Chapter 15

T he sounds of fighting had me snuffling awake. Laid out across the top of Rek's bed, I blinked, eyes widening, my feet wriggling in my socks, my jacket laid out over me. I was alone, Rek's hut toasty warm.

Disoriented, I mumbled Rek's name as I sat up.

"See! Wakes her up!" The muffled shouting outside had me sliding off the bed, stretching as I went. With a groan, I grabbed and slipped my boots and coat back on. Big bad banana bag was at my feet, bulging more than usual.

Nabbing my bag up to peek inside it, I found not only the scarf I'd been eyeballing, but one of the baubles I'd picked up to admire and put back. It was one of the pretty lily looking flowers that grow near pond edges made of glass.

I can never remember the name of the flower, much as I've tried.

A small slip of paper falling out had me frowning. In very child-like block letters, Rek Loves Joanie was scrawled across it.

Stuffing everything back inside my bag as the shouting drew near, I was just wiping my eyes when Rek's door was flung wide open.

"See? She falls sleep! Rek let Jojoknee sleep! Stupid Goober wakes her up! Tattles tales! Happy now?!!" Rek snarled.

Gopher got one look at my face and the snarl on his faltered. "Jo?"

Rek smacked Gopher hard enough across the head, catching the male unaware, Gopher wobbled where he stood. Recovering quickly, it turned into an odd slap fight I wasn't fully awake enough for.

"Oh my god, would you two girls stop?! I'm not mated to either one of you!" I bellowed, jerking my purse over my shoulder to storm out of Rek's hut.

Their slap ya upside the head fight turned into a wrestling match of a tussle.

As the bright light from outside hit me as I stepped out, threatening to blind me, I got a good look around, noting the crowd of large males gathered, and several things registered at once, Rek's words chief amongst them. "How long was I out?" Gaping at the madness around me as Booger tried to rip Gopher away from Rek before he killed him and Rek and Gopher both snapped and snarled at Booger until the Boogster backed off, I knew there was only one way to break this shit up and it might not be pretty.

Letting out a loud whistle, I made to rush into the fray as they swapped back and forth from English to Lo denaii to insult each other, and Gopher went so far as to throw in a third language I was struggling to make out, thick arms banded around me, lifting me clean up and out into the air, a barked, "No!" rumbling my back.

I didn't recognize that deep, gravelly voice, not of anyone I'd allow to manhandle me in such a fashion.

A panicked scream left me as I found myself relocated, held up and out of the way, just outside the circle of males closing in to try and break Gopher and Rek up.

"I don't fucking know you! Put me the fuck down! Get your grubby paws off of me! That's my purse!" I howled, kicking, slapping, and punching blindly at the beast at my back, pinning me to an unrepentant wall of hot steel.

When the idiot pinning me growled, the sound deep and low, vibrating my back, and dared to lean in and get a quick sniff of me, I swear to Bob, because God had no place in the devil's work, I lost my everloving mind.

Knowing better than to bite down by now, I went wild, clawing wildly, screaming, kicking up a fuss. My shirt had ridden up, pants slipping and twisting, jacket sliding off my back. If I could unpin my purse, I'd dig out my good nail file and get stab happy.

Rek paused in his brawl with Gopher first at the panicked noise I made, a strangled choking sound that cut above the noise.

Rek barked something sharply at Gopher that had him snapping to attention, whipping his head in the direction of the scene I was making.

Twin snarls rent the air and they crouched as one, ready to double team the asshole tightening his grip on me. Boog and the others chose that moment to pile on, like a ginormous dog pile, attempting to pin Rek and Gopher and drag them away to cool down.

This just pissed off the dynamic duo, now ready to work together for a united purpose— save me from a sniff happy freak. I'd never seen such angry looks on their faces, pure unadulterated rage.

"Let me go!" I bellowed, throwing myself this way and that, slamming my head back. A sharp crack and the pained howl of the male behind me gave me a small measure of satisfaction, but then he tightened his grip to the point of pushing the air from my lungs until black spots danced in my vision.

A whimper of a noise left me as I started to sway dizzily. Wouldn't be long now.

A deafening roar rattled the windows of the huts surrounding us. It was so loud my ears began to ring. Or perhaps that was the nearly passing out business? I struggled to trace the source of that noise. I'd be scrambling my ass to safety if I wasn't being held prisoner, seeing spots in my vision, and could think straight.

"She no breathe!" Gopher bellowed, catching Booger's attention. Go' was dragging himself towards me with at least five males scrambling to hold him back.

Booger left that mess, snarling over the chaos at the male gripping me so tight.

The death grip on my ribs eased. I used the opportunity the loosening arms afforded me and rammed my elbow back. The beast holding me growled and dropped me, snarling something in Lo denaii that was cut off as I tumbled to the wet, mushy ground.

Coughing, wheezing, gasping for air, I gave up trying to stand and flopped back to the ground.

An odd gurgling sound let off over my head. Realizing the weird haze in my vision was not in fact from the near suffocation but a shadow radiating heat looming over me, I turned and tipped my head back.

Berkr gurgled as a massive beast bared his teeth at him, giving him little shakes as he gripped his throat tight enough to make the smaller Lo denaii turn funny colors and snarled at him.

"Cuddle Monster?" I blurted, catching a hint of horns glinting in the sunlight.

