Author's note:
Before we head into the chapter, I do feel the need to clarify a couple of things regarding gender and the way endearments or generally adjectives are used in Slavic languages.
For example, in this chapter, you will encounter both malysh and malyshko which are both used when addressing female characters. While both of these are supposed to be used when referring to males, it is not uncommon for Russian or generally Slavic speakers to use them when addressing females as well. Another example I was able to find this in is Serbian language where in colloquial language you can use the word maly or maleny/maleno which are adjectives in the masculine or neuter gender but can still be used when referring to female characters.
I hope I didn't make it even more complicated just so that I can avoid the Google Translate comments.
Now onto the chapter:
Oh dear Goddess, mom.
I blushed for the 300th time that evening as my mother stepped away from Steph, smiling at both of us. She just finished kissing him and hugging him for what I hoped was the last time tonight.
Even though he was living in a mostly Scandinavian tribe, Steph explained to me that his previous pack, where his parents still lived, was mostly a mix of different ethnicities but that his heritage was Scandinavian, which was why he wandered into Bjorn's pack in the first place.
That prompted my dad into a discussion about Vikings tribes, Slavic tribes, and our history he adored so much.
Saying goodbye to my parents went as well as I would've expected. My mom was ecstatic the moment Steph addressed me as luna (since I made sure to leave that detail out to her as well) and made sure to force us both to stay two hours longer until she ordered lunch from a local restaurant and then poured it in her own pots and pans at home.
It is something that she would often do when we had some unannounced company. Mind you, my mom is a great cook, and everything I learned, I learned from her and my baka (grandmother), as I and my sister liked to call her.
She did this because sometimes she liked to skip the cooking part and enjoy being with her guests, which was great. She also liked to keep up her image, which is... well, she's my mom, so I'll stop there.
"Thank you very much for taking care of my girl." She said, handing me my shoulder bag and smiling at Steph. "I wish we would've met Asbjorn as well, but I hope we will be able to do so soon."
Yeah, that would be a rather joyful encounter.
"You are always welcome to visit Crescent Moon pack. Simply let us know if you need anyone to come and pick you up." Steph said in his calm and deep voice. He turned to my sister's mate then, Igor, or rather alpha Igor.
"You have my email and I will let Bjorn know about our discussion as soon as possible." Igor, who was always a quiet and calm guy simply nodded. They were too much alike that it made me smile while they simply stood there and looked at one another as if they had their own mind link and could communicate.
"I'm going to miss you," I said, hugging my sister. "you have to call me as soon as my niece is born," I said, caressing her swollen belly and then bending down to her. "Ľúbim ťa, novy malysh (I love you, our new little one)." I whispered to my niece as my sister chuckled.
"I will." She smiled and caressed my hair. "Take care of yourself malyshko moy (my little one) and know that you always have a place to come back to. Whatever happens, this remains your home." I almost started crying with that but I just hugged mom, dad, and Igor before turning and walking toward the car.
The entire ride home was spent in comfortable silence with some soft jazz playing on the radio. Once we picked up my stuff from the hostel at the Dawn Pack territory and were almost home I couldn't help but blurt out. "What the hell am I doing?"
"What do you mean?" Steph was still looking forward to the road.
I released an agitated breath. "You know exactly what I mean. I am moving from my home, my family, my sister, and everything I know and everyone I love to go and try to fight for a guy who doesn't want me, apparently doesn't need help with running his pack, and clearly has some unresolved trauma and issues. Why am I doing this?" I pinched the top of my nose and started massaging it slowly, easing away the anxiety that suddenly came over me.
Of all the stupid decisions you make Klara, this one is currently on top.
"First of all, Bjorn doesn't want a mate. It's not you, it's just the concept of someone being his mate that bothers him." He was contemplating how to form his following words and after a long pause said: "He does need help. That is one of the reasons Klaus is there, even though he bothers the hell out of him. Our pack does need a luna, Bjorn needs a luna and Bjorn needs a mate, whether he would like to say it out loud or not."
"But Goddess, me of all people?"
At that moment, I felt like a whiny little kid that wanted something they couldn't get and was getting ready for a tantrum. I felt nauseous and like the knot in my stomach was growing more and more with every passing second, threatening to take over me.
Steph glanced at me but continued driving while opening his window slightly to let in some air. "It's probably because you are ready to do things like this. The kinda wacky stuff, the stuff that seems stupid to everyone else." He smiled gently, probably reading out every single one of my insecurities on the spot.
His fingers were tapping on the wheel and I was just about to speak again as he spoke. "Even though we all like to pretend that Bjorn is awesome and great and is doing great, he is not. You noticed it and can see that, even though you've met him a day ago. You can see that he needs something - that something being you." I wanted to ask him how he was so sure, but I kept silent. "You in your heart know that you need him too in your life. It is not going to be easy but if you stick around and fight the way I feel you can, you will see that he is worth it." He stopped the car on the driveway of Bjorn's house which was connected to the main packhouse through an underground passage from what I was told.
I never saw it up close. I didn't even dare to come close to it this morning. Even if I did, I felt like it would be too intrusive.
Moving into it is not intrusive Klara, not in the slightest.
The house was a two-story Scandinavian-style home and I could bet that it had a private courtyard in the back or that it was built around one. Every wall on the lower level had big and wide windows while the upper level had a wall-to-wall window on one end.
If all the furniture inside of it is black and geometrical, I swear I am running away.
"Was it hard for you and Emma as well?" I asked Steph and he smiled.
