Morning came faster than Erin had expected. It seemed as if she’d only closed her eyes for two seconds last night and when she opened them, it was morning. Yes, she’d had a dreamless sleep and now she was awake, feeling refreshed and ready to go to work and gloat at Devon about how she’d known all along that his stupid dream stone was nothing but an ordinary pebble that he’d probably picked up at a riverbank somewhere and transformed it into something special with his fake story about werewolf legends. What a tall glass of horseshit. And to think that she’d nearly fallen for it. Ha!
With an unusual burst of energy, Erin sat up in bed and threw back the covers, but the moment her feet hit the floor, she knew something was wrong. Her energy levels immediately dropped down to zero as soon as she looked at her feet and saw them encased in a pair of primitive leather booties instead of the soft woolen socks she’d worn to bed last night. The tan carpets on her floor had been replaced with what looked like bear fur, although she couldn’t figure out how she knew that particular information. She looked up and to her horror, discovered that she was not inside her bedroom, even though this place seemed familiar, but in a strange room that looked like a wigwam. Woven mats and leather apparel were hung on the walls, there were three baskets in a corner of the room and what looked like a clay pot with a cover on it, placed near the entrance of the room. The lingering smell of smoke and roasted meat in the atmosphere made her feel as if she had just woken up on a campsite.
As she continued to observe her surroundings, her confusion slowly gave way to dread, and her brain refused to accept what her eyes were seeing. Where was she? What is this place and why was she dressed in – wait, what was she wearing? A dress made of fur and animal skin? No way!
“This isn’t happening,” she whispered to herself. “This can’t be happening.”
Had Devon been right after all? Had she somehow been transported back in time by the dream stone? Was any of this even real or was she dreaming?
She lifted the makeshift pillow on her bed and to her surprise, the dream stone was there. Erin picked it up, staring at it as if willing the pebble to say something to her and assure her that she was hallucinating, and this weird place she’d found herself in wasn’t real.
“What is happening?” She asked the stone, even though she knew she wouldn’t get an answer from it. “Where am I?”
Erin heard what sounded like the shuffling of feet outside her room and before she could gather her thoughts and figure out what could be going on, the flank at the entrance of her room swung open and a man stepped in. He was tall and broad, and his presence seemed to fill the entire room even though he was only standing at the doorway. There was something familiar about the man, but she couldn’t quite place it. He was dressed in a matching vest and breeches that were made of animal skin and artfully decorated with fur and beads. His forehead was encircled by a colorful headband with a grey feather stuck on one side above his left ear. The man’s dark hair was held up in a half bun and the rest fell down his back in rich waves. He was indeed a sight to behold and she couldn’t help but notice the instant physical attraction she felt toward him.
“I have come to fetch you for the morning meal,” said the man blandly. “You will have a short time to attend to your personal needs after then before we ride home.”
Erin was immediately irritated by the man’s rudeness. Not even a ‘good morning’ or ‘hey, how are you?’ and what did he mean by riding home? Wasn’t this place her home? Strangely enough, he did not speak English, but she understood what he had said perfectly.
“Who are you?” She asked him. She’d spoken in English, but her words came out as the native Athabascan language which the man spoke. How that was even happening was beyond her imagination.
