by Vivian Arend
They sat in silence, the switchbacks of the road taking them higher and higher until they reached the point where they were looking over three different valleys. Mountains soared upward, the pale blue of the sky painted with delicate clouds.
He turned the Jeep into a lookout, and parked, joining Mandy at the railing where the entire valley lay at their feet.
“Danielle wants me to go back to the island.”
“I heard.”
She kept staring over the land. “She wants me to go back and take over the leadership—my Nana was in charge, and she’s passed away.”
He stifled his uncharitable thoughts about her grandmother, and focused on the idea Mandy might go away. Justin’s heart fell to somewhere around his feet. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he forced out as politely as possible.
Mandy offered him a sad smile. “Thank you, but I said goodbye to her years ago.”
Justin laid a hand on her shoulder, needing to touch her. “So. What do you want to do? Do you want to rule?”
“You knew?”
He looked guilty for a moment. “Cole and I just google-fu’d the hell out of Kodiak Island using Danielle’s and Susanna’s names as an additional reference. Right around when you married Todd, the leadership was up for debate. Your family, and one other. Yours turned out to have the most direct bloodline to the ghost bears who settled the island.”
“We knew,” she admitted. “Both the potential families knew our line was the one, but then the bear council put my name with Todd’s for getting married, and everything changed.”
Justin didn’t understand. “I assume Todd pulled strings to get himself hitched to you. Why didn’t the power-hungry bastard insist you stay on the island so he could take over?”
“Because he bribed the committee to marry me for my title. He had no idea I could potentially rule the entire island.”
“Jeez, Mandy.”
She shrugged. “Arranged marriages are the norm in bear society, you know that. If Todd had been a decent man, everything would have turned out differently, but at the start, we couldn’t be sure.”
Justin should’ve kept his mouth shut, but he simply couldn’t. “I don’t think much of your family for letting you make that sacrifice.”
“It wasn’t my sisters’ fault.” Mandy was quick to defend them. “But Nana…” She sighed before lifting sad eyes to meet his. “I’ve had moments I think ill of her, but I suppose she did what she thought was best for the people, and didn’t question too hard when I chose to stay with Todd.”
Mandy was too forgiving. Justin was ready to make heads fly on her behalf. He took a deep breath and shoved his anger aside so he could focus on being a rock for Mandy, here and now.
She was quiet for a long time before she finally spoke. “It’s probably selfish and wrong, but I’ve given up so much of my life. I don’t want to be all sacrificial again. I want to go explore the world, sleep in in the morning and read late. I want to get a dog—”
“Seriously? A dog?”
Her lips twitched. “Just making sure you’re still listening.”
He twisted her to face him fully. “I’m listening with everything in me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in what you want.”
“Is it selfish?”
“What makes it selfish? Just because you were born into a certain family that doesn’t mean it’s got to be you.”
“If I don’t…
“Then someone else will. Danielle’s spent the last eight years on the island. Don’t you think she might know a little better what’s right for your people?
“That’s blunt.”
“Not that you wouldn’t do an amazing job if you decided you wanted to, but, Mandy, that’s why I asked the question. What do you want to do? And if it’s sleeping late and reading books or traveling all over, you should do it.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“It never is. But no matter what, you can take the time you need. You don’t have to decide this moment.”
Although he really wanted her to. He knew exactly what he wanted her to pick, but it was up to her. All he knew for certain was whichever road she took, he’d be right there beside her the entire time, no matter what.
From the moment she’d spotted her sister, all of the decisions she’d been putting off seemed to rise up like a tsunami wave, pulling her in a million directions.
Justin thought it was so simple. But Mandy had been gone long enough to barely know what Kodiak Island was like since she’d left.
She’d married Todd all those years earlier because it was how bear shifters did things. Finding out his true colours had meant she’d chosen to sacrifice her happiness to keep her family safe. She’d gone away, making sure that the mean bastard never knew what kind of money or power she could have accessed. Her silence had a huge cost, but it had been worth it.
Could she turn around after all that and deliberately walk back into a world where she wasn’t in charge of her own life?
Then Justin was kissing her, lips brushing hers in a way that set her heart pounding and sucked the air from her lungs. Distracted her from the concerns swirling in her brain.
She let him tug her to the nearby lookout bench. “What was that for?” she asked.
“Because you looked as if you needed it. You looked as if you needed a reminder that I’m here, and that I promised to help. Offer still stands.”
She stared back at the great big grizzly bear, with his massive arms, and huge torso, and his enormous heart that she swore she saw reflected in his mezmorizing eyes.
The daydreams she’d had about running around the world, and the dreams of exploring fabulous places, mixed with the dreams that she had about lying in bed on lazy mornings—they all were nothing until she imagined him there with her.
And that’s when it hit her. She knew what she wanted, deep in her heart, and ultimately it wasn’t a place, or a thing, or even a job description.
She looked into his big grey eyes. “Whatever I decide to do, what’re you going to do?”
A soft laugh escaped him, and he shook his head slowly. “You’re the one who’s not listening. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, I’m going with you.”