Jerking at the mention of that silly nickname, his head swiveled, putting him better into view, and he glared in my direction.

Recognition hit like a ton of breaks. Slipping and sliding in the mud, I gained my feet and ran to him.

Others shouted out for me to stay back but I knew better.

The second I reached him I flung my arms around him, burying my face in his belly, squeezing him to me tight. "You came back for me!"

Berkr's gurgling noises grew louder.

Cuddle Monster made no move to wrap his free arm around me.

Bringing Berkr's face closer to his, he snarled at him, words in their language spewing forth sounding like garbled death threats. Whatever he said, Berkr made a gurgling sound of understanding my beastly behemoth chuffed at him, in his face, in answer, then tossed the village hall monitor away from us like old trash.

"You're not hugging me back," I mumbled into hot skin and warm, earthy smelling fur. He was so like Bum-bum, had to be similar beasts— their scents were so close to each other's.

Thick fingers gently pried my hands off of him. With deliberate care, he tugged me off of him and set me away from him.

"Wait. What's- I don't-" I spluttered, grabbing for his wrist for him to easily twist free of my grasp.

The second our eyes met, that electric sizzle crackling between us, undeniable, hard to miss, I noted the colors of his eyes—pitch black. Cuddle Monster was the feral side of Fuck N Run.

"Why- I don't care if you have that lavashavashama lama ding dong thing." Sensing he was about to take off on me like a good little pop in super hero to my rescue, I grabbed for his fur, ignoring the wince a male made as he softly cautioned me to leave the male ‘lone and come to them.

I only had eyes and ears for one fella right now, and he was staring down at me so intently, like he was memorizing every line of my face, every teeny tiny detail.

"Stay," I whispered, slipping my hand into his to give one of his thick fingers a squeeze.

Dipping down, he bent to my level, reaching out tentatively to brush the backs of his knuckles along my cheek.

Rek started to growl, a sound I'd know anywhere. My big bad beastie mate started to grumble back.

"Don't hurt him." Reaching up, I cupped his cheeks, smoothing my hands up and down those furry mutton chops for facial fur he had sticking out along the sides of his face. "Look at me. Stay with me." Smiling, I would have leaned in to place a kiss to his lips, my eyes saying all the things my mouth had yet to, but another growl rent the air and he jerked away, shooting up to glare in Gopher and Rek's direction.

Pinning them down, Booger glanced worriedly from me to my big guy, his hands clamped over Gopher and Rek's mouths tightly as several Lo denaii pinned them down.

Tugging on my mate's hand, I smiled up at him expectantly.

Shaking his head, grimacing as if something pained him, he dropped my hand to growl and clasp at his head. Stumbling back a few steps, he snarled, sounding like he was arguing with himself, and grabbed at his hair, claws digging in.

Was it the lavashava thing? Was it threatening to take control or however that works? Taking a few steps back, I straightened my jacket and purse and waited.

Berkr, finished puking off to the side behind me, regained his feet.

My hand reached inside my purse for a weapon but it wasn't necessary. He got one look between me and my beast and decided keeping his distance was the best option.

A garbled snarl and a pained hiss had my gaze jerking in my mate's direction.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked. As I reached towards him and attempted to take a step closer, he snarled, warning me off, and hunched down as he fought some battle within himself that was invisible to the outside world. He stumbled for a minute, flopping to his ass.

He was going to bolt. I knew this, something in my gut told me. Edging closer, eyeing everyone around us, wondering how far I could get before anyone could stop me, the second my supersized mate attempted to take off, I came out the gate swinging.

My cuddly behemoth snapped something that had the others gathered looking to each other, then me, in surprise.

Berkr, who stupidly thought to grab my arm to stop me, got my purse to the puss. "The fuck you think you're doing?" I snarled.

Stumbling back, he tripped, a snarl in his throat, and yelped as he flew backwards.

"Nobody fucking touch me!" I shrieked, and took off after my skittish mate as he tried to hightail it elsewhere.

Run from me, will he? Like fuck!

???

"F UCK!" I shouted, finding myself smack dab in the middle of the forest in fuck knows where, my mate too fast for my shorter legs to keep up, even running full tilt after him.

His stumbling, stomping steps, snarling at me whenever he chanced a glance over his shoulder and caught sight of me, were no more than a distant memory at this point.

I'd been walking through snowcapped brush for the better part of what I'd guesstimate was an hour or more since I'd lost sight of him. Longer than that, I amended, noting the sun was looking less good morning and closer to goodnight. Shit! This was bad. So fucking bad.

Thinking of all the things Rek had taunted me with earlier today, scaring me spitless about Krampus and whatnot, a shiver kissed its way up my spine.

What the fuck do I do now?

I'm a dumb ass, the stupid idiot that does all the dumb bimbo things in the scary movie to get herself killed.

Did I keep going the way I'd been going? Turn back?

Spinning around, I reversed direction, picking my way back towards the village.

Wrapping my arms around middle, I hunched in on myself. He'd left me, again.

I'd chased after a man yet again like an idiot.

I had no one to blame but my stupid self.

I'll never learn. This was my fate— fall for the impossible reach and then wonder why it doesn't work.

