5. Runa
Runa
If Maren thought avoiding me was going to work, she’ll get a shock when she finds me lying on her bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom where she’s showering off Soren’s Regulator’s scent.
After the failed attempt at disrupting the signing of the historic treaty designed to save werewolf lives, Sven Olsen vanished. I looked everywhere for him. Well, everywhere my eyes could see, since I couldn’t leave my mother’s side for fear she would pass out on the table in front of everyone.
My sister retired from the party at midnight. It’s safe to guess that she and Sven spent the night in our bedroom. The audacity of him. Gah. He’ll get us all killed. Maren’s rebellion just might cost our lives. She should know I’m aware of their affair.
I can smell Sven Olsen all over her sheets. There’s no denying it.
In human territories, cross-species mating is frowned upon, and hospitals won’t deliver half-wolf babies.
This is because of the high death rate of both mothers and infants.
As a hybrid, the baby can sense hostility and will instinctively protect itself by shifting into a wolf.
Humans can’t treat wolves or keep them with other babies, and it’s a liability for them, so they refuse to admit mothers in labor to the hospital.
Not to mention, human territories aren’t friendly to wolves.
Same goes for us, though. Unless the human is a Regulator or has some other official designation, they’ve got no business among shifter kind.
Especially out here in the high mountain peaks of Stormcrest pack.
We keep to ourselves. The humans in the walled-off cities can keep to themselves too.
If you ask me, these Regulators they send out here are more trouble than they’re worth.
Surely they can drop off the potions Soren drinks via one of their drones.
On her way out of the shower, Maren whistles absentmindedly. Abruptly, she stops and sniffs the air. She can’t see me yet and clearly can’t smell me because she growls low in her throat. The smell of sex is so potent that she can’t identify my scent.
Gah! She’s lucky our parents drank all night with her fiancé, and none of them thought to come and check on her.
“What would you have done if the fire wolf wanted to get laid tonight, hm?”
She parts the bed curtain and smiles, looking flushed from the shower and the shag.
Maren leans in and sniffs, licking her teeth. “Sven smells divine.”
For the sake of dramatics, I gag. While everyone has a unique scent, male wolves generally smell like an evergreen forest, which we associate with mating and fertility. They say omegas smell like vanilla, which attracts males.
Maren dries her long platinum-blonde hair with a towel while I stare at her pointedly, hoping my killer gaze will shoot some sense into her head.
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
“Maren Stormcrest”—I start with her full name so she knows I mean business—“you are cheating on the most unhinged werewolf in the world. When he finds out, he’ll have Sven’s head, your head, my head, our brother’s head, along with our parents’ heads, all stacked on a big pole so he can fry them like a kebab. ”
Maren folds her towel over the back of the vanity chair. “That’s a disturbing image.”
I growl. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Don’t be dramatic. I can’t cheat on a man I don’t have a relationship with.
” Maren picks out her pajamas. It’s the pink fluffy set she wears before her heat, which might happen near the full moon.
She better not have had sex with Sven while in heat.
Even if he pulled out, it’s dangerous. An omega female is very fertile and could get pregnant easily.
At least she hasn’t nested for the male. I hop off the bed. “Don’t you dare roll in this bed before I change the sheets.” I pull them off while Maren pouts.
Once done, I wash up and change into pajamas as well. While I do that, Maren puts on new sheets. We get under fresh covers that smell like soft cotton detergent. Our noses are sensitive, and we wash in gentle, unscented detergents.
I yawn. “I’m sleeping until dinnertime.”
A glow in Maren’s eyes tells me she’s happy and wants to chat. “He’s a great lover.”
Fuck. Me. “The novelty of banging a human can now wear off, and you can break up with him.”
Maren sighs dreamily. “We’re just getting started.”
I have a feeling I won’t sleep well tonight. I need to scold her, but if I do that, she won’t tell me any details about Sven, and I should stay awake long enough to hear them. Maren’s up to no good.
I sit up cross-legged, and she gives me her back and a brush from the nightstand. I run my fingers through her long, thick hair before brushing it.
Grooming is part of our nature. It’s a bonding ritual between wolves who care for each other. I love my sister dearly.
“How are you just getting started when you should end it with him since your fiancé is taking you to his territory in a few nights?”
“Sven said he loves me, and he’ll come with me.”
I pause. “To Fireborn territory?”
“Yeah.”
“That is madness. Not to mention dangerous. You’re risking your life.”
“I don’t care. I don’t love the Fireborn Alpha. I love my Sven.”
I sigh. There’s no arguing with Maren. I can tell by the way she talks about her man. “How is he going to join you?” Sven is Soren’s Regulator. He works in our pack.
“We’ll say I’m having trouble regulating my cycle and that I need an alchemist of my own.”
