Page 46 of Arctic Panda's Secret Mate
Tristan kissed the top of her head and put an armaround her. “I don’t want you to giveanythingup,” he said. “You deserve all the toys.”
“Not many people get what they deserve,” Haisley pointed out. “Life just isn’t thatfair.I count myself lucky that I found you… that we found each other. I can’t really ask more than that.”
There was a sudden gust of howling wind, and the lights flickered and then the whole chalet went silent and dark. “Oh, that’s done it,” Haisley said, slipping out of Tristan’s embrace. “Duty calls.”
40
TRISTAN
“I’m coming with you!” Tristan insisted, pulling on his pants.
Tristan knew he ought to be happy that Haisley had come around to moving to Shifting Sands. It might not be right away—it would take some time to get the work visa, and he had to get the terrifying Scarlet on board with hiring her—but he would be able to take his mate back to the island with him.
The problem was, he could feel her underlying hesitation, and he dreaded what would happen if he unknowingly broke her heart taking her away from the place that she loved.
And the more he thought about making the chalet for shifters only, the more he liked the idea. It would be smaller than the tropical resort, by an order of magnitude, but he knew that there was a market for places that shifters could be shifters. It was almost turn-key, perfectly isolated and already set up for tourists. The land was big enough to expand with a few cabins if they wanted. They could hire some more help,
Tristan didn’t want an easy living. He wanted arewardingliving, with his mate, in a place that made his blood feel alive. And this place certainly wasn’t lacking forvariation.
“I’ve had more seasons here in six days than I’ve had in three years at Shifting Sands,” he told Haisley, when they went outside to turn on the generator. “It was ten below when we got here, then it snowed two feet. Now, it’s raining.”
Even with the shoe cleats, it was hard to stay upright. The rain was so cold and light that when it landed on the snowpack on the stoop, it was immediately a sheet of ice. The trail to the generator was half slush, wet and clinging to their ankles. The wind seemed worse, and it felt colder than the ten below had been a few days before.
“This is going to be a proper ice storm as the temperature drops,” Haisley said glumly, once the generator was humming and lights shone from the chalet windows. “Look at the trees!”
The falling rain was coating the branches, and birches that had been tall and reaching for the skies looked like weeping willows now, their branches curling for the ground. Some of them were bent over into complete arches, and they creaked and groaned in the wind, the ice chiming like untuned bells.
One of the spruces had cracked in two halfway up, the broken top lying mostly buried in the snow and the sheared trunk like a spike towards the sky.
It was nearly dark and the rain was starting to freeze into fog. With the tinkling of the frozen branches, it was magical, in a completely different way than Shifting Sands. At Shifting Sands, the rain would only make you wet. Here? Tristan could feel the bite of the wind on his cheeks, caressing like claws. This was a place that wouldkill you, not coddle you, and it was deliciously invigorating.
“It’s beautiful,” Tristan said. “I love it.”
Haisley was standing beside him, and she gazed out at the forest adoringly. “They say that Alaska doesn’t grow on you, so much as it makes you unfit for anywhere else.”
One of the swaying trees gave a groan and Tristan could have sworn that it screamed as the white trunk broke and the top crashed down. He grabbed for Haisley, though they were safely far away above the treeline, and she grabbed back. He could feel her heart hammering where they pressed close, even through her coat.
“Let’s go in,” he suggested.
“Let’s!” Haisley agreed, shivering against him.
They slogged back to the door, and Tristan realized that rain had turned to snow, but the snow was so fine it was almost invisible, driven by the wind.
The back stoop was even more slick, if possible, and Tristan was glad to have Haisley with extra legs for balance. “Four legs is better than two!”
We have four legs!his panda said helpfully.
The gale howled behind them when they shut the door, and it was infinitely cozier and kinder inside.
“Oof,” Haisley said. “Exciting. I’m going to get out of my coat and see if Chef needs help with dinner. I’m dying to rearrange the dish towels.”
Tristan gave her a kiss on the head. “I’m going to change my wet pants and see a guy about a thing.”
Haisley collected a proper kiss, on the mouth, with her hands in his hair. “See you at dinner,” she said, when they were done.
Tristan found himself humming as he climbed the stairs to change his clothes; the sleet had gotten in under the collar of his coat, as well.
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