I stomped through the snow, my thoughts tangled in worry. I’d been gone for longer than I’d meant to be. Why hadn’t I thought to lock the door? I was so used to it being just me out here.
When the cabin came into view, I felt a momentary flicker of relief. It stood exactly as I’d left it, quiet and with a thin ribbon of smoke curling from the chimney. There were also no tracks that I could discern, but the scent hit me again, and all logic fled as the need to protect my mate slammed to the surface.
Ella was inside. She was human and vulnerable. And she was mine to protect. Mine!
I reached the porch, heart thudding hard, and shoved the door open. The warmth inside rushed over me as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, scanning for movement, or danger. Anything that might hurt my precious mate.
I felt Ella’s scream to the bone. Combine that with the scent of her terror, and my beast went wild.
I roared, ready to tear apart whatever had frightened her. My gaze swept the room, searching for an intruder, a threat, anything that would explain her fear.
But there was no one else.
Ella clung to the couch, her eyes locked on me, wide and unblinking. Her fingers trembled where they clutched the edge of the blanket I’d left on the couch.
And then I understood. I hadn’t triggered the camouflage. She saw a monster. Fur, claws, fangs, all of it. All of me.
And she was terrified.
Chapter 9
Ella
Thescreamleftmylips before I could stop it. I couldn’t control the visceral fear that had my heart slamming against my ribs either, even though I’d known the second I saw those eyes that it was Axel.
He scanned the room with a predator’s focus, searching for the threat that had startled me.
His yeti—or was that sasquatch, I didn’t know the proper term—form was massive, easily filling the doorway with his broad shoulders and thick, snow-dusted fur. His coat shimmered a pale silver and white. And I saw now that it wasn’t polar bear-like at all; there was a blue shift to it.
And it was much longer than a bear’s, and denser too, clearly built for winter storms and deep forest cold. The fur ended before his biceps, leaving the generous muscles on display, but started up again to cover his forearms. The fur covered his chest too, fading to just a sprinkling over his abs.
The pelt resumed around his hips, almost like a natural loincloth.
Oh! No wonder the hair there had felt like fur.
His feet really were big. Huge, in fact. The tops of claws showed through the fur.
Actually, all of him was big. Bigger than he was when he was a man. The oversized furniture and eating utensils made sense now.
His face was still his though; he had those same piercing eyes and that strong masculine jaw. But it was all framed in a generous mane that made him look wild and untamed.
Now that the initial shock had worn off and I knew that I was safe, I found him to be beautiful in his own way. Terrifying, yes, not because I thought he’d hurt me, but because he was quite literally awe-inspiring. I hadn’t known creatures like him even existed.
He reached his hand out. “Don’t be frightened. It’s just me.”
“I know,” I said, finally able to form words. “I realized it the second I saw your face.”
He closed his eyes for a moment and the fur receded. He shrank, his feet grew smaller, and he soon stood naked just inside the door, looking very much human, albeit an extremely tall and buff one. The door closed behind him.
“I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
“I know,” I said again. Then I stood and closed the distance between us. “I didn’t mean to scream.”
He looked almost scared to touch me, like I was some fine china he might break. But I wasn’t, not at all. And I wasn’t frightened of him. I put a hand on his arm. Despite being fully human again, he still felt furry, but I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination because of what I’d just seen.
“Actually, I think you look very regal,” I said, hoping he could hear my honesty. “I didn’t know your kind... I’m not sure what you prefer to be called... shifted.”
He relaxed. “We don’t. It’s magic. We all call it camouflage because it often helps us blend into the trees. Or it makes us look human.”
