Fantasy Lynxed [Teeth, Nails and Tails] - Brynn Paulin

[raone453k]

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Working quickly, Mika and Bar rushed around the old shack. A wood stove sat in the corner, and whoever had been here last had left a pile of logs near it. Mika ignored the bite of cold on his skin as he shoved logs and kindling inside the burner then grabbed matches from the Ziploc someone had put them in to protect them against getting damp. These places were left out here for hikers or travelers like themselves who might get caught in the elements. Everyone left behind something for the next occupants to use. After several attempts, he got the wood to catch. Meager heat began to fill the small space while the storm continued screaming outside. As soon as the blizzard had blown in, they’d known there would be trouble. The snow blanketing the ground had played havoc with following Summer’s scent. Though she’d only managed ten miles from town, it had taken them twice as long to find her as it should have. He turned to find Bar wrestling the backpack from Summer’s limp body. If they’d taken any longer to find her, she would have frozen to death.

As he helped get her gear and clothes off her, the blue tinge of her skin and lips sent fear spiking into his chest. What if they were too late? “Don’t think like that,” Bar admonished as he left them and went to the plastic covered mattress a few feet away. It was held off the ground by an iron frame with plastic bins beneath it. Inside were blankets and cedar blocks. Mika’s heightened senses confirmed these were clean. Whoever had been here last must have visited in summer and washed the linens in the nearby stream before departing. He sent blessings to the person as he divested Summer of her coats and Bar made up the bed. Summer’s jeans were stiff as he pulled them down her legs, and her skin was icy beneath them. Once he got off her socks, he briskly rubbed her feet. “The bed’s ready,” Bar told him as he returned and helped take off the last of her garments. Together, they lifted her and brought her to the cot, each climbing in beside her and warming her from either side. Carefully, Mika drew her hands up between her chest and his, massaging her fingers to warm her. Bar scrubbed his palms up and down her arms. Her breath puffed unevenly on Mika’s pecs, still so cold, but at least she was breathing. “Don’t ever do this again,” he whispered into her hair. She didn’t respond, so he just held her, never so worried in his life as he was right then. Revealing he was a shifter would be easy compared to this.

“Where are we? And how did you get here?” Mika blinked up at Summer as she leaned up on her arm between him and Bar. The cot was narrow, affording little room to maneuver. Daylight flooded through a small window near the door, and he realized he’d drifted off sometime in the night. Probably around the time the wind had stopped howling, and the storm had passed. The pink had returned to Summer’s skin. For the first time since yesterday morning, he looked at her naked rose-tipped breasts and felt his cock filling. This one aroused him as no other woman had or ever would. “Stop that!” she exclaimed, though if she’d felt his response to her or read his thoughts, he didn’t know.

“I can’t help wanting you. You’re my woman and the most beautiful female in existence.” She made a small, disgusted sound in her throat. “Right. How did you get here?” “Walked. Ran.” “Mostly ran,” Bar growled into the back of her neck, letting them know he was awake. His hand flattened on Summer’s belly, pulling her to him. The look in his eyes when he glanced at Mika told that he planned to pull rank as the group’s alpha. Mika understood. Through all of this, while Mika had walked the edge of panic, Bar had been strong and guided his two mates to safety. They’d probably still be in the cold if Bar hadn’t kept it together. Mika gave a slight nod, acknowledging Bar’s claim. But first, they had to show her the truth, and depending on her reaction, neither of them might end up with her. Mika sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Summer beside him, glad the fire had been fed overnight and the shack was warm. Bar curled behind them both, almost like a wall of safety at their backs. As alpha, he’d always be strongest and their protector. Mika had no doubt as to who’d stoked the fire and even hung Summer’s clothes on a small makeshift rack near the stove. He laced his fingers with Summer’s. “There’s something we need to tell you. Something that goes with the telepathy and the mating.” She licked her bottom lip then bit her teeth into it, but she didn’t interrupt him or argue the mate point. Her thoughts were strangely silent as she stared at their hands. Since she was always thinking something, he knew she’d figured out how to shield her thoughts yesterday while they’d been yelling at her to come back. The mattress creaked as he moved closer to her.

“Nuliaba abnaba, what are you thinking?” She didn’t answer. Verbally, anyway. Suddenly, a fuzzy picture of Bar’s lynx filled his mind, and he caught his breath. “I know, crazy, right?” she whispered. “But I can’t help remembering how you knew exactly what was going on the whole time. And it’s only my clothes by the fire and there’s no sign of yours. It’s impossible, but…” Bar suddenly climbed off the bed and stood before them, a few feet away. His green eyes holding her gaze, he shifted in a bright flash of light and an electric wave of magical energy that washed over the two on the bed. “Holy crap,” Summer murmured softly. “Holy freaking crap.”