The Bridal Hunt (Brides of the Hunt Book 1) Page 10

  My outfit today, being on the colder side, consisted of a soft pair of pants that matched my long, dress-like top. The pants tied in the front, the dress fastening with ties at the back—it was all pretty simple, and for me that made it a little easier. To finish off my Abominable ensemble, I had my feet snug and cozy in a warm pair of—you guessed it—furry boots.

  So warm, I thought, wriggling my toes. I’d taken to using the mating fur Veck had given me like a cape, as well, wrapping it around my shoulders, shielding me from the brunt of the cold.

  Veck was very proud when he’d admitted he made all of my clothes himself—not that it wasn’t obvious to begin with. I’d been a bit in awe at that, though, the fact that he would go through so much trouble to do something for me. He'd made them all by himself—just for me. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that.

  Honestly, I couldn’t think of a time anyone had gone out of their way like that for me, ever. It’s softened me towards the big lug.

  When I'd told him as much, trying to thank him, he'd just grunted and said, "Veck takes care of Meanie," ending any further comment.

  His stitching improved, he proved, as he made enough clothes to last me a week, making it perfectly clear my first outfit was more or less slapped together in a pinch. A test run, possibly, so I wouldn’t flat out die from the cold, maybe?

  I couldn’t sew to save my life—not that I’d ever tell anyone that—but kudos to him, either way. Regardless, my first dress is still my favorite outfit, and I still wear it all the time, crap job or not. Smiling softly, I got back to work.

  Sometimes you just can’t beat sentimental attachment.

  ✽✽✽

  "Meanie no luck?" Veck asked, plopping down beside me on the ground as I wiped the stray tears from my eyes.

  Nose bright red, face puffy from crying, my lips trembled and I sniffled. "I just want to go home." I wasn’t surprised he knew. And why wouldn’t he?

  "This make Meanie happy?" Veck asked gruffly, staring off over the water. "What Meanie home like? Good?"

  "I, uh... well, yeah."

  Scooting closer to me, I didn't protest when he wrapped an arm around me and tugged me towards him. Taking the comfort he offered, needing it, I leaned in, absorbing his warmth.

  Resting my head on his shoulder, my knees tucked up to my chest, I thought about what I should talk about, how I could tell him how wonderful my life was. I could convince him, couldn’t I? Then he’d take me back.

  My mind stalled, however, as I tried to think of one good thing about my life back home, something to really sell him on why I really needed to go back.

  I mean, yeah, there's television, cable, phones, cars... but then again, there's usually nothing on to watch, and yet there are like fifty million channels. And phones... well, my phone's constantly ringing off the hook, not for me, but because bill collectors are calling for the man who used to have my phone number. And that’s all stupid, petty crap.

  Erm... Cars! Well, yes, I missed my precious truck—my baby—but then there was always traffic, and the upkeep. My poor truck is getting old and has broken down a few times, I had to admit. What a nightmare that was to fix the last time. And, yep, traffic, definitely won't run into that issue here.

  I had to ask myself, is that really the sum of it all? Is my life really that sad that I can't come up with anything really good or life altering? I’m only thinking of stupid, materialistic things.

  There's hospitals! Yeah, medical care... Doctors. That's good. Hmm. What else...?

  Clearing my throat, I sighed inwardly. Yeah, Mina, let's get real for a minute here, have a little heart to heart, get real about what life was like back home.

  I worked hard at a job that didn’t pay as well as it should. I didn't have any family to speak of, not anymore, and didn't have anyone in my life that I could really call important or noteworthy. There’s not one single person I could truly, completely call friend and really count on, call whenever I needed something, whether it be big or small.

  George had been the only constant in my life these past few years, other than work, and look how well that turned out.

  Groaning, I closed my eyes. Letting out a little huff, tugging my legs into me tighter, tightening my grip on my knees, I wrapped my arms around them hard enough to hurt. Does my life really suck the big one that bad back home?

  Forcing my eyes open, I squinted, glancing around, as if to search out the answers, but my eyes kept straying towards my toes to glare at the tips of my boots. The boots that Veck, my friend and pseudo mate/roomie, had made me.

