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“No.” Hector’s sudden appearance made Row reluctant to leave his mom and sister alone in the house. Although he didn’t necessarily believe that Hector would come back after being humiliated and injured a second time, he wanted to keep an eye on his family.
“You’re so stubborn,” Dani said, chuckling.
“Well, it’s worked for me so far,” Row pointed out.
They left the battleground and took a familiar route through the woods surrounding it, toward Row’s mother’s house. The sleuth’s territory was centered around the battleground, proof that the king believed the fights were the most important activity his males could engage in. Beyond the thick trees, the sleuth’s homes formed a larger ring, packed tightly together, side by side and encircled by another forested area patrolled by guards assigned by the king.
His sister and mother led him inside the house, and he collapsed on the couch with a groan. “Stop bleeding on Mom’s couch, Row,” Dani chided as she pulled him to a sitting position.
“You could’ve taken me to my place,” he said.
“Not on your life. You have to let us take care of you.”
While his mother tended the wounds, reminding him he’d heal faster if he shifted, Dani told him about the book she’d just finished reading, based on a science-fiction TV show. Row smiled as she talked excitedly about the differences between the show and the book. She was trying to distract him from the aches throbbing in his muscles, and he loved her for it.
His mother snapped the lid closed on the medical kit and patted his knee. “I’m going to fry up a thick steak for you and bring you an ice pack.”
“Better make it two,” Row said.
“Steaks or ice packs?” His mother smiled down at him.
“Both.”
* * *
He spent the night passed out on the couch as his body healed. Bears, unlike other shifters such as wolves and big cats, healed slowly, so he’d be feeling the ache of the wounds from his battles for a few days.
The following morning, Row ate breakfast with his mom and sister. Dani still lived with their mom, but Row had moved out of the house several years earlier into a home of his own. He’d never wanted to bring a random female home to his mom’s house, and fucking in the woods, while alluring in some ways, had lost its luster over the years and he’d wanted to have a place he could call his own.
After their meal was over and the kitchen was clean, Row’s mom said, “I’ve got some news.”
“I hope it’s good news,” Dani said.
She smiled. “It is for you, sweetheart. I think it’s time for Row to take you to your people.”
Row blinked in surprise. “I thought you’d never been able to find any reindeer.”
Their mom shook her head and went to retrieve her iPad from the small desk in the corner. “I wasn’t able to until recently. The detectives I hired when we first found Dani could never locate any reindeer, or any evidence that there were others aside from Dani. I never gave up hope that someday she might be reunited with her own people, if she wanted to be. Last week, one of the detectives contacted me to say that he’d finally found a herd of reindeer. They’re a secretive group, which is why he’d never been able to pin them down before. The journey will take a few days.”
Dani and Row looked at the iPad in their mother’s hands. The screen showed a map, with a pushpin in the middle of what appeared to be a forest.
“After you meet your people, you can come back here. Or maybe you’ll love being with them so much you won’t want to.”
“I’ll always be a bear in my heart, even if I’m not one when I shift.”
His mom showed them the information she’d been given, and Row poked around on the map program for a while, checking routes. Dani sat quietly next to him. She was younger than him by three years. When his mother adopted her she was just a child, and Row had been proud to take on the mantle of older brother. Over the years they’d become best friends. Although he was happy that his mom had finally found a herd of reindeer shifters, he was conflicted about her leaving their family, possibly for good.
“Why do you want me to leave now?” Dani asked.
Their mom sat next to her and hugged her tightly. “Are any of the males in the sleuth your mate?”
“No.”
“Then there’s nothing wrong with you taking a trip and meeting some reindeer. Maybe your mate is somewhere in that herd, or perhaps you’ll meet him along the way. All I know for certain is that you’re a beautiful young woman and you deserve to find your mate and start a family.”
Row cleared his throat. “What about me?”
She laughed and put her arm around him. “You deserve that, too. I just think it’s time for Dani to connect to her roots, and I know you’ll watch over her along the way.”
