The Paranormal Council: Complete Series

Chapter 12

BJORN

Bjorn paced back and forth in the living room of Ari’s flat, worried despite himself. She’d given him a key and told him to make himself comfortable when they’d left earlier. Yet, while he knew that she was safe and with her family, he just couldn’t seem to shake the idea that she needed him.

He sat down at her table, pulling out some notes from one of his cases. If there was no chance of him getting any rest, then he might as well put his time to good use and do some work, at least until she got home. He smirked to himself as he thought about what they’d be doing once she got back; he probably wouldn’t get much rest then either.

He grimaced as he read one of his most recent briefs; a wife who thought her husband was cheating on her, but needed proof for a divorce. He hated cases like that, they made him feel like true love wasn’t real anymore. But today, it also made him thankful that Ari would never have to feel like this woman did. He didn’t want to look at another woman, nor did he feel the need to. More than that, he actually couldn’t. Even before they’d actually finished the mating process, he’d known that she was the one for him and that was all it took for his interest in other women to fade. Not that he’d ever been overly interested in them anyway; at least, not for anything more than s*x. It seemed a little callous, even to him, but after his family had died, he’d known that the only person he’d risk feeling anything for ever again was his mate. If he was lucky enough to find her. Bjorn leaned back in his chair, sighing and pushing a hand over his face. It seemed that work wasn’t going to happen, especially if something as disheartening as a cheating husband was making him think of Ari. He was love-struck and there was no way to deny it.

He stood up, stretching his arms above his head as he did and decided to investigate Ari’s flat a bit more. He hadn’t been paying much attention to his surroundings when they’d come back last night, nor when they’d been getting ready to leave that morning; she was far too distracting for that. Just thinking about their morning together, and the night before, had him revved up and ready to go again, which was all very well, but without Ari around, it was a bit of a waste.

The flat was like Ari; modern, functional and with slight hints at femininity that she’d deny if anyone picked up on, but each one made Bjorn smile. The flat was big for a single woman in her thirties, but considering how good Ari was at her job, the luxury it provided wasn’t particularly surprising. He knew that she made a lot, probably more than he did, and he knew that she worked hard for every penny, and that wasn’t likely to change. Nor did he want it to. Ari loved her job, and it was important to her, and so it was important to him. And if cubs came along and she wanted to keep working, then he’d happily give up his job as a PI. He only did it to keep himself busy as it was. He smiled to himself as he walked into the spare room and saw a bunk bed with plain white sheets. He imagined their children in the room, with his dark eyes and Ari’s auburn hair. The mischievous sparkle in their eyes would be all her too, though he hoped they’d be boys; he didn’t think he’d be able to deal with the protective urges a girl would bring out in him. Especially if she looked anything like her mother did. He’d read to them every night, play football with them or take them horse riding, though on second thought, there was a chance that the horses wouldn’t like them much with their predator shifter side. It probably wouldn’t matter to the beasts if they were foxes or bears either. He’d never really considered children before, but his imaginings were filling him with a content feeling that he hadn’t felt in years, if ever.

He moved away from the spare room and into another one, this one slightly smaller, and with a tidy desk inside. From the state of it, he doubted that Ari ever used it, which suited him just fine; he could take it over when she asked him to move in full time. There was also a running machine, with a discarded plastic bottle to the side and an iPod plugged in next to it. A grin broke across Bjorn’s face; this should sort his restlessness. As a shifter, he needed to regularly burn off the excess energy that he didn’t get to use by shifting; one of the perils of modern living. Then again, it was nothing compared to the perils of living in the wild. He pushed aside the heartache that always came with thoughts of his family, and quickly stripped down to his boxers in order to take a run.