As she fought to regain her composure, Cassidy slowly became aware of Edensaw’s arms around her, holding her close to his hard, muscular chest. The heat from his body sank into hers. She realized she liked being held by this man, this werewolf. It felt right. She then remembered the kisses she’d shared with him and her pussy clenched. She was so confused. Her fear of Edensaw and the others hadn’t gone away, but it no longer had her on the road to being hysterical.
Cassidy tried to say something but it came out in a croak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “You really were asleep in that cave,” she said to Edensaw.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“How did that happen?” She figured the more information she had the better she’d be able to understand, and accept, what the men were. Even though her heart was still trying to beat out of her chest.
“Our shaman had a vision that the world would need a group of hunters who could shape shift into a wolf to defeat the coming enemy—wolves created from the darkest of magic. So the shaman chose the strongest Tlingit hunters to be the sentinels, the ones who would stand against and defeat the dark enemy. He used good magic to turn us into werewolves and give us the strength and immortality needed to face the coming darkness. We were a new race of men.
“After the change was complete, he charged us with continuing each of our bloodlines. We all sired a child. And once that son or daughter thrived, he put us in our long sleep to wait for the time when we would be needed.”
“How long have you slept? And how come you speak English?”
Edensaw shifted her on his lap. “My wolf brothers and I have slept for ten thousand years. The shaman gave us the ability to “listen” to the world around us and learn so we’d know when it was time to awake.”
“You really are from the ice age. Has the darkness come? Is that why you woke up when I was in the cave?” Cassidy resisted the urge to squirm. The longer she sat on Edensaw’s lap the more aware she became of him as a man, one she was very attracted to. She was being pulled between fear and arousal, and it was stretching her nerves tight.
He shook his head. “No, not yet. But I have sensed the darkness growing.” Edensaw reached up and stroked her cheek. “Your touch and scent are why I awoke. You are my mate, the one the shaman promised I would find after my long sleep.”
“How do you know I’m meant to be that?”
“Your scent set off my mating urge. It doesn’t control me, but the need to claim you as mine is still there. It will slowly grow over time until our mating is complete.” He looked deep into her eyes. “You will be mine, Cassidy.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about being a mate to a werewolf. And with the intense way Edensaw stared at her, anxiety threatened to take her over once again. This was too much and too sudden for her. She needed some space, some alone time, to get everything into a perspective she could handle.
Pushing off Edensaw’s lap, Cassidy stood. “Okay, I’m done freaking out, I think, but just barely. I need to be by myself right now. I’m going for a walk. Please stay at the campsite and try to keep out of sight.”
Not waiting to see if Edensaw or the others would stop her, Cassidy crossed to the zippered opening of the tent, unzipped it, stepped outside and closed the men inside. She headed out of the campsite with no real destination in mind. If she’d stayed, panic was sure to have set in again. And that wouldn’t have done any of them any favors.
* * * * *
After Cassidy left, Edensaw blew out a breath of frustration. He didn’t like the idea of his mate wandering out there alone. He was partly afraid she wouldn’t come back. Her fear had been a palpable thing. The scent of it had tasted bitter on his tongue. He didn’t want Cassidy to be afraid of him. He wanted her to want him as much as he did her. Having her on his lap had his mating urge clawing at him, but he’d managed to get it back under control. It was still Cassidy’s choice whether she accepted him as hers, even though he had told her she
would
be his.
“That didn’t go over well,” Capac said. “I hope I don’t have to go through that with my own mate once I’ve met her.”
“You can assume the rest of us
will
go through exactly that,” Ketah replied. “The people of this world know nothing about werewolves. Our descendants have hidden themselves too well.”
Edensaw nodded. “They must have had a very good reason in doing so. All I know is it hasn’t worked in my favor when it comes to Cassidy.
“Will she come back?” Wachei asked.
“Of course my mate will. I didn’t hear the beast we came here in come to life.”
“It’s a car,” Ketah corrected. “If we are to fit in we must use the right words.”
