by Viola Rivard
Everyone seemed to have rebounded from the drama of the past few days, and in a way, he had Harper to thank for that. His pack mates observed her with open speculation, far more interested in her than in Kalla's mishandling of their laws. Whether it was because she was a shifter like Shan, or because she would be Shan's mate, he wasn't sure. He hadn't been in town long enough to know what gossip had spread.
"This is the atheneum," Shan said when they arrived some time later. "Some people call it the library, but it doesn't keep books for pleasure reading. You'll find those in the library on the upper residential level."
The atheneum was reserved primarily for public records, though it was also a repository for instructional guides and legislative documents. At three stories, it was one of the taller buildings in the region, with a wide row of cement steps that led up to its ornate double doors.
The doors opened as they were ascending the steps. Amethyst stood in the doorway, smiling in an effort to mask her anxiety. It was unusual to see her looking so nervous, but given how he'd just deposed their beta the night before, Shan figured all of the scholars would be on edge.
"I was worried you weren't coming," Amethyst said, ushering them in. She exchanged introductions with Harper, though his mate seemed more interested in looking around than interacting with the other female.
As soon as Harper walked past them, Amethyst murmered, "They're saying you made Kalla supplicant so that your new mate could take her position."
Of course, they were.
Shan wanted to tell Amethyst that he wouldn't trust Harper to manage a cleaning crew, let alone an entire faction of his pack, but he didn't want to give a negative impression of his mate. She was likely to do that all on her own.
Conscious of the fact that Harper might be able to hear them, Shan said, "Even if she had an interest in the position, she would have to work her way up, just like everyone else. But that is beside the point. Anyone who believes Kalla was unjustly treated can submit their grievances to me directly."
Amethyst shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "It was just a silly rumor. I don't think anyone really believes it. There's just a lot of insecurity, with Kalla being gone so suddenly."
"I know. But you have Merry to defer to until I've decided on a suitable replacement." He lowered his voice. "It won't be my mate. She has enough to concern herself with."
Amethyst gave him a wan smile and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. I'm really happy for you, you know? It's just difficult, with everything that's happened in the past few days. You should know that we thought Kalla was acting on your authority. Until she started talking about ousting all of the humans, we had no idea she'd gone rogue. Before you returned, we were making plans for an intervention, I swear."
"You don't have to apologize," Shan said. "Just be more critical in the future."
He could feel Harper's eyes on them, and he gently removed Amethyst's hand from his arm. Unlike the human females of his pack, the shifters were sometimes overly familiar with him. Amethyst, in particular, could be very tactile with him and while it had never bothered him in the past, he knew he'd have to begin drawing a line now that he'd have a mate. He knew that if the situation were reversed and another male was touching Harper with such familiarity, he'd be incensed.
Harper was standing in the center of the main wing when he approached her. Her excitement had evaporated and her posture was stiff as he put his hands on the side of her face.
"I'll be back in a few hours," he said, before placing a kiss on her forehead.
Harper didn't soften one bit.
She was practiced at deception, so when she didn't smile or say goodbye, he knew that she was being deliberately cold. He didn't like it, but he certainly wasn't going to stand there and explain away her jealous concerns. It would set a poor precedent. No matter how much he empathized, they were likely to end up in this situation again, as it would be a while before the females of his pack adjusted to him having a mate.
"I'll be nearby if you need me."
Chapter 12
"I'm not sure where to begin," Amethyst said, lacing and unlacing her fingers. "The actual law codes will bore you to tears, but I can probably find an earlier iteration that doesn't require a law degree to interpret."
Amethyst was of average height, with a slender build, brown hair, freckles, and skin so pale it made Harper's china doll skin look peachy by comparison. She spoke with a voice that was somehow sweet and raspy, though Harper couldn't guess at her age. She wore a pencil dress of plain linen and a pair of stylish, but comfortable-looking moccasins with multicolored embroidery. But by far, her most notable feature was the faint scent of arousal that still clung to her, a byproduct of her brief contact with Shan.
Maybe that was why she seemed so nervy around Harper. Or, it could have been that Harper couldn't quite bring herself to smile at her. She managed to show her teeth, but the corners of her mouth refused to curve.
Is this her?
It was all she could think.
"That would be great," Harper said, her words falling flat.
Amethyst gestured for her to follow, leading her up the curving staircase that led to the second floor. The walls were lined with thick, leather-bound books, most of them in uniform brown with little to distinguish one from the next. Freestanding shelves held stacks of bound papers. The building seemed to be climate-controlled, though she wasn't sure how. The air was dryer and a little cooler than the outside had been.
"I'm surprised to hear that your laws are so complex," Harper said, forcing herself to make conversation. "Do you have actual lawyers here?"
Amethyst laughed. Harper hadn't said anything funny, so she assumed it was a nervous habit.
"That would be Pat and her mate, Vince. Pat was a paralegal at Vince's law firm. It was love at first sight. Not good for Vince, seeing as how he's a wolf. They joined the pack after they had their first pup. That was ten years ago and I swear they've written about a third of the books here. I don't know what we'd do without them. Probably have more intelligible laws."
