by Lily Thomas
“No need to let these rabbits go to waste.” Ruub quickly ran around the area and gathered up the rabbits that had been discarded during the fight. “I’ll walk back to the village with these.” Ruub hefted the rabbits into the air with a wide grin.
Rokki rolled his eyes and huffed through his black snout as he presented his side to Ruub.
“We could do that.” Ruub tossed the strung-up rabbits across Rokki’s back. Then Ruub shifted back into his dire wolf form.
Now they could head back to the village at a brisker pace, and Rokki would take the first chance to get back to his mate. His skin prickled with uneasiness being away from her for this long.
Andrea had been wandering around the forest, meadows, and rivers for most of the next day while she attempted to find her way back to the hut Rokki had stashed her at, but it seemed she was more lost than she’d thought. Her wild dash through the forest last night had been that, a wild dash, and she hadn’t paid any attention to possible landmarks.
Every tree and rock she passed looked the same as the last. With a huff, she folded her arms in front of her chest and leaned back against a tree trunk as she studied the area around her. In good news, she hadn’t come across any predators.
Glancing down at her foot, Andrea thanked her lucky stars that her foot didn’t appear to be twisted. Last night, it had caused her so much searing pain, and now it was perfectly fine. It was a pleasant twist of her fate.
Huffing and puffing, Andrea pushed off the tree trunk and began walking once more. She was so lost, it probably didn’t matter if she got more lost. Rokki was a werewolf after all, as impossible as it seemed, and it meant his sense of smell should be impeccable. If he got back to the hut and found her missing, she was sure he would search the entire planet for her. There was something shining in those golden eyes… almost love, but not quite. Maybe obsession would be the better word for the look in those mesmerizing eyes. She was his obsession.
Birds scattered from a nearby bush in a frantic flapping of wings sensing her… or so she thought until a growl pierced the air behind her.
Startling her, Andrea spun to spy a pack of dire wolves melting out of thin air. Her breath left her chest in a whoosh as she stared at the large predators. The lead dire wolf’s golden eyes looked so familiar, but the anger churning in its eyes and the growl on its curled mouth told her it wasn’t Rokki. Then her eyes drifted up to its ears, and she noticed there was a bite missing out of one of the tips. It wasn’t her dire wolf then.
When the black dire wolf darted forward, Andrea let out a squeak and flew through the forest in the opposite direction. She wasn’t sure she could out run a dire wolf, but she had to do something. Thank goodness her ankle wasn’t causing her any more pain! Her legs ate up the ground under her as her heart thundered in desperation.
Suddenly, something smacked into her back, throwing her off balance and slamming her back into the trunk of a tree. The rough bark caught on the fur of her shirt and jerked her to a sudden stop.
A man stood in front of her, gripping her shirt in both of his fists as he forced her between him and the tree trunk. “Who are you?” He growled down at her. Shoulder length black hair framed his face. It was just like Rokki’s, but this wasn’t Rokki.
Did he have an evil twin?
Andrea gulped. It was another werewolf, and his enlarged canines glinted in the sunlight filtering through the branches high above their heads. “I’m… I’m… Andrea.” She trembled in his grasp.
The man was butt ass naked and pressed so close to her, but unlike Rokki, he didn’t excite her, just made her fear for her life.
His golden eyes were hard, like the rocks that dotted the landscape around them. “What clan do you come from, and why are you in our territory?” The man growled down at her.
Her head barely came up to his shoulders, and his massive frame had her trembling with fear for her life.
“I…I have no clan.”
The man’s head dipped down, and he sucked in a deep breath next to her face. “You smell like… Rokki?” The man’s head shot back up as his golden eyes bored into her very soul. “Why do you smell like my brother?” The man’s eyes narrowed on her.
“You- you’re brother?” Hope flooded through Andrea. No wonder the eyes looked so familiar, and his wolf wasn’t too different from Rokki’s either.
“You’re his mate?” The brother’s eyes raked over her and turned a shade darker as a curl of disgust had his lips pulling back to expose his canines some more. “Are you a witch?”
