Page 11 of Nathan (Aiden’s Mountains Shifters #5)
Chapter Eleven
Runa
“I promise it’s fine.”
Since I was uncomfortable staying in the house that smelled like a dispensary, Nathan had done his best to find a better place for me to stay. The motel in town made him nervous, though, and the next closest that he could tolerate was over an hour away in the city. When his dad suggested a tent on the beach, I accepted because it seemed like the easiest option for Nathan. I didn’t mind it. I slept outside more times than I could count. When I was younger, I used to have a hammock on the porch of our family home, and with proper warding against bugs, I’d sleep outside every night in the summer.
Nathan, however, was struggling with the idea. I wasn’t sure if that struggle had something to do with his paranoia, or the pregnancy itself, but he paced anxiously while his dad set up the tent for me.
“Would it make you feel better to stay with me?” I suggested.
He came to an abrupt halt, frowning deeply as he looked between me and the tent. When his gaze moved to the house and the surrounding area, he looked pensive. I didn’t ask him what caused him so much anxiety. He wasn’t in the right mindset to discuss it. Not without potentially making things worse.
“There. All done. It gets kinda windy since we’re on the water, but the stakes are in deep, so it should be fine. I picked up an air mattress not long ago. I was thinkin’ of takin’ a camping trip with Nate, see if letting his animal out more would help with the anxiety. You test it out for me. Tell me if I picked right, yeah?” Heath said brightly. He turned to his son as he stood, cocking his head. “Nate? You gonna stay out here or inside?”
Nathan’s discomfort was obvious, and I wasn’t going to force him. The offer was to help settle his animal, who was currently growling so loud it sounded like a storm was rolling in. I waved my hand toward the house.
“Go. Be where you’re comfortable. I’m comfortable out here. You remember what I said about nature?”
He nodded slowly, but he didn’t look any closer to making a decision either way. I left him to his own devices, stepping inside the tent to look around. It was big enough to almost fully stand in, wide enough for two twin air mattresses with some space between them. Heath obviously bought it so he and Nathan could share. It was sweet how much he cared about his son. The air mattress itself was still in the box, but it was self inflating and used a battery so it didn’t need a plug. I focused on setting it up while listening to Heath mutter encouragingly at his son to make a choice, then they both walked away a minute later.
The wind picked up, making the tent walls flutter. I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t hear them anymore, but I still understood their meaning.
“Shut up. He needs to heal. If staying out here is too much, then I'm not forcing him. Unless you finally want to speak up and tell me what’s wrong with him?”
The wind settled, and I nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“Who are you talking to?”
I jumped, spinning around to the opening of the tent. With the noise from the mattress filling and the wind being irritating, I hadn’t heard him approach. Nathan looked apprehensive, ducking a little just inside the tent, his arms full.
“The wind. It’s chatty and opinionated. What are you doing out here?”
His mouth twitched like he was fighting off a scowl. “My tiger is chatty and opinionated. He doesn’t want you out here without us.”
I rolled my lips between my teeth to hide my laugh. He was funny when he wasn’t jumping at every sound. I gestured around me, lifting my eyebrows. “Make yourself at home.”
With a smirk and a shake of his head, he stepped inside, offering me the bundle in his hands. “I noticed you didn’t bring any luggage. I brought you some of my clothes to sleep in. And some blankets and sheets for the mattress.”
“Thank you.” It was a sweet gesture, and I appreciated him trying to take care of me.
Sitting down on the ground beside me, he crossed his legs and hunched in on himself. He probably wasn’t comfortable with the lack of walls around him. I wished I could ward the tent to make him more comfortable.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked once the mattress was filled, and the tent had gone quiet again.
“You already did.”
He frowned for a second before huffing out a laugh and rolling his eyes. “That wasn’t what I wanted to ask.”
With a chuckle, I got comfortable on the edge of the air mattress and gave him an encouraging look. “Ask.”
“Why are you keeping it? You don’t even know me.”
He went straight for the big questions. Since I didn’t know how much Christian had blabbed when warning him away from me, I wasn’t sure if he was aware of my background. Or even what happened recently. I almost never shared what I was unless it was pertinent, but if we were raising a child together, he’d need to be aware. Just because I didn’t have my magic didn’t mean my child would be born without.