“Agreed,” Edensaw said with a nod. He looked at each of his wolf brothers. “We also need to find a werewolf pack. The dark wolves will come after them first. They must be warned of what is to come. They may also help us adjust to this time.”
His wolf brothers nodded in agreement. Edensaw didn’t know what to expect from this new world he’d awakened to, but as long as he had them and Cassidy at his side, he didn’t have to feel alone.
Chapter Three
Cassidy ended up on the Edge Nature Trail and took the twenty-minute walk through the forest that ended at glacier viewing platforms. She sat on the wooden slat bench and looked out at the ice. She’d stared at the same view many times on her camping trips to the recreation site. But since finding Edensaw and the others, Cassidy didn’t think she’d ever be able to look at it in quite the same way again.
She’d actually found six ice age Tlingit hunters. Who were immortal werewolves. What had Edensaw called them? Oh yeah. Werewolf sentinels, the first of their kind, who a shaman had put to sleep in an ice cave for ten thousand years. And let’s not forget he’d made sure each hunter had knocked up a woman before being locked away so their new race of man continued on. The whole story of what the wolf brothers had been created for was so out there it would be hard for any sane person to accept as the truth.
Then there was Edensaw wanting her as his mate. Did she want to be the other half of an immortal werewolf ice age hunter? Every time Cassidy looked at him—except when he was in his wolf form—her body screamed
hell yeah
. It didn’t care what he was. It only wanted to have his cock inside it, thrusting deep until she climaxed.
Cassidy twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers, something she did when she felt stressed. She now had to figure out what to do with the wolf brothers. Now that she believed their story—and if she were to tell anyone else they would think she was nuts—she couldn’t very well just foist them out into a world they didn’t have any real knowledge of or the skills to survive in. So that left her to make sure they adjusted to these modern times.
The idea scared and exhilarated her at the same time. She still wasn’t quite over her fear of what the men were, but she figured she would be eventually. It was all a matter of her getting used to the idea that werewolves truly existed. And as Edensaw had told her more than once, he and the others wouldn’t do anything to ever hurt her. If they had wanted to they’d already had ample opportunity. The exhilarating part was the fact they’d lived during the last ice age. They would have seen real live woolly mammoths, had more than likely hunted them.
Cassidy blew out a breath as she sat up straighter. There was nothing for it. She’d have to have the men stay with her. Besides, she highly doubted Edensaw would just let her walk out of his life anyway. She pushed to her feet and stepped over to stand at the metal railing, her gaze scanning the huge field of ice once more. She had no idea how all seven of them would fit comfortably in her one-bedroom apartment, but she doubted the men would complain, considering what they must have lived in back in the ice age. Her place would probably seem large.
Deciding she’d better get back to the campsite before the wolf brothers got into something they shouldn’t, Cassidy pushed away from the railing and turned to walk back along the trail.
She arrived at the campsite fully expecting to find the men sitting outside, but that wasn’t the case. Cassidy heard them talking in their native language inside the tent. Hadn’t they been able to figure out how to unzip the opening? Considering what had happened during the whole car and seatbelt episode, she wouldn’t be all that surprised if they hadn’t. She felt a bit guilty about that. When she’d gone for her walk she’d never intended to keep them trapped.
Walking at a fast clip, Cassidy crossed the campsite and stopped at the tent. She quickly unzipped it and ducked inside. The men were still sitting on their pile of furs as when she’d left. They didn’t seem upset or anything. They looked in her direction once they noticed she was there.
“You came back,” Wachei said with a hint of relief lacing his words.
Edensaw shook his head at him. “Of course she did. I told you she would.”
“I always planned to return.” Cassidy was quick to reassure them. “You know, you could have left the tent. I didn’t mean for you to stay cooped up inside here.”
“We knew that.” Edensaw rose to his feet and came to stand in front of her. “Are you all right now?”
“Yes. Sorry I freaked out like that.”
“So have you accepted what we are?”
“I can accept the truth of it, but I’m not going to lie to you and say I’m not still a little fearful.” Cassidy took a deep breath before she pushed on. “While I walked, I came to a decision. I can’t leave you guys out in the world alone. So that means I’ll help you get used to this time, help you adjust.”