  Brow crinkling, I frowned, concentrating, wracking my brain for anything—anything at all to really bring home the importance of taking me back into the proper light for him.

  "Too many good things for Meanie?" he asked a little hoarsely, shifting restlessly beside me. Growling under his breath, he got up and turned away, his face just out of view, holding a hand out to me.

  Watching him move, I looked up at him, then his outstretched fingers, placing mine in his. He was always so warm, the heat rolling off of him both comforting and inviting, so strangely familiar to me now. Turning to peek up at him as his hand smoothed over mine, the furnace-like heat of his fingers stroking my wrist as our palms pressed, his expression was carefully blanked, unreadable.

  Shoulders stiff, he tugged me up. "Come, Meanie."

  Staring at his back as he started to walk off, expecting me to follow, Veck led me along, his thumb stroking my hand idly. I went with it, allowing him tote me wherever. I could honestly say I trusted him, as far as things like this went.

  I know he won't take me back—that's a fact—but I also know he'd never hurt me, physically or otherwise, and he won't lie to me. Avoid answering, yes, but outright lie to me? No. He's proven himself at least that much. So, in that way, I trusted Veck.

  Plus… he’s a horrible, horrendous liar anyway. He couldn’t get away with it even if he’d wanted to. When he’d fibbed that first night—well, sort of lied—more like a lie by omission—the look on his face had been a dead giveaway. The dude looks constipated when he fibs. It’s even worse than when I try to outright lie. I smiled a little at that thought, the corner of my mouth kicking up a notch. We were both alike in that way.

  Snow crunched underfoot, a sort of crispy, crunching, brittle sound as we tromped along one of Veck’s unmarked paths. He had a lot of them, but I knew this one well.

  The plants around here, much like the beast-men who inhabited it, rarely froze over, blossoming even in the coldest parts of the day, still vibrant and colorful as they dotted the trail. Bending down, I plucked a small, blue and white one up, the milky white color in the center bringing to mind my gentle giant’s luminous eyes.

  Soon we reached a small pond with a sloping bank and tall, bluish green grass tangling around it—the small body of water shaped like a large u. There was a dry spot without vegetation, a sort of dead spot straight ahead of us, and I walked towards it, my eyes absently straying towards the water.

  Glip. Glop. Warm steam wafting up, weird fish swimming away happily, they popped up to make funny noises, their mouths opening and closing as their gills fanned, spines straightening to shoot up and out, before they took one last gulp and dipped back down. Glip. Glop. Glip.

  We've been here before, many times, just Veck and me. Veck calls this his happy place. He comes here when he wants to think, or when he's upset.

  Hmm. My eyes darted towards him. Is he upset, or does he just want to think?

  Where's my happy place back home, I thought, eyes drifting over the water. Do I even have one? The library, maybe? Going to the movies, alone?

  Water splashed, jerking me from my thoughts. I blinked, noting a second splash, and followed the motion.

  It was one of the fish, a pretty silvery gold and green one, with long white and silver glittering spines. Glancing down curiously, I still marveled at the creatures swimming about, completely unaffected by the hot water, their little multi-facete
d scales and curly spines utterly fascinating.

  "Veck can't take Meanie home. Portal still closed. If portal opens..." He grunted and shook himself, trailing off, then grimaced, a look of pain crossing his bunched features. "Meanie Veck's mate now. Meanie make home with Veck?" he asked sincerely, eyes shining bright with emotion.

  Emotions I wasn’t ready to deal with. "Oh, Veck.” My heart lurched. “I don't..."

  "Veck be good mate to Meanie," he said earnestly, leaning in and playing with a few stray strands of my hair. "Make Meanie happy."

  Shoulders slumping, I placed my hand on top of his, stilling it.

  He kept it in place and bent down, nuzzling my face affectionately as he took in a few deep breaths, inhaling my scent. "Veck no other mate. Only Meanie. Meanie leave..." he trailed off, unable to finish.

  I’d already gathered as much, which made this all harder.

  Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I smiled ruefully and patted his hand. "Ahhh... Don't worry, ya big lug. I'm obviously not going anywhere, right? So it's not like you have anything to worry about."

