Cherishing My Chuchunya: A Snow Monster Romance (Snuggling under Snowdrifts Book 3) by Marilyn Barr

Author:Marilyn Barr [Barr, Marilyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Patricika

“Why must you be so difficult? No wonder Denis hated you!” Serik spits as he yells.

“Take that back,” I whisper because I lost my voice hours ago. We’ve been fighting since sunrise when he climbed into my furs uninvited. Deep in my heart, I know Denis understood why we never mated after our chase. We didn’t love one another and hoped for something better than we could grow as a couple. Denis didn’t hate me, but Serik might. I wish Serik were half as understanding.

“I feed you. I shelter you. I protect you. You chose me at the mating chase, so my prize is rutting you when I see fit!” Blood drips from his nose from when I woke up swinging. You don’t pounce on a lady in her sleep without reaping the consequences. I hope his muzzle’s swollen state lasts until our migration. I want every male to know that just because you ‘win’ me at the chase, I’m not your plaything for the season. Timor and Polina will see the consequences of setting me up with every male in the clan. I have to mate with someone at the chase as my duty to the clan, but nothing else. It’s about time everyone gets that through their thick skulls.

Because my heart can’t take lying beneath a male I don’t love when my male lives in my memory. Adam and I may not be together, but my soul doesn’t care. The chest pains I endured during the mating chase were excruciating. When Serik tackled me, I thought I had collapsed from a broken heart. He took my compliance as consent, but in reality, I was too broken to fight.

“Fine,” I say, rolling my furs into a bundle. His eyes follow me like hawks stalking their prey as I gather my weapons. Instead of using his coils of sinew, I use my bow string to secure my belongings. I don’t want to walk out of here with anything belonging to him. “You don’t have to feed, shelter, or protect me for another minute. Good luck surviving this winter without me supplying moose meat for jerky or collecting dung for the fire. Gods know you will never have dushevnayasvyaz to keep you warm. Dushevnayasvyaz is never wrong, so you will be the last male on earth to find his female…even if such a bitch exists.”

“You should be so lucky to be mated to me! You can’t reject me because I’m rejecting you!” His screams are the last of his pride leaking onto the stone floor. I don’t need to respond. That comment wasn’t meant for me. What will the other males say when we aren’t together at the migration? Serik shouldn’t be concerned about them. My reputation will save his standing. I failed to get along with Denis—the most docile member of our clan, so Serik didn’t stand a chance.

“Goodbye, Serik. Thanks for a great niibin season,” I say before sliding through the crevice of his bed chamber. I fill my lungs with air less tainted by his funk.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.