The Bridal Hunt (Brides of the Hunt Book 1) Read online

"I'm not crying. I'm... wait!" Shooting up as if I’d been zapped, I practically jumped in his lap. "When will it open up again?" My face lit up as our gazes clashed.

  Veck shrugged but wouldn't meet my eyes. The look on his pale, beastly face said it all. Liar, liar, pants on fire. Beastie has a tell. Oh, and I'll get him to tell.

  "Would you have taken me there, if it was open?" I was curious.

  "No," he said honestly, completely unabashed with his admission.

  Biting at my cheek again, I nodded. But then... "I could pay you?"

  "No."

  "I could give you whatever it is you want...?"

  Lips turning down, his eye twitched and he gave me a very pointed, loaded look. Okaayy, never mind. He just said I could mate him without that particular occurrence. Next!

  "What are my options here?" I sighed resignedly. Gah! I am so fucked! I'm stuck here! I. Am. Stuck. And if I go with someone else, I'll be screwed in more ways than one. Oh, the decisions!

  "Mate Veck or Lo denaii males claim Meanie. Meanie go to Lo denaii mating hunt. Meanie no good in woods." Veck eyed me skeptically, like he thought I might actually consider option number two. Like friggin' hell!

  Hmmm, gee, let's think about this, shall we? A hunt for me in the woods, being chased by a bunch of horny beast-men, no idea who’ll catch me and keep me, and I’ll be stuck with them forever. Or, one who claims—emphasis on claims—that he'll wait, and all I have to do is say yes.

  Wiggling in his lap, I tucked my legs together and held out my hand. "Well, Veck, where do I sign up, and where do I sleep?" When he just stared at me, I waved my hand in front of his face. “This is the part where we shake on it, big guy.”

  Veck’s face broke out into a delighted grin and he placed his hand in mine, then he was pulling me into him so he could cuddle me close. "Meanie," he murmured on a sigh, rocking me slowly.

  “Mina.”

  “Mmm. Mine. Veck’s Meanie.”

  “Mina. Mina.” I couldn’t say that enough. “Me-nuh.”

  “Meanie.” His voice vibrated my chest as he purred that horrible version of my name.

  This was karma coming back to bite me in the rump somehow—I didn’t know how or why—I just knew it—it had to be. What else could there be to explain this particular brand of hell?

  "Mina," I corrected, elbowing him in his flat gut.

  Taking the hit with dignity, he chuckled and grunted, nuzzling my hair.

  “Meanie.”

  Ugh.

  Oh, I can already tell, this union is going to be just joyous.

  Chapter Seven

  I

  shivered when I awoke, cold and miserable, teeth chattering as I tried to get comfortable in the chair.

  "Stupid... stubborn..." I eyed Veck, sleeping peacefully in his huge bed, plenty of room for, like, five average sized adults. He looked so warm and cozy over there, it made me wanna slap him—just because.

  You could be warm too, the little Mina on my left shoulder prompted suggestively, shivering right alongside me. But that's just what he wants, the little Mina on my right piped up, then he's going to make his move.

  If he was going to make a move, though, wouldn't he have done so by now?

  "You think too loud," Veck grumbled, rolling over to watch me.

  "I do not," I lied.

  "Meanie think loudly," he emphasized.

  "Ohhh, uh, sorry," I apologized sheepishly. "Didn't realize I was talking out loud."

  "Come to bed, mate," he prodded, lifting his shaggy head to squint over at me.

  Gripping the arms of the chair I’d claimed, my head shook, the look in my eyes slightly wild. "Uhhh, I'm okay right here."

  "Meanie has to sleep with Veck. Meanie needs to smell like Veck, yes? Veck not claim Meanie, not sleep with Veck, males can tell."

  "They can?" I squawked, clutching my jacket tighter around me.

  "Yes," he said simply, and pushed some of his furs aside. Patting the spot, he growled a little in his throat as he motioned me over. "Come. Sleep."

  Biting my lip, I slowly sidled up to the bed, unsure. "What will they do if I don't smell like you?" I asked worriedly.

  Veck shrugged and rolled, giving me his back. "Try to claim Meanie, or not..."

