Chapter 7

“We need to get to the docks at the lake.” Erik said to his brothers. “And call our dads to meet us there.”

“Fine, you stay with Astrid, and I’ll take Sten and Rune.” Frode instructed as he scooped me up in his arms.

“I can walk.” I said, trying to push him away.

“I know you can, little one, but I need to be close to you. Let me do this please, let me take care of you before we leave for the lake.” He said, his eyes giving away his fear while his voice was steady.

I nodded and leaned into him as he carried me back out of the woods and into the cabin. He set me on the couch, kneeling between my legs. His hand came up to cup my face.

“Erik will stay with you here. He’ll protect you, but you need to promise me that you’ll listen. If you don’t follow his commands, he can’t protect you. Please, promise me.” Frode pleaded.

“I promise. Am I in danger?” I asked, my nerves starting to grow inside my chest.

“Not likely, but just in case, we need to be prepared.” Sten said, stopping to stand beside Frode.

Frode’s thumb softly ran over my cheek, I leaned into his touch. I smiled and closed my eyes, enjoying the comforting touch. Then his lips were on mine. It took me by surprise, but I quickly started kissing him back. His other hand wrapped around my neck, pulling me to him. I groaned and he bit down on my bottom lip before pulling back, leaving me panting. Warmth filled me and settled in low in my belly.

I opened my eyes and saw a smirk on his face. Rune and Sten each gave me a good-bye kiss before they left. Erik sat beside me on the couch, his arm wrapping around me and pulling me into his side.

“They’ll be fine. We do this all the time.” He said, trying to be comforting.

“That isn’t as helpful as you meant it to be.” I scoffed, as I stood and started pacing in front of the window that overlooked the front porch.

Before I could stop myself, I found myself biting my thumbnail and I walked back and forth in front of the window. A bad habit I’d always had when anxiety got the best of me.

“Pacing won’t make them come back. They just left and will most likely be gone for a few hours. Come here, want me to tell you about how packs and missions work? Will that help?” Erik asked.

I turned to face him and saw him kneeling on the couch seat, leaning on the back of the couch. Realizing I was still chewing on my thumbnail, I dropped my hand and wiped it on my pants. I stopped moving and fully faced Erik, nodding before walking to him. I sat down, sitting sideways on the couch facing him, waiting for him to start.

“Alright, so each pack has three to four males and a female. We all live with other packs on a territory. Different packs have different jobs, we are part of the warriors. The men are gifted with hybrid form of shifting. Some help source food, other wood, some handle affairs with humans and other supernaturals. It’s like our own little government.

Each pack has an alpha, our is Frode-in case you missed his bossiness. Then there’s a beta, that’s me. Our main role is to police our pack and protect it. The alpha and beta are usually the biggest of the pack. Then there’s the gamma, Sten, and for packs with four males a delta, Rune. Their jobs can differ depending on their magic.” He explained without taking his eyes off me.

“So, what magic do Sten, and Rune have?” I asked.

“Sten is an empath, he can sense emotions and intentions. Like premonitions. He can also ease or worsen those feelings. If he gets there fast enough, he can even pick up emotions that were felt before he got there. Frode is hoping they get there quick enough Sten can pick up on what the killer was feeling. It could tell us if they killed out of anger and hatred, or by order of someone else.

Rune is a tracker. He has a nose like no other, he’s the best in the whole territory. Hopefully, he’ll be able to track where the killer came from and where he went.”

“Do you and Frode have magic?”

“Yes, but ours is a little different. Our magic enhances everything that makes us different from humans. We heal faster, are stronger, see and smell better than normal wolves. We can also do partial shifts. Like only our teeth, or hands, or a hybrid form of wolf and human-called our wulver form.”

“What about females?” I asked.

“Well, normally they just keep the house and raise the children.” He said.

“What if I want to work?” I asked, immediately tensing.

“You’ll work around the house. Before too long we’ll have pups running around. With four or five pups there’ll be plenty to do to keep you busy.” Erik said with a shrug.

“But what if I want to work outside the house? I’m a doctor, surely the territory has a hospital or clinic I could work at.” I said.

“We don’t get sick, Astrid. We heal fast. We have a healer pack, but the five of them mostly handle birthing and pups. One the rare occasion someone is hurt bad enough they come to the home to treat them. It doesn’t happen often. The five of them handle it all fine.” He said, getting frustrated.