“What?! No!” Andrea shook her head. “I’m not a witch, and I’m not his mate.”
Rokki’s brother growled between his clenched teeth, “You’re lying to me.”
“No, I’m not!” Andrea glared at the man who had her pressed up against the rough bark of a tree. “I know I am not a witch, and Rokki never said I was his mate.” All of that was true.
“Darc, if she is Rokki’s mate, we need to bring her back to the village.” Another naked man strode up to them and placed a hand on Darc’s shoulder.
“I’m not his mate!” Andrea yelled at the men in front of her. It was like they couldn’t hear the words coming out of her mouth.
“There’s no other reason why my brother’s scent would be all over a human.” The man’s golden eyes narrowed on her once more. “If you weren’t his mate, he would never have approached you…” Darc inhaled another hefty breath. “He never would have bedded you and given his seed to a woman who wasn’t his mate.
Andrea’s cheeks heated as she realized he’d smelled sex on her, and worse than that, this was Rokki’s brother. She was mortified.
Not noticing her discomfort, or ignoring it, Darc said, “Deny it all you want, human, but you are his mate. The only question left is, are you a witch?”
“No.” Andrea shook her head.
“We will see.” Darc pushed away from her, releasing her shirt at the same time. “Walk, human.” He held out a hand, guiding her in a particular direction.
As much as Andrea wanted to run in the opposite direction, she knew it wouldn’t do her any good. “Okay.” She shoved herself off the tree and strode into the forest with her back straight. She’d read enough books about wolves and werewolves. She needed to assert herself and not appear too submissive but also not challenge this Darc, who claimed to be Rokki’s brother.
“Not too fast.” Dark strode up beside her and clamped a controlling hand around her upper arm as he guided their small group through the woods.
Glancing around, Andrea found there were about four dire wolves trailing behind and around them as they walked, and there were two men, Darc and the other man who’d tried to calm their leader in their human form.
Darc and the other man were butt naked, and it was hard for her not to take side glances at their bodies. Each man was well-toned probably because they lived in the rough and tough ice age, a time where there were no cars, and they had to walk or run everywhere. They also had to chop wood and hunt animals. Animals that she could only imagine since she’d only begun to see them since she’d arrived here. Seeing the bones and reconstructions in museums had nothing on seeing these animals first hand.
“You’re Rokki’s brother, then?” Andrea asked, trying to start up some sort of conversation.
Darc’s dark gold eyes flickered over to her, and she shivered at their intensity and hostility. He didn’t know her, and he’d clearly decided he didn’t like her, and she had no idea why.
Okay then. No conversation.
No wonder Rokki hadn’t wanted to introduce her to his pack. If they were all as welcoming as Darc, she wasn’t sure she wanted to set foot in their village.
If she read the movement of the sun correctly, it only took them a couple of hours walking in the forest to break free of the trees and into a small meadow where an ice age village resided.
Andrea’s eyes widened as her archeologist dream suddenly came to life.
Chapter 14
Th
ere were some large animal skin huts and some smaller ones that dotted the meadow in front of them. Each hut had brown animal hides covering the sides, but Andrea could see where sinew had been used to tie each fur to some massive bones, which she assumed were mammoth bones.
Butterflies danced around inside her stomach as she realized she would be the first archeologist to see a real-life working ice age village! If she ever got back to her time, she’d have to share this with Emma… no… she couldn’t do that, and that put a slight downer on her mood. There still wasn’t anyone she could tell about this without sounding like a crazy person living in a delusional fantasy.
Andrea shook her head. It didn’t matter what other people thought of her, as long as she knew what the truth was.
Turning her gaze once more to the village, she watched grey smoke trickled out of each hut and swirl up into the sky to slowly disperse and disappear into the air.
Glancing back down, she caught sight of several people walking around within the village of huts. A couple of them were women, and they only wore small skirts with the tops of their bodies exposed.
