Chapter 23
“You’re awfully bossy when you’re being protective.”
Chloe watched Victor’s jaw tighten. He was already cataloging her belongings, mentally sorting what she’d need from what could wait.
“I prefer thorough.”
“Mmm. Controlling?”
“Careful.” He turned to face her, those luminous blue eyes intent on her face. “There’s a difference.”
She stepped closer. Close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his skin. The transformation had left him flushed, energized. Beautiful.
“I’m teasing,” she said softly. “I like that you want to take care of me. That you have been taking care of me.”
Some of the tension left his shoulders. “I need to. Both of us do.”
Both. Victor and Hyde. Two parts of one extraordinary man.
Her man.
Mine, something fierce whispered in her chest. All mine.
“So what’s the plan?” Chloe asked. “Pack everything? Call a moving truck?”
“Pack essentials for now. A few days’ worth of clothes. Toiletries. Anything you can’t live without.” Victor glanced toward the damaged roof. “We’ll come back for the rest when the roads clear and the structure’s been inspected.”
Practical. Sensible.
Also slightly presumptuous.
“And if I wanted to stay here?” Chloe asked. “Fix the roof and continue living independently?”
Victor went very still. “Do you?”
The honest answer sat on her tongue. Heavy with truth.
“No,” she admitted. “I want to be with you. I just need to know you’re asking, not ordering.”
His expression softened. “I’m asking. Please move in with me, Chloe. Let me keep you safe. Let us—” He touched her belly. “Let us be a family.”
Family.
The word made her eyes sting. Made her throat tight.
She’d wanted that so badly. A real family. Not the distant, disapproving relatives who’d barely spoken to her after her mother died. Not Travis and his cold calculations about money and inconvenience.
But this. Victor and Hyde and the baby growing inside her.
Love without conditions. Protection without strings.
Home.
“Yes,” Chloe said. “I want that too.”
Relief flooded Victor’s face. He pulled her close, careful of her belly. Kissed her with sweet intensity.
When they broke apart they were both smiling.
“Pack,” he said. “I’ll clean up out here.”
She nodded and headed to the bedroom. Her bedroom. Though it wouldn’t be much longer.
She pulled out her small suitcase—the same one she’d brought when she first arrived in Fairhaven Falls. Back when she’d been running from hurt and disappointment. When the future had seemed dark and uncertain.
How things had changed.
Chloe folded her favorite maternity dresses. The soft cardigans that made her feel cozy. Comfortable leggings and warm socks. Toiletries from the bathroom. The photo of her mother she kept on the nightstand.
Everything fit easily. She really hadn’t accumulated much.
By the time she returned to the main room, Victor had the fire banked and the remaining blankets folded. He’d even swept up most of the debris from the broken branch.
“Ready?” he asked.
Chloe looked around the cabin one last time. It had been hers for such a short time. A temporary refuge.
But it had given her what she needed. Peace. Space to heal. A place to begin again.
And it had brought her to Victor.
“Ready,” she said.
Victor took her suitcase. Moved it near the door. Then he turned to face her with an expression that was part determination, part nervousness.
“The roads are completely impassable,” he said. “At least a foot of new snow, probably drifted higher in places.”
Chloe nodded. She’d seen the depth when Hyde had patched the roof. No way her little car would make it through.
“Which means we can’t drive,” Victor continued. “And I can’t let you walk that distance in your condition.”
“So what—”
Understanding hit her mid-sentence.
“You want to carry me,” she said. “As Hyde.”
“Yes.” No hesitation. Just calm certainty. “He’s strong enough. Fast enough. And he wants to. We both do.”
Her heart squeezed. “You’d transform voluntarily. In daylight.”
“For you? Absolutely.” He stepped closer. “I’m not afraid anymore. Not of Hyde. Not of what we are together.”
She could see the truth of it in his eyes. The peace. The integration.
This wasn’t the terrified man who’d pushed her away weeks ago. Who’d dosed himself with suppressants and run himself ragged on the treadmill.
This was someone who’d accepted all of himself. Embraced it.
Because of her.
“Okay,” she said softly. “I trust you.”
“Both of us?”
“All of you.” She touched his face. “Human. Hyde. Everything in between.”
His eyes flashed green for just a moment, pleased, and kissed her forehead. “Bundle up. It’s cold out there.”
She put on her warmest coat—the quilted one with the hood that he’d given her. Wrapped a scarf around her neck. Tugged on insulated gloves and her sturdy boots.
