River dumped the final armful of pine boughs in the mouth of Gabriel’s cave.
Not boy’s den. Mine.
“Yes, yes, I know.” River had already cleaned the cave and thrown out all the old, dried needles. She sat cross-legged on the cool, damp floor to pick out the pine cones. She tossed them into a pile to be sorted later. She didn’t like the resinous taste of pine nuts, but they had medicinal uses and could ward off starvation if necessary.
Thanks to Reuben’s ingenious system of diverting water from the hot spring into a grid of pipes under raised beds of soil, they always had a good harvest. River hadn’t been forced to eat pine nuts since joining his household. The root cellar was full of potatoes, beets and carrots. If they didn’t get an early freeze in the lower valley, they’d harvest enough apples to last all winter. That should make Jonathan happy.
River smiled as she thought about the first apple they’d shared. They’d be sharing a lot more than fruit tonight. A shiver ran up her spine. She’d tried not to think about Jonathan so the day would go faster, but everything reminded her of him.
Mates here soon.
The closer he got, the harder it was to wait. “Within the hour, if all goes well.”
River rearranged the fresh pine boughs in the cage. Her wolf had wanted her to tear down the wooden bars and burn them the first time she’d stayed there. River didn’t like the reminder of how Gabriel had kept Jonathan’s wolf imprisoned either, but the cage was a great place to sleep.
It was unlikely that any of the heirs would venture that far north—as far from Sanctuary as you could get and still be in New Eden’s territory—unless they were on patrol. It was even more unlikely that they’d find the concealed entrance to the cave. River couldn’t imagine that they’d make it inside without her hearing them. But she felt safer sleeping behind a locked gate with her bow strung and her quiver full of arrows by her side. Her wolf had gradually gotten used to the cage, and eventually claimed it as hers.
Keep pups safe.
River smiled. She and Jonathan were both shifters so it could take decades for her to conceive. Her heart warmed at the thought of creating new life with Jonathan. The warmth spread and intensified as she thought about how they’d create that new life.
She poked the coals in the fire pit, spread her buffalo robe over the pile of pine branches then sat down and unbraided her hair. Jonathan liked it loose and flowing down her back. She’d bathed and washed her hair first thing that morning, even before Jonathan left the cleansing station. All the preparations were done.
She wanted to get on Sugar and ride as fast as she could to meet him on the trail, but she promised Reuben she’d wait for Jonathan inside the cave. He didn’t want her to rush into Jonathan’s arms where someone might see them. She’d tried to argue that she could control herself, but in the end, she realized it wasn’t worth the risk. Reuben’s advice, Patience now, a lifetime of joy, was annoying but valid.
Jonathan was close. She could feel it. River ran to the mouth of the cave and paced back and forth. “Hurry, Jonathan. Hurry.”
Sugar neighed a greeting—something she’d been trained not to do—but River could hardly blame her. Training a horse was an ongoing process and River had been distracted ever since Jonathan had been ripped from her life.
“River?” Eli’s voice echoed off the rocks. “You can come out. We haven’t seen a soul since I met Jonathan at the border.”
“He’s here.” River froze. Her entire body trembled. Her breath came in shallow gasps. Doubt clouded her mind. Jonathan had been in the outside world for months, eating exotic food, sleeping on a cloud-soft bed and entertaining himself with magical gadgets.
She’d saved all her dried peaches for him, but she didn’t know if Jonathan liked peaches. She knew he loved apples but they were still too green to harvest. All she had to offer him was a pine-bough bed and herself. And Eli was there. She couldn’t let Jonathan see how that affected her.
“River?” Jonathan’s beautiful voice warmed her entire body. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
She closed her eyes. “I’m fine.” Her trembling voice didn’t sound very convincing. She stepped outside and shielded her eyes. But she’d been in the cave for hours. The sun’s glare blinded her.
“River!”
Her eyes adjusted in time to see Jonathan swing a leg over Hot Sauce’s rear and dismount. He dropped the reins and took off running as soon as his boots hit dirt.
River scrambled over the boulders hiding the entrance. Her boots scattered gravel as she half-ran half-slid down the avalanche field. She fell on her butt twice before she hit the lower trail that led straight to Jonathan. She pulled up short right in front of him. She’d rehearsed all sorts of greetings in her mind to welcome him home, but the first thing out of her mouth was, “You cut your hair.”
He ran his fingers through the inch-long tufts. “Dad doesn’t…didn’t…like it long. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell it bothered him. I hope you don’t mind. It’ll grow back—umph!”
River hadn’t even realized she’d thrown herself into Jonathan’s arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. But since that’s where she’d landed, she took advantage of the situation and crashed her mouth down on his.
It took less than a second for Jonathan to take over the kiss. He wrapped his forearm around her back, wove his fingers into her hair and licked the seam between her lips.
She opened for him and whimpered when he probed her mouth. He tasted like mint tea and honey.
“Hey, don’t mind me.” Eli cleared his throat. “But you two should probably find a cave or something.”
River squeezed Jonathan’s waist with her thighs then unwrapped her legs and slid down his body. He still felt strong, but he’d lost a considerable amount of muscle mass. More than what she’d expect from a cleansing purge.
He kept his mouth locked on hers and her hips firmly pressed against his.
“I’m serious.” Eli’s voice carried a trace of alpha. Enough to make River open her eyes and look at him. His gaze caught hers. Blue light shot out of his eyes. He growled. The sound started low and deep then crescendoed into a roar.