  "It's Mina. Mina," I grumbled, climbing onto the massive bed. It creaked as I settled my weight, and I hesitated for so long I expected Veck must’ve thought I’d changed my mind. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, choking down the anxiety overwhelming me, I slid in. Lifting the furs over my shoulders, I snuggled down into all that warmth, most of that heat courtesy of the big bad lying beside me. "You better not be lying to me, Veck, or I swear I'll find a way and shave your ass bald, literally."

  Veck chuckled and adjusted his head. "Veck's mate is feisty." He chortled to himself, shoulders shaking.

  Leaning over him, I nudged his spine warningly, poking him hard with my index finger. "And don't you forget it."

  My new mate burst out laughing, his brawny, white-haired shoulders shaking so hard they rocked the bed.

  Settling back onto my own respective side, I smiled a little at that.

  Veck settled down after a few minutes, and I waited, stiff as a board and wide awake, until he stopped moving.

  Does he mean what he says? Only time would tell.

  So... I waited, tense, stiff, biting the insides of my cheeks, a jumbled up pile of knots, the mental clock in my head ticking relentlessly as my wait grew longer and longer.

  A considerable amount of time passed before my heart stopped thundering in my ears, the smacking on my chest due to said organ slowing to the point I no longer felt a heart attack may be imminent. Rolling over a little, eyes trained on my new ‘mate’, I let out a quiet sigh of relief. He really is asleep.

  Mouth opening wide, I let out a loud, jaw cracking yawn. Lids growing gritty, heavy, I pulled the furs up higher, tucking them under my chin. Giving in, succumbing to the pull of a warm, comfortable bed and the promise of a night's rest, Veck's soft snore oddly comforting, the Sandman had his way.

  Well, I thought, slipping into the land of dreams, it's been a fucked up journey to Abominable bridal camp hell, and it would seem I'm stuck—hopefully not permanently. So, until then—whatever then may come along—I guess I should be counting my blessings. It could have turned out a lost worse.

  Shifting to glance at the back of Veck's head, then his broad back, I relaxed when he let out another soft snore.

  Time to look for the rainbow in this shit storm, Mina. Maybe there'll be a way home at the end of it. At least I didn't end up mated to Kirch, right?

  Yep, things could have been so much worse.

  ✽✽✽

  I woke up smashed against a white, furry chest, my bladder full to bursting, borderline about to pop. Moaning in dismay, I commenced poking Veck in the ribs, jabbing him so he'd shuffle off of me, popping out of bed anxiously when he relented.

  My body warning me of my its urgent, imminent liquid release if I didn’t hurry the heck up, I ran around opening doors to the cozy little hut, in search of a bathroom.

  Without my personal heater blanket to warm me it's kinda chilly in here, I thought distractedly, trying to ignore the sharp twinge in my groin region.

  When did we start cuddling last night? Was it a mutual, gravitate towards each other in sleep snuggle, or was it a one sided attack, I wondered. Hopefully not prompted by me.

  Aghast at the idea, I cringed inwardly. Yeah, Mina, wallow all over him while you’re sleeping, but swear that’s all he’ll get, ‘cause you really don’t want none of that—like that won't send the wrong message.

  My bladder prodded me none too gently to hurry up then, cutting in on my thoughts, stealing all of my attention.

  Gotta pee! Gotta pee! Door number one wielded a closet. "Crap," I muttered, "I'm going to piss myself." Clenching those special muscles everyone knows of but never talks about tight, I danced around, desperately trying to hold it in.

  "Meanie?" Veck g
rumbled groggily.

  "Mina! Not Meanie! And where's your bathroom? The john? The loo? I have to go pee, like right now!"

  "Out," he said, smiling at my little pee-pee dance jig, pointing to a smaller hut a little ways away from the house.

  Waving off his short laugh, I dashed out the door and ran to their bathroom. Skidding inside, slamming the privy door behind me, ignoring the brisk chill in the air nipping at me, I held my breath, dropped drawers, and peed as fast as my body would allow.

  Well, at least they have outhouses. Don't know how I'd feel if I had to use more natural methods. No, thank you. I shuddered at the thought. Now, as to whether that made me a nature snob or not, I wasn’t particularly worried. I am who I am.

  Business done, I hurried out, ready to dash back to the warmth of Veck's place. I hoped they'd discovered soap—the awesomeness that is soap—or something thankfully close to it, so I could wash my hands.

