Erik shifted, and Sylvestre tossed him a pelt to cover himself. He fastened it around his neck, and then followed the others inside, keeping his head low.
The inside of the tent was warm, and smelled of leather and incense. There was a fire burning in the center of the room, and a small hole in the roof allowed the smoke to escape. There were two males seated beside the fire, their tall shadows framing their hulking forms. One of them appeared to be about Erik’s size, though it was hard to tell with him being in a sitting position. The other was substantially larger, almost freakishly large, Erik thought. They both wore outfits that had been fashioned from a white and slate colored fur that Erik recognized, a rare type of caribou that he hadn’t seen for quite some time.
The female introduced them, and then sat down beside the smaller male. Sylvestre greeted them both, seeming unable to ascertain which male was in charge. Erik already knew.
“So,” Elena said, in a thoughtful tone, “tell me more about this alliance your alpha wants.”
As she spoke, her eyes assessed Erik. He may have been underestimating her, but he didn’t think she had any idea who he was. This assumption was reinforced when Sylvestre quickly reclaimed her attention.
“We’ve heard that your bears have been attacking the Siluit pack,” he said. And to Erik’s surprise, he took it upon himself to approach the fire and sit down across from Elena. The other males immediately appeared defensive, but Elena held out a quieting hand.
“They are not my bears,” she told him, firelight flickering in her violet eyes. “Many of the shifters here trust my judgment, and I have been known to enforce basic human decency from time to time, but I am not the boss of anyone but myself.”
And that is exactly what you want them to believe, Erik thought, still hanging back.
“You should know,” she continued, “that there are others around here that would consider themselves to be leaders. Many others, and they would not take kindly to your intrusion into our territory.”
“You do realize you are on Amarok territory,” Sylvestre pointed out.
She arched a delicate brow. “And yet here you are, trying to foster peace when your alpha is renowned for his warmongering.”
Erik couldn’t argue with that. Aside from the alliance of convenience he’d made with Zane, he had never allied himself with anyone. He had absorbed several packs into his own over the years, and those that were not amicable to such an arrangement, he had conquered in a rather merciless fashion.
“If you think it’s because we couldn’t take you on, well you’re probably right,” Sylvestre said. Erik was impressed that they’d made it this far, but now was when everything could fall apart if Sylvestre couldn’t hold his own.
“So you admit that you don’t have the numbers to fight us, then?” Elena asked, appearing intrigued.
“We couldn’t possibly sustain a pack that large,” he said. “But I think you already knew that. But then, that is also the reason I’m here. Our territory wouldn’t sustain your tribes, not even for a year. But Siluit’s on the other hand…”
Elena leaned back on one hand and stared speculatively at Sylvestre. She was silent for a moment, but then sighed and said, “My scouts have told me as much. That eastern territory, herds of caribou pass through at least twice a year, and you can hardly throw a rock without hitting a muskox. Not to mention, with a little ingenuity, we could spend our downtime fishing.” Her eyes blazed with frank desire. “Under the right management, it could sustain us all, indefinitely.”
Erik relaxed, knowing that the danger had passed, more or less. They were still in the belly of a herd of bears, but he could see that Elena was warming up to Sylvestre, and that her goals were fixed towards the east, rather than the Amarok den. For once, he was glad he hadn’t conquered Siluit after its former alpha had passed. Even then, intuition had told him that the small stretch of abundant territory would be more trouble than it was worth.
“But still, I’m not the one in charge here,” she said. “And some of the self-proclaimed leaders would just as soon take your pack for themselves, even if it were only as a jumping point to Siluit.”
Sylvestre nodded and gave her a mild look. “Understandable, but I would caution them to reconsider. It is true, we don’t have the numbers to combat yours, but we do have many advantages that you don’t, and I think you can guess what some of those might be. If they were to attack us, they might be surprised by how quickly the tides would turn in our favor.”
That seemed to surprise Elena, though she hid it well. Erik knew that she probably hadn’t considered the advantages Amarok had, such as being well fed, battle seasoned, and above all, knowing the territory—the value of which losing sides from time immemorial had underestimated. And with the bear shifters lacking the coordination that the wolves had, they might ultimately win, but not without suffering massive casualties.
“So then, the real reason you’re here is to persuade us to pass right through your territory and head east,” she surmised.
Sylvestre said, “I’m asking you to tell the others that if they’re willing to pass through, we’ll make sure they’re well-supplied with enough food to last them the journey. Once they’re in Siluit, it’s like you said: they’ll have no shortage of fresh meat, and we have inside knowledge that at this very moment, Siluit is nearly crippled. They have maybe a dozen good fighters, and their alpha’s mate is pregnant. If you all show up on his doorstep, he’s likely to flee with her, and you probably won’t have to fight at all.”
Her eyes were cautious, but she couldn’t repress a small smile. “You must know that we can’t act on your word alone, and getting scouts across this godforsaken wasteland is becoming harder, now that winter’s in full swing.”
“Send a small group to Amarok. We’ll make sure they have everything they need to get to Siluit. We can even make arrangements for them to get inside Siluit and see things for themselves.”
