Chapter Five – Iduna
It was a fact well proven throughout history that fear and anger could lead even the most docile of people to do things out of their characters.
Individuals who would otherwise abhor violence could turn into killers, and no matter how unjustified it was, they would find a way to validate their actions. Fear was the most dangerous emotion to exist. Iduna never thought she would find herself in a situation where her loving, tender father was considering killing anybody. Certainly not her mate when she just found him. But he was afraid. Afraid for her, afraid for his community. And that fear might drive him to do something they would all regret.
Iduna extracted herself from her father and hurried over to Stephen. In the dim light of the car, she could see his eyes widen and a thin coat of perspiration on his pale face.
She pushed aside the gun that Mr. Thompson from down the road was holding on her mate. Despite the surprised looks she got, she planted herself between Stephen and the Bears. Incredibly, they all stopped pointing their guns at him. Iduna folded her arms and glared at the faces around her. Somewhat younger than her own white-haired father, most of them were the parents of her classmates growing up. Some even encouraged their children to try to become friends with her. Good neighbors and friends to her parents.
"Stephen and the Wolves have nothing to do with the human attacks on us," she said firmly, though she had to resist the urge to rub her aching lower back. "And besides that, I don't appreciate you pointing guns at my mate."
Stephen turned. "What did you just say?"
"You're my mate. You felt it too, didn't you? My Bear sang when we kissed. She's never done that before."
"When you kissed?" Tyson's voice was guttural. "You kissed my daughter?"
"I kissed him first. Because he's my mate." Iduna put her hands on her hips and stared down her father. "You and Mommy were right when you said there is nothing logical about gaining a mate. It makes no sense. The age difference between us is larger than tends to be socially acceptable."
The other Bears grunted. Some shook their heads. Stephen's arms wrapped around her waist and began tugging her to one side.
"Don't worry about that right now, Iduna. Just don't stand in front of me like that. Your father and neighbors have every right to be suspicious of me. Especially how I just took you away from your community without stopping to think about your parents."
Iduna planted her feet. She might be small for a Bear, but she wasn't going to be budged. The ache in her back was working its way over her stomach now, making her wince. "I called Daddy to tell him I was okay. And I'm not a child, you didn't kidnap me. I'm a grown woman. If you kidnapped me, you wouldn't have brought me here."
"I know." Stephen actually sounded surprised that she would have to remind him.
It was odd, to have a man look at her as a woman, not as the naive child all the Shifters in her community saw her as.
Her father stepped forward. "Iduna, step away from him. If he's innocent he has nothing to fear."
The ache in her back was getting stronger, and a sharp jolt across her belly made Iduna gasp. She leaned back against Stephen for support as her knees buckled. His arms tightened around her.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" His voice rose high. Her Bear clicked her tongue at him, wanting to reassure him.
Iduna shook her head. "I think I'm just tired."
"Get away from him," her father said again. "We will deal with him as—"
"All of you, stop." Iduna's mother came out of the bushes, followed by several women. "We will not have more violence today. Put those damned guns away this instant. We will leave the Wolf's car here and head back to camp. Those hunters are human, not Wolves. This is what they would want, us turning against each other. In these times Shifters need to stand together."
Another sharp pain. Iduna grabbed her belly. Her eyes widened. No. She was only eight months along. She needed at least another thirty-two days for her baby's optimal development.
But stress could bring on early labor.
"Wolves are close to humans," Thompson was saying. "They're vicious killers. My grandparents were killed by Wolves when my mother was just a young girl."
"And mine bragged about how many Wolf pelts they had on their walls," Iduna’s mother replied. "Wolves have always been more open to taking non-Shifters as mates. They have a closer relationship with humans because of it. Maybe they can help us in this situation. But not if you shoot this one for no reason other than being a Wolf. Now put those guns down!"
Iduna cried out, arms wrapping around herself as a contraction shot through her stomach.
"Iduna!" three voices cried as one.
Her father wrenched her away from Stephen. Her Bear snarled, the sound rising up her throat. She pushed against him, not thinking about anything but getting back to her mate. Her mother joined her father, surrounding her. Iduna felt like she was being crushed between them, smothered by the desire to keep her safe from anything.
"Let go," she snarled. "Let go of me!"
Thompson had Stephen by the throat at this point, though the Wolf wasn't struggling, nor did it appear that the Bear was choking him at all. Still, Iduna felt her Bear rising, huffing a warning. She fought against her parents. Another contraction made her whimper, but she couldn't even think about that.
She wrenched herself free of her parents, leaping towards Thompson. Her fist flew, impacting his face hard. A jolt of pain ran up her arm but she ignored it, punching him in the gut. The larger Bear stumbled back, a surprised look on his face. Iduna wrapped her arms around Stephen, growling at the Bears that surrounded them.
Thompson stepped forward, teeth bared. Stephen whipped her around, hiding her behind his body. His whole being tensed, his fists raising. A threatening snarl emitted from him. He bobbed from one side to the other until the Bears backed away.
She rubbed her stomach with one hand and laid her other on Stephen's shoulder. "They're not going to hurt me. You know that."
Stephen's hands dropped. He blinked in surprise and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I've never reacted that way before."
"It's because you were protecting me. Your mate." Iduna smiled at him, then turned a frown on the other Bears. "He is my mate."
"He's too old," her father protested. "You deserve someone who can learn the wonders of the world with you."
"What does that even mean?" Iduna shook her head. "He's my mate. Haven't you always said that one day I'd find him? Just because he isn't what you expected doesn't mean he's not mine."
Tyson shook his head. "You're not thinking straight, sweetheart. It's the pregnancy—"
"It is not the pregnancy." Iduna paused and took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to discuss it. Clearly, her parents were feeling emotional. There would be no explaining things to them while they were in this state of mind when they couldn't think calmly and rationally. "If you think that Stephen was involved in the attack on the community, then we will go. But he had nothing to do with it, and I'm not leaving him."
"We need to get you to a hospital," Stephen said, his voice thick with worry. A hand rested on her belly. "If you're going into labor—"
"The contractions have stopped. I think it was just Braxton Hicks. False labor," she clarified. "I don't need to go to the hospital. Besides, I would rather have a midwife than a doctor. You know, the positions that doctors use in hospitals, the woman lying on her back, is for their ease, not the woman's. It actually narrows the birthing canal and makes labor more difficult, while a position such as squatting—"
"Enough." Thompson rolled his eyes. "We don’t need one of your lectures, Professor."
Iduna winced at the scathing tone. She wrapped her arms around herself and dropped her head. Stephen growled, but Thompson ignored him.
"The Wolf is coming back with us so he can’t tell the humans where we are. But he’s going to stay under constant guard."
Iduna was about to ask who put Thompson in charge when her father was older and wiser, but her father beat her to it.
"You do not have that authority to make that decision, Thompson. But if that is a suggestion, I agree with you."
The other men nodded. Iduna’s mother put her hands on her hips. "So do I, if you men care."
The sentiment was echoed by the other women. Iduna leaned against Stephen, shaking her head. "I don't!"
But nobody listened to her. As per usual.