Kallie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know, Roz.”
Rosalie removed her arms from Kallie’s and stepped in front of her.
“Come on, Kallie. You could use a good hump, and so could I.”
“You’re always ready for a good hump.”
Rosalie burst into laughter. “That’s true.” She backed away and lifted her arm in farewell. “See you at supper. Be ready.”
Kallie cringed. She didn’t want to team up with Rosalie. Her friend would never understand that much more was at stake than a good time. If she didn’t catch Wolfrik’s interest, Palmer would never leave her alone.
Elsie got up as Kallie headed for her log and bounded over all smiles.
“Ready to dig up carrots and potatoes?”
“You don’t have to help me in the garden.”
“I want to!” Elsie cried as though Kallie might try to prevent her. “Doing things in pairs is safer and more fun. Isn’t that why Jager assigns partners?”
Kallie smiled warmly. “To patrol, yeah, but garden work isn’t exactly dangerous.”
“Oh, but it is.” Elsie’s eyes expanded. “Someone needs to protect you from Francine and Palmer.”
Kallie forced a smile to her lips. She appreciated Elsie’s friendship and positivity, but only a single male shifter could protect her from Palmer’s advances.
Sweat dampened Kallie’s hairline hours before the midday sun shot into position. It hadn’t taken her and Elsie long to fill a basket with root vegetables, runner beans, and herbs. Kallie had the bounty tucked away in the shade of a tree. With nothing better to do, they’d switched to pulling weeds, but not before Kallie convinced Elsie to borrow a different dress from Heidi. She doubted even a witch could keep her cotton white while rooting around in the dirt.
One of Heidi’s short multicolored dresses sagged on Elsie’s petite frame. She had secured her hair back with a ribbon and done the same for Kallie.
“I saw you got your fortune told at the claiming ceremony.” Kallie pinched a tiny green sprout of a weed between her fingers and plucked it from the earth.
She’d kept the garden up so well that the only weeds left to pull were small, though it didn’t take them long to grow.
Elsie, usually so talkative, swiped her arm over her forehead and looked over a row of cabbages at Kallie with a questioning stare.
Kallie cleared her throat. “Do you believe in seers?” As a witch, Elsie probably had better insight into mystical probabilities. Maybe she had just wanted to be kind by humoring the old woman. But as Kallie held her breath waiting for Elsie to answer, she found herself hoping for something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“It’s certainly not a gift any of the wizards at Balmar Heights possess, but Flora knew things about me that she could have only known with the sight.”
Kallie took a steadying breath. “Are you sure she’s not just really good at guessing what you want to hear?”
Elsie shook her head. “It wasn’t guesswork. She knew what she was talking about.”
Hope fluttered inside Kallie’s chest. If what the old woman told her was true about having a son, it also meant she’d have a mate. Kallie would never stand for being one of Palmer’s mates, which meant a true mate of her own.
“She told me I’d have a son,” Kallie found herself sharing out loud.
Elsie’s smile spread like sunshine over her face. “Congratulations. You’ll make a wonderful mother. Did Flora give any indication who the father will be?”
Kallie poked at the dirt, making tiny holes with her finger then filling them back up.
“She didn’t mention him. She only said my son would be strong—a future leader.”
“Then I imagine your mate will be strong. Someone like Wolfrik.”
Kallie’s cheeks flamed. “I doubt he’ll be ready for a mate anytime soon. Maybe never.”
Elsie flashed her a warm smile. “I never allow assumptions to stop me.”
Kallie regarded her with increased curiosity. “Do you find our males attractive, or do you miss wizards?”
Unlike Kallie, Elsie didn’t blush. She bit down on her lower lip a moment and stared into the sky thoughtfully. When her gaze drifted back down, she grinned in pure delight.
“Shifters are way sexier—more muscles.” She gave a gleeful laugh that made Kallie do a double take.
