“Long enough to see your face when you looked at your claiming mark.”
“I don’t miss him,” Eryn blurted out.
Jaydah’s eyes went all soft at the lie they both heard in Eryn’s tone, but her queen was a kind one and politely declined to call her out. Instead, she said, “You will be late for your interview if we stall any longer.”
Eryn nodded her head and wrung her hands. “I’ve never spent a lot of time around them. Humans. What if I mess up?”
Jaydah leaned the side of her head against the wall and smiled kindly. “I trust you. Biergon trusts you.” She pointed to Eryn. “You have to trust you, too.”
Her eyes prickled with tears and she dipped her chin to her chest in shame, then exposed her neck to her queen. Jaydah didn’t reprimand her for the weakness of her tears though. Instead, Jaydah’s arms went around her, and she rocked Eryn like her mother had when she was a cub. “The emotions are a lot for all of us. In one year, watch. I’m calling it. We will all look back on this time and be so much stronger for it. Trust yourself. You’re a good person, Eryn. A strong one,” she growled, pushing her back to arms’ length. “I can’t imagine the hurt of what Kian did, but I can tell you this…You. Will. Be. Okay.”
Eryn bit her bottom lip to stop the tremble there. Wordlessly, she nodded. It was impossible not to believe Jaydah when she was leveling her with that fiery, bright-green gaze. She could never doubt Jaydah’s belief in her. She was special. Perhaps Jaydah was the most important Queen the bear Clan of Alaska had ever had…even if most of the Clan didn’t see her as the rightful Queen yet.
“What will you do in town while I’m at the interview?” Eryn asked.
Red drifted into Jaydah’s freckled cheeks, and she released Eryn’s shoulders before stepping back. “Foster told me something the other night…”
Well, that got her attention. Foster was Biergon the Dead’s human side. He knew all about the human world. “What did he say?” Eryn whispered, all thought of tears fading in an instant.
“He said some women paint their nails—”
“I’ve seen it in magazines. It’s true.”
Jaydah grinned. “I am going to surprise him with painted nails.”
Eryn’s mouth fell open. “You are going to let a human paint them?”
Jaydah’s smile grew as she nodded. “And then I’m going to see if the nail polish translates to my bear when I Change. Can you imagine it?” she asked excitedly. “A red bear with glittery nails.”
And Eryn could imagine it, which sent her into a fit of giggles. “Perhaps I will do that someday too. Maybe with my first paycheck!”
“He said they even massage your legs and paint your toes.”
Eryn’s shoulders went slack, and she looked up to the heavens. “I would sell my bones for a good leg massage.”
“Want to know another secret?” Jaydah asked quietly.
“Yes! I want to know all the secrets!”
“I have enough money for you too.”
“What?” Eryn whispered, not understanding that combination of heavenly words.
“Foster gave me cash and said for us to do something fun after you are finished with your interview.”
“But…what if I don’t get the job? What if I let Foster down?”
Jaydah frowned deeply. “Foster does not care if you have a job or not. He wishes you luck, but the job is your choice.”
“My choice,” she repeated, her mind racing. When was the last time she had a choice in anything?
“You can have as little or as much independence as you want, Eryn. Tayah and Anya aren’t there quite yet, but you started wanting independence immediately, so…” She shrugged. “You can have it.”
“Just like that. I can just…have it.”
“You know Foster doesn’t want your money, right?”
“He won’t take a cut?”
“No! He makes his own money. Whatever you earn will be yours.”
Eryn couldn’t help her grin. “Then it will be worth it to be brave.”
Jaydah nodded and gave her a quick, tight hug, then turned and walked out the front door.
Eryn glanced at her reflection in the mirror once more, and this time, she wasn’t just a scarred bear shifter in recovery from so much. She lifted her chin into the air. She was a woman in growth.
She followed Jaydah out of the house and secured the door behind her, but as soon as she turned into the cold Alaskan wind, she froze.
Below, on the bottom stair of the females’ cabin, Jaydah had frozen. She smelled it too.
Blood.
Lots of it.
“Wait here,” Eryn said, slinking past her queen to follow the thick scent.
Her nose led her to the edge of the woods. Behind her, Jaydah was calling for Biergon, but Eryn couldn’t wait for him. Why? Because she recognized that scent.
“Kian?” she whispered in horror as her eyes beheld the mangled form of her former mate.
He was wearing clothes, but she could barely tell. They were soaked in crimson and hanging off him in tatters. He’d been attacked and hadn’t Changed?
She sank down beside his still form and scanned the woods. She spotted a man—Ledger. He’d been Anya’s mate back before the war. His eyes were frost blue and full of sadness. He nodded once, turned, and left without a word.
He’d brought Kian’s body here.
“Kian,” she whispered, shaking his shoulder slightly.
He didn’t respond at all, and she couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not.
There was too much blood. He was painting the snow red.
“Biergon!” she screamed. “Help!”
Time slowed. Jaydah was running toward her, and Biergon was sprinting from the meeting hall. Tayah and Anya were on the porch of the females’ cabin looking terrified, and Eryn was cradling Kian’s body, trying to lift him up.
She didn’t like him in these woods exposed. Didn’t like the smell of all the blood. Didn’t like the color of the ground beneath him. She pulled him against her chest and rocked, looking back for Biergon. She didn’t know why she trusted her new king to fix it, but she did.
He knelt beside Kian and pressed two fingers up against his throat. “Shit.” He tried his wrist and froze, staring off into the woods blankly. “Give him to me,” he growled.
She didn’t know why she disobeyed his order, but instinctively Eryn clutched Kian closer.
Biergon searched her eyes and uttered honestly, “I’m going to try and save him. Please. Hand him to me.”
After a few seconds of hesitation, she did. Swallowing hard, Eryn eased Kian’s massive body into Biergon’s arms and stood to follow as Biergon steadily carried her former mate toward one of the abandoned cabins.
“You can’t come, Eryn,” Biergon barked out. She could see the steam of his frozen breath, even with his back to her.
“Why not!” she demanded.
He turned, and his eyes were that bright gold-green of his bear. “Biergon says if he lives, he will bond to the female who helps to care for him. He unpaired you. If you want to move on, you can’t be there.” He turned and disappeared into the cabin with Kian’s massive six-foot-four frame.