Isabel's Choice

Chapter 42 - Lars

It took Lightning twenty minutes to kill the bison, and me - two and a half hours to carry it home.

It would have been so much easier if we had just gone with my initial plan, of getting Isabel something special. Sadly, my proposal of breaching Jake's border and flaying Peter and Arnie was unanimously rejected, on account that I was "crazy" and "not even Ale would make gloves out of human skin".

So I dragged the brown beast through the forest. He was not the largest from his herd, but he had nice fur and I thought Isa would like that. I knew that she would give away everything else to the families of two girls she had almost killed in training. I don't really know why she leashed out on them like this, but she felt awfully guilty afterward.

I am not a Healer so my core doesn't request any apologies to the Life I have taken, but I do thank the bison for the offering. I wouldn't even have to do that, because I did pay with some blood. I will look dashing tomorrow morning with my cracked eye socket and a bruised jaw.

"Do you want me to wake up your mother?" Kari asks in the most demotivated tone when we collapse in front of the pack house.

"To heal me from injuries I got while I was killing a forest creature?" I mimic my mother's disappointed frown, complemented by a thick witch accent. "No, thank you."

„Midnight snack?" Eino asks, shifting next to us. He holds up a fat rabbit, whose fur is impeccably white, the puncture wounds on his neck barely visible. Because Hail is that swift.

„It's three in the morning," I say like it means something, but Kari is already walking to mom's car to get a knife and skin the kill, while Sven spawns one of his perfect hovering flames between us.

It's not long until my father hands me a crispy and deliciously-smelling rabbit leg. I refuse it, it's the young one's prey and he should eat first. Plus I am already satiated by their presence, by the fact that we are sitting again together like we used to do at Eagle Rock. Before Eino got his crazy wolf who is now feeding me but who, at some point in time, was only interested in taking my throat.

"Hey, bro, it seems Knox is ready to take over as Beta. When can I expect you back home?" Sven asks, proving that I am not the only one triggered by this moment.

"I was actually thinking of moving here. If I may," Eino answers quietly and my father almost drops his meat in the fire in shock.

I hold on tightly to mine as I am trying to figure out what game he is playing at this time. Because it is hard to understand why the heights addict, who is on his motorbike every Sunday at four in the morning to meet Liam and climb until exhaustion, would choose to stay on my flat territory.

"We can discuss it, but...why?"

"Sven already has two Betas," Eino smirks, referencing Gian who exchanged marks with Elsa on the very night of Ale's ultimatum. And by doing so, won a batch of lemon muffins made by my Luna, who bet on the fact that my cousin would stand her ground a little longer.

"And..." I gesture toward Eino to continue because what he offered is a non-argument. My uncle Timo is keeping his role as Beta out of boredom and maybe out of kindness, to allow his daughter and her mate to also enjoy life a little. He would retire without a second thought if Eino was interested in his position.

"And...your Luna is nicer to me than Alejandra. She feeds me and doesn't call me names."

We laugh at his half-true defense. Ale had issues with Eino since he was born. I think she felt with that typical pup intuition how much attention the puny baby stole from Sven - who was less puny, but still a baby himself. Or maybe it was because the Eagle Rock Luna and my youngest brother were more alike than they wanted to admit. Either way, their relationship had become borderline civil lately, and I was sure they would have eventually made a good team for their Alpha.

"And it is safer to raise Zero Two here.." Eino adds, feeling that his previous argument was not fully convincing.

"I am sorry, did you adjust your Life Plan because of pussy?" Sven spits ironically and my dad joins him in shaking his head confused. The two of them have few common interests, but they are one hundred percent aligned in their disdain for lynxes.

Eino shrugs as carelessly as he can, and I suddenly realize Sven is right, just not in the way he thinks he is.

The Betas on my territory have it easy as compared with the ones in the mountains, leaving enough free time for spontaneous dinners, partying, and surprise dates. And it's only a two hours drive from here up North whereas it takes much longer than that from Eagle Rock.

I am tempted to expose Eino, to remind him that he is pure Lycan and should stop acting like an infatuated human. But there is a black diamond ring on one of his dreads, which shines bright in the light of the flames that still dance between us.

I suddenly feel sorry for Raya and him, for their naivety that makes them think it will be so easy to reject their true mates, and then keep playing house, unmarked and unbound.

"I am not kicking you out, bro. As long as you can cohabitate with Knox and you don't have any hierarchy fights - it's fine for me," I tell him and the little one returns me one of his rare truly happy smiles before head-butting my shoulder as a sign of gratitude.

"Now, we have something for you," he says and Sven acquiesces with a nod, heading to his car.

He comes back with a small box that seems to contain fruits and vegetables. And a pack of condoms.

"Let's practice," the Firestarter grins, holding out a cucumber and a carrot. "What's your shape?"

"And it's goodnight from me," Kari stands and hurries towards the house, and waves to us over his shoulder. 

I wish he would stay, to help me burn the bodies of my brothers when I murder them.

"I know how to do that, bro," I growl at Sven.

"Excellent. Then we can go to the next step," Eino fumbles through the box, extracting a beaten-up book. "I know you don't read, but this one has pictures! Here, on page thirty we see a diagram of female anatomy..." he explains, pushing the volume in my face.

"I would throw that in the fire, but I think you still need it, Eino- I-am-too-large-for-human-vaginas," I reply, lowering his arm so that I can look at both of them. "I am anxious about tomorrow, but not about the mechanics," I confess and my voice is shaking more than I expected it to.

Eino and Sven are suddenly silent. One drops the book back in the box and the other one hides it behind his back embarrassed.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes."

Kind of. Isabel wasn't able to answer any of my direct questions regarding her borders. She shrank into herself, her beautiful freckles obliterated by a furious blush. So, besides paying attention during all the desperate fondling we had been doing, I also started to invent more or less indecent stories that would allow me to guess her triggers. I am fairly certain that she hates any kind of light, undressing by herself, and being taken from behind. When the witch boy attempted this with his Lycan Queen, Isa stiffened in my arms so badly that I was about to kill my main character with no remorse. Much to his luck, a battle had started outside of the Queen's chambers, and so he got to live another day.

"The first time is anyways...overrated," Sven yawns, leaning against my other shoulder. "How was yours, by the way, Eino?"

"Nice try," the little one growls, sandwiching me a little bit more between them. That's another one of my brother's secrets - with whom and how was his first time. He refused to talk about it, but since sex was one of his favorite activities - besides climbing and reading - we always assumed it was amazing. We still randomly ask the question, hoping one day we'll catch him off-guard and he'll betray himself.

"You'll do fine, Alpha," Eino whispers. "She's lucky to be mated to you."