But she was sleeping peacefully now. Her heartbeat was strong and regular. Gage rubbed his forehead. I thought this was supposed to get easier now that we’re bonded.
Sitting up, he extracted himself carefully from Bridget’s warm body, reluctant to leave their snug cocoon. He pulled on his clothes as fast as he could and slipped outside the tent. He’d just get breakfast going and wake her as soon as it was ready.
Chapter 20
Bridget awoke to the wonderful smell of fresh coffee and the appealing sizzle of sausage frying. She was alone in the tent, and for a moment she just lay there. Had that really happened? But yes, she was naked. She reached up to touch her neck. And yes, there was a tender spot there where he’d bitten her. Although it hadn’t really hurt that much at the time. She smiled. Or perhaps he’d been right. She’d just been too busy to notice.
She stretched luxuriously. The memories made her shiver deliciously. Gage was an amazing lover. Touching her so carefully, almost hesitantly at first, but oh, those gentle touches. They lit her up like nothing else. The whole experience had been beyond her wildest dreams.
Well, right up until the end, anyway. There had been some weirdness there at the end. She was pretty sure she’d basically passed out on him. And I didn’t even have anything to drink. She grinned. He wore me out.
She dressed quickly, shivering in the cold. She could see her breath in front of her face. The temperature must have dropped again. She sighed. Looked like she was hiking with her water bottle inside her parka again. Her stomach rumbled, and she grimaced. She had to go out there— she couldn’t put it off forever.
She felt her stomach flutter. What if that amazing connection she’d felt last night had all been in her head? What if Gage turned out to be one of those guys more interested in the chase than the actual prize?
She rolled her eyes. Don’t be ridiculous. But she couldn’t squelch her nerves entirely. Taking a deep breath, she poked her shoulders outside the tent. Time to face the music.
“Bridget.” Gage hurried over and helped her up. “How are you feeling?” He ran his hands anxiously over her head, as if he could maybe feel inside it or something, down her hair and over her shoulders.
“Um… I feel fine, Gage.” Looks like her worst fears were baseless. “Hungry. This is what I like to see, my man slaving over a hot fire for me. Are those pancakes?”
“Come and sit down.” He drew her to a chair and almost lifted her into it. “Careful. I don’t want you to strain your leg.”
“My leg,” she said slowly. “You know, it feels a lot better today.”
He didn’t look happy. If anything, he seemed worried. She tried to change the subject. “So, whatcha cookin’, good lookin’?” But that failed to illicit the grin she expected. Instead he knelt down next to her, still looking concerned.
“Can I see?”
“No. Gage, I’m not taking my pants off in the middle of the camp in February. We can check it later. What’s gotten into you?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You’re right. We will check it later.”
She glanced around the campsite, examining it with new eyes. Gage had chosen a hollow this time, setting their tent on a slight rise within it. It was unusual. Ordinarily they hiked to the highest point around and then made camp. But under the circumstances, that wouldn’t have worked last night.
It was a pretty little clearing, she noted, with evergreens surrounding most of it, but a clump of low-growing deciduous trees rose up out of the hollow on her right. Icicles hung from the low branches, connecting them to the ground like a shimmering fairy lace. She’d never seen anything like it. With the sunlight glistening off the ice, it was breathtaking.
Just to the side of it was the opening up the slope out of the protected hollow. She could see the tracks of the sled run up the hill and disappear over the top. Wow. She must have been really out of it yesterday to have missed all this. It was a beautiful spot. Peaceful in the bright morning light, with a circle of blue sky above them.
She glanced around. “Where are the kids?”
“Kids?”
“Smokey and the Bandit. I mean Leaf.”
That finally got her a smile. “They are guarding the kill. There is still a lot of meat left, and our young ones have some filling out to do.” He gave her a significant look. “And since you will not be traveling for a while, they might as well deter other predators from moving in.”
“Ahhh. That makes sense.” She settled back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the bright winter sunshine on her face.
A while later, while finishing up her pancakes, an alarming thought struck her.
“Gage. What about birth control?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I could get pregnant. Couldn’t I?”
“Yes, of course. Don’t you want children?”
“Of course I want children. But not right now. We should wait a couple of years get to know each other without the strain of trying to raise children too.”
“But surely that is unusual? The People rarely produce young until well into their thirties. It must be the same for humans, yes?”
“With people,” she shook her head, frustrated, “I mean humans— we’re more fertile when we're younger. We are more likely to get pregnant in our twenties, and once we hit out thirties our fertility starts to go down.”
“Well, there is no birth control among mates. A child is a blessing from the Maiden. We would never reject such gift.”
She stared at him, speechless. What had she gotten herself into? “Gage. Please tell me you don’t expect me to stay barefoot and pregnant.”
He regarded her silently for a long moment. “You can wear shoes,” he said finally, as if he were making a great concession.
She narrowed her eyes at him but refused to take the bait. “Gage, I am not ready to have children right now. How are we going to handle this?”
He looked at her for another long moment. He didn’t look happy. “How long do you want to wait?” The question was tentative.
“I don't know, a year or two?”
“A year?" He sounded aghast. Bridget couldn't help it, she laughed.
