17
Gleb
Watching her walk away a second time may kill me.
Hannah swore she would grab her fursuit from where she tucked it into the tent, tell Jack she was leaving with me, and return.
I hate that she’s facing her svoloch of a pleasure mate alone.
He made her cry at least once. She said they got along fine . The stains on her cheeks don’t lie. Flowing tears combined with Tundra winds create a pattern I hope she never wears again.
A stick breaks to my left.
Two cracks to my right.
I retreat from Hannah’s pile of bloody clothes.
The stand of trees isn’t big enough to go far without losing sight of Hannah confronting Jack.
I know cloth is precious to humans, but the risk of carrying her stuff is too great.
The next hunt will be for skins to clothe her. My sewing isn’t great, but maybe I can barter with Manya…if she’s over our breakup. Maybe asking my former pleasure mate to make clothes for my dushevnayasvyaz is a bad idea.
Though not as bad as returning Hannah to Jack wearing new clothes.
Their voices carry toward my hiding place 5 meters away.
A wolf howls much closer than their voices.
It comes from Hannah and Jack’s direction—the center of the largest wolf pack’s territory within our central grounds. Why did they head due west from their original campsite? They left the Chuchunya migration paths and entered the wolf’s hunting grounds. Most Chuchunya—except Artyom the Wanderer—avoid the wolves by staying east.
What’s that shadow across the clearing? The midday sun reflects off the newly fallen snow of last night’s storms.
Is it playing tricks with my eyes or did something move in the shadows?
Hannah
“Where the hell did you get new clothes?”
Jack returns to our dropped bags at the same time as me.
Not are you okay, or how’s the breakthrough , but where did you get new pants is his first question.
I’m so done.
“Are you going to answer me? Two months ago, you told me everything.
I was your person, and you couldn’t shut up when I needed peace after work.”
I shoot him a glare as I approach the tent.
Just get the fur suit and go.
Jack won’t hurt me with his barbs when he’s out of my life.
It’s sad how much I depended on him. Maybe I ignored his word choices when talking to me as a coping mechanism. Maybe he’s letting it all hang out because he knows I have one foot out the door. I’d love to ask if he ever loved me or if he loved me so much that he’s mean because he’s hurting. That’s my ego talking, and too cruel to ask.
“Gleb’s come for me.
He gave me clothes to wear.”
“He just happens to carry around women’s clothes and wears a fursuit? You didn’t see those as red flags?”
“He brought the clothes for me.
I told you he would come for me, and he did.”
“He followed us around the Arctic through an ice storm after you left his side to see me.
Couldn’t take the hint, huh? Let’s meet this mystery guy.
Where is he?”
“He’s shy.
He doesn’t want to meet you,”
I reply, bending over the tent to unroll the bindings.
The wind cuts through my leggings and I’ve got chills where no lady should feel chills.
Let’s see.
I rolled the suit between canvas layers just in case the smoke didn’t totally erase the scent of my breakthrough. How many poles does this thing have? They’re frigid and stick to my fingertips as I comb through them.
“Ahh, bubble brain, you don’t have to pretend there’s a mystery man to make me jealous,”
Jack purrs as he grinds against my backside.
His hands knead my hips.
My skin crawls as his fingertips trace down my spine.
“Your period must be over. Let’s end your little fit with some hate sex and forget all about your imaginary boyfriend.”
“Excuse me!”
I drop the tent and hop over it.
“You don’t have permission to touch me!”
A menacing growl fills the meadow.
A wolf howls in response.
Wolves are extra active in the late afternoon, right? It’s not that we’re surrounded and about to be shredded into dog chow, right?
The hairs raise in alarm as my intuition screams at me to run.
Can I outrun a wolf? Not if they surround us! Stop panicking.
I left Gleb in the thicket.
His growl started the verbal sparring match. He declared his willingness to fight for me. I’ll survive this…but I don’t want Jack or Gleb to be torn apart by what lurks in the shadows.
“How were you planning on leaving the Arctic again? Don’t lie, I figured out we headed west instead of north to the coast.
You don’t need me to coordinate a boat to take you to the nearest airport—”
“Awww, look at you.
So clever all of a sudden! We are returning to the accident site just like you asked.
Why don’t you leave the navigation to the one holding the cell phone?”
“You may have a GPS, but it’s not leading us north.
If I’m wrong, show me,”
I snap with my palm outstretched to receive his phone…his brand new phone.
His other one had a chip out of the top right corner of his screen.
I remember because he would whine that I needed to upgrade my phone, so he could too—since I paid for our cell plan.
He must have lost the other one when the bus sank like I did. How did he get another phone so fast?
“Hannah. Hannah!”
His eyes widen to saucers.
The color drains from his face.
I bet Gleb had enough of his antics and decided to stand behind me in support.
My chin lifts as my arms fold over my chest in defiance.
I could conquer the world with a fierce snow monster at my back.
Gleb risks his clan’s secret to scare off Jack…when Jack wouldn’t pump the gas into my car if we were out together. Nobody has put my needs ahead of their own before Gleb. My heart fills with love and joy. There’s no way Jack won’t let me go now.
“Ha—Ha—Hannah,”
Jack stammers.
I revel in the power of having a man—no, male—willing to stand up for me.
“Behind you!”
I wear my biggest smile, stretching my lips over my gums when I turn around…
And face a trio of white wolves, panting puffs of condensation around their fang-filled snouts.
“Gleb!”
My scream does nothing to scare the wolves.
Jack pushes me onto my hands and knees.
I’m showered with slush as he runs to the thicket on our right.
Two more wolves emerge from the shadows in his path.
He sacrificed me to make it five steps from danger. I can’t believe this.
