The Nordic Wolves - The Missing Princess

Chapter Two - Arrivals

Kari's POV

My plane finally landed in Oslo, and I waited for everyone else to stand before I got up and got my laptop bag and lab kit out of the overhead lockers and made my way off. It had been a long morning, and I was already exhausted. I would be glad to get back to where I was staying and get some sleep. I didn't even get a chance to go on my morning run today, so I feel out of sorts from that as well. I had a routine I liked to try and stick to. It helped keep my mind settled.

After collecting my bag and making my way out, I popped into a shop and picked up a couple of bars of my favourite Norwegian chocolate and some of those sour sweets they do, as well as a bottle of water. I paid for the items and then made my way out of the shop and towards the arrivals gate to meet Mr Johnsson. I stopped, put down my bags and scanned around to see if I could work out who it was I was supposed to be meeting. I smoothed the black suit skirt I wore with my sweaty hands, hoping to rid the creases that had formed from sitting on the plane for the last hour. My pale lilac dress shirt was no doubt creased at the back, but there was little I could do about that, and my suit jacket and coat were hung over my suitcase as it was too warm to wear. It didn't help that my body temperature was up from the extreme level of nerves I was presently feeling.

Suddenly, there was a clearing of a throat behind me, making me jump and turn around to come face to face with a tall man with deep brown hair which was worn slightly long on the top and was in a messy style. His white dress shirt was pulled so

tightly over his muscles, that I was sure that if he moved too suddenly it would rip. He wore a pair of dark grey suit trousers and a matching waistcoat over his shirt, his top button was undone and he had a pair of sunglasses perched on the top of his head.

"God dag!" He smiles, his voice is smooth and silky. "Doctor Larson, I presume."

"It is indeed, but please call me Kari," I replied with a smile. "Which must mean that you are Mr Johnsson. The gentleman who requested my presence."

"Ah, a good, strong Nordic name." He smiled with a chuckle at my attempt at humour. "And yes, but, please, call me Ralf."

"Yes, my father was from Norway. I smiled at him as he took my large suitcase from me. I picked up my laptop bag, handbag and lab bag and followed him out of the air-conditioned airport.

"Was?" He asked as he slowed his step slightly so we could walk side by side.

"Yes, my father left when I was a child, never heard from him again," I said, trying to hide the flicker of rejection from my eyes that always appeared when I spoke of my father.

"I am sorry to hear that," Ralf said with a sad smile. I was sure there was something else in his look, but I couldn't place it.

"It is what it is, unfortunately, I have had many years to move on from it." I smiled at him as we approached a black SUV. As we got closer, the driver's side door opened and another large man stepped out. He was as broad as Ralf, but he

had dark black hair. Like Ralf, his black shirt was tight over his muscles and his black trousers hung perfectly, his sunglasses hid his eyes. Are all Scandinavian men so big and buff? I remember my father being the same. The driver nodded at me in greeting as he opened the rear door for me to get in. I smiled and thanked him as he held out his hand for my lab bag. I handed it to him before stepping into the back of the car. He shut the door after me and went to help Ralf put my luggage into the boot. After a moment, Ralf climbed in next to me, and the driver got back in and started the car. In seconds, we were pulling out of the car park and into a steady stream of traffic.

"This is Josiah," Ralf said introducing the driver to me. "If you need to go anywhere, he's your man. He's going to be the one looking after you whilst you are here."

"That's very kind, but honestly, I can drive myself." I smiled, I liked time to myself, and sometimes that meant going for a drive at night and enjoying my freedom. If I had a babysitter, I wouldn't be able to do that. I also sometimes preferred to work at dusk, the sounds of the wildlife in the evening always calmed me more than those during the day.

"It is the least we can do, considering that we have dragged you out here and away from your home for the next month. If you need anything at all, Josiah is your man. He will also be there for you if someone doesn't know who you are and tries to cause you a problem. We live in a kind of reserve, and some of our people are a little dubious of newcomers." Ralf smiled. I smiled back, a little wary. I didn't like to rely on others to do my tasks for me, but it was only for a month and I was in their territory, so I should respect their wishes. The voice in my head told me it was safe and they just wanted me safe whilst I was there. My conscience had been my lifesaver growing up, it was like having my own personal guard dog. I know it was just my gut feelings, and my brain telling me it was fine, but some days it felt like I had another person with me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Josiah," I said with a smile. The man looked at me through the rearview mirror and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement, just like he had when he had first greeted me. This was going to be a fun month if that was all I would get from him.

"So tell me a little about what you want from me. I hope you don't mind, but I do have three projects I am heading up on back home, so I will need to take time on occasion to follow up with my grad students to make sure they aren't completely falling apart." I said turning my attention back to the speaking member of the car.

"Of course, we totally understand, we stole you away at such short notice, and we understand you will have other work you need to keep up to date with," Ralf said with a smile as he pulled his phone out of his pocket to respond to a message. "It is a reserve that we own in a place called Konnerud, just outside of Drammen. We want to start using the land for certain food types, but

I am sure you are aware after the Chornobyl incident many moons ago..."

"There is a possibility it can't be used for that due to the radiation that reached this far." I finished and he nodded with a bright smile at how quickly I had cottoned on to what they wanted me for. I had done some research on this when I first started working with Chloe. She had sent me up to the farthest parts of Scotland to test the soil up there. "There are still quite a few places in Scotland which have the same problem. There is little we can do about it, but I will see what I can find out for you. Hopefully, you are far enough away from it that it will be an easier fix."

