Frozen Alaska

by Katherine Rhodes

  “I like it, because it’s pretty accurate,” Zanna said.

  “Me too,” I said. “But don’t look now. He’s on his way over.”

  There was a collective groan from the other three as the short man walked over. He was creepy from the get-go, but watching him move toward us, he came off as…dangerous. He moved like a predator.

  But one that would be happy with carrion too.

  He had a sense of ‘trickster’ or ‘snake’.

  Definitely more snake.

  “Ladies,” he said, standing in front of them and crossing his arms. He couldn’t see Brandy roll her eyes, but he did see the rest of us choke back a laugh.

  He did not like that. “What’s funny?”

  Clearing her throat, Zanna looked at him. “Sorry. Just an inside joke.”

  He passed his gaze over all of us and the slimy little smile was back. “So, which one of you ladies wants a dance with a real man?”

  Zanna put her hand up. “Sure. Let me know when one gets here.”

  I cut my eyes to hers. Could she not feel how dangerous this little scum bag was? The dude exuded ‘bad’ and she was provoking him.

  He walked around the table to where she was sitting and gave the rest of us a grin. His hand snaked around her neck, and then clamped there, tight.

  Zanna started coughing and turning red immediately. Addi was out of her seat before any of us could even think, and grabbed the wrist that wrapped around our friend’s throat. She pinched hard and the guy screamed and let go.

  Years of jujuitsu served her well at the most unexpected times. She was more than a black belt, somewhere around triple. She loved her martial art, and to see her fight was shocking. But what always astonished us was her use of little things like this nerve pinch. Simple, powerful, effective.

  And she ended her hold by tossing the creep against the building.

  “Get out of here, you piece of shit,” she snapped.

  He held his hand to his chest and growled at her.

  Actually.

  Growled.

  And then he was gone, back inside, tossing something on the bar, and then out the front door disappearing down the street.

  “Jesus Christ, Zanna! The guy was bad news, could you please, please show a little restraint?” I snapped the words off at her.

  “I didn’t think that he was going to fucking choke me!”

  Brandy shook her head. “Woman, you have got to hone your instincts. We all smelled the stank on him, except you. You gotta watch out.”

  “I didn’t think he was going to be that violent.”

  I leaned forward. “Zanna. It’s safe at this point to assume that if you don’t know a guy well, they may get violent. It’s not the way any of us want to live, but that’s the way it is now. And we’re in God’s Back Country now, where women are rare. Men will try to take what they want.”

  “Good God, where did you all bring me?”

  2

  As predicted, Jess fucked the electrician.

  I was relieved. She’d needed a good shagging for a while—and really, Garrett was damn hot. I’d have done the same thing.

  But there was something about Garrett that whispered to me that he was not meant for me. Or anyone but Jess. And that he would hurt anyone who came near her.

  Well good. She needed a man who gave a shit about her and not just what she could do for him.

  Total bonus: he got the electrical working for the fridge and stove, so that when they delivered the new one tomorrow, we could use it.

  Zanna peered into the mess that was our current refrigerator and wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t think that I would even remotely want access to a scanning electron scope while I was here. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way to identify what’s in there.”

  “Stop,” Brandy said. “Just close the door. We have a stove and we have enough of food for dinner. Let’s do that and worry about science later.”

  “Fine, fine.” She closed the door and sneezed hard.

  “So everything is being delivered tomorrow?” Jess asked, sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace.

  I nodded. “Yup.”

  Brandy took a seat on the couch. “So, what did you and Garrett do to my house…aside from befouling it with your sex romp?”

  Jess narrowed her eyes, trying to be angry, but the blush that rose told me she was more delighted than angry.

  “You’re getting a whole new power system, including solar and wind. There’s new bathrooms coming in, the chimney is going to be shored up. New front door, new back door. The deck is going to be reinforced, and later this summer new windows. A new water heater, and everything is getting painted. He’s also going to have someone come in and check the septic tank so that we’re not dealing with a field of shit as we’re packing up at the end of the summer.” She paused, then finished, “Oh and a whole house fan.”

  “Which we’re going to need if you keep having sex in the living room,” I teased.

  “I fulling plan on sullying one of the new queen beds as soon as possible.” She gave me a ‘fight me on it’ look, and I cracked up laughing.

  Jess was hilarious.

  “And you’re sure you’re okay with paying for all that?” Brandy asked, her voice quiet and unassuming.

  “Yes, yes.” I waved her off. Really, everything looked like it was going to come under $75,000, and that was just me not having a new car next year. Compared to the joy this place would bring Brandy?

  Worth it.

  I cleared my throat. “So, I’m going to be doing some hiking on Thursday. Anyone want to go?”

  “Are you doing hard ascents?” Zanna groused.

  “Of course. There’s no real verticals around here, so I had to do hard ascents.”

  “By yourself?” Jess cocked her head at me.

  “I’m crazy, not stupid. I hired a guide. A local guy who’s certified in search and rescue. I thought it would be smart to have that since I don’t know anyone up here.”

  Brandy shook her head. “I’m passing. I hate hard ascents. If you were doing distance on a gradual…”

  “Maybe next time. There’s plenty of coastal trails too. We can also go kayaking. I’d love to see if we could find some whales in the bay. We have a good chance.”