  Considering they go through the portal however much they do, probably learning stuff along the way, I was praying that’d be the case.

  Running my hands down my arms briskly, I blew out a deep breath, reflecting back on last night. My esteem for Veck went up a smidgeon—he’d kept his word. He hadn't tried anything, at all, just like he’d said. Considering my current circumstances, that was promising.

  "Meanie." The blue-eyed devil from the cave the other day called out for me, hurrying to catch up to me as I ran-walked.

  Where the heck did he come from?

  "Mina! Get it right! And go away," I fairly barked at him, picking up my pace.

  "Here." Fingers unfurling, palm up and out, he held something out to me. "It's for you."

  Giving him a funny look, I glanced away and shook my head. "I don't like you," I told him bluntly.

  "Here, take it," he said nervously, eyes darting about as he fidgeted, but I didn't take it nor even look at it.

  "I don't take things from strangers." Ha. Stick that in your craw.

  He was wearing an innocent enough expression, undeterred by my snubbing, I noticed, glancing up at his face when he paused to scowl down into his open palm.

  Call me paranoid, but I didn’t trust the sneaky devil. Not one bit. He reeked of mischief. This whole gift thing felt very much like the situation with Kirch's fur—more to it than they let on. Why, just look at what the blue-eyed jerk did to me in that cave!

  Hmm... I know I’m right on this—call it a gut instinct. Something about him had little red flags dancing about in my brain, warning me to proceed with caution. He's like the Puck of Abominable Snowmen, oddly adorable with his bright blue eyes and more human-like appearance, but I'm not impressed—not really.

  "No, thank you." Lips pursing primly, I gave a disdainful sniff, snootily sticking my nose in the air.

  "I'm Bia," he offered, catching up and keeping pace with me, unaffected.

  Blinking, I frowned as he paused again, briefly, and looked around a little bit, as if he was making sure we didn't have an audience as he got all chitty-chatty with me.

  What's up with that, I asked myself, walking a little faster.

  This just proved to crank up my suspicions with this Bia character. What is he on about?

  "How come you speak English so well and the others don't?" I asked suspiciously.

  "My mother is like you," he said suddenly, in way of explanation, his gaze snapping back to meet mine.

  Blue eyes lighting up, Bia smiled at the look on my face, a boyish grin gracing his pale features. One might almost think him charming then, strangely handsome for an Abominable, despite the sharp teeth.

  "She taught me. She was one of the first brides from your world, you know. Want to meet her?" He asked this a little slyly, an odd, hopeful look on his face as he rushed through that last bit at the end.

  Do I want to meet his...? Uhm, no. No. No. No. Definitely no. I had more than a tickle in my gut on this one. There would be a heck of a lot more to it if I met the woman who’d birthed him.

  Why do I have a feeling they never mean what they say, exactly?

  "Uh... maybe some other time." I kept my response vague, waving halfheartedly as I turned to head back.

  "I don't want... I want..." Bia stumbled all of a sudden on what he wanted to say. Catching the impatient look on my face, his expression turned slightly apologetic, his pale skin flushing slightly, but I wasn't going to make it easy if he was trying to say sorry or something.

  Why be contrite now? They kidnap brides, for goodness sakes! Someone be contrite about that and take my ass home!

  Snatching my fingers, tugging me closer while I had a little rant in my head, Bia gripped my hand, holding it prisoner, and tied a bracelet around my wrist. He moved fast, having knotted it tightly and released me before I’d had time to utter a single protest.

  "For you. Don't hate me." Much the way he’d rushed up on me, sort of ambushing me when I least expected it, he retreated.

  Bia backed up then, taking off at a trot, headed for the huts along the other side of the Abominable village.

  Staring after him, a frown marring my face, I fingered the trinket. The stones adorning it were smooth and warm to the touch, the buttery soft leather-like material hugging my wrist equally as nice.

  Bia glanced back at me one last time, making eye contact, holding my gaze for a long moment with those vivid, bright blue eyes. His gaze dipped to my fingers stroking over the short fringe of his present absently and he half-smiled.

  With a short wave, he jerked his chin—a quick farewell—then turned and headed off.

  Erm... okay.

