Tan jumped, then shook himself out. “I’m sorry. You’re right. And he… hopefully you’ll be immune to the… snowstorm. Or something. I dunno.”
“Tan.”
“Okay, okay. Fuck. Don’t die.”
I wasn’t planning on it.
He gulped in a breath, nodded, and moved his arm up before slashing it down. Right in front of me, a tear opened up in his shield just enough for me to slip inside. My eyes immediately began to water from the onslaught of wind and snow. I was covered in a layer of snow after only a step or two, so I raised my arm in front of my face to try to block everything out.
There was ice flying everywhere, and for one second, I doubted my ability to reach Lanche before I really was torn apart by the ice and wind.
But then I paused and looked around.
Sure, the wind and snow were hitting me, but… but the ice was flying right past me, over me, around me. Not a single sliver of ice hit me as I stepped forward.
That had to prove that Lanche was still in there, didn’t it? He was protecting me as much as he could.
Right?
Taking a breath, I pushed forward another step.
Everything was white, but I didn’t need to see to find Lanche, did I?
If I would’ve been thinking more clearly earlier, I could’ve found Lanche without Tan’s help.
All I had to do was follow my connection to him.
Maybe he wasn’t in control of himself or his magic, but no one and nothing was stronger than a viramore bond.
So closing my eyes, I concentrated on the newly formed bond Lanche and I shared. It took a moment to find the silvery thread, but once I did, it seemed to flare to life, almost growing stronger before my eyes.
I took a breath, kept my eyes shut against the storm, and followed the silvery cord.
The wind was so strong, it was difficult to move, but I was a werewolf. I had a strength of my own that no human possessed. It felt like wading through thick mud, but I pushed myself through the foot-tall snow and howling wind, using my were magic to the best of my abilities to put one foot in front of the other.
Then another step.
And another.
And another.
Finally, after what felt like years of walking through a blizzard, I could tell I was close to Lanche, so I opened my eyes and found my one true soulmate only three feet away.
“Lanche!” I yelled over the wind, but there was no reaction, no acknowledgement.
“Lanche!” I stepped closer, and my snow yeti’s gaze didn’t move from over the top of my head.
“Avalanche!” Still nothing, so I moved closer. “Avalanche! Lanche!”
I moved closer still until there was only inches between me and his chest. But he didn’t look down.
“Avalanche Rudolphus, I’m gonna need you to snap the fuck out of it and come back to me. Okay?”
When he didn’t move even a muscle, my heart clenched, and I felt tears threaten to fall again. But I pressed on. There had to be a way for him to gain control again. There had to be.
Fuck. Please, baby. Please, come back.
I never thought I could miss a person who was standing right in front of me, but in that moment, I did. I missed the way Lanche always smiled and blushed whenever I caught his eye. I missed his sweet laughter. I missed his gentle touch, his tender being, his amazing, wonderful, beautiful self.
