Chapter Seven
Sylvie
Kenai led me out of the sauna, and I was met with a blast of ice-cold air as the door opened onto an absolutely beautiful mountainscape. Gorgeous snow-covered pines glittered in the afternoon light, surrounding a small stone path that had been cleared through the deep, powdery snow.
Hands found my shoulders and gently guided me down the short path.
The trees opened to a picturesque wooden chalet, its steep A-frame roof sheltering the wood-paneled facade below.
It sat on the edge of a cliff that fell away to mountains that looked nothing like New England.
If you’d asked me to guess, I would’ve said we were in the Swiss Alps. That was impossible…wasn’t it?
Despite the freezing temperatures, my whole body burned, and all I could focus on was Kenai’s hands on my shoulders.
The winter air cleared my head a bit, and now I realized how unbelievably horny I still was.
It took every ounce of willpower not to rip the robe off and pitch myself into the nearest snowbank—preferably taking Kenai with me.
I bit my tongue, the pain grounding me, as Taimyr opened the door to the chalet and Kenai led me inside.
It was nothing like what I’d expected from the outside. Where I’d imagined rustic cabin furniture and a stone fireplace, I found sleek modern lines and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a snow-covered valley that definitely wasn’t in Vermont.
The door clicked shut behind us, and suddenly the tension in the room was suffocating.
I could feel both men watching me, and every inch of my body screamed for contact.
My sense of smell was in overdrive, and now Kenai’s scent was distinct—fresh winter air, a hint of peppermint, and spicy cardamom.
People don’t smell like that, Sylvie. But he did.
I clutched the robe tighter around myself, grateful for the coverage, even though both men had been nothing but respectful. Still, the way they were looking at me—like they were fighting not to stare—made the heat under my skin intensify.
“Here.” Kenai appeared at my elbow with a glass of ice water. “Drink slowly.”
Our fingers brushed when I took the glass, and the contact sent a jolt through me that had nothing to do with static electricity. Kenai jerked his hand back like he’d been burned, but not before I caught the way his pupils dilated.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I should’ve been more careful.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, though it definitely wasn’t.
The brief contact had made every nerve ending in my body light up, and I had to resist the urge to reach for him again.
No, Sylvie. Everything about this situation was wrong.
I couldn’t let Kenai’s pretty eyes distract me.
His pretty eyes, and his exposed chest, and the way he smelled, and the way a bead of sweat was dripping down to his—
“Okay,” I said, trying not to panic and failing. “Someone needs to explain what the hell is happening to me. Right now.”
Kenai ran a hand through his white hair, his jaw tight. “Sylvie, I need you to try and stay calm.”
“Calm?” I laughed, humorless. “I wake up in a sauna with two strangers, I’m apparently in the Swiss Alps even though that makes zero sense, and my entire body feels like it’s on fire. Calm isn’t exactly an option right now.”
Taimyr moved to the kitchen area, putting deliberate distance between us. Even from across the room, I could see the tension in his shoulders. “She needs to know, Kenai. She can’t make any decisions without understanding what’s happening.”
“What decisions?” My voice pitched higher. “What are you talking about?”
Kenai took a careful step closer, and I had to grip the back of a nearby recliner to keep from running my hands over that maddening stretch of skin visible through his open robe. “The hot chocolate Mrs. Patterson gave you—it wasn’t normal hot chocolate.”
“No shit,” I managed. “What was in it?”
“A breeding accelerant,” Taimyr answered bluntly from the kitchen. “It triggers heat cycles in compatible omegas.”
I blinked. “Heat cycles? Omegas? What are you talking about? I’m not an animal.”
Kenai’s eyes flashed with something that made my stomach clench with want. “Sylvie, what I’m going to tell you next might sound crazy, but please—hear me out.”
I wanted to scream, This whole situation is crazy! But I held it back. Sometimes silence was the best trick to get someone to incriminate themselves.
He sighed. “Taimyr and I—well, we aren’t human. Maybe you guessed that from the antlers, but we’re reindeer shifters.”
I blinked. Then blinked again. “Reindeer shifters,” I repeated slowly. This had to be a dream, right? “So like a werewolf, but for reindeer.”
“We shift between human and reindeer forms, yes,” Kenai explained. “It’s not just a transformation—we have enhanced senses, strength, and longevity even in human form. We’re also connected to winter magic.”
“Magic?” I practically collapsed into the recliner I’d been gripping. “Of course. Magical reindeer. Why not.” Kenai moved toward me, then thought better of it.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those jaded humans who doesn’t believe?” Taimyr said, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.
“Oh, so I’m the crazy one in this situation?” I shot him a look.
He was grinning—and unfortunately, much like Kenai, it made him look absolutely delicious. “Yes.”
“Tai…” Kenai’s warning tone made the other man raise his hands in surrender.
“Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
At that, I really did start to laugh. A slightly hysterical laugh I couldn’t quite control. This was crazy. Absolutely crazy. My fingers dug into my skin as I dragged them down my face.
The lawyer part of me tried to find the logical explanation beneath the lie. That’s what I was good at—finding faults in a story, tearing opposing counsel to shreds. But this…
My whole body hurt, like a fever but ten times worse, and heat centered between my legs. Every time Kenai shifted, I could smell him, and it made me want to climb on top of him. That was not normal. Even for me. Okay, well, maybe…
“So let’s just say, for one minute, I believe this. What does it mean?”