Edensaw smiled. “You are willing to become my mate then?”
Cassidy held up a hand to stop him from saying anything else. “I never said that. I can’t make that kind of decision only knowing you for a few hours. I don’t even know what being your mate would entail. And I’m not ready to know at this point. Let’s just take it one day at a time.”
“All right. I can accept that.”
“Good. Now the first thing we’re going to have to do is get you modern-day clothes. And I think I’ll have to go buy you some before we head to my apartment. Juneau is a lot bigger and has more people. So that means I’ll have to make a trip into Glennallen in the morning.”
“You’ll need something to make the trade,” Edensaw said as he reached inside the front of his leather tunic and pulled out a leather pouch that hung around his neck. He pulled it off over his head, then opened it. He removed something before he held out his open hand to show her what he had. “Will this do?”
Cassidy’s eyes widened as she stared at the nugget of gold resting on the center of Edensaw’s palm. It was the size of a robin’s egg. At over two thousand dollars an ounce, that amount of gold was a lot of money. And nuggets that size were considered rare. Most of the precious metal found was in the form of gold dust.
Then the others reached inside their tunics and pulled out the same pouch Edensaw had. They also took out nuggets that were the same size. Cassidy figured between them, there was a fortune in gold.
“Will they make the trade for these?” Edensaw asked.
She nodded, just about speechless. “It’s way more than I’d need. Even one of them would be too much.”
“Then take it.” He tried to put it in her hand.
“No, you hold on to this for now. I can’t walk around with that. I’ll use my credit card to buy the clothes. Once we’re in Juneau, if you still want to, I’ll take you to someone who deals in gold to convert it into money.”
“Money?” Capac asked.
“That’s what we use to get the things we need or want. We no longer trade for items we don’t have.”
“Whatever you think is best,” Edensaw said. He put the gold nugget back inside his pouch and hung it around his neck once more. The other men did the same.
It seemed as if they were just full of surprises. Cassidy walked over to the tent’s entrance, then looked over her shoulder at the wolf brothers. “I’m hungry. I bet you guys are as well. I’ll go fire up the portable gas barbeque I brought and we can have hamburgers and hot dogs. I brought plenty of them with me.”
She didn’t wait for their answer before she ducked outside. Cassidy needed the open space. Being with the men again, she felt some of her previous anxiety return. Deciding she might as well start a fire before she cooked the food, she walked over to the fire pit where she’d stacked the firewood she’d brought with her. She heard the men come out of the tent as she put scrunched-up newspaper and kindling in the center of the pit. She then went to the crossover to get the matches. Leaving the hatch open so she could get the portable barbeque out from there after she had the fire started, she returned to the pit where the men stood around it.
Cassidy squatted, then took out a matchstick from the box she held. She struck it against one of the rocks outlining the fire pit. The men made a sound of exclamation and crowded closer as she held the match to the newspaper. It immediately caught fire. She blew on it to get it really going before she leaned back to watch it move onto the kindling. Once that took as well, Cassidy laid one of the pieces of firewood on top of it.
She brushed her hands off and stood. Cassidy found all of the men staring at the box of matchsticks she’d placed on the ground near her feet. They all had a look of wonder on their faces. It hit her then that something she took for granted would seem like a miracle to the wolf brothers. Starting a fire during the ice age would have taken a lot more work.
Cassidy bent and picked up the box of matches before she slid it open. She looked at each of the men. “You can all try one if you want. Just quickly rub the tip against one of the rocks to strike it. Be sure to throw them into the fire and not in the campsite. We don’t need to start a forest fire.”
The men each took a match, and after Cassidy showed them which end would have the fire, they squatted to rub it against one of the fire pit rocks. They let out whoops when they were able to light the matchstick. And as told, after a few seconds, the men threw them into the fire.
The wolf brothers’ sense of wonder didn’t end there. They had the same reaction to the portable gas barbeque. And the hamburgers and hotdogs were enthusiastically consumed as if she’d served a world-class meal.
