Chapter 6
Lex
They froze, both breathing hard, as snow and debris rained past the window.
"What the—"
Another crack, and this time they saw it through the windows. A huge pine tree, overladen with ice, splitting and falling. It crashed into the roof with a sound like thunder.
"Son of a bitch." Lex set her down carefully, though it killed him to let go. "Stay here while I go outside and check the damage."
She nodded, face flushed, lips swollen from his kisses. "I'll... I'll watch for leaks."
He grabbed his coat and headed outside, grateful for the cold shock to his overheated system. The tree had taken out part of the roof over the guest bedroom. Nothing catastrophic, but he needed to get up there and tack down some plastic or something before they had snow in the cabin.
When he came back inside, Jules had found buckets and placed them under the drips already forming in the ceiling in her room.
"How bad is it?"
"Could be worse." He looked at her, really looked at her. Saw the frustrated desire in her eyes that matched his own. "Jules—"
"Don't." She held up a hand. "Don't apologize. Don't tell me it was a mistake. Don't push me away again."
"I wasn't going to." He moved closer, unable to help himself. "I was going to say we should talk. Really talk. About everything."
She studied his face. "Everything?"
"Everything."
"Tonight?"
He nodded. "Tonight. After I patch the roof and try to get the generator running. I'll tell you... all of it."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She rose up on her toes and kissed him softly. "Then you'd better get to work."
As he headed up to the roof, Lex's wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin. Tonight, he'd tell her about shifters. About the pack. About what being with him would mean.
And then he'd let her decide if she could accept a man who was also a monster.
The temperature didn't get any warmer as the day wore on. By evening, despite the roaring fire, frost was forming on the inside of some of the windows. Jules had retreated to a nest of blankets on the couch, only her face visible.
"Still cold?"
She nodded miserably. "I think my blood is turning to slush."
He'd managed to get the generator running at about thirty percent capacity. Enough to keep the pipes from freezing but not enough to heat the cabin. The roof was patched too, but it was a temporary fix at best.
"Come here." He held out his hand.
She took it and let him pull her up, blankets and all. He settled into the corner of the couch and drew her between his legs, her back to his chest, then wrapped the blankets around both of them.
"Oh my God, you're like a furnace," she sighed, melting against him.
He tried not to think about how perfectly she fit against him. How right this felt. How his wolf was practically purring at having her this close.
"So," she said after a moment. "That talk."
His arms tightened around her, an involuntary response to how vulnerable he suddenly felt.
The warmth of her body grounded him in a way, but it was accompanied by a whirlpool of anxiety that churned deep within him.
"What do you want to know?" he asked, his voice steady despite the internal conflict raging beneath his calm exterior.
"Everything. Starting with why your eyes turned gold this morning." Her request was simple, yet he hesitated.
He fell into a silence that felt like an eternity, even to him. The air thrummed with tension as he stared into the flickering fire, realizing that revealing the truth would put her in danger. She deserved to know, yet fear coiled tightly around his gut, gnawing at the edges of his resolve.
Finally, she twisted in his arms, her eyes searching his. "Lex?" she prompted, drawing him from the depths of his spiraling thoughts.
"What if I told you... that some legends are real?" The gravity of his confession hung in the air, thick with unspoken implications.
Her response, a surprising calm, held a power he hadn't anticipated.
She settled back against him, relaxing into the embrace that felt both right and perilous.
"I'd say I'm listening." Her openness pushed him closer to the brink, and he felt his wolf stir restlessly, echoing her invitation with a primal urge to finally share everything.
The good, the dark… everything. But could he trust her to bear the truth of his dual existence?
So he talked. Carefully at first, dancing around the edges of his secrets. He told her about his family. About traditions that went back centuries. About people who were more than they seemed.
"You're talking about werewolves." It wasn't a question.
He went very still. "What makes you say that?"
"Your eyes. The way you always know where I am without looking.
How you heard me talking to Fred from outside.
The fact that you run around in winter with barely a coat and 'run hot.
'" She paused. "And because Faye's been dropping hints about Adam being 'different' for months.
Plus I watch a lot of paranormal television. "
"You're not... freaking out."
She was quiet for a moment. "Yesterday morning, when I saw your eyes change, something clicked.
All the little things that didn't quite add up.
And I realized I had two choices. I could run.
Or I could trust that the man who's been protecting me, watching over me, keeping me warm.
.. that man wouldn't hurt me. No matter who or what he really is. "
"Jules—"
"Am I wrong? Are you dangerous?" She went very still as she waited for his answer.
"Yes." The admission hurt. "But not to you. Never to you."
"So, Adam is one of you?"
"Yes."
"And Riko?"
"Riko is our new alpha. That's why he came back, to take his father's place. Well," he corrected. "Not at first. But after he met Addison and decided to stay."
She was quiet for a long time as she took all of that in, then she turned in his arms until she was facing him, kneeling between his thighs. "Show me."
"What?"
"Your eyes. Show me."
"Jules—"
"Please." She smiled sweetly at him.
With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, letting the wolf rise just enough. And when he opened them, he knew they were gold by the way her breath caught.
But she didn't pull away. Instead, she touched his face, fingers tracing his cheekbone as her eyes bore into his. "Beautiful."
"I'm a monster."
"No." She kissed him softly. "You're mine." Then she pulled back, blinking fast, like she hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Shit. Is that okay?"
The words broke something in him. Or maybe they fixed something that had been broken all along. Either way, between one second and the next he was kissing her like his life depended on it, and she was kissing him back just as desperately.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, she asked, "What happens now?"
"Now?" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Now you decide if you can accept this. All of it. The pack, the secrets, the danger that comes with being with someone like me."
"I've already decided."
"Jules, I still haven't told you—"
"I choose you, Lex. Wolf and all."
He should argue. Should give her time to really think about it. Should explain all the reasons this was a terrible idea.
Instead, he growled deep in his throat and kissed her again. Slower this time. Reverently. Like she was something precious.
Because she absolutely fucking was.
Outside, the day grew colder as evening approached. But inside, wrapped in blankets and each other, they were warm.
"I still want to talk more," she murmured against his lips a little while later.
"Tomorrow," he promised between kisses. "I'll tell you the rest tomorrow."
"And tonight?"
He pulled her closer, his wolf finally calm for the first time in days. "Tonight, we keep each other warm." Suddenly there was no urgency to be inside her. Instead, he let himself enjoy the anticipation, knowing it would happen very soon.
She smiled and settled against his chest, her ear over his heart. Within minutes, her breathing evened out in sleep.
Lex stayed awake, holding her, marveling at the trust she'd placed in him. Tomorrow would bring complications. The pack would have opinions. There would be threats and arguments.
But tonight, she was his. And he was hers.
And for now, that was enough.