st themselves in their enormous and ridiculously expensive palaces, fox-shifters adored the comfort of their pretty mansions, usually built as close as possible to rivers filled with delicious fish.
“This way, please.”
Seth took one of her bags and motioned for her to follow him into the house. He hadn't held the car door open for her, and Amelia slammed it just a tad harder than necessary to show him she didn't appreciate the way she was treated. He simply kept walking, paying her no mind, and she sighed. The loud noise did get someone's attention, as a tall, brown-haired young man opened the door, greeted Seth and waited with a huge smile on his lips for them to go in.
“Aaron, take care of the rest of her luggage, will you?”
Seth really did refuse to be nice to anyone, didn't he? The young man, Aaron, rolled his eyes and closed the door behind them.
“Sure. Later.” He turned to Amelia and graced her with a large, warm smile. “Hi! I'm Aaron.”
Amelia stared at his extended hand for a second, then remembered what she was supposed to do and shook it hesitantly.
“Amelia. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, it's such a pleasure to have you here. We've all been waiting for you.”
“All...?” She was confused, but the guy seemed honest. His round, purple eyes were drinking her in as if she was the eighth wonder of the world, as if he had never thought she actually existed and was finally here, in this house.
“I'm taking your bag to your room,” said Seth grumpily. “It's on the first floor, second door to the left.” Without another word, he started up the stairs, leaving Amelia with the friendly, slightly weird stranger. Little did she know Aaron would become one of her best friends ever.
“I'm sorry, you must be tired and hungry...”
“More tired than hungry,” she said, a frozen, awkward smile on her face. “What time is it?”
“Almost 11 AM.” He opened the door and ran to the car to grab the luggage Seth had asked him to carry to her room. He left the door open and Amelia went to hold it for him. The three bags were heavy, but that was not a problem for the fox-shifter. They were, however, rather round and voluminous, and hard to maneuver through the door without some help.
“Let's go upstairs before Seth comes looking for us. I'm one of the Ninkos, by the way. Just in case you were wondering... I mean, I'm not a lackey or anything even though grumpy Seth sometimes likes to treat me like that. He's a good guy, actually. He's just really stressed. We all are.”
They reached the landing of the first floor. Just as the werewolves, the werefoxes had two Deltas. In the foxes' ranking system they were called Ninkos.
“Mmm... Why are you stressed?” It was a good thing Aaron was so chatty. Maybe she could finally get answers to the pressing questions her brain had tortured her with in the past 24 hours.
“Seth didn't tell you? It's Roman. He's getting worse every day and the doctors have no idea what to do.”
“He told me something... Blake...” She took a deep breath before she said the next words. “My husband... will take his place as Inari.”
“Yes. That's why we're so happy you're here. Oh, Roman will love you!” They had entered the room and Seth shot Aaron an exasperated look. The young fox-shifter ignored him. “He's been trying to convince his son to buy a bride for years. All he's ever wanted was to see his grandchildren before... you know...” He trailed off and busied himself with carrying her bags near the wardrobe, where he saw Seth had left his.
“That's enough, Aaron, she's tired.”
“It's okay,” intervened Amelia. “I slept on the plane and I'm not that tired. I don't intend to sleep today, so maybe Aaron can show me around after I take a shower?”
Aaron smiled widely at her, not before throwing Seth a triumphant look. “It would be my pleasure!”
Seth raised a thick, dark eyebrow. Why was the Ninko so enthusiastic, and why had Amelia bonded with him so quickly? Aaron simply talked too much. “I'll show you around. Blake asked me to introduce you to the members of the clan who live in Ekviknuna and tell you a couple of things about the Sylfurs.”
Aaron deflated a bit but didn't say anything. Amelia watched him amused. Yes, she liked the cute, chirpy Ninko. His soft, almost childish features were in deep contrast with his strong, bulky muscles. He looked like a teenager trapped in an adult's body.
“Well, I'll go give the good news to Roman.”
“Yeah, you do that.” Seth turned to Amelia. “I'll go give the news to Blake and be back in an hour. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
The two fox-shifters left the room, Aaron with an enthusiastic “see you later” and Seth with a frown on his handsome face. Amelia was finally alone, free to cringe at the idea that she was suddenly the main point of attraction of an entire fox clan. “I've just got here. They're not really expecting me to get pregnant right away, are they? I haven't even met the infamous Blake...” She sighed and knelt in front of her bags. She opened the first one and started digging for clean clothes and her toiletries. “You're a shifter-bride, Amelia. You can do this. You were trained to do this.” She had always been good at encouraging herself in moments of pressure, and she needed all the encouragement in the world right now. “I think I miss Delyse and Claudia. Even Avelyn. Yeah, it would have been nice to have Avelyn here with me. Maybe she could have told me how a newly bought bride deals with her husband…” She took out a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a fluffy cardigan, just in case she might need it later. Summer in Alaska was warm, but not too warm, and it could get really chilly in the evening.
Amelia stood up and looked around the room, trying to spot the bathroom.