  "Meanie need more things? Make Meanie happy?" he asked curiously, so eager to please.

  He's been trying so hard to make me happy, bringing me things, taking me around everywhere, showing me his world. He’s sharing himself with me, but maybe he’s trying too hard.

  Against the consternation of the other males, he even took me hunting with him when I’d shown interest. Not something I planned to ever repeat, mind you, but it was definitely eye opening. It’s something I'll never forget.

  He really is trying, I'm just having trouble with... with... everything. I'm not going home, obviously, and he wouldn't let me even if the option arose. It’s all... I just...

  "If I really wanted to go back? Truly and really, and I could, would you let me?" Eyes wide and seeking, I glanced up at him, plopping down on a dry spot along the bank by the water.

  Veck stood there for the longest time, his lips slowly turning down as his brow furrowed. A deep rumble issuing from his throat, he stomped over and came up to sit directly behind me. Thick tree trunk legs on either side of me, he tugged me back, pulling me against his massive chest.

  Wrapping his arms around me tight, he rested his chin atop my head. "Veck goes where Meanie goes. Meanie goes, Veck goes."

  "You couldn't do that!" I shouted, shocked, reaching around to whack him one. "Are you insane?! If you were ever found out, you'd be dissected! Or, or, or, or stuffed in a cage or something! Treated like an animal or a science experiment or... or worse.”

  Loose strands of hair curled about my face as I shook my head, tickling my cheeks, the fur of my mating pelt dusting my chin.

  “People from my world aren't like you guys. Humans can be mean and cruel, Veck. They don't just kill to protect or for food. We've been known to do terrible things. Way worse than kidnapping women to marry them. Ah,” I added, just to be perfectly clear, “not that that is ever, under any circumstances, okay. Ever. You really don’t want to go back with me, Veck. You don’t. We've spent years warring with each other, my kind, for things as stupid as the difference in a person’s skin color, or countries fighting over whatever it is one has that the other wishes to possess. You couldn't go with me. I wouldn't let you."

  Veck grunted. "Meanie no choice. Veck go, too. Meanie go, Veck go." His voice growing deeper, gruffer than its typical, rusty purr mixed rumble, the corner of his top lip curled up and his jaw clacked. The beast was displeased. A snarl lodged in his throat, he grumbled into my upturned face.

  "Like hell!" The thought of someone doing something horrible to him made me nauseous, my gut churning violently at the idea.

  Nobody deserved a fate like that—nobody—especially not someone like him. Despite the faults of his kind, he was sweet and caring and kind. No, I didn’t wish anything like that on anyone.

  Veck pulled me back to him and nuzzled the top of my head, purring contentedly, just holding me close. "Bad people at Meanie’s home. Meanie still wants to go back?" he asked quietly, gently stroking my back, snuggling me tightly to him. “Meanie stay with Veck, Veck protect Meanie.”

  His question gave me pause, hitting me kind of funny, shutting me up before I’d even begun to speak.

  A long silence ensued that neither one of us seemed to mind. Sitting on the bank in the waning light, the steady glip-glop of the fish to keep us company, my mate held me, humming to himself quietly.

  Staring out across the pond, the small, glowing orange and pink night blossoms scattered throughout the fluorescent green and white hedges slowly popped open, their stubby, rounded petals popping open like kernels of popping corn as night took over. I stared in wonder at the tiny little flowers glittering warmly, attracting bugs like bees to honey.

  A handful of tiny, white gnat-like creatures, with long wings and light pink streaked bodies, whizzed and whirled by, the glowing light in the flowers’ centers brightening. Their prey grew too close and—snap—the night blossom’s petals closed, sealing tight, scooping up a thimbleful of white bugs for dinner. Nifty trick, that.

  Am I the gnat or night blossom in the game of life, I wondered. Maybe a bit of both. I didn’t know...

  It bothered me much more than it should, Veck’s question. I thought home would be the answer to everything—my cure-all. That's how I've been looking at it—the whole grass is greener take on things. The shit storm had started way before I’d been abducted, though.

