A Secret Baby for the Shifter (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Leela Ash

  That sparked surprised murmurs around the fire. Alrek was not the sort of man one usually associated with baby animals. His repeated attempts to rid himself of the old she-cat and her kittens was a running joke amongst the men, whenever Alrek was out of earshot.

  “It would take some kind of trickery to make him act so,” Api insisted.

  “Oh, I can think of a few reasons to play at making a woman happy,” Hattr said, smirking.

  “Who trusts a man who bends so easily to her will to lead people?” Api said, ignoring him. “It’s ridiculous. Who knows what she might convince him to do.”

  “Have a problem with Alrek’s decisions, do ye?” Banki loomed out of the shadows. He was a highly skilled loomer, being a massive bear of a man with an almost as massive blonde beard, streaked with gray.

  Api looked a little ashamed, but didn’t back down.

  “Alrek is in there letting that magic-worker wrap him around her finger. I saw her tricking him with that device, the one that makes lights. Mark my words, Alrek is a fool and that woman is trouble.”

  Banki stared him down. He actually agreed with Api, as much as it pained him to agree with him on anything, but he wasn’t going to stand for him stirring up bad feeling in the men.

  “You are saying you distrust his judgment?” he said, arching a bushy eyebrow. Api broke his gaze, shifting his eyes to the floor. “Alrek is correct in being cautious. You’ve seen her powers. If she has such powerful magic, making her our ally may give us an advantage should the Gaels turn on us. If not, well, we can deal with her.”

  “It will be hard to deal with her when Alrek is thinking with his cock,” Api muttered.

  Banki snorted. “I’d like to see the woman who can make a fool of him. Trust me, it won’t be a cowering little slip of a thing like that. Now try getting this place built up enough to get a woman of your own, instead of bitching every time someone else has one to warm their bed.”

  The men erupted into laughter, and Api sat back red faced. If he still had anything to say, he wouldn’t say it under Banki’s eye. The large man snorted and got his bread, sitting down amongst the other men. He hadn’t actually intended to eat in the hall, but now he would just to make Api uncomfortable.

  After a while, the men turned from the fire, stepping out into the night, seeking their beds. Banki, however, still had a few things to do. The door of Alrek’s dwelling was closed, and smoke rose from the vent. Even if he hadn’t had a task to complete, they needed to talk.

  He stepped into the room and found Alrek sitting at the table, eating a small piece of bread as he drank his beer. The woman seemed to have disappeared, until he noticed her blonde hair trailing out from the furs of Alrek’s bed.

  “Bedded her already, have you?” Banki raised an eyebrow.

  Alrek shook his head. “She started crying, drank half a measure of beer, played with those blasted kittens, and fell asleep.”

  “And you put her in your bed?” Banki said.

  “Where else should I put her?”

  “The floor?” The woman rolled over, and Banki looked a little closer. “Is that your tunic she’s wearing?”

  “Her own clothes are filthy. You saw her. Covered in mud.”

  “You treat her gently.”

  Alrek grunted. “I’ve a mind to bed her, but not tonight.”

  Banki began to wonder if the woman had addled his brains.

  “I brought the rest of her things.” He dropped a sack on the table. “The things she dropped in the field.”

  Alrek nodded. “Did you know,” he said, putting his flagon down, “that she speaks Norse? Very badly, and you have to talk like she’s deaf, but she does understand.”

  Banki’s eyebrows shot up. “Were you able to learn anything from her? Where did she come from?”

  At that question, Alrek took up his beer again and took a long drink.

  “She insists that she is human, not Elf or Dwarf or who knows what, and she said that she’s from 1100 years in the future,” he said flatly.

  “I see. So you have found a madwoman.”

  “I have considered that. I think it more likely she comes from another world where man lives, but does not understand how she got here. She is very confused.”

  “You would give credence to anything she says?”

  Alrek looked up at Banki, frowning.

  “You cannot deny that she has strange magics with her. You saw those lights yourself. I cannot decide if she’s a madwoman or one of the Æsir themselves.”