“Well, there must be something we can do.”
He didn't look convinced. “We can abstain, perhaps.”
“Abstain.” She sounded just as skeptical as she felt.
“Bridget, you need more faith.”
“I need more faith? I’m mated it a werewolf. If that's not faith, I don't know what it is.” At the look on his face, she amended that. “Moon person. Whatever.”
Gage ignored that. “So own it. Have faith, ma crevette. If the Moon Maiden graces us with the child, that will be a precious gift. But I’m only twenty-nine, Bridget. I don't expect to have children for at least another five years. It would be very unusual.”
“Well you better say some pretty amazing prayers to your Moon goddess, because this is on you. It's your little swimmers that are the issue here.”
Gage laughed. “I will tell my swimmers to do the backstroke, if you wish.”
“Okay fine, make a joke. But if I get pregnant, you’re doing all the dirty diapers. Don’t think you’ll get out of it.”
“As you wish. Whatever you wish, mon rêve. Please, just tell me we don’t have to wait another year before we can make love again.”
Bridget wasn’t sure she could wait another hour, but she did say so. “Fine,” she grumbled, and let Gage pull her up into his arms. She guessed she was going with faith. It had gotten her this far.
A short time later Gage insisted on seeing her wound. She stared at it in open mouthed surprise. It looked almost healed.
“Ah,” Gage said as if something had become clear to him.
“What?”
“I’ve never heard of this. Of course, most mates are already of the People so—”
He broke off and Bridget waited.
“Gage. Spit it out already.”
“The bonding proces
s. It seems to have pressed your body to heal. I think that is why you were so tired. And needed the water. Healing takes a lot of energy.”
“If you say so.” But she couldn’t deny that she was looking at something that looked like it had happened at least a week ago, if not longer. “Pretty neat trick,” she added.
“Yeah,” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced. “Just tell me if you feel drained or hungry, though, will you?”
She gave him a look, but agreed. It was sweet that he was so concerned. Mostly, anyway.
It took her five days to convince Gage she was well enough to travel, and even then, he wanted her to ride on the sled. While he pulled. Not going to happen. Her wound was just a tender pink scab now. Gage’s theory that the bonding process had somehow prompted her body to heal seemed to be correct. Unless that saliva of his was a lot more potent than she’d ever suspected.
The rest of him was pretty potent too. Although it had taken her a whole day to convince him she was well enough for that. Apparently, she’d scared the bejeezus out of him by passing out like that after their ‘ceremony.’
Bridget almost snickered. Some ceremony. But she had to admit, he was right. They were definitely bonded. She could feel his anxiety rise every time she tried to do anything, and it was both endearing and annoying. She just hadn’t decided yet which feeling was predominant.
But they were on the move now, and it felt good to get out and use her muscles again. It was another grey, cloudy day, so it would probably snow before too long. It didn’t bother her. She liked hiking with the snow falling softly around them. Gage had finally stopped watching her anxiously like she was going to fall over at any moment and started acting like himself again.
She smiled as she trudged along beside him. He insisted on holding her hand, like he was afraid she would disappear. With the other he pulled the sled, the remains of the late, unlamented pig dragging behind, tethered to the sled with a rope. At least it was frozen solid, so it didn’t smell. And they would need the meat to try to convince the wolf pair to join their little pack, if they ever found them. Every once in a while, they’d execute a sort of volleyball rotate maneuver so Gage could switch arms. And this is my life. Honeymoon with pig. Go figure.
She shook her head but couldn’t help grinning. Her stomach did a happy little quiver every time she looked up and saw his handsome face. The fact that he was hers now seemed to hit her anew at least a dozen times a day.
Gage stiffened suddenly and pulled her to a stop. He inhaled deeply, and she got the feeling he was sniffing the air. He looked like he might be listening too, so she didn’t speak. A moment later the two young wolves emerged from the woods, yipping and dancing around them. They were becoming more comfortable around her, but Gage never let them get too close. Only Leaf seemed at all inclined to do so. Smokey still kept his distance.
But now they came quite close, seeming to ignore the fact that she was even there. She didn’t need telepathy to tell they were excited about something.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure, Gage said. He looked frustrated. “I’m not a speaker. But they want to show me something. They’ve found something.”
“Okay. Go check it out. I’ll wait here with the sled.
“No, you will come with me. We will all go check it out.” Gage made a noise in his throat that she hadn’t heard before. A sort of yip-bark, and the two young wolves shot off back the way they came.
She regarded Gage skeptically. “Not a speaker? What was that.”
He shrugged, looking after the wolves. “That was just a command.”
“A command? What kind of command?”
“Just a very basic command. Go. Or, actually, go on. It is an encouragement.”
“A command that is an encouragement. Curiouser and curiouser.”
He smiled and gave a slight shake of his head. Then he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Come on. Let’s see what they’ve found.”
It took almost half an hour, zigzagging around trees, but mostly going straight over the hills—to Bridget’s dismay—following the tracks of the two young wolves before they caught back up to them. And what Bridget saw when they found them almost broke her heart.
