My Perfect Mate Read online

  “You know this woman?” Susan asked.

  Ujarak wondered the same thing. He’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. If someone told him the goddess herself stood before him, he would believe it.

  “I know of her. We’ve never met before,” JP explained to Susan. “My lady,” he addressed the woman, “could we move our discussion inside? Ujarak needs to shift and dress.”

  One of the other wolves growled, lips curled back to show sharp canines. Ujarak was sure the wolf wanted to attack him.

  “It’s all right, Qannik. I know of ‘JP’ as well. Wait for me if you wish.”

  Snowflake? The woman called her wolf Snowflake? Ujarak wanted to laugh, but was afraid any movement on his part would make matters worse.

  Jean-Paul held open the door and ushered Susan inside before turning to wait for Aisyt. Ujarak lowered to all fours and sidled closer to the door. He sighed in relief when JP waited for him to enter. He wasn’t sure the pack of Amarok wouldn’t rip him apart on principle. He could smell their aggression coming at him in waves.

  JP closed the door and Ujarak lumbered to his clothes, still lying on the floor. He picked them up in his teeth and looked for a place to shift. Finally he saw a small alcove and decided it would have to do. He heard Susan whispering fiercely to JP. From the look on Aisyt’s beautiful face, she could hear them as well. She smiled at Ujarak and winked. Did he think this woman was cold, because suddenly he felt way too warm? He ducked inside the alcove and called the shift.

  §

  “Who is that woman? Why did she call you a Fae Lord? What does that mean? Is she saying Fae as in fairy?” Susan couldn’t believe it. Jean-Paul did have a mystical quality to him and his ears did have points near the top. Was her mate a mythological creature?

  “Person, perhaps. A mythological person.”

  Susan shook her head. She felt JP use the mating bond to read her. Now? No wonder she saw those scenes in his mind. He really was from another planet.

  “Aisyt is Fae as well,” Jean-Paul said.

  “You didn’t think to mention you’re from another planet? I’m bonded to an alien!”

  “Susan, I’m as human as you are. Ynys Afallon is in another dimension, and okay, another planet. My people have been here for centuries, before humans were nothing more than hunter-gatherers. The witch-kind are descendant from us, the Fae.”

  “Who is that woman? What is she doing here?”

  “I live here.” Aisyt said, walking up to them. “I’ve lived here for a very long time. My Amarok pack and I stay safe in the sanctuary of the Arctic Circle. Unfortunately, we are not safe from the Nanuk. Several of them go out of their way to hunt us. The shifters in my pack are the abandoned children of the Nanuk villages. I find them and bring them to a place of safety.”

  “No wonder they wanted to attack me.” Ujarak walked out of the alcove in his human form.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Aisyt said. “Many of my adopted family hate the Nanuk for being so cruel and abandoning them.”

  “I’m sorry, too. My uncle is just as prejudiced against the Amarok.”

  “But not you?” Aisyt asked, her head tilted to the side. Did Ujarak have another admirer?

  “No. My oldest brother is Amarok, as is my youngest sister. My parents sent them to a lycan pack for safety.”

  “I’m glad your parents are more understanding. But no child should be sent away from their parents. There shouldn’t be a need. The Nanuk and Amarok are family.”

  “I agree,” Susan said. She wanted to dislike the beautiful woman, but she was right. “The lycans are willing to take in the amarok. Before this little adventure, I helped care for a foster family of amarok children. The little ones don’t understand why their parents sent them away.”

  “Not all nanuk are against the amarok and lycans. Only a small group of angry men. Our elders don’t want to make waves, so they let them tell their lies and try to ignore them.” Ujarak rubbed his hand over his eyes.

  Aisyt patted his arm. She hissed. Ujarak jumped. Aisyt held her hand to her chest and stared at Ujarak, her eyes wide. Jean-Paul looked at them and chuckled.

  “What am I missing here?” Susan poked JP in the side.

  “It looks like your friend has a Destined One after all.” JP put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

  “What? I don’t understand.” Susan looked from JP to Ujarak.