It wasn’t shocking for Andrea to see them striding around with bared breasts. She’d studied enough history to know most historians believed clothing hadn’t been such a huge deal back in the ice age then it would be in the twenty-first century.
Darc shoved her arm when her feet stalled, “Keep moving, human.”
Andrea quickly got her feet moving once more. She couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering over everything, though. Her wide eyes took in everything, and even though she had a menacing werewolf at her side, she couldn’t help the smile on her lips.
As they passed by a hut, she reached out her free hand and brushed her fingertips over the coarse fur that acted like walls for the hut. To think how far humans had gone. From living under the stars to fur huts to wood shacks to stone houses, and now people had a choice of materials to build their homes with.
“What do you have?” A female voice asked.
Darc paused, and since his hand was firmly clamped on her arm, Andrea had no choice but to stop with him.
A woman strode around them, her eyes scanning over Andrea before shifting to Darc. “Why do you have a human?” Then the woman’s eyes widened. “Is this… is this your mate?”
“What?!” Darc’s head flew backward like an invisible hand had punched him in the nose. “She isn’t my mate.” He spat the words like the idea of being mated to Andrea was the most distasteful thing in the world.
Andrea glared at him as her lips thinned into a straight line. Well, he wasn’t a catch either. With this grumpy attitude of his, he would need luck keeping any mate around.
“Oh.” The woman glanced between them. “Then why do you have a human?”
“I could smell Rokki on her, so I brought her back to ask him the very same question.” Darc’s hand tightened slightly on her upper arm, and Andrea winced at the pressure.
The woman’s eyes lit up. “Rokki found his mate?”
“I’m not Rokki’s mate,” Andrea grumbled under her breath. She was done being ignored, and she refused to give up on telling everyone her thoughts. Someone was bound to listen to her at some point.
“What did she say?” The woman leaned in, her brown eyes piercing into Andrea, and Andrea got the feeling the woman found her fascinating.
“She says she isn’t Rokki’s mate, but that wouldn’t make sense… Rokki’s scent is all over her… and he’s bedded her.”
Andrea’s face flamed as Darc blurted those last words. Great. Soon everyone in the entire village would know Rokki, and she had slept together.
“Does she have his bite?” The woman took a couple of steps closer as her eyes fell to Andrea’s neck and shoulder area. “I don’t see one.” Her eyes squinted as she examined Andrea’s skin.
“She doesn’t have a bite.”
“Hmmm.” The woman’s lips pursed as she looked undecided on this mate discussion. “I will take her.” The woman’s hand snapped out and clasped Andrea’s other arm.
“This doesn’t concern you, Zuri,” Darc growled low in his throat, a fire sparking in his golden depths as he tugged Andrea closer.
Zuri tugged Andrea back to her. “If she is Rokki’s mate, then she belongs with the women of the clan.” Zuri’s brown eyes flashed with her own inner fire.
Darc’s upper lip pulled back as he snarled at her.
A shiver of fear speared through Andrea, but Zuri didn’t back down.
“Don’t challenge me, brother, unless you’re willing to use those canines on me.” Zuri threatened him.
Andrea had to give this other woman credit for having a steel backbone against Darc. His dire wolf was massive, and Zuri was basically challenging him to morph and attack.
“If you see Rokki first, let him know I have more questions about this human woman.” His grip released Andrea’s arm before he strode further into the village.
“You will have to excuse his gruffness with you.” Zuri apologized for her brother.
Andrea turned to face the woman. “He seems tense.”
Zuri rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, I wish the gods hadn’t given me brothers. They’re a handful, and their beasts don’t help. Alpha males are the worst kind of wolf.”
Andrea chuckled as the tenseness in her shoulders eased off of her. “I don’t have any siblings, but I could imagine having brothers.” And werewolf brothers at that, which brought her to another thought. “You are also a… werewolf?”
“Yes. Everyone in this clan can shift into a dire wolf.” Zuri waved a hand to encompass the entire village.
Another shaft of fear speared through her. Everyone in this clan could shift into a dangerous beast, except for her. Andrea just had this one form.
