Direwolf's Desire (Ice Age Alphas Book 3)

by Lily Thomas

  “I can’t say what he thinks since I am not him, but he is a werewolf.” Elvira lifted her arm, and Jepriz flew back to his perch on the tree root. “If you aren’t his mate, I don’t know why he would bother with you.”

  Eeep!

  Andrea wasn’t sure she could commit to being in a dedicated relationship with Rokki. She didn’t even know his mom or dad, or what his favorite animal to eat was, or how many siblings he had… which brought her to another strange thought.

  “Do werewolves birth puppies?”

  Elvira snorted as she cackled, completely disturbing Jepriz as he cawed at them to stop their loud noises.

  “What’s so funny?” Andrea folded her arms in front of her chest, the animal shirt bunching up in front of her at the movement.

  “Please ask Rokki that question when he comes back,” Elvira begged as she wiped tears off her cheeks. “In front of me. I wouldn’t want to miss seeing his face.”

  Andrea pursed one side of her mouth in annoyance. “I’m going to assume that means no.”

  Elvira shook her head. “The children are born in human form and can’t shift until they are of age. A werewolf heavy with child might not be able to shift. They do usually have multiple offspring when they deliver.”

  Yeah, no. Andrea wasn’t about to deliver any babies in the ice age. Talk about horrible medical care, and multiple babies at once? Talk about risky. “No, thanks.”

  Elvira rolled her eyes. “Then you shouldn’t bed the wolf.”

  “True.” Andrea nodded her head. They’d already had one moment of unprotected sex, which could be enough to get her pregnant. Double yikes! “I won’t have to worry about it if you would fix that bracelet.” At the raised eyebrow sent her way, Andrea quickly changed her tone, “Sorry, that came out ruder than I meant.”

  “I can’t blame you,” Elvira confessed. “I wouldn’t be thrilled about mating a wolf, either.”

  “Any particular reason?” Andrea hadn’t missed the glares and crinkled nose when Rokki was around.

  “I saw my future.”

  Vague, but intriguing. “Bad?”

  “Very,” Elvira confirmed. “A werewolf will be the end of me.”

  “I’m,” what did someone say to that? “sorry to hear that.”

  Elvira shrugged. “We all die someday. Most of us don’t see it coming, but I intend to avoid the werewolf for as long as I can.”

  Chapter 11

  Andrea swung her legs in slow back and forth motions as she sat on a large boulder right outside the mouth of the cave. Night was creeping up on the land, and the sky was once again ablaze in brilliant colors as the sun set over the horizon.

  Paste dried on her feet as she swung them through the air. After Rokki’s burst of anger, the seer had inspected Andrea’s feet and created some cream out of some of those tiny yellow flowers.

  She could have sat there all day watching the scenery. She had a sneaky suspicion that Elvira had chosen this cave on purpose. From this exact spot, Andrea could see over the forest below, and there were some distant mountains out there. She squinted as she attempted to figure out where she may be. She knew when, but where was a whole other story.

  She had to wonder what Emma was up to at this exact moment, or her mom. Did they even know she was missing? Maybe no time had passed since she was in the past, and they were in the future… which meant they hadn’t been born yet, which really hurt her head to think about.

  Andrea shook it off. She wasn’t about to think about it too hard. It was magic. That was all she needed to know.

  Any parts of her exposed skin puckered as the temperature of the air slowly dropped as the last rays of sunlight disappeared.

  “You’ll want to spend the night in the cave.” Elvira walked up beside her. Her gnarled wood staff was in one hand with Jepriz sitting on the top.

  Jepriz speared Andrea with a beady eye, and her eyes narrowed on the bird. She felt like there was some sort of intelligence in the raven. More than a normal raven. Like a human intelligence.

  “Thanks for not tossing me out.” Andrea smiled over at the other woman. “I wouldn’t survive a single night on my own.”

  “You’ll be safe here. Animals and people are scared of me. I’m considered almost evil, but they need my magic, so they visit me.”