  Aisyt and Ujarak seemed trapped in each other’s eyes, their gazes locked. Ujarak suddenly grabbed the woman and kissed her like she was the air he breathed.

  Susan watched, surprised that she actually didn’t mind. Did that mean she was finally over her attraction to the bear? She looked up at JP. He smiled and gave her a squeeze. “Let’s give them a moment, shall we?” She nodded.

  Jean-Paul walked them outside. All but one of the amarok were gone, only the trampled snow gave evidence to their existence. The arctic wolf ran over to them. Susan leaned down to greet her.

  “Aisyt is fine. She will be out in a minute,” Susan sent telepathically to the amarok. What did Aisyt call her? Qannik?

  White lights surrounded the white wolf and in moments a young woman stood naked before them. Unlike most amarok and nanuk, her coloring was white like the snow, from the color of her hair and skin, to the pale color of her eyes.

  “Aisyt shouldn’t be alone with the polar bear. He’ll hurt her.” The girl wrung her hands.

  “No, he won’t. He’s her mate. You don’t have to worry.” JP tried to reassure the girl.

  “Her mate? She wouldn’t!” The girl sprung away, transforming into her wolf form in mid stride. Susan admired the ability; the girl must be an alpha.

  “Oh, dear,” Aisyt said from the door. “Qannik’s nanuk family was exceptionally cruel. They tortured her and left her to die.”

  “That’s horrible!” Susan’s heart ached for the young woman.

  “Yes. This whole situation is horrible.” Aisyt turned her face into Ujarak’s chest as he gathered her close.

  “We’ve got to do something. This can’t go on.” Susan grabbed JP’s hand. What could they do to stop this terrible hate?

  “Right now we need to find Ujarak’s uncle and get back the ring. I’m sorry, Susan. If we don’t stop him, there will be no Arctic ice cap left. The whole world is in danger, not just the amarok. The ice you fell through should have been six feet thick.” JP shook his head and sighed.

  “He’s right,” Aisyt said walking forward. “We must save the world before we save the amarok.”

  “Would you like to borrow some clothes?” How did the woman stand being naked in the arctic?

  Aisyt laughed. A high tinkling sound that seemed to dance in the air. “I hope I don’t make you uncomfortable. I use magic to keep myself warm. I need to go speak with my pack. I’ll meet you later. There are at least three nanuk ahead of you. If you continue going northeast, you should catch up to them today. The light is already failing. Soon you will be traveling in the dark again. Stay safe, Ujarak. I’ve waited thousands of years for you.” She reached up and patted his cheek. Ujarak leaned his face into her palm and then turned and kissed it.

  Susan looked away suddenly embarrassed. The moment seemed too intimate for witnesses. She was happy for Ujarak. Now maybe he would understand what she’d been going through being tied to a person she didn’t really know.

  §

  “You’re coming to know me, as I you. Search my mind if you need to know me better.” JP frowned with concentration. The headache lying across his eyes was a small price to pay to reassure Susan. Now that Ujarak found his Destined One, JP worried she once more felt abandoned.

  “Stop trying to use telepathy. I can feel your pain,” Susan hissed.

  “The mating bond linking our minds is necessary for your wellbeing. The pain is nothing.”

  “It’s not ‘nothing.’ I don’t want to hurt you. Shouldn’t we be going?”

  Jean-Paul nodded and took her hand. They walked to the
snowmobiles. JP handed Susan her helmet, before picking up his own. Ujarak ran over and Aisyt simply disappeared using a porting spell to travel.

  Susan stared at the castle in awe. “What a beautiful creation. It’s more magnificent outside than it was in. Will it just melt away?”

  “When the weather warms and the ice recedes, for now it will remain. Put your helmet on, honey. We need to find Ujarak’s uncle.”

  “If he lets us find him,” Ujarak said before plopping the helmet on his head. He started up his snowmobile and JP did as well.

  Susan climbed on behind JP and snuggled. Her arms around his waist gripped tightly. He patted her clasped hands and then pulled away from the castle heading northeast. Twilight returned to the landscape and soon darkness would encompass the top of the world.

