Her body turned, and she rested her head on my shoulder. After a moment’s hesitation, her chin dipped as she tucked herface into the crook of my arm. After a while, her breathing evened out, coming in deep pulls and leaving in steady exhales.
I didn’t dare move or speak, afraid to disrupt the choice she was making.
Lena had chosen to trust me.
To touch me willingly.
To allow me to take care of her.
At the window, Knox glanced back at us. His brow shot up with surprise, then he smirked before looking away again.
And sometime after that, with the cold still pressing in and the night stretching long ahead of us, the little mute fell asleep in my arms as if she belonged there.
Chapter 13: Lena
Silas radiated heat. His warmth was beyond tempting, urging me to resist the fear that surfaced whenever I let someone get too close.
Knox had been right. Survival was something I wasverygood at. That was the only reason I could do this now. Touch him willingly and accept the comfort he offered instead of shrinking away from it.
At first, it felt foreign and overwhelming in its closeness. Too much contact. Too many points of awareness. The instinct to flee clawed beneath my skin, wanting me to pull away before something bad could happen.
But then the cold loosened its icy grip.
Warmth seeped into my bones as my body melted into his and my anxiety eased inch by inch. Exhaustion followed close behind, settling over me like a weight I no longer had the strength to resist.
Then, as if to seal it, a low, nearly silent, alpha purr rumbled from Silas’s chest. The sound slipped past my defenses with ease, vibrating straight through the walls I’d built aroundmyself and quieting my thoughts.
His purr sunk deep inside me, soothing in a way I hadn’t known I needed.
Soon, sleep claimed me before I could stop it, pulling me under as my racing thoughts finally quieted.
And I slept deeply, fully, and comfortably, until..
At some point in the night, I stirred, slipping one foot free from the rough army blanket, desperate for cool air against my overheated skin. Silas was still curled against my side, radiating heat like a furnace.
He had meant it when he said alphas ran hot. It was a biological difference between our designations, meant to aid in survival. I hadn’t realized just how hot until now.
The room, which had once felt colder than a freezer, seemed warmer simply from having both men in it.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I noticed Knox still perched by the window, staring out into the night, watching and waiting under the cast of moonlight.
Sensing my attention on him, he turned.
“You okay, runt?” he asked quietly, head tilting. “Is my brother keeping you warm?”
I nodded.
“Good,” he said softly. “You’re being so good for us. I know how hard touch is for you.”
He shifted in the chair, turning fully toward me now. Then he took a sip from his canteen and brushed a few strands of fallen hair strands back from his face. His legs spread as he stretched, back arching briefly before he settled again, relaxed but alert.
“Can I ask you something?” he said after a moment.
I nodded.
"Does it feel good now? My brother pressed against you. Comforting and warming you? Or do you still want to run?"
I thought about what he was asking, searching for the answer. My instinct to flee was still there,always there,programmed with pain.
