Then the door flew open.
Tam stumbled in, dusted in snow, wind chasing him across the threshold. He tugged his cap free and beat it against his coat, flakes scattering across the floor.
“There’s a storm brewin’,” he announced, voice cutting through the tension.“Ah dinnae think we’ll make it back doon tonight.”
He frowned and stepped aside as the men scrambled for the door, chairs scraping and boots skidding on the floorboards in their haste to flee. Wulfric lifted his head slightly, discreetly drawing in the air—cataloguing, and remembering their scent. Their fear lingered longer than their presence.
“I’ll see to the rooms,” I said calmly as I rose from my chair.“You can take care of the ponies.”
It was efficient. Sensible.
And, unexpectedly, fate seemed eager to assist me.
“No,” Euphemia said, standing so abruptly her chair legs screeched against the floor.
I turned my head slowly and followed her line of sight toward the window.
Beyond the glass there was nothing but white—thick, relentless snowfall swallowing the world whole. The road was gone. Even the outlines of the trees had blurred into nothingness.
“Take a look,” I said quietly, nodding toward it.
There would be no travelling tonight.
Our eyes remained fixed on her. Wulfric was practically reverent—on the verge of bowing before her in awe.
How is it possible?I asked him.
Daughter of Donald and shifter blood, he replied with unmistakable pride.Dormant… until us.
A flare of heat burned through my gut—far hotter than the whiskey warming my throat. It spread fast, possessive, inevitable.
By the wolves of Fenrir, no other soul shall taste her fire.
She is yours, bound by blood and fate.
Fate had already done its part.
The rest was up to me.
“Stay with her, Tam,” I murmured, forcing my gaze away at last before it betrayed me entirely. I turned toward the stairs to arrange the rooms—already planning how this night would unfold.
? ? ?
The snowstorm never relented, layers piling thick and relentless as I unlocked Euphemia’s door. The heavy iron key turned in the lock until it clicked softly open.
We never spoke of the animals beneath our flesh, but it didn’t take long for her heavy coat to come off, her cheeks already flushed red from the warmth of the room.
How will we get her to her nest?Wulfric fretted.
It isn’t far from here. I can carry her, I said, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
Perhaps I can coax her wolf to shift, he mused.
I don’t think she knows what’s inside her yet, I replied, closing the door quietly behind me.
She lay on the bed in a small, bundled shape near the edge. As I drew closer, I caught sight of her braid. I lifted a loose curl from her forehead, holding the strand up to the moonlight.
Our flame, I murmured.