Mandy’s heart fluttered. Hope rising. “And this is because?”
He smiled. “Because I’m a bear of many talents and few vices. The only real obsession I’ve got…is you.”
He still wasn’t saying it, and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to say it first.
Then, suddenly, she was.
“Justin, can I tell you something?”
One brow rose. “Of course.”
She nodded decisively. “Whatever I do, I’m going to need help.”
He waited patiently.
“You promised you’d help me with my list. What if the list suddenly had ‘become leader of a small, wealthy island’ on it?”
His eyes widened. “Is it likely to get added to your list? Is that what you really want?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I do know that I simply can’t do anything on my list without the bear I love agreeing he’s going to stay at my side. It’s the one thing I can’t—”
“Wait,” he interrupted. “The bear you love?”
Mandy nodded. “Yup. Completely and thoroughly.”
His smile started slowly then stretched into an all-out grin. “Well, of course it’s completely and thoroughly. If you’re going to do a thing, you’ve got to do it right.”
Happiness snuck around the corners of the wall she’d put up in case she couldn’t have it all. “What about your job?”
Justin shrugged. “I work for Tyler because he’s a friend and because it keeps me busy. If you need me, I’m all yours. You’re way prettier to look at than him.”
Mandy threw herself into his arms and kissed him hard before a sneaking thread of discontentment slipped through the bliss. “Wait—you didn’t say it yet.”
Justin caught her chin with his finge
rs and tipped her head back so he could kiss her easier. “Say what?”
She blew a raspberry. He blinked, a laugh rolling from him that started in his chest before rumbling up and sneaking out.
Mandy waited.
He dropped to one knee, tugging her hand to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles. “Lady Mandy, you have stolen something from me, so I now demand you care for it forever.”
A soft warmth built inside. “What did I steal?”
He laid a hand on his chest. “My heart. The only reason I’m alive is this mysterious power that’s taken its place. A magical power that makes my blood continue to pump, and my soul feel happiness.”
She’d never dreamt he was such a poet, and the flowery language made her giggle. “I’m not sure if it’s magical that I removed your heart, or shades of necromancy.”
He chuckled then stage-whispered, “Go with it, my lady. Nadia’s going to ask for all the details, and we may as well set the bar high.”
“Like wow kisses for the wolves?”
“As long as it doesn’t actually involve my lips near the pack, sure.”
She sat on his knee and draped her arms around his shoulders. “I love you, Justin.”
He leaned closer until their lips brushed. “I love you with everything in me.”
That proclamation was as wow as it needed to be. It was wow-to-the-wowwest degree.
The drive back to Chicken seemed to take place in slow motion, his grip on her hand never loosening as she considered her decision, not coming to any quick solution.
Nadia was still leaning on the wall outside the shop waiting for them.
“You good?” she asked.
“Perfect,” Mandy confessed. “Perfectly confused, but perfect.”
Nadia grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.”
The room they entered was strangely quiet, and Mandy turned to Nadia in confusion. “Did Cole and Danielle go somewhere?”
Justin lifted his hand and pointed. “Damn.”
Danielle was missing, but Cole was there, trussed up from head to foot, duct-taped to a chair with a piece of tape over his mouth.
Justin slid a knife through the mess holding him in place, but it was Nadia who reached out and ripped the covering from his mouth.
A wolfish roar of pain turned into a loud shout of anger as Cole took to his feet and whirled on them. “She’s gone. She’s been gone for half an hour, and now I’ll have to track her down all over again.”
“Good luck on that,” Mandy uttered, ducking closer to Justin’s side as the wolf offered her a nasty snarl.
“Back off,” Justin warned. “It’s hard to eat without teeth, and it’s even harder to track someone with a broken sniffer.”
Cole snapped at Nadia. “Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Because I only stop things from happening that shouldn’t.” She smirked at him.
He glared. “I did not want to be tied up.”
Nadia raised a brow. “You sure, sweetheart? But wait—it’s not me who needs to know all your kinky secrets. You’d better discuss that with Danielle when you catch her.”
Loud growl. Loud.
“If you catch her.”
He didn’t bother responding, just turned his back and left at a full sprint, headed after his target again.
Mandy turned to Nadia. “We’re going back to Whitehorse. I need to get in touch with my family, at least the part of it who isn’t trying to evade a wolf, and figure out what comes next. Thank you for everything you did to make me comfortable during my time here.”
Nadia gave her a hug. “I’m going to miss your happy smile. It was nice having a new girlfriend all of my own. You’re welcome back anytime.”
Mandy pressed closer to Justin’s side as he tugged her against his body. “I think we’ll be able to come visit.”
“Of course we can,” Justin agreed.
Saying farewell took a lot longer than she expected…but then again, maybe her expectations all needed to be revised. She’d made a lot of friends who all dropped by to say goodbye while she and Justin were packing, and with one thing and the other, it was a day later before they were ready to hit the road.
She stroked a hand over the dash of the camper. “Dale’s going to want this back sometime.”
