Chapter 25

KNOT

A mating mark.I could scarcely believe I’d given Natalee a mating mark. During the next few days, it healed nicely, and my sweet bride didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she seemed proud to wear the mark, and I couldn’t deny that I liked seeing the proof of my ownership on her shoulder. It wasn’t visible while she was wearing clothing, but it was a secret between us. Proof of our everlasting bond.

I tried not to think about why I’d never felt the ancient urge to hunt Emalise down and rut her and bite her. I couldn’t explain why Natalee brought out the possessive beast in me, and I eventually decided not to examine the reasons too closely. I loved her with an intensity that often stole my breath, and she loved me in return.

We were together now. Not just husband and wife, but mates. Our shared love was all that mattered.

During the days that followed the chase in the forest, as Natalee recovered from the ordeal that had left her quite sore, she set about putting feminine touches all over the cabin. She sewed curtains from the fabric she’d brought along and hung them on the downstairs windows. Little doilies appeared on top of the various pieces of furniture around the house, and she even displayed an embroidered tapestry in the dining room, a piece she claimed to have made years ago with her nanny.

Though we spent a great deal of time in the bedroom, I couldn’t ignore the homestead and I still had plenty of chores awaiting me outside. I tended the horses, chopped firewood, and began constructing a storage building beside the woodshed, where I planned to store the mining equipment I’d ordered weeks ago that hadn’t yet arrived at the mercantile.

Natalee expressed an interest in learning to ride, so on some mornings I saddled Lady and gave my bride riding lessons, opting to teach her to ride astride the horse, rather than side saddle, since I thought the latter method wasn’t very practical. After a few lessons, she was able to trot Lady in circles around the house and handle the horse with confidence. A well-worn path soon appeared around the cabin, and I wished there was a more open area on my land for her to ride, but there were too many trees and much of the land rested in areas too steep for her to safely ride.

One morning, I announced that I was leaving for a few hours to ride the perimeter of my claim and also to visit Dalton. Natalee was most upset that I wouldn’t allow her to go with me, but after a stern look, she quieted and ceased arguing.

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Be good, my sweet. In my absence, I expect you to remain within eyesight of the cabin. I will return well before night falls.”

She looked worried. “Why must you ride the perimeter of your claim? That will take forever. Why don’t you just go visit Dalton quickly and then come home?”

“Natalee,” I said, taking her face in my hands. “Sometimes other miners try to encroach on land that doesn’t belong to them. I’m going to make sure all is well and that no one has set up a camp anywhere they shouldn’t have. Though I could sense the presence of squatters on my property, just as I can sense which animals are in the vicinity, I want to make sure no one is squatting on the edge of my land. I must also look for signs of the wendigo that’s been spotted on the mountain. I routinely hang bespelled charms to keep the creature away, and thus far, I haven’t seen any signs of him, but I must stay vigilant.”

Most of the color drained from her face. “But that sounds dangerous!”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “I assure you, all will be well. I’m not particularly worried, though this is a task I must complete from time to time.”

“You promise you’ll be back before dark?”

“I promise.”

“Good,” she said.

“Do you promise to stay close to the cabin?” I asked. “Within eyesight of it?”

“I-I promise,” she replied. Her tone was a bit too indecisive for my liking, though I soon convinced myself it was only my imagination. What need would she have to venture far away from the cabin, anyway?

I decided to visit Dalton before I rode the perimeter of my claim. I found Dalton well, with his mud cottage finally completed. To my surprise, the structure was larger than I’d expected. We caught up with each other and I invited him to dinner the following week.

“Thank you for the invitation. I’ll be there.” Dalton smiled. “I must say, I am surprised you took a wife. Looking forward to meeting the female though.”

“I’m sure she’ll enjoy meeting you. We haven’t had any guests yet.” I tried to ignore the worry that had built during the preceding days that Natalee might grow restless living so far outside of town. Life in the mountains suited me, but I was starting to have doubts about keeping a wife and raising a family so far from Faircross.

After I bid goodbye to Dalton and rode away from the mud cottage, an image of the rectory that stood empty next to the temple in Faircross flashed in my mind. At first, I didn’t understand why I’d thought of the rectory, but as I rode to the outskirts of my claim, I found myself thinking of more than living in the house that had been intended for the town priest.

I found myself thinking of what it would be like to spiritually guide the residents of Faircross. And for the first time, my thoughts on the matter weren’t negative.

I’d always refused the mayor when he asked me to start holding temple services and blessing ceremonies, but as time went on, I realized I’d been refusing out of habit. Part of me wanted to take up orating again. The people of Faircross certainly had a need.

What if guiding the people in Faircross was my calling but I hadn’t realized it yet?

But no. I’d promised Natalee I wouldn’t become the priest in Faircross. Part of the reason she’d been hesitant to marry me was because she worried her status as a siren would hold me back from becoming the town priest, should I decide to follow that path.

How would she react if she knew I was thinking of it now?

I loved the cabin, and I would never give it up, but I didn’t like the idea of raising a family so far away from town. What if one of our children needed a healer? And before that, what about when Natalee gave birth? She wasn’t with child yet, that I knew of, but I had faith that we would have many children. I felt it in my soul. What if she went into labor and I didn’t have time to fetch a midwife or the healer?

These thoughts plagued me as I guided Telrud around the outside of my claim. After I’d struck it rich, I’d had to chase a few trespassers off my land. At least today I saw no sign of anyone camping or mining on my land. Thankfully, I also saw no sign of the wendigo. Or, more precisely, I felt no sign of the creature. No lingering coldness of a corrupt spirit. Still, I replaced the old bespelled charms with new ones.

Hours later, once I finished making my rounds, I headed back for the cabin, anticipating my reunion with Natalee. Since we had become husband and wife, I hadn’t been away from her for so long. I missed her and couldn’t wait to spend the night holding her and loving her.

But when I entered the stable with Telrud, I found Lady missing from her stall. Had I forgotten to close the door all the way? I tethered Telrud to a post and then hurried into the cabin, a sense of foreboding darkening around me.

“Natalee! Natalee!”

I found the cabin just as empty as Lady’s stall. There was no sign of Natalee. Normally at this time of day she was busy preparing dinner, but the kitchen looked untouched. The dining room table wasn’t set either. I rushed from room to room, and I even ventured into the loft to make sure she wasn’t there.

“Natalee!” I ran outside and screamed her name. I checked the outhouse and the woodshed, but both buildings sat empty too.

In a panic, I mounted Telrud and set off to find my wife. When I discovered Lady trotting up a nearby path on the mountain, saddled as if to indicate Natalee had been riding her recently, my dread increased a hundredfold. Had she fallen off her horse? Was she lying on the ground hurt somewhere? I quieted my mind and reached out, trying to sense her presence in the surrounding forest or the roadside, but wherever she was, she wasn’t close enough.

Oh, gods. Please let me find her.

Please gods, let Natalee be all right.