“The heat is a way of signaling fertility to compatible mates,” Taimyr explained. “In the wild, it ensures survival of the species. It usually lasts three to five days.”
I tried to remember the Netflix nature documentaries I’d watched.
Growing up, I remembered some of the local hunters taking trips up to Canada for deer and elk hunting.
They’d talk about imitating the sound of females in heat to attract males.
They’d laugh and say the bulls in rut lost all rational thought and charged right toward them.
Was that what I was doing?
I thought about that dark look in both Kenai’s and Taimyr’s eyes—how they’d tried to keep as much distance between us as possible. I wasn’t an idiot; I knew what that meant.
“So if I’m in heat, that means I’m going to attract attention?” I asked.
Kenai nodded. “Sylvie, you need to understand—the scent you’re giving off right now will drive every unmated shifter within miles into a frenzy.”
“That’s why Kenai brought you here,” Taimyr added. “You might’ve noticed we’re not in Vermont anymore. This place masks your scent from the outside world. You’re safe here. Because your scent is unusually strong, it’s even affecting mated shifters.” He shot Kenai a look. Kenai ignored it.
“Safe from everyone but you two,” I muttered, noting how both men were clearly struggling.
“We would never hurt you,” Kenai said, his voice rougher now. “But you need to understand. Your scent is triggering a rut response in me. My body is responding to yours.”
So it was literally just like those nature documentaries.
“It’s the alpha equivalent of heat,” Taimyr clarified. “A biological drive to mate with a compatible omega.”
“And I’m an omega,” I said flatly.
“Yes. You’re human, but you might have some dormant shifter genes from way back in your lineage. It was enough that the accelerant could awaken your omega traits.”
Alright, I was just going to ignore that revelation for now. “And you’re an alpha,” I muttered to Kenai.
He nodded.
“And you?” I asked Taimyr, somewhat accusatorily.
“Also an alpha.”
Another wave of heat rolled through me, and I gripped the chair arms. “This is insane. This whole thing is insane.”
“I know,” Kenai replied quietly. “But it’s real. And we need to figure out how to manage it.”
I took a deep breath, forcing my lawyer brain to cut through the haze. “Manage it how? What stops this? What makes the heat end?”
Kenai and Taimyr exchanged a glance.
“Don’t do that!” I snapped. “I’m not fragile. Just tell me.”
“An alpha’s…presence. Their pheromones help regulate the heat. Physical contact. And…” Kenai trailed off.
“Sex,” I finished flatly. “Sex with an alpha makes it stop.”
“It’s not that simple—” Taimyr started.
“But it would help. It would make this bearable.” I gestured at myself, at the way I was practically vibrating out of my skin. “Right?”
“Yes,” Kenai admitted, his voice pained. “It would help significantly.”
I nodded once, decision made. “Okay. So let’s do that.”
Both of them went very still.
“Sylvie—” Kenai began.
“I’m a grown woman. I can make decisions about my own body, even in this state.
” The words came out sharp, businesslike—like I was negotiating.
I was always negotiating. “You said it yourself—three to five days of this. I can’t function like this.
I can barely think—it…it hurts. So if sex makes it stop, then that’s the logical solution. ”
“It’s not just sex,” Taimyr said carefully. “Not for shifters. There are…emotional components. Bonding instincts. It’s intense.”
I waved that away. “I understand there might be some biochemical attachment—oxytocin, endorphins, whatever the shifter equivalent is. I can handle that.” I’d been divorcing sex from feelings for a long time.
Kenai moved closer, his expression almost heartbroken. “Sylvie, this isn’t just sex. When an alpha and omega come together during heat—especially a first heat—the connection runs deep. It changes things.”
“Then it changes things.” The need within me flared again, my vision tunneling as my breath hitched. “It’s still better than feeling like I need to crawl out of my skin.”
“I just want you to understand—” Kenai tried again, reaching for my hand.
I pulled back. “I understand just fine. You’re worried I’ll get attached or expect something beyond this situation. I won’t. I’m very good at compartmentalizing.”
The truth of that settled heavy in my chest. I’d spent my whole adult life keeping people at arm’s length.
Work was easier than relationships—contracts, courtrooms, negotiations.
That’s what I did, what I was good at. I’d watched my grandmother choose her career over everything else, and I’d learned that lesson well.
This would be the same—a means to an end, nothing more.
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Kenai said softly, and something in his tone made my throat tighten.
“Look, I appreciate whatever this is”—I gestured vaguely at his earnest expression—“but I don’t need the gentle treatment. I need a solution, and you’ve given me one.”
Taimyr was watching me with those dark, knowing eyes. “Has anyone ever taken care of you, Sylvie? Not as a transaction. Just…taken care of you?”
The question hit harder than it should have. I felt my walls slam into place. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“Sylvie—” Kenai’s voice was so gentle it made my chest ache.
“Stop.” I held up a hand. “Please. I can’t…
I don’t do this. The feelings thing, the soft words, the looking at me like—well, I can’t.
” My voice cracked despite my best efforts.
“Let’s just keep this simple. Clinical. You help me through the heat, I don’t make it weird by expecting anything beyond that. It should help your rut too, right?”
The silence that followed was crushing.
Kenai’s silver eyes shone with so much care I couldn’t hold his gaze. “Of course, Sylvie. Whatever you need.”