Page 16 of His Winter Wonderland

She’d even seen muscle-bound tattooed mountain ogres result to biting and hair tugging. It wasn’t a trait possessed strictly by women. In fact, some of her toughest opponents had been women. On the other hand, some of her weakest opponents had been muscle bound men who looked like they could lift a house. Yet, they couldn’t even get in once punch with her.

It was too early to judge whether or not this particular assassin would be a worthy opponent. During her entire hair combing process, he’d just stared at her from the shadows. So far, he hadn’t moved a muscle. If she hadn’t sensed his presence while taking a short cut through the forest, she wouldn’t have even known he was there and her attention wouldn’t have been drawn to the dark cave he was hiding in.

This was usually a safe route to her meet up spot. The creatures in this forest knew not to fuck with her. Apparently, this guy hadn’t gotten the memo. Too bad for him. Once she had her hair the way she wanted it, she lowered her arms to her sides.

"No need to keep hiding. I know you're there."

No response. No sound. No movement. However, she did hear movements within the forest. It didn't sound like woodland creatures. Winter inhaled deeply and released it slowly. The stench of the undead filled her nose. Vampires. A shudder of disgust rippled over her body. So, he hadn't come alone.

He'd brought vampires. Coward. Though he was lurking within the shadows of the cave, she could still feel the heat of his gaze on her. Perhaps he planned to let his goons battle it out with her and then once she was weakened, he'd step in and apply the death blow. That sounded like something a sneaky vamp would do.

“How do you want to die?” Winter asked the vampire who was staring at her like she was going to be his next meal.

Not happening. If he thought he was going to kill her, he had another think coming. He wasn’t the first assassin her sisters had sent after her and he wouldn’t be the last. Like those who’d come before him, he too would die. She opened her mouth to tell him that just as the creature took a stepped left.

He went from leaning against the cave wall to stepping directly center in the mouth of the cave. There was something familiar about his movements and his posture. Event his scent was familiar.

He didn’t smell like the other vampires. Winter inhaled again. But he was indeed a vampire. Her abilities always kicked into overdrive when she felt threatened. And this creature definitely made her feel threatened.

And excited!

Chapter Six

Winter

“Are you going to hide in the cave all night?”

She asked the question, but didn’t expect a response so quickly. He took a few steps forward, stepping out of the cave and into the moonlight. When he stepped out from the darkness of the cave, the moonlight shined down on him like a ray of light descending from the heavens and landing on a long-lost treasure.

Mentally, Winter cringed at the thoughts running through her head. They were proof that she’d read too many romance books. Yet, as her gaze roamed over him, she couldn't help but think that he reminded her of the heroes in her favorite romance novels. Her eyes started at his feet and drifted upward.

Her breath hitched when she finally reached his face. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Goosebumps popped up on her arms. Her heart started to race. His black eyes were the first thing she noticed as her gaze zeroed in on him. He had his chin down, so she couldn’t see his face clearly.

But his eyes were enough to raise red flags. Staring into his eyes were like staring into an abyss. Unlike an abyss, his gaze didn’t leave her feeling cold and empty. They were dark, mesmerizing, familiar. Yet, she was certain she’d never seen this creature before. Eyes like his would definitely be hard to forget.

They were the type of eyes a girl could get lost in if she wasn’t careful. But Winter was careful. Always had been. That's why the Goddess of all demon kind had given her the name Winter. She was cold. Unyielding. Frigid. Yet, staring into this creature's eyes was doing something to her. She felt strange.

She felt... it wasn't something she could put into words. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, in the real world. But she had experienced it in dreamland. Winter’s mouth dropped open. Impossible. It couldn’t be. On the outside, she might look calm and composed to him. On the inside, she was a hot mess.

Keyword being hot. Though she was standing outside in the cold, she didn’t feel the chill in the air. She felt warm. The source of her heat couldn’t be the vamp in front of her. He was a Dead One. The unliving. Only a level up from being a zombie. He was an abomination. A creature that shouldn’t exist.

She was a firm believer in, what was dead should stay dead. On the list of, creatures she loathed the most, vampires were right up there with zombies and necromancers. And though she loathed this being and was ready to end it, for some reason, her body wouldn't move.

What was even stranger was that the thought of killing him left a bitter taste in her mouth. Why was she reacting to this creature this way? Maybe it was because felt sorry for him. That wouldn’t be anything new. Oftentimes she felt sorry for the assassins who were sent to kill her. This poor creature hadn’t known what he was signing up for.

He’d taken on an assignment from The Deciders thinking that if he completed enough tasks for them, they'd free him from this cursed plan and allow him to return to his own plan. This was probably his last task. Her sisters, The Deciders, liked to save her as the hundredth task for all those who were trying to leave this frozen hell.

They saved the best for last. And since she was obviously still alive, that meant no one had ever accomplished their hundredth task. But even if they did, they wouldn't be allowed to leave this place. The tasks deal that The Deciders had put into play was just a sham to get the poor creatures of the Frostlands to do their dirty work.

She'd tried telling some creatures that before she ended them. It would seem she didn't have a trusting face because they never believed her. She'd been called a lying bitch, a lying witch, a deceitful fairy and her favorite, a lying cold-hearted bitch from hell. That one was funny because it was kind of true.

She was indeed cold-hearted and she was from the Wastelands located on the Demon Plane, also known as hell in the immortal realm. The only false thing about that one was the lying part. It was true, the tasks The Deciders came up with were solely for their benefit. No one wanted to hear that. And she could understand why.

No creature wanted to be told that they'd completed ninety-nine tasks and killed countless creatures for nothing. No one wanted to be told that a cruel organization had given them hope, a hope that had probably kept them alive for years, and it was all fake. Without that hope, many of those creatures would've died a long time ago.

That false hope, that false dream, was what had driven them to wake up each day and try to make the best of it. The belief that they'd one day be reunited with their loved ones was the power behind everything they did. Upon coming here, she'd learned that hope was a powerful force.

Once that power was gone, creatures became hopeless. And hopeless creatures did hopeless things. Awful things. The Frostlands weren’t a horrible place to be solely because bad creatures were sent there. It was a horrible place because it was a hopeless place. The poor vampire standing in front of her still had a glint of hope in his eyes.