“Yup,” Justin agreed before flashing her a grin. “But for now, it’s ours, and we could check off an item from your list. You mind if we take a shortcut to get home? There’s supposed to be a fabulous Aurora Borealis show over the next few nights…”
Mandy hesitated. “You don’t think we should go straight home so I can decide?”
“Deciding will take some long walks and lazy mornings to think it all through. It’s been eight years. You deserve a few more days.”
“I suppose that would be okay. Where are the lights expected to be most visible?”
“Tombstone Park Campground on the Dempster highway.”
Holy moly. “That’s nowhere near Whitehorse.”
“Nope.”
She laughed. “That’s probably as far north as we are now, and a lot more to the east. How is that a shortcut?”
“I don’t know. But—” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and glanced at it. “There we go. This is what I meant to say.”
She took the note from him, their fingers tangling together before she lifted the paper to the light to read out loud.
Make love under the Northern Lights.
Laughter bubbled up, and she was glad they were still motionless in the parking lot because that meant she could throw herself into his arms. “Funny, I don’t remember that being on the list.”
“Are you sure? It looks an awful lot like your handwriting—”
Whatever else he intended to say was lost. She was too busy kissing him. Holding him.
Claiming the bear who was her heart.
Epilogue
Dear Susanna,
I’m so pleased you’ve decided to accept the leadership of Kodiak Island. I know it’s a big challenge, but all the people I spoke to when we visited a few weeks ago said you’re the perfect person to take over for Nana. I can’t tell you how proud it makes me to know you have the skills to take on the reins of the family tradition.
I know, it’s kind of a bad pun. Reins, reigns. Let’s blame it on the fact I’m a little giddy these days.
There’s still been no trace of Danielle from our side. If you hear anything, let me know. I’m sure she’s okay. She seemed very competent and determined, and everytime I ask Justin, he says to relax, as if he’s got insider information he’s not sharing.
Which means since I trust him—I’m relaxing. Hopefully we’ll know more soon.
Justin and I will be dropping by again in the spring. We’ve decided to travel for a while—he’s taking a leave of absence from his job and we’re pretty much…well, just making a list and doing it. One day at a time.
I’m so happy.
Your loving big sister,
Mandy
Justin handed the letter back to her when he finished reading it. “She’s a great kid. And you’re right—everyone we spoke to on the island is on board with her leading, even though she’s young.”
Mandy finished addressing the envelope. “Fortunately, being young is one thing that will slowly correct itself over time.”
He laughed. “True enough.”
Watching her move around the apartment—their apartment—was one more hit of pleasure in a long row of happiness.
She floated lazily, rearranging pillows and throw blankets. Hanging up tiny wooden reindeer ornaments. Her hands competent and steady, her eyes full of laughter and joy.
He’d been more than content to provide the labour as they furnished and decorated a two-bedroom place in Whitehorse. It might not be where they settled long term, but for now it was rapidy becoming home. Not only because of knicknacks and now the holiday decorations, but because of the pictures of them that kept showing up daily.
She’d do
ne it again, he discovered. He slid his gaze off her to the frame she pulled from her shopping bag.
“Another one?” he asked with a laugh. “Let me see it.”
Mandy all but bounced over to his side, holding out the photo eagerly. “This is my favourite so far.”
He could see why. It was a group shot taken the previous week at a barbecue get-together hosted by the other local bears in the area. Jim and Lillie Halcyon had opened their home and hearts to Mandy, especially Lillie.
The ladies were thick as thieves these days, and Justin was so glad. Having new girlfriends in her life was adding to the bloom in Mandy’s cheeks.
The photographer had caught them in a moment of laughter, the posed assembly breaking apart into chaos, wearing wide grins and far-from-serious body positions. Evan and Amy were there, Jim and Lillie, Tyler and Caroline, and him and Mandy, all surrounded by more wolves than were safe to contain in one area.
The noise had been over the top, the jokes even worse—it had been like being back at the pack house, with one enormous difference.
He put the photo aside carefully so he could have both hands free to draw her into his arms. “It’s almost my favourite,” he told her.
Mandy tilted her head to the side, palms resting on his chest. “Which one do you like best?”
“The one we’ll take tomorrow.”
It took a moment as she considered his answer. “Where are we going tomorrow?”
“I have no idea, yet. But tomorrow, it’ll be the picture we take the day after that…”
Her eyes lit with understanding. “We’re never going to get around to taking your favourite!”
“We’ll be taking pictures from now to forever, and I get to be in all of them with you.” He kissed her. Slow and deep and needy until they were both breathless, then answered her. “You promised. I put it on the list.”
Mandy blinked hard before her lips curled into a smile. She tugged him with her to the bedroom where in a moment of teasing he’d taken her original list and framed it, hanging it beside their bed.
She leaned in closer to check it out, and for the first time noticed the addition he’d made a few days ago. Her fingers tightened, and laughter burst from her, and then she was hugging him, and all was right in his world, because he knew she was going to work that list until it was done.