IceHuntersMate

by Marisa Chenery

  By the time they had called it quits, Eryn was more than a little hungry. She’d only eaten breakfast that morning and hadn’t thought far enough in advance to bring something to eat for lunch when she’d left her place to meet Wachei.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked him.

  “Starving, actually.”

  “How about we go someplace to eat? Unless you have to be somewhere else.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m free. What were you thinking of having?”

  “Do you like Chinese? We could go back to my place and order some to have it delivered.”

  “That sounds good. It’ll be my treat.”

  “Okay.”

  They made the hike back to the pickup truck with the sun still high in the sky. After only having six hours of daylight during the Alaskan winter, Eryn always enjoyed the longer periods of it during the warmer months. With eighteen hours of light during the summer, it made up for the cold and darkness.

  At her apartment, Eryn parked her truck in her assigned spot in the outside parking lot at the back of the building, then led Wachei to the secured entrance. Once inside, she led him to the stairs. Since there were only three floors, there wasn’t an elevator. Eryn lived on the very top one.

  They arrived at her place and she unlocked the door. After they were inside, Eryn closed and locked it behind them. “Do you have a particular place you like to order Chinese from?” she asked as she took off her jacket, then hung it in the closet. She took Wachei’s from him and did the same.

  “No. I’ve only had it a couple of times so you can decide.”

  Eryn turned to face him and gave him a surprised look. “You mean out of your whole life?”

  Wachei nodded. “Yeah, but when I have had it I liked it.”

  “Wow. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve eaten it. It’s one of my favorite foods. And I know the best place to get it too.”

  They sat on the couch and Eryn took out the takeout menu for the Chinese restaurant. She ended up having to make the decision of what they’d order since Wachei really had no idea what some of the things were.

  Once she phoned it in, Eryn sat back on the couch and turned on the cushion to face Wachei. “It’ll be here in about forty minutes. So what do you want to do while we wait?” she asked with a smile.

  He easily lifted and shifted her so she sat straddling his lap facing him. “Hmm, I can think of something that will help make the time go by faster.”

  Eryn lowered her head to meet Wachei’s lips as he lifted his face. This time the passion flared hot between them with no buildup. She ground against his cock, which was already hard. He put his hands on her butt and lifted his hips in time with her movements. Wetness pooled between her legs. She wanted Wachei’s shaft buried deep inside her when she came again. She buried her hands in his long hair and kissed him for all she was worth.

  She debated about suggesting they have a quickie on the couch before their food arrived when her apartment door opened. Eryn tore her mouth away from Wachei’s and turned her head as she jumped at the sound.

  Seeing who had come in unannounced, Eryn pushed off Wachei’s lap and stood, fuming as the two people she had not wanted to see again today walked into her living room. Wachei rose off the couch to stand at her side.

  Eryn glared at her brothers. “Please tell me you didn’t just use my spare set of keys—that I gave you, Noah, in case I locked myself out or lost them—to come in here and cock block Wachei.”

  She watched Wachei look down at his crotch as he said, “They didn’t do anything to my cock. And I sure as hell wouldn’t let them close enough to it to block it in some way.”

  Eryn would have laughed at that if she wasn’t mad at Noah and Carson. And it didn’t help that they were chortling at what Wachei had said. “Well?” she demanded.

  Carson reined back some of his laughter. “Where did you find this guy, Eryn? And no, we didn’t purposely come here to cock block your boyfriend. We didn’t know he’d be here.”

  “But you were hoping he was.”

  “Maybe,” Noah said as his laughter died away. “We were just driving by and saw your pickup in the parking lot.”

  “Just driving by, my ass.”

  Right then, Eryn’s phone rang. She walked over to the cordless and picked it up. After saying a few words to the person on the other end, she pushed the number on the keypad for entrance through the secured door. She hung up and turned to give Noah a satisfied smile.

  “You’re in deep shit, buddy,” Eryn said. She then walked over to the door and unlocked it.

  Noah’s eyes widen slightly. “Heidi’s here?”

  “Bingo.”

