by Cara Wylde
“There’s no time to waste. Meet me here when you’re done packing. A private plane is waiting for us at the Myrtle Valley airport.”
Amelia just realized she hadn’t had lunch, and it was almost dinner time. She felt weak, hungry, and exhausted, but she knew she had to hang in there just a while longer. Surely, that private plane he was talking about must have had some snacks lying around. Come to think of it, it didn’t sound that bad. Blake Sylfur was wealthy, powerful, and ready to provide everything she needed. She wouldn’t have to work a day in her life or worry about a thing. The only downfall would be Seth. Seth and his hot, leather-clad ass.
CHAPTER TWO
Clan Sylfur
Never in her life had Amelia felt so tired. The flight from Myrtle Valley to Alaska was supposed to last a little over 25 hours, and not even half of that time had passed. They had boarded the plane at around 7 PM London time, and they had a light dinner during which Amelia could barely focus on her food. Every time she took a bite, she chewed slowly, silently, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Sitting across from Seth had proved to be the hardest challenge Amelia had ever had to face. At first, she had tried to make conversation, but Seth's monosyllabic answers had completely discouraged her. Frankly, she couldn't understand why he was so cold and silent towards her, and his attitude even hurt her a little, although she wasn't ready to admit it. So, she had given up her attempts at being friendly and decided to leave him alone. The problem was that the lack of conversation and friendly interaction made things even worse. It would have been so much better if they had managed to bond as some sort of friends, had become more relaxed around each other and talked about various things, and maybe discovered they didn't have much in common… Maybe, if Amelia could start seeing him as a friend or, later, as an elder brother, this tension that was hanging in the air and pressing down on their shoulders would have eventually dissipated. But, as things were, Amelia was left with her own thoughts, most of which dancing around the gorgeous man sitting right in front of her. Their knees could have touched if she leaned back in her comfy seat.
At some point, she fell asleep. She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help it. Seth wasn’t giving any signs of exhaustion. He was reading his book, not even once lifting his beautiful purple eyes from the pages to look at her. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought back to Alma Venus, to Delyse and Claudia. A sharp pain stabbed at her heart. She hadn’t had enough time to say goodbye, to thank them for having been so nice to her even when she didn’t deserve it, for being… the only friends she had ever had. Seth had rushed her, saying the trip was going to be long and tiring, so Amelia had only had time to answer her roommates’ most pressing questions and ask them to help her pack her things. She had left many clothes behind, but she figured she wouldn’t need them anyway. Her new home was going to be so cold that she would probably refuse to wear anything but thick, warm blankets wrapped tightly around her body. Blankets… Amelia stirred and moaned softly in her sleep. Oh, how she would have loved to be in a big, warm bed right now.
Seth raised his eyes from his book and stole a glance at the woman sitting across from him. When he saw that she was, indeed, asleep, he let his gaze linger on her beautiful features and amazing body. “What have I done?” he asked himself. He bit the inside of his lip so hard that he almost drew blood. He had tried to ignore her, to let her know he wasn’t interested in her. No, he didn’t want to make small talk, he didn’t want to hear her soft, melodious voice, or see the mesmerizing curl of her full lips when she smiled. He would have sat far away from her if he could have, but this stupid plane was ridiculously small. He envied her for being able to sleep. He, on the other hand, was too excited and agitated to even manage to keep his eyes closed for more than five minutes, so he would have to endure the whole 25-hour flight wide awake, perfectly aware of Amelia’s every little move which sent the faintest wave of sweet perfume towards his sensitive nose. He could smell her skin, her hair, and catch the smallest whiff of her slightly damp panties; a scent that drove him crazy with desire and made his mind go in circles wondering if he was the cause of her arousal or if she was dreaming of someone else as her eyes chased the images under her closed lids. Seth changed his position and discreetly adjusted his hard cock. He sighed, rubbed his eyes, then forced himself to go back to the book. He was half way thought Murakami’s “IQ84” and had no idea what he was reading. He was either too distracted by Amelia’s presence, or magical realism really wasn’t for him.
