Chapter 12
- 18 hours ago
- 9 min read
Snowed In with a Bigfoot, a Yeti, & a Werewolf
by Honey Cummings
Tenzin had slid into the bed and pulled her into him. He wasn’t the same heat of Boone, but the way his arm laid over her, pulling her firm against him had brought her a sense of security she had been denied more times than she could count. Sleep came quick to the exhausted Wilma, silken sheets and soft mattress only added to the lullaby of his breathing and her beating heart. Blinking, she found herself awake again. It was impossible with no windows to tell what time it was or how much time had passed. She slept. Hard. No nightmares, just restful sleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she woke up feeling rested. Satisfied.
She had nested herself in the covers at some point. Her hand reached out and she found smooth skin. Wilma stiffened, gauging what part of the body she had grabbed. It was definitely Tenzin, but he was supposed to be gone. She fought herself whether to retreat or feign–
“I know you’re awake,” drawled Tenzin. “Is there a reason you wanted to give me a belly rub?”
Snatching her hand back, she pulled back the covers to look at him. He was propped up, thumbing through his phone. He was still naked. Those icy eyes at long last shifted and locked onto her. A smile crept across his lips and her heart fluttered. Then something strange caught her attention. As if made of icy glitter, white markings painted his skin with symbols and tribalesque markings. She reached out, fingers tracing the lines across his chest and abdomen. His brow furrowed and he gripped her wrist to stop her.
“What are you doing?” He seemed unsettled before changing the question, “What do you see there?”
Wilma gauged his expression. “I didn’t notice your tattoos before…” His eyes widened and tightened his grip.
“You can see them?” He pulled her closer and she yelped. “Show me.” He pressed her palm against his chest where his heart raced. “I want to know how much of it you see.”
Wilma gave him a befuddled expression as he released her wrist. Under her palm she could see the lines racing and shimmering across his dark skin. If she could conjure a word, she would dare to say they looked … magical.
“What are they?” She dared to start tracing them and Tenzin closed his eyes as if to savor how her fingertips glided across them.
“Yeti magic.” He half-laughed. “We can see them on each other, but it’s said a fated mate can also see them once… well, bonded. Mine are specific to being an alpha of my own clan.”
Wilma scoffed. “And what does it mean to be bonded?”
Tenzin opened one eye, the blue brilliance glimmering. “Have I told you how much I love your skepticism?”
“Look, I crashed my car, like, two? Three days ago?” Wilma sat up and pulled the covers to her chest. “And discovered monsters do exist.”
Tenzin leaned over, a finger under her chin. “And still went to bed with all three.”
“Look here–”
Tenzin kissed her, cutting her words short. “Before you take that as an insult, my snowflake, know it's a testament of your bravery.”
Wilma palmed his face away, deadpanning him as she drawled, “So brave of me to spread eagle and fuck three cryptids because I smell like peaches.”
Tenzin laughed, rolling out of the bed. Wilma’s heart fluttered. Her eyes raked his body as if seeing it for the first time all over again. The lines added to the muscular frame. Of course, he could sense the burning arousal at her core. A hungry glare over his shoulder said it all and her breath hitched. Another deep chuckle rolled from him as he started to get dressed, pulling on his pants and buckling them as he turned to face her with an arched brow. Wilma flopped back onto the bed, covering her face.
“And now you’re embarrassed?” Tenzin teased.
“I don’t know if this is a nightmare or maybe I died.” She mumbled to herself as everything came rushing back, the poor decisions, the insane sex she had partaken in not one, not two, but three so-called monsters in hopes of… doing what? What am I trying to do here? “I gotta be still stuck in the snow in my car.”
“Speaking of your car,” Tenzin was buttoning up his shirt, a mischievous grin across his normally stalwart face. “The tow truck managed to get it out of the trees this morning. It’s headed to the closest collision shop as we speak.”
“Shit, how bad was it?” She sat up in alarm. “Dammit! I haven’t even made a call to my insurance company.”
“I’m taking care of it.” He was loading his pockets with a phone and wallet.
