Ice Claimed

by Marisa Chenery

  Meadow stood as well. “You’re welcome, and that sounds good.”

  She followed him to the back door. Before Taylor left, he looked at her. “I’m glad you’re home, Meadow. The place isn’t the same without you around.”

  “Thanks, Taylor. With no new digs planned, I don’t know when I’ll be going again. The way things are looking, it could be another year before I go on my next one.”

  He smiled. “Good. See you tomorrow.”

  Meadow nodded, then watched Taylor walk out into the yard before he headed in the direction of the stable. She closed the door with a smile. He was a great guy. Too bad neither one of them wanted anything more than friendship.

  Chapter Two

  Durlach ran through the trees in dire wolf form in the direction of Meadow’s property. This was the first part of Carson’s plan to help Durlach meet his mate as a human. He had to admit his wolf brother had come up with something that would give Durlach a good excuse to show up at Meadow’s door.

  Once he hit the trail, he lengthened his strides, running faster. His need to be with his mate again forced him to go all out. After the erotic dreams he’d had during the night, being in this form had his mating urge riding him harder than before. It was controllable, but just barely.

  He arrived at Meadow’s house and went around to the front yard. Near to the door, he sat, threw back his head and let out a long, drawn-out howl. He didn’t have long to wait before his mate appeared at the entrance and looked around until she spotted him. Durlach got up on his paws and trotted over to her with his tongue hanging out, doing everything to look friendly and nonthreatening.

  Meadow leaned over and scratched behind his ear once he reached her. She was gorgeous. Her long, dark-blonde hair fell forward. The smile she gave him reached her hazel eyes. He wanted to learn every curve of her slim body with his lips.

  “So you came back for a visit, did you?” she asked.

  Durlach tilted his head to give her better access. He enjoyed having Meadow pet him like this, but he would have liked it even more if her hands were running all over his naked body, caressing and exploring. And he wanted to do the same to her.

  Meadow straightened, then pulled the front door closed. “I’m not going out horseback riding right now, but you can follow me around if you want. Plus, if you’re going to make it a habit of coming for a visit I’d better introduce you to someone.”

  He stayed at his mate’s side as she walked around to the back of the house where the stable was. There was a pickup truck backed toward the open sliding door with the tailgate down. A man came out of the building and smiled at Meadow when he saw her approaching. Durlach didn’t like the fact another male was there on the property with his unclaimed mate. Until he’d made Meadow completely his, any person of the same sex as he was potential competition.

  “Taylor,” Meadow said. “Come meet someone.”

  The other man came around the pickup. The smile Taylor wore slowly disappeared as his gaze landed on Durlach. “This is your new friend?” he asked.

  “Yes. See, I told you he was a wolf hybrid, and that he’s tame. Since you work and live here, and he might come back sometime when I’m not around, I figured it would be a good idea to introduce you two.”

  Taylor stepped closer and looked down at Durlach. “I still have my doubts as to him being a hybrid. He looks to have too much wolf in him. I’d watch him, though. His kind could turn on you when you least expect it. But I guess there is no harm in letting him get to know my scent. That way he’ll know you aren’t out here alone.”

  Durlach had the distinct impression Taylor tried to give him the message that he would act as Meadow’s protector if he needed to. It was as if Taylor knew what Durlach was, but Durlach doubted he did. The werewolves of today had done a good job of hiding their true nature from mortals. They had no idea they lived among them.

  Taylor held out his hand to Durlach, who gave it a sniff. The other man’s scent was different than a mortal’s, but Durlach couldn’t pinpoint why. It was something he hadn’t encountered before. It had him looking at Taylor as a puzzle he needed to solve, especially when he tried to read the other man’s thoughts and came up against what could only be described as a brick wall.

  “Now that you two have gotten to know each other, I guess I’ll leave you be,” Meadow said to Taylor. “That is if you don’t need any help putting the supplies away.”

  Taylor shook his head. “No, I can manage. You go spend some time with your new…friend.”

  Was that sarcasm he heard in the other man’s voice? Durlach was pretty sure it was. He had no idea why Taylor seemed to have a problem with him. It wasn’t as if he’d done anything to warrant it.

  Meadow turned and walked away. Durlach held Taylor’s gaze for a few seconds before he followed her. She headed for another smaller building that was across the yard from the stable. She used a key she fished out of her jean pocket to unlock the door, then went inside.

  Durlach padded in behind Meadow, his gaze sweeping the one large, open room as his mate flipped on a light switch. There was a long worktable at one end with a stool in front of it. Along a wall was a row of wooden cabinets, each drawer marked by a white card with black writing on it. There also was a single glass cabinet that held items like the arrowheads he would have used during his life in the ice age.

  Meadow shut the door behind them. “This is what I call my office. You are welcome to stay as long as you don’t jump on anything.”

  He sat on his haunches and stared up at Meadow. She smiled and told him he was a good boy before she took something out of one of the drawers and then sat at the worktable. Durlach watched as she used some fine brushes to clean whatever it was she worked on. It didn’t take long for her to appear to have forgotten he was even there.