The position she was sleeping in was very uncomfortable, and Amelia woke up after an hour and a half with a terrible pain in her left shoulder. She groaned, shifted in her seat, then reached for the book she had abandoned beside her. Seth was still reading. She studied him from the corner of her eye and immediately cursed herself when her pussy clenched and released more sticky juices. She crossed her legs, hoping the fox-shifter was too concentrated or indifferent to catch the smell. If she wanted to survive this long flight without giving herself away, then she had to stop looking at his wide shoulders, strong chest, and, most importantly, at his crotch. The tight leather would certainly let some of his package show if only he changed his position. Was he sitting like that on purpose? So frustrating…
Amelia managed to focus on her book for a good couple of hours. She was glad she had chosen a detective novel, as the suspense kept her glued to the pages. “In the Woods” by Tana French… yes, a very good choice. She just hoped both mysteries would be solved by the end of the story, otherwise she was determined not to touch any of this author’s books again. Between trying to guess who the murderer was before the main character, having some snacks, asking the flight attendant for cup of tea after cup of tea, and dozing off every hour or so, Amelia finally realized they were nearing their destination.
“The time zone difference is going to mess with my head,” she said more to herself than to Seth while she was fastening her seatbelt.
“Yeah, it’s gonna suck for at least a week.”
It was the first time he had said anything in a few hours and his voice was hoarse. It went straight to Amelia’s core. She tried to relax and forget about the landing. It was the first time she was flying, but she had a feeling this was the part she’d hate most. And then it struck her: this was so pathetic. Yes, she had studied language, philosophy, physics and whatnot at Alma Venus, she could speak three languages fluently, yet she had no life experience. She looked at Seth’s relaxed, almost bored face, and felt so small and insignificant. The first time she was on a plane, the first time she was leaving the UK… She knew nothing. Just like all shifter-brides. Not only those who were still at Alma Venus, but the brides all over the world, living in their fancy, glass cages called boarding schools… They never traveled, saw the world, met new people. Amelia was holding her breath and looking at Seth as the plane landed. “I’m so stupid… he’d never want me anyway. Look at him, so cocky and confident, so indifferent. How old is he? 50? 70? He’s probably at least 100 since he’s the Beta of such a powerful Alpha fox. He’s seen so many things, been so many places… loved so many women…” She released the breath she had been holding and swallowed hard. “No, he’d never want silly me who learned everything she knows from old, dusty books.”
***
Ekviknuna was a small town in the west, on the shore of the Kuskokwim river. At least that was how Seth described it to Amelia as soon as they got off the plane. Amelia would have described it otherwise: a small community that very much resembled a village, a place in the middle of nowhere where the only humans were the Vulpes brides who had been bought by the werefoxes. Said werefoxes clearly loved fishing. At least a dozen boats were gently swaying along the shore, on the silent surface of the water. She couldn't complain about the houses, though. Seth parked the car in the large courtyard of a lovely mansion whose wooden porch and wide windows with green painted shutters promised a cozy inside. While wolf-shifters loved to brag with their medieval castles and dragons lo
st themselves in their enormous and ridiculously expensive palaces, fox-shifters adored the comfort of their pretty mansions, usually built as close as possible to rivers filled with delicious fish.
“This way, please.”
Seth took one of her bags and motioned for her to follow him into the house. He hadn't held the car door open for her, and Amelia slammed it just a tad harder than necessary to show him she didn't appreciate the way she was treated. He simply kept walking, paying her no mind, and she sighed. The loud noise did get someone's attention, as a tall, brown-haired young man opened the door, greeted Seth and waited with a huge smile on his lips for them to go in.
“Aaron, take care of the rest of her luggage, will you?”
Seth really did refuse to be nice to anyone, didn't he? The young man, Aaron, rolled his eyes and closed the door behind them.
“Sure. Later.” He turned to Amelia and graced her with a large, warm smile. “Hi! I'm Aaron.”