“There’s no need to fear any of us. Although I would give Darc some distance.” Zuri commented as she tugged on Andrea’s arm and slowly guided them through the village.
“I’ll do my best not to fear anyone, but you will have to give me time. A human among a clan of werewolves can be a bit… overwhelming.” Andrea could still barely believe her eyes. If werewolves were a part of her world, they must have hidden themselves well from the modern world.
“Once Rokki comes back from his hunt, he will let us know what is between the two of you because I too can smell his scent all over you.” Zuri’s eyes drifted over to Andrea as she raised her nose and gave an audible sniff of the air. “Are you a witch?”
“No, I am not a witch.” Andrea sighed. She felt like a robot on repeat around these people.
“Are you sure you aren’t a witch? Perhaps your parents were witches? An aunt?”
Andrea shook her head. “I am sure. I think I would know if I was a witch, or if anyone in my family had magical powers.”
Zuri turned back to the direction in which they were walking, but Andrea didn’t miss the disappointment that shown in her dark brown eyes.
“Does this have to do with the prophecy Rokki told me earlier?” Andrea asked, needing to know more about the importance of this prophecy.
Zuri nodded her head as they wandered over to a large firepit in the middle of the village. Andrea could imagine large bonfires burning in there, but right now, there were only small trickles of smoke drifting off blackened logs as red-hot coals burned under them.
“When Darc and Rokki were born, a shaman read their futures in a ceremony. One brother would find a human mate and leave the clan, and one brother would find a witch as a mate and lead the clan. If this prophecy is followed, the clan won’t have to worry about disease or shortages of food.” Zuri took a seat and patted a spot next to her on the ground. “But if we do not honor what the gods have shown us, then our clan will be doomed to fall to disease and hunger.”
Folding her legs under her bottom, Andrea plopped down beside the other woman. “So… Darc is worried about me being a witch because he could be cast out while Rokki remains.”
“Yes.” Zuri nodded her head. “Bo
th brothers are alpha dire wolves, and only one can lead the clan.”
“What happens to the brother who is cast out? Does he… start a new clan or what?” It seemed kind of cruel of them to cast out one of their own. To force a brother out only because some shaman long ago had foreseen two possible outcomes. Then again, she had to remember when and where she was right now. These people might be shifters, but they still had gods they feared and respected, like gods of fertility, gods of the weather, and gods of the seasons.
“We fear what the gods might do to us if we don’t obey them.” Zuri turned her eyes to the dead fire. “What the cast-out brother does is up to him. The prophecy says nothing about what will become of him.”
Andrea stopped herself from saying anything else without first thinking. She was now living in a world where people firmly believed in gods and prophecies, and she didn’t want to be on the wrong side of a prophecy.
To the people of the ice age, everything around them was scary and could take their life as suddenly as it had been given to them at birth. Anything they didn’t understand was easily explained by gods being happy or unhappy with them.
Andrea stared at the glowing coals. She felt bad for Rokki. She was just a simple human, which meant he was going to get kicked out of this clan. Thanks to her. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to introduce her to the clan. This prophecy meant they’d be forced out into the wilderness with just each other, and she didn’t even know how to live here without help. It must seem like a daunting challenge to him.
She hated feeling useless, but if they were cast out, she would do her best to learn how to live in this world as quickly as she could. Rokki had kept her safe when he didn’t have to. He’d made a choice. She was a smart woman. If she applied herself, she had no doubt she could learn tasks to ease his load.
“I suppose that explains why Rokki kept me hidden in the forest rather than bringing me here.”
Zuri sent her a smile. “Don’t be insulted.” She placed a hand on Andrea’s. “I am sure my brother only wanted to make sure it was the right time. With the prophecy, he wasn’t sure how we might react, but we’ve had years to prepare for this time.” Zuri’s smile turned sad as her brown eyes drifted back to the firepit. “I wish it wasn’t so soon, but I am also glad one of my brothers have found their mate. Mates are to be treasured.”