by Abby Weeks
“Washington, near Seattle.”
“I see.”
“Why?” she said.
“No reason. It’s just, you seem like someone who might be from around here.”
“I’ve never been up here in my life. I’d never been to Alaska till a few days ago.”
“I see,” Packer said. He looked very thoughtful.
“Now you tell me something,” Aisha said.
“Anything,” Packer said.
“It was you, wasn’t it? The other night in the parking lot.”
Packer looked deeply into her eyes. They were electrifying. Whenever he looked at her, Aisha felt as if he was looking right into her soul. It made her heart pound.
“It was me,” he said.
“You took a bullet.”
He shook his head. “It was nothing. Just a little bite.”
Aisha laughed. “There’s not many guys in the world who would say that about being shot.”
“I’m not like other men,” Packer said solemnly.
Aisha’s mind recoiled at the enormity of what they were talking about. He’d been at the motel. He’d been in wolf form. This man was a shifter, a creature that wasn’t human or animal. He could change forms. If someone had told her about this just a week ago when she was still in Washington, she’d have laughed in their face. Now she was having a conversation about it, almost as if it was normal.
But somehow, it felt normal. It didn’t feel foreign or strange to her. The look in Packer’s eyes, the gold intensity of them, it didn’t feel foreign. It felt like … home.
“I know,” she said.
“I’m a shifter, Aisha.”
“Yes,” she said.
“That doesn’t disgust you?”
She smiled at him. She didn’t think there was anything he could do that would disgust her. He was like some sort of nectar that attracted her no matter what else happened.
“Why were you at that motel, Packer?”
“If I told you I was drawn to you, what would you say?”
“I’d say that wasn’t much of an answer,” she said, blushing.
The truth was, it was all the answer she’d needed. It was all the answer she’d wanted to hear, but she felt she needed more.
“I hadn’t seen you since the boat, then you showed up at that motel just as Hunter and Heath were about to …,” her words trailed off.
“Just as they were about to harm you,” Packer said, finishing her sentence. His golden eyes flashed in anger.
“Yes,” she said. “How did you know to be there?”
Packer looked off into the distance. It was as if he was searching for the right words to use. If Aisha didn’t know better, she’d have thought he was shy.
“I was watching over you,” he said quietly.
Aisha’s eyes widened. “Watching over me?”
“Making sure you were safe. These lands aren’t safe.”
She looked up at him. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was too shy.
“That was you back in the forest too, wasn’t it?” she said.
He said nothing.
“You’ve been protecting me ever since I got off the boat,” she said.
He took a step toward her and reached out with his hand and gently touched her cheek. Aisha felt faint. She’d never had such an intense interaction with another person in her entire life. Everything about Packer electrified her. Something about him, about the air around him, seemed to bring her to life. Her instincts seemed keener, her senses seemed sharper. The air, the light, everything took on an added dimension and clarity when she was with him. She leaned into his hand as it stroked her cheek.
“Why have you been watching me?” she said.
“I’d love to tell you,” Packer said. “I want nothing more than to tell you.”
“Then tell me.”
He ran his finger gently over her lips. What was he doing? Aisha felt like she was being seduced by the most beautiful man she’d ever seen in her life.
“Tell me,” she said again.
Packer began opening the buttons on his coat. He pulled it off and let it drop to the ground. He threw down his hat too. He had a black wool sweater on under the coat, and he pulled that off too. He was standing in front of her in a white shirt. He was opening the buttons. Aisha felt flushed. She was glad the air was so cool. What the hell was happening? Was he going to strip right in front of her?
He pulled open his shirt and she saw his chiseled, muscular chest. Black hair covered the top of his chest and the area around his nipples. His nipples looked as hard as bullets. Aisha couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to nibble on them.
His arms were like muscular weapons designed only for her protection. And there, on his shoulder, was the bullet wound.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said.
“Don’t be,” Packer said. “I’ve had a lot worse.”
She looked more closely at his other shoulder and she saw something that made her jaw drop. It was a birthmark, light brown, in the exact shape of a paw print. It was the first time she’d ever seen that mark on anyone but herself. Her mind reeled at what it might mean. Why did she have the same mark as a shifter? It didn’t make sense.
“What is it?” Packer said.
“Oh, nothing,” she said.
He came toward her but she backed away.
“I have to get back,” she said, and she turned and started back toward the village.
“Wait,” Packer said, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t even slow down.
*
Chapter 60
AISHA RUSHED BACK TO HER room and went straight into the bathroom. She pulled off her shirt and looked at the birthmark. There was no mistaking it—a wolf’s paw, right shoulder. She had to sit down.
“Aisha.” It was Heath calling her.
“What is it, honey?” she said.
“I need water.”
“Of course,” she said. There was a jug of water by his bedside and she poured him a glass and helped him drink it. She looked into his eyes and he seemed to be okay, lucid. He was still very weak, though. She gave him some pills and he lay back down. He’d be asleep in minutes.
Aisha examined his bandages. She would take him to the doctor in the morning to change them.
She spent a few hours in the room with Heath. He was asleep, but she wanted to make sure he was all right. Her biggest fear was that he’d start running a temperature, but so far he was normal.
