The Wolfskin Series

MERA

Mera sat at the campfire. She looked at the dancing flames and enjoyed the sound of burning wood.

The market had been a fun experience. The vase she got from Ruben had a nice place in her room, and he was incredibly happy when he saw it there.

Afterward, they’d had dinner, and now they were here.

It was June, so the weather was still pretty nice. They were living in the middle of Norway, where there were still some forests.

If they went further north, they’d be able to see the northern lights. That was definitely one thing she was going to do.

Maybe even more than once.

She’d only been there for a day, but she knew she loved the place already. She felt more at home than she’d ever felt living in Utah.

It was like something woke up in her bones, and she just knew this was where she belonged.

Her eyes were drawn to the dark forest, and she heard an owl. A shiver went down her spine, and she immediately looked back at the fire.

She hadn’t been lying when she told the guys she didn’t like going into the forest and that she wouldn’t go in alone.

Ever since the attack, she’d been reluctant to go into them, and she knew it was a fear she wasn’t going to shake anytime soon.

“Mera!”

Mera jumped a little in her seat and looked startled at her mother.

“Where were you with your thoughts? I’ve called your name like ten times,” she said as she gave her daughter a cup of tea.

“Sorry, I was just daydreaming, nothing more.”

“About the mayor’s son, probably.”

Mera choked on her tea and coughed it up while she spilled the rest over her pants.

“Oh, tell me more,” her mother said playfully as she looked at Mitch.

“No, he will not tell you more because there is nothing to tell,” Mera intervened as she put down her now empty cup and dried her chin with her shirt, which was also wet.

Mitch started laughing.

Mera glared at him before she kicked him from his chair. “Asshole.”

“Seriously, what is up with the mayor’s son?”

Mera looked at her mother. “Nothing. I met him once, and we barely talked. He looks like he’s a brat that gets whatever he wants, and you know I hate that, so there truly is nothing to tell.”

She could have sworn she heard a growl from behind her, and she looked into the dark forest.

A shiver went down her spine as she got a feeling that someone was watching her.

“I didn’t know they had a son.”

Mera’s attention was pulled back to her mother.

“Yeah, they do, apparently. I’m gonna go change my clothes,” she said as she stood up.

Something inside of her wanted to get inside the house as fast as possible.

“Why?” Mitch asked as he sat on his chair again.

She glared at him and saw the grin on his face.

“Because some asshole made me spill my drink, but trust me, he’ll regret it,” Mera said and walked inside the house.

She went to her room and locked the door behind her. The window faced the forest, and she slowly walked toward it.

This is silly. I have nothing to worry about. My parents would never bring me somewhere there are wolves.

Mera looked out of her window and saw nothing that indicated that there was something out there.

She sighed and turned away. She grabbed her pajamas and walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

She washed and dried herself and went straight to bed. She lay down and looked at the window again.

There was indeed nothing to tell about Killian and her, but she couldn’t deny that she’d felt weird when she saw him.

It was as if the universe had decided to pull them together as Killian kept walking toward her.

If it hadn’t been for Synne, what would have happened?

She closed her eyes and sighed.

KILLIAN

“Okay, go check on her,” his mother stated as she looked at him.

Killian looked at her with a questioning gaze.

“Honey, I’m glad you are back and all, but it feels like you left again as soon as you laid eyes on Esmeralda.

“Go check on her and come back so I can talk to my son and find out where he’s been for all these months,” Synne said.

Killian sighed and fell back in his chair as he looked at the fireplace.

“I’m sorry. It’s just…”

He groaned and ran his hands over his face.

“Why does she have to be human? It makes everything so much harder.”

Synne and Adrien chuckled.

“It’s not that hard,” Adrien stated.

Killian looked at him. “Right, where is Ruben and Aksel’s mom again?”

Adrien sighed and looked at Viggo, who was also looking at him.

Killian also looked at Viggo and saw the hurt look on his face. “Sorry, Viggo.”

Viggo sighed. “It’s fine. You do have a point, though. Having a human mate is harder than having one who is a werewolf like us.”

“Werewolf or no werewolf, she is still his mate, and there is nothing he can do about that but accept her.

“Besides, Mera not being a werewolf may be a good thing for him,” Adrien said before he took a sip of his whiskey.

“Why is that a good thing?” Killian said as he leaned his head against the chair he was sitting on.

“It means you can redeem yourself. The gods want you to be alpha, Lian. Giving you a human mate shows that,” Adrien said.

Killian sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

Typical of my father to find something in my life and turn it around to have it work to his advantage.

That was one thing he hated about his father, but it also made him a great alpha.