“Taking care of what?” Wilma was clamboring out of bed, and reached to the ground and froze, realizing one vital detail she had overlooked. “Fuck. Fuck my life.”
“Boone and Lucan are back at the cabin. We’ll bring your clothes here.” Tenzin was sitting in an arm chair pulling on the most expensive ass shoes she had ever seen on anyone. “But the only question I have for you, is which way do you want me to solve the car problem?”
“Which way?” Wilma spun back to him, standing with arms out. “I’m fucking trapped in a yeti’s private grotto with not a stitch of clothes to my name.”
Tenzin simply arched a brow as if this didn’t seem to be a problem at all.
Pinching her nose, Wilma relented to the chaos. “What about my car?”
Standing, Tenzin walked around and gripped her upper arms and waited until she met his gaze. “Am I repairing your car, or should I just replace it?”
Furrowing her brow, she thought long and hard until steam could roll from her ears. “What do you mean by replacing it?”
Tenzin leaned into her ear, shivers rocking her as the minty chill of his breath grazed her skin. “Am I buying you a new car, Ms. Hart? Or are you so attached to it I must make do with repairing it?”
Whispering back, disbelief filled her voice, “I don’t understand why you would do that for me? I’m just some stranger.”
He heaved a sigh, pulling back to lock eyes. “Wilma. You’re a fated mate to an alpha. It’s my duty to make sure you have everything you need and to keep you safe.”
“Locked up?” she corrected with judgmental glare.
Tenzin snorted. “They are bringing your clothes, Wilma. I would say go ahead and leave, but it’s still snowing outside.”
Her brain went sideways. “They … are also fated mates to me.” She pointed at her own chest, heart racing. “What does that mean to them then?”
He swallowed and pulled away, marching for the door. “Annoying bodyguards that I’ll have no choice but to allow them to touch you when you allow it.” He stopped at the doorframe and looked back at her. “Take a shower, wake up, and after you’ve eaten we can sort out logistics of bonds and your car.”
With that, he left. Wilma twisted and headed to the bathroom, sitting on the porcelain throne lost in thought. Her eyes bounced from the extravagant bathroom to the grandiose bedroom.
This could be my new life.
Looking to the ceiling, she let that one thought sit. Weighed it against how her body seemed to buzz, the energy she thought she lost to her creeping over her. She would absolutely go for another wild day. With all three if offered.
No, when!
She dragged a hand over her face.
When. It was a matter of when.
She had managed to bond with Tenzin, but what about Boone and Lucan? There had been no magical sign of it … connecting with them. Standing, she started the shower. The water was immediately hot, reminding her Tenzin had claimed it was connected to the spring. Diving under the hot stream, she sighed. Thoughts didn’t leave her be. There were too many questions. Too many choices she was about to be asked to make.
If I leave, will all three follow?
Her mind conjured imagery of her tiny one bedroom apartment cramped with all three. The disgruntled Tenzin is too good to sit on her thrift store special of a couch, Boone banging into the counters in an attempt to cook, and then Lucan.
My god he would rip the bedroom door off if I dare lock myself away, I bet.
Twisting, the water rained down across her face and hair.
I’ve got time to figure this out. It has to be like, Tuesday? Wednesday? I headed out on Sunday and well, I’ve been too busy…
Groaning in her frustration she searched the shower for toiletries. There on an in-built shelf was shampoo and conditioner alongside body wash. She opened and smelled the body wash and goosebumps rolled over her. It smelled like Tenzin. Not exactly a horrendous problem to have as she lathered it on. She quieted her mind, pouring all her focus on scrubbing everything down after all the sweating and… nope. Stay away from those thoughts. Lathering the shampoo into her scalp felt wonderful, the tension she had at last cut loose. Time seemed irrelevant. Besides, she couldn’t leave. She had no fucking clothes.
“Moonshine!” roared Lucan.
