Chapter Seven #3
I stepped forward, almost hypnotized by the beauty of his eyes, the openness of his face, the sweetness of him.
My gaze moved down to his lips, and an overwhelming want hit me. I wanted to taste those lips. I wanted to press my entire body against his and feel those muscles. I wanted to feel the rasp of his whiskers beneath my fingertips.
My body moved closer of its own accord, but the second my gloved hand touched his arm, I felt a sort of pulse—was it magic?—and it snapped me out of it.
I cleared my throat as I stepped back. “Um… yeah, so you, uh… wanted to ice skate?”
He was quiet for a few seconds before he took a deep breath. “Yeah, that’s… yeah. Let’s skate.”
We walked down to the lake together, and I grimaced.
“What if it’s not frozen all the way?” I knew the likelihood of that was very minimal considering how cold it’d been over the last few weeks, but I’d always been told not to walk on a frozen lake since there was no way of knowing if there were any thin spots.
Lanche grinned at me, and he looked a little excited.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.
” He stepped up to the edge of the lake, squatted down, and rested his gloved hands on top of the ice.
I felt a jolt of his icy magic swirl through the air, and I wasn’t surprised at all when snowflakes started falling down around him.
Of course, his magic was as beautiful as his house…
as beautiful as he was. A flash of his magic pulsed through the entire lake in a small blast before dissipating.
He stood and faced me, still smiling. “There, frozen solid.”
My eyes widened. “You can freeze an entire lake that quickly?”
He shrugged. “Um, yeah. It’s no big deal. This lake isn’t even that big.”
I lifted a brow at him because what did he mean it wasn’t that big? The lake was so wide at one point, it was nearly impossible to see the trees on the other side.
But whatever. No sense in getting worked up on how powerful he was. He was obviously uber powerful, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it when I’d already said it was fine to stay out here… alone with him. Just the two of us. Completely separated from anyone else, from society at all.
In a place where no one would ever hear my screams.
“Hey.” Lanche’s voice was quiet as he approached me like he would a scared animal. “If you’ve changed your mind, it’s fine. We don’t have to stay out here.”
“Sorry, I just… um…” I didn’t want to tell him the real reason I was nervous about being alone with him, but he deserved at least a partial truth…
right? “Um, so… you obviously know I’m a werewolf, but…
uh, yeah, I guess I get nervous sometimes because of how I…
” I cleared my throat. “How I was turned.”
“I’m sorry. We can leave. I—”
“No, it’s fine. Seriously. I just… when I was turned, I was walking back to my apartment.
I used to live on the outskirts of the city, right up against the forest. I felt…
I felt something stalking me, but I kept brushing it off as nerves since it was the middle of the night, and I was alone.
Well… turns out I really should’ve run when I first noticed it.
Then maybe I wouldn’t have been attacked. ”
I cleared my throat and looked anywhere but at Lanche.
“The were chased me, but it kind of seemed like it was toying with me, you know? Like, it let me think I was going to get away. Let me think I could reach the building’s front door, but I wasn’t fast enough.
Right before I made it to the steps, it took me down and started…
um, eating me, I guess. It really liked, um, intestines and that whole area.
It… well, let’s just say I was praying for death or to at least pass out by the time my brother found me.
I’m still so grateful that he scared the were off instead of getting attacked himself.
I… I don’t remember much, but apparently, he heard me screaming and came out swinging a bat at it or something.
“Anyway, I woke up in the hospital the next day and was told I was lucky because I almost died. Instead of dying, I’d turn into a werewolf once a month for the rest of my life. So… um… yeah… woods make me nervous sometimes.”
Lanche was quiet for a long moment before he stepped closer, touched my arm gently, and whispered, “Can I give you a hug?”
I didn’t know how badly I needed one until that moment, so I nodded and melted into his warm chest as he wrapped me in his arms. He rubbed my back and made some shushing noises that were more comforting than I wanted to admit.
After a long time, he said, “Let’s go somewhere else, okay? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. This is supposed to be fun.”
Hearing how willing he was to change plans to make me comfortable made me feel a thousand times better about being out here alone with him.
So I stepped out of his arms, sent him a small, shaky smile, and centered myself before giving him a small nod. “I’m fine. Let’s do this.”
“Are you sure? I really don’t mind going somewhere else.”
I… believed him. I wasn’t sure how or why, but I did. So this time, when I smiled, it wasn’t shaky or fake or sad or anything like that. It was simply a true smile. “I’m sure. I want to try out this lake you froze.”
He searched my face for a long moment before nodding. “Okay, but if you change your mind at any time, just let me know, and we’ll leave.”
I believed him about that too. “Thanks, Lanche.” I gestured to his bag on the ground near the lake. “Let’s make sure my skates fit.”
He searched my face again for a moment before offering a small smile. “They’ll fit.”
“How would you know?”
He wiggled his fingers. “They’re magic.”
“What? You can make shoes change shape too?”
He snorted. “Nope, not me. But I know a witch who can.”
I… wasn’t sure I even wanted to ask, but seriously?!