  My gaze slid from Bia’s retreating back down to the bracelet.

  The material was definitely like leather, a deep, dark blue, and so soft to the touch. The stones on it shone brilliantly as they shimmered in the morning light. Right off I recognized them as the ones I'd played with in the cave, the ones I'd dug out of Bia’s pilfered pouch. These were the ones I’d thought the prettiest. Greens, blues, reds and oranges of every hue, with little veins of silvery glitter and onyx woven throughout, twinkled up at me. Huh.

  Veck called out to me, his booming voice startling me. Shaking out my wrist, tucking the trinket into my jacket sleeve, I glanced back to the spot Bia had left off to one last time, and hurried back inside.

  It really is quite beautiful, I thought, thinking back on the whole strange encounter later that day as I snuck a peek to admire my new pretty, but this whole thing is... odd.

  Odd snow beasties. Strange behavior. Kidnapped brides. Portals. Weird apology gifts—erm, or friendship bracelet, can't be too sure—what's next? Do I even want to know?

  Probably not.

  ✽✽✽

  The days seemed to pass by fast as they turned into weeks.

  Veck was true to his word and never said anything else about mating or claiming, but he did insist we sleep in the same bed. It was one of his stipulations, once we’d worked out the dynamics of our peculiar situation.

  It was strange to think he could be so reasonable about everything, especially considering how I’d gotten here in the first place. Veck must be the oddball of the bunch, I reasoned. Plus, I’m thinking everyone is kind of scared of him. I mean, he was kinda huge.

  The giant male was always telling me he’s happy I'm not afraid of him, and maybe that was it, or part of it.

  We've gotten really used to each other, very comfortable, in fact, slipping into a sort of old couple being of sorts. I had no problem telling him to stick it where the sun don't shine, and the big guy could chuckle it off. We’ve come to value this strange balance we’ve struck, a weird friendship of sorts.

  I was beginning to think the twisted snow beastie secretly liked being browbeaten, muttering his usual, “Feisty mate,” or, “My Meanie is bold,” or some other such nonsense, grinning proudly as I said my piece, a smug expression on his face. Snow beast guys are weird. Go figure.

  In an effort not to die of complete boredom, I’ve tried to learn the ropes with the other new
bies at Camp Snow Bride, get into a routine, something to help me gather info and pass the time. It's not like I could do anything else, really.

  I’ve learned quite a bit, I have, but I still had no flippin' clue where the portal was. It couldn’t be that hard to find, could it? And yet... I got nothing. No one's willing to help a gal out or even lead me in the general direction of the portal dealie we'd gone through, either.

  That's all I did the first week, try to find a way home. All my searches were fruitless, obviously, coming up empty. This only succeeded in frustrating me to no end.

  Veck knew exactly what I’d been doing but didn't say a thing. He just patiently waited me out, then helped me get into the swing of things once I’d given in and asked him to help me acclimate. Not give up on my search—let's not be hasty here—but give up on acting like I was. If you can't beat ‘em, then join ‘em—at least until you find a better solution.

  Bride nabbing aside, they weren't a bad lot—I suppose—not once you got to know them. Oh, yeah... and stop resenting them every five seconds for grabbin' ya up. Did I mention I've been here for a few weeks? More than a few now. Yeah... you could say I've had a little time to adjust.

  Oh, yay, me, I thought glumly, with all the enthusiasm of someone who'd just been given a certificate for a free colon cleansing for Christmas.

  Hands smoothing along my sides to swipe my sweaty palms, fingering along the seam where fur met smooth, tanned hide, I glanced down, admiring the rough cut of my thick, warm winter clothes. Recalling how I'd gotten them in the first place, my insides warmed a smidgeon.

  After a week solid of wearing the same outfit, I'd been thrilled when Veck brought me this set to wear, several others too as the weeks went by, but this one was the first. It was also my favorite.

  With thick, silky blue fur and lime green stitching lining the inside, it was by far the warmest, and possibly the ugliest—as it was so hastily made—but I didn’t care. Crooked stitches lined the sides, but they were sturdy, with no gaps in between. It kept me the warmest, and Veck had worked hard on it, putting a lot of thought and effort into such a gift. Appreciative of the thoughtful gesture, the clothes did their job and I had no complaints.