  Durlach figured now was a good time to put part two of Carson’s plan into action. He went over to the closed door and scratched it with a whine. Meadow lifted her head and looked in his direction. She slipped off the stool and walked over to him.

  “You need to go out, huh? All right. I’ll leave the door open in case you decide you want to come back in.”

  Meadow opened the door and Durlach shot out at a run. He headed straight for the thick growth of trees that lined the property. Once he was in deep enough not to be seen he’d shift to his human form before he returned to his mate.

  * * * * *

  After letting the wolf hybrid out of her office, Meadow went back to work on cleaning the artifact she’d found on her last dig. As usual, she became totally focused on what she did and the rest of the world seemed to drop away.

  So when a knock sounded on the door she just about jumped off her stool. Her heart beat a little faster from being startled. Meadow put her brush down and turned on her seat, ready to give Taylor crap for scaring her. The words she’d been about to say disappeared as her gaze landed on a man she didn’t know. He quite literally took her breath away.

  Meadow slipped off her seat and walked toward him. “Can I help you?”

  He stepped a little farther into the room and gave her a smile that made her heart beat faster for an entirely different reason. “I hope so. I knocked at the house but no one answered. I noticed the door was open so I thought I’d try here. I’m looking for my pet. The last couple of days he’s wandered off the property.”

  As he spoke, Meadow couldn’t stop herself from running her gaze over him. He was the best-looking man she’d seen in a long time. Obviously native, he had copper-colored skin and long, black hair that fell to his waist. His brown eyes were friendly and open. Unlike Taylor, this man fired her libido and sent it skyrocketing. She looked him up and down, nibbling her bottom lip as she took in his muscular chest, taut abs and well-muscled legs that his jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt did nothing to hide. Nor did his pants hinder her from seeing his impressive bulge.

  “Have you seen him?” he asked.

  Meadow jerked her gaze off his crotch and looked up at his
face. She forced herself to remember what he’d said. “Ah…I’m not sure. What is your pet?”

  “He’s a wolf hybrid. I figured he might have come over here since your property borders with ours. I’m Durlach and I’m one of your neighbors.”

  “I’m Meadow. And I did see your pet. You missed him by a matter of minutes. He and I have sort of been hanging out together. I have to say he’s really well trained.”

  “He might have gone back home. I’ve been out looking for him for a little while. I’m glad he didn’t make a pest of himself.” Durlach smiled again. “Maybe his taking off wasn’t a bad thing. He gave me the chance to meet you.”

  Meadow felt her cheeks heat. He flirted with her. Her pussy clenched, reminding her of how long it had been since she’d slept with a man. During a dig, it took up all of her attention and sex went by the wayside. It was also part of the reason why she couldn’t keep a long-term boyfriend. The men she’d dated hadn’t liked coming in second place to ancient artifacts or the fact she liked digging in the dirt rather than spending time with them.

  She cleared her throat. “If you want, I could help you look for your pet. What’s his name?”

  “Sure, I’d like that. It’s Kèitel.”

  “You named your wolf hybrid Dog in Tlingit?”

  “Yes. You speak it?”

  “Well, I figured I should, considering what I do for a living. I’m an archeologist and I specialize in ice age Tlingit artifacts.”

  “Sounds like an interesting job.”

  “I think it is. Shall we go look for Kèitel now?”

  Durlach nodded and stepped through the open door. Meadow joined him and closed it behind her. They set off across the yard in the direction of one of the trails through the trees. She noticed Taylor stood near the stable, his gaze seeming to be directed solely on Durlach. It was almost as if her friend didn’t like the fact that Durlach was with her. She decided to ignore it and continued on.

  Once they hit the trail, Meadow said, “This is where I met Kèitel yesterday while I was horseback riding. Maybe he’s somewhere around here.”

  “Could be. He does like going for a run in the trees.”

  They walked in silence for a bit before Meadow got the conversation going again. “So you’re one of my neighbors. I heard there was a group of you living there.”

  Durlach chuckled. “Yes, there’s a bunch of us, and our number keeps increasing now that there are four married couples in the house. Which I’m not one of, I might add. It’s just Capac, Ryder and me who are still single.”

  “It’s a good thing the house is on the large size and has six bedrooms.”

  Durlach turned his head and looked at her. “You’ve been inside my place?”

  “Yes, many times. I was friends with the previous owners. My property and yours used to be all one big piece of land that belonged to my grandfather. Quite a few years ago he sold off your section.”

  “Does your grandfather still live with you?”

  “No, he died and left me what part of his remained. I always loved spending the summers with him as a kid. When I got older and started my career I didn’t have as much time to come here. I think he figured I’d appreciate it more than any of my other relatives.”

  “I know I love living here. It allows me to have as much freedom as I need.”

  Meadow looked farther down the trail and smiled. “Look who found us.” She pointed to the black wolf hybrid that raced down the trail in their direction.

  Durlach watched Capac running toward them in his dire wolf form. This was not part of Carson’s plan. At least it wasn’t when Durlach had left the house. Once his wolf brother reached him and Meadow, he glared down at Capac, letting him know he wasn’t all that pleased to see him.