  “Now you have my attention.” Zanna smiled.

  I grinned. “The guy said he also does kayak tours, so I’ll talk to him about it. Fair?

  “Fair.” Zanna nodded.

  The scratching on the door made me sit straight up from the miserable air mattress I was sharing with Jess. She was only seconds behind me sitting up.

  “Are those fuckers right at the door?” Her whisper was angry.

  “I think so.”

  “Damn, the fire. We all fell asleep. Can you stoke that and get some of those flowers burning?”

  I crawled over to the fireplace and discovered we had only a handful of them left. I held them up to show Jess. She swore quietly.

  “What the hell do we do? They’re right outside…” I didn’t want to think about killing the coyotes.

  “I’m going to—” She held up a finger and walked to the door. “What’s that noise?”

  I wasn’t interested in tiptoeing around these mangy coyotes anymore, so I walked to the window, and yanked the curtain to the side.

  Aside from kicking up a shit ton of dust, I caught the damn animal mid piss on the front door. Leg up, full stream, all over the damn lower panel.

  “Oh, my God,” Zanna gasped.

  I screamed. I didn’t know she was there.

  Zanna screamed back.

  The coyote looked right at us and howled.

  We jumped back and yanked the curtain back into place.

  “He marked the door,” I managed to breathe.

  “We need help,” Jess said, and grabbed for her phone, swiping a few buttons and putting it on speaker.

  “Hrrr?”

  Not a very well-formed hello, but Jess didn’t care. “Garr
ett? I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to wake you, but I don’t know what to do…”

  “Jessica?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s…” Garrett swallowed, then cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Jess? I don’t…”

  “The coyotes are so close. The fireweed only backs them off for a few minutes. I picked a ton after you left, but we’re using so much we’re running out. They won’t go away. I don’t want to shoot them…”

  “How close?”

  “One peed on the front door. I think there’s one by the generator in the back.”

  There was only just a few seconds pause, and he sounded much more awake. “I’m on my way. I’m bringing some friends. Keep the door closed, and locked, turn on the light, and keep tossing the fireweed on the flames. Got it?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “Jess?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t be afraid to use the gun.”

  “I won’t.”

  She swiped the call to an end. Zanna, Brandy, and Addi were staring at her, and they were angry. Like eyes glowing angry. If their eyes could glow.

  “Go get it,” I said.

  Jess came back with the rifle she had stashed in her bedroom and held it out for Zanna. “You know what to do with better than I do.”

  After a moment, Zanna swiped the gun out of her hand and marched to the window. She hoisted the gun and settled it against her shoulder, sticking the barrel between the glass and the curtain.

  “I can’t believe you bought a gun,” Addi hissed at her.

  “I didn’t buy it. Delia did, and I was hoping not to show you. Ever. But when they were clamoring around last night I felt like we needed one. Zanna knows what she’s doing with it, and I can at least look threatening.”

  Addi narrowed her eyes at Jess. “And you called your fuck buddy to help us?”

  “Addi! I am not going to argue with you about this!”

  “I still can’t believe you slept with the electrician,” Brandy said. “We were only gone for four hours.”

  Jess was angry. “There was no sleeping. And, you’re lucky we felt like being decent and not just fucking our way through the house.”

  “Shut. Up,” Zanna barked by the window. “I’m glad we have the gun. I’m glad you finally got laid, and I’m glad you called him. Now all of you. Just shut up.”

  All of our jaws snapped shut and the sounds of the coyotes outside—yipping, yapping, and territorial howls—filled the room again.

  Jess cleared her throat. “Guys…”

  “Don’t talk,” Zanna said. “You called your boy toy. Now hush and let’s just keep an eye on these sons of bitches. I don’t want to use—”

  She was severely cut off by a howl at the back door. Right up against it, in fact. I hadn’t even thought about the generator back there. These damn coyotes had balls of steel.

  “I think they’re rabid,” Brandy whispered.

  “I think you’re right,” Jess said.

  I quirked an eyebrow at her.

  “What? I think she’s right. This is not how animals behave.”

  Addi nailed me in the side with her elbow and pointed out the window. “Look at that one.”

  I looked, and I didn’t like what I saw, and I stepped back from the window. “Holy shit, he looks like…”

  “The guy we saw at the bar. The one that tried to choke Zanna.”

  “When did you go to the bar? And who tried to choke Zanna?” Hysteria climbed into Jess’s voice.

  “Lunch time. We figured we might as well eat while we were in town.”

  “You didn’t bring me anything back?”

  I smirked at her. “You had sausage.”

  A simple middle finger was her answer.

  I grinned then shared the story with her. “We stopped at the bar, and there was a guy there. He tried to pick any of us up. It wasn’t comfortable or fun, and the guy had that stripe in his hair, on the side.”

  Brandy stared at me. “So you think the creepy dude who tried to pick us up this afternoon from the bar is also a coyote?” Brandy shook her head and looked back out the window. “You’ve been reading too many of my paranormal books. Try a contemporary fiction.”