  Andrea eyed the other woman. She was tattooed pretty heavily, but there was nothing that screamed evil to her. Elvira’s green eyes danced with an easy light, and there was always a bit of a smile curling her lips, as though she was sure of what life held and had no worries.

  “You don’t seem evil to me.”

  “Thank you.” Elvira ducked her head as a slight blush decorated her cheeks in the dark. “Now, let’s head in before any snow falls.”

  “Snow?” Andrea turned her eyes up to the sky above them. It was a bit cloudy, but snow?

  “A few flakes will fall, but it won’t stick to the ground.” Elvira turned and strode back into the cave.

  Hopping off the boulder, Andrea was quick to follow after Elvira. She didn’t want to be outside the cave when dark finished blanketing the land. No need to tempt fate when the predators come out to play.

  After a dinner of dried meat and silence, Elvira gave her a couple of furs to sleep on. Andrea unrolled the furs with a flick of her wrist and picked a spot that was clear of grass baskets and animal pouches. Then she laid down, wrapped the second fur around her, and closed her eyes.

  She wasn’t sure if she would wake up back in her hotel bed, or find herself still in the ice age… and a small part of her hoped she never saw the inside of that hotel ever again. Nothing was more exciting than this. Not that she wanted to stay around forever. At some point, she had to return home, back to her world and time.

  Every time she thought about going home, Rokki’s dashing face would appear in her mind. She’d barely known the man, the werewolf, and just the thought of him had some jitters fluttering through her… though that could be the anger she felt towards him after he trapped her in the ice age.

  Andrea tossed and turned as echoes of animal noises from outside penetrated the cave, and her inner primitive side shivered in fear.

  After what felt like a few minutes of sleeping, Andrea cracked her eyelids as chanting filled her ears. Peeking over at Elvira, she found the seer chanting, her lips barely moving. Her hands were raised above her head, and some sort of black substance was scrubbed all over her face, neck, and chest. Elvira grabbed a bowl… made of an animal skull and drank the contents, and when the seer opened her eyes, they were glazed over, appearing almost white. It was like she was in a trance.

  Another shiver raced down Andrea’s spine. Magic was definitely real in this world.

  As Elvira’s voice rose in volume, so did the flames of the fire in front of her.

  Andrea squeezed her eyes shut and waited for sleep to pull her back into a peaceful oblivion. There was only so much her mind could take in for one day.

  “Andrea.” A warm hand lightly shook her shoulder.

  Eyes cracking opening, she raised a hand to her eyes to scrape away the sleep that covered her eyelids. “What?” She croaked. The previous night had been restless, and her mind had to work double-time to figure where and when and what had happened the past few days.

  “I have come back for you.” Rokki’s deep voice wrapped her in a warm embrace.

  “Rokki? You came back?” Andrea couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over her lips as she blinked away the sleep and saw his handsome face in her line of sight.

  “I will always come for you, my Andrea.” His voice was a possessive growl that sent her stomach trembling as a million butterflies fluttered around inside her.

  His Andrea.

  His.

  Wasn’t it just last night that Elvira had told her that wolves mated for life? At some point, she might have to broach the subject with Rokki, but she didn’t want to do it with an audience.

  “How was your village doing?” She asked as she rememb
ered his reason for leaving last night. Other than being frustrated with her calling him nasty names that he probably didn’t understand. Her tone, however. That had been crystal clear.

  A smile spread across Rokki’s dangerously sexy lips, seeming pleased that she had bothered to inquire about his people. “They are well. Our meat hut is stocked, and everyone is happy.”

  “Are you taking me there?”

  Rokki grew silent as his golden eyes moved over her. “Not yet.”

  “Why not?” Andrea’s eyes narrowed at the cautious tone of his voice.

  “I want to make sure you will be accepted. You will be the first human to join our pack, and I am an… alpha. They may test you.”

  “Test?” She wasn’t keen on that idea. The image of claws and teeth entered her mind, and she cringed inwardly.