  At the knock, Eryn opened the door and stepped aside as Noah’s wife came barreling into the apartment with their daughter in tow. Eryn closed it behind her and locked it so Noah wouldn’t have an easy escape route. She then walked back over to stand at Wachei’s side to watch the fireworks.

  “Hi, Heidi,” Noah said sheepishly.

  “Don’t ‘Hi, Heidi’ me,” his wife said in return. “Didn’t we have a discussion last night about not interfering with Eryn’s life when you told me she was seeing someone new?”

  “Yes.”

  “And still you had to come over to her apartment and do it anyway.”

  “Actually,” Eryn said, “this is the second time these nitwits have interfered. They decided to go ‘hunting’ earlier at my hunting spot, knowing full well I’d be there with Wachei.”

  “Are you tattling on me?” Noah asked her with a scowl.

  “Damn right, big bro. I’m going to throw you to the wolves.” Eryn noticed Wachei jerked at the last part she said but she acted as if she hadn’t. “That’s what you get when you can’t leave well enough alone.”

  “Daddy’s in big trouble,” Crystal said in her high little voice. “You’re always supposed to do what Mommy says or she puts you in time out.” She looked at Heidi. “Are you going to put Daddy in the corner for time out?”

  “Maybe I should,” Heidi replied. “Or make him sleep on the couch tonight.”

  “I didn’t think sleeping on the couch was a bad thing,” Wachei said in a confused-sounding tone. “I’ve slept on one several times.”

  Carson burst out laughing again. “Man, Wachei, how can you not know these things?”

  Heidi rounded on him. “And you, Carson, I might not be able to punish you, but I’m sure a call to your mother will fix that.”

  Eryn couldn’t hold back a chuckle when all the laughter left her brother’s face. Their mother didn’t tolerate any crap from her sons. And she always stepped in when Noah and Carson took things too far with Eryn. This would be one of those times when her mother would have done such. But since her parents had moved to Anchorage six months ago for her dad’s job, her mom wasn’t able to set her brothers straight in person as much as she had in the past. Though a phone call was usually enough to have Carson and Noah watching their steps for a little while.

  Heidi pointed toward the apartment door. “Both of you out. We’re going to leave Eryn and her boyfriend alone.” She then turned to Wachei. “I’m sorry we had to meet this way but I’m glad we did. I’m Heidi, by the way. And this is my and Noah’s daughter, Crystal.”

  Wachei smiled at them both. “Nice to meet you. And don’t worry about it. I’ve already told Eryn I won’t let her brothers get to me. I even told them that when we saw them earlier.”

  “Good. Just remember they do these idiotic things because they love Eryn. They’re mostly filled with hot air and are harmless.”

  “Sure, Heidi,” Carson said. “Make us look bad.”

  Noah elbowed his brother in the side. “Shut up right now before you make it worse, especially for me.”

  Her sister-in-law let out an exasperated-sounding sigh and ushered Noah and Carson out the door. Before they left, Crystal waved. Eryn also heard her niece tell her father he could use her time-out chair when they got home.

  Eryn walked ov
er and locked the door. She leaned back against it and looked at Wachei. “If that didn’t make you change your mind about me, I guess nothing will,” she said jokingly.

  Wachei crossed over to her and hauled her into his arms. “I’m not going anywhere.” He picked her up and carried her to the couch. “Let’s forget about your brothers and continue what we were doing.”

  Chapter Five

  Tanner watched his maker, Andre, drag a resisting mortal woman farther down the dark alleyway. All too soon he’d hear her screams of pain and fear once Andre took his pleasure with her. They wouldn’t bother Tanner, though. What did he care about what happened to a weak mortal?

  Sure enough, Tanner heard the mortal scream before Andre muffled the sound. Tanner chuckled. His maker was evil to the core, and Tanner strived to be just like Andre. He owed his maker everything. Because of him, Tanner now had the immortality he’d once thought to get the ice age wolf brothers to give him. But what Andre had gifted him with was so much better.

  With the darkness that lived inside him, Tanner was stronger and faster in his wolf and human forms. His eyes were no longer brown but a pure black, just like Andre’s. They also glowed red instead of the muted gold they’d taken on when he’d been only an ordinary werewolf. Now he was so much more.

