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. After collecting my bag and making my way out, I popped into a shop and picked up a couple of bars of my favorite 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 exit area. I stopped and scanned around to see if I could work out who it was I was supposed to be meeting as I

smoothed the black suit skirt I wore with my sweaty hands. 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 nerves.

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 gray suit trousers and a 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 laptopbag, hand bag and lab bag and followed him out.

"Was?" He asked.

"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. He nodded at me 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 we set off.

"This is Josiah," Ralf said. "If you need to go anywhere, 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.

"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." 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.

"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.

"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."

"Of course, we totally understand, we stole you away at such short notice, that 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 hat 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 Chernobyl 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 smile. "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."

"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."

"We have a state of the art laboratory, and if there is any machinery or media 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 yours for the time you are here, and again, if you need anything let Josiah know and he will sort it for you."

"A hotel would have been fine," I said to him.

"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 chuckled, waving his phone. I pulled out my tablet and called Chloe. She answered after three rings and her face filled my screen as I put my headset on.

"There's me gal." Clo said with a grin. "You arrived safely?"

"Yes thanks Clo." I said in Russian, 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 and tell me everything girl. Glad you arrived safely and I will speak later."

"Poca 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.

"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."

"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 what 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 want’s 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.”

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

Henrik's POV

I was sat waiting in the SUV outside the house that we had made ready for the arrival of my sister, she would be staying her until we could assimilate her into the pack. Ther 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 for a month and I needed her to settle in first. Ingrid, my mate, stood next to me and smiled 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 lovingly. I couldn’t wait to meet the two of them. 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 on 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 seems a little on edge at the fact Josiah is 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 for 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'

Me: I am glad you picked her up for me.

Ralf: Fuck me she is intelligent.

Me: I kind of gathered that.

Ralf: She speaks fluent Russian, as well as all Nordic Languages, some Asian Languages, and Arabic. 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 gets out and opens the door for Ingrid, I go around and meet her and we make our way into the house. Ingrid checks the kitchen to make sure the fridge and cupboards were stocked. 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 see 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 walk out to the hallway to meet them with smiles. As soon as she see’s me she stops in her place, her eye’s widen comically and what comes out of her mouth next stuns me.