When we got off the plane, though, I had a good idea of how things would go. I shouldered my bag and looked over at Leif, who was now dressed in clothing borrowed from Mikkel, the only one close to his size. Then, I glanced over at my father. “My car’s in long-term parking.”
“It’s not,” my father said.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I got your spare key and had your mother drive it home. You’re coming with me.”
I looked over at Leif again, embarrassed. We hadn’t been back in the States for even ten minutes and my father was already exerting his control. “Um, okay? Come on, Leif.”
My father put his hand up, halting my mate before he could approach. “That one can find his own ride home.”
I halted. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not.”
I looked over at Leif again, utter panic in my face. My father wanted to separate us over something as small as this? “But, Father, he doesn’t have a car…or any money, or…”
“That’s not my problem,” my father said in a cold voice. “I don’t offer free rides to those that have abandoned the clan.”
I suddenly wanted to scream. “This wouldn’t be a problem if you hadn’t taken my car home. I—“
“Come on, Niko,” my father said, and turned his back on the two of us. He clearly expected me to follow.
Mutinous, I dropped my bag on the ground and crossed my arms. I was not budging.
“Love,” Leif whispered in my ear. “If you want to go with your father, it’s fine.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I said, my voice rising a hysterical note. “I’m not!”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, and pressed a kiss to my temple. “We’ll get it figured out later.”
But it wasn’t okay. Leif had been completely wild for sixteen years. He didn’t have money on him. I wasn’t even sure he remembered where his home was. Or if his family would even welcome him.
And I wanted my mate with me.
But I knew that my father would have a problem with that, too. After all, I lived in an apartment above my father’s garage, since it was against the bear clan rules for an unmated female to live independently.
For the first time in my life, the strict rules of the clan chafed and for a moment, I hated everyone. Why were they making this so difficult?
I looked up at Leif, but there was nothing but kindness and understanding in those gentle blue eyes.
“I’m not leaving you,” I told him again, and I linked my fingers through his.
A small smile curved his mouth. “All right, then.”
It took my father a few minutes to realize I wasn’t following him. By that time, he was quite irritated, but I was adamant. If Leif wasn’t welcome with us - even in something as simple as a car ride - I wasn’t either.
Of course, my anger was defused a few moments later when another familiar face arrived at the airport. Gunnar Ludvik pushed through the crowd, his gaze scanning faces for a familiar one. I felt Leif tense next to me. “Father?”
Gunnar broke into a smile that looked remarkably like Leif’s, and he surged forward, arms wide to pull his son into a hug. “My boy!”
Leif left my side to hug Gunnar, and my father looked at me with impatience.
“Come on, daughter.”
I hesitated. My father had clearly called Leif’s family to come and get him, and his reunion with his own father seemed to be quite happy. I wasn’t sure if I should wait for my mate or leave him to his father’s care. I hesitated a moment longer, and then made my choice. “Leif?”
I could feel the heat of my father’s scowl on the back of my head. He wasn’t happy.
But I wasn’t leaving without Leif. Not without knowing he was taken care of. Not without knowing what was going to happen between the two of us. I felt like everything was more confused the more we returned to civilization, and I didn’t know what to do.
Leif pulled away from his father and gave him another pat on the shoulder, then returned to my side. He cupped my face and leaned in to brush a kiss over my mouth. “Your father is going to make things hard on you to punish me,” he murmured, voice so low that only I’d be able to hear it over the hubbub of the airport. “Go with him for now. I’ll come to you later. I promise.”
I faltered, unhappy at the thought of being separated from him. “I…you’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” he said. “Go.”
Miserable, I went.
My father ranted and berated my ‘flighty, irresponsible choices’ the entire car ride home. He thought that by me going with him, I’d chosen family, and now it was safe to berate me and let me know what he thought of my little unapproved ‘excursion.’
I didn’t argue. I didn’t listen, either. I simply stared out the window at the trees that whizzed past as we drove to our remote home in the mountains, thinking about Leif. His father was one of the elders, too. Would they welcome him with open arms when he returned home, or would the initial relief at his return turn just as quickly to scorn as my father’s had? The thought of that made me want to cry, and I couldn’t shake the vague feeling that I’d abandoned him.
Once we were home, my father wanted me to come into the kitchen so he could continue to lecture me about my hasty actions, but I put a hand to my forehead. “I’m not feeling well,” I lied. “I’m actually exhausted. Is it okay if I go to sleep and we continue this later?”
And I put my other hand on my stomach to remind him of the results of my heat.
His face immediately softened a little, and he nodded, then patted me on the shoulder. “Go rest. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Thank you, Father,” I told him, and escaped to my apartment.
Things were just as I’d left them, my laundry still overflowing my hamper. My sheets were mussed - I was never one for making the bed - and a fine layer of dust covered everything. I tossed down my pack and went to my bed, curling up and pulling the blankets over me. I tried not to feel lost and miserable.
Tried…and failed.
I wanted Leif here with me. Maybe that was selfish, but I didn’t care. I felt lost and unhappy without him at my side. To think I’d thought that bringing him home would fix all my problems. How silly. It seemed I’d created even more problems. Unhappy, I huddled under the blankets and stared at my landline phone, willing it to ring.
I must have fallen asleep, because when I startled awake, it was dark outside. I rubbed my eyes, wondering why I’d woken up, and yawned, glancing around.
A noise came at my window, and I pulled the curtains back.
Leif was there, crouched, trying to open my window from the other side, a frown of concentration on his face.
Happiness soared through me, and I couldn’t resist the pleased squeal that emerged from my throat.
He grinned back at me and pointed at the window, indicating I should open it.
Oh, of course. I unlatched it and tugged it open, and Leif slid inside, all lean arms and legs. I drank in the sight of him, noticing that he’d showered since I’d left him at the airport, and his hair was parted, his clothing new. His face was smooth shaven. It was like he was becoming an entirely different person before my eyes.
I…wasn’t sure how I felt about that. The wild Leif had been all mine. Would this new, domesticated one still want me?
As if he could somehow feel the worry building inside of me, Leif pulled me into his arms and began to kiss my face. “Ah, ‘Lina, I missed you.”
I smiled at that, glad to hear I wasn’t the only one that had felt that way. “I missed you, too,” I told him, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him close. “How’d you know where I was?”