  Alrek shook his head, wonderingly. “She has this thing, this phone—” He leaned down to where the phone still lay on the floor and snatched it up. “I don’t know how it works, but she says it’s a toy. Everyone in her country has one.”

  Alrek twiddled his fingers on the glass until he managed to light it up, but he couldn’t make it show him the thing with flying vegetables.

  “She made it do this thing before where it made vegetables and you had to kill them.”

  Banki stared at him, mouth open.

  “Api was right.” he said, shaking his head. “That woman has robbed you of your wits.”

  Alrek snorted. “She will show you tomorrow. The more pressing question is what we are going to do with her.”

  “Unless you want to keep her yourself, I suggest we get rid of her.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not throwing her out to the wolves.”

  Banki leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “The men think she’s using you. Making you think with your balls and not your brain.”

  “Yes, I love it when women sit in my lap and go into hysterics,” Alrek said drily. “Nothing makes me harder.”

  “Why did you decide to let her live?” Banki asked. To his surprise, Alrek thought a long time before answering.

  “I wanted to see what she looked like when she wasn’t frightened.” He shook his head, sighing. “I may be thinking with my balls, but it’s through no magic of hers. She’s harmless. That, I’m sure of.”

  “You’ve taken a liking to her, then?”

  Alrek looked up at Banki, his eyes glinting seriously.

  “Banki, you are not just my second in command. You are also my friend. I have never hidden anything from you.”

  Banki nodded slowly.

  “I have taken a liking to her, and I want to keep her. If she does not prove dangerous, I will have her join my household.”

  “Why not find her people and return her?” Banki asked. Alrek stood, crossing to where Natalie’s clothes lay piled on the floor.

  “Banki, look at these garments.” He picked up the quilted tunic, thrusting it into Banki’s hands. “Have you ever seen a material like this in your life? Or this?” Now he grabbed the strange breast band, which she’d taken off before sleeping, and stretched it back and forth. “Look at it. It’s slicker than silk and it stretches like bread dough.”

  Banki fiddled the tunic in his hands. The texture was like nothing he’d ever felt before, woven, yet… unreal. The firelight gleamed strongly on its surface, as though it were some coal-black cloth of gold.

  “This… is strange,” he admitted.

  “No woman of earth wove that cloth,” Alrek said. “Wherever she comes from, it is not of Midgard. I doubt we can return her to her home.”

  “Unless her fellows come for her,” Banki said.

  “And then where will we be when we must tell them we turned her out? My logic stands.” Alrek shook his head. “We do not know enough about her to know what risks she brings.”

  “You don’t know what risks taking her to your bed brings.” Banki pointed out.

  “Then we will learn more about her,” Alrek said. “When she’s proven harmless, I can bed her as much as I please.”

  A patch of brown on the bed stirred and hopped to the floor, revealing itself to actually be a well camouflaged kitten.

  Banki raised his eyebrows. “Kits in the bed, too?”

  “They keep her calm,” Alrek said eva
sively.

  Banki sighed deeply.

  “I will take your word that she is harmless, but be on your guard. Api was spying upon you tonight, and he needs no more fodder to challenge your leadership.”

  Alrek instantly became serious.

  “Do you think he would really act against me?” he asked. Alrek lead the settlement well, and had earned his position. Api was older than him—the only man older than him—and he did not appreciate following the orders of a younger man. He had always grumbled, but if he went farther than that…

  “He spoke against you more openly than I’ve ever heard him do. Be on your guard,” Banki repeated.

  Alrek nodded, and with a clap on the shoulder, his friend left. Returning to his beer, he dropped into his chair and fumed.

  Api? Spying on him? Spying on her? What right had he, or any of them for that matter, to care if he spent time with a woman? Just because he enjoyed her, which he did, it did not mean he had lost all the thoughts in his head.

  Api would find himself with a hard days’ work tomorrow.

