Chapter 7: Chapter 7

“I don’t like this. It doesn’t feel right.” Still pouting from this morning when Thorin told him what he had planned, Shaw sat on the bench with his arms crossed as they drove to Logan’s farm.

Thorin sighed while he looked ahead down the road ahead of them. “Being human, I realize you don’t understand the significance of the mate bond, but trust me when I tell you, we won’t be able to keep them apart. The Fates won’t allow it.”

A huff of a laugh came from his chest when Shaw turned to face him and narrowed his eyes. “Try me.”

He pulled left on the reins as Thorin urged the horse down the next drive. “The more people we got looking out for her, the better off she is. Meeting Ben Logan may be a blessing in disguise. We got to give this thing a chance.”

Thorin tipped his head at Ben and Harold when he parked beside the house as Shaw’s jaw popped, and he growled through his teeth. “We should pack up and leave tonight. You’re endangering her for no goddamn reason at all.”

Ben closed the gate to the pigpen behind him, and Thorin glanced back to Shaw. “We can’t run away from this.”

After the conversation last night on the porch, Ben wasn’t feeling welcoming. He crossed his arms and lifted his chin at Thorin and Shaw when they stepped down from the carriage. “Is there something I can do for you two?”

His nostrils flared, and a sneer crossed his face as Shaw rolled his eyes away.

Ben’s finger lifted from his elbow and pointed at him. “Are we cross?”

The tension was so thick between the two rather large men that Thorin held up his hands between them to break it. “No, not at all, Ben. We want to talk with you about my sister.”

His head tilted from side to side as the farmer cracked his neck. “Come on inside then.”

Ben nodded to the table when they entered the back door of the house. “Have a seat. Let me wash up real quick.”

Sliding into a chair at the table, Thorin looked around the kitchen as Shaw pulled the chair out next to him. “Can you try not to raise that boy’s ire? He may be family soon.”

His tongue pushed out his strong jaw, making Shaw look even meaner. “He sure as hell ain’t my family.”

A fist pushed against Shaw’s chin as Thorin grinned and leaned into his side. “Awe, isn’t that sweet? Big daddy doesn’t want that young stud taking his little girl away from him. Well, our baby’s all grown up, Shaw.”

“Shut the hell up.” He tossed his fingers up from his arm and stared at Thorin. “Look around you. He doesn’t have any money. She needs someone who can take care of her. She’s not cut out for farm life and working hard. Can you imagine prissy old Imara waking up when it’s still dark outside and milking cows or slopping pigs?”

A good snorty chuckle came from Thorin’s throat as he imagined it and straightened his vest. “No. That’s not something I can believe my sister would want, but one thing’s for certain, she wants that boy. I won’t stand in the way of her being happy anymore.”

Ben’s boot hit the bottom stair again, and Anna came from the living room, then motioned to the kitchen. “Do you want me to come with you?”

His jaw clenched as he nodded and started down the hall. “Let’s get this over with. I’m not in the mood to deal with much more of their horseshit.”

Thorin saw Ben’s mother come through the door, and he laughed as he stood up to greet her. “Hell’s bells! Anna, as I live and breathe.” He crossed his arms and pinched his chin between his fingers before pointing one at her. “But it wasn’t Logan back then, was it?”

She lowered herself into the chair and shook her head as she clasped her hands in front of her. “No, Thorin, a lot has changed in the last thirty years or so.”

“Why yes, I can see that.” Speaking over his shoulder as he kept his gaze on the Logan’s, Thorin introduced Shaw properly. “Shaw, this is Anna Logan. I take it she’s Ben’s mother.”

Her dark eyes twinkled as the sun swept across the kitchen, and she raised her pointy brow. “Yes, that’s right.”

His head turned slightly as he pointed at her and pushed himself back in his seat. “Now, Anna, everyone thought you were dead, seeing how you disappeared after that man of yours was killed.”

