Lex typed back:
I'm going to kill you. Slowly. And painfully.
Adam:
You're welcome! Stop being a coward and tell her how you feel.
He deleted the conversation with a savage jerk of his thumb and stretched out in his chair. He stared into the crackling fire, watching the orange embers pulse.
There was absolutely no way he could sleep. Not tonight.
Not while breathing the same air as her. Not with his wolf pacing restlessly just beneath his skin, demanding he get up, walk down that hall, and bury himself in her warmth.
Mine. Go to her. Claim.
The beast didn't understand hesitation. It didn't understand why he was sitting here miserable instead of curled around the woman meant for him.
But the man understood. Getting involved with a human wasn't just frowned upon, it was a logistical nightmare wrapped in centuries of pack law designed to keep their existence secret and their mates safe. Dragging a human into their world was selfish. Dangerous.
Sure, it had happened twice already in Snow Ridge. Riko had Addison, and Adam had Faye. They made it look possible, if not easy. But just because they'd done it didn't mean the stigma was erased overnight.
Maybe someday that would change. Riko was a progressive alpha. But "someday" wasn't tonight. Tonight, Lex was just a grumpy bastard stuck in a chair, paralyzed by ancient instincts clashing with terrifyingly modern emotions, while the woman he wanted more than his next breath slept alone.
From down the hall, he heard her settle into bed. The rustle of sheets. A soft sigh.
Then, so quiet a human wouldn't have heard it, she murmured his name.
His wolf howled.
Three more days minimum of this exquisite torture.
He wouldn't last. He knew he wouldn't last. Jules deserved better than a wolf who couldn't control himself. Better than the complications of pack politics and secrets.
But as he sat there listening to her breathe, he knew the truth he'd been avoiding all day.
He was already hers. Had been from the moment he first saw her.
The only question now was whether he'd be brave enough to tell her.
Chapter 5
Lex
Saturday morning, November 20th
The generator coughed.
Lex's eyes snapped open in the pre-dawn darkness, every sense on high alert. The familiar hum that had been a constant background noise for days stuttered, caught, then resumed its normal rhythm.
Fuck.
He threw off the blanket and went to the window, pushing aside the curtain. Ice crystals coated everything—the trees, the power lines, even the air seemed to sparkle with frozen moisture. The temperature had dropped significantly overnight, and the old generator would be working overtime to keep the cabin warm. From the sound of that cough, it was starting to struggle.
In the guest room, he heard Jules shift in her sleep, murmuring something his enhanced hearing couldn't quite catch. His wolf stirred restlessly. These last few nights of her sleeping just down the hall had been one of the biggest tests he'd ever put himself through. The hardest thing he'd ever done was forcing himself to stay in his room when every instinct screamed at him to go to her.
And after yesterday's walk, and the stupid way he'd confessed to practically stalking her, the tension between them had reached a breaking point. He'd barely made it through dinner without hauling her into his lap. When she'd announced she was going to bed early, it had taken every ounce of control not to follow her.
She wants us, his wolf insisted. She's not afraid.
