Arctic Bound (31 page)

“Does it have to happen now?”

Victor pulled back. Nerina watched him carefully, looking for signs that he wasn't going to go all manly on her. He liked control. She knew that. But in this, she wasn't going to let him take the lead. It was her life as much as his. Even if he were sure that this thing between them would work out.

“No, it doesn't have to be now. It does have to happen before the end of spring. That's the only time I can receive the Alpha strain, and the only time the Reaping can take place. After that it will be another two hundred years before it can be passed to the next Alpha. There is a cycle to all of this Nerina.”

Okay, so that gave them some time. Not much, but some. She could spend the time getting to know him better.

“Then I accept. What's this Reaping thing?”

The smile that appeared on Victors face was one she hadn't seen before. It was wide, sincere and reached his beautiful green eyes. Nerina smiled back.

“The Reaping is when a male finds his true Philos, or Eros in our case. It's a gathering of souls. It means we will be mated in this life and the next.

“What if I don't like you in my next life?”

Victor watched her for a moment before throwing back his head and roaring with laughter. It was a deep belly laugh that shook them both and warmed her insides.

“Excellent. Let's shower, and then I want to go and talk with my father about what I've decided.”

Nerina pinched him in the stomach.

“What was that for?”

“We decided this. Not you.”

Victor kissed her forehead.

“You're right. We decided this.”

There was commotion on the other side of the door. Sasha busted through the door. Freshly dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater. She looked first to Victor and then growled at Nerina.

“Victor. You were supposed to come for me.”

“Well, I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm spending time with Nerina. You need to leave.”

They were both still naked in bed while a fully dressed Sasha stared at them with her mouth open. Normally Nerina wasn't one for showing off the goods to people, but if Sasha was going to show her ass, so was she. Only she'd do it literally instead of figuratively.

“Well, my father and mother are here. Your father called them, so I came too. We need to start spending more time together. Get to know one another.”

Was this chick serious?

“You need to leave Sasha. Please do it before I forget my manners and rip your throat out.”

Sasha laughed.

“Oh please, human I'll rip you to shreds.” Sasha turned her attention back to Victor. “Seriously, enough is enough. I'm beginning to think she'll make a horrible second mate. Honestly do you really want that for her? For you?”

Victor sat up in bed, pulling Nerina with him.

“You're right Sasha. I don't want Nerina as my second mate. I don't even want a second mate.”

“I'm glad you've come to your senses.”

“Nerina is going to be my only mate.”

There were plenty of awkward moments in Nerina's life that she'd wished she hadn't been privy too. This one was now at the top of her list. The look that crossed over Sasha's face was painful. The woman clearly thought she had Victor in the palm of her hand.

“You don't mean that. She's human.”

“Even if she was or wasn't, it's neither here nor there. I'm going to have Nerina as my mate.”

“But she'll dilute the Pack. They'll never accept her.”

“I don't care.”

“The council will not have this. You can't end things with me. You can't.”

“I can and I did.”

Sasha roared then, it was almost incoherent, but Nerina got the gist of what she said. It was something to the effect of a challenge, bitch, and the word disgrace. Thorn came to the door then. He looked at her and Victor, and then back to Sasha.

“Doesn't anyone knock around here?” Nerina was frustrated. She didn't care if they roamed the halls butt ass naked. She didn't want the entire Pack to see her ass.

“Child, you came into this world naked.” Thorn commented dryly.

Nerina rolled her eyes, reaching forward for the blanket at the foot of the bed, pulling it over her and Victor.

“Father.”

“Son, we need to talk, and Victor you need to help with the clean-up of the bodies that are strewn across my front yard.”

Victor squeezed her shoulder before getting out of bed to get dressed.

“I'll have Cassandra bring you some of her clothes.” Victor directed his attention back to Sasha and his father. “The both of you need to leave, I'll be out in a second.”

“Well did you at least feed the poor girl?” Thorn asked looking in Nerina's direction.

“Yeah dad. She's nice and toasty.”

“Good, I don't want her attacking anyone.”

Sasha looked between Victor and his father Thorn. Confusion evident on her face.

“Leave!” Victor roared at her.

“Fine, but this isn't over, not until I say it's over.”

Nerina scrunched her face up and tried not to laugh as Sasha stormed out of the room.

“I'll send Cassandra.”

And then Victor was gone, leaving her in a bed that minutes before they were interrupted they were about to discuss their future. A future that included just the two of them.

 



“He'll be back.” Blue growled.

Victor looked over at his friend who was sitting at his sister's table. The bodies were being burned. They'd lost two of their Pack members in the fight with the Hunters. Now his father and the men that had helped were gathered discussing the next steps. The Elders had already agreed that this was going to be the outcome. He knew this wasn't the end. It was only the beginning of things to come.

“What now?” This came from Teak. He was the youngest of the Pack.

“Now we regroup. Be ready for them when they return.”

“Fucking Hunters. I wish I could lay the blame on our new comer, but it isn't her fault. This was going to happen regardless. The moment Victor decided to go and retrieve the Bow.”
Theo was pissed. He was concerned for his mate Theresa. She was close to giving birth to twin pups. Victor understood his brother's frustration. Had it been Nerina close to giving birth he would have been looking for someone to blame. His brother was trying his best not to. Even though he kept staring at both him and their father. It had been Thorn's request that the Bow be retrieved. Only the plan had been to not get caught. He knew they would notice the artifact missing, but he'd hoped he cleared his tracks enough to not a leave a trail that led back to his home, here in Alaska.

“I hate to say it, but we're going to have to close down the town and head to the den in the mountains.”

The den was outfitted deep in the mountains. There were enough caverns that they could house more than twelve packs. There were only three of them this far north, but he knew the others would come as well when the call went out.

