Page 15 of Fated In Winter

“You haven’t met my sister.” He paused. “Or you have, so you must get it.”

“Oh, I do.” I stretched out on the chair and then shook myself. “I need to take a walk. Do you mind?”

“Of course not.”

We took our tablets with us, both of us going over other things, when Conner looked down at me. “Was there a reason we didn’t meet at your place, but on the huge porch at my cousin’s?”

I winced. “I have a tiny cabin in the woods. It’s not great for meeting people.”

He frowned. “Really?”

“I mean, I can show it to you, but I don’t know, I don’t invite anybody over.” I paused, frowning as my words clicked. “I’ve never invited anybody over. How is that possible?” It made my stomach hurt to think about it, but I turned on the path towards my place. “Come on. We can change that.” I needed to take Xavier’s words to heart and try my best. All I could do was try.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to step into your space.”

“Conner, you’re always in my space.” Again I hadn’t meant to say that.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re just so big, dominant. You’re in my space.”

Conner seemed to shrink in on himself, and I could have kicked myself.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean? I don’t want to encroach.” He paused where he was, not moving forward. We were behind a grouping of trees, no one around, and only a short distance from my cabin.

“Conner. You’re very protective and dominant, but not pushy. I thought you would be, but you aren’t. I promise you’re not doing anything wrong.”

I reached out despite myself and gripped his hand. He looked down, threaded his fingers with mine. “Oh. Well then. That’s good. You don’t mind showing me your place?”

“No, I think I’m supposed to.”

He raised his brows.

“I’m not good about letting people in. And as I was talking with the Elders today, maybe I should do better at not being that person.”

“Then I’m honored.” He moved forward, neither one of us speaking as we kept our hands threaded together.

I didn’t even know what I was doing, why I felt the need to do this, but here I was, and there was no going back. We turned the corner, and there it was, my tiny little cabin surrounded by trees, plain, just for myself. I had built it after my last brother died, when I had nothing else. I made it from the leftover pieces of wood and lumber from the home that had burned down when the former Alpha killed my parents.

Sometimes I swore I could still hear their screaming if I listened hard enough. If I pressed my ear to the wood.

And wasn’t that a cheery Yule thought.

“It smells of snow,” I whisper, inhaling a deep breath.

“We’re supposed to get another snowstorm soon. Actually, a few in a row.”

“Today?”

“I’m not sure. I should probably check the weather.”

His voice had gotten low, and I turned towards him, shaking my head. “What are we doing?” I asked, my wolf tugging at me.

“I don’t know.”

But he was the first person I had shown my place, the first person I had willingly let in my circle.

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