Something he thought he could never follow.

“Yeah, Dad, I’m sure Odin wouldn’t care if I’m alpha or not,” he said as he closed his eyes and sighed.

“Who was that other male, though?”

Killian opened his eyes, and like everyone else, he looked at Aksel. That was the question that was also going through his mind.

The fact that his mate touched him and ran to him as soon as she saw him was one thing for which he still wanted to kill that male.

My mate should react to me like that, not some other male.

A growl erupted from his throat.

Ken and Edvin looked at each other and tried to hold in their laughter.

Killian saw their faces and noticed how much they were trying not to look at him. He got up and walked to the two.

“Talk,” he commanded.

“He’s her brother, dude,” Edvin said with a chuckle.

Killian groaned and walked back to his chair.

I just wanted to kill the brother of my mate. Yeah, this whole bond thing is going to be fun.

Synne also laughed and got up to walk to her son. She cupped his face and looked him in the eyes.

“Go to her, but don’t show yourself. Observe what she is like and let the bond do the rest. Being close to each other only strengthens it.”

He gave his mother a smile as she pulled away, and he got up again.

He walked out of the pack house and a little into the woods. He stripped off and shifted into his wolf.

He followed Mera’s scent, still lingering in the air, and walked to a cabin just outside the village.

He made sure to stay hidden in the forest as he saw a campfire.

“Sorry, I was just daydreaming, nothing more.”

Her voice filled his ears, and he had to restrain himself from running to her and marking her immediately.

He got a little closer and saw Mera, her brother, and her parents. He felt like he’d met the whole family before.

Why does this feeling keep resurfacing?

“About the mayor’s son, probably,” he heard her brother say, and Mera choked and spilled all of her tea as she coughed.

He chuckled slightly, which sounded like a really low and soft growl. He knew it was because of the effect she had on him.

“Seriously, what is up with the mayor’s son?” her mother asked after Mera kicked her brother off his chair.

Killian was also curious and wondered what she would say about him.

“Nothing. I met him once, and we barely talked. He looks like he’s a brat that gets whatever he wants, and you know I hate that, so there truly is nothing to tell.”

Killian couldn’t help but growl at her comment.

He saw her look in his direction and cursed himself for growling.

Does she really think about me like that? ~That was a good first impression, then…one I have to fix.~

He zoned out of the conversation and just looked at his mate. She truly was perfect, and he badly wanted to hold her in his arms.

He saw her get up and walk toward her room.

Her heartbeat had quickened since the growl; he thought it was because of the bond, but the way she ran to her room showed that it was something else.

He slowly walked to the back of the house while staying hidden and saw her looking out her window.

She’s afraid of something. She’s afraid of the animal that growled.

He heard her turn on the shower and, not long after, saw the light in her room go out.

He sighed and ran back to the pack house.

***

Aksel was sitting on the porch and saw Killian as he shifted and walked toward him; he threw some sweatpants at him.

Killian snorted and put them on.

“And? Is she everything you ever hoped for?” Aksel said as he and Killian walked inside.

“You know she is, dude.

“She just thinks I’m a brat, and when I accidentally growled, she was terrified, and she didn’t know how fast she had to go to her room,” he said as he took a sip of water from the bottle Aksel had given him.

“Maybe she is afraid of wolves. She also doesn’t like to go into the forest, and she said she would never go into them alone,” Aksel said.

Killian sighed and leaned on the table. “Another thing that makes having a human mate harder.”

Aksel snorted. “Freyja doesn’t choose our mates because they are easy. She chooses them because we belong together,” he said as he tapped Killian’s back and walked away.

He does have a point. The goddess wouldn’t just put anyone together without being sure.

“Have fun in the shower!” Aksel added.

Killian rolled his eyes at the comment but also knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he didn’t.

He sighed and walked to his room.

MERA

Mera twisted and turned in her bed, but sleeping was something that wasn’t happening.

Her thoughts constantly went to Killian, and she didn’t know why.

She got up and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip.

She looked at her arm and sighed.

This time it wasn’t her nightmares forcing her to have a broken night; it was a male she’d met once.

She walked to the couch and turned on the TV. The news channel came up, and the lady was talking in the language she still needed to learn.

Why do people here speak in English when it isn’t their first language?

She zapped through the channels until a movie came up. It was an old one that she hadn’t seen before.

She wouldn’t usually watch movies like this one, but it was the only thing that was on with English actors, so she didn’t have much choice.

She sighed, grabbed a blanket, and blankly watched the movie with Norwegian subtitles, but her thoughts constantly went to him.

Why can’t I get him out of my head?