Astrid’s smile faltered. “I didn’t lose both. I’m not sure how, with all the blood and… Well, I’m thankful, and on the bright side, Erik told me he’d give me as many pups as I want now. I didn’t even have to manipulate him into saying it.”
Astrid looked like a gentle breeze would knock her over, and Indigo couldn’t help but pull her into another hug. The human slumped against her, shaking.
“Mostly…” Astrid sniffled. “Mostly I just want that pup back though.”
“I know,” Indigo said, because it seemed like the thing to say. In truth, she hoped she never did know that loss.
This time, when they parted, there were vestiges of pain around Astrid’s eyes, but her smile was genuine.
“Can I help you with this?” Indigo crouched down to begin folding, not waiting for an answer. “Where are you taking everything? I can carry it for you.”
She almost added that Astrid shouldn’t be doing these things in her condition, before it occurred to her that she was also pregnant. As thrilled as she’d been to find out—thrilled, and petrified—she had now settled in a weird, neutral area where she accepted her condition, but was still waiting for her body to affirm it in some way.
Astrid sat down beside Indigo, color staining her cheeks. “Well, nowhere yet. I’ve been sleeping in Erik’s room the past few days, so I figured I’d get everything packed now.” She gave Indigo an abashed look. “I was hoping to snag Sten’s room once you guys leave. Not that I’m glad you’re leaving. Actually, I’m very not happy about it. But his room is so nice.”
“It is a very nice room,” Indigo said, grinning.
They chatted for a few minutes, and the small talk reminded Indigo that she really didn’t know Astrid that well, which was strange, considering everything they’d been through in the past month. It made her a little sad to think that she would probably never get to know her well, seeing as how they’d be leaving soon.
As they were setting the last of the folded furs in the corner, Indigo caught a scent that made her back stiffen. She turned to see Erik standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. For once, the Amarok alpha wasn’t wearing dark clothes. In fact, he wasn’t wearing anything at all, and Indigo struggled to decide where she should direct her gaze. She settled on the bridge of his nose. If Erik had made her nervous before she’d attacked him, now he made her wish she were invisible.
Astrid noticed him a second later, and went to him with a pelt and a long-suffering sigh. He took the pelt, but only flung it over his arm. His cool blue eyes searched his mate’s face.
“You’ve been crying again.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Crying is cathartic.”
“Hmph.”
While they spoke, Indigo surreptitiously examined Erik’s arms. There were many scars, but most of his body was scarred and with his shifter’s healing, it was hard to say how old any of them where. When her eyes moved back to his face, she was startled to see that he was staring at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said on reflex.
He tilted his head to one side. “You should have known better than to strike at me.” Astrid elbowed him in the side, causing his lips to press into a hard line. “And I should not have taken you from your room in your enfeebled mental state.”
“Enfeebled?” Indigo repeated, trying not to scowl.
“In any case, you are not beholden to me.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. “That’s his way of saying he’s sorry.”
“Do not put words in my mouth, mate.”
As they spoke, Indigo all but tiptoed towards the door. Just as she was trying to figure out a way around the alpha, Erik stuck a hand out, blocking her way. He gave her a taunting look that was at odds with what he said next.
“Tell my brother that when his stint as alpha inevitably fails, he can return to Amarok. You, and your pups as well.”
“And that’s his way of saying he cares,” Astrid said. Erik looked like he was going to protest, but he seemed to forget the words as Astrid cuddled up to his side and nuzzled her face against his chest.
“I will,” Indigo said, before ducking under Erik’s arm. The alpha made no attempt to stop her.
Sten’s room was still empty when she arrived back. Sten had not yet returned with Halley. She slipped out of her clothes, hoping her mate would not smell Astrid on them, and snuck back into the bed that he’d left her in. Her hand went to her belly, her fingers drumming an expectant beat.
Chapter 32
“I have a sister that cannot shift at all,” Coral said, absently fingering her necklace of smooth pearls. “And in my case, it hurts a great deal.”
Halley put a hand to her mouth. “I would never shift if it hurt.”
Coral sat on the rug with Halley and Maia, the girls listening attentively as she discussed her family. Lake sat in a chair behind Coral, thumbing through a magazine that she’d borrowed from Astrid.
“I am accustomed to the pain,” Coral said. “I’ve learned how to go elsewhere in my mind so that I do not feel it.”
Setting the magazine in her lap, Lake leaned forward and gave Coral’s shoulder a hard pinch. Coral jumped to her feet, snarling at the now laughing female.
“I have to be ready,” Coral said derisively.