Amelia stared at his extended hand for a second, then remembered what she was supposed to do and shook it hesitantly.
“Amelia. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, it's such a pleasure to have you here. We've all been waiting for you.”
“All...?” She was confused, but the guy seemed honest. His round, purple eyes were drinking her in as if she was the eighth wonder of the world, as if he had never thought she actually existed and was finally here, in this house.
“I'm taking your bag to your room,” said Seth grumpily. “It's on the first floor, second door to the left.” Without another word, he started up the stairs, leaving Amelia with the friendly, slightly weird stranger. Little did she know Aaron would become one of her best friends ever.
“I'm sorry, you must be tired and hungry...”
“More tired than hungry,” she said, a frozen, awkward smile on her face. “What time is it?”
“Almost 11 AM.” He opened the door and ran to the car to grab the luggage Seth had asked him to carry to her room. He left the door open and Amelia went to hold it for him. The three bags were heavy, but that was not a problem for the fox-shifter. They were, however, rather round and voluminous, and hard to maneuver through the door without some help.
“Let's go upstairs before Seth comes looking for us. I'm one of the Ninkos, by the way. Just in case you were wondering... I mean, I'm not a lackey or anything even though grumpy Seth sometimes likes to treat me like that. He's a good guy, actually. He's just really stressed. We all are.”
They reached the landing of the first floor. Just as the werewolves, the werefoxes had two Deltas. In the foxes' ranking system they were called Ninkos.
“Mmm... Why are you stressed?” It was a good thing Aaron was so chatty. Maybe she could finally get answers to the pressing questions her brain had tortured her with in the past 24 hours.
“Seth didn't tell you? It's Roman. He's getting worse every day and the doctors have no idea what to do.”
“He told me something... Blake...” She took a deep breath before she said the next words. “My husband... will take his place as Inari.”
“Yes. That's why we're so happy you're here. Oh, Roman will love you!” They had entered the room and Seth shot Aaron an exasperated look. The young fox-shifter ignored him. “He's been trying to convince his son to buy a bride for years. All he's ever wanted was to see his grandchildren before... you know...” He trailed off and busied himself with carrying her bags near the wardrobe, where he saw Seth had left his.
“That's enough, Aaron, she's tired.”
“It's okay,” intervened Amelia. “I slept on the plane and I'm not that tired. I don't intend to sleep today, so maybe Aaron can show me around after I take a shower?”
Aaron smiled widely at her, not before throwing Seth a triumphant look. “It would be my pleasure!”
Seth raised a thick, dark eyebrow. Why was the Ninko so enthusiastic, and why had Amelia bonded with him so quickly? Aaron simply talked too much. “I'll show you around. Blake asked me to introduce you to the members of the clan who live in Ekviknuna and tell you a couple of things about the Sylfurs.”
Aaron deflated a bit but didn't say anything. Amelia watched him amused. Yes, she liked the cute, chirpy Ninko. His soft, almost childish features were in deep contrast with his strong, bulky muscles. He looked like a teenager trapped in an adult's body.
“Well, I'll go give the good news to Roman.”
“Yeah, you do that.” Seth turned to Amelia. “I'll go give the news to Blake and be back in an hour. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
The two fox-shifters left the room, Aaron with an enthusiastic “see you later” and Seth with a frown on his handsome face. Amelia was finally alone, free to cringe at the idea that she was suddenly the main point of attraction of an entire fox clan. “I've just got here. They're not really expecting me to get pregnant right away, are they? I haven't even met the infamous Blake...” She sighed and knelt in front of her bags. She opened the first one and started digging for clean clothes and her toiletries. “You're a shifter-bride, Amelia. You can do this. You were trained to do this.” She had always been good at encouraging herself in moments of pressure, and she needed all the encouragement in the world right now. “I think I miss Delyse and Claudia. Even Avelyn. Yeah, it would have been nice to have Avelyn here with me. Maybe she could have told me how a newly bought bride deals with her husband…” She took out a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a fluffy cardigan, just in case she might need it later. Summer in Alaska was warm, but not too warm, and it could get really chilly in the evening.