  Alrek drained his flagon and stood. Spreading the coals out evenly, he stacked new wood in the fireplace and pulled ashes around it to slowly burn overnight. That done, he stripped down into his own under tunic and eased into bed behind Natalie. If she woke in the night, she’d probably beat him, but he had no intention of sleeping on the floor. She would just have to get used to it.

  It occurred to him, as he was falling asleep, that he no longer cared much that the woman was frequently disrespectful.

  Chapter 5

  When Natalie awoke, the room was empty. A green over tunic had been placed beside the bed, along with a band-woven belt in yellow and red. A piece of flat bread sat on top of them. Groaning, she pulled the furs back over her head.

  It would appear she was still in a 10tth century Viking settlement.

  After opening and closing her eyes a few times, hoping that, eventually, she would find herself back in her bed at the hostel, she sat up. She might as well get on with it. Moving the piece of bread to the table, she picked up the tunic and pulled it on, then hitched both under and upper tunics up to belt them around her waist. The end result was rather puffy and undoubtedly far from flattering.

  At least Alrek had provided her with clothes. Even after a night’s sleep, in which nothing had happened, she didn’t know what to make of him. She was dependent on his kindness for everything, and he was kind. It didn’t take years of study for her to realize Alrek wasn’t obligated to let her into the village at all, much less take her into his own home and put her in his own bed. Oh, he wanted to have sex with her, that was obvious enough, but he still behaved himself. Natalie wanted to trust him, not just because she needed to believe her rescuer was a good man, but because she wanted to enjoy his attention. He was a surprisingly good kisser.

  Of course, she thought, this is just some kind of insane rebound relationship from breaking up with Cedric. Just… with a large man from the 10th century.

  As Natalie began to put her shoes and socks on, Alrek stepped into the room.

  “I see you’re awake. You’ve slept long. It is nearly noon,” he said, crossing his arms.

  “Usually, I have an - - - - -.” Natalie didn’t look up from tying her shoes.

  “A what?” Alrek asked blankly.

  “A device that makes a noise to wake you up,” Natalie said.

  “I see. So I must keep a rooster in the room, to crow at you.”

  Natalie scowled at him. Shoes now tied, she stood up, and automatically began to neaten up the bed. Beds, at least, still needed to be made in the 10th century. Alrek watched her work for a moment before shaking his head.

  “You look even more ridiculous with that overtunic on,” he said.

  Natalie turned around, hands on her hips. “I’m sorry you find me so unattractive. I don’t have much choice in my clothing right now.”

  To her consternation, Alrek just chuckled. Stepping forward, he took her chin again, and kissed her. This time, Natalie leaned into it. Sensing the shift in her manner, Alrek slipped a hand around her waist, moving the other from her chin to cup the back of her head. His tongue traced her lips, and after a moment’s hesitation, she returned the favor.

  He leaned into the kiss, opening her mouth with his so he could taste her. Natalie sighed, rising on her toes to put her arms around his neck. Alrek was very good at kissing. He kept her there a moment, held tight against his chest before taking her by the arms and pushing her back. Once again, Natalie looked puzzled. And a little disappointed.

  “I did not say you were unattractive. Just that those clothes are.” With that, Alrek released her and walked over to his chair. Silently, Natalie took her bread. Rather than sit on him again, she returned to the bed and perched on the edge while she ate.

  Alrek picked up her phone, fiddling with it. She had shown him how to find the Vegetable Samurai app the previous night, and he was still fascinated by it. At this rate, he was going to suck her battery dry by nightfall.

  “If you keep using it like that, it will die,” Natalie said quietly.

  “It will die?” Alrek’s eyebrows flew up. “It’s alive?”

  Natalie flopped back on the bed and rolled over, making a face.

  “It is not alive. You must feed a fire with wood so it burns, yes? That object must be fed so it does not go out.”

  “What must you feed it with?” Alrek turned it over in his hands. You could only have fit twigs too small even for kindling inside it, and he couldn’t even figure out where you’d put them.

  Natalie thought for a long time before answering.

  “You feed it lightning.”