Every little noise had me on edge. I knew there was danger out here, Krampus and their hunts and shit, and I'd gone and chased a man who wasn't keen to make me his and keep me all the way out here in the middle of fucking nowhere.

A noise to my right had me freezing, gaze darting wildly in that direction.

Another noise, a soft crunch to my left, had my head then whipping in that direction.

My heart pounded, thrumming like a hummingbird's as I narrowed my eyes, getting angry as I grew resentful, standing here like a frightened little kid, spooked at everything.

Straightening my shoulders, hiking my big girl panties up so far I had the mother of all mental, suck it up, buttercup, wedgies, I continued towards the village.

Well… I hoped this was the way to the village.

As dimming daylight bled into dark, I knew it would be stupid to try and blindly find my way. Kooky had talked about some of his more adventurous hunting trips with me before, about denning down and scouting for good hunting grounds.

Taking a cue from his ramblings about hiding in sticker bushes, digging a hole to hunker down in, I did just that. There was a very memorable anecdote about a large animal he called a keravu scenting him and trying to trample him, but its huge feet couldn't get them as they hunkered down in their hidey hole.

Well, my impromptu hole to bunker down in was not keravu proof, but it was deep enough under a prickle filled bush I had more than a few prickle itches from plucking those mean suckers from my coat, hair, and exposed hands.

Curling up in a ball, I stared into the night. It grew pitch black before I could blink.

Realizing I kept sucking in a sharp breath every single time I heard any little sound, I closed my dirt smeared hand over my mouth, hunching down smaller as if that might help, and forced myself to squeeze my eyes shut tight.

Thinking of the dust of shame in my bag, I was slowly unzipping my bag when I heard that first soft, hiss of a growl.

Stilling instantly, my blood ran cold.

Oh my fucking god, they've found me! It's them! The Krampus!

My heart pounded in my ears, a wild drumming that threatened to drown out all else, as I kept perfectly still whilst screaming my bloody head off on the inside.

Loud snuffling sounds filled the air. My fingers itched to grab for the powder but I didn't dare.

The grumbling and snuffling was far enough away I hoped I stood a chance of finding some way to mask my scent.

Thinking of the mud surrounding me, I quietly slid my hand lower, grabbed up a handful, and carefully began dabbing it all over my face and hands. I felt like the guy in predator, but like a really inexperienced peep with icky, sticky gobs of dirt all over me.

If any of this was poo, I'd never live it down. It didn't smell like it but it wasn't exactly a clean mud sort of scent. My nose crinkled as I grabbed more and went for full coverage.

When the snuffling sniffing noises grew close enough I caught a whiff of a strange, weirdly sweet, almost cinnamony smell, I forced myself to breathe in and out slowly, ignoring the frantic beat of my heart.

A crunch sounded so close to my prickle bush I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

They spoke, whatever language a Krampus knew. The cinnamony smell passed by and a very gingerbread, cocoa and fresh mud musk followed shortly after.

Tears leaked from my eyes as I clenched my hands tight in a white knuckled grip.

Please pass by me. Please pass by me.

Cracking my eyes open a teeny, tiny sliver, I nearly pissed myself, spying those familiar, weird yellow and red mixed eyes crouched, so close, just on the other side of the fat prickle bush, eyeing it like he was looking for weak spots.

A set of red and green streaked eyeballs to my right were smaller, darting around as if to keep an eye for enemies, but no less menacing.

"JO!" a voice called out, followed by another.

The Krampus trying to figure out how to invade the prickle bush jerked and grumbled something softly to each other, to then shoot up.

Red and green eyes took off quickly, shooting past my hiding place with an ugly snarl, but yellow and red eyes lingered.

I felt his eyes on me as I dared a peek off towards the sound of my name being called.

I was tempted to call out in the hopes of scaring him off but Boog and Rek's warnings had me holding my tongue.

"JO!"

"Jojoknee!"

"Jojo!"

"Joadknee!"

My gaze darted from the sound of Rek, Gopher, Boog, and even Doogie, from the sounds of it, calling out for me.

A sharp whistle of a noise whipping past sent me gasping sharply. A meaty thunk sounded off from a tree nearby. For one long moment, those haunting eyes stared directly at me and our eyes met. Fear coursed through me, thick and suffocating. There was nothing kismet about it.

My stalker growled as a projectile, an arrow, I realized, skimmed the side of his head, taking a hunk of fur with it as it broke its skin. Another and another followed, several meaty thunks, an angry snarl from Stalker, his body jerking back, disappeared in the brush, and an accompanying screech in the distance gave me that shot of courage to move towards the sound of the rescue crew.

They got them both!

Slipping from my hiding spot, I shot up and took off.

A roar joined the thrashing bushes Stalker had fallen into but I didn't dare look back.

Hightailing it the hello outta there, I called out for help, wondering where my voice had run off to as nothing more than a high pitched squeak for help left me.

A soft swish of something grazing my back tore a scream from my throat. Like fuck was I going down quietly.

Something slammed into the side of my head, sending me tripping, careening towards the ground. Like hell was I going to stop moving, even as the world temporarily spun. Immediately lifting myself up, I stumble-ran, at times using my hands to catch me and propel myself forward, my legs moving too fast for my panicked mind to keep up.

Another swipe at me, then another. The tang of iron was rich in the air. I was too numb with the horror of it all to tell if any of it was mine or all Stalker's.

