Tagging Her Lynx (Alaska Lynx Clan) (9 page)

He
rubbed her back. "Is that right?"

She
tilted her head back. "Does my teacher have anything I can do for extra
credit?"

"Oh
yeah. Lots and lots of extra work for you." He grinned.

Chapter
Eight

Two
weeks later, Granger walked Chloe to the other end of the Lynx's area, where a
large cabin served as a gathering spot for the clan. She squeezed his hand in a
death grip but continued along beside him with her chin held up. He'd explained
to her how every one of the shifters wanted to welcome her into the fold, and
they'd put it off long enough.

Between
training and discovering everything about each other, they'd fallen into a
secure bliss with no influence from the others. Granger even called a halt on
tracking the other hunters because of all the snow they'd received. If the
weather made it difficult for the Lynx, it would be impossible for humans to
make it this far north. Mother Nature created a haven for the cats and a
wonderful break for Granger and her to explore their feelings.

She
loved him. It wasn't something she learned. It wasn't something that needed to
grow from a feeling. It existed inside both of them, as important as breathing,
and each day they thanked their lucky stars that they had found each other.

However,
the time had come for her to become involved with the clan. Her stomach
cramped, and she laid her hand over her belly button. She wanted this, but she
didn't have any experience with large groups. Hell, her father schooled her at
home like all the other kids who lived in the bush. Social outings didn't
happen after her near death from the bite she'd suffered for fear of shifting
in front of others.

"You'll
do fine. Remember everything that you have learned, and the rest will come
naturally. Your lynx won't let you down." He dropped her hand, pulled her
to his side, and draped his arm around her shoulders. "Besides, I'll be
there the whole time, and if you need me, you only have to ask for my help."

She
nodded. "I know. It's the whole alpha-beta thing. I'm used to seeking
comfort from you. I can't imagine that the other women will seek me out to
bring them a sense of security. Especially when I'm shaking like a leaf and
worried about speaking like the village idiot."

"Trust
your lynx, Aningan." He chuckled. "She won't want her human to make a
fool of herself."

"Somehow,
that doesn't bring me comfort." She snorted.

He
continued to laugh. "See? Even I'm not the perfect alpha."

Chloe
strolled inside the cabin with a smile on her face and her arm wound around
Granger's waist. He'd settled her nerves with his playful banter. A good thing
too, because all at once, everyone in the room had stopped their conversations
and turned toward them; it threatened to send her to her knees.

"Everybody,
this is my life mate, Chloe Barrant." Granger urged her forward and turned
to Chloe. "She has taken the last couple of weeks to fine-tune her skills.
You'll all be impressed with how far she has come."

"I'm
excited to meet you all." She swallowed. "You'll have to pardon my
shyness. I didn't grow up around other people the way you all have lived
together. It was just my dad and me…" She shrugged. "I guess you know
everything else about me."

Smiles
and friendly waves greeted her, and Gretchen pushed her way through the crowd.
Chloe smiled at the first person of the Lynx clan she met on her arrival, glad
to see her friend. After learning Gretchen had a crush on Granger's brother,
she stopped worrying if she had designs on her life mate.

"Hi."
She gave the other woman a hug.

Gretchen
returned the squeeze. "Look at you! A big smile on your face. You look so
happy."

She
nodded and laughed. "Thanks to Granger. I don't think I could have managed
to come here without all his help."

"Come
with me. I want to introduce you to the other women. We've practically formed a
committee to barge into your cabin and take you for some girl time."
Gretchen raised her eyebrows to Granger. "May I?"

He
nodded and leaned down to give Chloe a kiss. "Go make friends." He
slapped her ass.

She
jumped and laughed over her shoulder on her way across the room.

"She's
something." Darren joined Granger at the refreshment table. "Hand me
a beer, will ya?"

Granger
reached over and picked another can out of the tub of ice. "She's amazing."
He grinned and passed the beer to his brother. "Is everyone ready to get
back on the trail?"

They'd
wasted enough time, letting the hunters grow closer. The last couple of nights
he swore he could smell them on the wind. This group proved to be more skilled
than the last. Afraid that they'd get the upper hand, he wanted to start out
the next morning and find out where they'd moved to since Chloe's wildlife
refuge shut down.

If
the hunters searched for proof of the shifters, the Lynx could handle it.
Everyone in the clan took extra care to cover the Lynx clan's existence. If
they planned to continue their hunt on his life mate, though, he'd kill every
one of them with great pleasure. No way in hell would he lose another member of
his family.

"Yo!"
Darren jabbed his elbow into Granger's arm. "Are you talking to Chloe or
deep in thought?"

He
turned his back on the room and leaned in closer to his brother. "Whatever
happens, we must protect Chloe with our lives. Promise me."

Darren's
eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "That's a given, bro. I owe her. She's
family now."

Granger
nodded and stepped back. A sudden urge to go find Chloe and stay by her side
washed over him. He cut a straight path into the circle of women surrounding
his life mate.

"Guess
what?" Chloe gazed up at him, smiling. "Sharon"—she pointed to
the woman—"is going to teach me how to knit." She raised her
eyebrows. "Since I was a child I've always wanted to learn how to do that."
She threaded her hand around his arm and squeezed. "Think of how many
blankets I can make for the cabin."

"Sounds
great." He smiled over at Sharon and tilted his head. "Want to grab
something to eat?"

She
glanced around at the women, then back up at him. "Sure. I'm hungry."