  §

  Susan stared at the stars in the black sky. Riding behind JP left little for her to do, except hold on. Her stomach grumbled and she squirmed. She could have died today. Not even being a lycan would have saved her. She’d faced death before when cancer tried to take her from the living. Then a crazy doctor had injected her with the stem cells of a lycan. It cured her cancer and changed her into a wolf. Susan liked her wolf and the feelings of freedom and strength.

  How could parents kill their children for turning into wolves, especially being shifters themselves? Qannik’s stricken face flashed in her mind. It didn’t make sense. What could they do to change the situation? Ujarak’s family didn’t hate wolf shifters. His mother was a lycan. What happened to cause such a rift between the Amarok and Nanuk?

  JP slowed the snowmobile. Susan snapped out of her reverie and looked around. Ujarak stopped in front of them and turned off his machine. JP parked next to him and took off his helmet.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  Susan heard a small yip, and then a bark. She peered into the darkness and saw a small lump in the snow. It was an igloo. Tied up outside, their bodies covered in snow, were six sled dogs.

  “The trail ends here. My uncle must have built the igloo. He might be inside.”

  Susan pulled off her helmet and covered her head with the hood of her jacket. She wanted to run to the dogs. She didn’t smell a polar bear, only the dogs that were now barking in greeting. She curbed her response and waited for JP and Ujarak to decide what to do. Asking for the ring would be difficult enough. She didn’t want to make it harder and her presence alone could be a problem.

  “Uncle? Are you here?” Ujarak called out. He walked up to the small entrance and crawled in. Susan paced back and forth. Would the man cooperate?

  A few minutes later, Ujarak reappeared. “No one’s here. He left some of his gear inside. He must have shifted.”

  “He left the dogs? They could die out here!” Susan hurried over to the dogs and was enthusiastically greeted. Their leads were staked into the ice. If no one came back, the dogs would die of starvation. There was no sign of food left for them.

  “He could be coming back, Susan. Don’t jump to conclusions,” JP warned.

  “I’m not sure about that?” Ujarak said rubbing a hand across his eyes. “This doesn’t feel right. Aisyt said there were three nanuk ahead of us. Where are the others? Why does the trail end here?”

  “Let’s make camp. Once we’re settled, we can decide what to do with the dogs. I want to get Susan out of the cold.”

  “No ice castle?” Ujarak asked.

  “Not this time. Get the tent set up. We all need to eat something.”

  Susan hurried to the bags with food and dug out the jerky. She gave each dog a piece. It wouldn’t be enough to fill their stomachs, but it was something. She sighed.

  After the tent was up and the gear settled inside, Susan started the propane heater and lantern. It was nice to have light. The winter in the Arctic was one endless night. Did the amarok suffer depression from the loss of sunshine?

  “Suzy-Q, heat something to eat. I’m starving!” Ujarak carried in a bundle of supplies, including a small camp stove.

  “Look, bear-man, don’t start thinking of me as your chief cook and bottle washer. I’m not even sure what you packed besides the jerky.”

  “There’s caribou stew in one of the containers. Mom sent it along. I’ll find it while you set up the burner.”

  “Okay, bring me a pan of snow. I’ll start water for tea.” Susan unfolded the camp stove and hooked up the fuel. Ujarak headed outside.

  “Everything okay in here?” JP asked bringing in three sleeping bags.

  “Just heating some food for us.”

  “Great. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until we stopped.” For some reason, Susan thought he meant more than for food. Her face warmed.

  “Found it,” Ujarak said walking into the tent. He looked from Susan to JP. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Of course not.” Susan reached for the food container and turned back to the stove. She could feel Jean-Paul’s eyes on her.

  It wasn’t long before the stew bubbled on the stove and Susan served up three heaping bowls. It was important to keep strength up in these conditions. The guys weren’t talking, each one taking a position on opposite sides of the tent. “Come and get it.” Susan handed out the food. She looked at the two men and sighed. Finally, she scooted over by JP and leaned against him while she ate. Her wolf needed the contact with her mate. Besides, Ujarak was Aisyt’s mate now.

  “What’s the difference between a heartmate and Destined One?” Susan asked. Ujarak was probably too proud to ask.