By the time she finished, she looked like a marshmallow.
Victor’s lips twitched. “Warm enough?”
“I can barely move.”
“You don’t need to move. You just need to be warm.” He picked up her suitcase in one hand. Opened the door with the other.
Cold air rushed in, sharp and biting despite the sunshine. She stepped out onto the porch and found the snow had drifted to knee height, deep and pristine and utterly impassable for normal travel. But Hyde wasn’t normal. He set down the suitcase and turned to face her.
“Close your eyes if you want,” he said. “Some people find the transformation unsettling.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve already seen you transform. And even if I hadn’t, I’m not ‘some people.’”
His smile was warm and loving. “No. You’re definitely not.”
Then he stepped back, took a breath, and changed.
She’d seen parts of it before, but the only time he’d transformed completely had been too quick for her to follow.
Watching him choose the transformation was different.
Beautiful. His body expanded, muscles swelling and shifting beneath skin that darkened to deep green.
His bones elongated with audible pops and his hands and feet grew, his fingers tipped with wicked claws.
When he straightened to his full height—eight feet of controlled power—those glowing green eyes focused on her with absolute devotion.
“Hi,” she said, and he rumbled at her, the sound warm and affectionate.
He bent down and carefully lifted her into his arms, one massive hand under her knees, and the other supporting her back, cradling her like something precious.
She relaxed into his hold, enjoying his strength and the warmth radiating through layers of coat and scarf. She’d never felt safer in her life.
He grabbed her suitcase with his free hand like it weighed nothing. Then he stepped off the porch into the deep snow.
His feet sank but not as far as they should have. The snow compressed under his weight. Solid and stable.
He moved with surprising grace. Each step measured. Careful not to jostle her.
She watched the winter landscape slide past. Trees heavy with snow. The morning sun turning everything to gold and white. The sky impossibly blue overhead. Fairhaven Falls in winter was breathtaking.
“It’s beautiful,” she said aloud.
Hyde rumbled in agreement, his chest vibrating beneath her.
They passed the place where the road curved toward town. Snow covered it completely. No tire tracks. No footprints.
Just untouched white stretching in every direction.
But Hyde knew the way. Followed some internal compass that kept them on course.
She let herself relax, trusting him completely. The baby kicked, a strong flutter against her ribs, and Hyde’s rumble changed pitch and became almost questioning.
“The baby’s just moving around,” she explained.
He adjusted his grip slightly, one hand spreading wider over her back in a protective gesture, and her throat tightened. “You already love this baby, don’t you? Both of you.”
Another rumble, this one unmistakably affirmative.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For choosing us. For being brave enough to let me in.”
Hyde’s pace never faltered but she felt his chest expand. Like he was breathing in her words. Holding them close.
The journey felt both endless and too short. She wanted to memorize every moment. The feeling of being cradled against that massive chest. The sound of Hyde’s breathing. The way he navigated the treacherous terrain without a single misstep.
This was trust in its purest form.
And love.
So much love it made her chest ache.
The town appeared gradually. First the outlying buildings, and his house. Their new home.
Hyde carried her up the steps and set her down gently on the porch before placing her suitcase beside her. Then he stepped back. The transformation reversed. Smooth and controlled. Green skin fading. Muscles shrinking. Bones resettling with barely a sound.
Victor emerged breathing hard but steady. Completely present.
He smiled at her. “You okay?”
“I’m perfect. That was incredible.”
“You weren’t scared at all.”
“Not even a little.” She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. “How could I be scared of something so beautiful?”
His eyes went suspiciously bright before he pulled her close. Kissed her with fierce tenderness.
“Come inside,” he said against her mouth. “Let me show you our home.”
Our home.
The words sent warmth flooding through her.
He unlocked the door and ushered her inside, through the familiar entrance hall and upstairs to his private quarters.
“Living room,” he said, gesturing. “There’s a small kitchen through there, as well as the larger one downstairs. A bathroom down the hall, along with—”
He stopped and looked at her nervously.
“What is it?” she asked.
“The bedrooms.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know we haven’t really talked about sleeping arrangements. If you want your own space—”
“I don’t.”
The relief on his face was immediate. “You’re sure?”
“Very.” She stepped closer. “I want to sleep beside you. Wake up beside you. Be with you.”
“Even though Hyde might—”
“Especially because of Hyde.” She touched his chest. “All of you, remember? That’s what I signed up for.”