She let out another laugh, and this one grated on Harper's nerves.
"That's cool," Harper said. "Before I came here, I kind of thought I was the only shifter to make it through university."
Before she came there, she hadn't even known she was a shifter, but she had to find some way to slip in the fact that she had a degree.
When Amethyst didn't ask, Harper said, "I'm an anthropologist."
Amethyst gave her a friendly smile.
The way shifters smiled often revealed a lot about their upbringing. With the way Amethyst smiled, displaying only the barest hint of teeth, told Harper that she'd had a human upbringing. Shifters born in packs weren't programed to hide their canines.
"I know, Shan told me. We're all very excited. We don't have an anthropologist here. You're our first."
When had Shan talked to her? Last night? What else had he told her?
As her mind buzzed with questions, she looked Amethyst over again, trying to figure out if Shan would be attracted to a woman like her. Though she seemed timid and overly chatty, she must have been smart if she was a head scholar. Would Shan have found her chattiness off putting, or would he have listened to her patiently, playing with her hair or rubbing circles against her hips as he so often did with Harper?
They stopped at one of the freestanding shelves and Amethyst began rifling through stacks of documents, chatting as she searched.
"What sort of work did you do before coming here?"
It was a friendly question, but Harper found herself annoyed at being put on the spot.
"I worked in applied anthropology, mostly conducting field studies. I did a lot of different projects. Hadn't really found my concentration, yet."
Harper wasn't about to admit that she'd never held a real job in her field, at least, not for longer than a few weeks. She loved the study of anthropology, but the practical applications of her degree had been uninspiring.
"You have a degree, too?"
Amethyst gave another grin. "UVA, Class of 2012."
"How old are you?"
"Thirty-two."
"And how did you end up here?"
Amethyst's smile faltered. "Long story." She immediately changed the subject. "So, word is you're like Shan. Are you like," she lifted her hand up, "super huge, too?"
"I guess so," Harper said, not sure how she felt about being referred to as 'huge.' "I've only seen myself next to Shan, so it's hard to put my size into perspective..."
Harper trailed off as she noticed a thick stack of papers with familiar swooping handwriting. She reached over Amethyst to grab the papers from the shelf.
"Oh! That's what I was looking for," Amethyst said, taking the papers from Harper. She set the stack down on a nearby table and motioned for Harper to join her.
"This is Shan's handwriting," Harper said as she took a seat beside Amethyst. She ran her thumb along the stack. "Did he write all of this?"
"He wrote all of the laws. Pat and Vince proofed them. All of their work since then has been about protecting the spirit and integrity of Shan's work, making sure his laws can't be exploited or distorted."
Harper scanned several of the pages, her attention occasionally hooked by an interesting line or passage. She was taken aback by the level of attentiveness that had gone into the code. After a long preface, each law was laid out in bold lettering, and then followed up with further detail, including the logic behind the law and how Shan justified it.
"It seems unfair that the punishment for killing a human female is harsher than for killing a shifter of either gender," Harper commented.
Amethyst turned the page for her and pointed out several related passages. "There are a few exceptions, but in most cases the punishments are quite harsh. It's because the human females we interact with tend to be mated to a pack mate, or the mate of another male. Human mates are, well, to use a heavy term, sort of sacred to our kind. Broadly speaking, we couldn't exist without them."
Harper wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer, but she nodded just the same.
Amethyst said, "I suppose now that we have you, Shan might be willing to amend the law to cover all mates, regardless of species."
"How about just a blanket law to not kill people?"
Amethyst winced. "In a perfect world, that would be ideal. We do have very stringent laws regarding murder and it's exceedingly rare, at least in The Steppes. Outside of the town, not so much. Despite all we've accomplished, our pack isn't even two decades old. We're only now seeing the first generation of children being brought up under these laws. For the older wolves, it can be tough to change their nature."
They continued to converse throughout the morning, sometimes on the subject of the laws, and other times going off on philosophical tangents. Amethyst was quite intelligent and Harper enjoyed talking to her more than she'd anticipated that she would. So much so, that time and again, she would forget about Shan. Those moments were brief, and when they passed, the desire to be with him hit her all over again like a hard slap.
"Is there some sort of checkout system?" Harper asked some time later. "Can I take these to read over later?"
It had been at least two hours since Harper had removed the papers from the shelf, and she'd yet to get through a quarter of their contents.
Amethyst rubbed her elbows. "The records aren't really supposed to leave here, but to be honest, Pat sometimes sneaks them out anyway. You can take them home, just don't tell anyone that I let you do it."
"Thanks." Harper rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm really interested in the subject matter, but my brain isn't focused today."
The sound of doors opening echoed throughout the chamber. Amethyst got up and went over to the balcony that overlooked the lower level. She smiled when she saw the new arrivals.
"Good morning," she said. There was a touch of nervousness to her voice as she added, "I'm going over some of our laws with Harper."
"Harper?" called an unfamiliar voice. "As in, our shiny new anthropologist?"
