn’t that domineering, though she was willing to admit that she wouldn’t mind if he were a little more possessive of her.
Indigo was disappointed when she didn’t see Sten in the main room. She sniffed the air, but it was difficult to pinpoint his trail in the den’s primary thoroughfare. She started across the room, intent on heading back to the room to sleep, but halfway through, Halley and Maia barreled into her, asking if Indigo wanted to play with them. Indigo agreed and brought them back to Sten’s room, hoping to trick them into a game of naps.
* * *
Sten already wanted another bath. The hunt hadn’t left him particularly dirty, but it had pushed his tired muscles to their limits, and he would enjoy a nice, warm soak.
On his way to the pool, he caught Indigo and Halley’s scents coming from the direction of his room. His steps faltered, and before desire had turned into conscious thought, he was heading in their direction.
He had not been focused on the hunt that day, and it had shown, though not even Sylvestre had been bold enough to call him out. His mind had been on Indigo, and it had been impossible to push her out when his wolf kept forcing images of her to the forefront. The wolf hadn’t been the least bit interested in hunting, and Sten had spent most of the day struggling to keep moving forward, when all the animal wanted to do was turn back. It was much harder to control his wolf when they both wanted the same thing.
When he pulled up the door hangings, Sten couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Indigo was lying down, one arm over her eyes to block the lantern light and the other hanging limp off the side of the couch. Halley and Maia were on either side of Indigo, braiding her hair.
When they noticed Sten, both pups immediately dropped Indigo’s hair. Maia stared at him wide-eyed, with her hands behind her back, as though by hiding them she could disassociate herself from what they’d done. Halley looked more defensive than worried.
“She said we could braid her hair,” Halley whispered.
Sten stepped into the room, removing his wet outer pelt as he approached his daughter. He let it fall on top of her.
“Papa,” Halley grumbled, pushing the pelt aside.
“If she did tell you that you could do this, I don’t think this is what she had in mind.”
Indigo’s hair was a mess of braids that were all different sizes, with loose hair spaced unevenly between them. Looking at her, it was difficult not to laugh.
“How long has she been asleep?” he asked, sitting down on the edge beside Indigo. She stirred a little, but didn’t wake.
“A long time,” Halley said, taking a seat on Sten’s lap. “She sleeps just like Uncle Erik.”
Maia climbed over the back of the couch. “She said she was going to play with us, but then all she did was go to sleep.”
“Astrid’s sister had her pup today,” Halley told him.
“So I heard,” Sten said.
It had been all anyone had been talking about when they’d arrived back at the den. Even Erik had been in unusually good spirits, and had given the hunters permission to divide half of their haul among the pack and give the other half to the Siluit wolves.
“We weren’t allowed to see him, though,” Maia said sadly.
“You probably won’t, not for a week or two,” Sten told her.
“Wolves are very protective of their pups,” Halley said, rubbing her head against Sten’s chest.
“Of all pups,” Sten added, patting Maia on the head. She scooted closer to him. “Especially when they’re new.”
Halley looked up at him. “Did you let anyone come near me when I was first born?”
Sten lowered his head so that they were nose to nose. “The only time I let you out of my arms was when you were being fed.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Indigo’s arm move. When he looked at her, she was staring back out of heavy-lidded eyes, a small smile on her lips. Even with her ridiculous hair, she was beautiful, and he wanted her.
“How was the hunt?” she asked, sitting up to scoop Maia into her arms.
“We caught a straggler, but the rest of the herd got away. It doesn’t look like it will snow, so we’re going to go back and track them tomorrow.”
“Can I come?” Halley asked. She ran her tongue over her small fangs. “Just to watch?”
Sten shook his head. “No, we’re already bringing some of the Siluit wolves.” He gave Indigo a sly look, before adding, “And they’re even worse hunters than you are.”
Indigo gave his side a light kick. “That’s not true.”
“I’m a very good hunter,” Halley told her.
Halley was an exceptional tracker. Her nose wasn’t the best, but with the right vantage point she could spot prey from several kilometers away, farther than Sten himself. Usually, he would have no reservations about taking a pup her age on a hunt, but she still had difficulties coping with death.