Filling
their paper plates to overflowing, he led her over to the side and pushed two
folding chairs together with his foot. She sat down, and he handed her plate to
her. Her appetite increased each day, and he secretly hoped that she carried
his baby.

The
subject of kids had never come up, and he doubted that she'd even thought about
the consequences of having unprotected sex. They fucked all the time, day and
night, and even with the difficulties some lynx had getting pregnant, he knew
deep down they'd have children. After losing his parents and one little
brother, karma owed him a family. Having Darren kept him sane all those years
after the killings.

Although,
he had pushed her extra hard through training, and that could account for her
increased appetite. She'd shifted and stayed inside her lynx more than usual
the past couple of weeks, and cats were notoriously hungry.

"It's
amazing how much I can connect with the women." Chloe waved her fork in
the air. "I thought it would be like it is when I go into Fairbanks and
everyone stares." She shook her head. "Kinda freaky, you know? I
think you're right. I'll be okay here with all of them."

"Dare
I say I told you so?" He winked and lifted his head to gaze out across the
room. "Most of these people I grew up with, some of them came later."
He pointed. "See the group hanging out by the back door?" He paused. "They
are the children of Johnny, Dominic, Chuck, and Sean…and their mates." He
smiled and turned toward Chloe. "I've watched them grow up since they were
babies."

Her
brows lowered. She swallowed her bite of food, and the corners of her lips
turned down. He could almost see the wheels turning inside her head while she
thought about the prospect of having children. He'd given her just enough
information for her to draw her own conclusion. He hadn't realized how much
having kids meant to him until he found Chloe.

"None
of the others who have mates have babies? Those kids are teenagers, right?"
She laid her fork on her plate and turned her head to view all the people in
the room again. "There are no babies in the group?"

"It's
difficult for two shifters to conceive." He sighed. "Not impossible,
but each woman who becomes pregnant is well cared for and protected for the
duration. Offspring means that our kind goes on for many years. That is very
important to all of us."

Chloe
dropped her gaze to the floor. She chewed on her lip and seemed to be lost in
her thoughts. He waited for her to grasp the reality of the shifters' existence
and understand the situation. It was a lot to take in, especially for her. She'd
never thought of mating, babies, and the Lynx as a group before.

Hell,
he'd bombarded her with so many startling facts in the short time they'd been
together, he didn't want her to have one more thing to worry about.

"Talk
to me, Aningan."

"I…I
have always wanted babies."
She inhaled.
"Growing
up an only child, I dreamed of the time that I'd have three or four of my own
to fill those quiet days here in the dark winter hours of Alaska."

Chloe
turned her head, brought her hand up, and wiped the corner of her eye. He
wanted to reach out to her and tell her that she would have the children she
wished for, but he'd never lie. Each female shifter dealt with the knowledge of
their existence in her own way.

"We
will take whatever we are given. If we are blessed…"
He shrugged.

She
returned her attention to her plate and jabbed at the food, but stopped once
she brought the fork to her mouth. "I've wanted to ask you something, but
every time you've distracted me." She gave him a shaky smile. "How do
you all earn money? Without the state paying me an income for the refuge, I
have no clue what I'll do. Even the state's kicker check is getting smaller
every year. Certainly not enough to live off of the rest of the time."

"Our
women do not work." He shook his head. "I'd never allow you to put
yourself in a position where your identity is at risk."

She
leaned back and raised her brows. "You wouldn't
allow
?" She laughed.
"Good one." A soft snort came from her direction.

"I'm
serious."

"Granger,
I have to do something. I'll go insane sitting at home waiting for you to
entertain me." She smiled, shook her head, and leaned closer. "You're
not kidding, are you?"

"Nope."

She
turned away and went back to stabbing her food. By the way she took out her
frustration on the food, in no time she'd wear a hole in the paper plate.

"There
are lots of things you can do around here. Ask the other women, and they will
tell you all the activities that keep them busy."

He
pointed across the room. "Lance works down at the mill during the summer,
Jonathon is a de-barker for a company in Fairbanks, and those two over there"—he
motioned with his head—"they take tourists out on fishing expeditions. The
rest have regular jobs with the locals."

"And
you?" She blew the hair out of her face.

The
corners of his mouth lifted. It pleased him to hear her interested in the life
the Lynx had built. "I'll make a deal with you." He lifted a piece of
venison, popped it into his mouth, and chewed. "After the party, I'll show
you what I do, okay? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Her
brows lowered, and she studied his face. "Fine."

They
finished their meal in silence. He communicated with Darren and let him in on
his plans for Chloe. She'd learn what he did for a living firsthand. He
chuckled and hurried to wipe the grin off his face.

"What's
so funny?" She didn't turn toward him, but stood and held out her hand for
his plate.

He
handed the trash to her and leaned back. "You, my curious cat."

She
scoffed and marched to the back of the cabin to throw away their plates. In the
opposite direction, Darren slipped out the front door after nodding at Granger.
He stretched out his legs, crossed his ankles, and smiled at the way the other
women clustered around his woman. She fit in perfectly with the other Lynx.

For
someone who worried about living here and getting along with people of her own
kind, Chloe seemed to have no problem touching the lives of the others. Her
alpha did her proud.

She
roamed the room. A friendly stroke to Susan's arm, a hug for Gretchen, a tender
caress to one of the younger women who lowered her eyes at the sight of the
alpha female—Chloe bonded with the women. She'd come so far; if he didn't know
any different, he'd have guessed she'd grown up knowing about her abilities and
accepted them.

"Hey,
Granger." Tucker sat down in Chloe's empty chair. "Your mate is
lovely. A great addition to the clan."