Page 31 of Stolen Mate

“You really think he’d harm me?”

“Depends on how you define ‘harm,’” said Derek. “Do I think he’d physically hurt you? Not to start off with, but I do think he’d make sure you never got to leave again.”

She searched their faces and seeing the truth of his words, she took a bite of her French toast. “Then your sire had best hope that never happens. I know my mother escaped, but not only will I escape, I will bring down a world of hurt on him and his damn clan.”

Wyatt chuckled. “And here I thought Zak had gotten the feisty mate.”

He held his breath to see how she would react as the other two men grinned.

“I haven’t had a chance to meet Sienna—it’s Sienna, right?” asked Tess. Derek nodded. “But unless she has a black belt in Krav Maga and has been trained with handguns and semi-automatic firearms, I’d say I have a leg up on her. My mother—the one who raised me—insisted my sister and I know how to defend ourselves. I never understood why she was so insistent; now I do.”

When they’d finished up breakfast, Derek sent the two men who had come with Wyatt to get Tess’s things and settle her bill. “We’ll take the boat back to Otter Cove. The boys can grab my boat when they get back.”

Wyatt, Tess, and Derek headed down to the boat, loaded Tess’s things, and pulled away.

“What about things for you?” she asked, looking back at the cabin.

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll be back. I keep some things over at the lighthouse at Zak’s so I don’t have to pack a bag each time I visit.”

“Deke and Annie are going to come down tonight. Zak thought we might have a bonfire.”

Derek chuckled and said to Tess, “That’s Zak’s subtle way of letting Henry know you’re safe at the lighthouse. He knows better than to try and snatch you from there.”

“Aren’t people going to be pissed that an interloper is coming in and bringing trouble with her?”

“You aren’t an interloper, and there will only be trouble if Henry makes it. I don’t think he wants to pick a fight with our clan. He’ll lose, and he knows it,” said Wyatt reassuringly.

The cigarette boat made short work of the trip between Mystic River and Otter Cove. Derek had called Jax before they left, arranging to take a few days off until he could get things more settled. As they pulled up to the dock, he watched Tess’s face as she saw the lighthouse for the first time.

“It was one of the first lighthouses built in Alaska and came online in the late eighteen-hundreds. It was decommissioned probably twenty-five years ago, and Zak bought it while he was in the military. It had quite a bit of land with it, but he also acquired additional acreage so that he could build the compound for the clan. His hope is that at some point, the clan will have two sites here at Otter Cove—the traditional one founded by our ancestors at Akiak, and this one.”

“I take it your brother doesn’t care for your sire, either.”

“Old Henry is a bastard and if it’s left up to him, the clan will cease to exist,” spat Wyatt. “He clings to the old ways for no other reason than they serve his personal interests. The younger members of the clan—those who are worth a damn—leave and the she-bears refuse to stay. Zak split off when he came home, and we’ve been attracting polar bears not only from Akiak but other parts of Alaska and Canada.”

They were greeted by Zak, Sienna, and several others. “Welcome,” said Sienna, linking her arm in Tess’s and leading her towards the lighthouse building.

“She’ll be fine with Sienna,” said Zak. “We’re going to put her in Annie’s room. Where you two end up sleeping is none of my concern, but Sienna thought it would be presumptuous to put you in the same room, especially given how new all of this is to her. Does she know about being your fated mate?”

“Not yet. It seemed a lot to put on her given everything else. I told her Desmond and Colby might know something.”

“Des might, and I’m sure he’d be willing to talk to her. Colby was only a kid, but you’re right; he probably knows. Deke just got back earlier today. He and Annie send their regrets, but will be here tomorrow.”

“I understand we’re throwing a bonfire,” said Derek with a grin.

“Well, we wouldn’t want Henry looking for her.”

“She’s got Teresa Travers’s journals.”

“They ought to give some real interesting insights as to what went on. If nothing else, if Henry gets the Council involved, it might be nice to have it as ammunition. But the strongest claim we’ll have…”

“I know. I know,” said Derek. “But it’s an awful lot to put on her. She knew she was adopted, but that’s about it. I thought I’d let her get used to being a polar bear shifter. I thought I’d see if she’d like to shift and go for a run.”

“A run is good, but swimming is better. A lot of animals can run, but to be able to glide through frigid waters like we do is unlike any other animal.”

“True enough,” said Derek, thinking of all the times he’d gone swimming in the frigid waters of the Gulf of Alaska.

A combination of a thick, two coated system, a tough hide and insulating layer of fat were essential to keeping warm in the icy water.

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