"We are hoping that with your help and your research, you might be able to find a way to neutralize the radiation that may still be in the ground so it can be used." He said hopefully. I said hopefully, but there was something underlying in his voice that I couldn't quite pin down, like he wasn't being a hundred per cent honest with what he was asking of me.

"I can see what I can do, I will need to do some research into it, or should I say get a grad student to do the basic research, and I will need soil and vegetation samples to do some testing. I have my basic lab kit with me, but I will need a space to work." I explained to him, going into full-on lab tech mode.

"We have a state-of-the-art laboratory, and if there is any machinery or medium or anything else that you may need that we don't have, then, just ask and we shall provide it." He said with a smile. I raised my eyebrow at that, were they made of money? "Our CEO has his fingers in many pies, and owns a number of companies, so he can cover the costs of anything we may need to be able to

hopefully, complete this project."

I snorted at the fact he could pretty much read me. "Fair enough, I will see what you have first and let you know."

"We have you in a house on the edge of the reserve on a little street called Minkstein. It is fully furnished, and it is yours for the time you are here, and again, if you need anything, let Josiah know and he will sort it out for you."

"A hotel would have been fine," I said to him, a little surprised that they put aside a whole house for me to stay in.

"We wanted you to be as comfortable as possible whilst you were here. It is the least we can do." He said, responding to his phone again.

"If you will excuse me, I need to let my boss know that I have arrived, or she will send a search party," I said, rolling my eyes. He chuckled.

"I know the feeling." He said, waving his phone, letting me know that he too was speaking to his boss. I pulled out my tablet, put in my headphones and called Chloe. She answered after three rings and her face filled my screen as I put my headset on.

"There's my gal," Clo said with a grin. "You arrived safely then?"

"Da, spasibo, Clo," I said. Russian was the only language other than English that she spoke.

"Ah not alone?" She replied back in English.

"Niet." I responded, continuing in Russian. "I knew they were a well-built nation, but my God, you should see the two who picked me up."

"Ring me tonight when you are alone and tell me everything, girl. Glad you arrived safely and I will speak later."

"Choroso Clo." I responded before hanging up.

"You speak Russian?" Ralf asked with a grin and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Eh...Yes, among others." I responded, hoping he hadn't understood what I had said. Shame Chloe didn't speak Cantonese. I come across very few people who could speak that language.

"What else do you speak?" He asked me.

"Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Russian, German, French, Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese and Thai," I responded. "I am now learning Spanish. And I also speak Aramaic, which was spoken during the Ancient Egyptian period, and I know a fair bit of Latin and Gaelic as well."

"Wow, that's impressive, I speak English and Norwegian and enough of most languages to understand yes and no." He responded and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. He didn't understand what I had said.

“So, are you taking me straight to the house?” I asked. I was tired but didn’t want to cause a problem.

“Yes, my boss will be waiting for us there. He wants to welcome you to the company. He has been dying to meet you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to offer you a job,” Ralf said with a warm smile. I wasn't sure why he was so interested in meeting me, other than my few journal articles, I wasn't really anyone of worth.

“That is very kind.” I chuckled, “But I have a job I am happy with.”

Henrik's POV

I was sitting waiting in the SUV outside the house that we had made ready for the arrival of my sister. She will be staying here until we can assimilate her into the pack. There was a lot we needed to explain to her and I didn’t want to drop it all on her in one go. She was here with us for a month and I needed her to settle in first. Ingrid, my mate, was sitting next to me and smiling up at me, our two-year-old daughter was back at the pack house with her Bestefar and Bestemor. Kari definitely wasn’t ready for that little whirlwind, we could barely keep up with her. I heard my wolf Thor chortle in my head. I lay a hand on my mate’s stomach, which was slightly swollen with my twin pups, and smiled back at her lovingly. I couldn’t wait to meet the two of them.

Suddenly, I felt my phone in my pocket and pulled it out to see a message from Ralf.

Ralf: Target acquired and in the car, we are en route to you now. Why don’t you get inside the house and we will see you there.

Me: Target? This isn’t a war mission, Ralf.

Ralf: She is the spitting image of you and your father. And she seemed a little on edge at the fact Josiah was the driver.

Me: What do you mean?'

Ralf: She said that there was no need, and when I said it was the least we could do she tensed up. She seemed happy with the supposed reason that she was here though and was a bit surprised when I told her she could order anything she needed. She had the appearance of a child at Christmas time. In fact, it was the same look Heather has when she gets something new that she didn't know she needed.

Me: I am glad you picked her up for me. It's good to know she is here and safe.

Ralf: f**k me she is intelligent.

Me: I kind of gathered that being as she has a doctorate already.

Ralf: She speaks fluent Russian, as well as all Nordic Languages, some Asian Languages, and Arabic and some languages that are barely used anymore. How is she related to you again?

Me: Watch it Beta.

I chuckle and show the messages to my wife. She laughs. “Someone to give you a run for your money, I see.” I open my door and my driver, Vincent, gets out and opens the door for Ingrid. I went around and met her and we made our way into the house. Ingrid checks the kitchen to make sure the fridge and cupboards are stocked with all of the basics that Kari would need. She pulled out the milk and put the kettle on ready to make tea for when they arrived.

Half an hour later, an SUV turns up and parks behind mine. I saw Josiah get out and open the back door. A tall woman with long white blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail gets out and I see Ralf walk around to join her. He leads her to the house and they come in. Ingrid and I walked out to the hallway to meet them with smiles. As soon as she sees me she stops in her place, her eyes widen comically and what comes out of her mouth next stuns me.