Gleb
He touched her.
Two times he put his hands on her—once in an invitation to mate.
I can’t kill him.
Confessing to Hannah that I tried to kill him tore her from my side the first time.
If she watches me eviscerate the svoloch , she will never forgive me. Oh, but my claws itch to rip his face off! If only Hannah had waited to talk to him or simply let him meet his own demise, the wolves would have taken care of my problems for me. As it stands, the svoloch pushed her between him and the pack’s alpha. If he gives the signal to attack, he will charge at Hannah.
I can’t take on five wolves, can I? I defeated the last two I faced with my dumb luck.
The tree I climbed to escape them wasn’t strong enough to hold my weight.
The branches crashed down as fast as I scurried up them.
The wolves decided my pitiful rabbit cache wasn’t worth the onslaught of branches. They left in peace. This time I might not be so lucky.
“Gleb!”
My mate’s call is all I need to sprint into the meadow.
Whether I survive or not, I can’t abandon her.
My life isn’t worth living if it’s filled with the grief of losing my dushevnayasvyaz .
A pack of wolves against one Chuchunya is bad odds, but I must dig deep and prove I deserve my mate.
My roar startles the alpha as I run behind him.
He turns to keep Hannah and my new threat in sight.
Each wolf at his flank turns to cover him, making a straight line between Hannah and me.
Do I take it and risk them pouncing on me? Do I engage with the alpha and hope the focus is on me? My mind swirls like the snow kicking up from my heels as I try to remember what Sergei would do. Sergei wouldn’t venture this far with no purpose, safety spot, or hunting partner.
This is how we lost Denis… He went hunting without a partner and found himself at the mouth of an occupied bear’s den.
After his death, even Artyom started taking the predators seriously.
With the loss of their territory and grazing prey for food, the predators will attack anything edible.
They’re starving.
And my mate is delicious.
“Find a tree, Hannah!”
I yell as I dive onto the alpha.
What I lack in finesse, I make up for in body mass.
We slide through the mud and slush until we hit the spindly birch of the thicket.
The other pack members bite my feet in an attempt to drag me off their leader.
I twist and fight to escape them without hurting them. If I look like a clumsy oaf not worth pursuing, I will avoid taking out a whole pack of these majestic animals. Chuchunya never hunt females, pups, or whole packs if we can help it. We understand the balance needed to maintain life on the Tundra. With what Sydney calls extinction threatening the clan, we learned the lesson the hard way.
I feel much more confident with the birch trees resting against my spine.
It’s an illusion that I’m not surrounded and completely out-muscled by these animals, but I’ll take it.
I stand and roar with my claws waving over my head.
The alpha lies at my feet with his head bowed in defeat. He’s treating me like a polar bear and pretending to be too dead to be eaten. The other four wolves are frozen with indecision without his guidance.
Come on guys, do me a solid, and leave.
They growl.
I roar.
My heart threatens to pound out of my chest.
One beta wolf steps forward.
“Don’t be a hero,”
I yell at them.
I swipe my claw at the air between us.
He steps back.
Good wolf.
Another deep breath releases a cloud of steam between us.
Great, then…well…glad this is working out…um…now what? The beta wolves give me vacant stares.
The alpha between my feet is still as stone.
If I move will they leave or attack? Is this really over, or are they waiting for me to let my guard down? Surrounded by a wolf pack, I am oddly at peace.
They mean us no harm. The Tundra’s melting ice and increasing human activity squeezed our territories together .
My mate climbed up about a meter using two thicker birch trees.
A wolf could reach her easily, but her efforts are adorable.
Her little feet peel the tree bark as she struggles to stay aloft between the trees.
She wrapped her elbows around the trees to hang there for a long time.
“Everything’s going to be fine.
Keep quiet for a little longer and they will leave.
You’re doing great,”
I yell over to her.
Her answering smile inflates my heart by two sizes.
She trusts her male to take care of the danger.
I never understood why Sydney felt the need to assist Sergei.
He’s the biggest and strongest Chuchunya, yet his tiny human mate follows him into dangerous hunts and takes on the biggest predators. I love how Hannah lets me defend her. She trusts me to make the best decision in the face of danger. Do I intimidate these wolves into leaving, destroy them before they destroy me, or try to inch my way toward Hannah to carry her from the area?
Moment of truth… I must move.
If she falls from the trees, the noise could provoke the wolves into attacking.
Deep breath.
Eye on the betas.
Hannah’s safe.
She can’t be a distraction.
With a throaty growl, I lean toward the betas.
One wolf whines.
The other three step backward.
My weight shifts, so I loom over the whining wolf. They must be the reluctant second in command or closest relative to the alpha playing dead. I growl over them, puffing my chest and cheeks to look bigger. I step over the alpha, straddling his body, to convey he’s insignificant to me. My genitals dangle over the formidable predator who I’m scared into submission. One bite I’d fall in misery, but he won’t risk it.
And everyone knows it.
More whimpers, but at least they all step backward.
How do I resist the temptation to gaze over at Hannah? Does she watch me intimidate an entire pack of wolves on my own? Does she respect me for showing restraint? I hope she admires my ability to protect her without unnecessary bloodshed.
After our shaky beginning—for which I take total responsibility—I hope she sees me as more than a hothead…or danger to her safety.
My back foot slowly steps over the alpha, putting him at my back.
He leaps to his feet and cuts to the south.
The other four yip and bark as they race to follow him.
They won’t be back to this spot in a while. As they disappear over a small hill, I hope they associate the smell of Hannah’s cycle blood with a fierce predator who best they leave alone.
“Don’t turn around,”
shouts Jack from behind me.
“Take one step this way and I’ll slit her throat.”