I'm zipping up my puffy parka, arguing with myself as I get dressed. I do this so often now, it doesn't even feel weird anymore.

So, Cane is my mate too. And he wants to take me outside. It's not like it's a date or something. I'm stuck here. And if the Beast is willing to take me to the village, then damnit, let's go. I check out my reflection in the full-length mirror in the bathroom and brush the invisible lint off my fur-lined leggings, make sure my knee-high boots are laced and tug my stocking cap onto my head.

Flinging open the bedroom door, I trudge down the stairs, feeling like a marshmallow in all my layers. But I am not going to freeze out there today. Not after the journey here. "Okay, I'm ready to go," I call, my voice muffled behind my scarf.

Sitting in the corner of the white sectional couch, Cane glances up at me. His cheeks puff up, much like my jacket, holding in his laughter. "Wow, that is...a lot. Would you like me just to roll you down the mountain like a snowball?"

My nostrils flare as I attempt to glare at him, but I can't help the snort of laughter that escapes me. "Shut up," I say, waddling over to him. "It's cold. I don't want to freeze to death. Last time you had me out there, I was wearing a ballgown and no freaking shoes."

Cane stands, his snow attire much sleeker than mine—black jacket, snow pants, and a beanie. "I get it," he says, holding up his hands and doing a poor job of stifling another laugh. "You will fit in perfectly with the villagers."

He opens the door for me, and I follow him out. Before I get the chance to step too far ahead of him, he holds out his hand out to me. I remain in place staring at his gloved, wiggling fingers. "Unless you really want me rolling you down the mountain, I need you to take my hand," he says.

I narrow my eyes and hesitantly reach for him. "Are you going to bloop me again?"

He lifts an eyebrow and the suggestive manner in which he took my question is written in his smirk.

For fuck's sake, Cordelia, get it together.

"Coelhinha, I will bloop you as many times as you like."

"You wish," I say, the most childish comeback I can think of sliding from my lips as I inch toward him.

"Perhaps I do, Cordelia. And it's yet to be seen if that wish will be granted." He wraps his hand around mine, pulling me in and tucking me into his side. Everything bursts into a flash of light. I hold on to his jacket for a moment as my head spins. Laughter and dozens of footsteps have my prying my eyes open.

We stand in the center of a cobblestone walkway surrounded by shops with wooden signs and snow-covered shingled roofs. I slowly tilt my head back to find a statue looming over us.

It reminds me of the snow monster that haunted a ride at my favorite amusement park as a kid. That thing scared the shit out of me with its red eyes and shaggy white fur. I would jump back and scream if it were not for the beings crowding the street. They bear an uncanny resemblance to that monster.

My hold on Cane tightens and I whisper, "Are—are these people..."

"Yetis. Yes."

They are so human-like, walking around with shopping bags and colorful knitted scarves circling their necks. Some wear nothing but the fluffy white fur covering their bodies and others dress it up with skirts or enormous shoes.

"Góðan daginn, herra Dagon," a yeti with a deep voice says, dipping its head in greeting.

"Góðan daginn, Hugo," Cane replies.

I whip around with my mouth gaping and watch the monster as he disappears into a nearby shop. "You speak Icelandic too."

Cane releases me and slides his hands in his pockets, setting into a lazy stroll. "I do. How else would I communicate with the beings in my community?"

I unfreeze myself from my spot on the walkway and walk up to him, tugging on his elbow to bring him to a stop. "Wait, wait. Hold on, you've got to give me this one answer, please."

He just looks at me blankly, and when he doesn't walk away from me, I continue.

"That morning Elias told me he figured out I was speaking Icelandic...we were in the gardens...but it wasn't him at all, was it? It was you."

His lips twitch as he fights back a smile. "Let it be known that the lady isn't only beautiful, but smart as well."

Yetis turn around to gawk at me, and I punch Cane on the arm. "You are so embarrassing!"

He waves to a couple across the street as he says, "I said I'd get you out of the house. There were no promises of behaving myself."

I shake my head and also fail at fighting back a smile. But then I remember something else about that morning.

"I came onto you pretty strong that day. I remember it well...and you didn't so much as lay a hand on me," I say, and I have to admit I'm feeling like an ass after accusing him of being predatory the other day.

Cane stops walking and turns to face me. "I don't claim to be a good being, Cordelia. I'm far from it."

"Hence your inclination toward kidnapping."

"Hence that. But I would never take something like that unless it was freely given to me."

