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A blast of cold air filled the room, and I looked over to see Griff opening the front door. He was bundled in a coat, carrying a shovel, his expression tight and serious. Within minutes, he had enough snow cleared to step out and close the door behind him. I listened to the steady sound of the shovel hitting snow, fading as he moved farther away toward the woodshed.
All of us had been feeling protective and worried. The bond thrummed with it. But I thought Griff was probably suffering the most.
He was a protector. Taking responsibility for others was essential to his nature. It was what he did, like when he was working with crews to contain a wildfire. He needed to act, to be in control.
Every time Tracy shed a tear, I could feel his anger and frustration roaring through the bond. Getting the firewood gave him something productive to do, and I could sense him calm down the longer he was outside. I let out a sigh of relief.
Tracy stirred against me, and I caught her perfume. Her heat was only beginning. This was going to be a challenging few days if she asked me to bite her again. The temptation was hard to fight.
“Mmm,” she muttered, opening her eyes to look up at me. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
“That can be fixed.”
But she didn’t pull away so that I could take anything off. In fact, she nuzzled closer, tucking herself back under my chin. I started stroking my fingers through her hair.
“In a minute. I’d like to talk a little before I tear your clothes off.”
“What about?”
She sighed out a breath. “Where do you guys live?”
Fuck. We had a lot of things to talk about. Ourplace was a good hour away from the park, in good weather.
“We have a house near the university, on the outskirts of the city. Griff and I can walk to the school, and it’s close enough that Michael doesn’t have to drive too far to the restaurant.”
“Didn’t you tell me you got a teaching job?”
“Yeah. My research is wrapping up now. I’ve got an assistant professorship starting in a few months, and I’m hoping an associate position in the department will come open eventually. In the meantime, I have to publish a lot and teach undergrad seminars.”
“Sounds like you’ll be busy.”
Did that bother her? Her tone was carefully neutral, and I couldn’t see her eyes. Since it wasn’t a question, I let it go.
“What about you?” I had no idea what her career plans were.
“My job keeps me busy too. Saving biologists who get hypothermia and all that.”
I could hear the smile in her voice. Part of me wanted to leave it alone, keep the discussion light. But I needed to know.
“Is this where you see yourself working for a while?”
“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. “I love it here. If I ever got tired of doing it full time, I’d probably still want to be a seasonal employee. But for right now, I like being in the park year round.”
Where people didn’t know who she really was. Where she could just do her job and be free. I could never take that away from her.
“You have a great job. I can see why you want to be here.” I paused. “I like the little towns in the foothills, too.”
There were some friendly communities about halfway between the park and the city. Maybe we could live there? We’d all have a commute, but it wouldn’t be too bad.
I was sure she guessed why I mentioned it.
For about a minute, Tracy didn’t say anything. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. Unsure.
“Yeah. The foothills are nice.”
I cupped her face in my hand and brought her chin up so that our eyes met. Hers were damp, like she was holding back tears. Seeing her upset was like a knife in my heart.
“You asked for my mark, Tracy. Make no mistake, I’m going to give it to you when this is over. We’ll figure all of this out. I promise.”