  And whereas before he’d thought to one day take out Brice to be Juneau’s pack leader, that was no longer something he strived toward. Tanner only lived to serve Andre. Whatever his maker wanted, asked him to do, Tanner was more than happy to comply.

  Andre’s first task for Tanner was for him to round up as many lone wolves as he could find to join their new pack. And it couldn’t be just any lone wolf. No, his maker wanted the most corrupt and dangerous, those loners who lived on the dark side of life and relished it.

  All too soon the woman’s muffled screams cut off, and a few minutes later, Andre returned. He walked up to Tanner, looking well-satisfied. “Time to go,” his maker said.

  Tanner nodded and fell into step with Andre as they left the alleyway. “I need to go meet up with some of the lone wolves I contacted. They arrived in Juneau this morning.”

  “Good. Bring them to me and I’ll give them the gift of immortality as I gave you. We need to increase our pack’s numbers.”

  “When will we be able to move against the wolf brothers?”

  “You must have patience, Tanner. Our numbers are still too small to go up against the six of them.”

  “But it’s been almost a year since I tried to take out Edensaw. I’m sick of waiting.”

  Andre grabbed Tanner by the back of the neck and squeezed hard enough for him to cry out. “You’d do well to watch what you say around me, whelp. The dark magic is stronger in me than you.” His maker released him with a small shove. “We’ll launch an all-out attack when I deem us ready. Until such time, I’ll soon test any new recruits by sending them against one of the wolf brothers. If they are defeated, they weren’t meant to be in our pack.”

  “What if the wolf brother captures them?”

  Andre smiled. “I’ll pull the dark magic out of them and let them face whatever fate awaits them.”

  “Will you send me against a wolf brother as well?”

  “No, you’ve already passed that trial. You, I want to keep. You were the first I sired. That makes you special.”

  A wash of pride surged through him at his maker’s words. Tanner liked the idea of being held in higher regard than the rest of their pack. “I’ll always do my best to never disappoint you.”

  “I know you will. Now meet up with your lone wolves. And once I’ve brought them over, we’ll celebrate with a hunt. The male mortal I’ve been keeping will make the perfect prey.”

  Tanner nodded, then hurried away to be about his maker’s bidding. He licked his lips. He already could taste mortal blood on his tongue as he imagined sinking his wolf’s teeth into the male they’d hunt that night.

  * * * * *

  Wachei and Eryn had had just enough time to give each other pleasure before the Chinese food had arrived. It had increased his mating urge, having her bring him to climax with her hand, but Wachei hadn’t been willing to pass up having his mate in his arms.

  The food had been as good as Eryn had said it would be. Wachei decided Chinese would be one of his favorite foods as well. Back during the ice age, his diet had been restricted to any meat he was able to kill and whatever could be gathered from the surrounding area. Now food was so varied and plentiful.

  Even though Wachei had wanted to spend the night with Eryn, he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Cassidy had explained how modern-day dating worked, and on a first date, he couldn’t expect Eryn to agree to his sleeping over. So he suggested he leave shortly after they finished eating. That was when his mate offered to drive him home, which he gladly accepted.

  Wachei sat next to Eryn in the cab of her pickup truck with his hand resting on her thigh. Now that he’d tasted her pleasure, had set them on the road to becoming mates, he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her.

  “Is this the place?” Eryn asked as she slowed the truck just before she reached the driveway to his house.

  He nodded. “Yes, this is my home.”

  Eryn pulled into the driveway, drove up and came to a stop in front of the garage. She put the pickup in park and looked out the window. “You have a nice house.”

  “You want to come in? Since I got to meet your family, it’s only fair you get to meet what I consider mine.”

  She smiled and shut the truck’s engine off. “Sure, I’d love that. I shouldn’t have to worry about interfering siblings, I would assume.”

  Wachei chuckled. “No, there won’t be any of those around here.”