My cycle is irregular, and I have trouble going into heat.
Maren’s cycle is more regular, but even hers doesn’t last long without an alpha male werewolf nearby who she finds suitable for mating.
She doesn’t nest, and she hasn’t “invited,” meaning released liquid heat down her thighs so that the male wolf can scent her need.
It’s all very primal, quite embarrassing, actually, so in a way, we’re lucky the nesting urge or inviting has never happened to either of us.
“Thing is that Regulators are assigned to elemental alphas, not omegas. And even if they’re assigned to an omega, it’s the humans who decide which Regulator goes where.”
Maren shrugs. “I’ll let Sven worry about the details.”
“I guess he could petition.” With their bureaucracy, that could take a year. I once asked our old Regulator to petition for me to enroll in human school so I could learn this alchemy of theirs and help my brother to regulate his element. Their denial took seventeen months to type.
In the letter, they explained that what I asked was forbidden. Only humans practice alchemy because alchemy is tied to the earth. They also told me I lacked the prerequisites required for admission to the university where alchemy is taught.
They’re not wrong. We don’t go to school to learn chemistry. Wolves don’t need nurses, pharmacists, or computer engineers. We need plumbers, construction workers, and welders to keep up with our infrastructure.
We rarely drive, preferring to run in packs. While we can cook, we can hunt too. Besides, our pack is allied with humans, and we don’t have a scarcity problem even this far into the frozen lands, where we can’t grow any vegetables or fruit. Humans supply us with everything.
I braid my sister’s hair. “You plan on living with your husband and your lover under the same roof?”
Maren hesitates. I pause, terrified of the answer.
“Maren?”
My sister turns, tears in her eyes. “How will I marry a wolf I don’t love?”
“Awwww.” I hug her.
“I don’t love him, Runa,” she sobs. “He doesn’t love me either.”
I rub her back. “Maybe he’ll find himself a girlfriend.”
Maren pushes at my shoulders. “Brilliant. You have so many great ideas. I hadn’t thought about that. What if he already has one? Oh, I bet he does. He’s handsome enough. Not sure why he shaved. They said he’s bearded.”
“If he grows one, maybe you’ll turn your eye to him.”
Maren shakes her head. “Not my type.”
“How so?” I think he’s devastatingly handsome, or I wouldn’t have bet our housekeeping staff on working their morning shifts. Crap, I can’t sleep till dinner. My shoulders slump at the realization.
Maren reaches back for her braid and slides it in front of her. She continues braiding it herself, a dreamy look in her eye. “Maybe he has a harem. Maybe he and I will come to an agreement.”
I bite my lip, wondering if I should bring this up when my sister is emotionally fragile. “The point of this marriage is to produce heirs.”
“Which is why Sven’s request to help me regulate my cycles will be approved.”
“Did he come up with the idea to move with you to the Fireborn territory tonight or some other night?”
“Tonight. His original idea backfired.”
To detect a lie, I watch my sister carefully. “Do you know what his original plan was?”
Maren shrugs. “No, he just said he’d deal with our problem.”
Let’s be clear on this: I have no confirmation that Sven tried to kill Maren’s fiancé, but I trust my instincts.
Nothing good was going to come out of Sven’s bag.
The flash of silver metal that I believed was a gun couldn’t be ignored.
I’m sorry if I was wrong, and Sven meant to pull out a really thick pen or something.
I figured it was better to be sorry than to cry over the ashes that used to be my home the fire elemental destroyed after he survived the assassination attempt. During the signing of a peace treaty, no less.
Even if Sven did try to kill Ash, I can’t tell if my sister knew about the attempted assassination. If I had to, I would bet that she didn’t, but judging by the success rate of my bets in the past twenty-four hours, I’m probably wrong.
It turns out that my sister and I have secrets. Last month, Maren turned twenty-nine, and I’m twenty-seven, so I guess it’s time we kept our own big-girl secrets to ourselves. I didn’t think we needed to outgrow our sisterhood or our pact that says we can’t keep secrets from each other.
It’s also possible we’re not outgrowing each other, and I’m being dramatic as always. I doubt it, though. Old promises to me might collapse under the weight of new promises made to her man.
And what about Ash? Women expect men to be loyal to us. So it’s equally reasonable to expect us to be loyal to our men. Otherwise, we’re hypocrites.
“I didn’t see Sven during the ceremony,” I lie. “Was he there?”
“He left before we signed. I’m sure it was painful for him to watch.” Maren picks up my hand. “Your burn is still red. Does it hurt?”
I shake my head. “It should be healed by tomorrow.”
“Do you think the Fireborn Alpha burns hot like that all the time, or did he flare up during the signing?”
“I’m not sure,” I tell her. “Are you scared of him?”
Maren nods.
“Me too.” But not for the same reason.