Page 18 of Twisted Howlidays

Kendra was so done with this conversation. She should have noped out of it the moment Cindy started talking about fated mates.

“Nothing that I want to listen to. She is constantly trying to drag me back to him. I feel like I’m going crazy. That’s why I’m hitting the road at dawn. I need to get away from here, from all of them. And I’m not looking back. I don’t even want to face Calder and Daisy to tell them thanks and goodbye. Even if they aren’t part of a great conspiracy, it only makes me look bad. Here I am, their guest, and I go off sleeping around with some guy I barely know, get stuck in their hunting cabin after it gets destroyed by the avalanche, which we caused from having wild rowdy sex. Imagine that!” Kendra didn’t want to deal with any of the aftermath. She just wanted to tuck her tail between her legs and fucking run.

“When you put it that way.”

“Thanks for listening to me whine. I guess I need to go see Calder and Daisy before it gets too late.”

“As much as we’d all love to see you as soon as possible, I think you are making a huge mistake, Kendra. Huge.”

“Yeah, so be it then. He’ll just be the latest entry on a long list of mistakes.”

After the call, she stared out from the bedroom window at the mountain.

“That damn mountain.”

The sun had just begun to set, but instead of bathing the snow-covered slopes in the rosy glow that she expected, the mountains were quickly shrouded by thick white clouds.

Her wolf whined and whimpered, begging her to go find Ryan.

Desperate to have a minute of peace, she shoved her backpack aside until it flopped onto the floor with a muffled thump. Slumping onto the bed, she burrowed under the comforter.

Closing her eyes, she recalled the endless reel of images from her night with Ryan. No matter how hard she tried to steer her memories away from him, the scenes always culminated with the moment her teeth were just about to pierce his neck.

“I almost bit him! For fuck’s sake, what the Hell was I thinking? I swear, I don’t know what came over me. And I wanted him to bite me too.”

“That was the moment we were created for. The moment we’ve lived for. The moment you were to claim, and be claimed, by your true mate.”

“Seriously. Enough.”

“You can run away from him, but you will never be able to forget what you felt at that moment. You know it was magic. Besides the Fates have ways.”

“Fates? Just stop it! It was lust, passion, or whatever but that doesn’t make it magical. I need to say my goodbyes to Daisy and Calder now.”

Her wolf was right. No matter how hard she tried, she knew her wolf would never let her put Ryan—or that feeling—behind her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Just as she was about to knock on the door, Kendra paused and sucked in a deep breath. She hadn’t faced anyone since the rescue. The mere thought of facing Daisy now made her sick.

Just as she knocked on the door, she noticed giant snowflakes fluttering around her. They reminded her of the ones she caught on her tongue when she lounged in the hot spring with Ryan.

“It’s memories like this that just kill me.”

“So, stay.” Her wolf was not going to let up.

“Shut up.” Luckily Kendra could be just as stubborn as her wolf.

When Daisy opened the door, Kendra noticed her genuine smile and it immediately eased her anxiety. “You needn’t knock, Kendra. You’re always welcome. Come on inside.”

“Thanks. I’m not staying long. I just wanted to thank you and Calder for being such good hosts. And to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving so soon?” The smile on Daisy’s face fell instantly when Kendra dropped her bombshell goodbye.

“Well, seeing as how everything turned out, it’s probably for the best if I skedaddle.”

“Because of an avalanche? You can’t blame yourself for that,” Daisy placed a comforting hand on Kendra’s shoulder

“Ha! She wouldn’t say that if she only knew how we were going at it. Her wolf snicked from the shadows.”

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