But first, apparently, he owed hospitality to a pair of strangers who’d wandered into his territory at the worst possible time.
“Come inside,” he said heavily, the words dragging out of him like stones. “Both of you. We can… talk.”
Korrin raised an eyebrow. “A gracious invitation.”
“Don’t push it.”
But he stepped aside, gesturing towards the cabin door, and watched as the two exchanged a glance before moving forward. The adyani padded after them, their paws silent on the frozen ground, and he wondered distantly how a human female had managed to tame creatures that should have torn her to pieces.
Then Ember was beside him, her hand brushing his arm, and he forgot about everything else.
“Are you all right?” she asked softly.
No.He wasn’t all right. He’d hurt her, abandoned her, and nearly killed someone in a fit of jealous rage. He was the furthest thing from all right.
But her hand was warm on his arm, and her eyes were searching his face with concern rather than fear, and somehow that made it both better and worse.
“I’m sorry,” he said. The words felt inadequate. Theywereinadequate. But they were all he had.
She studied him for a long moment. Then she nodded slowly, something shifting in her expression.
“We should go inside,” she said. “It’s cold.”
She turned and walked into the cabin, leaving him standing in the snow with the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on his shoulders.
After a long moment, he followed.
CHAPTER 18
The cabin had never felt smaller. Ember stood by the table, watching the two strangers settle onto the rough-hewn bench by the fire. The woman looked around curiously, a warm smile on her pretty face. The two adyani had curled up near the door like oversized hounds, their yellow eyes half-lidded but watchful.
Korrin sat beside his mate with the coiled readiness of a predator who’d learned to rest without ever truly relaxing. His amber gaze kept drifting to Rykan, who stood by the window with his arms crossed, radiating tension like heat from a forge.
The silence stretched uncomfortably.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked suddenly, because someone had to say something, and she’d spent enough years watching her father navigate tense business negotiations to recognize a standoff when she saw one.
Neither male responded but the woman nodded, and she set the kettle on to boil, grateful for something to do with her hands.Behind her, she heard the woman murmur something to Korrin, too low to catch, and his answering grunt.
“We should introduce ourselves properly.” The woman’s voice was warm and gentle. “I’m Tessa. This is Korrin, my mate. And you are…?”
She glanced over her shoulder, meeting the other woman’s eyes. There was genuine curiosity there, not judgment, and she relaxed just a little.
“Ember.” She hesitated, then added, “Duvain.”
Korrin’s eyebrow rose. “Duvain. As in Duvain Enterprises?”
“My father’s company.”My company now,she didn’t say, because speaking those words aloud would make everything too real. “Yes.”
“Interesting.” Korrin’s gaze sharpened, but he didn’t press. Instead, he looked at Rykan. “And you? I didn’t catch a name before you tried to take my head off.”
“Rykan.” The word was clipped, reluctant. “Just Rykan.”
“No pack name?”
“No.”
Another weighted silence. She busied herself with the kettle, measuring dried herbs into the battered tea pot she’d learned to use over the past weeks. Her fingers moved automatically now, a far cry from the fumbling disasters of her first attempts.