“Fuck, I don't want to go to the den. Why can't we just end this hear and now?” Teak complained.

“Because we don't have the proper defenses set up. We have the women and children to think about as well.” Thorn reminded his grandson.

“We risk reverting back into our wolf bodies. Without the modern devices of the human world, we'll be forced to hunt again. I'm all for a moon hunt, but I don't want that to be my life.”

“Get used to it kid. This is who we are. We weren't meant to intermix with humans anyway. We did it as a way to blend in. We can still do that. It won't be all hunting. Colin and your grandfather have had the place remodeled so that we can still have some of the luxuries we've all grown accustomed to.” Blue growled. The other wolf's eyes were starting to glow. His wolf was agitated with Teak.

“Right.” Teak growled back.

“Look, we do what's necessary for the survival of the Pack.” Victor reiterated.

That's what was important.

“Really, you want to talk about this Pack surviving. Explain to me how Nerina is part of that plan.”

He hadn't wanted to get into that detail just yet. He'd wanted to take care of one issue and then move on to the issue he knew everyone was thinking about, but had yet to voice. He knew this part wasn't going to be easy.

“I'm taking her as my only mate. She's a Hunter, I get it, but she also came back to help. She saved Teak's life. Killed her friend, and let's not forget the one thing that makes her truly mine. She is my Eros. You can all try to ignore it all you want, but fate is fate. I don't want to hear anything else about it. She's mine. I've accepted that as well as Menes.”

Demon trotted into the kitchen. The wolf growling as some of the men started raising their voices in protest. It was Demon who said she'd needed their help, and maybe this is what the old wolf meant.

“Victor has my support to take Nerina as his mate. You all need to get behind him. These are new times. Years ago I would have agreed the girl needed to be removed from our town. But she's here, and she has the full support of Daar and myself. We stayed with her. Watched over her. She's a warrior in her own right. She's a valuable asset to this Pack, and in no way will she dilute the bloodlines. The Eros bond cannot be broken.”

“He can take her as a second mate. He's already claimed her. Sasha should be his first. That was the agreement.” Thorn spoke. He was still the Alpha of their Pack until Victor took the Alpha strain. His fist clenched beneath the table. He'd have no other but Nerina.

“I'll have no one else.” He roared. Everyone's head turned in his direction. “She is my mate, my body and soul. She is the woman of my heart's choosing. My warrior's choosing. Law states that when both man and animal are in sync with their chosen mate, it is forbidden to deny them.”

“And how do you think she is going to react when you take her through the Reaping?”

“She's submitted to me once.”

“What a beautiful submission it was too. Thorn you would have been moved. Every male in the club was. The caterpillar will make for a beautiful butterfly when she transitions.”

“Transition into what? She can't change into a wolf.”

“No she can't.” Blue agreed. “But she will transition into something more. Something suitable to walk alongside your son as he leads this Pack into the next two centuries.”

Demon barked his agreement.

“Father, she will be mine. Nerina will adjust just fine.”

“We're moving the Packs deep into the mountains. You really think so?”

“I know so.”

“And Sasha?”

“Give her to someone else.”

There was silence around the table. Sasha's father hadn't been called to this meeting. He wasn't a fighter like his father. Eric was Alpha of his Pack. He'd been the beta, and had gotten the Alpha strain by default when his brother had been brutally slaughtered by Hunters.

“Sasha's Pack will rebel. Then we will have not only Hunters to contend with, but her Pack as well. Do you really think this is wise?”

“Father,” his brother Colin started. “Nerina is worth the extra trouble we'll receive from Sasha's pack. She's a warrior. Did you not see her fight? I know for a fact she's military trained. She will breed strong pups for Victor.”

“What kind of pups?”

“Who the fuck cares.” Victor was tired of the back and forth.

“This is something that we can take to the Elders if you still disagree. Otherwise father, the Alpha strain will need to go to Colin or Theo.”

“Nonsense, you're first born.”

“Well then, I guess you better be prepared to take this Pack into the next two centuries, because I won't do it unless Nerina is by my side.”



Nerina dressed quickly in the clothes Cassandra had given her. Another pair of jeans, a sweater, this one a burgundy turtleneck. Daar was at the door when she opened it. The Wolf looked up acknowledging her.

“Hey girl.” Nerina rubbed the scruff of the female wolf she once thought was an Alaskan Malamute. Her life had been through so many changes and she never thought in a million years she'd be stroking the fur of a wolf. Daar stood and nudged Nerina down the hall to where she could hear voices. Her ears automatically picking up on the conversation. She had to shake her head and grin. The men were discussing her. Thorn wasn't happy that Victor had chosen her as his one and only mate. The thought made her stomach warm. Her and Victor mated.

Wow. Didn't see that coming.

When they'd first met they couldn't stand one another. Now they were going to possibly have a future together. A long one. Her body still warm from the blood he'd given her went cold when she saw Sasha's mother Elaine standing in the doorway to the hall. She was listening as well.

“You think this is over, but it's not.” The other woman sneered.

“Wasn't aware anything had started.”

“Well it has. My daughter has been groomed since birth to take the side of an Alpha. She will be mated to Victor, not you.” Elaine shoved passed, almost knocking Nerina into the sidewall. Daar growled after the woman.

“Don't worry about her, girl. She suffers from lack of sex. If she was getting it on a regular basis from her man, she'd be less tense.”

Daar huffed and both of them finished making their way to where the men discussed her future.

When she entered the kitchen where they were all seated, everyone stopped talking.

“Well, hello.”

“Neri, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I wasn't aware that I was a kept woman. Are there any other places I can and can't go within the confines of Cassandra's house?”

Blue and Colin both chocked on a cough. She was pretty sure they were laughing. She darted her eyes in both their directions making sure they knew she was on to them.