  “You feed it lightning?” Alrek repeated. “You are telling me that you have a, a toy, that eats lightning, and you are not a goddess.”

  “If I was of the Æsir, do you think I would be sitting here in a man’s clothes, eating bread?” Natalie said caustically.

  Alrek watched her for a moment, then sighed. “If you wish, we can get cloth from the Gaels for you to make clothes. Otherwise, you must wait. More Norsemen will be coming to our settlement soon, with women among them.”

  Looking up at him, Natalie blushed. “I… I can sew, but I do not know how to cut the garments,” she said.

  “What can you do, then?” Alrek asked, raising an eyebrow. The woman thought for a long time before answering.

  “I can work in a garden. I can take care of chickens. I can milk a cow and ride a horse. I can wash clothes and clean a house. I can cook, but only the foods of my country. And I am very good at digging holes.”

  “You can do these things, but you cannot make a tunic?” Alrek said blankly. Natalie silently shook her head. “Can you weave? Knit? Work leather? Make soap and salves? Preserve food?”

  “I can knit,” Natalie offered, looking embarrassed. “I can spin wool, but not well.”

  Alrek shook his head.

  “What did you do in your country?” he asked.

  “I am— I was a scholar,” she said, looking down. Her Ph.D. didn’t seem very impressive anymore. Alrek, on the other hand, was amazed.

  “A scholar? But you’re a woman.”

  Natalie cracked an unamused grin. “It is because I am a scholar that I speak your tongue,” she said. “I learned of your people in my schools.”

  “You speak of Norsemen in your schools?” Alrek said disbelievingly.

  “We speak of many, many things. In my world, we speak of Greeks and Romans, our clothes come from China, and man walks on the moon,” Natalie said. The bitterness in her voice made Alrek wonder if she was lying, but she had been honest with him thus far. Almost stupidly honest.

  “I think you are an Æsir, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise,” he said, shaking his head. “No man could walk on the moon.”

  “Think whatever you want. Unless you need someone to read and write and add numbers, I am useless to you.” Now she looked positively depressed.

  “S
uch things are always useful,” Alrek said, trying to be reassuring. “And all else, you can learn when the women arrive.”

  “You speak like I will be here the rest of my life,” Natalie said.

  “Do you know how to go home?” he asked. She didn’t answer. “Do you?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I do not know how to take you home. Unless you want to live as a hermit or throw yourself on the mercy of the Gaels, you stay here. And if you stay here, you must work.”

  Natalie nodded silently. She couldn’t argue with that.

  “For now, I will take you to work with Geirr in the kitchens. That should not prove too hard.”

  Once she had finished her bread, Alrek lead her out into the settlement. It was the first time Natalie had seen the place by daylight. Her nerves were quickly forgotten, academic curiosity drowning out everything else as she looked around, trying to absorb every detail into her mind. It was one thing to read speculation about Viking life in papers, and another entirely to witness it with your own eyes.

  The larger part of the men were building, adding small single-room homes like Alrek’s to the tiny village. Some worked in the garden, and in the distance, she could see goats and sheep.

  “Are there no cattle?” she asked, turning to Alrek. Cattle were the true wealth of Norsemen. It was odd not to see any.

  Alrek shook his head. “Not yet. We bought some sheep and goats from the Gaels, but no cattle yet. Once we have more goods for trading, we’ll be able to get some cows and a bull.”

  “You won’t simply take them?”

  “We could. Quite easily, I imagine. But we want to live here afterwards, and my men would not appreciate me slaughtering their future in-laws for the sake of a few cows.”

  Natalie looked at him with interest. The integration of Norsemen into the local populations had always been a topic of debate. “You intermarry with them, then?”

  A smile tugged up the corner of Alrek’s mouth. “Not many men want to go their entire lives celibate, and not many fathers want their daughters being bedded without marriage vows. Very few women come down from the Northlands. We marry whoever comes along.” He gave Natalie a long look from the corner of his eye and she looked away, blushing. She couldn’t tell whether the idea of him bedding her or marrying her was stranger.