TJ sat in front of the fire in the cabin sipping a steaming cup of hot chocolate. He’d run beside them all the way to the cabin as a wolf, his gear buried somewhere back on the hill.
“I still don’t get it. What part of ‘stay away from the right, the snow is unstable’ did you not understand?” Keil complained, dropping an extra blanket around TJ’s shoulders.
“Enough, I’m sorry. I got my lefts and rights mixed up. No harm done since Robyn made me put on the tracer. You found me, I’m fine.”
“TJ, that’s the third set of skis you’ve lost this year!”
The sound of logs crashing to the floor made both of them look up at Robyn’s stunned expression. She lifted a trembling hand to show three raised fingers, a questioning expression on her face.
“Yeah,” Keil said, “this is the third time Mr. Disaster has been in action this winter. His record is six times in a single season. I’m thinking of having a tracer permanently implanted—”
“Umm, Keil, why is Robyn glaring at me like that?”
Keil glanced up and he could have sworn he saw steam pouring out Robyn’s ears.
Just before she leapt across the room, grabbed TJ by the throat and shook him.
Hard.
“Whoa, there, Robyn.” Reaching around her, he gently grasped her forearms and loosened them from TJ’s neck. Muttering soothing words even though he knew she couldn’t hear, he settled her under his chin as her body continued to shake. “My guess is she’s a little shocked that we had to rescue you in the first place, TJ, and learning this is a typical experience in the bush with you might be more than she needed on top of everything else today.”
TJ had the grace to look embarrassed. He shuffled over and squatted to peer up at Robyn where she hid in Keil’s arms. “I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t think sometimes. I won’t do it again.”
“Ha!” Keil snorted. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, little brother. The sauna should be hot by now. Go get warmed up all the way. Robyn and I need to talk.”
TJ shot another concerned glance at Robyn before gathering his clothes and heading out the door.
Keil settled down on the chair by the fire, still holding Robyn in his embrace as they sat quietly together. Having her in his arms felt wonderful. She was small enough to treasure yet strong enough to react in a quick and fearless manner when faced with the emergency on the mountainside. She was going to be a fabulous mate for him.
She smelt wonderful too. He took in a deep breath and fought down the urge to throw her on the sleeping platform and rip off her clothes.
Her fingers slipped up and traced the edge of his jaw, and Keil shut his eyes to enjoy the sensations tingling through his blood. She wiggled and he looked down to see she was shaking silently, tears trickling from her eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He tilted her head back to reassure her and stopped at the expression on her face.
Sheer delight.
“What’s up, little bird?”
Robyn wiped at her eyes and crawled off his lap, stopping only to plant a kiss on his cheek. She returned to his side with her notepad, dragging up another chair so they could face each other but both still enjoy the fire’s warmth.
It may seem insane but I’m so happy right now, Robyn wrote.
“Happy? Having to rescue my brother makes you happy? Leaving him buried for once would make me ecstatic.”
A snort of laughter from Robyn made Keil smile.
“Tell me, how can having your whole world turned upside down like we’ve done to you today make you happy?”
Robyn stared at him for a minute and bent her head to write. She handed him the note pad while she signaled like she was drinking from a glass.
Keil turned to read her message as she went to the water bucket.
All my life I’ve been different. But it’s been bad different. It’s hard to share with new people. My only friends my brother and old family friends.
But you accept me right away. You trust me right away.
Your brother is an idiot right away! You’re real with me.
All that makes me very happy.
Keil lifted his head to see Robyn watching him with her big brown eyes, a soft smile on her lips.
“You have been different, but it’s not because you’re deaf. It’s because you were supposed to be a wolf. You were supposed to be around your pack who would love you and support you. That’s what’s been missing.” He took the glass she held out to him and placed it to the side with care before pulling her back into his arms.
“I won’t rush you, and you probably still have a ton of questions but, Robyn, you need to know that I’ll do anything for you. The connection between us is growing stronger, and I’m glad that I’ve found you.” He leaned down and kissed her.
Soft. Gentle. A kiss of exquisite tenderness. He put his heart into the motion, trying to tell her without words that she didn’t have to worry about him and that all the concerns of the day would work out fine in the end.
“How can I feel this connected with someone I just met?”
Keil froze.
He’d heard her voice in his mind.
Pulling back from her he stared into her eyes. He thought it would happen, but not already. They weren’t even mates yet. She hadn’t had her wolf triggered.
It was impossible.
“How did you do that?” Keil asked.
Her face grew puzzled and Keil tried to paste on a smile. It must have not worked because Robyn pulled away.
“Wait, try something for me. Tell me your favorite colour.”
After giving him the “are you insane” look she did oh-so-well, she reached for the notepad.
“No writing. Try and tell me in my head.”
Robyn stared at him. “He’s doing the crazynut thing again. I don’t have a favorite colour to tell him.”
“Everyone has a favorite colour, Robyn.”
All the colour drained from her face.“Did you hear me?”
Keil stroked her cheek and attempted to speak to her mind. “Yup, it goes well with the ‘crazynut thing’ that I do.”
Robyn scrambled backward off his lap, ending up in a pile on the floor.
“Holy shit! You can hear me. I can hear you! How is this possible, Keil?” She pulled herself up to her knees and hugged his legs tightly. Then she dragged herself upright until they were eye-to-eye. “Say something else to me.”
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
She blew a raspberry at him. “Say something intelligent.”
Instead he dove at her mouth, trailing kisses over her lips and flowing down the edge of her neck to bury his face in the V of her shoulder. “You’re beautiful and you smell like a spring meadow. Your skin feels fresh and clean like the wind blowing over the glacier. You taste like a fresh-caught fish with a good glass of wine.”
“You poet, you. You’re making me hungry.”
Keil lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “You make me hungry too, and I’m planning on doing something about it. I wanted to wait but…”
Her fingers laced into the hair at the back of his neck. “This is crazy. My body feels like I’m on fire. How can I hear you? You said this morning that mates could sometimes speak like this but we’re not mates. I mean, doesn’t that require us to have sex first?”
“It usually does, Robyn. The only thing I can think of is the adrenaline rush from the avalanche triggered you and started to link us. You’re an exceptionally strong wolf, and so am I. Not that I’m bragging or anything.”
Robyn blinked at him and he grinned back as he stood, lifted her and took a step toward the sleeping platform. He stopped and checked around the room. Shaking his head he turned back, a dark expression of longing on his face.