“What if I don’t want kids?” I asked.

“You don’t want pups?” He said, immediately sitting up straight and more alert.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to be a mother. The women in my life never treated me like a child they loved. I wouldn’t know what to do with a child.” I said, bringing my thumb back to my mouth.

The door burst open, bringing me to my feet. Frode, Sten and Rune all walked in, kicking the snow off their boots before taking them off. I walked over to them, anxious to give them a hug. I paused. I’d never been a hugger, but these men made me want to be in their arms all the time. Frode stood first and I all but threw myself at him, making him chuckle.

“Miss me, little one?” he asked.

I nodded and placed a kiss on his cheek. I greeted the other two males and turned to look at Erik. His expression told me that he wasn’t done with the conversation. I ignored him and looked to Frode.

“What did you find?” I asked.

“A young female killed on the dock. I’m glad you stayed here. Seeing it once was bad enough, let alone cleaning it and up and taking care of her body.” Sten said.

“Who was it?” Erik asked, standing up.

“We don’t know. Ulf is checking to see whose daughters aren’t accounted for. If everyone is here, we’ll have to assume it’s a rogue. No emotions or scents were found, not even off the girl.” Frode said, moving to sit on the couch.

“Was the scent of the blood covering it?” Erik asked, confused.

“Nope, couldn’t even smell the blood. It was covered by magic, strong magic.” Rune said, standing up from taking his boots off.

Erik nodded then sat on the couch opposite of Frode. Sten and Rune moved to sit on the other couch. I moved to the couch and sat between Erik and Frode. Frode immediately scooped me up and set me sideways on his lap.

“I’m so glad we found you. We’d been waiting to find you since Rune turned eighteen.” He said, nuzzling my neck with his nose.

“I wish I could say the same, but I thought I was alone. I am very glad you found me though. Even if it did make my life crazy.” I said, elbowing him in the stomach.

He growled and before I tell what happening I was laying on the couch with my head on Erik’s lap and one foot on the floor, while Frode hovered above me kneeling between my legs. Erik’s large hand smoothed my hair back, while his other hand rested on my stomach, just below my breasts. I looked to the other couch to see Rune and Sten watching with hooded eyes.

“I like you fight, don’t ever lose it.” Frode said as he pressed a hard kiss to my lips.

His soft lips left mine and followed my jaw line to my ear. He nipped at my ear lobe, and then kissed down the column of my neck. When he got to where my neck turned into shoulder, he sucked hard. I turned my head to the side to give him more access, and he groaned into me. His tongue brushed over the spot before he started sucking harder.

I felt Erik’s hand move, so it was covering my breast over my shirt and bra. He gave a gentle squeeze and I arched into his hand. Then his hand travelled over to my other side and did the same thing.

A soft groan from across the room pulled my attention and I looked over to see Sten and Rune palming themselves over their pants. Their eyelids heavy as they took in the show we were putting on across the room from then. Heat flooded my face as I realized we had an audience.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, kitten. Just because everyone doesn’t have more than one partner doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Just another flavor of the same delicious dessert.” Erik said, pinching my nipple through my shirt, drawing my attention back him and Frode.

Frode’s hand drifted down my side and slipped inside my pants, palming me. I raised my hips, moving them to give him better access. I bit my lip as his fingers found my sensitive spot and circled it before dipping lower, finding my entrance.

“Hmm, I can’t wait to taste you. I bet you’re as sweet as honey.” He said pulling his fingers back up to press on my bundle of nerves.

He alternated between circling and rubbing over it, making my stomach tighten in delicious ways. It only took a few moments of the sweet torture before I was falling over the edge of release. He withdrew his fingers and brought them to his lips, moaning as he sucked them into his mouth.

“I knew it.” He said with a dark smile.

I reached for Frode’s pants, but Erik’s hand stopped me.

“Not now, now was just about you.” Erik said, kissing the top of my head.

“Well, I’m hungry. I’m making lunch.” Sten said as he got up and adjusted himself with a wink at me before he left for the kitchen.

I looked over to Rune who was leaning forward with a wide grin on his face. I rolled my eyes and propped myself up, so I was leaning against Erik, who kept his arm around me. Frode turned the TV on and put a movie on, starting the lazy part of our day.