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It didn’t take long for the shifter to arrive in the hulking form of a grizzly bear, nudging past the broken door. As soon as he laid eyes on us, he took a step back and shifted into his human form.
A middle-aged man stood before us, hands tucked into his black and red-checked vest as he tried to give us a once-over without meeting my eyes. It was obvious he knew at once who I was, even as his messy salt-and-pepper hair fell over his forehead. His curiosity was now tinged with a hint of fear, and my wolf prowled closer to the surface, tempted by the potential meal.
“Who are you?” I asked the man brusquely.
“Kal,” he replied, his voice hoarse. I wondered if it was from disuse. He cleared his throat. “Kal. My name is Kal.”
I nodded. “Where do you live?”
He glanced over his shoulder toward the open door and looked back at me. “Coldfoot.” He nodded toward the door. “Well, just outside. Humans, you know?”
“I know.”
He hummed and nodded. “You’re welcome to my cabin. Got a radio and a snowmobile, too. Whatever you need.”
I nodded. “Good.” I looked down at Celeste, belatedly remembering my manners. “Thank you.”
My mate, clearly exhausted, said nothing, and worry flared up in my chest again. “She needs warmth. Immediately.”
Fortunately, Kal seemed to understand the urgency of the situation and wasted no time, heading back out the door before shifting again to lead the way.
We hurried over the snow to Kal’s remote cabin. Like he’d said, he was alone in the wilderness. I didn’t have the ability to notice anything else, too concerned about Celeste’s pale skin and the shiver she couldn’t seem to shake.
Kal stoked his cast-iron stove and produced a pile of blankets and furs for Celeste seemingly out of nowhere. “I got soup cooking,” he said softly, still refusing to make eye contact with us. “Would she like some? Or maybe the broth?”
“Yes,” I said simply.
The house didn’t have rooms; it wasn’t large enough for that. The bear shifter shuffled to the kitchen, dishware clinking. I didn’t want him to get too close to Celeste, but I didn’t want my wolf to openly display aggression toward the shifter helping us, either. I fought down the urge to bristle when he came close enough to set the bowls down nearby. He also gave us a black piece of plastic.
“Radio,” he said, indicating the object. “Phone’s on the couch, if you can get it to cooperate. Use whatever you need.” He began to retreat. “I’ll be checking my wood stock. Won’t be far if you need me.”
Kal excused himself, silence falling over the cabin once the door shut and he headed back out into the night. I was glad the grizzly shifter was apparently more intuitive than most wolves I knew. My nerves were already frayed, and I wasn’t sure I could handle another shifter hovering around Celeste, his home or not.
Still wrapped in blankets, Celeste finally moved, reaching for one of the bowls of broth. “This is really good,” she murmured breathlessly after a few sips.
I gave her a wry smile. “Don’t eat too fast,” I cautioned. I sorely doubted they’d allowed her to hunt. I wasn’t even sure how much they’d fed her.
Celeste simply nodded, focusing on the meal in front of her. Her small slurps were all I heard before she finally looked back up at me, seemingly sated enough to give the bowl a break. “Did you send someone to get me?”
I frowned, almost offended by the idea. “No. I would never rely on someone else for that.”
Celeste frowned. “But…who set me free, then? And why would they do that, if they weren’t one of your allies?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “You said they set everything on fire? A witch?”
Celeste shook her head. “No…I couldn’t do magic, but I think I would’ve been able to sense elemental spells. Val showed me how to use them all the time.” She sighed, taking another sip of her broth. “I guess I’m not one hundred percent sure. Are there other supernaturals who can do fire magic? Or is it only witches and warlocks?”
“I don’t know who that could’ve been,” I said slowly, deeply uncomfortable with the uncertainty. “But mark my words, I will find out.”
Friend or foe, Iwould.
Chapter3
Celeste
Kal’s Cabin
Outside of Coldfoot, Alaska
