Page 3 of Mitchell’s Untamed Mate (More Than Human #2)

M itchell broke the branches with a satisfying snap, adding smaller pieces to the crackling fire. He had left the village before sunrise four days earlier after a brief word with Connell. He had intended to venture out on his own, meticulously inspect the surroundings for any signs of his clan's presence, and indulge in a bit of hunting before making his way back to their newly settled location. Jace's arrival was the last thing he had expected, and he couldn't help feeling a surge of frustration that Jace had decided to check up on him. The irony was not lost on him that, in this case, the human was less welcome than the shifter.

He tossed a last piece onto the fire and turned to watch Tracy. She had set up a shelter a short distance from the fire and had pulled several items out of her large satchel. Curious, he walked over to examine the items.

“What is this?” he asked, picking up a pouch with a mountain and a grizzly on the front.

She grinned at him. “Dinner. That is,” she peered at the package, “… all vegetable lasagna. I have some dried olive bread to go with it. I’ve also got blueberry crème br?lée for dessert.

“This is food? It sounds like dried leaves,” he commented, squeezing the package.

Tracy laughed. “You’ll see.”

“How do you cook it?”

She picked up a small burner and propane tank. “All I need is this and some water.”

“Really?”

She laughed again. “Yes, really. You can help if you’d like.”

He watched her curiously. “You’ll share this lasagna with crème br?lée ?”

“I will with you. Jace can eat whatever he brings back,” she clarified, connecting the stove to the propane tank.

His eyes widened with surprise before he slowly grinned mischievously. “Fair enough. Was it the knife that put him in the doghouse or was he there from the moment he started running his mouth?"

She chuckled as she finished filling the pot with water.

"Tough choice, but I think it was the knife that did it."

Mitchell grimaced. "Fair enough," he said again. He took the water bottle from her outstretched hand, turning the clear container in his hands, and watched her ignite her tiny stove. His lips parted with awe, and he squatted to see the powerful blue flame.

“This is truly amazing,” he said, rising again.

“What’s amazing is that I can have a decent meal in less than ten minutes without really having to cook. I’d starve to death if I had to depend on my cooking,” she grudgingly confessed.

He frowned. “You eat nothing but these meals? Do all shifters eat these?”

She picked up the bag from the log and shook her head. “No, thank the goddess. Most of the time I either eat out or I devour Martha’s amazing cooking when I’m home.”

“Martha…. Is she your mother?” he asked.

She made a face and shook her head. “No. I am my mother’s daughter.”

“Of course you are; whose else would you be?”

She looked at his suspiciously innocent face and scrunched her nose at his literal interpretation. He thought it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Stepping closer, he couldn’t help but notice how his presence made her swallow nervously, her throat bobbing with each gulp. He lifted his hand and caressed her throat. Her pulse beat frantically against his fingertips.

“You like to play with fire, don't you?” she quipped, her eyes locked with his.

He dropped his hand and stepped back from her. The flicker in his eyes warned her that Jace was returning. She swallowed and turned away.

“It would have been nice if we had been near a river. Nothing in the stream. I found some mushrooms. Dinner is going to be meager,” Jace said, dropping the mushrooms he was carrying onto the log.

“Didn’t you bring some dried meat?” he asked.

Jace shrugged. “I ate it already. If I had known you were going this far, I would have brought more. Do you have any?”

Tracy snorted at the hopeful tone in Jace’s voice. “Dinner is ready.”

“Dinner? What is it? Worms and beetles? Isn’t that what shifters eat?” Jace asked.

Mitchell raised an eyebrow at Tracy in inquiry. She gave him a rueful crooked smile.

“My father believes in showing grace,” she murmured.

“What is 'grace'?” he asked.

Her eyes flickered to Jace who was silently watching their exchange. She huffed and handed Mitchell a bowl before stepping around him, pasting a fake smile to her lips, and offering the other bowl to Jace.

“I don’t eat meat. This is vegan lasagna with vegetables,” she said.

Jace took the bowl and sniffed at the food. Watching him, Mitchell didn’t miss the suspicious look in Jace’s eyes, nor the way they widened with surprise when he took a bite of the hot, savory meal.

“Do you have more?” Jace asked around a mouthful of food.

Mitchell hid his grin when Tracy shot him a saucy wink.

“I have some bread and will make us a dessert—to celebrate our first dinner together,” she replied.

Jace took the bread she held out. “This is good. I’ve never had 'vegan lasagna' before. I thought shifters would be eating other things.”

Tracy lifted an eyebrow at Jace as she set up another pouch to cook so she could also have dinner. Mitchell handed her his own meal, determined to be the last one to eat if there wasn't enough for them all to eat at the same time. She smiled at him.

He wondered if Jace was going to talk himself out of being allowed to eat the crème br?lée. If it was half as good as the vegan lasagna, he wouldn't mind eating Jace's share.

