Gabriel's POV:
She asked me what it was like to be half Yeti. She had never met one before and thought that Yeti might just be a myth. I chuckled at her questions. My little mate is a curious one and so I begin the tale.
The Earth Mother creates us out of necessity. When she needs something sacred to her protected. That is what we do. We guard the things that she holds most sacred and doesn't want to fall into the wrong hands.
I was tasked to protect one of her sacred healing fountains. Some humans might call it "The Fountain of Youth," but that is not correct. There is more than one of these sacred fountains, they change location, and they don't restore youth. They restore a being back to its most healthy state.
For a human, that state is usually early adulthood but for other beings, youth may not be its most healthy state. They also can't bring back the dead. Once a being's soul has crossed over to the other side, they can't be brought back by the waters of this fountain. A dead body cannot be brought back to life by these waters. The laws of life and death are beyond the fountain's magic.
There aren't very many Yetis like me. I am a born hybrid. My father was mated to a gifted werewolf, and she gave birth to me. I have retained my father's Yeti magic and also received my mother's gifts from the Moon Goddess.
I can channel and control the water element. I can create rain, snow and ice; I can also manipulate them to create whatever I need to. I can create ice shards to use as weapons. I can call forth a blinding snow to hide from an enemy or to sneak up on them. I can even cause an avalanche to take out my enemies.
This cavern that we are in can be moved by my thoughts. I can bring it to me, or I can send it away to a safe location of my choosing. It is mine to protect. Nobody can get inside unless I allow them to. I got this part of the fountain from my father and someday, if we have a son, then I will give him half of my fountain to protect. It is done this way so that; should it fall into the wrong hands; nobody can access all of the entirety of the fountain. So, it can never be lost.
Nicole seemed to be fascinated by my story. Her eyes kept getting bigger and brighter the longer I talked. I was happy that she was so captivated by my table.
She also asked me about my idea about the bear attacks her pack had been experiencing. She reminded me that I had something to discuss with her father.
"I think your pack is being attacked by shifters, were-bears specifically," I told her. "The bear that tried to attack you in the woods was definitely a were-bear. I looked over the cliff that I pushed him off of and I watched him shift back into his human form," I told her.
I watched as my mates beautiful eyes glow red in anger and her beautiful face twisted up in shock. "Would you recognize him if you saw him in human form?" she asked me. "Most likely, yes," I told her. "Good," she said. "Father will, no doubt, want to take you into the human town to see if you see him there," she told me. " I will help in any way I can," I assured her.
Nicole was very upset after that. She was so angry that another shifter could do that to them. She told me that it did make sense though. They were never able to figure out why the bears attacked all at once like that. How it almost seemed like they were a pack but it didn't make sense because bears don't usually have packs like that. Also, because they didn't eat her brother or her pack members. She reasoned that if hunger was their reason for attack then why did they leave their pray behind? She told me that it never sat right with her.
"Does your father have any enemies?" I asked her. She said no more than any other Alpha might have. Rogues, rival packs, ex-pack members who had been banished, to name a few.
I asked her if their pack lands might be coveted by someone for some reason? She said she didn't know. "Well, whatever their reason, we will find out together," I assured her.
I made lunch for us and after we were done eating we went into the water again. Nicole said that her wolf, Isabel, was getting antsy from being cooped up for too long. She knew that we could not go outside for a run due to the blizzard so I suggested that Isabel and my wolf go for a swim together.
Isabel and my wolf, Goliath, seemed to be enjoying themselves in the water. They played, they splashed, they doggie paddled, they wore themselves out and then swam back to the shallow waters at the beginning of the fountain.
Once they had rested, we shifted back into our human forms. We took the opportunity to kiss and touch each other while in our nude forms. My mate was so beautiful. I wanted to mate with her so badly but I held myself back because I didn't feel that she was ready yet.
I told Goliath that I wasn't going to rush her. I thought that it was better to let things happen naturally. I wanted to be sure she was ready. I didn't want to do anything to upset our mate or make her feel uncomfortable. So, even though I was dying to mate with her, I remained a gentleman.
Eventually we got out of the water and dressed ourselves. I made us some dinner and we listened to the wind howling outside as we cuddled in my bed. We allowed the wind to lull us to sleep.