Page 32 of An Avalanche Hero Christmas

She glanced at him and barely suppressed a sigh. His injuries had healed, but he was now covered with more scars than when he’d found her.

That’s on you, she told herself.He wouldn’t be risking his life if it weren’t for you.

The next time they faced Boris, he might not even survive it. Nausea swept through her gut as she pictured Lance lying in the snow with one of Boris’s blades buried in his chest. He was already risking so much to protect her. If he died, it would be her fault.

She was a liability to him.

He probably wouldn’t admit it, especially not after what they’d just shared, but her presence in his life had turned it upside down. She imagined he’d been leading a very peaceful life until she triggered that avalanche with her screams.

No wonder he didn’t want to help me at first,she thought, especiallyafter what happened with that other fae woman.

Julia, was it? Yes, her. The woman who’d sought his help and then turned on him for whatever reason. Mallory had no malicious intentions toward Lance, but that didn’t change the fact that being around her put a target on his back.

As long as he was with her, Boris would hunt him, too.

“You deserve better,” she muttered, gazing down at him.

The shifter was still deep asleep. Mallory wasn’t going to wake him.

Better asleep than dead.

She knew what she had to do, and she was going to do it. As doubt crept in, she fought to maintain her resolve, pushing the thought of Lance out of her mind.

It was now or never.

She picked up the MediPack, strapping it around her waist underneath her coat.

“Goodbye, Lance,” she whispered.

Taking a final look around the cave, she turned and marched out into the cold.

***

She’d been trekking for about twenty minutes when it suddenly dawned on her that she should’ve taken some spare clothes and food from the bag back in the cave. Stumbling through the cold across the side of the mountain, Mallory gave herself a mental kick. Less than an hour on her own, and she’d already pretty much doomed herself. Without Lance, she had as much chance of surviving out here as she had of snapping her fingers and magically transporting herself back to her world.

“I should’ve stayed in the cave,” she breathed. “At least for a bit.”

Her departure had been sudden, no doubt about that, and apart from the fact that it was probably the dumbest choice she’d made so far, she knew Lance would be crushed. He’d open his eyes to find her missing. How could she have done that to him?

It’s for the best,said a little voice in her head.

Without her in his life, he’d be much better off. Besides, Boris was afterbothof them, not just her. If they split up, the Fae Hunter couldn’t possibly go after them at once, could he?

An unsettling thought crept into Mallory’s mind then: What if Boris went after Lance first? Splitting up might not really do either of them much good. If Lance got hurt again, or worse, it would be just as bad as if it happened while she was with him. And with Lance gone, she was completely defenseless.

She paused in the snow, scanning her surroundings. Should she go down the mountain or higher up? The farther she traveled, the more confused she got. Without Lance, she was lost.

“I just hope I survive the next couple of days.”

Or she could go back to Lance. The thought swept through her mind suddenly, and she held her breath. She could go back to the cave. With any luck, he was still there, sound asleep, unaware of the crippling indecisiveness that seemed to have gripped her this morning.

With a sigh, Mallory glanced over her shoulder.

And then she froze.

Someone was marching up toward her. The figure was at least seventy feet away, too far for her to see clearly, but she could make out a pair of broad shoulders. As the figure drew nearer, the person came into focus. A large, dark coat appeared in her line of vision. It was a tall man, and he was walking purposefully in her direction.

That had to be Lance…right?

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