  Rokki stood and faced Elvira, who watched them from the other side of the cave. The fire had died down, and there were now just hot embers burning brightly in the fire pit. “Can I leave her with you longer?”

  “No.” Elvira shook her head. Her pitch-black locks bouncing around her shoulders like they were alive. “I like your female, wolf, but this is my cave, and I will have it back now.”

  Rokki glanced back at Andrea as she slowly stood and stretched out her limps. It looked like he was trying to figure out what to do with her.

  “I will find a place for her to stay then.” He motioned for Andrea to come with him, “Come, we need to be moving.”

  As he walked back towards the entrance, Andrea faced Elvira, “Thank you for everything.”

  “Of course.” Elvira inclined her head. “I will send Jepriz to you when your bracelet is finished.”

  “Thank you.” Then Andrea rushed down the tunnel of the cave to catch up to Rokki and his ling strides. There was a bit of a bounce to her step as she felt hope soar through her. With Elvira’s help, Andrea might actually have a chance at going home!

  “Where are we headed?” Andrea asked as she sidled up beside Rokki.

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  Rokki wished Elvira would let his mate stay longer with her. He knew Andrea would be safe with the witch, but now he would have to find another place to stash his mate until he could introduce her to his pack.

  As they walked down the hill and away from the seer’s cave, he ran through all the spots that might be safe for her in his mind. There was one spot he knew of that might have some relative safety.

  There was a small hunting hut out in the woods. It was a place where his pack would stay when going out for a long hunt, and he couldn’t see his clan mates using it any time soon. They were currently hunting the east side of their territory, and Andrea would be on the west side. Unless something changed, she would be safe.

  “How was your night with the seer?” Rokki’s eyes slid over to Andrea, who was doing her best to keep up with his longer strides. Slowing down slightly, he allowed her an easier pace. The hut wasn’t too far from here, and he’d already pushed her yesterday, so there was no need to rush them to the hut.

  “Interesting.” Andrea supplied. “Elvira did a… spell, I guess,” she shrugged, “last night. It kept me awake for a bit, but overall it was good.”

  “She performed a spell on you?” Rokki stopped, turned, gripped her upper arms, and looked into her green eyes as he searched for anything… off. “Are you well?”

  What he was really asking was if he needed to march back to the seer and threaten her. If the seer had performed a spell on his mate without his permission…

  “No, not on me.” Andrea shook off his grip as she shook her head vehemently. “She just casted a spell in general, or maybe she was seeing into the future. It was crazy to watch, but it had nothing to do with me.”

  Rokki searched his mate’s eyes for a second longer before smiling with relief. “As long as she didn’t try to cast a spell on you.”

  “I don’t think she’s that kind of witch. She seems very nice.”

  Rokki continued their walk since he was satisfied with Andrea’s answer, but he wasn’t going to argue with Andrea about the seer being a slightly evil witch. Elvira had cursed a few people in her life, and it had not turned out well for them. The woman wasn’t entirely evil, but she dealt with people who disrespected her with swift justice.

  “Does it hurt to shift?”

  He rotated his head to see Andrea focused on the ground below their feet since the terrain was littered with rocks that threatened to trip anyone who didn’t pay attention to where they walked. Her question was sudden and without warning, but he was willing to switch topics and felt a bit pleased she wanted to know more about him.

  “The first shift can be painful and alarming, but after years of shifting, it doesn’t bother me anymore,” Rokki said as he thought back to his very first shift when he’d been introduced to his alpha dire wolf. That night had been one of excitement and hope for the future, and it had been the night he began to search for his mate.

  “Are you in control of the wolf?”

  “You are curious about my dire wolf?”

  “Yes.” Andrea looked over at him, and he could see her green eyes swirled with curiosity. “I haven’t known a werewolf before. I never thought I would know a werewolf. I’ve heard plenty of stories, but I’m not sure if any of them are true.”