"Let's just say that life did some things to both Emma and Bjorn which made them great warriors but kinda emotionally unavailable." He pulled down his shirt and showed me the scar on his left shoulder. "This is where she stabbed me the day I told her I will fight her for her love. I almost bled out that day and died." At the horror on my face, he chuckled. "That was also the day she decided we deserved a shot."
"Goddess." That was all I was able to say. The scar seemed like it was created a long time ago, however, the line that the knife made pointed straight towards his heart. He could've died.
"It was all worth it, trust me, Klara. The irony in a way is that your name means brightness and light and you are the light your mate needs," I scoffed at that and he laughed once again. "even though he doesn't see it just yet." He opened the door on his side and turned to me smiling. "Oh, and if he ever needs to be slapped, just call Emma. She'll be glad to do it." He winked and exited the car.
I turned to see Klaus standing on the porch and talking to Bjorn. He was wearing a cutout shirt that allowed everyone that was passing by on their way to the packhouse a view of his strong shoulders and muscled arms. I started feeling hot all over and tried to dig through my purse to pretend I am looking for something when I saw him coming my way.
He knocked on the door three times before opening it.
"Hey." I breathed out looking at him. I don't think I will ever get used to those eyes.
His smell was amazing and since he was sweaty for some reason, it was amplified and I could feel the feral side of me coming to the surface and yelling out for our mate.
I can't get aroused now!
"Hi." It was short, and stern and I waited for his next words like I would for a blow. His green eyes looked me up and down and I tried not to hide from him. I was in a dress, was it not appropriate or something? "Klaus is here to help you take all of your stuff out and take them to the house and accommodate you. I am on patrol tonight so I am afraid that I will not be able to help." And even though I could see that he was trying to be polite, it came out completely different.
"Sure. That's fine." I tried to get out of the car and his hand was right there to hold mine as I exited. It made sparks take over me.
"Well, I will see you, then." He said and turned and left me there on the driveway.
To say that I felt like an idiot just standing there would be an understatement.
To say that I didn't know he has taken the patrol shift tonight just to avoid me would be calling me stupid.
You literally forced this onto him. What did you expect him to do? Cook you dinner and invite you to his bed? Give the guy a break, Klara.
I tried to silence my thoughts as I saw a smiling Klaus coming up to me. I took a deep breath and smiled back at him. Just take this one step at a time and try not to make any more stupid decisions.
"Well, luna, welcome to your new home." Klaus bowed after opening the door and stepping in and I could help but scoff at that.
"Why thank you, mister." I said, stepping into the house.
It was bright and spacious and it felt like you were outside while being in it. The ground floor was where the kitchen, the living room, one bathroom, and an office was located. There was also a room that was supposed to be a dining room but it just looked like a no-use-of-it room.
"Up there are your and Bjorn's bedroom, bathroom and another guest room, as well as a spare office of some sort that we all just throw our junk in."
I wanted to laugh while we were looking around and Klaus was showing me everything. I mean, there was furniture in the house, nice furniture, there were books lying around, and there were pots and pans in the kitchen, but it still did look like a single man was living in it.
At least it was not all black and white and geometrical.
"Well kind sir, this was such an amazing tour, but can you help me get my stuff out of the car and up to my room? I'll figure out what to do with it later on." I sighed thinking about unpacking.
I am to create a home here. And I have no idea how I will and if I will ever manage to do that without actually disturbing the routine he had here.
"Let's bring them here and then you can sort them based on where they would go and I can help you unpack from there. We've got all night."
"You really don't have to do that, I can handle it on my own, besides I don't want to intrude Bjorn." I waved my head.
You don't want to intrude. How about not moving into his house then?
"Klara." Klaus cleared his throat and came up to me. He was taller than me, but not in an intimidating way that Bjorn was, his hands were on my shoulders and his voice was gentle. "We are on a mission. You are my chosen fighter and the mission... well you know what the mission is."
"Winning over a person who refuses to have a mate?" I raised my eyebrows.
His wicked grin was genuine. "Ding, ding, ding! Correct! Now, in order to do so, we need to set everything up nicely. And it's not like you haven't already intruded on the guy so just relax. He will be used to you eventually. He got used to me, and you are way prettier and curvier than I am." He smiled again with those full lips and unbearably white teeth and it made me smile as well as I followed him out the door.
We spent the rest of the day and part of the night unpacking my stuff and trying to place them around the house, which wasn't that hard since it did have a lot of space. My room was simple, with a big, wide window which I loved, a small walk-in closet that probably use to be a tiny bathroom, and a wide, double bed. Other than that, there was no other furniture in it and I made a mental note to check and get myself a desk or something to work, sew and study on.
All the while, Klaus was asking me questions about my pack and heritage and we talked about his mom, sister, and father who was an alchemist and unfortunately went missing when he was little and wasn't found since.
When I realized the subject made him a bit uncomfortable, I tried to switch to movies and as soon as we both found out that we were both fantasy fans, we decided to take a break by watching a movie and stealing some of the food from Bjorn's fridge.
"He's used to it from me. Besides, you live here now." Klaus said nibbling on some fruits that we found there.
"I live here now," I said. "Luna i Boginya, ya zhivu yeyu. (Moon and Goddess, I live here)." I released a long breath.
"Boginia, boginia indeed," Klaus said trying to mimic my pronunciation. That made me start laughing and brought on a fit of laughter that just for a second helped me forget where I was and what I was doing with my life.