  “Contemporary fiction is boring,” I said. “I have my own problems, I don’t need to read about someone else’s. I like paranormal, so screw off.”

  “Okay, can we all be quiet?” Zanna threw her patented I’m going to kill you look over her shoulder. “Just hush. How long is it going to take your boy toy to get here?”

  Jess shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t think to ask. He said he lived down the hill.”

  “At the bottom of the road, or like two mountains over?” Addi asked.

  “I. Do not. Fucking. Know.”

  There was a flash of lights through the trees and a moment later, we all watched as the white van that declared ‘Timberwolf Electrical’ cleared the last line of trees.

  Jess gave a broad gesture. “There you go, there’s your answer.”

  The coyotes all froze where they were when the lights from the van swept over them. Shuffling and snuffling a bit, they looked like they were waiting for someone to climb out to make a decision about leaving.

  A new howl pierced the cool night air.

  The long, slow crescendo of a wolf rose from the far side of the vehicle.

  A moment later, a dozen more wolves answered, filling the dark with an ominous, frightening chorus of wild animals.

  “I’m currently afraid I’m going to shit myself,” Zanna whispered.

  “Wolves, now?” Addi’s whisper was terrified.

  As the chorus continued the coyotes yipped and danced and started to back off of the house. The doors to the passenger cabin of the van popped open and two figures—one Garrett, and the other probably his brother by the way they were the built the same.

  The coyotes reacted almost violently once the two of them strode out away from the van toward the front door.

  As soon as the last coyote jumped from the porch, Garrett and his brother started climbing the stairs. Jess unbolted the door and pulled it open.

  His big arms folded her into his embrace. She had a big doofy grin on her face as he held her close. I didn’t know if the others noticed, but she was very comfortable with him. Familiar and right.

  He spared a smile for the rest of us. “Hello, ladies. Good to see you all again. This is my brother, Patrick. Patrick, these are our new neighbors. Jessica, Addi, Delia, Zanna, and Brandy.”

  Zanna was trying to yank Patrick out of the door. “Come on, come on, there are coyotes and wolves out there now!”

  Patrick grinned. “Don’t sweat the wolves. They won’t hurt you. I saw one or two on the way up. They’re part of the local pack.”

  “You know the wolves?” Jess was astonished. So was I honestly. How did one get to know a wolf?

  “Of course.”

  “Do you know these coyotes?” Addi asked.

  “We do, unfortunately,” Patrick answered. “That’s why you’re going to come back to our compound for the night and we’ll have everyone up here tomorrow, cleaning, repair, and securing the property. Pack a bag, ladies. Come on down to the St. Therese compound.”

  “Just leave the place.” Just the tone of Brandy’s voice told us all how she didn’t like that idea.

  “Just for tonight.” Garrett tipped his head.

  “But, this is my place. I shouldn’t be scared away by some mangy mutts. I need to stay and defend––”

  There was a bark and sharp growl from beyond the trees, and all of us jerked back from the door.

  “I’ll get my bag,” Brandy said, scurrying off.

  3

  I looked up at the mountain, framed by the bright blue, cloudless sky. It was awesome, and I was glad to be outside.

  I inhaled, pulling in the cool, damp air of the Mendenhall Glacier and—

  —the scent of my mate.

  What the fuck.

  My
mate was walking up the hill.

  She had booked my services for the whole day from six in the morning until we got back to the trail head sometime in the evening.

  Oh, crap.

  Half of my brain wanted to call her, quickly, and cancel the whole thing. I wasn’t going to survive this day and I wasn’t ready for a mate.

  I was still working on fixing the mess my parents had left for me and Cora. I could barely provide for the two of us.

  My wilderness business had only just started taking regular bookings from the cruise ships after I had battled to be offered as an option on their excursions. The amount of time and money and insurance that I needed had nearly killed our precarious finances again.

  I couldn’t provide for a mate. Not the right way.

  And now she was walking up the path, into my life for the next eight to ten hours.

  Screwed. So screwed.

  I rubbed my nose, trying to get the scent out of my mind before she crested the path, but I knew it was useless. The instant she appeared, her scent would waft into my brain again.

  And again.

  And again.

  Until all I wanted to do was throw her on the ground on all fours and fuck her stupid.

  I shook my head and scolded my wolf. I didn’t need him misbehaving because she was so close. I didn’t need him clawing out or making this worse than it was already going to be.

  I would have to reject her.

  For now.

  Swallowing, I shoved my wolf back. He would never understand why I couldn’t accept her right now. It was a very human reason, and he worked on instinct.

  I distracted myself with checking my equipment. Ropes and crampons, just in case. Water, first aid, and emergency rations.

  Summer in Alaska was usually decent, but there was always a risk of something, anything, going wrong. The woman had paid me as a guide for the whole day. I knew these hills. I was comfortable there. But how much she knew about rugged outdoorsy things—like bugs in her hair and teeth—I didn’t want to guess.

  One thing I had learned with the cruise ships, people who thought they were in shape, and were well toned, had never had to rely on those muscles to carry them anywhere. They were uselessly strong. The hours in the gym mean shit when they couldn’t figure out how to use the rope on the ascent.