  Capac returned his stare, then telepathically projected into Durlach’s mind, Don’t get grumpy with me. This was Carson’s idea. He thought it would make your story more believable if another “wolf hybrid” was seen with you. He would have done it himself, but his fur isn’t close to being black like yours. So that left only me since the others would have to bring their mates along, and that wouldn’t have worked.

  “There you are,” Durlach said, playing along. “I should have brought the collar and leash along.”

  You try to put any of those things on me and you’re going to find my teeth sinking into your ass, Capac said with a slight lift of his upper lip.

  Meadow squatted in front of his wolf brother and scratched behind his ear. “I doubt you need those. He’ll be a good boy and stay with you.” She paused, gave Capac a closer look, then turned her head in Durlach’s direction. “Are you sure this is Kèitel? This one looks a little different.”

  It would seem his mate was quite observant. The differences between him and his wolf brothers while in their dire wolf forms were subtle. It had taken Cassidy, Haven, Eryn and Jaren a while to tell them all apart.

  Durlach stepped between Meadow and Capac, forcing his wolf brother to take a few steps back. “No, it’s him.”

  Meadow straightened. “Well, I guess you don’t need my help anymore now that Kèitel found you.”

  “Thanks.” Durlach paused before he asked, “Are you free this evening?”

  “Actually, I am.”

  “What would you think about me cooking you dinner at your place? My house is a little crowded or I’d invite you over.”

  Meadow nodded. “Sure, but can you cook?” she asked with a smile.

  “That wasn’t always the case, but I can now. One of my friend’s wife is a trained chef. She’s been teaching me. The smell of my food no longer makes people want to throw up.”

  His mate burst out laughing. “That’s good to know. Do you want me to pick anything up?”

  “No, I’ll bring all the food. So you won’t have to worry about that. How does five thirty sound?”

  “That’s fine with me. I’ll see you then.”

  Durlach watched Meadow walk down the trail toward her house. Once she was out of sight, Capac shifted to his human form.

  “Your mate seems nice,” his wolf brother said.

  He turned toward Capac. “I’m glad you think so. Next time Carson comes up with a last-minute idea can you at least give me the heads-up? You could have texted me before you left the house. That way I wouldn’t have been caught off guard.”

  “I’ll remember to do that, but I doubt I’ll be playing ‘Dog’ again anytime soon. At least your mate doesn’t know that’s what kèitel means.”

  “She does. Meadow knows how to speak Tlingit.”

  Capac chuckled. “That would mean we won’t be able to get away with saying something in Tlingit, thinking she won’t understand.” He clapped Durlach on the shoulder. “We should head home. I’m sure you’ll want Jaren and Kajakti to take you to the grocery store so you can cook something really nice for Meadow.”

  Durlach nodded, then walked with Capac into the trees. Once they were deeper in the bush, they both shifted to their dire wolf forms. Durlach bolted past Capac, needing to burn off some of the extra energy coursing through his system. Being with Meadow again had revved up his mating urge. Now that she’d met him as a man, he couldn’t wait to work on bringing them closer as mates.

  Chapter Three

  Once Meadow arrived back at her house after leaving Durlach on the trail she headed to her office to get a few more hours of work in before her date. Much to her surprise she found Taylor waiting for her there. He leaned against the wall next to the door but stood straight when he saw her approaching.

  “Hey, Taylor. What’s up?” she asked as she opened the door and walked into her office.

  He followed her inside. “Who was that I saw you with?”

  Meadow turned to face him. “That was Durlach. He was looking for his pet, the wolf hybrid. He also happens to be one of our newer neighbors.”

  Taylor appeared to stiffen. “He lives on the next property? There must be a pack over there then.”

  “I don’t know i
f I would call it pack of them, though there are more than a few. Durlach said there were four couples, himself and two other friends living together.”

  “That’s a pack.”

  Meadow chuckled. “You make them sound like wolves. There is only the one wolf hybrid.”

  “Since you came home alone, I take it Durlach returned to his house.”

  “Yeah, we found his pet out on the trail. But he’s coming back later. He asked if he could cook me dinner here tonight and I said yes.”

  “You found Durlach’s wolf hybrid when he was with you?”

  She scowled at Taylor. “Yeah. Why?”

  Taylor ducked his head and muttered something that Meadow swore sounded like, “Great, there’s more than one.”

  “What did you say?” she asked.

  He looked up. “Nothing. I guess I’ll be sticking around the property tonight. I’ll also be letting Durlach know you won’t be alone here, that I’ll be outside if you should need me.”

  Meadow shook her head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Durlach seems like a nice guy.”

  “You don’t know him.”

  “And you do?”

  “No. That’s why I feel I should be here for you just in case he doesn’t turn out to be what you expect.”

  “I know you aren’t much of a people person, same as me, but I didn’t realize you had so much mistrust in them as well. I think you’re worrying unnecessarily. Durlach has been living as our neighbor for close to two years and not once have we’ve heard about any trouble coming from that property.”

  “Sometimes it’s better not to trust someone right from the start. I’m still going to hang around.”

  Meadow could tell from the expression Taylor wore she wouldn’t be able to change his mind. “Fine, do whatever you want. Just don’t do anything to ruin my date. I like Durlach, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a guy show any interest in me.”