Pucked By The Puca (Monstrous Meet Cutes)

1. CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

ISEOL

Peace washes over me as I inhale the wintry air. All around, snowflakes dance, and I lace up my skates while taking in the perfect frosty scenery.

When was the last time I just had fun?

I shake my head with a rueful smile because I know it’s been forever . Hoisting myself off the ground, I bite my lip and step onto the frozen lake.

The second my blades meet the surface, I’m off. The skirts of my navy hanbok flutter around me as I twirl and jump.

This is my happy place—no people, no worries—just me and the cold. The ice is my canvas, and my skates are the brush.

Each turn, each leap, carves out a fleeting masterpiece that only I will ever see, and I relish in my quiet seclusion. Out here, there are no expectations for me.

No schedules.

No responsibilities.

Just freedom.

For a while, I work on etching floral designs into the ice with my skates. When I tire of spinning, I close my eyes and let my body shift into a full Gumiho.

Although my father’s kind can transform into anything, I naturally only retain the ears and tails of my brethren while holding the human form of my mother’s people, the Yuki-Onna.

The infamous Japanese Snow Maidens are renowned for heralding in the harsh winters, as well as their cold hearts.

But my father somehow managed to woo my mother, leaving me hopeful someone will also pierce the ice encasing mine.

Shaking my head at this thought, I focus on changing. To become fully Gumiho, I must shift into my fox form.

I adore the weightlessness of being the tiny creature, my fluffy tails billowing like flags as I run and play.

The transformation is seamless, a ripple of energy coursing through me as my body becomes lighter and smaller.

Even shifted, I still retain my mother’s powers, and as I pounce across the ice, I send bursts of snowflakes exploding around me like wintry fireworks.

A gentle snow starts falling—not of my doing as Yuki-Onna are known to create blizzards—and I stop to stare in wonder.

In Korea, even among monsters, the first snow is special, almost magical. Whereas some people wish upon stars, we wish upon the falling flurry.

Although this isn’t my first snow of the year, it is my first snowfall in Iceland. Once more, I close my eyes and bound forward.

With every leap, I send out a rush of icicles to meet the snow gently dropping down, and I make my wish.

Please send me someone to love.

Before I can ponder the magnitude of my thought, the air prickles at the back of my neck. I pause mid-spin, my vulpine ears twitching as they catch a sound in the gentle hush of the morning.

My gaze snaps to the edge of the lake, where a figure stands, dark and tall against the white expanse. I inhale against the intensity of his scrutiny.

Whipping into another graceful pirouette, I shift back into my normal form, my clothing the same as before, and gaze back at the man.

He’s tall—although I’m rather short at one hundred and eighty centimeters—and that’s not counting the towering horns that curl from the top of his head.

Even from a distance, I note his eyes are a bright yellow. His golden stare drinks me in, his expression appearing captivated.

By me?

Usually, no one finds me mesmerizing—competent and patient, yes. It’s what helps me succeed at my job, but never anything more.

The stranger steps onto the ice, skating closer until we’re only a meter apart. I can see that his sclerae are yellow and the black of his pupil has a reptilian stretch to it.

His skin is tanned, but at the wrists, brown fur stretches over his hands, covering even his long claws.

If those things didn’t herald his monstrous nature, then the tiny tusks poking up from his bottom lip would—along with his long, floppy, pointed ears.

They look soft as velvet, and a part of me yearns to pet them, just to see how they feel. But too many years of good manners keep my hands at my side.

“Hello.”

I break the silence between us, and my voice seems to jar him out of whatever trance he’s in. The huge man swipes a hand through his long, wavy hair—longer than mine.

The subtle green of it catches the rays of the early morning sun, making it more vibrant than it would normally be.

“Hello,” he echoes back.

My thighs clench at the rich timbre of his voice. It’s deep and smooth, wrapping around me like an ibul.

I blink in horrified fascination.

Am I… attracted to this man?

“I was told no one comes to this lake,” I blurt out to cover my inner confusion.

The stranger grins, his little tusks winking in the sun’s rays that poke through the clouds. “I was told the same thing.”