She was startled and turned to the bathroom doorway. Eyes wide she took in the sight. There stood a full-on werewolf mode Lucan. Red fur and piercing golden eyes with a slow wagging tail and his tongue lolling out as if he ran. In one claw he carried her battered suitcase. She furrowed her brow. He just watched her standing there in the shower for what felt like several minutes before he at last shifted. Dropping her luggage, he slid down the door frame and sighed.
“Is this going to be a habit?” Wilma blurted as she snapped out of her shock.
Lucan gave her a goofy grin, his eyes dipping over her. “If you don’t stop me, yea.”
Wilma’s face flushed at his words. “Can I finish my shower?”
“Sure, I’ll just sit here.” He shrugged, wolfish ears popping back onto his head.
“And watch?” she prodded.
“Why not?” Lucan blinked as if shocked this was of any concern.
Wilma opened her mouth, but scoffed before finally saying, “You stay there. Don’t you dare come any closer you, you horndog.”
He whimpered like a wounded animal, ears flat. “Aw, moonshine…” he whined.
“Not a step closer.” She pointed at him and he smirked. “I mean it, Lucan.”
“But you smell so delicious, even if it’s got Tenzin’s bond in the mix, I swear it’s stronger today,” he reasoned. “Just a taste.” Her body flushed, memories of his lips between her… “Oh, you’re thinking about it.”
“This is the worst.” Wilma spun back to finish rinsing the shampoo from her hair.
She kept looking over at him, making sure he hadn’t crept closer. Lathering conditioner in her hair, she tried her best to stifle her laugh. Every time she glanced at Lucan, his ears perked up and tail wagged. He indeed, couldn’t keep his shifting under full control when they were in the same room. She imagined being at the ski lodge, with enough distance, he was able to maintain his human form. Rinsing the conditioner, her mind wandered back to Tenzin’s marking and the confirmation of their bond.
Why didn’t that happen with Boone and Lucan?
Shutting off the water, she reached for a towel. Lucan’s golden gaze spared no reprieve as he gawked at her every movement. His tail stopped wagging and ears flattened the moment she wrapped the towel around her and covered all her goods.
“Tell me this, Lucan,” she started, arms crossed.
“Tell you what?” He stood, his hard-on making her heart skip a beat as she snapped her eyes back to his face.
Wilma wagged a finger between them. “How come we didn’t bond? I thought that’s all it took was … sleeping with you all to make that happen like it did with Tenzin.”
That toothy grin made her shudder. “A werewolf has to mark his mate to complete the bond.”
“Mark their mate?” Wilma swallowed, the knotting situation had been alarming and this seemed just as dangerous.
Lucan licked a fang, eyes dipping over her. “I just couldn’t decide where I wanted it.”
“Um, don’t I get to choose where you … mark me?” Wilma gave him a bewildered look. “And what is a mark?”
“A proper bite. Not like a vampire–”
“Vampires exist?!” Wilma interjected in alarm.
“Well, yea. Not like the kind in your naughty books.” Lucan gave a snort-laugh before pointing at his neck. “But we typically mark our bonded mates on the neck for all to see.”
Wilma closed her eyes a moment imagining such a thing before asking, “Like a permanent hickie?”
“Moonshine.” A growl rolled from him as if she insulted him deeply. “It’s not like it remains as a bitemark. It does evolve into a symbol like Tenzin’s did.”
Wilma’s eyes snapped open. “What did you just say?”
Lucan tapped his forehead, chuckling.
She spun around to the mirror. Her gut dropped. There in the center of her damn forehead was a white marking much like his tattoos. The symbol was an elegant snowflake with similar markings as his chest and torso. She inhaled deep, holding her breath as she tried to rub it off. She began giving a frustrated scream as it was clearly on par with a fucking tattoo.
“How do I get this off?” she demanded in alarm.
Lucan cackled. “Never. You bonded with him. That’s how we all know you’re the rani of an alpha yeti.”
“A what?” She spun eyes wide.
“Rani. You know, queen?” reasoned Lucan.
“No way…” Her eyes rolled back and warm arms caught her before her world went black.
What in the fuck have I gotten myself into?
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