The Snowmaiden, A Bride for Krampus - Jeanette Lynn Page 0,67
but otherwise stayed out of it. Snuggly traitor.
Baumb began jumbling a bunch of gibberish. Our connection, stronger as the days since our bonding passed, supplied a basic feelings translation for me. He was uneasy about leaving me and would feel better if I’d go in the warm tunnel pool already.
If that’s what it took, I thought, sitting up when he grumbled, cocked his head, and quickly stalked off toward our cavern home’s main cave entrance. Shuffling my way to the tunnel pool, I plopped down near the edge. I felt like shit and the last thing I wanted to do was hop in a body of water and have to support myself swimming around. My body ached, head pounding. I’d caught a cold or something, or a sinus infection that’d segued into chest infection-geddon.
Frowning down into the water dazedly, I spotted the faint, glowing dots deep down below. There were faint spots of red, but the blue along the tunnel way, towards the bottom, lighting it up like when Baumb was in there, was absent. Dipping my hand into the water, my finger swirled lazily in the dark liquid, sparks of red, like a bunch of glowing, twinkling rubies down below. The water was nearly purple and murky without my glow spotted mate to engage the blue shiny crystal-like bits embedded in the sides of the tunnel pool.
Blinking, I grabbed onto the lip of the tunnel pool’s edge to lean over the side. Was that… were the rubies bigger? Closer?
Glancing up as I heard Baumb approaching, I sat back and smiled as his gaze stilled on me. Surprised, was he?
Alarm shot through Baumb, more than surprise, followed by a sharp spike of fear.
Scrambling to my feet to hurry towards him as he dropped to all fours and began to charge, he’d just let loose a tri-segmented lower jawed roar and I’d stumbled my way several feet away from the watering hole when I heard the loud splash and then a gut tumbling hiss and cringe worthy clap of a snap.
One automatic glance over my shoulder and a gut curdling scream tore from my throat.
The largest dark grey, eel looking worm fish, water monster, I’d ever seen had shot up from the tunnelway pool. Long jaws with piranha looking teeth snapped, clacking noisily as it bit at the open air. It lunged to its left like it meant to have a go at me but Baumb was faster. Catching me as I ducked and would have tried to slide forward, which I doubted would have helped me out much, Baumb caught me up in one arm, tucking me into him, his free arm shooting out, claws swiping to rake down the enormous demon fish’s side. Landing with a duck and tumble roll, he shot to his feet. Facing the demon fish, his claws digging into the frosted cave floor to slow his backwards glide with the smooth motions, we both froze and blinked at the flash of horns and fur blurring past to spring at the fish.
“Ded,” I whispered, still dizzy from all that spinning and twirling about business. My jaw dropped as I watched the enraged beast man slash and tear into the worm fish demon thing. A guttural hiss left the jaw snapping water monster as blue blood spurted everywhere. It thrashed, head slamming this way and that with the Krampus hooked on. Ded was looking every inch the feral beast as he tore into the creature. Chunks of monster fish meat landed with sickening splats. Yule rushed over to help herself to them.
Baumb closed both of his arms around me and slowly began to walk backwards. Unlike the fear riding me for the Elkfen gone Krampus, grudging admiration filled my alien mate. One glance down at me, the blue spattering my Elkfen duds, my pelt lost to the melee near the tunnel pool, and Baumb was grimacing mightily. Carrying me into our sleeping area, setting me down near the fire, leaving Ded to his devil fish destruction, Baumb began unpeeling my coat from me, to my chagrin and loud protests, but I was in no position to take on the feat. I was already droopy-eyed where I stood and wilting by the second. A tickle in my throat sent me into a coughing fit that had a thread of worry weaving its way through the looming Baumbel.
“I’m fine,” I lied. My teeth began to chatter as he stripped me down and went to grab another pelt from the