Jonathan ended the kiss, but kept his mouth on River’s. His voice carried more than a trace of alpha. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” River smiled against his lips. She was better than fine. Eli had no effect on her at all. All she wanted, all she needed, was Jonathan. His presence completely eclipsed Eli’s.
But Eli had no buffer. Aspen wasn’t there. A chill raced down River’s spine. Two young males, merged with powerful alphas, wanting the same female. Not good.
She stepped away from Jonathan, even though every inch of her body protested the separation. “We need to get away from Eli.”
Jonathan’s eyes glowed green. His voice rumbled in his chest. “Is he bothering you?”
“No! I’m not attracted to him at all when I’m with you. We’re bothering him. A lot.” She nodded at the trail. “Follow me, but not too closely.”
“Like that’s going to happen.” Jonathan’s gaze traveled up and down her body. The look on his face could only be described as ravenous.
River backed up. Jonathan advanced.
“I’m okay now.” Eli’s voice sounded much calmer and even a little chagrined.
River put her hand on Jonathan’s chest then peeked over his shoulder.
Eli smiled at her. “The wind shifted.”
River sniffed the air. Jonathan’s scent filled her nose and made her legs tremble. She definitely smelled Eli, but he had no effect on her. “Is it just my scent?”
Eli shook his head. “No, but it definitely provokes the strongest response.”
“Okay. Stay upwind.”
Jonathan called out over his shoulder. “Better yet, go away.”
Eli laughed. “I suppose you want me to take care of your horse before I leave.” His voice held equal amounts of annoyance and humor.
“That’d be great. Thanks.” Jonathan pointed at the trail.
River nodded then turned around and started climbing.
“I’ll be back in six days. Don’t make me climb that cliff.”
River stopped and whirled around. “Seven days. Not six.”
“Aspen is going to help you get ready for the feast. She’ll need at least a day to transform you.”
A deep, low growl rumbled out of Jonathan’s chest as he slowly turned to face Eli. “River’s perfect just the way she is.”
“She needs to impress Zebulon and the council as well as the heirs of Sanctuary. And to do that, she needs to look like one of them.”
“It’s okay.” River reached for Jonathan’s hand. “It’s just part of what we have to deal with.”
Jonathan turned around. Since he was standing downhill from River, his glowing, green eyes were level with hers. “No. It is not okay.”
Young males tended to be aggressive, especially when they were trying to claim a mate. Throw in the complication of a blood bond and things could deteriorate fast. River needed to get Jonathan away from Eli. She tugged on his hand. “Don’t waste what little time we have arguing with him. Please.”
The wolf-light dimmed as his pupils dilated. “Take me to our den.”
Our den. River’s abdominal muscles tightened. Goosebumps prickled her skin. She nodded then turned around. Sliding down the avalanche field was one thing, climbing back up the bare slope was quite another, especially if you only had one hand. She skirted the loose rubble and led Jonathan through a maze of broken tree stumps and boulders. Neither of them spoke until River climbed onto the ledge in front of the cave.
Jonathan grabbed her ankle. “Wait for me.”
“There’s nothing in there that can hurt me.”
“Humor me.” Jonathan moved his hand from her ankle to the ledge, braced his forearm against an outcropping then swung his lower body up and over the edge, twisting so he landed on his butt. He stood up then swept River off her feet, one arm behind her knees, the other around her back.
She gasped then laughed. She curled her fingers around the back of his neck. “What are you doing?”
“It’s customary for a man to carry his wife over the threshold the first time they enter their home together.”
“We don’t have that custom. And even if we did—”
“I know you’re Eli’s alpha mate.” Jonathan’s eyes flashed. “I also know that you haven’t mated with him.” He inhaled deeply as he ran his nose along the side of her throat. “So we’re starting a new custom.”
“We are?”
“I, Jonathan McKnight, son of Charles Ephraim McKnight, do hereby claim my one true mate, River, daughter of Asher and Issachar’s daughter. I promise to love, protect and cherish you as long as we both shall live.” He placed his mouth over the crescent shaped scars on her neck.
River hated that Eli had put his mark on top of Jonathan’s. “It’s okay. Bite me.”
He growled, but instead of biting her, he gently pressed his teeth against her skin.
River shivered as she relived the moment Jonathan had marked her.
He kissed the scar then nuzzled her neck. “Your turn, sweetheart.”
She pressed her teeth over the scar she’d given him and kissed it then repeated the vow. “I, River, daughter of Asher and Issachar’s daughter, do hereby claim my one true mate, Jonathan McKnight, son of Charles Ephraim McKnight. I promise to love, protect and cherish you as long as we both shall live.”
Jonathan’s shoulders shook, jostling River in his arms.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“Sorry.” Jonathan chuckled out loud.
“Did I do something funny?” She’d repeated his vow exactly. Maybe she should have kissed his scar after giving her oath instead of before, like he had.
“It’s customary for the woman to promise to love, honor and obey her man.”
“Well, that goes without saying. I’m bound to you, so I have to obey you.”
“I’m probably going to regret telling you this…but that’s not true.”
“What do you mean?”
He carried her inside the cave, without answering her question, then set her on her feet. Suddenly nervous again, River started chattering. “Are you hungry? You just finished a cleanse, so I’m sure you are. We can’t eat in the cave since it attracts predators, the bear keep is a bit of a hike, but I can go get you something and we can—”
Jonathan sat down, but instead of letting her go fetch his supper, he pulled her down beside him. “Food can wait.”