Indigo watched everything from the couch, where she lay stretched out beneath a wool blanket. She had barely moved from the spot during the two days they’d been back at the Amarok den, though not by choice.
“I never have trouble shifting,” Halley said. “Not into my wolf form, anyway.”
Coral cast Lake a dirty look before smoothing her dress and sitting back down. “It isn’t the same for everyone,” she went on. “For example, Aunt Jae cannot take human form without a tail.”
Maia’s mouth popped open. “Does it have fur?”
“Can she wag it?” Halley asked.
It was strange to see Coral being so talkative, especially to pups, whom she usually avoided as though they were diseased. Indigo was glad for it. She was interested in hearing about the Sedna females, all of whom had eccentricities when it came to shifting, but she was mostly glad that the girls were being entertained.
They’d been hanging around the room all day, pretending to be mountaineers, and bent on scaling the piles of packed bags in Sten’s bedroom. Indigo had earned a starring role in their fantasy—the evil bear queen. Repeatedly foiling their attempts to reach the summit had drained every last bit of Indigo’s already strapped energy reserves.
Boaz arrived a few minutes later, wearing a new shirt of tawny leather. The flawless stitch work and stylish cut spoke of Astrid’s craftsmanship. Indigo made a mental note to pay a visit to Astrid before they left tomorrow. She would need new clothes soon, and many of Sten’s outfits had grown threadbare.
“Hey there, kiddo!” Boaz was speaking to Maia, but both girls hopped up and ran to greet him. He held up a hand to Indigo. “Just came to see if Maia is spending the night again.”
Indigo managed to prop her head up. “I don’t mind.”
“Can we spend the night in your room instead?” Halley asked, bouncing back and forth on her feet. “You still haven’t told me about your time in Peru.”
“Oh, Peru! I had a very interesting cab ride in Lima. I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I would love that,” Halley gushed. She turned to give Indigo a broad smile. “May I stay with Boaz tonight?”
Indigo almost told her that she should ask her father, and then had to suppress a laugh when she pictured Sten’s face when Halley asked. Instead, she decided to test her new discretionary powers as Sten’s mate.
“You can, but be back first thing in the morning, okay?”
Halley ran over to give her a quick hug and a thank you, and then she dropped a quick kiss on Indigo’s belly. “Be good, little sister.”
Not noticing the slight tensing of Indigo’s muscles, Halley dashed off with Boaz and Maia. As soon as she was gone, Indigo relaxed, and then felt gui
lty. So far, she’d only experienced two side effects from her pregnancy—fatigue and the urge to snap her teeth at anyone who came near her belly. As far as her wolf was concerned, no one was exempt from this treatment, though so far she’d managed not to bite Halley. The same could not be said for her mate.
“She is very beautiful,” Coral said. The petite female uncrossed her legs to stretch. “You are fortunate Sten already has a pup. Now you can see that he will be a good sire.”
“Yes, I’m very lucky,” Indigo said. “So what about your mate? Have you spoken with Sylvestre yet, or are you still avoiding him?”
It was the one topic that she knew would cause Coral’s back to stiffen.
“I am not avoiding him,” Coral said tersely. “I am preparing for our negotiation.”
Lake let out a bark of laughter. “There’s nothing to negotiate. All you have to do is sleep with him.”
“You don’t understand anything,” Coral spat as she climbed to her feet. She made to leave, but pivoted at the doorway. “If you need anything, I will be in my room.”
“When do we ever need her for anything?” Lake said the instant Coral was out the door. “She’s so annoying. If I were her, I’d already be carrying Sylvestre’s pup. No, if I were her, I would have never let Zane slip through my paws in the first place.”
Indigo chucked a pillow at her. “Hush. She can probably hear you.”
“So what?” she huffed. “Anyway, now that she’s gone, let’s go find Kya.”
Indigo turned her head into the soft cushion of the couch. She was going to miss this couch. “I’m not entirely sure I can stand right now. I just want to nap.”
“Quit being dramatic,” Lake said, coming to Indigo’s side and pulling her up by the arm. “Shall I carry you, your highness? Is that what I’m supposed to call you, now that you’re an alpha’s mate?”
Grunting, Indigo jerked her arm free, but managed to sit upright on a bent knee. “Your majesty will do just fine. At least let me put some shoes and socks on. My feet are freezing.”
The smell of cooked meat kept Indigo’s bottom firmly planted on the couch. Her head turned to the doorway expectantly, and Sten walked in a few seconds later, carrying a steaming plate. He had been far too busy to hunt over the past few days, yet there were always generous portions of fresh meat for Indigo to eat. The meat came from what Erik hunted for Astrid, and Indigo liked to think that it was the Amarok alpha’s way of saying that there were no hard feelings between them, though that might have been a stretch.