"Yup, that's the one," Amethyst said, smiling.
"We'll be right up."
Harper stood and righted her pelt while the newcomers ascended the staircase. When they appeared a moment later, she was surprised to see Gwen, the head healer she'd met back at the encampments. Beside her was a woman who looked like she could have been her sister, with her tan skin and blonde hair, but she had a softer, more feminine face and bright blue eyes.
"I'm Merry," the woman said as she approached Harper. Harper held out her hand to shake Merry's, but the older woman pulled her into a tight, warm embrace. "I'm so glad to meet you. Gwen has told me all about you, and your friends, too."
Merry had been aptly named. She smelled like berries and sunshine, and she had the sort of genuine smile that Harper couldn't help but reciprocate.
"You're the leader of the Healer faction, right?"
Her head bobbed. "And interim leader of the Scholars. That's actually why I'm here, but meeting you is a happy surprise. You're so tall! And beautiful." She threw Gwen a look of mock scorn. "Goodness gracious, Gwen, you did not tell me how beautiful she is."
Gwen responded with an awkward laugh. When Merry turned to face Harper, Gwen and Amethyst exchanged looks. Harper picked up on the undercurrent of tension, but before she could examine it, she found herself swept up in conversation.
"So, what do you think of our pack?" Merry asked. "It's no Boston, but personally I find that the universal basic income kind of trumps the Paul Revere House."
"You've been to Boston?"
"I've been all over the place," Merry said. "I'm older than I look. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd say I have a good twenty years on you. Have you been to Joe's Sandwich Shop?"
"In Boston?"
Merry laughed, her eyes sparkling. "No, here, silly. It's my favorite place for lunch. We'll have to go sometime. You must be so surprised with all of the things we have here. I heard you grew up in Halcyon?"
"Not exactly, no. I was really young when I left my pack. I mostly grew up in human towns."
She knew that she no longer had to hide the details of her upbringing, but talking about her past still felt uncomfortable. It also felt strange to speak so casually about Halcyon when her father didn't even know she'd returned. How long would it be until word got back to him that she was in Shan's pack?
Would he even care?
"I think you'll feel right at home here," Merry said. "Aside from the occasional hiccups, last week being case and point, I'd wager we have as good a quality of life as any human town."
"What happened last week?" Harper asked.
"Oh, Shan didn't tell you? He probably just didn't want to overwhelm you with the details. Kalla, the head of the Scholars, she went on a bit of a power trip while Shan was gone. We'll have everything fixed soon enough though, so don't worry your pretty, pretty face.
"Besides, you have enough going on without our drama. If you need any help settling in, don't hesitate to call on me." She patted Harper on the shoulder. "I really do hope we can be friends."
Merry turned abruptly and clapped her hands together, giving the other women a start. "Let's get down to business, ladies. Amethyst, are you comfortable relaying some instructions to your peers?"
"Yes, of course."
Not knowing what else to do with herself, Harper sat down with them as Merry went over their new chain of command, as well as a few project ideas she had for the faction. Recognizing that she had little to offer in the way of input, she feigned interest in the legislative papers while covertly analyzing Merry.
She was almost certain that Merry was Shan's former lover. Thou
gh she hadn't seemed hostile or disingenuous in her friendliness, the remarks she'd made about Harper's age and attractiveness seemed pointed in hindsight.
Still, she had a hard time picturing them together. Merry had an easy smile and a bright demeanor. If Harper had to pick a word to describe her, it would be 'bubbly.' Not only did she seem nothing like Harper personality-wise, but they were also physical opposites. Merry was in her forties, a bit curvy, and at least a half foot shorter than Harper. She would have looked comically small next to Shan, and Harper couldn't imagine how they could possibly have sex.
As she tried to picture the logistics of Shan and Merry having sex, Harper felt her chest begin to burn. Her breaths started to come more quickly, yet it felt as though she was getting less air. It reminded her of the night by the river, except this time she wasn't wounded and fighting for anyone's life. She was just sitting across from the nice woman who had been Shan's lover.
"Is there a restroom?" she blurted.
Three heads turned to look at her, and Harper did her best impression of someone not having a panic attack.
"Down the stairwell and to the right," Amethyst said. "Would you like me to take you?"
"No need," Harper said, already standing. "Be right back."
The restroom was rudimentary by most standards, but a marvel, given its location. There was a toilet, a sink, and even a mirror. A switch on the wall turned on a dim light over the mirror. Harper shut the door and went directly for the sink. She put her hands on either side, bowed her head, and fought the urge to retch. The inside of her pelt had warmed considerably, and she had the disturbing sense of clawing in the back of her skull.
Pulling off her pelt, she tossed it into the corner and then sank to the floor. The tiled flooring was cold on her bare skin. She brought her hands to her chest and tried to will her heart to keep from racing.
"It's just hormones," she whispered, hating how she felt. "This isn't me."
She knew that she wasn't in her right mind and it had a lot to do with the incomplete mating bond, but she didn't know to what extent it was influencing her behavior. Once they were mated, would she return to normal, or would this insecurity be a new part of her life?