  Rokki felt a bit of surprise that she hadn’t come in contact with a werewolf before him. Although the human clans preferred to stay away from weres, they still knew about weres and dealt with them on occasion.

  “Your clan must be very isolated.”

  “Ummm,” Andrea seemed to consider his words, “I suppose we can say that since I have no idea how to explain my people to you.”

  “Any more questions?” Rokki asked as he skirted past a decent sized boulder.

  “Yes, I have more. Do you know how werewolves came to be?”

  Rokki nodded his head as he closed his eyes briefly, “I do, but you should allow our pack shaman to tell you the story. He is the best storyteller in the clan, and I will only ruin it.” He had fond memories of the old shaman telling the stories of how werewolves became when he was a child sitting in front of a fire with other children. He would hate to take that feeling from Andrea.

  “I look forward to hearing it.”

  They fell back into a comfortable silence as they traveled through meadows, over hills, and through thick forests. Andrea insisted on stopping several times to examine things like plants and animals. He found himself enjoying her sense of curiosity rather than being frustrated by the sudden stops.

  The day grew colder, and a few flakes of snow drifted through the air as they traveled.

  It wasn’t winter, but the snow always lingered over the land. Threatening them. It wouldn’t let them forget about its presence. Soon, winter would be on them once again, driving away prey and making their lives a little more difficult.

  Rokki cast his eyes up to the skies and glared. Like his clan didn’t have enough to worry about with the Neanderthal’s invading their territory. The gods threw them too many trials, and he wished they would see fit to give his clan some respite from all these troubles.

  “If I ask too many questions, let me know,” Andrea said as she broke the silence.

  “You are curious about me and the land around us. I like it.” And it gave him hope. She wasn’t running from him in terror. To see fear on her face because she was scared of him, would ruin his day. His beast would never intentionally cause her harm. A mate was something to be treasured and protected.

  “Can you change to half beast and half human?” Her green eyes surveyed him openly.

  “Like this?” Rokki asked as he held out a hand and let the beast show itself in the form of claws on his hands.

  “Wow.” Andrea breathed out in amazement as her eyes went wide. “Scary.”

  Rokki let the claws melt back into his hand, returning it to a normal human hand. “There is nothing to fear. My inner beast would never use his claws against yo
u.”

  “I’ll have to take your word on it.”

  “Take my word?”

  “Trust you.”

  “Ah,” Rokki nodded his head as he finally understood the phrasing of her words. For the most part, he understood her way of speaking, but there were some words she liked to put together that didn’t make much sense to him. “You can always trust me,” he reassured her.

  “Can you shift any more? Like, can you have the body of a man but hairy with the face of a wolf?”

  Rokki chuckled heartily as he shook his head. “I can show my canines and claws, but that is all unless I shift fully.” He scratched his chin, noticing for the first time, that his beard was growing back. During the warmer months, he did his best to keep it shaved down with a sharp stone blade. “I don’t know of any dire wolves who can shift like you described.”

  “Are there other kinds of shifters?”

  Rokki nodded his head. “There are all kinds. Sabertooths, rabbits, horses, dire wolves, even more dangerous people like demons, but those don’t shift.”

  “Demons?” Andrea halted, and Rokki had to pause and turn to see her eyes widen. “With horns and what not?”

  “And wings.” He told her honestly. There were all sorts of creatures running around their land. “Demons and bloodsuckers tend to stay to the south where it is warmer, but we get them up here every now and then.”

  “Bloodsuckers? You mean vampires?”

  Rokki shrugged. “I don’t know this word… vamp… ires?”

  “They have fangs,” Andrea pointed to her teeth, “that come down and penetrate the neck, or I guess any part of the body, and drink the blood of another living creature.”

  “Ah,” he nodded his head, “those would be bloodsuckers.”

  “Wow. I couldn’t imagine seeing all these things in my life.”

  “I have not seen a bloodsucker, but I have heard many stories about them. You would never want to encounter one, Andrea, and if you do, you should immediately find me.”