Page 2 of Guarded By the Yeti

I’m an animal, in the end. I won’t say an ape, because I don’t talk to myself like that, but the truth is the truth. I am an animal, and I have animalistic urges. For years, my kind has been struggling and learning how to contain and control them. If a Yeti gets too close to a female – a female of any species – then that Yeti might just go... berserk.

And that is why I cannot take beautiful Ysella away. I would have to guard her from myself.

Artie taps me on the shoulder, back to his irate mosquito manners. I jump to my feet, and he waves at me impatiently while still on the phone.

“You’re hired,” he tells me. “For an exorbitant amount of cash but fuck it.”

“What? Give me that.” I swipe the phone from him and press it to my ear. “Lucia?” I walk out of the room. For some reason, I don’t want Ysella to hear me arguing my way out of this assignment.

“Kaelthar! The job was a success, I hear. With some casualties, unfortunately, but I looked at when the alarm went off, andwhere you and your men were, and given that the tragedy happened so far outside of the city, I don’t think you could’ve had a better response time.”

“Sure, sure,” I grumble. “But what’s this about getting hired to guard Ysella Carvassi?”

“Oh, her brother is willing to pay your fee. I told him you’re one of our most expensive bodyguards, and that he could have his pick from the other men at the scene, but he insisted it must be you.”

“Lucia, don’t make me do this.”

“Why not?”

And this is when I realize she doesn’t know the particularities of my species. Because I never told her. And I never will. My “berserker problem”, triggered by the presence of women, is a weakness. My only weakness. I don’t want to appear weak in front of my handler, but also... it’s not any woman’s problem that I have this biological particularity that I can’t control. At least, Ysella isn’t ovulating, or I would’ve smelled that from outside the building and never gotten in. I even avoid Lucia when I sense that she’s ovulating, and I’m not even attracted to her.

“Pick someone else,” I say, even though I sense I’ve lost this battle already.

“Kaelthar Frost, is there something going on that I should know about?”

Her fierce Costa Rican spirit shines through, and I know I can’t refuse her. Not unless I’m ready to tell her the truth. Which I’m not.

“No, ma’am.”

“Then it’s settled. You’re in charge of Ysella Carvassi’s safety. You are to extract her from there and take her somewhere safe where the Draganettis won’t find her. I don’t need to know, and her brother doesn’t need to know, either. It’s better this way. If the Draganettis catch her brother, or if they force the MSA’shand somehow, we won’t be able to give away your location. Have your work phone with you. I’ll contact you when this ridiculous war is over.”

“Will do.”

The line goes dead, and I hesitate before re-entering the room of horrors. There’s no point in delaying the inevitable. I have my assignment, and my assignment is the beautiful, innocent woman in there.

Chapter Two

Kaelthar

The MSA guards on my team are starting to file out. They’ve done all they could, and it’s time to go home, take a shower and unwind, or, knowing them, stop by a bar first. Some of these frightful monsters have wives and kids at home, and I know for a fact they don’t want to take the shit that’s happened here with them, so they’ll drink it away for a few hours. Monsters don’t get as intoxicated as humans do, so I’m not concerned. When you can hardly get drunk, alcohol consumption isn’t toxic for you or your loved ones.

Artie is talking to his sister in a hushed voice, and I give them space. He’s stroking her face with the back of his hand, but she isn’t reacting. Earlier, when I approached her, she looked straight into my eyes. She’s not looking into Artie’s eyes, and that makes me think they aren’t as close as Artie is trying to make it look. He hired me to protect her, so at least there’s that. He shakes his head, lets out a sigh, and pushes himself to his feet. He’s on his phone instantly, texting, and I wonder again where he’ll find that army he was talking about. Who will want to fight for Artie Carvassi when it’s obvious he’s not even half the man his father was?

“I need a helicopter,” I tell him.

He shoots me a glance, then he’s back on his phone, tapping away. “I’ll get you a private plane.”

“I don’t need a private plane, I need a helicopter.”

“You need a private plane. How else are you going to get to the Himalayas?”

That takes me aback. For a second, I don’t know what to say. My eyes widen, and I stare at him like he’s just grown another head. Which, by the looks of his swollen eye, wouldn’t be entirely out of this world. I’m sure there are monsters who can growa second head. Or a third. Artie Carvassi is not a monster, I remind myself, though he likes to think he is.

“The Himalayas,” I whisper.

“Yes. You’re taking my sister to the Himalayas. That’s where you come from, right? That’s where your home is.”

“My home is here,” I say. “I’m not taking your sister to the Himalayas.”

---