She glanced at Ben and sighed before turning her attention back to Thorin. “The Death Dealers came for us in broad daylight, in front of humans and everything right there on the street. I barely got away. I went as far as my money took me and met Harold and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Looking down at the table, Thorin smirked while he put the pieces together. “Your mate was a Lycan, as I remember it. I suppose that explains that monstrous black wolf that keeps coming to my door at night looking for my baby sister.”

The old wooden chair cracked when Ben shifted in his seat as Thorin glanced up at him and raised his brow. A smile broke on his face, and he waved his hand. “I’m just playing with you, Ben. So, anyway, back to the reason for my visit today. You and Imara…”

“We’re mates.” The entire kitchen vibrated with Ben’s leg as it bounced to hold back the last bit of his patience he had left. “She’s mine.”

His lips curled under as Thorin slowly nodded. “Yes, that’s what she said. See, this brings up a few problems we need to talk about before I let this thing continue between the two of you.”

Ben crossed his arms and shook his head while he glared at the two men sitting in front of him. “You’re not taking her anywhere, not without my permission.”

A snorty, arrogant laugh left Shaw’s nose, and he pushed himself back in his seat. “She goes where I say she goes, boy. I don’t give a damn who you think you are to her. That mate nonsense doesn’t mean a damn thing to me at all.”

“Those days of the two of you pushing her around and telling her what to do are over, Shaw.” Ben uncrossed his arms and leaned forward as his hand went to his chest. “Imara’s my little girl now.”

Realizing Ben overheard their conversation, Thorin sighed and held up his hands. “Gentleman, this unpleasantness is unnecessary. Imara isn’t a child anymore. If she says you’re her man, well, you’re her man. No one’s going to question your claim on her.”

He pushed his fingers through his hair as he tried to decide how to deliver the bad news and pointed at Ben. “Let me tell you a little story because there are a couple of little tidbits of information you need to be aware of.”

With the rapid bending of his fingers, Ben motioned for him to come to the point. “Let’s hear it. I still got work to do.”

Each finger came together, one by one, as Thorin clasped his hands in front of him. “When our dear mother was expecting Imara, a clairvoyant stopped her on the street. Not looking for money or anything, mind you. The mood just struck her, I suppose.”

He glanced to the window when he recalled the day he read his mother’s letter. “She told my mother Imara would live a tortured life and wouldn’t reach her twenty-fifth birthday. Of course, she said some other things concerning my folks they didn’t take heed of, unfortunately. The crime of it all for Imara and me is that everything the clairvoyant told my mother came to pass.”

Pointing his finger into the table and tapping it, Thorin reiterated the awful truth. “Everything. We’ve been running all over God’s creation, trying to keep the inevitable from happening until we can find someone to take us to the Realm.”

Like death already had its hand around his neck, Ben tried to swallow the sickness rising in his chest. “What’s supposed to happen to her?”

Shaking his head, Thorin trilled his lips. “We’re immortals. There are only a few things that can kill us, aren’t there?”

An icy hand nudged Thorin to sit up straight, and he drummed his fingers on the table. “I’ve never told her about this prophecy; I don’t see the point of it. She thinks we’re running from the people who killed our parents and, well, maybe we are. I seriously can’t imagine why anyone else in this world would want to harm her.”

The decision he’d been toying with all day finally sat right with him, and Thorin cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat. “So, as I was saying, we need to talk about what happens next. I know we can’t keep her safe forever; Fate will catch up with her someday. I was hoping to find Haldir and get the hell off this filthy planet before that happened, but no one’s seen him in ten years. I want my sister to be happy with whatever time she has left. I need to believe you’re a man worthy of whatever terrible fate might await her. Mind you, if the old Viking bastard ever bothers to show up, I’ll rip her out of your arms so fast, it’ll make your head spin.”

The harsh reality crashed down on Ben’s shoulders, and his eyes teared over as he shook his head. “No one will ever love her the way I will, Thorin. I’ll be good to her. I’ll die for her a hundred times if I have to.”

“Well then, blessed be.” His hands wrapped around the kitchen table as Thorin stood up and leaned across it. “I’ll hold you to every word of that, Ben, in this life and the next.”