“You probably are a better hunter than me,” Indigo said re
signedly. “When I was your age, I kept rabbits as pets.”
Halley’s brows drew together. “Do you still have them?”
Indigo laughed. “No, of course not.”
“Are they the ones that Tallow made you eat?”
Indigo’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Tallow told you about that?”
Maia nodded.
“What happened?” Halley asked, crawling from Sten’s lap to sit closer to Indigo.
“Well, one day Breeze took Coral and I outside to play, and when I came back in, Tallow had cooked both of my rabbits.”
“Why would she do that?” Halley asked.
“It’s a long story, but basically I had decided that I wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. At the time, I was only eating lichen and plant roots, and they were worried I’d starve, come winter.” With obvious reluctance, she added, “As awful as what they did was, they were trying to teach me that animals were food, not pets.
“But,” she held up a finger, “I’ll have you know that I didn’t eat the rabbits. In fact, I didn’t eat anything for four days, until I passed out from hunger. That’s when my brother finally stepped in and needless to say, I never had to eat anything I didn’t want to ever again.”
Both girls were staring at her in amazement, but Indigo’s eyes flicked nervously towards Sten.
“That’s not to say that you shouldn’t listen to adults when they tell you to do something,” she said quickly. “I was not a very good pup, not like you two are.”
While she entertained the girls’ questions, Sten took her foot in his hand and began a gentle massage. He listened to them, while inwardly wishing every evening could be like this.
“Can Maia sleep in my room tonight?” Halley asked some time later.
Sten pretended to consider the question. “I suppose. If it’s all right with Boaz. Why don’t you go ask?”
Halley jumped down and made a dash for the door. “Race you, Maia!”
Maia scrambled after her, a worried look on her small face. “But it’s dark and I don’t remember the way!”
“Halley,” Sten called out. He heard his daughter skid to a halt. “Slow down and wait for your friend.”
“Oh-kay,” she sighed.
He waited another moment, listening as their noisy footsteps and chatter faded down the passageway. Then, he pounced on Indigo.
She yelped in surprise, but as soon as his body was over hers, she was opening to him. Her lips parted to let his tongue in, her arms enveloped his torso, and her legs hooked around his hips, pulling him down so that his hardening cock pressed against her center.
He’d planned on teasing her a little, but he hadn’t expected her to be so responsive so quickly, and he had to draw back before she managed to tangle him into her web.
“There’s no way we can do that before the girls are back,” Sten said, the words coming out between pants for breath.
Indigo groaned. “I know. I wish they were human. Then we could go in your room and do whatever we wanted and they’d be none the wiser.”
Sten grinned and shook his head. “They would know.”
“How?” she asked, cocking her head.
“Because you’re loud.”
Her cheeks colored. “Am not.”
His grin widened. “I can hardly breathe on you without you whimpering. Every time I thrust into you, you scream.”
“T-That’s only because we were alone. You’ll see. Next time, I’ll be very quiet.”
He gave her a sultry look. “I’m not sure I would enjoy that as much.”
Sten knew that he needed to change the subject if he had any hope of not being aroused by the time his daughter returned. He sat up, and returned to his end of the couch. Indigo pouted a little, but didn’t follow.
“How is Ginnifer?” he asked.
“She’s great,” Indigo said. “I’m going to check on her again before bed, but everything went so smoothly. And Luken, he was just the most beautiful thing ever. He looks just like my brother.”
“And how are you feeling?”
The question seemed to surprise her. “Me? Oh, I’m…exhilarated. It was an incredible experience. I was scared, but I stayed so calm, you wouldn’t have known it.”
He listened to her recount the story of Luken’s birth in full detail. Had he not been present for Halley’s birth, it might have been too much detail for his stomach to handle. The girls came back just as Indigo was finishing up, and he was glad, until he noticed that their brood had tripled.
Halley led the way, followed by Maia, Piper, Jada, and two other female pups whose names Sten could not recall, if he’d ever been told them in the first place.
“Boaz said it was okay,” Halley said, on the defensive again.
“I’m sure he did,” Sten said dryly. He waved a hand towards her room. “Go, before I change my mind.”
Halley flashed him a smile, before herding the girls to her room. Only Jada lingered, and she fixed Indigo with disgusted look.