Setting the plate down on the table, Sten bent to kiss the top of Indigo’s head. A curtain of silver hair fell down around her, tickling her face. She inhaled deeply and let out a pleasured sigh. Her mate was the only thing that smelled better than fresh meat.
He nuzzled his nose against her hair before sitting down next to her. “Where are the girls?”
“They decided to spend the night with Tallow and Boaz instead.” She rubbed his back as he frowned. “It’s only a crush, and tonight will be the last time she’ll see him for a while.”
Halley’s enthusiasm about the new den had shriveled when she realized that Boaz really wouldn’t be coming. Indigo had spent several hours comforting her and convincing her that time apart would mean that Boaz would have time to miss her. She’d also reminded Halley that her own family was still in Siluit, and that Halley would have plenty of opportunities to visit when Indigo did.
The exact location of the new Siluit den had yet to be decided, but all signs pointed to an area in the northwestern mountains. The terrain was rough, but Sten assured Indigo that it would be little more than a day’s journey from their own den, and he would take her there as often as possible.
“Besides,” Indigo said, forking meat into her mouth. “This means we’ll have the room to ourselves tonight.”
A smile tugged at his sensuous lips, but before he could say anything, Lake let out a groan, reminding Indigo that she was still in the room.
“We were supposed to go spend time with Kya,” Lake said petulantly. “We never see her anymore.”
“Kya is always welcome to join us,” Indigo said. “She’s the one who’s been making herself scarce.”
Lake’s eyes narrowed in accusation. “Because you’re always letting Coral hang around us.”
If Indigo felt bad for anyone, it was Coral. It was bad enough that Kya, one of Sylvestre’s bed partners, would be coming to the new den with them. But she was not the only one, as Indigo had soon found out. Save for Erik’s mate, there wasn’t a female in the Amarok den that hadn’t shared Sylvestre’s bed at one time or another, and according to a bristling Coral, more than a few claimed to be deeply in love with him. How a male could keep so many females on a string at once, Indigo could not fathom.
Lake jumped as Sten cleared his throat. “You will stop disparaging Coral, in front of her, and in private. She may tolerate it for now, but if even a whisper of that gets back to Sylvestre, you will find out just how low it is possible be within the pack hierarchy.”
Blood draining from her face, Lake could only nod.
“Good. Now leave.”
Indigo watched her leave, and then turned to her mate with a look of reverence. She licked her lips, and then climbed into his lap to straddle him.
“Is it wrong that it turns me on when you order people around like that?”
He gave her a slanted smile, exposing a pointed canine. “There is little I do that does not turn you on.”
Crinkling her nose, she leaned in to kiss him. She felt him growing hard, and she wiggled her hips until his chest rumbled with a groan. His hands gripped the rounded cheeks of her bottom and squeezed.
She was breathing hard when she broke their kiss. “Is there a such thing as lazy sex? Can you do all of the work while I lay enjoying myself?”
Sten had her on her back before she’d finished the question. He kissed her neck, paying special attention to where his mark was branded into her flesh. She had experimented with putting her own mark on his neck, but he healed so quickly that his skin was usually sealing by the time she licked up the blood. Sten assured her if she bit deeper and reapplied the mark each night, it would eventually stick, but she suspected he only said that because he secretly enjoyed her bites.
She relaxed beneath her mate’s skillful touch. Tomorrow, they would be leaving for their new den, the final step towards the start of their new life together. Moments like these would be few and precious in the weeks, and even years to come, and she would cherish each one as it came.
Sharing the Alpha
The responsibility of being an alpha is more daunting than Sylvestre could have imagined. The only thing that makes his new position bearable is knowing that he’ll soon have Coral as his mate. Something about the stubborn, mouthy, and beautiful female makes him want to finally give up his roguish ways and settle down with a few pups.
Unfortunately, Coral’s family has other plans, and Sylvestre finds himself leaving Sedna not only with orders to return their heir posthaste, but also with Nova—Coral’s irrepressibly cheerful and obnoxiously pleasant half-sister.
Taking Nova as his mate will secure a much-needed alliance, but surely make his life miserable. Taking Coral as his mate will spell disaster for his pack. And only a series of reckless and astoundingly impulsive decisions could leave him mated to both females.
Coming Summer 2017!
Chasing the Alpha: Shifters of Nunavut, Book #3 Page 28