After their dinner, all of them sat up late around the fire. The men talked about their lives during the ice age, the hunts they’d been on, family members they’d miss. Cassidy sat fascinated, listening to them talk about a time so far removed from the present day as if it had only happened the day before. But to them, it probably had. They’d gone to sleep and woke up ten thousand years later.
And as the night progressed, Cassidy found herself feeling more comfortable around them, especially Edensaw. He sat close to her, seeming to want to keep her at his side. She could almost forget he and the others were werewolves. Except for the occasional wolflike growl, they acted as human as she.
Once it was late enough for them to turn in for the night, Cassidy wasn’t sure how the sleeping arrangements would work. She wasn’t going to expect the men to stay outside while she had a tent that would fit them all. It would be a bit on the cramped side, but there was nothing for it. She only had the one sleeping bag, though.
Cassidy picked a spot closest to the tent’s entrance and rolled out her sleeping bag. The men arranged their furs into pallets in the rest of the space. Edensaw, of course, placed his right alongside Cassidy. She climbed into her sleeping bag and rolled to her side, doing her best to ignore his presence.
But Edensaw wasn’t having any of that. He spooned her from behind and placed his arm around her waist. Cassidy felt even more aware of him. She doubted now she’d be able to sleep with him there. His body heat sank through the nylon material of her sleeping bag, her clothes and into her skin. Edensaw had just about wrapped himself around her, holding her close. Cassidy liked it. A lot. Her nipples grew taut beneath her shirt, and she resisted the urge to squeeze her legs together to alleviate some of the ache that built deep inside her pussy.
It wasn’t too long before she heard the others’ breathing even out as they fell asleep. Edensaw wasn’t one of them. With her back pressed to his chest, she felt every breath he took, which were a little on the quick side. Hers was no better than his.
Edensaw’s hand lifted and settled on one of her breasts. He squeezed it as he brushed aside the hair at her nape with his nose before kissing her skin. She shivered as he licked and sucked. Wetness pooled between her legs, her breath hitching when he nipped her gently.
“Cassidy, I know you’re still awake,” Edensaw whispered. “I can smell your arousal.”
Deciding there was no point in pretending she was asleep, she rolled to her other side so they were face-to-face. He didn’t waste any time in claiming her lips. He sank his fingers into her hair at the back of her head and held her where he wanted her, his tongue slipping past her lips and stroking hers. Cassidy held back a moan, afraid to make too much noise. She pressed even closer to Edensaw the more aroused she became.
Once he released her mouth, and Cassidy caught sight of one of the supine figures of the other men, she pushed on Edensaw’s shoulder until he lifted his head and looked at her. “The others,” she whispered. “They might hear.”
“Don’t worry,” he replied in the same hushed tone. “They are asleep and won’t awake. My wolf brothers are used to others being around them while they sleep.”
“But I’m not.”
“I won’t make love to you now, if that is what has you worried. If I were to do so I would claim you as my mate. You’re not ready for that.”
“Then we should get some sleep.”
He gave her a sexy grin that would have turned Cassidy’s legs to rubber if she’d been standing. “I might not be able to make love to you fully, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you pleasure. I want you used to my touch.”
Edensaw once more took her lips in a heated kiss. He took hold of the zipper on her sleeping bag and pulled it down to her knees. Now having access to her body, he reached under the nylon material and placed a hand on the small of her back to urge her even closer still. He then lifted her leg and hooked it over his hip. Cassidy sucked in a sharp breath as her pussy came in contact with his fully erect cock. Even through their clothes she felt how hard and thick he was. She couldn’t help rubbing herself along it and wishing they were alone. He thrust against her, increasing the friction and pleasure coursed through her.
He released her mouth and tugged up the bottom of her shirt to her chin. Edensaw shifted lower and brushed her bra cup aside before he sucked her nipple into his mouth. Wetness leaked into Cassidy’s panties as her excitement grew. He continued to suck at her breast as he plucked at the nipple of her other one.