Claws caught on my hair and jerked back, taking my knotted locks tangled in them, and my head, along with.

A sharp, pained cry left me as I was yanked backwards.

The beast snarled at the loud sound.

Using his distraction to my advantage, I lashed out, throwing an elbow and kicking out as thin fingers with insanely long claws scrambled for me.

A hank of my hair, lost in the tussle, remained tangled in bony fingers.

My jacket was grabbed, torn in the process. I found myself jerked this way and that, feeling like a critter caught in a gator's death roll.

He wasn't hurting me at this point so much as forcing me into position on all fours, facing away from him. Cold, clammy fingers gripped my neck and forced my head down.

It was a dangerous game, feigning submission, but I did, waiting for an in. I just need one moment, just one, one shot. Much as my brain was scrambled, I'd lived long enough in fight mode and, panicked as I was, I wanted to live. I needed to get the hell out of here.

Fingers jerked at my clothes, loud grunts issuing over my head as he huddled closer, and closer. He didn't understand how they worked and was trying not to outright murder me to find out.

He meant to keep me alive and I wasn't naive enough to not know what the hell he meant to keep me alive for. I wasn't on all fours to ride like a pony back to his place.

It was oddly like being felt up by a reanimated corpse or a wraith. Something like that. Tucking my chin, I felt turtley-enough for the turtle club as I lifted my shoulders, hoping to protect my throat. He was still gripping the back of my throat, thinking I was complying.

When something long and hard pressed against the back of my thigh, I glanced down and spied something thick, red and white striped like a barber's pole, spiraled like one of those unicorn, spiral-looking lollipop horns poking around the outside of my pants, everything inside of me tensed.

Sensing the change, my stalker leaned over me, freakishly gingerbread-like breath wafting over me as he leaned in to snuffle at my cheek, long fangs bared and all. With a sharp cry, I bucked like a bull at the rodeo, jabbed my fingers at his face, then mule kicked and tossed him away from me as hard as our size differences and these puny arms of mine would allow.

He'd been growling so loud before, I'd mistaken the growls surrounding us for his growing louder.

The roar my stalker let out was worthy of an evil villain.

Still disoriented from all the death rolls and the bitch slap to my head, I continued with the awkward stumble-running, catching my trips and falls with my hands to shove myself back to my feet and keep going.

I saw them then, just up the way.

Odix was ahead of the rescue crew, crouched and snarling, at the ready, charging towards us as I made to escape.

Get past the big guy , I kept chanting in my head, urging myself on.

If I could just get past Odix, I'd be okay.

Like he was spring loaded, Stalker launched himself into the air, catching himself on a tree and using the momentum to parkour his freaky ass to one on the opposite side of me, then almost directly on top of me.

It all happened in a rush.

Odix bellowed, a horrifying, deafening sound that screamed, Look out!

Running on fear and adrenaline, I pushed my chunky buns faster, harder. Just get to Odix. Get to Odix.

Stalker landed on my lower half sideways, like we were in a wrestling match and not a fight for my life.

A sharp elbow to the back of my leg buckled my knee. Thick claws slammed into the back of my other calf, sending me screaming bloody murder as they dug in and started to rake down the back of my leg.

Collapsing right then and there, I threw my hands over my head, tucking into a ball, praying I covered any and all vulnerable spots.

One moment my leg was being torn bloody by a literal monster, the next those claws tearing into me were ripped from my flesh, the weight climbing atop me gone. I rolled to my side just in time to get an up close and personal view of Odix's furry, hamhocked booty, as he tackled my attacker and plowed him into the ground.

Rolling back to my stomach, I tried to lift up onto all fours but my leg protested and my knee gave out.

Army crawling towards the others rushing up behind Odix, my stomach curdled as the sounds of the fight behind me pricked my ears.

"Help him!" I shouted as males, many notable hunters I'd spied heading off for hunts many a time, came over to help, slowing at the sight of me, but I waved them off.

It was Pepé, of all the beings, who ignored my entreaties to help Odix and stopped to kneel in front of me.

"Get your damn hairy balls outta my face and go help Odix!" I snarled at him, ignoring the wetness rimming my eyes from the pain or the way my body began to shake and my voice quavered.

I believed I was in shock, but I didn't really want to deal with that right now.

Without more than a grunt, Berkr backed up a little, putting his hairy fuzzsticles outta my face, and would have helped me to my feet but it was painfully obvious after the first try I wasn't going to be walking out of here.

"Bad," he grunted out, opting to scoop me up, wincing when I cried out, and hightailed it to a clearing where it looked the search party was meant to gather, an impromptu command center, as it were.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm a bad female," I gritted out. "I'm the worst- Ah-sweet- Jesus- Fuck my life!"

"Bad," Berkr repeated, barking out orders in stilted English and rapid-fire Lo denaii that others quickly obeyed.

One peek at my leg, dangling over his shoulder, blood dripping everywhere, and I thought I might faint. "Put me down. I'm ruining your fur," I muttered, glaring at him like this was somehow his fault.

Berkr paused what he was doing, cocked his head at me, and just eyed me.

"It'll ruin the coat I'm going to turn you into," I huffed and puffed like a good lil injured dragon lady.