“How will you do that?”
Sylvestre gave her a lazy grin. “You’ll have to trust me on that one.”
Her smile widened. “Fair enough. You’ve been very forthright thus far.”
Sylvestre stood and gave her a mock bow. He turned to leave, but Elena motioned for him to stop.
“Wait here for a moment.” She nodded towards the larger male, and must have given him a signal Erik hadn’t caught, because he got up and lumbered from the tent, shoving Erik aside with his shoulder as he left. Erik kept his cool.
“I have something for you,” Elena said. “A token of our new friendship. But please understand that if you’re trying to play me for a fool, I won’t hesitate to bring the entire force of this encampment down on your den.”
Sylvestre did well to remain calm, and appeared almost amused as he said, “I thought you said you weren’t in charge.”
“I’m not, but I do hold a great deal of sway over those who are.”
Erik turned towards the tent flap, his nose picking up a familiar scent. Seconds later, the large male stepped inside, bringing with him dirty clumps of snow and Torok, Erik’s scout. He wasn’t dead, as Atka had reported, but he appeared close to it.
“The others wanted to kill him, but I convinced them to spare him, in case your alpha wanted him back.”
For the first time, Sylvestre seemed at a loss. He ran to catch Torok before he fell to the floor. The wolf appeared to have not eaten in some time, and didn’t seem able to hold himself up. To Erik, he looked only like dead weight.
Unemphatically, Erik said, “How gracious of you.”
Hours later, when they were far from the basin of bears and well beyond and curious ears, Sylvestre let out a long-winded exhale.
“That was fucking crazy. I can’t believe I did that.”
“You did well,” Erik said. He was carrying Torok on one shoulder. Thankfully, his wolf was small, but Erik could already feel his tired muscles beginning to strain. They’d tried carrying him on their backs in their own wolf forms, but the pro
ne shifter kept sliding off. If Erik had his way, they’d leave him there, but then of course, he’d have to deal with Sylvestre’s accusatory stares for the rest of their journey.
“So how are we going to beat them? Wait, don’t tell me—you plan on poisoning the meat you give them.”
They’d discussed a great many things while preparing to confront the bears, but Erik had kept his endgame to himself, knowing Sylvestre wouldn’t have been able to stomach it.
“Where do you think we’re going to get that much poison? Let alone a poison that they couldn’t detect.”
Sylvestre nodded glumly. “Okay, so what’s your plan, then?”
“There is no plan. We’re going to do exactly as we said we would. We’ll give the bears safe passage through our territory and wish them all the best on their way to Siluit.”
“But… What about our alliance with Zane? They’ll kill them all, Erik.”
Erik lifted a shoulder, the one that wasn’t burdened. “Better them than us.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Astrid sat in Sten’s bed with her back propped against the cool, smooth wall. She’d set aside her sewing at least an hour ago with the intent of getting some sleep, but had instead divided her time between sorting through her jumbled thoughts and watching Halley sleep. The wolf pup lay sprawled out across her lap, her Cupid’s bow lips parted as she inhaled and exhaled in soft, sweet-sounding breaths.
Astrid had finally started to nod off when Sten came in. His steps were as silent as any predatory creature, but between the attack on the camp, which felt like it had happened both yesterday and another lifetime ago, and Sabine’s assault, which still had her waking each night in a cold sweat, Astrid was always on alert.
She considered pretending to be asleep. Astrid had been with Ila and the others all day, and then when they finally took the hint that she wanted to be alone, Halley had stayed behind, loudly tussling with Noona throughout the room. When Halley had passed out, it was the first time Astrid had been able to have peace and quiet all day.
Fabric rustled as Sten moved beside her. Reluctantly, she peeked at him through heavy lashes. He was crouched down, his long arms resting on his knees. For a brief instant, she saw the shadow of his brother in Sten’s face, and it felt as though he had reached into her chest cavity and wrapped a fist around her heart. Then, as though it had only been a trick of the light, Sten was back in all his pale, ethereal glory. The fist only grew tighter.
I miss him so much.
She glanced away from Sten, her eyes stinging.
“How are you feeling, Astrid?”
His voice was like Erik’s as well. She had never noticed it before. It was almost the same deep, rich voice, but where Erik’s hard edge was, Sten had kindness with a touch of melancholy.
Bluntly, she asked, “Am I pregnant?”
Sten’s back straightened and he regarded her with concerned eyes. “How about we talk in the other room?”
She looked down at Halley, still snoozing in her lap, and nodded. Before she could work out how she was going to get the little girl off without disturbing her, Sten hefted her up with confident grace and set her aside. Halley murmured something, but didn’t wake.
Astrid got up and followed Sten into the living room, where she settled down onto the couch. She drew her legs up and pulled a cover over herself, watching as Sten lit two cream-colored candles and set them on the table.
When he sat down next to her, she was struck by how large he was. She was so accustomed to measuring him against his brother’s height and musculature, but being away from Erik for so long had her looking at Sten with a fresh perspective.
He leaned his elbow against the back of the couch and propped his head on his hand. His golden gaze was full of warmth and affection that she didn’t feel she’d earned.
