Page 50 of Seducing Sasquatch

My body instantly heats at the prospect of finally hearing that word. Mate. Less than a week ago I thought my life was over. I thought I’d never meet the man of my dreams, that I’d never have the chance to live the life I’ve always wanted. That I’d be stuck to submit to my father’s whims for the rest of my life. And then if my father lived a long healthy life, by the time he would pass, most of mine would have been wasted.

Maybe it was sheer luck. Walking into that mountaineering shop with my last few dollars. Fated mates. Arden had said we were the night he showed me he was a Sasquatch shifter. I might not have believed him if he hadn’t suddenly grown into a ten-foot, furry giant.

“Talk.” Arden’s arms draw my back against his chest as he kills the motor.

I sigh. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even know where my head is at. It’s like I’m being torn in two. One side of me stuck with my father and the other in the future with Arden. But both are equally terrifying.

“I don’t know what to do,” I admit.

Arden sucks in a breath, his hands caressing my thighs. He knows. He’s told me time and time again my life is my decision. I can choose for myself where I want to go, what I want to do. But the ability to make that choice alludes me.

“You do what you feel is right, in here.” His hand fists against my chest, my heart thumping in my rib cage.

I shrug. I don’t know what feels right. I know what I want and what I don’t want but I don’t know what will be a mistake. If I choose to go with my father or Arden. Which one will I regret? Or worse, which one will haunt me the most?

“I-I can’t,” I whimper, clutching at Arden’s hand that rests against my body. My fingers curl against one of his. “I don’t want to make a mistake.”

“Look out at the canyon, baby.” Arden’s voice rumbles through me. I do as he says, my gaze sweeping out over the treetops, catching the glimmer of the river below and the faint dots of buildings from the town. The billowing clouds, floating calmly in the clear afternoon sky and the snowcapped mountains reaching for them.

“Life is about making mistakes. But it’s also about learning from them,” Arden mutters. “The mountains know their place is to reach for the sky and block the winds. The river knows to keep moving and feeding the soil with nutrients. The trees know to blossom in spring, and the animals know to hibernate when winter comes. Everything in this valley works together to make it work. But they too have learned lessons.”

“How?”

Chuckling lightly, he guides a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “The mountains learned the lesson to never fall. They have to stand tall against all the elements. The trees know not to climb those mountains because the soil becomes too rocky. The river knows to never stop moving or it will dry up. The trees know they will never pollinate if they blossom in the middle of winter. And the animals know if they don’t rest, they’ll die. Everything has learned a lesson at some point in time, which is why this world works together without anyone having to tell it what to do or how to do it.”

I nod, finally seeing that Arden doesn’t just see a valley but an entire world working as one.

“And you’re part of this world, baby,” he continues. “You might not be a mountain or a river, but you will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. So, no matter what you choose to do with your life, you must live it to the fullest.”

“The fullest,” I mutter under my breath.

“So, choose the life you want. Not the people. Or the place. But the feeling you want.” Arden taps on my chest again.

I swallow back a sob, feeling my eyes burn with un-shed tears, but I nod anyway. “Okay,” I whisper.

“Good boy.”

Giving my hip a pat and a kiss on the top of my head, Arden climbs off the snowmobile and unhooks the sled from the back. Giving me a hand off the seat, he guides me to the highest section of the slope.

“Let’s have some fun.” He plonks down on the back to the plastic tub, spreading his thighs and looking up at me with a grin.

My cheeks heat but I climb in silently in front of him, my ass firmly backed against his crotch and our legs pressed tightly together.

Handing me the rope connected to the front, he says. “Ever done this before?”

A giggle escapes me as I shake my head, chewing my lower lip.

“Good. This is a lesson to learn to let it go.” He grips the rope beside my hands, his bare foot kicking off from the ledge.

For a second, the sled barely budges as we tilt over the edge. “How fast does this thing⁠—”

My stomach slides into my throat as the sled tips over the slope and the world around us blurs.

Behind me Arden hollers and hoots, yet my voice is clamped shut around a blood curdling scream.

Freezing wind bites at my skin and tears stream down my cheeks as we race down the slope. My hand’s tug on the rope in an attempt to steer the damn thing but nothing happens as we barrel closer to the bottom.

“JESUS!” I manage to choke out as we gain speed, the rush of snow hissing below us.