As if the world had turned onto its head, the fool grinned, his mouth full of disgustingly sharp teeth, and chuckled.

"I'm bleeding out here, dummy! I fail to see what's so funny!" Folding my trembling arms over my chest, my lips pursed, eyes narrowing until they were tiny slivers of brown.

"Berkr not say Jo bad. Wound bad," he gruffly corrected.

"Oh," I mumbled, calming the fuck down at that.

I mean, it coulda been the blood loss talking, but when another chuckle escaped him, a part of me curled in on itself. This isn't fucking funny!

"Ey! Ey!"

As if to right my cockeyed world, my big ol' furry, pain in the ass constant came storming onto the scene.

"Ey! No laughs! Why you laughs-" Rek stilled, freezing on the spot as he spied the river my leg was making.

Pissy, pseudo admirer turned into panicked fuss monster as our eyes met and mine grew even more glossy with the wetness rimming them. "Give!" he demanded of Berkr, who paused for a moment longer than I cared to think about, before Kirch butted in, barking at both of them in their native tongue, and whatever he said that Rek replied to must have been good enough that Berkr immediately, carefully handed me over.

"If I die," I started to say, feeling woozy and lightheaded, but that was probably due to me eyeing my leg the entire time.

"Shuts up," Rek growled down at me, a fierceness stealing over him that had my chest all fluttery. "No die. No be stupid. Rek say Jojoknee die? No. No die ‘less Rek say!"

A high pitched, startled giggle slipped free. My hand clapped over my mouth in surprise. I had to mentally point out my body's response could actually be attributed to the blood loss.

"Don't tell me what to do, bleach squatch," I mutteringly grumbled, even as I closed my eyes and rested my head on his wide shoulder. The steady sound of his breathing calmed my racing heart.

"Bad," I thought I heard Berkr repeat.

"Super bad, baby. The baddest bitch of them all." A small, hysterical laugh escaped me. It started to segue into something else, something festering and ugly bubbling to the top, when the shakes really got ahold of me and Rek grunted down at me.

"My Jo?"

Of course Gopher would join the crew right this second. Of course he would.

"Hey! Are you all j-j-just going to st-stand around and look at me, or is s-s-someone going to st-st-stop my leg f-f-f-f- fr-fr-from b-b-b-bleeeding?" I felt like a bleating sheep as I finished speaking.

Walking right up to Rek, Gopher sandwiched me between then, cupping his arms under me, and grunted something at Rek that I assumed meant he'd best hand me over if he didn't want to be beaten with his own arms.

Some grunt-speaking went back and forth, back and forth, until they started literally fighting over me, jerking me into Gopher's arms to jerk me back into Rek's.

"I don't want either one of you!" I finally had enough and felt lucid enough, the chattering chills easing up enough with their warmth aiding me to burst out.

"Give," the dark shadow coming up behind Rek boomed out over their chaos.

Gopher jumped and nearly dropped me, startled, he was so engrossed in his argument with Rek, and Rek didn't really have much of a choice as Odix quickly grew tired of their bickering and pinched down on Rek's shoulder in a weird move that sent my headache's eyes rolling up in his head, his body spiraling towards the ground.

"Nice catch," I mumbled as Odix swooped in.

Odix let out a disgusted sniff at Rek's prone form, a warning rumble directed at Gopher following.

"How did you get Gopher to let me go?" I wondered aloud, muttering the question under my breath.

"Him say others, not good mate to Jo. Has… Has mate-want sick. Want warriors help watch over Jo him not there." Louder, he rumbled, "Not hiding from him's female."

Gopher let out a vicious growl but didn't argue any of what Odix was stating.

Goph really has given up on us.

My heart sank as Odix carried me over to the fire a few hunters I was fuzzy on their names were building.

Doogie was putting something in a pot to boil over it, a small, crude white bowl with weird designs on it I'd never seen the likes of before.

"What's he doing?" I leaned towards Odix to whisperingly ask.

"Skull bowl. Gut string. Fix Poo- Uh, Joadnee's owed-ies," he replied quietly.

My eyes widened and I clung to him harder than necessary. They were going to stitch that shit up.

A small, nervous laugh left me. "You wouldn't happen to have numbing anything on any of you, would you?"

The silence following that was deafening. Fuuuuck.

Staring up into Odix's perpetually frowning face, my lips parted as I started to speak but the words dried in my throat. Hunks of fur on his face, neck, and chest, were covered in blood and in some spots I believed I spied muscle or bone. He was pretty fucking tore up.

I wasn't the only thing tinged with the scent of iron.

"You're hurt," I said instead of begging him to sedate me.

"Odix warrior." His chest puffed up a bit more. "Heal fast. Gut strings tie. Help."

Shuddering at the idea of being stitched up and feeling every moment of it, I leaned in a little bit more towards my boo-boos buddy for comfort, careful of his mangled hide.

Fear threatened to grip me but I forced it down.

Odix's hand came up and he gently pried me from where I'd absently been gripping his chest. "Sorry," I whispered, swallowing thickly as I shoved all the pain and panic over a few stitches down.

A soft, comforting rumble rattled his chest, not unlike something to comfort a little one.

Clenching my hands in my lap, I sent up a tiny prayer I passed out before the first jab of a bone needle or whatever crude thing they were going to use jabbed my already tender flesh.

