The Merry Moose’s Mates (Male-Order Mates #16)

Chapter Four

Briar

The storm was coming in quick. I could feel it in the air, and the sky was already beginning to turn. It wasn’t going to be long before the cabin was blanketed with newly fallen snow—a butt ton of it.

My moose scented the weather when we were out early this morning, which was good, because I hadn’t been paying attention to the weather report. But after I shifted back for my morning coffee, I pulled it up on my phone, and, sure enough, a blizzard was coming. And with a blizzard came a lot of prep work.

I spent the day getting ready. We’d had snow already this season, but nothing to the extent they said was on the way. I made sure to have a shovel inside the front door because if it was anything like last time a blizzard hit, I was going to need to shovel my way out of the house when it was over. I’d stacked enough wood on the front porch to get me through a week and brought a few days’ worth inside. I had my generator gassed up and ready to go and my refrigerator and pantry stocked. I’d made sure to give my moose plenty of time in his fur in case we were stuck inside for a few days. I was ready beyond for the snow.

Sweaty and gross, I tossed my clothes into the hamper and turned on the hot water, so ready to wash the day away. I let the steam soak my muscles and thought about how nice it would be to be trapped for the rest of the week—or however long I was up here—just nature and I.

I was out of the shower and pulling on my pajama pants when I realized someone was at the door. Not someone—my brother. He was the only one who ever showed up; this place was hardly on the beaten path.

“Hold your horses, Martin,” I muttered, grabbing my sweatshirt and heading to the door. As he pounded louder, I opened it up…but it wasn’t my brother at all. It was three people I didn’t know. Two men and one young girl. I couldn’t even think where they had meant to go. There was a motel in town, but on the opposite side, and nothing about my nearly invisible driveway shouted tourist destination.

“I think you have the wrong house.” I quickly pulled my sweatshirt on.

“Are you Briar?” the little girl asked, looking up at me, her smile enough to light up the quickly darkening sky.

“How do you know my name?” I squatted down to her level.

“Is this my new home?” Before I could answer, she was already walking in, and the man standing behind her just shrugged.

I righted myself.

“Sorry, we’re a little early. I wanted to get Alice and I here ahead of the snow.”

“I’m early too,” another one said. This one was a shifter—a bear, if I was scenting him correctly—as opposed to the human with the little girl.

“But why—” My phone rang. I ignored it. “Why are you guys here?”

The voice mail beeped, and then silence. The only person who ever called the house line was my brother, so I found it odd that he wasn’t actively asking me to answer the stupid thing, but maybe he learned his lesson? Yeah, I was going with that.

“Just a second.” I went inside and found the little girl sitting on the floor, two small plastic figures keeping her entertained.

“Don’t go near the fire, sweetie.” The last thing I needed was a strange girl in here getting burned. Not that she was strange, but a stranger, yes.

“I won’t. I know about Smokey Bear.”

I didn’t really think this was a Smokey Bear-type situation, but I let it go. “I’ll be right back.”

I jumped into my room, grabbed my phone, and, sure enough, there was a text from my brother. Hope you like my Christmas present.

“A Christmas present from my brother," I muttered, more to myself than the actual “presents” currently in my living room. I wanted to give my brother an earful, but first I needed to figure out what exactly was happening.

I walked out to find them both standing by the door.

“You’re from an app, I’m assuming?” My brother had been up my ass about an app a couple weeks ago, but I’d assumed he’d dropped it.

They both nodded, not saying anything else. This had to be weird for them too. How could it not be?

As a Christmas present from my brother, I should’ve sent them away. You gave chocolates or a nice warm hat for a gift, not people. And why two? Were they together? Was I supposed to pick? Why was I entertaining any of this.

Because of my moose. My beast liked them—not just because the men were attractive, although, yeah, they were. It was more than that. My moose was coming up to the surface, happy as could be. It was weird.

“So, we have a situation. It seems my brother signed me up for the app, and…you guys are here.”

“Your brother?” the man with the daughter asked.

“Yeah. Who are you again?" I was going about this all wrong.

“I’m Austin, and you met Alice.” Not met as much as talked to, but I wasn’t going to correct him on that, not when there seemed to be a ton more we needed to be discussing.

“She's the one currently putting on some sort of puppet theater show that I’m sure we’ll all be privy to soon enough.” He looked down at her proudly.

“And I’m Shay.” The bear shifter grabbed the back of his neck. “I came here because I thought you were looking for, uh…me. I guess I could get out of here—”

“No, don’t go.” I snapped a little too forcefully for my own comfort. They didn’t seem to notice. “It’s already started to snow, and it’s just going to get worse. We’ll figure this out. Just give me a few minutes to process this all, and you might as well grab whatever clothing or suitcases you have because there's a good chance we're going to be snowed in here soon enough."

And maybe, in the time they were collecting their things, I could figure out what the heck was going on.