Chapter 9 Wyndham
WYNDHAM
The cold air slapped my face and needled my cheeks. It was owie, but not like my ankle the day of the accident. I liked the sensation of the wind nibbling my skin because of what I’d just witnessed.
Ambrose had shifted, and not into a bear or a wolf. I put my hands on my head as my brain processed what had happened. He was a reindeer shifter. How did I not know they existed?
And he wasn’t any old reindeer. He was the one who’d led me to his cabin after I crashed the car.
My mind was blown, not so much by the events but the order they happened, so he could find me.
I stared at the sky and silently asked the universe if it put Tinsel in harm's way so I could meet my mate.
It had all worked out okay, and the little fluff ball survived, but that was kinda messed up.
Ambrose the reindeer shifted into Ambrose the human, but sadly, he got dressed and I had little time to ogle his cock. I did get a few seconds of ogling, and it was so worth it.
He lifted his head after pulling on his coat.
“So.” I studied my breath streaming in front of me. “You’re a reindeer shifter.”
He nodded.
“A magnificent one.” I had little to compare his reindeer to, having only seen them on film, but his antlers were majestic.
“My beast and I thank you.” He bowed before explaining that reindeer shifters were less common than bears and wolves, but shifters existed in all forms, even butterflies and unicorns.
“What?” I sagged against a tree, and Ambrose hefted me up. He was stronger than me and I considered toppling over, head first into the snow, and having his hands on me again. I’d just made a huge discovery, and now he was telling me mythical beasts existed in shifter form?
“Unicorns?” I gulped and laughed. “Next you’ll be telling me there are dragons too.” He didn’t contradict me, but that was a discussion for another day because my mind was already mush.
“Anything else I should know?” I was keeping my distance, because if I got too close, I’d scent him and want to put my hands on him. But Ambrose had other ideas and strolled toward me. I shivered, which had nothing to do with the temperature.
His bare hands took my gloved ones. My mind, which was still reeling from the new developments, was prepared for a proposal because what else could he be about to say? He wasn’t on one knee, but did shifters do that?
“You’re my fated mate, Wyndham.”
I was both wrong and right. He wasn’t asking me to marry him, but performing the shifter version, which was even better. Mates. We were mates. Of course, we were. That was the weird sensation I’d experienced when he was near. His body and mind were calling me.
I stamped my feet because I was cold just standing in one place. “Let’s walk.” I was doing less hobbling and more having a slight limp, so Ambrose tucked his arm in mine and we trudged in circles around the yard.
In theory, I understood mating, and being his mate settled the confusion in my head as to how connected we were.
But it was a huge revelation, and I had questions, though with Ambrose being so close, my mind was befuddled.
It was his damned scent that was making my knees weak, and my brain wobbled and couldn’t focus.
“I only told you part of the story before. Yes, my cousins are shifters, but also… I’ve worked with shifters.
The head of our sales department is a wolf shifter, and I met his mate at the dreaded Christmas party last year.
” I only knew that because they used it as the excuse for what they had been doing.
“Don’t tell me they were dancing naked on the tables?”
If only that had been it. I shook my head because I didn’t want to get into what they’d done in the utility room.
But I had longed for a relationship like theirs—not what they did at the Christmas party, because that was ewww. At least my uncle was human enough to protect me from that side of his relationship because that would’ve been worse than seeing the head of sales’ bare ass.
“You’re not upset about this, are you?”
He went on to describe how some humans rejected the universe putting them and their mate together. “Even though some felt the connection with their shifter mate, they refused to be with them because it wasn’t their choice.”
When he put it like that, it did sound manipulative, but that wasn’t how I imagined it.
“Are you a fan of rom coms?”
Ambrose screwed up his face. “I don’t have a TV, and it’s been years since I went to the movies.”
“Okay, imagine this. A human in a crowded library. He glances toward the door as a man strolls in. He doesn’t know the guy’s name or anything about him but thinks, ‘this is the man I’m going to marry.’”
“Okay, and how does he make that happen?”
Ummm, yeah, that was part creepy stalker and part lovesick wanna-be boyfriend.
“Let’s skip over that bit. But it’s instant.” For one of them, anyway. “And it’s special whether it’s the human or shifter version.”
“Cool.”
But I needed to understand why I’d dreamed of him and whether that was normal for shifters or just shifters and humans.
“My brother said you might not experience the dream, but you did, and that suggested our bond is powerful.”
Oh goody, I was going to enjoy this powerful connection when I finally got Ambrose into bed.
He glanced back at the cabin. “Understand you have a choice. Right now, tomorrow, and at any time in the future.”
I tilted my head as if I was pondering. “Mmmm, do or don’t I. Gosh, it’s a huge decision, and I might have to think about it.”
Ambrose, my mate, the man I longed to kiss and wake up beside every morning, nodded, but I refused to be a meanie and torture him.
The sun peeked through the clouds and revealed a hint of auburn in my mate’s hair, and I wished to plant my lips on his, but we had to talk before I stuck my tongue down his throat.
“My thinking time is up, and I’ve made my choice.” I draped my arms around his neck. “I choose you and me.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. “It’s huge.”
I giggled. “Ummm, yeah.” I glanced between us. “I agree. Massive, even.”
His cheeks reddened. “Not that.” His face was dotted in pink spots, making him appear even more handsome. “Mating and bonding and being connected forever.”
“I’ve watched mated pairs and how they sync together. Their smiles and how they look at one another.” I’d always wanted that and never dreamed that was my destiny too.
I’d never felt more at home than I had since walking into the cabin, and that had nothing to do with his decorating expertise and everything to do with him. But I might have a freakout or two along the way, especially if I met a unicorn.
We smiled at one another, and on an impulse, I took a few steps backward, grabbed a handful of snow, and tossed it at my mate. It hit him in the chest, and his eyes lit up.
“You didn’t just do that.” He brushed the snow off his chest. “You’re going to regret that.”
Making a mistake with a handful of snow was something I’d live with, but the decision I made about our mating was a done deal, and I’d never rue that.
But as I was considering being mated to a reindeer shifter, a snowball whizzed past my head.
“Hey, I thought shifters had great reflexes. How come you missed me?” I jiggled my butt.
“That was a warning shot, and because you’re at a disadvantage with your ankle.”
I tossed another snowball at his head, and he hit my shoulder with his second one.
It was war, and I hopped and limped, trying to avoid his accurate throws, while tossing snow at him and hoping it made contact. Ambrose charged at me, and I squealed, preparing to be tackled and hoping my ankle didn’t break. But my feet hit a patch of ice, and I fell backward toward a snowdrift.
My arms flailed, but strong hands caught me, and we toppled over together into the soft snow.
“Gotcha.” His face was inches from mine, and though my butt was freezing, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
Our hair was covered in snow, and I brushed some off his cheek.
“I’d like to kiss you if I may.”
“You absolutely may, and if you don’t, I will.”
His kiss was gentle, as if he didn’t want to hurt me. One hand cupped my face as he pressed against me and nibbled my bottom lip. I closed my eyes, enjoying his breath billowing over me and how his nose tucked in beside mine as if that was where it was supposed to be.
We pulled apart, and I regretted it, wanting our tongues to lash one another.
“Let’s continue this inside.”