Thick fingers fell over mine, his busted knuckles crusted with blood.

Panic won out and I looked up at him askance. "Do the neck pinch thing to me."

Odix blinked down at me.

"The thing you did to Rek." My grimace told its own story. I'm a weiner, I don't care! "I'm a wuss. I don't think I can take it."

"Too rough. Odix not hurt Jo. Jo strong," he softly argued.

"I'm not! I'm full of shit! I'm a big ol' baby! I might puke and pee myself! I'm not cut out for this shit! I can't do it- I can't- I can't-" I was babbling, rambling. At some point the waterworks had started, but it had ceased to be about the stitches by that point.

A heavy thunk to our lefts and that odd, cinnamon-y smell from Krampus Stalker One hit my nose.

Something rolled towards Odix's feet.

Two clanking thunks followed.

One hint of a tall, gnarled, spiraling horn atop a hairy ball shape and I knew what the first thunk was. A head.

Bum-bum followed the macabre mess, grunting in satisfaction.

Coming up on Odix, he didn't ask for him to hand me over, he bent his tall frame, eyes narrowed menacingly, and plucked me right from Odix's suddenly stiff arms.

"You threw a head at Odix's feet," I spluttered, flustered, relieved, and more than a bit out of my element.

"Krampus no more," he said simply, like that explained everything.

Settling himself near the fire with me in his lap, he turned me, eyeing my leg, and snapped something at Berkr that had the glorified hall monitor of Yetidom barking orders, males clearing out. Approaching us with much more caution than I'd ever seen the male warrant anyone, Berkr handed over a small flask.

Gopher knelt beside Rek, not so much as if he was keeping an eye on him but more guarding him and watching, waiting to make sure he was still out cold.

My gaze darted from the flask Bum-bum shoved into my hand, to Berkr, who seemed content to make himself scarce.

"What's all that abou-" I'd started to wonder aloud, when Bum-bum finished his grumble-speaking with Gopher, who looked surprised by whatever they were chatting it up about but not upset, Snow Patrol gruntingly ordering me to, "Drink."

"Why?" I questioned, frowning from him to Gopher.

Under my watchful stare, my bashful, stick of a male had trouble meeting me eye to eye.

"Leave Gopher alone," I grumbled under my breath, bristling at the idea of Bum-bum saying anything about Gopher's problem, which he already felt horrible about, thank you very much.

The last thing I needed was that flighty male running off from me for good. Things were shit between us but at least I still got to see him around and there was the occasional attempt at conversation or sudden drop in to stick up for me.

All this time I'd spent trying to convince myself Gopher was the worst potential mate ever, and he was the closest thing to considerate and perfect that had actually shown any interest in me.

Rek was perfect for my chaotic side. It had taken me a while to realize this, and how that did not a perfect mating make. Perhaps he and I were too alike… too jaded, untrusting…

"Take drink," Bum-bum growled down at me softly as he reached for my leg, tearing my pant leg, and cupped the gashes on my leg.

I'd just started to put the bottle to my lips when he clamped his huge mitt of a paw down over the bloodied mess I called a leg.

A choking gasp left me and I spilled as much as I guzzled down. It was awful. Worse than anything I'd ever tasted. "Who mixed paint thinner, hair spray, and ear wax?!" I wheezed.

It was beyond awful, but the effects were almost immediate.

Where pain had once been screaming at me, numbness bubbled to the fore as warmth filled my middle and spread outward.

Within moments, I was feeling so much more than alright. A soft giggle left me at the first hiccup. Loose, pliant in Bum-bum's arms, he set me down on the ground but the cold seeping in was the last thing on my mind. I was feeling more than alright.

"Hey, that tickles." Another giggle left me.

Bum-bum snapped something and Berkr reappeared from the brush, as if from thin air.

My hand lifted and I pointed, "Pepé! You're a magician!"

Coming over, Berkr's eyes widened as I lifted the empty bottle and waggled it at him. "Got any more? This stuff is great!" Frowning down at it, I muttered, "Do you think more will make me invisdible?" Blinking, I grunted, frowned. "Indivstible. Bistible. Inividits… bull." Shit. How do you say it?

"Individsible," Berkr grunted out, coming around to my side to gently take my hands in his and pin my arms to my chest.

"My god, Pepé. I said magician, not handsy!" Wriggling, I gave him a dirty look. "What's the big idea?!"

"No move," he grunted out. "No look." Growling out Bum-bum's Lo denaii name, he rumbling added, "Fix Jo leg."

Flopping back, I stared up at him for a long moment.

"What?" he grunted out, when I just stared up at him unblinkingly.

"You could have at least bought me dinner first," I said suddenly, then burst out laughing.

Berkr sighed, the sound long and low. "Hoomans not apposed drink so much shine. Meanie say not good." He was lecturing, but not at me for once.

Bum-bum, leaned over me, facing away from me, offering me a generous view of his big ol' linebacker booty, gave a grunt in answer as Gopher aided him with my leg.

"I can see so far up your nose, Pepé, I think I see the pink of your brain." Another giggle left me, until I was a ridiculous mess of laughter.

Berkr wriggled his nose, then sucked air in through it, like that would somehow aid him in blocking the view.

