Chapter 3
Aspen
Isaw boots in front of me and looked up. The lodge clerk stood before me.
“If you go with him, you can get your room now.” The clerk pointed to a guy standing at the front of the counter who was staring at me.
“What? Who?” I looked past the clerk and met the man’s gaze. The man gave me a nod.
Something flared inside my chest. For a moment, I thought I knew him. But no name clicked. He was quite handsome with wavy, gold-brown hair. He projected alpha vibes.
With my heat coming, possibly within a week, that wouldn’t do at all.
“No, no. I couldn’t.”
“Are you sure? It would be a cabin. One of our nicest singles.”
The alpha walked up to me. One sniff and I could tell he was human. What was he doing here at the shifter lodge?
“Hi. My name is Dale.” He started to hold out his hand, but it fell back when I didn’t immediately stand.
The clerk said, “You will each be refunded half your money plus ten percent. It’s all we can offer.”
I should have left an hour ago. Waiting for some lottery that didn’t seem likely to happen until more guests showed up. What had I been thinking? But the worst-case scenario was that I would have to turn around and go home. I was dead tired, and I didn’t want to face my family’s “I told you so’s.”
I stared at the alpha. His eyes were rather pretty, and he didn’t have that frown that a lot of alphas seemed to naturally possess. That resting predator face. I didn’t appreciate the hard looks like some easily titillated omegas. And possibly it was why I was still single.
“Well?” the clerk prompted.
The alpha stepped up. “It’s okay. He doesn’t have to. I’m desperate but not enough to force someone to room with me.”
Taking deep breaths through my nose, I surveyed the room.
Everyone looked grumpy and exasperated, but this guy had still managed to maintain some patience.
Plus, he was human, which told me he might stay more to himself.
Humans and shifters respected each other but mostly stayed in their own communities.
He might be the best bet I had. Maybe he was the quiet type, too, and I’d still have some peace in the coming days.
I pushed myself to my feet and nodded. “I’m Aspen. Maybe we can try this for a day and see how it goes.”
“If there are any problems,” the clerk said, “we can certainly revisit your stay. And your bill.”
“Pleased to meet you, Aspen,” Dale said.
No red flags. Yet. He didn’t seem like the serial killer type. But who could ever know what lurked behind friendly blue eyes.
I grabbed my suitcase and followed Dale up to the front. The clerk quickly processed our room, switching it to what he called “a luxury cabin” and calling it a “fairy tale setting.” He gave us a map and showed us where we could park closer to our living space.
Soon I was following a stranger’s car to the place we were going to live for the next two weeks. It was surreal. It was a short drive but during that minute and a half I changed my mind half a dozen times, almost turning around and heading straight back home.
The cabin appeared in a tiny grove. A snow-shoveled path led to the cutest, A-frame gingerbread house with white trim on the windows and a front door that was curved on top. It had a big wreath hanging in the center, and twinkle lights along the icy eaves.
It was just turning dusk outside. The sky grew darker by the minute.
I parked my car alongside Dale’s and got out. I rolled my suitcase up onto the path.
Dale came up beside me with an almost identical suitcase. “It’s just like the website photos.”
“Really pretty,” I added.
“Let’s take a look.”
I nodded slowly. I couldn’t help but think I could have had this all to myself if someone at this establishment hadn’t so colossally screwed up. The silence was amazing. The snow had piled up in pretty waves and hillocks, just like a Christmas card. The cold scent of winter pine intoxicated me.
Dale was the first to reach the door. He used the Winter Wonderland app on his cell to unlock it. When the door opened, warm air rushed out over our faces. Someone had already turned on the heat.
Inside was a spacious room, all wood, with thick throw rugs on the floor, plaid curtains on the windows, and fairy light garlands strung to frame a large fireplace. As Dale flipped the switch, they came on with the overhead lights.
I had pictured a space that was small and confining. But this room was quite large. A couch and coffee table in front of the hearth separated that area from the sleeping area, giving it a feel of two rooms. There was even a little Christmas tree in one corner.
The closet was open, and large enough for two. On the far side, an open door led to a connecting bathroom. I walked over and glanced in. It had two sinks, a shower and a tub. Also, larger than I’d expected.
“It’s adorable,” Dale said.
“I have to admit I agree.”
He turned to face me. “Are you sure you’re all right with this?”
I couldn’t help but glance at the bed. It was a king, but still it was the only bed. Like a whipped cream delight, it sported an all-white fluffy comforter and piles of pillows at the head.
“I guess. It’s really nice.”
“I’ll try my best not to get in your way.” Dale’s mouth lifted in a small smile. “I’d planned a quiet vacation away from everything, and I’m guessing you did, too.”
“Yeah. Watch movies. Sit in front of the fire. Catch up on my sleep.”
“Same.” He paused. “But look. There’s a couch. I can sleep there.”
I frowned. “That wouldn’t be fair.”
He shrugged, rolling his suitcase toward the closet and setting it up on a stand.
I followed his lead, rolling mine over to the second stand.
I had a lot of questions for him but no starting point.
Should I even ask them? It seemed wrong to be sharing a room and not get to know the other person even if only a little.
Like where they came from. What they did for a living. How old they were.
Suddenly, a question blurted out of my mouth. “Why are you at the shifter lodge?”
He turned. “When they saw I was a human alpha, they sent me here. Said it would be easier for me. Or maybe they’d made another mistake and alphas, even human ones, belong here?”
“It is a weird sort of segregation, isn’t it? Having shifters at one and humans at the other,” I murmured.
“Yeah. Where I work, there’s a mix. I’m used to shifters.”
That meant maybe he liked us. Which made sense. Where else would he find omegas to claim? Human omegas were rare.
“Can I ask what kind of shifter you are?”
“Reindeer.”
He let out a short laugh. “That’s so appropriate for this time of year.”
When I didn’t respond, he added, “Sorry. You probably get that all the time, right? I have a bad habit of speaking before thinking.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. “It’s our herd’s favorite time of year. We thrive in the cold. The more snow the better. But if you ask if we fly, that might be going too far.”
“Oh come on. Santa’s real.”
I froze. Then he broke the tension with a barrel laugh that caught me up. Soon, I was laughing, too.
Our first conversation could have been much worse.
Maybe Dale the human alpha would turn out to be a likable guy after all.