It calls to me, and before I know what I’m doing, my feet are leading me toward the front door.
It’s not like it matters if I take a little, tiny detour. The guys are probably all still asleep, exhausted from last night. Not the naked kind of last night, though we have plenty of those, but the kind where they insisted I go to bed… and then stayed up late, baking various treats for the party. I’m seriously so lucky to have them!
I’m thinking about how lucky I am in general as I open the cafe door… and a strong gust of wind blows a handful of snow right in my face.
Instinctively, I grimace… but oh my Yeti, it feels amazing!
Snow. Glorious snow!
It blows across the snowbanks in front of the cafe and envelops my bare feet. Wait, bare feet? Since when am I not wearing boots? Who cares.
All I want is snow, snow, and more snow.
Before I can think better of it, I dive face first into the snowbank. I burrow into it, enjoying the soothing caress of snow on my face, and in my hair, and seeping into my clothes. When snow makes its way underneath my dress, caressing my junk, I let out a disturbing moan. But then snow’s touching every inch of my skin, enveloping me until I’m sure I’m in heaven.
I dive and roll and burrow and moan and roll around some more.
“Ambear?” a panicked voice shouts.
Wes? I shift back in a panic.
And, oh no, cold! It’s so, so cold. My boots and leggings are back, but they’re no use against the snow. It’s wet and stings, and I’m so cold…
Strong, warm arms scoop me out of the snowbank. Wes presses me tightly against his hot chest, his touch stinging my freezing skin.
Before I know it, I’m shivering. Bad. So bad, I almost shift into a Yeti again just to escape the pain. Can you imagine? Shifting into a giant Yeti dude in my bear shifter mate’s arms? What would he think?
“Bean?” Julian cries, racing out of the cafe. “Get her inside!”
“J-J-Juli,” I barely get his name out past chattering teeth. I definitely don’t get to the part where I’m about to tell him I’m okay. How am I this cold when I was only in that snowbank as me for maybe ten seconds? Ugh. I hate winter. Unless I’m a Yeti. I definitely want to winter more as a Yeti when I get the chance, but right now, winter is the worst.
When Wes carries me into our warm upstairs apartment, instead of feeling better, the shivering intensifies.
“What happened?” Chase jumps up from the couch, abandoning his laptop.
I frown. Why are all three of my guys awake? Exactly how long was I outside, luxuriating in the gloriously soft piles of snow?
“She fell into a snowbank,” Wes says, his chest rumbling against my shivering form.
“What were you doing outside?” Chase rushes to my side.
“I—” My teeth chatter as I try to think of a response.
“It’s a good thing I came downstairs or…” Wes trails off as he carries me across the apartment. I want to reassure him—to reassure all three of my guys—but even if I wasn’t too cold to talk, what would I say? No, you guys, I didn’t fall into a snowbank. I shifted into a Yeti and dove into it head first? And, by the way, you won’t believe how good it felt?!
“We need to get you some dry clothes.” Chase rushes past us and into the bedroom.
Wes carries me into the bathroom and gently sets me down in the middle of the tub. I expect him to turn on the water, but he starts to peel my sweater-dress over my head instead.
“W-Wes—” I whisper, feeling the first wave of warmth since I shifted back from Yeti-Amber into Amber-Amber. I look up at my bear shifter, and though his eyes are blazing with heat, they’re also filled with concern.
“You’re freezing, Ambear. And your clothes are soaking wet. I’m going to get you out of them first, and then we’ll figure out how to get you warm.”
“I could call the coven doctor,” Julian says from the doorway.
“It would take too long. We need to get her warm, now.”
“What about a heat spell?” Julian suggests.
“And s-set the place on f-fire?” I stutter past chattering teeth.
“I’d rather burn down the cafe than watch you freeze,” he snarls as Wes drops my soaking dress on the floor and starts on my leggings.
“Juli!” I snap in warning. Last time he used magic… okay, fine, every time he’s used magic… something went terribly wrong.
“Bean!” Julian glares at me.
“What if you shift?” Chase suggests, squeezing into the tiny bathroom and dropping a stack of clothes on the toilet seat. His gaze skims my scantily clad body, starting at my soaking-wet pink bra and sliding down to my pink panties—I’ve been pretty good about wearing matching underwear since finding my mates. “Sweetheart? Did you hear me?”
“W-what?” I breathe, trying to think past the sudden arousal at having my three guys staring at me while I’m mostly naked.
“Shift,” Chase repeats.
“Chase is right,” Juli agrees. “You need to shift into Wes.”
“W-Wes?” I look down at my bear shifter as he knees in front of me to remove my boots.
“Bear shifters have better cold tolerance than bunny shifters,” Chase says.
“They do?” And why does everyone seem to know it but me?
Wes nods, but I shake my head. If I’m going to make this cold go away, I’m going to shift into the Yeti and not Wes. No offense.
I think back to how warm being a Yeti felt. How amazing it felt rolling through the snow in Yeti form. I want that again so bad. Why couldn’t it have been a sexy female Yeti who walked into the cafe? Then I could shift into her in front of the guys! But no, instead I get pot-belly middle-aged-man Yeti. I shift into him, and I’m probably never having sex again.
On the other hand, warmth. Oh, how I long to feel that warmth.
I almost shift back on the spot. Almost. I just can’t do it with my guys watching. It still shocks me every single day that I have three hot mates who all want me. Me. Despite the fact that I occasionally pop a troll bod or Minerva hair. I do not want to add pot-belly Yeti to the mix. Especially a naked pot bellied, likely hairy, Yeti… with junk that may or may not look like a cheese grater.
“Brown bears have good cold tolerance, Ambear,” Wes says. “Much better than chameleons.”
“I can’t…”
“We’ll give you some privacy,” Julian says, pulling the guys toward the door. “She always had trouble shifting in class when anyone was watching. Trust me.”
“We’ll be right outside, Amber.” Wes hesitates in the doorway. “You sure you’ll be okay?”
Eagerly, I nod.
Then, I’m alone. Free to be a Yeti. Warm, cozy, like sitting in front of a fireplace, Yeti. Oh, it feels amazing.
“Bean?” Julian calls out.
“Did it work?” Chase asks.
“You alright?” Wes finishes off the line of questioning.
“Yes,” I call back, my deep baritone rumbling in my chest.
Chapter Three
Wes
The growl that emanates from the other side of the bathroom door is monstrous. It sends chills down my spine, and my bear demands that I shift to protect my mate. Except there’s nothing to protect my mate from… because that fearsome growl is my mate’s, and she just shifted into me.