Chapter 82: She Was Getting Used to the Bear

Thorne waited outside the orchard packing shed in panther form, his bags secured and his body low beside a dry wall. Edrik carried Dove to him, and she caught the bear’s good hand before letting go. "Thank you for getting me out. Don’t ruin it by pretending your arm didn’t hurt."

"A little," he admitted, which earned him a squeeze. Thorne asked whether she intended to spend the whole road in Edrik’s arms. Dove settled against his warm fur. "Jealous? You can hold me all night, provided you don’t complain when I steal the blanket."

"I wouldn’t complain," Edrik said. Thorne chuffed beneath her, and she scratched behind his ear until his tail moved despite the blood still drying on somebody else’s road behind them.

The orchard track joined a paved road toward Three Rivers. They passed a boarded dealership, then houses with smoke rising from several chimneys. Pine Ridge School stood behind a chain-link fence, its yellow bus blocking one driveway and its kitchen loading entrance serving as the checkpoint.

A guard carrying a hunting rifle stopped mid-question when he saw Dove. His partner breathed in and stepped closer, caught between her loose blonde hair and whatever her water-treated skin smelled like to him. Edrik moved into his path without raising his voice.

"Finish checking us in from there," the bear said. Thorne’s growl rumbled beneath her thighs, and Dove put a hand between his ears before addressing the guard herself. "A room, dinner, and directions. In that order, before either of these men decides you’ve forgotten how to be useful."

The man found his manners. Thorne lowered her under the covered entrance, then shifted and dressed behind a tarp while Edrik stayed with her. Inside, the cafeteria smelled of beef stew and fresh bread. Men at the long lunch tables turned, and several began clearing seats before anybody asked.

The sandy-eared caretaker offered a curtained corner for an owned tool. Dove looked at the open room, then at the hallway behind him. "I need a door that closes. Show me what else you’ve got before either of them starts rearranging your furniture."

He showed her a small reading room beside the cafeteria. A wide mattress lay beneath a classroom window, and a wash basin stood behind a curtain. An adjoining supply room held a cot for Edrik, separated from them by a thin wall and an ordinary door. Both rooms opened onto the same short hall.

The same tool covered two nights and cafeteria meals if they straightened the rooms before leaving. Dove agreed after checking the locks. Thorne looked so pleased with her that she caught his sleeve and told him he could carry the bags instead of looking smug.

They ate full bowls of stew with potatoes and thick bread. The kitchen still had rice, canned vegetables, and meat in its cold room, and the cook brought the men seconds without acting as though they had stolen the week’s food.

A trader approached with a folded wool scarf. He placed it beside Dove’s bowl and offered to find her a quieter room, carry her bags, and show her the best stalls tomorrow. She slid it back before he could settle onto their bench.

"That’s a lot of promises for a man who hasn’t asked my name. I’m Dove, and I’m already sitting where I want to sit."

"I wasn’t suggesting you leave your mate," he said, glancing at Thorne. "One man can’t be everywhere. There’s room for somebody useful."

Thorne laid his hand over the empty space beside her. "Then start by hearing her answer." His smile showed teeth, and Edrik looked up from his meal with enough interest to make the trader take his hand off the bench.

Dove pointed toward the opposite table. "You can talk business from there. Gifts don’t buy a place beside me." The trader obeyed, which improved her opinion of him more than the scarf had.

Once she felt steady, she retrieved her three stools privately. The caretaker and two residents traded clean towels, oatmeal, and cocoa for them. Twelve normal coins brought her balance to fifty-one, and she stored those three new trades to finish the day’s task.

She called Thorne over, patted his cheek, and told him he was a good boy for letting her handle the trader. His sharp expression softened so quickly that she laughed. Sprout counted the remaining three fresh Favor after the two earned while Edrik carried her; the mate extra brought her to nine hundred eighteen. The insulated carrier unlocked but stayed unbought.

Her Personal Shop offered a large hot-pot supper for thirty-five Favor. Dove checked the serving label before paying, leaving eight hundred eighty-three. This meant three generous adult portions, with deep containers of broth, stacks of sliced meat, vegetables, and enough noodles to fill the middle of their table.

"Finally, portions for people with actual stomachs," she told Sprout. The men had already eaten properly, but fighting and carrying her had given them room for more. Thorne kept passing her the mushrooms she liked until she stole a piece of meat from his bowl and fed it to him instead.

Edrik watched the trader glance over again. "For the life you’re choosing, I’d want you protected by twenty ordinary mates or at least ten exceptionally strong ones," he said. "Obviously Thorne and I are excellent. Two still leaves too many places someone can reach you."

"You’re not my mate yet, and I’m not collecting a football roster because you dislike taking turns," she said. "You can be protective without doing my dating for me."

"I’m ready whenever you ask," Edrik replied, looking entirely unashamed. "You’re the one I’m waiting for." Thorne chuckled, then kissed the hand she had left near his bowl. Neither argued when she said she would decide who stayed.

The trader returned before she finished dinner, still wearing the scarf she’d refused. "I could get you somewhere better than a school," he said, looking past both men. Dove kept her spoon. "You could start by remembering I said no to you, not to decent housing." He knew a place called Quarry Market where she could rent a counter with a room behind it, and he was leaving in the morning after next.

Dove set down her spoon. "Now you’re saying something interesting. Tell me where it is, what it costs, and why you’re so eager to take me there."