“Your hair is ugly.”
She headed in after the other girls before she could see Indigo rolling her eyes.
Indigo fingered her braids with a grimace. “I did wake up when they started,” she said. “But I was so tired and I figured at least they weren’t asking me to play, so I went back to sleep.”
Sten laughed, and she took it as an invitation to climb into his lap. She sat with her legs primly folded to one side, but he knew that if they were alone, she’d be straddling him.
“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” she asked.
He put an arm around her waist. “We were leaving at first light, but Erik called a meeting in the morning, so it’ll probably be closer to noontime.”
“Can I go with you?” she asked. “If Ginnifer and Luken are well, that is.”
The prospect of having her with him should have been appealing, but it made him uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We’ll be gone most of the night, and it’s dangerous. Most of the region is comprised of frozen lakes. I’ve seen wolves fall through the ice and disappear. I’d rather you stay here in the den.”
Granted, that had been in the springtime, when the ice began to melt and each step was a gamble, but he didn’t want to take a risk like that with Indigo.
Indigo leaned in to kiss his neck. “Please?”
Sten frowned. “Are you trying to seduce me into saying yes?”
She kissed him again, and he could feel her hot breath clinging to his skin. “Will it work?”
“No. I already know you’d give me whatever I wanted no matter what I said.”
He felt her pointed canines nip at his neck. It was a playful bite, but it sent fire shooting through him, and he was rock hard again in an instant.
“You think so?” she asked, rubbing her soft bottom against him.
“Indigo…”
Sten hoped that sounded like a warning and not a groan. He threw a glance over his shoulder to where the girls were sitting in a circle and chatting, oblivious to the adults a few meters away. His nose picked up a sharp, chemical smell that he recognized as nail polish. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Halley painting her nails, but he knew that it meant she wouldn’t be leaving the room any time soon.
Lifting Indigo up by the thighs, he hauled her from the room and out into the chilled passageway. Laughing, she clung to his back and buried her head in his neck.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
Sten carried her until he couldn’t hear the girls anymore, and then he turned to back her against the wall.
“Right here.”
* * *
“What?” Indigo looked both ways down the dark tunnel. “Here? Anyone could walk by and see us.”
Sten’s hand slipped under the fur she was wearing, and she let out a strangled sound as he cupped her sex.
“Tell me to stop, and I will.”
Their eyes locked. Indigo inhaled and exhaled twice without speaking, and then
he pushed two fingers inside of her. His mouth came down on hers, muffling her cry.
When he’d used his tongue on her the night before, she had been too shocked to thoroughly appreciate it, so she wasn’t sure if this felt better. If it had just been his fingers, curling and uncurling inside of her, she would have been beyond pleased. But he was also using the heel of his palm, grinding hard circles against her clitoris.
Her heart pounded and her entire body trembled as she moaned into Sten’s mouth. The harder she shook, the more he increased the pressure, until she was near convulsing with the force of her orgasm.
When her cries had died down to soft whimpers, he released her mouth. She gasped for breath, suddenly realizing that she was in dire need of oxygen. Sten pulled his hand from between her legs, and her head swam as she watched him lick his fingers clean.
He kissed her again, and she could taste herself in his mouth. She kissed him back in earnest, her hand seeking out his hard length. Before she could find it, he was thrusting inside of her. She did scream then. She knew he’d be smug about it later, but she didn’t care. It felt so incredible being filled by him, and she got a sharp jolt of pleasure each time he crashed into the back of her passage.
Sten broke away from her mouth, one of his hands quickly coming up to muffle her cries. His head went to her neck, where she heard him inhale deeply.
You’re mine. No one else’s. Ever.
They were her words—stupid words she’d impulsively said to him that morning, but she almost thought she heard Sten say them. In the next instant, she felt his fangs sink into her skin.
She was aware of the pain, but it was secondary to the climax that crashed into her like a glass wall. She had still been coming down from her previous climax, and there had been no buildup, just white-hot lightning searing her body. Sten continued to thrust inside of her, drawing out the climax until the only sound she could make was a guttural whining. Only after his body had gone rigid and then relaxed after his own release, did Sten pull his fangs from her neck.
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 18