“The worst things we eat are fish eggs, sardines, and anchovies… oh, and snails. Goddess, but I hate the observatory dinner parties. Why anyone would think those things are supposed to be called food is beyond me. Give me a veggie burger or a pizza with broccoli, tomatoes, black olives, and onions. Now, that is fine eating,” she replied, waving her long spoon at Jace.

“You mentioned your father. Your parents are still alive? I know you have a brother,” Mitchell said.

“Has he killed Ella yet?” Jace asked.

Tracy paused and stared at Jace in shock. “Of course not! Why would he do something so terrible?”

Jace shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because half the village wanted her and her beast dead for good reason… except Mitchell, of course. A guy shouldn’t kill the lady he is supposed to marry, right, Mitchell?”

“A guy—” Tracy’s voice faltered and she studied his face. “You and Ella?—”

“It wasn’t like that,” he interjected, shooting Jace an angry glare.

Tracy lowered her dinner to her lap and studied his face. “Then what was it like?”

Mitchell had never really thought about it. It was just the way things were.

“The elders of our village find matches. There aren’t many of us left. We do what we have to do,” he said in a blunt tone, hoping that would end the conversation.

“Yeah, I could see the need to keep as much genetic diversity as possible. Well, I’m glad it didn’t work out. Ella is perfect for my brother. They're so in love,” she said.

Jace scoffed. “It isn’t natural.”

“Why not? Shifters and humans are compatible,” she countered.

Jace sneered. “If a human doesn’t mind fu?—”

Mitchell rose and took a menacing step toward Jace. “I’d watch your next words carefully, Jace.”

Jace raised his hands. “We’ll just have to agree to disagree.”

Mitchell sank back down on the log. He was surprised when instead of being angry with Jace, Tracy’s expression held compassion.

“I can understand, you know,” she said, looking at both of them. “I would probably feel the same way if the situation was reversed. What happened centuries ago was a tragedy. It should never have happened. Unfortunately, it did. I can’t change the past. Neither can my people, but we have come a long way since then. I think if you’d give me—us—a chance, you’d see that things aren’t as bad as you think.”

“Yeah, well, how is it working out for Ella?” Jace retorted.

Tracy lifted her chin. “Ella is doing very well. She is loved by all my family and is under the protection of the United Species of North America. My brother adores her.”

“So, it is all rainbows and shifters,” Jace mocked.

“Jace, quit being an ass,” Mitchell snapped.

Jace glared at Mitchell. “You still dreaming of shifters and humans living side-by-side in some fairytale world? You know, she could rip your throat out before you even knew what happened if she wanted.”

Tracy blew out a breath in exasperation. “Yes, I could. Just like you could stick a spear into me. Fortunately for you, I’m not a savage and neither is my bear. We can control ourselves. You might want to try that sometime.”

“Yeah, well, thanks for the dinner.”

“Where are you going?” Mitchell asked, frowning when Jace stood and gathered his gear.

Jace gave him and Tracy a sardonic smile. “I’ll take my chances somewhere else. When should we be expecting you back?”

Mitchell glanced at Tracy. “I’ll return in a few days. Let the others know to keep watch.”

“Will do.”

A sense of relief washed through him that he wouldn’t have to deal with Jace for a while. His friend had changed a lot over the last couple of years. Hell, who was he kidding? Their friendship had never been the same after the night Jace gut punched him.

“Will he be alright?”

Mitchell nodded. “Yeah. He’s too mean and tough. Nothing in these woods would want to eat him. They’d probably choke to death if they tried.”

She chuckled at his joke before she sobered. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

She waved a hand in the direction Jace had disappeared. “For scaring your friend off.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t scare him off. He just saw exactly what he didn't want to see.”

“And what was that?”

With the fire casting a warm glow, he took a moment to study every contour and expression of her face. “My reaction to you.”

The United Countries of Eastern Europe Shifters

“Would you like anything else, ma’am?” the house servant inquired.

“No, that will be all for now. Thank you, Frances,” Isabella Wyland replied, settling back against the plush cushioned chair to enjoy the peace and quiet.

It was a beautiful, cloudless day. She could see for miles across the vineyard from the balcony of her chateau nestled in the Eastern European Alps that bordered with the Siberian Shifters of the Northern Hemisphere. The region was remote, providing her the chance to distance herself from the political fall-out from her half-brother’s kidnapping of the first living human found in modern times. While it had been Theodore’s plan, Isabella had provided the financial and man-power required to make the attempt happen.

Surrounded by majestic peaks, her chateau stood as a solitary figure amidst the grandeur of the Earth’s highest mountains. The valley was a vibrant emerald green, nourished by the annual spring melts cascading down from the towering mountain ranges. With its vast vineyards spanning nearly five hundred acres, this property was just a single piece of her extensive collection of hidden assets.