"That's good to know. I'm sorry I assumed the worst of you," I say, and I mean it. I kind of already knew Cane wouldn't do something like that, based on his track record of not taking advantage of me when he had all the opportunities in the world to do it. But it was a comfort to hear him say it so sincerely.

He simply nods and we stay silent for another couple seconds.

"And the soul bond? How does that work?"

Cane crams his hands back into his pockets and begins walking again. "Your guess is as good as mine. Some cosmic force out there likes to pair souls. It is normally a connection between two beings and only really felt by supes. Some say it is because the Maker's magic runs through us. But the bonds between you and Elias and me and you are unique."

My heart hammers at that. We are something outside of the norm. Does that make our connection greater than others? I'd hate to think so. How could I walk away from something that was especially designed for me, no matter how pissed I am at Elias.

"Why? Why are we different?" I ask.

"Best guess," he spares me a sidelong glance, "because mine and Elias's situation as vampires is unique. Not only are we twins but we were created by our sire on the same night. We are like super twins."

"Super twins, huh? Is that official supe jargon or did you come up with that one on your own?" I tease.

He shoots me a half-hearted glare. "Well, considering I've never met anyone else with a situation quite like mine and Elias's, I guess I'll take credit for it."

How is it possible that I just happened to end up mated to the two vampires in Aevum with the strangest situation known to man? Just my damn luck.

"Okay...so that's the soul bond...going to take a while to wrap my head around that one, and I am sure I will have more questions, but now I have to ask about the other bond you mentioned...the—" My skin flushes and it has nothing to do with the freezing cold wind whipping all around my face. "The primal bond. What is that?"

Cane licks his lips and wiggles his eyebrows. "Pretty much what it sounds like. It is a physical bond and any supe can choose to complete it. It's just sexual connection and a little exchange of magic. And you are physically tethered to someone for the rest of your existence. Think of it as a dog marking its territory. It finds that spot easily and it will continue to claim it as its own. Unlike the soul bond, it can be broken, but I hear it is unimaginably painful."

"I—And the magic between a vampire and a Dreamwalker...it would be the vampire feeding, right? Drinking blood during...intimacy," I ask, managing to get the question out without bursting into flames of horrified mortification.

"That is how a vampire would give his magic. To choose to partake in the primal bond is very intimate. In most cases, the bond makes it possible for mates to find each other or sense when the other is in danger."

"And a Dreamwalker would have to, what, allow someone to walk in their dreams?" My stomach sinks in dread. Elias has walked in my dreams far more than once. And right before Cane took me, I let him drink from me. Doesn't that mean we're primal bonded now? "Elias and I—We—If he can sense where I am, why hasn't he come for me yet?"

Cane stops walking and turns to me. "You would have to let someone into your dreams. And as far as why he hasn't come for you. Male egos are a fragile thing, Cordelia."

Tears fill my eyes and I look down at the sidewalk, kicking at the snow between us. "Fuck," I say, an unexpected sob breaking my voice. "That hurts even more than I thought it would. He could have found me by now, but he hasn't because he's too proud?" I don't know why I'm sharing my feelings with Cane. Maybe because he's the only one around to listen.

"I don't know the answer to that, but I'm here, Delia. And I brought you here because I knew you would need time to process all of this. I found a lot of peace in the mountains, and I think you can too."

His words sink in, but I don't know if I can lean on Cane for support. I know I share the same bond with him that I do with his brother, but I'm not in love with Cane.

I'm in love with Elias, and he's broken my heart into tiny little pieces. And now, knowing that we share this other bond on top of the soul bond...and that he could find me if he wanted to...and he hasn't. God, that makes it so much worse.

Does he not even care? Does he not miss me at all? Why is he not looking for me? I can't understand it. And the more I think about it, the further I sink into a dark, sad place that I have never been before.

And I don't like it.

So if I can lean on Cane to help get me through this, even though he is the one who's causing some of my problems, maybe I should.

Not in an inappropriate way, of course.

But why can't we be friends? Or friends-ish?

"Okay," I say quietly, the word a white flag of sorts. At least for this moment. "What's your favorite place in the village?"

Cane holds his arm for me to loop mine inside. "Don't make me pick one. Let me show you them all."

I take his arm and let him show me all his favorite things in the village. It beats the alternative—falling deeper into the darkness of despair. I need anything I can find to keep me in the light, and right now, my only option is Cane.