Page 18 of Her Christmas Monsters

“I said I was—”

“Come with me,” he hisses, cutting me off. He wraps an arm around my bicep and tugs me after him. His grip isn’t hard, but it must be something serious judging by the anger that’s rolling off of him.

Fynn leads us back through the service hallway and into a supply room. He slams on the bright fluorescent lights and locks the door, keeping his back to me and blocking off the exit.

“What the hell is going on?” I demand, my heart thundering with the spike of adrenaline. I know I should be scared. My mind wars with my heart, both fighting for control but it’s like I know intrinsically that although he can be an asshole, he wouldn’t hurt me.

“Who were you with?” Fynn growls, keeping his back to me, as he pulls in a ragged breath.

Sure, I hadn’t had a chance to have a real shower but he wouldn’t be able to smell that, would he?

“That’s none of your business,” I hiss, crossing my arms over my chest indignantly.

“There are two different scents on you, who are they?” he demands again.

Two scents? No he definitely shouldn’t be able to smell that.

“What are you—”

“They’re monsters, Clara,” he snaps, cutting me off. “You could be in danger, so I need to know who they are so I can take care of them.”

“So you can do what?” I screech, grasping his shoulder. I need him to turn around, I need to see his face.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he says almost to himself. “Who are they?”

“They’re my mates, I guess,” I say, my brows furrowing as I attempt to piece together what he’s saying, and I let my hand fall back to my side. “You know about monsters?”

“Mates ‘you guess?’” He’s still refusing to face me.

“I mean yeah, they’re my mates,” I say more confidently. “I just found out last night, so it’s all a little new.”

“Some can have more than one mate but a human ...” he murmurs to himself.

“Human?” I ask, my voice softer now as I start to put the pieces together.

The connection I’ve felt with him is the same as the other two guys. I felt sucked in immediately like there was something deeper between us, despite never meeting before.

“Are you …?” I trail off, unsure of how to even ask the question.

“Yes Clara, I’m what you humans call a monster, an elf,” he says, some of the anger seeping from his tone as he turns to face me. “And you’re also my mate.”

He looks the same as he did before, yet different. His ears poke out from beneath his long silver hair revealing the points that have formed on them. He bares his teeth, the light catching their razor-sharp edges.

“Why—why not just tell me?” I ask, taking a step closer.

“You would’ve ran straight from my office if I told you,” he scoffs.

“Well if you hadn’t insulted me, I probably would’ve been a lot more understanding,” I huff out indignantly, and chew on my bottom lip. Would I have though? If I hadn’t seen the dream realm and Soren’s shadowed form, would I have believed Fynn if he’d told me he was a monster?

“No you wouldn’t have,” he retorts, his lips pressing into a thin line.

“Probably not,” I admit. “But I believe fate has a way of working things out. Maybe you’re right and if I hadn’t seen my other mate Soren, in a shadow dream first, this may not have worked out this way.”

I close the remaining distance between him, and I reach out tentatively. When he doesn’t pull away I trail my fingertip over his cheek, needing to show him I’m not afraid of his monster side, not now.

He pulls in a staggered breath and presses his cheek into my palm for a moment before pulling away.

“I hadn’t intended to be that hard on you during our first meeting,” Fynn reveals, his shoulders slumping slightly. “But when I saw you, when I felt who you are to me, I had to find some way to push you away.”

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