The shuffle of feet intruded into her morning meditation, causing her to purse her lips in annoyance. As Hyder advanced onto the marble terrace, her irritation magnified, worsened by the sight of him shamelessly helping himself to the food that Frances had meticulously crafted for the buffet. Boundaries were a foreign concept to the man. If his unique skill set hadn’t aligned with her plans, she would have let him go a while ago.

Perhaps the time has come, she thought when he set his plate down across from her.

“I don’t remember inviting you to breakfast,” she sniped.

“No sense in letting it go to waste,” he replied.

His insolence ignited a seething irritation within her. She focused on enjoying her morning herbal tea. A light breeze gently lifted the edge of the newspaper that Frances had included with her morning refreshments. Choosing to ignore Hyder, she unfolded the paper and immediately fixated on the bold headline.

Human Discovered Alive!

“I was goin’ to tell ya that the Newsies found out,” he said.

“I’m not surprised that Michaela released the news,” she responded.

Few dared to tangle with Michaela Bearclaw-Kodiak, President of the United Species of North America, a woman renowned for her razor-sharp cunning and calculated decision-making. It was one reason that Isabella and her half-brother, Theodore, were forced to disappear for a while. The human that was discovered was the mate of Michaela’s nephew, Ty Bearclaw.

It had taken weeks for the bruises the human inflicted on her to heal. She had underestimated the human female. She would not do that again.

There were no pictures in the paper of the human, only of Michaela as she addressed the nation. The article did not mention where the human had been found or if there were others. There was also no mention of what happened at Theodore’s home or the woman’s subsequent kidnapping.

“Have you found a replacement for Abe?” she inquired.

“Yeah. You’re gonna hate him. Too bad about Abe. It isn’t easy to get a gorilla shifter to do some of the stuff he did. The new guy won’t have any trouble, though.”

Hyder’s grin revealed the remnants of his meal: bits of food lodged between his teeth. A wave of disgust washed over her, causing her to shift her attention quickly back to the newspaper. She hoped to glean information on where the woman had been discovered. During the interview, a wolverine shifter revealed that he had been fined for digging a trap on protected land. He explained that he did so after someone broke into his shed, although there was no concrete evidence linking the human to the break-in.

Except Ty Bearclaw.

“I want you to find a wolverine shifter named Clevis Shackle,” she instructed.

“What do you want me to do when I find him?” Hyder asked.

“Find out about this trap he dug and where it was located. That is where you’ll start your search,” she said.

Hyder picked a piece of food out from between his teeth and looked at it on the tip of his finger before he sucked it back into his mouth. She tapped her finger, waiting for his next question. He reached down and wiped his finger on the tablecloth.

“What am I searching for? The girl ain’t going to be there,” he said.

Isabella released an exasperated sigh. “If there was one, there are bound to be more. I want you to capture me one.”

Hyder sat back with a frown. “You want a male or a female?”

“Just bring me a human, for Goddess’s sake! If this is too complicated, perhaps I should hire someone else to do the job. This time right.”

“I got this. I’ll even bring you two… since the first one slipped away,” he offered, tossing his cloth napkin in the middle of his egg-yolk-and-syrup-laden plate before he pushed back his chair and rose.

Isabella sat back in her chair as Hyder departed. Deep in thought, she ignored Frances who had silently come to remove the dishes and refill her tea. Only after she was alone once again did she reach for her phone. Pressing the number in her contact list, she lifted the phone to her ear and waited. A deep voice answered on the second ring.

“I have a job for you,” she said.

“I’m out.”

“You are not out until I say you are, my dear boy.”

Her challenge was met with silence. A malicious smile curved her lips. She knew he wouldn’t dare end the call because she had his life at her mercy. The sound of his heavy breaths solidified her conviction that he wouldn’t venture off course.

“What do you want?”

“I want the same thing I asked for before,” she said.

“The security around Ella is extensive. Any move on her will not only piss off Ty Bearclaw, but the rest of the family, which includes the President.”

“Not her then. There are others. I want you to find them and tell me where they are located. I don’t want you to engage, just find them. I’ll do the rest,” she ordered.

“If I do, I want your promise that my debt is paid.”

“Once I have a human in my hands,” she said.

“I want your promise.”

Isabella chuckled. “You’ll have my promise—when I get my human.”

She disconnected the call and relaxed back with a smile. The weak, the stupid, and the noble were all easy to manipulate if you had the right skills and leverage. Lorne Timberwolf was neither weak nor stupid, but he was very honorable and noble… to the point that when this was over, he would be willing to give his life in exchange for another.

“Goddess, I love a good cup of tea. Thank you, Frances,” she exclaimed when the loyal antelope shifter came forward with a fresh pot of tea.