Elsie was so petite it was strange to picture her lusting after a male twice her weight. Was that what she saw in Zackary? His size? Kallie couldn’t imagine what else it could be. He was a bully who could barely string two sentences together.
But she was more curious about what the old woman had said to Elsie. They’d both looked grave, as though a meteor were hurtling straight to the hollow.
“Now that I’ve shared, do you want to tell me what Flora told you?”
Elsie’s smile vanished, and a cool, unnatural wind rustled through Kallie’s hair. The slight chill should have refreshed her sweat-soaked skin, but it made her shiver and glance over her shoulder, half expecting to find an angry spirit standing behind her.
Elsie blinked several times, and the chill dissipated. Had the witch caused it without opening her mouth? Kallie wanted to ask, but it seemed she’d already pried too deeply for one day.
“I’m cursed,” Elsie said softly, staring at the cabbage leaves.
It took a moment for her words to register.
“Cursed?”
“It’s a long story.” Elsie sighed.
Kallie turned to face Elsie, crossed her legs, and folded her hands in her lap, the weeds entirely forgotten.
Elsie nodded. She reached behind her head and tightened the ribbon holding her hair back.
“Nearly thirty years ago, my father and his coven left behind the fallen world. He and his kind were immune to sickness, just like shifters, and like the shifters, they took to the forest to flee the violence of humanity’s remaining survivors. Life in the wild was a hard one. My father’s coven, with their combined powers, had many advantages, but they’d lived for generations with the same modern comforts as humans. Living off the land was what my father calls ‘a rude awakening.’” Elsie smiled wryly. “He was twenty-four at the time of the collapse. His mother was a powerful witch and the leader of their coven. Together, they led their people across mountains and forests until coming across Balmar Heights—a small gated community that had been abandoned far from human cities. It was an oasis in the woods. With their combined powers, they were able to maintain the community and make a home of it, which still thrives today. But there was only one problem.”
Kallie leaned forward. She’d gotten so caught up in Elsie’s tale, she’d momentarily forgotten the part about Elsie being cursed.
The witch-shifter tugged on the hem of Heidi’s dress several times before continuing.
“Bear shifters,” Elsie murmured. “Although they didn’t live in Balmar Heights, they claimed the community as part of their territory. They waged war on my father and his coven, causing problems wherever they could. But my father refused to leave the first true home he and his people had found since leaving behind the last traces of civilization. When the conflict intensified, my father made a bargain with the leader of the Bear Mountain shifters. He promised his firstborn daughter to one of their leaders’ sons.”
Kallie gasped. “How could he?”
Elsie surprised her by smiling. “My father’s forever at the time was a witch who was barren—forever is how wizards refer to their mates. Anyway, they could never conceive, so it was an easy bargain for him to make on his coven’s behalf. At the time, he never imagined he’d lose his beloved or take other lovers—certainly not shapeshifters. Lazarus could have used a seer back then.” Elsie gave a soft chuckle.
Kallie gaped at her. “And did the leader of the bear shifters have a son?”
Elsie
nodded, her expression sobering. “He fathered many male cubs—three of which are still alive. The two oldest had no interest in their father’s bargain, but the youngest—Brutus—lives to torment my father and wants me for no other reason. He is as brutish as his name sounds, and I am promised to him.”
“To a bear shifter?” Kallie still couldn’t wrap her head around it. “What happens if you refuse?” Surely Elsie wouldn’t be forced to marry a bear.
Elsie’s shoulders drooped, and her head bowed. “If I do not fulfill my father’s promise, all the men in our coven will become impotent and all the women infertile. Our coven would die out. The bear shifters already threatened the coven’s children once. It’s why my father took such drastic measures. The bears captured two of the coven’s children. They were too young to protect themselves with spells, and so my father had to make the bear shifters a promise in order to have the children returned safely to Balmar Heights.”
Kallie’s heart gave a sickening lurch, and her vocal cords twisted into knots inside her throat on Elsie’s behalf.
