Page 31

Every inch I move closer to the cabin, my mind races with images of Blake’s impending rejection. My heart crushes with the pain I know will tear me in two. The hole it will leave behind that will never be filled again.

The creak of wood echoes around me as I step onto the lowest stair to the cabin. Inside, I can hear the thumping of Blake’s heart and his minuscule whimpers.

“Please, please, please. Arden, please help me.”

“Baby, it’s me.” I wrap the words over my tongue as gently as I can.

The hitch of a gasp reverberates through the air. I know Blake is standing just behind the door with how easily I can hear his shaky gasps.

“A-Arden?” He stutters.

God, he’s so brave. My sweet thing is the bravest human I’ve ever met. Alone in an unfamiliar place, with a man he’s known less than a week. He’s only seen a glimpse of me, yet he responds to my call.

I let out a tender whine. “Yes, baby. It’s me. I promise.”

I inch up the stairs, the wood groaning under my weight. I have to duck to slip beneath the small porch roof, but I keep my distance from the door as I kneel.

“Come out, baby. I won’t hurt you.” I try my best to keep the wave of anxiety at bay as I shake with dread.

He’s going to see me. He’s going to know that I’m a monster. One with a furry body, with canines cutting into my upper lip, with hands the size of his head.

The front door rattles. My breath catches in my throat.

Please don’t reject me, Blake. After winter, I’ll change back into my human form. I’ll lock my beast away until next year and when winter comes again, I’ll hide myself in the mountains until it’s over.

My thoughts grate against my skull. My heart shakes my ribs as I watch the front door of my cabin creep open with a whine.

Kneeling just like me, Blake’s fearful gaze meets mine. His gasp is like a razor slicing into my soul. With his hands shaking against his chest and his jaw tightly set, we both watch each other in strained silence.

His hazel eyes dance over my body, jumping from my furry chest to my face as he takes in the monster before him.

I want to reach out to him. I want to pull his body against mine. I need to feel him pressed up against my side. But I keep still. Fighting tooth and nail inside my beast to stay calm. To let my mate decide if he should choose me… or reject me.

“A-Arden?” Blake whispers. His voice is barely audible and his gaze flickers to mine as he curls away.

I know what I must look like to him. Some animalistic monster with overly large canines I can’t hide and a body too uncanny to be considered human. Or safe.

“It’s me, Blake.” I dip my head, dropping my gaze trying my very best to make myself smaller for him. To show him I’m not the monster he sees.

In my peripheral, I watch my mate pull himself to his feet, his knees shake beneath him as he clings to the door handle.

“You’re really him?” Blake asks, despite the fear that shakes his soul as his shoulders vibrate with tension.

I nod. “Yes.”

“How?”

Slowly, I lift my gaze from the spot before me. It’s jarring to find Blake’s moved closer. He no longer hides himself in the cabin’s doorway; instead, he steps onto the porch, his hand still resting on the door handle.

My heart sings with hope. My sweet thing. My brave mate. If I can explain to him exactly what I am then maybe he’ll forgive me. Maybe he’ll find something inside of him to accept me.

“I’m a shifter,” I reply, slowly raising a hand towards him. “A Sasquatch shifter.”

Blake flinches as my hand opens, my palm empty. He watches me closely, his own hands curled up against his chest as he takes a tiny step closer.

“You look…” His words dwindle as he tilts his head, his eyes sweeping across my face.

Hideous. Disgusting. Like a monster.