The man blinked and then his look of surprise was replaced with annoyance. “What do you mean? Is this a time to jest?”“I’m not jesting!” Erin snapped, equally annoyed. “I’m legit confused and I don’t even know where I am, or what this place is, or what the heck is going on here.”“Why do you speak so strangely?” Asked the man, mystified. “Are you unwell?”Erin let out a sigh of exasperation. For all his good looks, this man had nothing to offer in the way of intelligence. But… what if it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand her? What if the dream stone had truly transported her back in time and now she was in her past life just as she had thought about before she fell asleep last night? Could that explain her sudden understanding of the Athabascan language?No way! She thought, rejecting the possibility. Time travel wasn’t possible – forget
Her mother came into the room shortly after Danshak’s departure. Erin still hadn’t recovered from the shocking turn of events in the last couple of minutes since she woke up. Either someone was playing a cruel joke on her, or she was developing some sort of mental problem. Or she was truly in a different dimension, even though that was most likely impossible.“How are you, my dear child?” Her mother asked. In this era, Bernice Brown had waist-length hair, dressed in leather and fur clothing with a woolen quilt thrown around her shoulders. She even looked younger here than she did in the future, that is, if this was really the past.“Here, drink this. It will make you feel better,” she said and offered Erin a bowl of broth that didn’t smell so good.“Um, thank you, but I’m fine,” said Erin, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unattractive smell wafting out of the bowl.Her mother smiled. “
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?”“Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.”“He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.”“I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically.“But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?”“Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werew
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?” “Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.” “He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.” “I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically. “But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?” “Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werewolf to attain than that.” This piece of information seemed even extra s
It was midday when her eyes finally fluttered open and she regained her consciousness. She could guess what time it was by the position of the sun, even though she couldn’t fathom how she knew that fact.“She is awake,” whispered a female voice beside Erin. She turned her head and came face to face with a younger version of her present-day/future sister-in-law, Aubrey Silver.“Aubrey, is that you?” Asked Erin.“Who do you speak of? You know that is not my name,” said the Aubrey lookalike. “Have you still not recovered?”“Don’t trouble her, Abna,” said Erin’s mother. She sat at the edge of the bed and placed a warm hand on her daughter’s forehead in a universal gesture of manually checking body temperature. “You do not have a fever, thank the gods. Your sister will go fetch you a bowl of food for you to eat. Perhaps it was hunger that made you faint.”Her
Abna stopped brushing her hair and returned the comb to the box, then she picked out a small stick from it and presented it to Erin. The thin stick was frayed on one end as if someone had been chewing on it.“What’s this for?” Erin asked.“Oh, please stop with the jesting now,” said Abna impatiently. “Clean your teeth quickly, so that we can go outside together to meet your in-laws. We cannot keep them waiting any longer.”“Yes, boss,” Erin muttered under her breath and stuck the strange little stick into her mouth. It tasted familiar although she knew for a fact that she had never used a chewing stick before in her life.A beautiful young woman entered the room with her hands clasped in front of her as if awaiting instructions from them.“Good morning, my ladies,” she greeted politely. “Your mother sent me to get your things for the trip.”“Good morning, Sei
“I heard you were not feeling too well this morning,” said the Prime Alpha. “Do you feel better now?”“Yes, sir,” said Erin unsurely. How did they address the supreme leader in this era? Was it sir? Your majesty? Or your Lordship?“Please, pardon her manners, my Alpha King. She is clearly still in recovery,” her father spoke up from behind her.Vak responded to the apology with an understanding smile, but Erin could see that her new husband, Danshak, wasn’t too pleased with her slip up judging by the scowl on his face as he regarded her with hard eyes.“I apologize, my Alpha King,” said Erin quietly. It wouldn’t do to offend her father-in-law and shock the entire clan with bad manners on her first day of joining the ruling family.“You will ride in the wagon with your maid,” said Vak. “I do not believe that you are strong enough to ride on your mare just yet.
Erin was taken aback by his harsh words and her temper bubbled to the surface, propelling her to her feet. “I should be satisfied with having you as a mate? What is that supposed to mean? Listen, I am the prize here, not you. Your father needed mine in his army and that was why you were thrown into the mix to keep my father happy and yours secure in the knowledge that he has a strong warrior backing him up. You should be grateful to me and my father for agreeing to this alliance, and not the other way around. And as for expectations… you don’t have what it takes to be tender or loving, even if you tried because you don’t know what any of that means. You can’t give what you don’t have, so don’t bother your head about that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to return to the wagon for the next leg of this trip. I can see the riders in front already mounting their horses. You should go and join them.”She swept past hi