We both laugh, our gazes locking together, and a blush crawls up my neck to tint my cheeks what I’m sure is a bright purple.

“Right, well, I’ve been here for a while already, so I’ll leave you in peace.”

It’s not what I want, but it’s only fair to give this man his solitude, too. Yet when I try to skate by, he reaches out, curling his claws around my fingers and yanking me to a gentle stop.

“No…stay, please .”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the contact as well as his cajoling tone. I’m extremely out of my element, but the warmth from his touch spikes into something more visceral.

My heart seems to stutter, as does the flow of all my blood, before rushing back into action. A fiery sweep of need coalesces inside of me, burning away the cold that usually presides within.

What in the chintamani is that?!

Attempting to shake myself from… whatever it is, I clear my throat, my brain scrambling to think of words to speak.

What finally comes out is less than eloquent.

“Erm, ok. Sure. Yes. I-I’ll stay.” I cringe at my awkward babbling. “Um, I’m Iseol, pleasure to meet you.”

Phew.

Much better.

“Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, Iseol,” the other monster all but purrs, lifting my fingers to brush across his lips.

My stupid blush intensifies, as does the heat threatening to liquify me from the inside out.

“And you are?” I ask, hoping to divert my thoughts.

“I’m Pembroke, but please call me Pem.”

“ Pem. ”

I test the name on my tongue, wondering what it would sound like to scream, and barely choke back a groan at the mortifying thought.

Seriously, what is wrong with me?

Relax, sachon dongsaeng.

Hearing my cousin’s voice in my head helps soothe the riot of inappropriate emotions clamoring about inside of me.

Nothing douses sexual desire faster than thinking about what your family might say if they were here.

“Pem,” I try again in a more modulated voice. “I like it.”

“And I like Iseol. Such a unique name. It suits you. Is it impolite for me to assume you’re just visiting Iceland?”

“No, assume away. I’m…on holiday.”

It’s not a lie—I am on a vacation of sorts—but I don’t want to attract any more attention to myself by admitting I’m the stand-in coach for The Ice Giants, one of the teams vying for the coveted Norsphere Cup.

“And you?”

Pem hesitates before answering. “I’m on holiday as well.”

Silence descends, heightening the strange tension that seems to grow and heighten with every passing second.

I wrack my brain for something—anything—that doesn’t have to do with the all-encompassing blaze of need this man’s sparked.

Luckily, Pem comes to my rescue.

“Would you like to skate with me?”

It’s such a simple request, but my whole world tilts on its axis at the underlying current of longing suffused within his words.

So much so that I don’t know how to react. Logic has always governed my world, but now, my emotions take over.

Never do I act without thinking, but I find myself nodding in answer to Pem’s request—anything to keep me in his company for a little bit longer.

Only then do I realize that Pem’s still holding my hand, keeping us connected this entire time.

He tugs me forward, and I bite my lip before letting him lead me. The heat arcing from where our fingers close around one another nearly takes my breath away.

Normally, I’m cool. Cold, even, thanks to my Yuki-Onna heritage. Never in my life have I felt this hot.

This bothered.

My wish from earlier comes rushing back to me— please send me someone to love— and I try not to panic. Surely, there’s a reasonable explanation to what I’m feeling.

It’s not astronomical that another monster came here to skate, right?

Right?!

The scenery is beautiful, and the lake is perfectly frozen. Anyone visiting Iceland who learned of this place would rush to see it.

I know my very pragmatic mother would attest that it’s merely a fluke, pointing out the same things I just concluded.

But my superstitious father would heartily disagree.

It was something he and my mother playfully bickered about when I was growing up—the two absolute opposites who ended up complementing one another in the best ways.

Usually, I agreed with my mother, my Yuki-Onna side showing itself. My father would just shake his head at us, muttering under his breath.

As I got older, he stopped trying to convince me, content that I lived in Korea and adhered to most Gumiho traditions. But even now, when I think about my ‘wish’, I can hear my father.

There’s no such thing as coincidence.