A small grey wolf was caught in a trap by one leg. The snow was trampled all around the poor creature, mixed liberally with blood. And Smokey lay belly down in the mushy slush, whining and licking the injured wolf’s muzzle.
Beside her Gage sucked in a breath. He was rigid with anger. She could feel it boiling through the bond. She glanced sideways at him. His fists were clenched, and his jaw was set in a grim line. She realized she had never seen him angry before.
“Stay here, Bridget. She will be frightened. She won’t understand your scent. Let me see how badly she is injured.”
“It’s a female?” Bridget felt her heart clench a little tighter. The poor little thing. No wonder she looked so small.
“Yes,” Gage said, stalking away. He sounded like he’d been chewing rocks.
Bridget sighed and settled in to sit on the sled. This was not a good situation. The poor wolf probably had a broken leg at the minimum, a compound fracture was more likely. And the risk of infection, not to mention the fact the they had no vet to set the bone and splint it—
Her heart broke for Gage. One thing she’d learned on this trip was that wolves were considered, well, not sacred really. More like cousins. They were respected in their own right, and she knew that Cray had invited Smokey and Leaf to join them. He hadn’t ordered them. And now, to find the female they needed to complete the pack— like this? It made her ashamed of her people. Humans. But that was nothing new. As an ecologist, she was outraged any number of times by the flagrant disregard some people gave the world they lived in.
Gage was doing something that she couldn’t hear well, sort of growling but not quite. She moved closer, just a little, hoping to get a better view of what was going on. Gage was crouched over the young wolf as he examined the trap. And then he did something that she couldn’t see, and the trap sprang open.
The wolf whined and hopped up on three feet, and Gage grabbed her around the belly. Bridget sucked in a breath as the wolf twisted and snapped at him. Gage smacked her smartly on the muzzle, growling low in his throat, and the little wolf subsided.
“Stay where you are, Bridget, I’m going to bring her to the sled. I need the first-aid kit.”
Bridget glanced around guiltily, realizing that she’d crept halfway toward the injured wolf in her effort to see what was happening. “Is she okay?”
“She’s half-starved, and her leg is a mess, but— I think we can save her. I’m not sure if her leg will mend correctly, the bone is shattered.” He sighed and carried the wolf over to the sled, Smokey close beside him. Leaf followed at a slight distance, whining.
It was an amazing thing to see as a scientist, how much the wolves seemed to empathize with their injured fellow, but right now Bridget just wished she could do something.
“Can I help?”
Gage looked up, his expression grim. “Probably. Come over here. Slowly. Circle around that way.” He indicated a spot to her left with his chin. “That will put you downwind of us, and she might not be quite as nervous.”
Bridget did as he asked and approached them slowly. As she got closer, she could see the little wolf was skinny, much thinner than their own young ones, and her fur was matted with dirt and blood.
Gage laid her down in the snow, holding her there. “Bridget, can you get the first-aid kit? I’ll have to hold her while you see to her wound.”
Bridget swallowed. “Sure.”
In the end, she managed to get the wound cleaned out with a combination of water and Betadine solution while Gage held the wriggling wolf still, one hand wrapped around her muzzle to keep her from biting.
Bridget said nothing when he treated the bandages with saliva. Gage actually stretched the foreleg in both hands to let the bones straighten into alignment before he let he
r bandage and splint it. The poor wolf whined and squirmed, but he held her trapped against his side with his elbow. Bridget winced in sympathy. Gage noticed and made a face. “Traction,” was all he said.
That night, Gage heated some of the boar meat on the fire after they’d eaten, not actually cooking it, but heating it enough to thaw it sufficiently that the little wolf could eat. And Bridget didn’t say a word, although the smell of the meat cooking was enough to turn her stomach. Not that it smelled bad. On the contrary, it smelled great, which was much worse, knowing as she did where it came from.
They’d had to tie the little female to the sled to get her to camp, which she didn’t like at all. But now she lay quiet, snuggled up with Smokey and Leaf in a sheltered spot a little way off in the woods. The three of them lay companionably on the wool blanket Gage spread over a plastic tarp each night for the young wolves. The little wolf had eaten her fill and had condescended to let Gage carry her over there without trying to bite him. Progress.
They wouldn’t make her stay, of course, but Gage hoped she would. If she did decide to leave, she would probably take Smokey with her. And maybe Leaf too. Bridget could feel his anxiety grow every time he looked their way. Poor Gage, she knew it meant a lot to him to succeed in bringing the wolves back, and he stood to lose them all in one fell swoop. She was learning that for a man who acted all happy-go-lucky most of the time— he worried about almost everything.
Well, maybe she could distract him. For a little while anyway.
“Gage? Do you think you could rub my back? I think I pulled a muscle over here.”
She trailed her hand over lower back, just above the swell of her right butt cheek. She watched his eyes follow the motion of her hand and flare to life. Ducking into the tent, she stripped off her clothes as fast as possible. Gage joined her a moment later. Suffice it say, her back wasn’t the only thing to get some very careful attention.
Sometime later, Bridget sighed and snuggled closer to Gage’s warm, naked body and smiled. Yes. A girl could get used to this kind of treatment…
My Captive Valentine Page 19