Amelia stood up and looked around the room, trying to spot the bathroom.
“Well, this isn’t bad,” she whispered to herself.
Her bedroom was not very large, but very comfortable and well organized. The bed was covered in thick blankets and two huge pillows. There was a big TV on the opposite wall, a desk with a computer by the window, and every inch of the wooden floor was covered with soft pelts. She could probably walk barefoot and her feet wouldn’t freeze in the cold winter days. But what she loved most about the room was the small fireplace on the same wall where the TV was. There was also a comfy armchair she could move in front of it, so Amelia immediately decided that was how she was going to spend the long Alaskan winters: curled up in the armchair, in front of the fireplace, with a cup of hot tea or chocolate and a book.
“If this is my room…” she thought out loud. “Seth said this is my room, he never mentioned anything about Blake. Hmm… I wonder how this will work.”
The moment she stepped into the bathroom, she almost changed her mind about the quick shower. It was hard to opt for the small shower cabin on the far wall when she had a rather large bathtub right in the middle of the room. But there was no time for a long, bubbly bath when she only had one hour before Seth came back up to show her around the estate. It would also make her sleepy when what she really needed was a lukewarm, invigorating spray of water to wake her up and energize her enough to make it through the day. Ekviknuna was 9 hours behind Myrtle Valley. If she were at Alma Venus right now, she would’ve just had dinner. Her stomach growled at the simple thought of food. She needed something more consistent than what she had had on the plane.
Amelia threw her worn clothes in the laundry bin by the door and stepped under the shower. She sighed and tried to relax her muscles. Her whole body had been so tense during the entire flight that all she could think of was how nice a massage would feel right about now. But then, what would be the use of it if she was going to get all stiff and tense the moment Seth would come to get her? “I really need to figure this out,” she thought. “This situation sucks so much.” Why did she have to fall so hard for the hot, hunky Yako? There had only been two days. All she could hope was for Blake to be even hotter, more interesting and intriguing than his Beta. Maybe what she had for Seth was silly infatuation that would go away in time. Maybe it was nothing to worry about. It couldn’t be love, right? People needed so much more to t
ruly fall in love with someone: physical attraction, yes, but also common interests, great conversation, the feeling that they belonged with the other. So far, Amelia couldn’t identify more than physical attraction between her and Seth. “It might not even be mutual,” she thought while working the shampoo in her wavy, brown hair. She decided to stop thinking about Seth and focus on her husband. She’d meet him soon, she knew that. Maybe Seth would take her straight to Blake. What was he like? Would he be kind to her? Would he like her? What if he didn’t like her? She had never heard of a shifter-bride being sent back to the boarding school, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. “In Miss Delacroix’s office I only passed the first and easiest tests. The one that really matters is about to come.”
She rinsed her hair and applied some balm, then quickly washed the rest of her body. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She turned off the shower and reached for the fluffy towel. She dried herself and put on her clothes as fast as she could, realizing she needed at least fifteen minutes to blow dry her hair and put on some make-up. She looked at herself in the mirror and cringed at the deep, dark circles under her eyes. “Blake can’t see me like this…” she told herself. Or was it Seth? She shook her head, smiled, then looked into her own eyes in the mirror. “Now, listen to me: stop thinking about the guy. You can’t have him. He’s just a Beta. You’re the bride of an Alpha, for God’s sake! Act like one!” There. The self-scolding should do the trick.
***
Roman Sylfur’s mansion was the largest and most imposing in Ekviknuna, but Seth didn’t bother to show her all of it. He vaguely pointed to the left wing, where the main Inari spent most of his days and where Blake’s room was, close to his father’s. Amelia threw a curious glance down the corridor, her perky ears trying to catch the slightest sound of movement. The utter silence made her shudder and wrap her cardigan tighter around her. That part of the house seemed dead.
