I managed to rescue a small wooden statue of a woman with a baby on her hip when he went out into the storm to relieve himself, and my heart warmed to see the woman had a nose piercing.
No way was I letting him burn that.
I was sad when, on the fourth day of our idyll in the cabin, I woke up to see the sunlight leaking in through the hole in the far corner of the roof. That meant the storm was gone and we could leave our cozy nest.
“I’m kind of sad to see the sun,” I told Leif from under the sleeping bag, my hands moving over his warm, delicious skin.
He grinned at me, and kissed my mouth. “This means we can fish, though. Don’t you want something to eat other than a protein bar?”
I made a face at the thought. Fish didn’t exactly sound appealing, but my stash of protein bars was getting low. “I suppose so.”
Leif gave me another long, seeking kiss before dressing in his patchwork clothing. I can’t say that I was displeased to see that. It would have been much easier for him to shift to bear form and fish that way, but staying human was for my sake. It showed he was trying, that he didn’t want to be what he’d become for so long - a mindless animal.
He was also extremely protective of me. I wasn’t used to the snow and the cold, he argued. Not like he was. So I was to stay inside and tend the fire, and melt some snow for drinking water while he went and fished us a meal. It was a new experience for me to be coddled and doted upon, and I wanted to protest, but when Leif argued that he knew the island better than me, I had to agree with him.
Tomorrow, though, I’d suggest we fished together. Everything seemed like it’d be better with Leif at my side. I smiled at the thought and pulled one of our last logs out to feed into the fire. As I did, a different scent caught my nose, just as Leif came storming back into the cabin, a look of concern on his face.
“Someone’s here,” he said. “Were-bears.”
I lifted my nose, scenting the air. “I smell my father…and Mikkel.”
And Jokkum, but I cringed at the thought of that. If my father had come after me, he’d brought Jokkum for ‘just in case’ I was still in heat. A small part of my soul shriveled at the thought of crawling all over fat, elderly Jokkum like I had my sexy Leif. I turned to Leif and looked over at him, masking my unease. “Mikkel’s back early.”
Leif picked up one of the heavy branches and began to brandish it like a weapon. His teeth were bared in a protective snarl. “I’ll chase them away. I won’t let them take you from me.”
“What? No,” I said, tugging at his sleeve. “You misunderstand. They came to retrieve us. You and me.” My hands soothed down his chest. “It’s okay.”
I didn’t like the wild look that had returned to his eyes, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Leif would have to get used to more people eventually, if we were going to move back to the bear clan together…though at this moment, I wasn’t sure if that was what he intended at all.
Uncertainty swept through me as the scents of the others grew stronger, and I pulled my body closer to Leif’s, pleased when his arms encircled me and pulled me close. “You’re coming back with me, right?”
His hand smoothed over my thick braids, his gaze searching my face. “I won’t leave you.”
I exhaled in relief and hugged him close, just as the door to the cabin flew open.
Mikkel stepped inside first, an apology written on his features. He was bundled up for the storm, and his scanning eyes lit on me. I watched his nostrils flare, no doubt smelling our thick scents - and the aftermath of my heat - in the small cabin. “Good, you’re here. Both of you. Everything…okay?”
I gave him a silent thumbs up. “My father?”
“About two minutes behind me, with Jokkum.” Mikkel grimaced and rubbed his jaw. “I’m sorry, Niko. I tried, I really did. But they’re the elders. I couldn’t refuse them when they said they were coming after you. They made me tell where you were.”
“It’s okay,” I said softly, still clinging to my new mate. “Everything turned out fine.”
“I see that,” Mikkel said, and his gaze moved over Leif. “You found him after all. Look, I think I should tell you—“
“Daughter,” my father roared from a distance. “Daughter, come out here!”
I winced, pulling out of Leif’s arms. “That would be me.”
To my surprise, Leif put his arm around my waist. “We’ll confront him together.”
I shot him a look of gratitude and offered him my hand. He took it, and we headed out of the cabin, Mikkel trailing behind us with an unhappy look on his face.
My father stood some distance away, snow up to his knees. Behind him stood Jokkum, and both men were heavily bundled. They watched me with frowns on their faces, assessing me. I wondered if they were staying distant because they were worried I was still in heat, but that didn’t explain why Mikkel had come in.
Leif’s hand tightened on mine.
I raised my free hand to shield my eyes from the sun glinting hard on the snow. “Hello, Father. You came a long way to find me.”
“Yes,” my father said in a displeased voice. “And I’m very unhappy with you. Come here.” When both Leif and I stepped forward, he raised a hand. “Just my daughter.”
I frowned and looked over at Leif. He was unshaven this morning, and his hair was messy from sleep, but it was much better than before. He no longer looked like a wild man. His clothes were a bit ridiculous, but they were just clothes. Why was my father treating him so coldly? “Father, Leif is my mate now.”
“No,” said my father succinctly. “He is not.”
I heard Mikkel sigh unhappily behind me. “I tried to tell you,” he muttered in a low voice.
My stomach clenched with worry. “What do you mean, Leif isn’t my mate?” I moved one of my braids aside, showing my mate mark. “He’s claimed me. I’m going to have his baby. He—“
“He’s exiled,” my father said flatly. “Just like Ramsey.”
I sucked in a breath and looked over at Leif. He’d never said. The glare in his blue eyes as he stared at my father was cold with anger. “What? Exiled? Why?”
“I would have told you if I’d have known of this ridiculous scheme of yours,” my father said in a cold voice. “But you ran away before I had the chance.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I cried. “I didn’t have many options.”
Leif’s hand tightened on mine. He pulled it to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “It’s all right, Lina.”
“It’s not all right,” I said, upset. Why was this happening? “I don’t understand.”
“Leif abandoned the bear clan sixteen years ago, so he was exiled,” Jokkum said, finally speaking up.
At my side, Leif gave a wry snort of derision, and hearing that actually made me feel better. So he hadn’t known he was exiled when we’d come together? The absurdity of the rule struck me. “Wait. He left and so you decided to exile him after the fact?”
“If he wants to come back, he’ll have to petition the elders,” Jokkum said.
“I’m not leaving ‘Lina’s side,” Leif said quietly. “I don’t care what the two of you think.”
“You will have to formally petition the elders,” my father said sternly. “Once you have, we will meet and decide your fate.”
“His fate?” My voice rose a hysterical note. How had things gone from so perfect to so wrong so quickly?
“Come, Niko,” my father said, and gestured for me to come to his side. “You can’t stay here.”
I looked at Leif, utter terror in my eyes. I’d just found him and now I was losing him again? This couldn’t be happening.
Leif saw the panic on my face, and he cupped my cheeks in his warm, callused fingers. “It’s all right, ‘Lina,” he told me softly. “Your father is right — you can’t stay here. There’s nothing on this island but penguins and snow.”