  “Just what it says, really,” JP replied. “Someone who is picked by Destiny or the universe to be your mate. We normally feel a connection with the person at first meeting.”

  “Aisyt said she’d waited thousands of years for me.” Ujarak scooted a little closer.

  “The Fae are immortal. Once we reach adulthood, we stop aging. We can be killed, of course, but we don’t die of old age.”

  “What?” Susan turned to look at JP. Lycans lived long lives, but she would age and die.

  “When we bond with our Destined One, we are tied to their lifespan. So when Susan and I go through the magical Destined One ceremony, I will begin to age along with her. It will be the same with Ujarak and Aisyt.”

  “Wait. Doesn’t the lycan mating bond work the same way?” Susan shook her head. All this time she thought by cementing the bond in place, JP was connected to her.

  JP reached for her hand. “From what I can tell, the lycan mating bond has connected us telepathically and spiritually. I’m sure what Mathis told me about not wanting to live without your mate is true. I am still immortal and won’t age until we go through the Destined One ritual.”

  “So Aisyt really has lived for thousands of years? Why would she pick me for a mate?” Ujarak tilted his head and pursed his lips.

  “Destiny picked you,” JP said. “But don’t worry. Aisyt wants you. A Destined One is a gift. Forever is a long time to live alone. I’m sure that’s why she rescues the amarok. They have become her family and given her a purpose to live.”

  “I wish we could do something to help her amarok pack. The lycan’s would be happy to take them in.” Susan bit her lip. The thought of children like Tikaani being left to die in the cold turned her stomach. She pushed her half-eaten bowl of food away.

  “Are you going to eat that?” Ujarak asked. Susan shook her head and handed him the bowl.

  “I’m not sure they need more foster families. What they need is acceptance.” JP set his empty bowl to the side.

  “I agree,” Ujarak said adding two more empty bowls to the pile. “I’m not sure how to go about getting it. There are several nanuk villages along the Arctic Circle. It isn’t just mine that has members, like my uncle, who are prejudiced against the amarok and lycans.”

  “What can we do to change things?” Susan asked.

  “Well, for starters we need to find out how this all began,” JP said. “What happened in the past that caused the rift between the nanuk and lycans? They must have
been intermingling for a long time to have their children become the amarok.”

  “Does it really matter what happened in the past?” Ujarak asked. “I doubt that my uncle even knows why he hates the lycans. I thought it was because my father mated with one and left Itigaituk out of the relationship.”

  “What do you mean?” Susan asked.

  “Polar bears mate with more than one bear,” Ujarak explained. “The nanuk can be polyamorous as well, often ending in ménage relationships. My uncle thought he would be included in my father’s relationship with my mother. Lycans are different though, they have the mating bond connecting them to just one person. My mother could never love my uncle in the way she loves my father. So my uncle was left out in the cold. For once, I know how he feels. My brother, Kumaglak and I often talked of sharing a wife. Now he wants Anaaya. He made it clear when we were home that I wasn’t invited to join them. I felt kind of lost. First you bonded with JP and then my brother rejected me.”

  “You have Aisyt, now,” JP said quietly.

  “Yes, and now that I’ve met her. I realize I’d never be willing to share her with anyone. So, I’m more like my father and mother than I realized,” Ujarak grinned.

  “You seem happy about that,” JP said.

  “I wonder if that’s part of the problem between the nanuk and the lycans,” Susan said. “The difference of wanting more than one mate.”

  “I’m not sure,” Ujarak shook his head. “My uncle is always going on about the lycans stealing our hunting grounds, but lycans don’t eat seal and whale. It’s only the caribou we share a liking for.”

  “I hope we can figure something out. I can’t get Qannik’s face out of my mind. When Aisyt said her family tortured her, I wanted to hunt them down and rip out their throats,” Susan growled, her wolf reacting to her anger.

  “Easy, little wolf.” JP patted her knee. “No one wants to think about a family member being so cruel. Qannik is prejudiced as well. She hates all nanuk. That’s the problem with racism. Qannik has good reason to hate her family and what they did to her. She shouldn’t hate every nanuk because of her family.”