"Why is your fur different colored?" I blurted as the thought occurred to me. I knew he was touchy about pretty much everything and I'd been warned not to pester him like that but I was on some sort of mega boosted buzz and my filter had flown out the window entirely.

Eyes narrowing, he growled down at me softly, "Why Jo mates no want her? Why Jo bad? Why picks broken males?" He followed this up with a loud harrumph in my face, but his point had already been made.

Like that paint thinner nastiness was a mood booster more than anything, I went from a giggling mess to a chin wobbling, sniffling mess.

"I don't know!" I blurted as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

Berkr's midnight black eyes widened, a look of pure panic crossing his features as I started to crumple right before his disbelieving eyes.

Bum-bum's chest started to rumble, his whole body vibrating with it as he picked up on my growing distress. Gopher's joined in, and even Rek's, passed out as he was, like it knew the deal and wasn't crazy about the vibe right now.

Kirch joined the madness, holding out something and calling out excitedly. He paused for far too long at whatever sight greeted him as he pulled up on the mess that is my leg that I was effectively being blocked from seeing.

Snapping out of it, he knelt and handed over whatever it was he'd found, daring a peek at me to scowl at my tear stained face and free flowing sobs, and Berkr's panicked grimaces.

"What you do?" Kirch grunted out at Berkr.

"Say Jo's mates all broken," Gopher gruntingly supplied for him as he served as a living wall to help block my view.

Kirch growled as he stood, baring his teeth and letting out a snarl that promised retribution as he made his way over to Rek.

"Is he- is he okay?" I blubbered, as Kirch looked over Rek.

"Rek fine," Kirch rumbled out softly.

"Promise?" I sounded like a pathetic, sniveling simpleton. I couldn't help it.

"Break Jo brain, Kirch break Berkr," he warned the warrior male.

"Harm one hair on Kirch's head and Mina will tar and feather you," I finally got enough ahold of my sniffle fest to mumble at Berkr.

"Berkr not break Jo," Berkr grumbled. "Jojo males break Jo brain long time ‘fore Berkr make Jo cry like babies."

"I'm not crying like a baby!" My voice was shrill, tight, and I was a thousand percent crying.

Kirch, Gopher, and Bum-bum let out a communal, you done fucked up, dick. Best fix it , at Berkr.

Grimacing, Berkr's voice grew high as he started to coo unconvincingly, wincing as he did so in a falsetto sing song, "No- No cry. No cry, Jo. No cry. Shh. Sh."

"Are they chopping off my leg?" I mumbled as I felt wetness and a weird tug and pull and then nothing. "Why can't I feel my leg?" Tears turned to fear as I struggled to survey the damage. "What's wrong with my leg?!!"

Kirch left Rek's side to join Berkr in holding me down.

"She panic," Kirch barked, forced to lean on me, practically sitting on me, in an effort to wrestle me into submission.

"Of course I'm panicked! They're chopping off my leg!" I wailed.

"No chop off leg," Kirch grumbled down at me reasonably, and yet he had to glance over his shoulder as if to double check.

My non ravaged leg kicked out, getting Gopher in the face, sending him flopping back and right into Kirch, nearly unseating him.

"She move!" Berkr warned Bum-bum.

Twin loud cracks sounded, and I totally lost my shit. My leg wasn't broken! What was snapping?!!

It was a risky move but I was running on adrenaline. Kicking both legs out, they both made contact. Bum-bum let out a startled yelp and shot back, which caused him to slam heads with Kirch, who dropped forward clutching at his skull to then crack noggins with Berkr.

It was a whole-assed Three Stooges kinda deal. Slipping from beneath them as Berkr and Kirch started to snarl at each other, I shot up, got one good look at my leg, a bone needle dangling from partially stitched skin, and screamed.

I castigated myself even as my mind reeled.

Odix jumped into the fray, snatching me up before I could even think of taking off like a madwoman.

Like he'd had some practice doing this, he subdued me with scary crazy ease. Cuddling me close, he pinned my arms with one arm, snuggling me into him, one leg under me, the other over me, boxing me in between incredibly thick thighs. His free hand gripped my jaw and he forced me to stare at him, gazing deeply into my panicked, doe-wide eyes.

Purring down at me softly, he had me slipping from wild and wooly and right into soft and submissive.

Glancing briefly over his shoulder, he barked something sharply at the males beside him, and then his focus was right back on me.

"S'okay," he purred down at me, his thick thumb brushing across my cheek gently. "Jo ‘kay."

The savage Odix had soothed this wild beast.

The louder he purred, the softer he crooned, the more I found myself relaxing.

Bum-bum snapped something at Odix that had the male stiffening, but one look at my panicked face and he bent his head, leaned in, and gently pressed his lips to mine.

A soft noise left me, my breath puffing across his lips as he pulled back to stare down at me, gauging my reaction.

There was some tugging and unpleasantness over by my leg but every time I started to feel panicky, Odix sought to distract me.

I was ten kisses in before my foggy mind kicked back on and I attempted to kiss him back.

A deep, long rumble rattled the male when he was forced to come up for air.

My heart pounded for reasons unrelated to wilderness first aid as I licked my lips, eyeing his.

"Bum-bum say kiss Jo. Jo stop fusses," Odix blurted.

If that wasn't a tub of ice water dumping over my head to hear it, I don't know what is.

