“It’s tiny.” I examined the carvings around the door and ran my fingers over trees, mountains, and wolves sculpted into the wood.
“People were smaller back then.” Riven winked.
I swiveled my head toward him, unsure if he was joking. With the mountains in the distance, us surrounded by tall trees, and the small cottage, this could be a fairy tale. But something bad always happened in those stories, so I let Riven enter the cabin first.
The interior was simple and contained old traps, tools, photographs, and handwritten journals protected behind glass.
“Local families donated most of these.” Riven moved around the space, explaining the purpose of each item.
I studied a display of old photographs. “Oh, look atthis one.” I pointed to a faded image of a man standing beside a massive wolf. “Did people hunt the local wolves?” I thought back to the howling on my first or second night.
“Not hunting.”
His gruff tone, accompanied by flared nostrils and pursed lips, suggested I’d offended him. But it was his eyes that got my attention. I could have sworn that though he was standing beside me, his mind was a million miles away.
But the moment passed, and we settled on a bench outside to eat the lunch Riven had packed.
“Most witness protection doesn't include gourmet picnics.” Not that I’d ever been in the program before.
“Just doing my job.” His gaze locked on mine, getting my hopes up that maybe… his heart might be reacting as mine was. I inched my hand toward his over the bench just as snow started to fall, and he broke the spell by saying we had to get back.
When we reached the main lodge, the snowfall was heavy, with flakes clinging to our hair. I went to brush them off Riven, but Antonia appeared. Damn. His friends and colleagues were always popping up when you didn’t want them.
“There you are! We were wondering if you'd make it back before the storm picked up.”
A group of lodge staff passed through the lobby, all pausing when they saw us. One of the younger men approached us.
“Alpha Apparent,” he greeted Riven. Turning his attention to me, he dipped his head.
Riven stiffened. “Chase. How's the maintenance on Cabin Eight coming along?”
“Nearly finished.” His eyes remained on me. “The pipes were more damaged than we thought, but nothing we couldn't handle.”
"Good." He gave a small nod. Chase and the others moved toward the staff entrance, but they cast backward glances at us.
“Alpha?” I teased. “Is that some kind of lodge nickname?” I’d never been called Omega anything. And what was the ‘apparent’ about, ‘cause hewasan alpha, not becoming one.
“It’s nothing. When my uncle… passes, the lodge and the land will be mine.”
He was the boss-in-waiting, similar to a crown prince. Perhaps he had a crown stashed away in a back room.
“Is that what you want?”
He hesitated. “Absolutely. But sometimes I wonder what would happen if I chose my future instead of following the path laid out for me.”
His wistful voice reminded me of the wolves’ nighttime howling.
The storm had eased, so we made our way home. Not really home, but it was for now.
“It reminds me of a snow globe I had as a kid.”
Riven took my arm, as the path was slippery and he said he didn’t want me to fall.
“But I have you, so I’m not worried.”
He paused, brushing snowflakes from my cheek, and he rubbed his thumb over my jaw. Heat streamed through my veins, enough to thaw the ice and snow surrounding us.
“You do have me.”