She fell asleep next to him and didn’t wake up till it was getting dark. She checked on him before going downstairs.
*
Chapter 61
“AISHA,” HILDA SAID. “I’ve got beef stew on the pot for you. You’ll be wanting to bring some up to your man.”
“I don’t think he’s ready for it yet,” Aisha said. “He’s still sleeping.”
Hilda nodded. She led Aisha into the restaurant and made some tea for her. The place was still quiet, but it wouldn’t take long for the men to pour in, looking for beer and food.
“Did you have a good rest today?” Hilda said.
“I did. Thank you.”
Hilda brought Aisha over a bowl of the rich stew, and just the smell of it got Aisha’s mouth watering.
“Thank you, Hilda.”
“My pleasure, sweetie.”
Aisha sat at the bar and ate while Hilda went about her work. Tilly came in and put on her apron.
“You have a good day?” she said to Aisha.
“I ran into a shifter.”
“What?”
“I mean, whatever you call them.”
“Who was it?” Tilly said, sounding immediately concerned.
“He said his name was Packer.”
“Girl, you’ve got to keep your distance from that one. He’s not good news.”
“Why not?”
“Just trust me on this. You’re new. Shifters eat girls like us for breakfast. You don’t want to be getting mixed up w
ith them.”
It was the same line Aisha had heard before from everyone else. She’d been hoping Tilly might tell her something different.
“Look,” Tilly continued. “Come with me after work. I’ll bring you to meet someone, a wise woman. She’ll fill you in, tell you how it is.”
“All right,” Aisha said.
After finishing her stew, Aisha got another helping from Tilly, along with a pint of beer, and brought it up to the room for Heath. When she got there, she saw that the light in the room was on. Heath must have been awake already. He was probably starving. He hadn’t eaten since the day before.
She opened the door and to her surprise, Hilda was sitting on the side of the bed, feeding Heath stew from a bowl.
“Come on in, sweetie,” Hilda said without turning to face Aisha.
Hilda scooped stew onto the spoon and held it up to Heath’s mouth. Heath’s face was bandaged, but he had to know that it wasn’t Aisha who was feeding him. Aisha felt awkward. It was a strangely intimate scene, and she felt as if she was intruding. It was almost like Hilda was a mother caring for her injured child. She was holding his head up and placing the spoon gently into his mouth.
Aisha walked up to the bed and she saw that the scene was even more awkward than she’d thought. The strings on the front of Hilda’s dress were open, and her ample bosoms were almost spilling out, right in front of Heath. There was enough cleavage on view to give any man an erection.
“Heath?” Aisha said.
He rose his bandaged arm weakly as a wave. He looked up at her and cracked a small smile.
“Hi, honey,” he said.
His voice was so weak Aisha could hardly hear him.
Hilda handed the bowl of stew to Aisha and stood up. Aisha watched her, utterly dumbfounded. What were they doing? Was this normal up here?
Hilda pulled the strings on the front of her dress and tied it up, covering her breasts properly again.
“I’ll come in and check on you later,” Hilda said to Heath. Then she left the room.
Aisha didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what was going on. What had she just walked in on? Was Hilda flirting with Heath? She must have been twenty years older than him. Aisha wanted to ask Heath what was going on, but he was still so weak, so out of it. There wasn’t much point. She spoon-fed him the rest of the stew and then helped him back down onto the mattress. He took a couple of pills and was back asleep in minutes.
Aisha hurried immediately down the stairs. She found Hilda busy serving beer to a table of men.
“Can we talk?” Aisha said.
“Of course we can, honey. I knew you’d want to talk, and we will. I just have to finish my shift.”
Aisha looked around. The restaurant was as full as it had been the night before. Hilda and Tilly were both being run off their feet.
“Actually, would you mind helping out?” Hilda said.
“Me?”
“Only if you don’t mind.”
Aisha looked around. The place was heaving with people.
“Okay,” she said.
Hilda gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then led Aisha back behind the bar. She tied an apron around Aisha’s waist. It looked funny in front of her jeans and sweater. Aisha wished she was wearing a dress like Tilly, but she doubted she had time to change. She spent the next four hours running trays of beer out to tables of men who looked like they literally wrestled with bears for a living.
While serving one particularly boisterous table, a man with a shaggy beard and burly arms grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap.
“Let me go,” Aisha said, amidst a hail of laughter from the men at the table.
The man had her bent over his knee and he gave her a solid, hard spank on the butt.
“Hey,” Hilda called from the bar. “Let that poor girl go. She’s not from these parts.”
The man let Aisha up and she tried to regain her composure. She faced the man squarely and slapped him on the face. The entire table erupted in laughter. The man behind Aisha pinched her butt. She turned on him but there was no use fighting them. It would only prolong the situation. She hurried back to the bar and picked up another tray of drinks.
“Are you all right?” Hilda said.
“I’m fine,” Aisha said curtly.
It was a long night, but eventually the bar began to empty out and the men started making their way back to their cabins for the night.
“That was something,” Aisha said as she sat at the bar, exhausted from the shift.
