Chapter 7

After pulling up my skirt and throwing one of my sister’s tops on, I wrapped her cardigan around me and tentatively stepped out into the living room. The stranger was just setting down two steaming mugs of tea on the table along with a small bowl of nuts and berries. “Eat. You must be hungry,” he said quietly.

“Actually, I ate right before I slept, but thank you,” I responded as I took a seat, slipping a nut into my mouth all the same. “I’m Nicole, by the way,” I said warmly, extended my hand to shake his.

“Beorn,” he stated, emphasizing the ‘orn’. As he took my hand in his, I couldn’t help but notice how long his nails were: dark, thick, and pointed. They almost looked like claws but were probably due to years of neglect. The warmth of his skin sent electricity through my body and warmed my heart; I’d never felt that strong of a pull with anyone before—let alone from a handshake. I quickly pulled my hand back, shooting him a tight, shaky smile.

“So, Beorn,” I paused to see if I said his name right and carried on when he didn’t indicate otherwise, “you know where my sister is?”

“Not certain,” he stated bluntly. “I have an idea. There’s a… tribe.” Beorn didn’t say it too convincingly, but he continued, “The tribe lives in the woods. It consists only of men. Every few months, I see them with a woman. They bring her in and keep her for a few weeks.”

“Keep her? What do you mean, keep her? Do they let her go after?” I asked frantically, confused. They can’t keep Mary. She’s my sister!

“I’ve never seen ‘em leave. I mostly keep to myself out here. They do their business, I do mine.”

Getting teary-eyed and worried for my sister all over again, I grabbed his hands and pleaded with him, “You have to take me to her, Beorn. She’s only 19, they can’t just take her. She has her whole life ahead of her. She’s supposed to be starting university with me in a few months! Mary’s the only sister I have.” Tears were spilling at this point and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Embarrassed, I raised the tea to my lips and blew on it with shaky breaths, taking a tiny sip.

Beorn looked hesitant; I knew I must have been disrupting his life and his peace with the tribe, but this was my sister, damnit. Nothing mattered but bringing her home. “I can take you to her when light breaks the sky,” he said reluctantly. Light breaks the sky? Who says that? “But you must know about these tribesmen. They’re not normal.”

“Obviously. What kind of normal people would just keep an innocent person?” I exclaimed before realizing that the tribesmen must be the people who owned the wolves. “I think… I think I met the tribesmen earlier. I was attacked by wolves and there were people there and this bear saved me,” I began, not caring about how crazy I sounded. Though if he thought my words were insane, he didn’t indicate any such thing. In fact, he actually nodded almost knowingly.

“Those were the tribes people,” he agreed. “They’re dangerous, you shouldn’t be near them without protection.” Beorn’s face was overcome with concern; the soft look on his face completely melting my heart. I couldn’t help but watch the way his lips moved as he spoke, too. They were rather voluptuous lips, just begging to be kissed. As worried as I was about my sister, this man was gorgeous. He had an accent when he spoke, too. Or I guess it’s more of a dialect. Nothing I’d ever heard before, just almost like he’s disconnected from reality and doesn’t quite know how to talk like a normal person. I guess being cut off from civilization will do that to you.

“It’s not like I ran into them on purpose; I was looking for my sister,” I reminded him.

“What’d they say when they saw you?” he asked.

Suddenly, my tea was extremely interesting to look at as I blushed furiously. I studied it for a long moment before mumbling, “They didn’t say anything at all.” Memories of how much I enjoyed the encounter came flooding back; it made me curious as to how much more I’d enjoy a similar encounter with Beorn. Though I can’t imagine him manhandling me like those tribesmen did. When my eyes met his again he was just looking at me quizzically. “It was nothing,” I insisted, “there was really no time to talk before I was saved by the bear.”

Pride filled his face and eyes when I said that last bit and it was my turn to look confused. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. “There are a couple of places these w—tribes people could be. If they’re not at the one I believe it’ll be a longer journey… Go get rest. I’ll wake you when day breaks.” He was already clearing the dishes.

Returning to the bedroom, I turned around to say goodnight, but he was already out of my vision. The only thing I could see was the silhouette of a large, four-legged creature in the shadows. Blinking a few times to clear my vision, I looked again and saw that it was just the reflection of Beorn wiping the table clean while hunched over. I really should get some sleep. Returning to bed, I passed out even more quickly than before.