Page 23 of Betrothed to the Yeti

Her face scrunches into a mask of pain before going lax. The exchange starts. My turn. My fangs itch to bite her somewhere intimate, but settle for the inside of her elbow.

Her eyes dart around beneath her eyelids. Is she reading the images as they skate across her consciousness or looking for a place to hide from the onslaught? Her back arches off the bed. A moan escapes her lips. Hands that were resting at her sides, grab my fur and twist with superhuman strength.

My darkness answers with a roar.

A violet hue distorts my vision.

He is in control now.

Chapter 14

Jaya

His memories fill my mind, starting with how I looked when he entered the room. I haven’t time to scoff at the drool leaking from the corner of my mouth or how the dress I fell asleep wearing has bunched into rolls under the blankets. My hips look huge, but Pabu isn’t focused on them. A deluge of awe, appreciation, and devotion surrounds the memory. His thoughts of whether to wake me or not and the excitement of my existence melt my heart.

The memories move faster as I see Ku Huang with her lambs through his eyes. Our splashing fight is more prominent than the delousing he did in the pool. He loved me from first sight, and I’m humbled to experience his optimism about our future. His relationship with the Seer is platonic and the previous Seer had a strained relationship with him. She asked him to destroy the new brothel before it could open in Alpha. Pabu refused, not understanding what a brothel was or how it would change Alpha. He raged over her request to kill humans. Flashes of their conflicts scare me as they bounce around my brain. The memories tint violet. The humans, snow, and other Yetis turn shades of purple as they flow into my consciousness.

Then the black shadow appears.

Pabu’s darkness. The phantom is shaped like Pabu, with glowing purple eyes and a fangy smile. The leer isn’t comforting, like Pabu’s lop-sided grin with his fangs peeking out the side. The shadow curls his lips taut to emphasize the size of the points. He pulls his fists to his hips and stands prominently in my mind’s eye.

Pain shoots from my neck and radiates through my body as the phantom barrels into my spirit. Screams fill my head, but they aren’t mine. My eyes snap open. I’m in Pabu’s bed. The room glows purple like my nightmares, but no phantom hides in the shadows. Ku Huang bleats from downstairs. I pray she doesn’t leave her kids to investigate the noises we make.

“I’m so sorry,” Pabu whispers between sobs. The fur on his cheeks tickles as he rubs his nose against my jawline. His voice is small. He is more afraid than I am. “I’m not in control.”

“I can love you. Trust me. When have you given up on us? Besides, you are more attractive now that I know you are more than a ball of fuzz.” My eyes flutter closed with new resolve as his mumbles of reassurance fill my ears.

His memories aren’t organized anymore. It’s like two separate beings share one soul. Feelings scramble with pictures in no coherent order. The first humans blur with the current residents, based on the state of the corrosion of the comm tower in the background of both images. My face is superimposed over the first Seer’s…and the resemblance pulls a gasp through my lips. If I had the confidence shining in her eyes, we would be twins. No wonder I mistook her portrait for Nima’s face.

“Darkness! Pabu’s Darkness! Come and meet your wife,” I yell in my head. My face scrunches with concentration as I push the summons through our fresh bond.

From a cyclone of my memories steps the violet-tinged phantom I recognize as Pabu’s darkness. The swagger is still there, but the smile has dimmed. Violence, anger, and feral instincts threaten to steal my sanity. My secret wishes to hurt or kill from times I was wronged are magnified under his influence. Pabu must be incredibly strong to withstand this phantom’s influence and live in peace. My respect for him soars. The phantom’s head tilts to the side in confusion.

Ha!He felt that!Pabu and I are mentally connected, so the link must extend to this being, too.

“I’d like to introduce myself as Jaya, your wife,” I say to the shadow. I place myself in his space and memorize the feeling of his dark smoke enveloping me.

“I am death. Destruction. I rage at the injustices of my kind and now those which were inflicted on you. I kill for pleasure. I hurt, maim, without remorse. I will have the pleasure of consuming you to satisfy my needs.” His voice is a hollow version of Pabu’s rumble. He stabs at my mind with columns of wind. Cold wind blows through me with each word, but the icy walls I have built bind them to my heart and soul.

The phantom freezes when I assimilate his cold darkness into my own.

“I often fantasize about revenge, too—” My mental touch is soft, light, and feminine against the dark waves I receive. I envision my hand stroking the face of the phantom and nuzzling into his embrace. “We are more alike than you know—”

My thoughts are cut off by the blinding shock at the other end of our connection.

“When I agreed to love Pabu, I meant I would accept all of him. This includes you. I won’t allow you to destroy us, but I don’t fear you. I want to love you, too,” I whisper.

A whisper of smoke glides over my lower lip.

“It won’t be perfect, but I can commit to loving you as I commit to loving Pabu…for you are a piece of him. In fact, I understand you better than his sunny disposition.” My declaration is met with silence, but the menacing waves have stopped in favor of calm contemplation.

“Sweet under your bitterness,” murmurs the phantom. Soft, smoky tendrils brush against my mind, caress my heart, and reach for my soul. I shine with the happiness I embraced from Ku Huang and Pabu. My lips kiss the wisps of smoky darkness as they cross my face. “Your loyalty is true. You honestly think you could love me. I will treasure this gift. I—Jaya—” The wind stutters as if it has forgotten the steps to our dance.

“Who. Hurt. You?” The switch from incredulous reverence to rage is faster than I can follow. His anger stabs at my memories. Mr. Rinzen, my sisters, and the bullies of Alpha flash before my eyes. I’m swamped with the sensations of cold, damp darkness. My fingertips and toes sting. This brings forth memories of starving and shivering on the icy ground of our hut. A growl fills my mind as the phantom feasts on the images.

“No,” I whine. “Not now and never again. You don’t understand. Make these thoughts stop!”

“You’ve been hurt. The events torture your mind to this day. It’s not enough to take you away from Alpha. I will avenge everything they have done to you.” The rage subsides as sorrow takes its place within the phantom. The dark clouds that make up the figure weep with fat raindrops.

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