“Did Christian tell you what I am? Or… what I was?”
He shook his head, staring at me not with suspicion. More like… reservation. Like he wasn’t willing to treat me differently without the full story. It was refreshing.
“I was born a witch.”
His eyebrows snapped together, and he looked confused. “Witches are real?”
“Yes, witches are real. They went into hiding around the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The media gets a lot wrong, but the basic concepts are there. We are connected to nature, and our magic usually revolves around that connection. Every witch has their own specialties. My family was known for their healing abilities. Generations of healers run through my family line.”
He didn’t look like he fully believed me, which was fair. It wasn’t like I could give him a demonstration.
“You said ‘was’ twice now. You’re not a witch anymore?”
With a heavy sigh, filled with heartache, I turned my face away from his. “Not technically. I misused my magic, and it was taken from me. It's not something I want to discuss right now. The pertinent part is that while my connection with nature is very weak, I still get some messages. The wind is the loudest and most persistent. When I thought of getting rid of the seedling, it kicked up a fuss and reminded me of a witch’s purpose. At least in my family, I was taught that all life is precious, down to the smallest seed.” I pressed my hand to my belly for emphasis. “To get rid of it would be to go against everything my family ever taught me. Just because I can’t use magic anymore doesn’t mean I want to stray so far from my history.”
He looked confused and a little wary, but he didn’t say anything more. He gave me his back while I changed into the clothes he brought me and set up the bed while I was changing. I’d traveled a lot the last few days, and I was exhausted, so even though it wasn’t overly late, when I crawled into bed, I felt the darkness tugging at my senses.
Nathan didn't move from his spot on the other side of the tent, his focus locked on the entrance that we’d already zippered closed. He was waiting for someone to burst in and get him, which wasn’t healthy in the slightest.
“Would it make you feel better to shift? Since your tiger won’t let you go inside?”
He shook his head quickly. “I don’t trust my tiger around you. He’s broken and–”
A snarl cut him off. His tiger didn’t like him talking trash, apparently. I sighed, pushing up to my elbow to look at him.
“In my time with the shifters of Blackridge and the dragon’s mountains, I’ve learned plenty about their natures. One of the common themes among them is that they don’t hurt cubs. Cubs are precious and to be protected at all costs. Even cubs who haven’t gotten to air yet. You might have issues with your animal, but unless you think he’s gone feral and needs to be put down, I don’t think he’d hurt me. Not while I’m carrying his cub, anyway.”
Nathan looked like he’d rather do anything else, but the tiger was persistent and demanding now that the idea was out there. Nathan curled in on himself in an attempt to keep the animal inside, but the tiger didn’t listen and ripped out of him before I could reach out to comfort him. Power brushed along my senses, and I shut my eyes automatically. When I opened them again, a snow white Siberian tiger sat beside me, a heavy growl in the air.
Pushing to sit up fully, I regarded the animal. Without my magic, I couldn’t truly see what was going on with him, or why Nathan thought he was broken. When he didn’t attack, I moved to sit on the edge of the mattress, facing him fully.
It was in his eyes. Nathan was there, but not fully in control. Their connection wasn’t how it should be. I recognized it after years of healing people. Shifters needed a strong connection with their animals or they’d go insane. Ethan was a prime example of someone who struggled with that connection. He told me once how it had been when he was first turned against his will. He’d been worried he wouldn’t survive.
Nathan wasn’t there yet. His tiger was dominating the conversation, but he wasn’t completely kicking Nathan out. I reached for him, running my fingers through the fur of his face.
“You’re not playing nice, are you?”
He chuffed at me, completely unrepentant. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“He’s going to keep fighting you if you don’t work with him. If you want him confident around the cub, you need to play nice.”
I’d seen annoyance on an animal’s face before. The tiger wasn’t willing to give up just yet. Without my magic, I’d need more time to figure out how to help them. The wind wasn’t offering any answers right now.
Tipping my head towards the mattress, I gave him a significant look. “I’m tired. I’m going to lie down. Show him you can be trusted. Don’t cause trouble.”
That, the tiger could agree with. He nudged me with his big head, watched me get comfortable, then laid next to the mattress with his eyes on the door. He’d keep watch. Hopefully, he’d get some sleep eventually. Nathan obviously needed it.