  They stepped out of the pickup and Wachei came around the back end to join Eryn, shouldering his quiver and bow. As he did, he saw she stared in the direction of the front lawn. He then silently cursed to himself in his native Tlingit when his gaze landed on Kajakti running toward him and Eryn in dire wolf form. Wachei thought to get Eryn into the house before she thought much about it, but he was too late for that.

  “Is that a wolf I see coming this way?” Eryn asked as she lifted her hand to shade her eyes from the sun.

  “Ah, yeah. He’s a pet.”

  She turned her head to look at him. “You have a wolf for a pet?”

  Wachei tried to get her walking again by taking Eryn’s hand in his, but she pulled it from his grasp and stepped onto the lawn as Kajakti reached them. Wachei focused his gaze on his wolf brother and mouthed the words “Go away”, hoping Kajakti would take the hint and leave before Eryn figured out he was no ordinary timber wolf. Instead, his wolf brother came closer and sat directly in front of Eryn. Kajakti looked up at her with almost a smile on his lupine muzzle.

  “It’s safe to pet him, right?” Eryn asked.

  “Yes, but don’t do it for too long. He’s not supposed to be out in the front of the house,” Wachei said more for Kajakti’s benefit.

  Eryn reached out her hand and stroked the top of his wolf brother’s head. Since Wachei hadn’t claimed her as his mate yet, it bothered him a bit, seeing her touch Kajakti, an unmated male, even in his wolf form.

  “He doesn’t look like the wolves I normally see around here,” Eryn said. “His teeth look a lot bigger and sharper, and his legs are a little more compact.”

  Being a hunter, of course Eryn would mark the differences once she saw Kajakti up close. “That’s because he has some dog in him as well.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Dog.”

  Eryn chuckled. “You couldn’t come up with a better name than that for him?”

  “No.”

  She squatted in front of Kajakti and scratched behind his ear. “Well, Dog, I’m Wachei’s new girlfriend so don’t decide to take a piece out of me, all right?”

  Wachei scowled when Kajakti licked Eryn’s face. Having had about enough of his wolf brother, Wachei told Kajakti to go away in Tlingit, which Kajakti i
gnored.

  “What did you say to him?” Eryn asked.

  “I told him to go. He’s making a pest of himself.”

  “No, he’s not. He’s cute. He’s just happy to see us and gave me some kisses. Maybe he wants you to pay some attention to him as well. You might get kissed too.”

  Eryn’s words had Kajakti leaving her and coming over to Wachei. He then jumped up on his hind legs and put his front paws on Wachei’s shoulders as Kajakti licked his cheek.

  Wachei had to check himself from shifting to his wolf form and going after his wolf brother for that. At the last second, he remembered Eryn stood there, watching everything. Instead he pushed Kajakti away and rubbed at his face. “That was disgusting.”

  He heard the sound of Kajakti’s laughter in his head. And that is for calling me a dog, his wolf brother said in his mind.

  A quick look at Eryn showed Kajakti hadn’t projected his thoughts to her at the same time since she shook her head at him with a smile tugging at her lips.

  “I guess you don’t like wolf-doggie kisses.”

  No, he didn’t, especially since it was from his wolf brother. Man kisses were not on the top of his list of things he wanted. “How about we go into the house so I can introduce you to everyone?” He sent Kajakti a meaningful look before he steered Eryn toward the house.

  Kajakti fell into step next to Eryn, brushing up against her leg every once in a while. Wachei knew his wolf brother was doing it on purpose to rile him. And he was succeeding.

  Wachei opened the front door and let Eryn walk in ahead of him. He tried to shut it behind her, but Kajakti managed to slip past him before he could get it closed all the way. He followed Wachei and Eryn into the living room where Cassidy and Edensaw sat watching TV.

  He placed his hand on the small of Eryn’s back and walked her closer to the other couple sitting on the couch. “Eryn, this is Cassidy and Edensaw, two of the people I live with.”

  “Hi,” Eryn said to them both. “I was dropping Wachei off and he invited me in to meet everyone.”

  “I’m glad he did,” Cassidy said as her gaze flitted from Eryn to Kajakti and back to Eryn again. “Wachei told us about you. The others are out back.” She looked at her mate. “Edensaw, why don’t you get them, and take K—”