With that, she turned and left abruptly, and the rest of the youths went with her. Only Gunnar remained and he tilted his head, looking at Mitch with a twinkle in his eye that was much like the old woman’s.
“So you’re my cousin, eh?” Gunnar said.
Mitch didn’t know what to make of him. He was younger by a few years, but he was definitely no child. He was Mitch’s height, though he wasn’t quite as broad in the shoulder. He still looked like he could handle himself and knew how to use those big fists of his. Mitch liked the look of him—and he did have enough of a resemblance that Mitch could believe he was related by blood. Now he had two blood relatives where only this morning he’d been an orphan with no family to claim him. This day was full of surprises.
“I guess so,” Mitch replied, offering a hand to shake. “Call me Mitch.”
Gunnar shook his hand and yep, there was the show of strength Mitch expected as the younger man tried to crush his hand. But Mitch was made of stronger stuff than that, and returned the grip—with interest. Gunnar grinned as they let go and shook out his fingers.
“Nice one, Mitch.” He grinned and Mitch realized with a start that the kid had been testing him.
Guards often used little shows of strength to test each other. It was mostly harmless, and it helped establish hierarchy among so many Alphas. They couldn’t all be top cat. And they couldn’t waste time constantly fighting each other in dominance challenges. So they used little things to determine the pecking order among them. Gunnar had just proven that Mitch was stronger and therefore slightly more dominant. Gunnar would follow Mitch’s lead. Excellent.
“I’m Gina.” She stepped forward and took Gunnar’s hand. Mitch watched closely. He didn’t want the guy squeezing Gina’s fragile fingers that way, but Gunnar surprised them both by raising her hand to his lips and offering a kiss instead. Gunnar’s golden eyes danced with mischief and Mitch wanted to laugh at his antics. The kid was a jokester. Mitch liked him already.
Gunnar released her hand and bowed to her. “My princess,” he intoned. “It is good to see you here in Iceland, where you belong.”
Gina smiled back at Gunnar and then introduced him to the rest of the group. Paul seemed to come out on top from their handshake, but Gunnar surprised Mitch by proving slightly more dominant than the rest of his team. He was younger than all of them but already stronger. He’d make a damn fine Alpha one day…soon. If Mitch judged right, Gunnar wasn’t far from reaching his full potential.
“Shall we set off?” Gunnar asked Mitch and Gina when he’d made the rounds. “Gisli is aware of your presence in the country. My father still serves as a Royal Guard, as do many others, who act as our eyes and ears in the court. Gisli hasn’t let anyone come home for any length of time lately, wanting all his protectors around him, but the few who’ve come down from the stronghold for quick visits have kept the village informed.”
“The sooner we get there, the sooner this ends,” Mitch said in a grim tone. He wasn’t looking forward to the battle, but he didn’t want to live with this uncertainty any longer. He wanted it decided—one way or another.
Gina took his hand as they set off together, following where Gunnar led. Mitch had made a study of the terrain and knew the younger man was leading them in the right direction. Gunnar hadn’t yet earned his trust—not the way the Millers and the other Old Guard families had—but Mitch would follow where the younger man led. For now.
One thing he wouldn’t do was trust blindly. Treachery came in many forms, he well knew. Even when everything looked on the up-and-up on the surface, sometimes things weren’t so clear cut. He’d follow Gunnar’s lead, but only up to a point. Mitch had enough intel on the area from Gina’s dad to know if the younger man was leading them astray.
They spoke in soft tones as they hiked. Their pace was fast but not tiring. They’d reach the challenge field before dark, Gunnar promised. Mitch walked beside Gina with Gunnar on his other side.
“You can sense magic?” Gina asked, clearly curious about Hilda’s claims.
Gunnar shrugged. “A bit. Enough to know when it’s building, and usually in enough time to take cover.”
“I understand the need to hide the stronghold, but I can’t say I’m comfortable with the casual use Gisli seems to have made of human mages in his court. In America, shifters and mages don’t usually mix so freely,” Mitch observed.
“Amma Hilda was born of a union of human mage and tiger sifter,” Gunnar explained, surprising Mitch. “She inherited most of both her parents’ skills. She also passed on a lot of her magic to subsequent generations. Your mother, for example, had weather sense and could always tell when a storm or volcanic eruption was coming. She was in tune with the earth in ways few of us are.”