“I didn’t want to believe it at first,” he said. “But only because your scent changed so quickly. It’s very early. There’s still a lot that could go wrong, but I think you can be cautiously optimistic. That is…if this is something you wanted.”
She listened to his words with detached interest, still not fully believing what she was hearing.
“What do you mean?”
“The entire decision, it seems to be impulsive on Erik’s part. He never wanted a mate or pups, and now he suddenly has both. I hope that it’s not him making the decision for you.”
Astrid considered pointing out that prior to becoming his mate, she had been Erik’s prisoner. And regardless of what the alpha believed, even being his mate was a warped extension of that relationship. She wasn’t her own person anymore. She didn’t exist outside of his orbit.
“I wanted it,” she said, her voice thick. The words were even harder to force out, given what she’d been thinking.
Sten carefully prodded, “Do you still want it?”
“I think so,” she said, working it out as she spoke. “But only because I struggled so much with infertility. If not for that, I don’t think I’d have ever wanted children with him, especially not here. Your world, it’s too harsh.”
“Then why?”
“It’s pretty pathetic, but… I think I wanted to know. Erik, he seemed so certain that it would work and I knew that if I rejected it—if he would have even let me—then I would have always wondered. Plus that hope, for new life and the infinite possibilities it holds, it’s addictive.” She gave him a sad smile. “See? I told you. I’m pathetic. And selfish.”
As she spoke, Sabine’s words echoed in her mind. ‘Bringing a child into the world is always a selfish act. We condemn them to a life of pain and suffering, all so that we can lessen our own emptiness.’
“How is this possible, Sten? I want to believe it—or maybe I don’t—but how? I spent so long trying to have a baby with my ex-husband. We had doctors and fertility drugs. I can’t even remember the last time I had a period, but now I’ve been with Erik for two months and…”
Sten nodded. “My mate—my former mate, she’d had cancer in her youth. She wasn’t supposed to be able to have children either. It was one of the reasons I felt comfortable being with her.”
“You didn’t want kids?”
He looked past her, casting a furtive glance to where Halley lay sleeping in the next room. Once he was satisfied they wouldn’t be overheard, he said, “No. Before I had Halley, I wasn’t even responsible enough to care for myself, let alone a child. I spent most of my formative years languishing in Erik’s shadow.”
Astrid almost laughed, but the sound stuck in her throat when she saw the solemn lines drawn on his face.
“I can’t imagine you competing with Erik.”
He was staring down at his hands, a wan smile playing on his lips. “Is it that hard to believe?”
Her brows rose. “No, not like that. I mean, you’re so much better than him. You’re conscientious, considerate, and far more mature. And I saw you fight, that day, against the bears. Maybe you’re not as strong as Erik, but you’re damn close.”
Sten’s smile twisted into something self-depreciating. “It’s a shame my parents didn’t share your perception of me.”
Now, it was Astrid’s turn to nod. “I know how that is,” she said with a sigh. “It was the same with Ginnifer and I. She walked on water and I was always paddling against the current to keep up.”
Silence fell over the room, and they continued to stare at one another, though they were both lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t long before Astrid could no longer stand to be inside her own head.
“What am I going to do?” she asked. She knew that he couldn’t answer for her, but it was a small comfort to be able to share her distress.
“You’re going to make a great mother.”
Then why did she already feel like she’d failed?
“And what about Erik?” she asked. “You said it yourself, I don’t stand anywhere with him. I’ll never be anything to him.”
She didn’t fully believe that, not anymore, but she wasn’t su
re if that was because there was something growing between herself and the alpha, or if it was only wishful thinking.
“Maybe he’ll surprise us both,” Sten said. “But you shouldn’t worry about that. Our children aren’t just raised by their parents. They’re raised by the pack. Right now, you should focus on building social ties. They’ll be invaluable once your pup is born.”
From threads of gossip and offhanded remarks, Astrid had a basic idea of Sten’s history. She knew that he and Erik had grown up together, but at some point, he’d struck out on his own, venturing into some human town or city. Probably a city, she decided, as his strange colorings would have never allowed him to blend in where everyone minded everyone else’s business.
She wondered what sort of woman had caught his eye. Had he been in love, or had it been like she and Erik—an overwhelming attraction, almost cosmic in its force? Maybe it had been both. Had his mate known what he was, or had he somehow been able to hide it from her? Maybe they had been in love, maybe she had been a blissful new mother, and then maybe one night, just like poor Beau’s mother, she had gone in to check on her baby, to make sure she was still breathing for the thousandth time, only to find that her sweet little girl had shifted into a wolf.
“Is that why you came back here?” Astrid asked as she wrapped a fur around her shoulders. “So Halley could be raised by the pack?”
“Part of me knew, from the moment my wife told me she was pregnant, that I’d have to come back. I lied to myself for several years.”
Her finger traced the edge of the pelt. “Do you ever worry that you made the wrong choice? You must be afraid for her every day.”
Enslaved by the Alpha (Shifters of Nunavut Book 2) Page 24