The Abominable Snow Woman

"Rosenthal, you piece of shit, apologize to her," Omar said angrily, and Rosenthal rose to his feet, and looked at me, then at Omar. Without warning, Rosenthal lashed out, and he smashed his whiskey bottle against Omar's head with a sickening thud. Omar cried out, and stumbled backwards. I watched as he fell, clearly dazed. As Rosenthal got ready to finish him off, I sprang to my feet.

"Back off, you tall bitch," Rosenthal said, and he pulled his pistol out of his holster with lightning speed. I stood three meters from Rosenthal, and knew that no mortal, man or woman, could move fast enough to avoid his bullets. The fiend cocked his pistol, and I realized I had a choice to make. I had been living among humans for ages, and it had been years since I resumed my other form. Oh, well. No time like the present...

"You're going to regret that," I said, even as my body twisted and began to change. I grew taller and larger, and fur sprang over every inch of my body. I became a three-meter-tall, fur-covered monstrosity with bright red eyes, foot-long claws and six-inch fangs. A fearsome, primordial creature that could have fought an African elephant, and won. A mega-beast that used to fight woolly mammoths and saber-tooth cats long before modern humans emerged...

"Oh lord, what are you?" Rosenthal said, and his voice quivered with fear. I roared mightily, the sound of my voice echoing throughout the woods. Let all other creatures know who reigns over these lands. I lashed out with a clawed hand, and easily decapitated Rosenthal. The South African gunman fell one way and his head fell another. I looked at my kill, and sniffed the air, inhaling the scent of his blood. The scent of blood has been known to drive my kind into a frenzy. Then I looked at Omar's body, and knew what I had to do...

"Wake up," I said, as I cradled Omar's unconscious body in my arms. In my inhuman form, I carried him far, far from Rosenthal's body, which I left to the wolves. I set the horses free, and they took off. For I sensed a pack of Tibetan wolves, who are common in this part of Mongolia, and as soon as I left the area, they fell upon Rosenthal's body and feasted on it. Moving with superhuman speed, I carried him to a nearby river, and once there, under the cover of night, I made a fire then I tended to his wounds.

"Mariam, where am I? What happened?" Omar asked, as soon as his eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me, confused. I took a deep breath, and then told him that Rosenthal had attacked us, and in the process of defending myself, I killed him. I waited as Omar processed what I just told him. Humans fascinated me with their ability to ignore what's right in front of them. As Omar nodded, I considered the matter closed, and then he smiled at me.

"Mariam, I thank you for saving my life, but you don't need to lie to me about what you are," Omar said, and I stared at him, stunned by his words. We the Kindred have existed for perhaps a million years before modern humans evolved on the planet earth, and we've always kept to ourselves. We burn our dead, to avoid leaving evidence of our existence. We know what humans would do to us if they ever found out about us. Omar knows what I am. I knew what I had to do, any human who finds out about us must die, but part of me didn't want to do it.

"You know what I am, you saw me change and fight Rosenthal," I said resignedly, and Omar nodded. In the skies above us, the full moon rose, bathing the darkened woodlands with its eerie light. As the moonlight touched us, a startling transformation came over Omar. Darkish fur sprang all over his body, and his eyes turned bright yellow. His teeth became sharp, curving fangs, and his fingernails became claws. I gasped in surprise, for I wasn't expecting that...

"I'm a werewolf, Mariam, I know you're a Yeti woman, I came here to do research because I thought our two species might share a common ancestor, also, I'm a lone male and among my kind, it's customary to go on a grand adventure before settling down," Omar said wryly, and I noted with pleasure that his voice was now several octaves deeper than human.

Omar Kensington of Washington D.C. is certainly full of surprises. Howard University student, world-weary traveler, and apparently, a werewolf. I looked at him and smiled, marveling at the magnificent creature that stood before me. I had never seen a werewolf before. I knew there are other non-humans walking about in human form, but as I said before, my kind keep to themselves...

"Why did you bring Rosenthal with you?" I asked, and Omar sighed and explained how Rosenthal was good friends with some of the movers and shakers at Howard University. Since Rosenthal and his colleagues were funding Omar's research into early man's origins, the Powers That Be at Howard University insisted that the hunting aficionada accompany him on his trip to Mongolia. And the rest, as they say, is history...

"Wow," was all I could say, and I embraced Omar, and he kissed me. I kissed him back, flicking my tongue over his fangs, and welcoming him as a lover and a kindred spirit. I willed myself to transform as well, and Omar and I beheld each other in our natural forms. We're not the same, but we are more alike than different. What a remarkable pair we made, a Yeti woman and a wolf-man...

"Let's go hunting, my lady," Omar said, and I nodded, and then we began prowling the woods together. We found a herd of Bactrian camels, and fell upon an elderly, sickly member of the nerd. Omar made the kill, and like a true gentleman, offered me the best pieces of meat. We shared our kill, and then made passionate love on the forest floor. As I lay in Omar's arms, I smiled. You see, I felt happy for the first time in ages, for at last I wasn't dreaming alone.

"Omar, I do hope that your friend's death won't shorten your trip, I have some people I'd like you to meet," I said, and Omar smiled and nodded. The handsome African-American werewolf kissed me on the forehead, and then fell asleep. I can't wait to introduce him to my father and my other siblings. Among my kind, we believe that fateful circumstances bring us together with those who are meant to be our mates. And I've chosen him to be my mate...