“You did great,” Hilda said, pouring her a glass of red wine.
Hilda poured herself a glass too and took a seat next to Aisha. Tilly was still working. Aisha wondered where she got the energy.
“I suppose you’ll be wanting to ask me about earlier?” Hilda said.
Aisha felt conflicted. She could see the kindness on Hilda’s face. She could tell the woman meant her no harm. But then, what the hell had she walked in on?
“I don’t understand what I saw,” Aisha said.
“You saw me doing what I have to do to get by in this godforsaken place,” Hilda said.
“Get by? If I’m not mistaken, I believe I saw you with your cleavage in my fiancé’s face.”
“That is what you saw,” Hilda said. “But Hunter explained to you how things were for us girls up here, didn’t he?”
“He did, but I didn’t like it,” Aisha said. “He made me pleasure him in exchange for protection.”
“That’s really how it is here. He wasn’t kidding.”
Aisha grimaced. “The funny thing is, I was the one who killed the wolves when we got attacked.”
Hilda nodded. “That’s true, but you wouldn’t want to take the bet that you’d be able to kill them every time, would you? You wouldn’t want to try and survive up here without Hunter’s goodwill, even though you’re engaged to Heath?”
“I don’t understand why I have to choose,” Aisha said.
“Up here, everything’s a choice. Everything’s a trade off,” Hilda said. “I wasn’t trying to move in on your man up there, honey. Please believe that. If you love that man, that’s a beautiful thing, and I wish you every happiness.”
“Then what was going on?”
“The thing is, I still need his help. He’s new here. He’s strong. He can cut firewood. He can fire a rifle. There may come a time when I need him to be looking out for me.”
“So you flash him some cleavage now, while he’s sick, and he’ll remember you later when you need help?”
“That’s basically it,” Hilda said. “It’s nothing personal against you, Aisha. Believe me. I think you’re a lovely girl.”
Aisha nodded. “Will I have to do the same thing?” she said, but even as she asked the question, she already knew the answer. She’d already had it happen with Hunter. She’d given Hunter everything she had to offer in exchange for his protection.
“That depends. How much are you willing to bet that Heath will always be there for you when you need him? How much are you willing to bet that he’ll be strong enough when the time comes?”
Tilly came over and joined them. She poured herself a glass of the wine and took a seat at the bar.
“Hilda,” Tilly said, “Aisha here had a few questions earlier.”
“Questions about what?”
“She’s curious about the shifters.”
Aisha watched Hilda carefully. Hilda’s eyebrows rose.
“Is she, now?” Hilda said. “I think that would be something to discuss with Ma Hetty, don’t you?”
Tilly nodded.
*
Chapter 62
MA HETTY WAS AN OLD matriarch of the village. She’d been born there over eighty years ago and knew more about the comings and goings of the community than anyone else. She lived in a tiny old cabin nestled between the inn and the larger buildings along the street.
The three women, Tilly, Hilda, and Aisha, put on their coats and boots and walked out into the fr
igid night air.
“Will Ma Hetty be awake?” Aisha said.
“She’s always awake,” Tilly said.
“And she likes to meet any new girl that comes to town,” Hilda said. “She’ll know you’re here, and she’ll have been waiting for me to bring you.”
“What’s she going to tell me?” Aisha said.
“That will be something for you to find out for yourself,” Hilda said. “No one ever knows what Ma Hetty is going to tell them.”
“And you don’t want to go sharing what she says with anyone else, either,” Tilly said. “What she says is for your ears and your ears alone.”
*
Chapter 63
THEY APPROACHED THE OLD CABIN and Aisha saw the warm glow of a fire coming from inside. A trail of smoke rose up from the chimney in a straight line toward the sky. It was a deathly still night.
Hilda knocked firmly on the door.
The voice that came from the other side of the door sounded like it was a hundred years old. It almost frightened Aisha.
“Come in, come in,” Ma Hetty said. “What have you brought for me?”
Hilda and Tilly led Aisha into the tiny cabin. It was lit only by firelight and it was pleasantly warm inside. There was a table and some chairs against one wall, and a bed opposite the fire. The bed was covered in animal skins.
“Ah, come in, child. Come sit,” Ma Hetty said.
Aisha took a seat by the fire. Tilly and Hilda stood by the door. Ma Hetty went over and kissed each of them on the cheek. Then they left. Aisha watched, a little startled to be left there in the cabin with the old lady.
Ma Hetty was bent with age. She had wispy white hair that was tied into a pony tail and went all the way down her back. She was of native descent, with rich brown skin and deep lines. Her arms were tattooed and her jewelry was made of bone and wood.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Ma Hetty said.
“I just arrived yesterday,” Aisha said uncertainly.
“Yesterday, yes, but I’ve been waiting for twenty years to speak to you, child.”
Aisha smiled. Obviously the woman was some sort of mystic. She was probably pretty crazy. It would be fun to talk to someone like this but it was well after midnight and Aisha was tired. She needed to get back and check on Heath. She didn’t have time for this sort of thing right now. She wouldn’t leave though. Aisha was a lot of things, but one thing she wasn’t was rude to her elders.