Page 64 of A Wolf for Winter

And maybe it really was that simple. With Allen at her side, supporting her, loving her, it seemed more possible than it ever had.

“Though, it would be a shame,” he said. “Annesley Valley really grew on me. Old European charm, folks are private but still friendly, I’ve never had a better lamb mince pie anywhere, and don’t get me started on the craft root beer here. Divine.”

She gave a lighthearted snort. “Besides the shifter ban on the entire valley, it’s not so bad, is it?”

He tensed. “Would your matriarch really skin me alive?”

“No, of course not. At least, I-I don’t think so. Though . . ..”

“Though what?”

“She’d make your life a living hell, that’s for sure. But if we can convince her that you’re an asset, not a threat, she might see reason. Begrudgingly. Maybe.”

“Worth a shot. Especially when she finds out how daringly I rescued the lot of you time and time again.” He leaned in, nuzzling her cheek aside so he could nip her earlobe. “Seriously, she should give me a medal—”

His head reared back, eyes flaring.

“Allen?”

“Your brother’s coming. He just started walking up the stairs.”

“You can hear that? That’s on the other side of the Hall!”

“I’m kind of amazing, aren’t I?” He twirled her around and gave her a swat on the butt. “Go open the door. Otherwise he might get the wrong—or maybe right?—impression.”

She did as he asked, scurrying back to her chair and retrieving her book. Allen had already stuffed himself under the covers, yanking them up to his chin.

In the time they had before Boar arrived, Allen replaced his contacts and whispered, “We should tell them. Eventually, don’t you think? I do consider them friends, and it’ll be easier coming from me than from your matriarch.”

“From us,” she corrected, earning her a dazzling smile that threatened to melt her straight off her chair. “And not at the same time.”

“Rose first,” they agreed in unison. Rose’s somewhat reckless joie de vivre made her the most likely to accept him right off the bat, especially since she’d grown so fond of him.

Boar’s purposeful steps echoed through the second-floor hallway.

“In the meantime, do we pretend to loathe each other still?” he whispered.

“That depends. Would you like it if I played hard to get?”

“Really ups my prey drive, so, an emphatic yes.”

She cocked an eyebrow, sweeping her gaze down the length of him hidden under the comforter. “Does it up anything else?”

“Lilac,” he growled, half playfully, half in threat that he would tear the covers off him and prove to her, in graphic detail, just how up he was.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that tone when addressing my sister,” Boar said, stalking into the room.

Lilac, her back to the door, merely smirked at Allen as he swallowed back his lust and replaced it with a mask of contrition.

“She was the one who guarded your unconscious body until the rest of us arrived,” her brother said, stopping at her chair and molding a hand over its back.

“Apologies,” Allen said with an appropriate amount of sulk in his tone. “I was just upset that she left the Hall even after I explicitly told her to stay with you, endangering herself.” From the sharp look he gave her, Lilac knew he wasn’t lying.

“And I’ll have words with her about that later—”

Lilac rolled her eyes.

“—but she did it for you, Allen. What were you thinking going after Prue like that?”