The witch-shifter sat up tall, eyes sparkling. “Luckily, my father added a loophole in the agreement—just in case. He said his firstborn daughter would have to marry a shifter, but he didn’t specify that it had to be a bear.” She grinned.
Kallie gave a sigh of relief.
“So all you have to do is choose a mate in Wolf Hollow.” That wasn’t so bad, considering Elsie was part wolf and had a brother in the hollow.
“That’s right,” Elsie said, “and I’ve got seven weeks to find one.”
“Seven weeks!” Kallie’s eyes bulged in their sockets. “Why seven weeks?”
“That’s when I turn twenty, and that’s when Brutus can collect on the bargain . . . unless I’m already mated.”
Kallie pressed her hands against her cheeks. How would Elsie possibly find a mate in seven weeks? She was a newcomer just getting to know the pack. It didn’t help that she was half witch and stayed mostly in the den with the families.
“Does Tabor know about this?”
Elsie shook her head. “No, and what I told you was in confidence. I don’t want him to worry, and I don’t want him getting in my way.”
“What’s your plan? Maybe I can help.” Kallie leaned forward.
“There’s really only one option.”
Elsie carefully untied the ribbon from around her hair, allowing her silky brown tresses to fall loose over her narrow shoulders. Slowly, she wrapped the ribbon around her fingers, binding them together. She stared into her hand as she spoke.
“I need to claim the first wolf shifter who will have me.”
An ache gripped Kallie by the middle, and it had nothing to do with her injury. No shifter should be forced to claim a mate she didn’t love with her whole being.
All of a sudden it made sense to her why Elsie had taken an interest in Zackary. The poor female was desperate, and her time was running out. But she shouldn’t have to settle for any mate just because her father had cursed her. A claim was sacred—something to cherish and celebrate.
The corners of Kallie’s lips dragged down like tree roots in search of water.
“Don’t look so glum, Kallie. If you met Brutus, you’d feel relieved that I have a way out.”
“Seven weeks,” Kallie whispered, her mind racing through the names and faces of single males, none of whom had shown interest in the witch-shifter. The only one who had noticed was Zackary.
Kallie gritted her teeth. There had to be someone else—anyone else.
“We need a list of potentials.”
“I’m all ears,” Elsie said.
Kallie chewed on the bottom of her lip.
“Alec and Heath are nice, but I heard they’re not looking to settle down in the den anytime soon.” Who else was there? Kallie’s mind had drawn a blank. This was even harder than she originally thought. “Has anyone caught your eye?”
Elsie shrugged and picked at the hem of Heidi’s dress.
“Aden and Zackary are the only two single males who’ve made any effort to talk to me.”
Kallie groaned. “And they’re the only two who’ve been forbidden to claim mates.”
Elsie looked up and frowned. “How can the council do that to them?”
“In Zackary’s case, it was punishment for what he did to your brother.”
Elsie lifted her chest. “Then Tabor can reverse the punishment.”
Kallie’s mouth gaped open. “So that the male he despises above all others can claim his sister? He’d never agree to that.”
A flash of light brightened Elsie’s eyes. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to claim one another in secret.”
“Elsie!”
She fisted her hair above each of her shoulder blades and yanked down as though she might pull it out. “If Brutus claims me, there will be nothing anyone can do for me—not wolf nor wizard. I will be lost to all those I love forever. I can’t let that happen. It’s why my father left me here. Only I can save myself from a cursed fate.” She sighed. “Zackary may be my only hope.”
Kallie didn’t like it, but there were worse things to consider.
“How can I help?”
Elsie gave her a considering look before smiling. “Perhaps we can help each other.”
chapter nine
Blood stained Wolfrik’s skin, running over his scars. He and Aden had cut the meat up while naked to avoid bloodying up their clothes. Once they were finished rinsing the meat off in the river, they cleaned themselves off and got dressed.
