Reana stepped out of the bathroom minutes later wearing a thick woolen cloak. It had only been a few days since winter crept into the woods, yet it already felt like weeks - the cold was already clawing at her skin like it had lived in her bones forever.
The wooden floor felt cold under her feet too, each breath she took beca slightly visible in the air like a whispered warning.
Reana frowned. It wasn’t like this before she went into the bathroom. Why had the temperature dropped so suddenly?
Her steps slowed as an uneasy chill settled in her spine. She glanced toward the window, but the shutters were firmly closed. No wind. No open cracks. Yet the air felt unnaturally still, dense, like the forest was holding its breath.
And then, it dawned on her who was doing that.
Ryder!
Reana’s eyes flashed with fury as she stord towards her inner chamber. She flung the door open. Seeing him seated on her bed, with his back to her, she devoured the space in less than five strides and ruthlessly slapped him on his head.
"Are you intending to freeze to death, you, wolf?" she snapped, her voice sharp as icicles. "You can control the cold now too? What are you, a walking blizzard?"
Ryder didn’t even flinch. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, shirtless as usual, his bare skin steaming slightly against the chill... as if his body heat refused to obey the laws of nature. He tilted his head lazily, red eyes flicking toward her with amusent.
"I was ditating," he said, unbothered. "You interrupted my focus."
Reana scowled, hugging her cloak tighter around herself. "Focus? You turned the whole packhouse into a glacier!"
He stretched like a cat, slow and languid, the air around him sohow getting warr just by his movent. "It wasn’t the whole packhouse. It was just your chambers. I don’t want my next outbursts to draw so much attention. I wanted to see if there’s a way to contain it."
Reana’s cheeks flushed from both cold and irritation. "And you decided that my chambers were the best place to test your frost powers?" she hissed. "What if you failed? What if I’d walked out and turned into an icicle? You’d ditate your way through my funeral too?"
Ryder smirked, and her fury flared hotter.
"I would’ve thawed you out eventually," he said, the smugness in his voice was cute, yet unbearable.
Reana narrowed her eyes, her voice dropping dangerously. "You’re insufferable."
He finally rose from the bed in one fluid motion, towering over her but not using it to intimidate – just existing in that effortless, lethal way of his. "I’m careful," he said, voice now more serious. "I’m not experinting for fun. I’m trying to understand what I am... before it understands better than I do."
That silenced her.
He stepped down from the bed and reached out to hold her waist. Looking into her eyes, he began, "I saw the council eting through your eyes. I saw and heard how you stepped on your policies to defend ..." he paused, taking in her surprise. "I’m sorry for giving you so much trouble, My Luna."
He could do that too? Just... What could he not do?
Reana’s breath hitched in her throat. Just like that, the heat returned. No, not in the air, but in her chest. Her fury wavered, stumbling under the weight of his sincerity.
She hated how easily he did that. He spoke one honest sentence and undid all her anger like it was a knot in his fingers.
"You’re not trouble," she muttered, but it ca out grudgingly, like she hadn’t quite forgiven him for deceiving her, for lying, and for freezing her toes off.
Ryder smiled softly, nuzzling his forehead against hers in a gesture so tender, it made her stiff shoulders lt before she could stop them.
"Even if I freeze the world?" he asked quietly, lips brushing her temple. "Would you still say that?"
Reana closed her eyes, cursing herself for the way her heart thundered. His warmth was addictive, deceptively gentle for soone who could summon winter with a breath.
"You freeze my room, I slap you," she murmured, her voice husky and half a threat. "You freeze the world... then pray to God no one dies."
He chuckled, a deep, rich sound that ward her better than the cloak ever could. And she flared, as if she’d just rembered she was still angry at him.
She pushed away from him and jabbed a finger on his chest, but of course, he didn’t budge, instead, his lips stretched into a smirk that only infuriated Reana the more.
"And next ti you decide to ’ditate,’ kindly don’t bring winter inside with you. You can go into the woods to do that."
Towering over her like a mountain, with that small smirk playing at the corners of his mouth, he replied, "What if I get discovered and killed? Your room is the only safe place for in this world." His hands on her waist tightened as he pulled her closer - chest to chest, to to tie, face to face, breath fanning their faces.
Before she could register the closeness or react, he kissed her. Slow. Apologetic. As if every brush of his lips could make up for the chill, the secrets, and the burden of being sothing not entirely wolf anymore.
But Reana didn’t push him away. Hell, she couldn’t, even if she wanted to. She let him, for a heartbeat longer than necessary. Then, with a sigh, she pushed at his chest, but he wouldn’t break the kiss until she bit him harshly on the lip.
Her wolf purred, slamming against Reana to take charge.
’Stop it now, Rea!’ Reana barked.
The wolf whimpered pitifully. She wanted more of him. What did she do wrong?
’Shaless slut,’ Reana cursed at her. Earlier, the wolf had looked at another man with fire in her eyes. She made Reana react to a stranger’s touch, made her hungry for a man other than Ryder, and now, it wanted Ryder too?
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