The Bridal Hunt Read Online Free PDF Page A

was pot hanging over a fireplace off to the side and whatever was inside smelled wonderful, my stomach grumbling as I took in another whiff.
    Please don't let it be people stew , I thought wildly, my stomach doing somersaults at the idea.
    My captor hurried back in with a large furry ball rolled up in his hands. He unrolled it and shook it out, revealing an animal skin blanket.
    I eyeballed him skeptically and shot to my feet, scrambling away from him when he approached me, fur outstretched in his hands as he came towards me.
    I yelped and dodged him, ducking under one of his massive arms and scurrying to the other side of the room.
    He tried again, approaching me like you would a frightened animal, saying something soothingly to me in his own language, but I darted away, shaking my head 'no' at him and putting my hands up to ward him off.
    He started to rumble at me in annoyance, pointing at me and then the fur, motioning with his hands for me to take it and put it on.
    I stubbornly refused it, putting my hands up and flailing them around every time he tried to offer it to me.
    "Take," he demanded, grunting for emphasis.
    "No!"
    "You take. Kirch's."
    He scowled, pointing at himself and them me, then the blanket and then me again.
    Is he implying I'm his... like the blanket?
    "No."
    "Take," he grunted and tried again.
    "Nope. Nuh-huh."
    I crossed my arms belligerently and shook my head at him.
    "Not Kirch's." I pointed to myself and said vehemently, "Mina's. Mina's . Not Kirch's. Mina's."
    "Kirch's! Not Meanie's!" he said adamantly, his face flushing with frustration as he gave me a narrow eyed glare, his jaw tightening.
    "It's Mina!! Not Meanie! You boob!"
    Okay, so it's not the smartest thing in the world to taunt something that might possibly want to eat you or whatever else he had in mind, but damned if I'm going to let him lay claim on me like I'm some kind of... of... possession!
    I'm alive! I'm a person, damn it!
    If I'm gonna be eaten, nobody said I had to go down quietly.
    I don't even know if that's physically possible for me...
    He growled at me long and low, crouching down, his hackles rising as he prowled towards me.
    Oh, god... I think I just challenged him... sorta... so not gonna win a fight against him, girly! my mind shrieked.
    You just had to keep pushing, Wilhelmina, couldn't just take the fuckin' blanket!
    My mouth opened in an 'O' and my eyes rounded to saucers.
    I backed up slowly at his advance, until my back hit a wall and I huddled down into a corner of the room and damned if I didn't tremble.
    Despite my earlier bravado, I magically transformed into a chicken at the fierce look he had plastered on his face, his teeth gleaming sharp and deadly as he approached.
    The better to eat you with, my dear...
    Kirch paused, sniffing the air as he regarded me.
    He grunted, brows pulling down as he sniffed again, a slightly puzzled expression on his face.
    Yellow eyes studied my face intently, then noticed the subtle shaking in my hands.
    I shoved them behind my back and gave him a carefully blank expression.
    I said chicken, not pussy.
    I'm not going to just outright act like a weenie. I have some pride after all.
    Approaching cautiously, he glanced at me and set the blanket at my feet, backing up a little, then crossing his arms over his thick chest as he looked at me confused, brows furrowing together in a frown again.
    "Meanie scared?"
    "Of what? Your smelly blanket?" I blurted, snapping at him, gripping my hands behind my back so I didn't slap my hand over my mouth.
    Let him think I totally meant to say that.
    What can I say, I'm mean under duress. Quips and snappy comebacks are my go to... I don't think they're going to be very helpful in my present situation, though.
    "Take, Meanie," he said sternly, lips thinning grimly.
    "You take. I don't want it." I said quietly, making shooing motions at him as I pressed my spine against the wall.
    Something about his insistence that I take it was striking me as odd.