Chapter Eight: Jorah

 

I t took another couple miles up the mountains trail to find one of his secret caves.

Jorah had to force himself to calm down in order to find it, his ragged breathing and thumping heart only quickening because of how badly the woman began to shiver. This far up the mountain snow blanketed the ground and the chilled wind cut sharper than knives. Jorah’s own heavy sweat began to form icicles in the cold. Worse yet, a snowstorm threatened to blow in, causing Jorah to hurry, fighting through the burning in his hind legs and sides, eager to find a place for them both to rest.

And then he found it through the dusk, the small cave opening he remembered stocking with warm clothes and drink and now stale food. The fit was tight, too tight for a full-sized bear to waddle in, so he gently placed the female shifter down in the snow so he could shift to his human form, her body arching at the touch of the frost. Cursing under his breath as he shifted and scooped her up in his burly arms, Jorah slid inside, somehow managing to find a woven cot on the floor in the darkness. Placing her gently on the cot, she curled up, and Jorah quickly made to move a bundle of thick sticks tied together as a makeshift door over the entrance, to help soften the flow of the cold air.

The woman still shuddered, though, and so Jorah’s next thought involved finding a flintstone and some extra wood. Squinting in the darkness of the cave, Jorah managed to find a stockpile of clothes, a chest of spoiled food just as he predicted, a few hideskin jugs of cold ale and a few flintstones. But no wood.

Cursing, Jorah took to flintstones and a few articles of clothing and tossed them close to the woman. Using the flintstones he fought for a few sparks of light. Failing, he began to strike the flintstones harder and quicker, finally creating sparks and setting the clothes on fire, lighting up the cave and warming the immediate area. He knew the fire alone wouldn’t be enough to help the girl, so he quickly grabbed a large, wool blanket that Dallan had once stitched together. Gently placing himself over the woman, he wrapped one arm around her, pulling her body to his, and then placed the blanket over them both.

Dallan’s wise words echoed in his mind: if one wanted to save another from dying of the cold, body heat would scare the frost away. As much of a hardass as Dallan was, he’d taught Jorah everything he knew. Striking fires, warming another with one’s own body, stitching together blankets. If the female wolf shifter survived, she’d have Dallan to thank as much as him.

But thoughts of Dallan quickly faded as Jorah realized the brevity of his situation.

Not only did he venture down to the Oldwood, even stepped foot into the forest, but he’d saved a wolf shifter, of all creatures, and brought her up the mountain. His meaty hands put pressure on the soft small of her back, her skin gentle and seeming to suck in his fingers. The rest of her body, slender and soft, pressed close to his torso without his prodding, as if she were desperately trying to suck the warmth out of him. Her small hands pawed his chest and shoulders, gripping tightly to the point of piercing his skin. Jorah winced at the pain, but managed to stay still, focusing on the woman’s pink lips, her rosy cheeks, her long eyelashes, the curling, almost glistening locks of blonde hair that tickled his chin and nose. He found her legs beginning to intertwine with his, tensing his body.

Jorah did his best not let his mind wander in the unsavory plains of lust while she gradually grew closer and closer to him. Whoever she was, she was beautiful, more beautiful than any other woman he’d ever met or seen. Like a woodland nymph, an angel who fell from the heavens. It wasn’t difficult to see how entranced Jorah had become with her while they lay quietly together, warming each other under the blanket from the cold chill of the oncoming night.

This delicate being was what the Seers were afraid of? Jorah grinned at how foolish their laws were. Sure, maybe half an hour ago this fragile shifter was madly fighting off a group of enemies that wanted to see her throat ripped out, but now Jorah was convinced that this shallow breathing nymph was her true nature.

Obviously, Jorah hadn't gotten to actually converse with her yet, though he relished the thought, but he was sure she’d not only see reason, but would be friendly as well, eager to learn about the Bear Clan. Maybe even become interested in him…

Is that what Jorah wanted? For a female shifter from another clan to suddenly take an interest in him now that he’d saved her? He chuckled at himself. As if she’d fall in love with him instantly, though there was no denying his immediate attraction to her.

