Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
brAXTON
The roar of the snowprowler has me running in its direction.
The beast should know better than to hunt in my territory.
Any animals it finds are mine. He has his own hunting grounds that I don’t cross, and he knows not to cross mine.
It must be something really enticing to make him come this far North.
As I push myself up the terrain, I can see the creature snarling at something. Something large. I can make out a dark blob that stands out from the stark white snow. What is that? There shouldn’t be any deer or elk up here.
As I get closer, I realize it’s people. Two humans. How the hell did they get up here? And dressed like that? Was that a woman standing behind him? She was clinging to his back, so it was hard to make out. First thing first, I have to deal with the snowprowler.
A few more steps and I’m able to leap between them and the beast, roaring at it. He knows not to fight me, so he quickly turns and runs away.
I stand up tall, turning to face the two new humans on my mountain. The small woman pokes her head out from the man as she gazes up at me and whispers, “Wow, a yeti!”
She moves out from behind the man and takes a step towards me, but the man pulls her back against him, making me growl.
“Don’t, we don’t know if he’s dangerous.”
“But… I’ve never seen a yeti before,” she says with wide eyes.
“He’s not a yeti.”
“How do you know? He could be,” she reasons, looking up at me in awe. Is she not scared of me?
“I just know.”
The man frowns at me, obviously unsure about my intentions. “Have you ever seen a yeti?” he asks her.
“No.”
“Do you even know what a yeti is?”
She hesitates this time before replying, “No.” Then she laughs, her smile could warm the coldest of hearts.
It’s only now I take in the rest of her appearance.
She has gorgeous hair the color of an orange daisy, and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.
She’s tiny compared to my huge frame and the thought of wrapping her in my arms has my cock instantly hardening.
She wears strange tight black pants, showing off her curvy lower half, and a flowy black shirt covers her top.
Why is she wearing such strange clothing?
And how did they get up here? I can see her lips starting to turn blue.
She’s cold. That’s unacceptable. I need to get her back to my cave to warm up.
I take several steps towards her and her eyes grow wide as she tilts her head up to keep eye contact with me.
“Wow, a real life yeti.”
“I’m not a yeti,” I tell her as I lower my fur covered hood so she can see my face.
“Whoa, you’re pretty good looking for a yeti.”
“Penny!” The man exclaims from behind her.
“I’m not a yeti. But I do need to get you back to my cave so you can warm up.”
“You’re the nicest yeti I’ve ever met.”
“Still not a yeti,” I grumble.
“I thought you said you’d never met a yeti before?” The man asks.
“I haven’t.”
We stare at each other in silence for a moment before I bend down and pick her up. The man seems to want to protest, but when I level him with a stare, I think he knows I’m only trying to keep her safe. I manage to get her to cling to my front so I can wrap my fur cloak around us both.
“You’re so warm,” she whispers, as we start our descent to my cave. All I can do is grunt in reply. My aching cock is pressing so hard against my pants. Luckily, due to our size difference, she is sitting too high to feel it hardening at the sensation of her body pressed to mine.
What were they doing up here? Was this man one of her mates? He probably had several brothers searching for them somewhere.
“Yeti?” the sexy woman in my arms asks. Penny, the man had called her. It suits her.
“Hmm?” I grunt in response.
“Do you live up here alone, or do you have a yeti family somewhere?” I hear the man chuckle and I hold her tighter to me.
“Just me,” I reply
“Okay good, cause I was gonna say you probably shouldn’t be rubbing my ass like that if you aren’t single.” My hand stills and my eyes go wide. I wasn’t rubbing her ass, was I? I flex my fingers and realize I am indeed gripping her butt cheeks firmly.
“What the hell, man?” her companion asks.
“I apologize. I didn’t realize I was doing it. I didn’t mean to fondle your wife. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never been this close to a woman before—”
“Yeti, it’s okay, calm down. You haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not Ryker’s wife.”
I turn my shocked gaze to Ryker.
“She’s not?”
He shakes his head, frowning, and I’m sure I hear him mumble “not yet” under his breath.
“We just met today. This is our first date actually,” she says into my neck, sounding proud, and I glance over at Ryker, who is smiling fondly at her back where she still clings to me.
“I have to ask. How the hell did you end up stranded at the top of a mountain on your first date?”
“Well,” she starts, her warm breath brushing over my neck, sending tingles throughout my body. “It started when I decided to hop on a… skyreacher for a little ride. First officer Ryker over here decided to join me.”
“What the little joy rider is failing to mention is that this particular skyreacher had no equipment. No saddle, no reins, nothing. And seconds before she was about to launch out of the cave, hundreds of feet above the valley, I jumped on behind her.”
“Thank fucking goodness! You could have been killed! What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that is?” I can’t help but chastise her. The thought of her getting injured before I ever met her sends a wave of fear through me.
“I just… wanted to get out of there,” she replies quietly as we keep walking through the thick snow.
“You never did tell me why you were at the mating hunt to begin with.”
“What?! You were participating in the mating hunt? That barbaric tradition?” From my brief encounter with her, she didn’t seem like the type of woman to participate in something like that.
“Not on purpose. I was in the cave trying to get away from it. It’s why I wanted to get out of there so fast.”
Ryker sighs. “You could have told me. I would have safely saddled one up for us and got you out of there.”
She pulls back and turns her head to look at him. “Really? You would have done that? You didn’t even know me.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’d do anything for you, Red.” They smile at one another before he frowns. “Especially get you away from the type of men who participate in that ritual.”
“Is it that bad?”
“They aren’t all bad men. But their need for a wife drives some of them to become a bit… unhinged,” I answer for him.
“Oh. Well, I’m glad I got out of there. And found you two.
” She smiles at us both and I return it.
I can’t remember the last time I actually smiled.
I’ve been around this woman for mere minutes and already she was warming my heart.
I wasn’t sure what her full story was yet, but I really hope she had room for one more mate in her heart, because I wasn’t sure I would be able to let her go.