It was hard to kick up a real, good fuss, when that gross drink was still leaving me lingering in happy from his kisses land.

When my expression started to falter, he meant to go in for another round of kiss the frantic female, when I stopped him.

"You don't need to kiss me to shut me up." When I would have wiggled my hand, I realized it was still trapped and settled for shaking my head. The shakes of earlier had gone. The adrenaline coursing through my veins left me as quick as it had come. I was left feeling drained and strangely used up. I was too tired and foggy headed to sort it all out. "I'll be good," I promised, motioning for him to ease up on pinning me to him.

With caution, he slowly released me, looking ready to rally and crush me to him at the slightest sign of any sudden, impending freakout.

Deliberately looking anywhere but at Odix or towards my lower half, my gaze found and held the male's who was slowly coming to from his little nap.

A small half smile twisted my lips as Rek got a good look at what all was going on.

"Almost done," Gopher told me, then hopped right back into the fray.

Nodding, my gaze drifted towards the sky. Closing my eyes, I forced several deep breaths. "You can set me down now. You don't have to hold me, Odysseus. I'll be good." Reaching out, I gave him a there-there pat, hoping he got the picture.

Odix made a grumbling sound at the name-mangle but didn't make any sudden moves to set me down and feck off.

Berkr snorted from his spot across the fire, bookending with Kirch, who was also cupping snow to his head. "Jo no pick bad males," he corrected. Another snort. "Bad males want Jo."

"Shut up, Pepé. Nobody asked you," I sniped.

Kirch glanced between Berkr and me and just shook his head. "Jojoknee won't have Berkr. Jojoknee not have only one."

Berkr lifted an arm, encompassing the group gathered. "Jo have no males. Come but no stay. Jo only one."

My expression blanked as I stared at them, wondering who the fuck all else knew about my shitty love life, and how it had managed to stay a secret amongst them without spreading out to the ladies of the village, namely my cousin, by now.

Or… did she know and wasn't telling me?

"I don't have any mates, and at this point I don't give a shit if I ever do," I told the pair.

Kirch's face said he begged to differ but he wasn't going to, while Berkr's turned contemplative.

Closing my eyes once more, I murmured as I focused on the fire crackling and the wind whipping through our makeshift camp, "Don't even think about it, Pepé. You'd have to truly kidnap me and force me. I'd bite IT off before I'd ever kiss it. Oil and water, bud. Oil and water."

Berkr made a distressed noise. Kirch cracked up.

Gopher made loud grunting noises like he was holding shit back but was pleased with my answer.

Odix was oddly quiet.

Rek snickered quietly to himself, though I could make out him picking his way closer to Bum-bum to eye his handiwork.

Bum-bum started to hum as he worked. The sound was hypnotic, giving me something to focus on besides the Frankenstein-ing of my leg.

Bum-bum had just announced, "Done," and was cleaning things up when Tarnk found his way back to camp.

Feeling as wide awake as I did sleepy, I eyed the male as he made a beeline for not Kirch but Bum-bum. Holding out a bloodied arrow, his grumbling report's tone in Lo denaii had apprehension filling me as I looked anywhere but my gruesomely stitched up leg.

With no healer with the kind of shit they kept stocked up back in the village on hand, it wasn't a bad stitch job so much as plain ugly.

Without a word, Gopher nodded towards my purse. Handing it over to him, I watched him pull out the scarf stuffed in there. Tearing it into long strips, he handed my purse back and started wrapping strips around my leg.

Staring down at his handiwork, I murmured, "Thanks, Gogo boots."

Scooting in closer, cupping a hand over my knee, dragging my attention away from my leg, he made a noise in his throat and the knuckles of his other hand gently brushed across my cheek.

He leaned in. I leaned in.

We were so close and yet so far. The divide was there, a heavy, tangible thing, thick and growing.

"Jo!" Doogie called out, grinning as he butted right in on our little magical moment.

Gopher pulled back and like that the spell was broken.

A yelp left me as Dorothy's incorrigible son slapped me on the back and made to sit next to me at the fire.

"No worries. We find," Dougie assured me, like I should know exactly what he's talking about.

Bum-bum scooped up the severed head and horns across the camp fire, rumbling something to the others that had them rumbling in agreement.

Watching me stare after Bum-bum, he gave me a nudge. "Puts out. Warning," Doogie said simply. Then again, to put it in better perspective for me, "No worries. We find other. Kill. No hunt Jo no mores."

"My heroes," I mumbled flatly, curling in on myself, wishing I could curl my leg towards me but not wanting to upset it.

One of them was still out there— the scarier of the two. A shiver made its way up my spine.

"No want Jo hurt," Doogie settled on.

"Because then who would torture tease you?" A wry smile cracked my suddenly dry lips.

Doogie snorted but refused to dignify that with an answer. Spying the empty flask on the ground, he got a funny look on his face he quickly masked, and kindly asked, "Hungries?"

With a shrug, I admitted, "I could eat."

"I go get," he said quickly, perhaps a bit too much so.

Not thinking anything of it, I quickly ate the bread he came back with and held out to me.

I'd thought we were having a real bonding moment, like we'd pulled through some bullshit.

It wasn't until my stomach suddenly started churning that I realized anything was up.

Douglas, you asshole.