The woman suddenly inhaled sharply and twitched in his arms, so Jorah loosened his grip just enough for her to squirm. Her delicate brows furrowed, and her mouth clamped shut despite the groans arising from her throat.

“Easy now,” he whispered to her, unsure of whether she was awake or just rustling subconsciously due to some dream.

When Jorah was confident enough to say the woman was warm enough to survive without clutching onto his body, he carefully untangled himself from her and slid out from under the covers, checking her all over to make sure he hadn’t accidentally missed any bleeding wounds. Luckily, she wasn’t torn to pieces, just smacked around. Leaving her to rest by the fire, Jorah went to the pile of clothes, picking out a few garments for himself. Once he finished putting on his thick woolen jerkin, he rummaged in the pile for garments that might fit his guest. Considering none of the clothes were really meant for a thin female, he guessed at the sizes and created a tiny pile near the foot of her cot.

With nothing else to do, Jorah grabbed a hideskin jug of ale and sat down cross legged across from the cot, his back against the cold, smooth cave interior. It might have been creepy to anyone else, but he just watched her while he drank his fill of the ale, unable to rip his gaze away. That is, until the crunching of snow and voices from the outside reached his ears.

Rapidly, Jorah leapt to his feet, his body tensing at the sounds, and steeling himself for whoever, or whatever, pushed aside his makeshift door. Exhausted from the previous battle, he wasn’t exactly physically or mentally ready to handle back-to-back fights, but maybe he’d get lucky.

And he did, because the three voices that trudged closer were all too familiar.

Keanu moved Jorah’s makeshift door aside first before ducking to walk inside. Frowning at the fire, Keanu’s gaze immediately widened at the sight of Jorah. “You’re here…” he simply said.

“What, who’s here?” Finn’s ecstatic voice said from behind the big guy. Instead of Finn, Nyx wiggled past Keanu a moment later, her frigid frown breaking just like Keanu’s as her eyes locked onto him. “Come on, move it Keanu!” Finn shouted.

“Where the hell have you been?” Nyx promptly asked, a hint of anger and frustration edging her voice. She jerked forward, running up to him and embracing him. “We thought maybe you’d left for good...normally it doesn’t take you this long to come back up.”

Jorah returned the embrace, catching Keanu’s longing look at Nyx’s back and quickly releasing her. “Look, I can explain everything, but I’m going to need you guys to keep it down.”

“Some of the Seers saw us come back up,” Nyx said rapidly, her voice loud and echoing in the cave. As she spoke, Finn finally managed to wiggle into the cave behind her. “They brought us to Dallan for punishment, and when he asked what happened, we explained we just went down a little bit, to look out over the world. We tried to pretend like you weren’t involved, but of course this is Dallan we’re talking about. He ordered us to come find you and bring you back for punishment.”

Jorah clicked his tongue. It was a sure bet Dallan wouldn’t go so easy on him this time, especially with who he’d brought along from the Oldwood. “That’s great, Nyx, but please calm down and lower your voice, okay?”

The female shifter in the cot rolled over to her side, moaning something, catching everyone’s attention.

“What the hell is that?” Finn said, pointing at the woman in the cot. Everyone looked to Jorah with curious looks. “I know I’ve never seen her before.”

Nyx finally lowered her voice, her expression drooping. “Were we...interrupting something.”

Oh geez, this wouldn’t turn out well if Jorah didn’t pick his next words carefully. He could picture the immediate future, Nyx exploding at him about his journey to the foot of the mountain. So, he gulped, and cleared his throat. “Okay, look, this isn’t what it seems like, but you’re all going to need to sit down to hear this tale. You might not even believe it.”

“This ought to be good,” Finn commented.

The trio proceeded to plop down on the ground, each eyeing him suspiciously, Nyx frowning the hardest of them all, and Jorah told them all about the events that had just taken place.