Maureen applauded them when they walked into the glade with the first batch of meat. “You already caught and cleaned a deer. This is wonderful! Everyone’s going to be so happy when they come off patrol and taste tonight’s dinner stew.”
She lifted a butcher’s knife from a tall stump and got to work cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces while her workmate, Dylan, readied a wide pan over a fire near the cauldron.
Wolfrik and Aden made trips back and forth from the river to the glade until they’d brought the last of the meat. On their final delivery, Kallie limped into the clearing holding a basket of vegetables, Elsie beside her.
She stopped briefly when she saw Wolfrik and swallowed. He felt a stirring in his groin that intensified when she resumed walking, moving closer and closer. Voluminous brown hair cascaded past her shoulders in wild waves that caught the sun and turned to copper.
“Great timing,” Maureen sang out. “Look what Wolfrik and Aden caught.”
“Is that deer meat?” Elsie asked, eyes lighting up.
Aden grinned at her and nodded.
Elsie rubbed her hands together. “How soon until dinner?”
A soft chuckle shook Aden’s shoulders. At least his attention had been diverted elsewhere. Wolfrik was still pissed at the werewolf for trying to get him to open up on patrol. Perhaps it was time for a little payback.
“There’s a long while yet,” Wolfrik drawled. “Maybe Aden could hunt down a tasty treat to satisfy your cravings.”
The big guy actually blushed. Pleased with himself, Wolfrik grinned. Some things were more satisfying than a smackdown, and watching the usually infallible Aden squirm was one of them.
“I can wait.” Elsie aimed a cool gaze at Wolfrik that seemed to see straight through him. The witch was too clever for her own good.
Aden glanced at Wolfrik. “We still need to bring the hide to the den for tanning.”
“Kallie and I will help you,” Elsie said quickly. She rushed past Wolfrik to Aden’s side. The two shifters led the way back to the river, walking fast as though they hoped to leave him behind.
That left Wolfrik with two choices—he could either jog after them or accompany Kallie. He wasn’t about to trot after the werewolf and witch. Wolfrik fell into step with Kallie.
“Someone’s in a hu
rry to get Aden alone,” he commented sardonically.
“Or get away from you,” Kallie said under her breath. She stepped ahead of Wolfrik onto the forest path that led from the glade to the river.
One wide footstep brought Wolfrik right back at her side.
“Unlike you,” he said, looking at her bad leg. “You can’t get away.” A smile crept up his lips. “And you don’t want to.”
“Right now, I do.” She didn’t slow down.
“Finally came to your senses.” Wolfrik’s taunting tone didn’t match the heavy disappointment stacked inside his gut like a pile of rocks.
When Kallie didn’t answer, the pile grew heavier.
Wolfrik’s earlier satisfaction turned to remorse. No one wanted to be around him, and it wasn’t because he was damaged; he was a jackass, a bastard, a thoughtless barbarian. His self-loathing sent up gray smoke that threatened to consume him on the spot.
When they reached the river, Aden and Elsie were gone, along with every last piece of the deer hide. The only things left to put away were the knives and rope, which Wolfrik didn’t need help carrying.
“There’s nothing left to do here. You’re in luck,” he said moodily.
Kallie stood silent for several heartbeats while Wolfrik waited for her to go away or say something. When she finally spoke, he felt the earlier rage rise inside him.
“Why do you push everyone away?” she asked.
It was the pity in her tone that unhinged him. She was the one who should be pitied—injured, disabled, and cast aside like a broken cup.
Wolfrik whipped around and growled. “And why does everyone want to fix me? I’m beyond repair—just like you.”
Kallie sucked in a breath then glared at him. Her palpable rage fueled the fire inside Wolfrik’s soul, feeding into it, burning away the frustration.
He stalked toward her, and she backed away, eyes narrowing with each step until she was pressed up against a tree. He was in her face in a flash, anchoring her body with his own. She gave a little gasp, eyelashes fluttering as though they might help her flit away, but he wouldn’t allow her to escape. Not this time.
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