  It was kind of sad, when I really thought about it. My life has been much more... simple, less stressful, believe it or not, since I was thrust into the world of the snow beasties. Most or all of that was thanks to Veck, who’d inadvertently saved me from a Bridal Hunt. And I've been kind of happy—when I'm not stressing on my next plot to get home, that is.

  And Meanie still wants to go back? His words echoed in my head. Do I? I had to ask myself. Do I really? I already knew the answer, and I bristled from the inside out, prickly from the odd turn my thoughts were taking.

  Not particularly happy with my musings, I'd have to think on this some more. The real question was, would I change my mind?

  I didn’t like the niggling feeling that settled over me this night, or the next, or even the one that followed, as my world and any view I’d had of it grew a little more skewed.

  Would I still want to go back...? I’d never expected to give myself a big, fat, resounding no, but there it was.

  Chapter Eight

  I

  was preparing food with everyone else, skinning a weird, pig-like animal when Veck came lumbering up to me, his hands behind his back.

  The hairy monkey man grinned down at me, making me laugh at the mischief twinkling in his eyes.

  "What are you up to?" I asked, trying to hide a smile. Staring up at him, I blew a wayward strand of hair out of my face, pausing in my work.

  He came forward and brushed the hair back, placing a flower in the corner of my ear. Stepping back, he surveyed his handy work.

  "Hoping it will fall in and spice up the meat?" I joked, wiggling my head to make sure it wasn’t about to do just that.

  "Pretty flower, pretty mate," he said simply. Purring too low for anyone close by to make out, his lips curled up to expose his teeth.

  The big, bad beastie was rather pleased with himself, making me flush as he drew everyone's attention. His chest rumbled happily as I shooed him away, trying to hide the expression on my face.

  Lips pursed, I dipped my chin, peeking up at him quickly to look away as he chuckled at my reddened cheeks—at my expense, of course.

  Allowing for a bit of space, taking a few steps back, my mate rocked back on his heels. Cocking his head to the side as he watched me work, a low, happy hum filled his throat.

  "Real pretty right now, huh?" Peering up at my behemoth, I shook my head and held out my bloody hands. My fingers made sick, wet, sucking noises as I squished them together to pull them back apart.

  The big snow beastie snorted and winked.
"Meanie Veck's blood thirsty mate."

  A laugh burst out of me and I picked up one of my bloody work cloths to throw it at him. Snagging a second from my work station, just in case, I made sure I was prepared.

  Chuckling, Veck made a horrible, hungry sound in his throat when I pointed a dirty finger at him. It had me wanting to gag. His sounds grew louder—the brat—which just furthered his cause. Snorting my contempt for the big goofball, he ducked and dodged the next blood spattered missile, darting backwards as I held a third up threateningly.

  Someone called out to us, one of the other women, razzing us for acting like children. A bit embarrassed, though not really, I huffed and gave my mate a deep glower.

  "You see that? Ugh. Now look what you did? Get outta here!" I shouted, making him laugh harder as I put on a show. “You’re gettin’ me in trouble.”

  Dipping his chin, Veck bowed out and lumbered off, and I smiled as I finished my work. A grin playing at my lips as I scraped fat from my animal skin, I was amused yet again by another of his teasing antics.

  "He really likes you." One of the women had walked up and was leaning in, her own skin laid out next to mine. Voice low, she whispered shyly, giggling next to me as her gaze darted to the trail Veck had used to leave. Peeking over at me with her big, dark brown eyes, her lips tipped up at the corners.

  If I remembered right, she was Sally—one of the women who'd taken up with her mate and really made a go of it. Sally seemed to have accepted her life here, as far as I could tell, grabbing at it with both hands. Despite everything, she seemed really happy. In a way, I envied her.

  Glancing around at the people milling about, snow beasts and humans mixing, I bit the inside of my cheek. Could I ever be as content as Sally? Living like this? Accepting life here with Veck and his people? I thought of the flower and Veck—our playful bantering, his horrible teasing and how much I love it.

  It hit me then and I dropped my scraping stone. “Shit,” I whispered, startling the timid, terminally shy Sally. Haven't I already?