Saint wrapping himself around me feels like a soft, heat-generating cloud. His scent is familiar and comforting. The only thing that would be better would be Bronx and my limbs entangled. The morning light intrudes in the room and crawls across my face. I stretch sleepily and find that I have a stiff neck and a chill around me. Saint must have adjusted positions at some point in the night because his fur cocoon is not forming a barrier of warmth around me. I tug on my blanket to cover myself better, but it doesn't budge.“Saint, you have a fur coat, stop hogging the blanket." I groan.A pair of strong arms creates a cage around me, as if by instinct, and pulls me close to a hard chest. The familiar light snoring of Bronx against my ear sets my heart alight. "Bronx?" I whisper in disbelief. I roll over in his arms so I'm facing him. His breath hitches a little, but he continues the slow rhythmic breathing of sleep. I don't know when he shifted, but he is naked under the blanket. Could

Winter solstice is seriously my favorite holiday. I mean, this will be the first time I get to celebrate it. In the past, I was responsible for wrapping all the gifts for the Silver Moon pack Winter Solstice party. One year, there was an extra gift left over, so Beta Tate let me have it after everyone had left. It was a box of chocolate truffles. There were eight in the box. Each one had a different flavor filling, and I savored every bite. I knew I would never get another gift again, but that one meant the world to me. It didn't matter to ten-year-old Kas that it was just a forgotten box. It was special to me. Even if I haven't been an active participant before, I still love all the decorations, watching people exchange gifts, the music, the games, the special foods I get to bake, all of it. It is the feeling in the air. It is just so wonderful. Speaking of which, I want to give gifts this year, but I feel awkward asking Bronx for money. I don't want him to think I'm taking advanta

He pulls out a little blue velvet ring box and opens it. Inside is a beautiful ring. The giant purple, sparkly stone in the center is square with rounded edges, down the sides of the band are little white diamonds. I gasp and put both hands up to my mouth. I feel my eyes getting wider. I look from the ring to Bronx and back again. A purple aura starts to glow brightly around me. Bronx puts his hand on my knee and starts to glow too. “I... Bronx, where... I... you..." I feel so flustered, I can't form a sentence. Tears start pooling in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I manage to pull one hand away from my mouth enough to point to the ring and whimper. "Where did you get that?” “I stopped in Paris after my first visit with you at the coven and had it custom made. It's a purple diamond. Like, it's a real diamond that's purple. Something to do with minerals in the earth. I had no idea diamonds came in colors." He chuckles a little. "The sales guy at Harry Winston told me they're supe

I look around and see the orange glow of fire in the living room. I run to the bedroom door and look around to find the room is engulfed in flames. The fake tree Ashley had set up for Winter Solstice looks like it's melting, causing noxious fumes amid the rest of the smoke. Some of the branches are starting to catch fire. I can hear people in the hallway screaming. Oh my Goddess. We have to get out of here! I run back into the room yelling and coughing. "Bronx! Wake up! We have to get out!" I shake him as hard as I can, but he doesn't budge. His skin is cold and he looks pale, even though the room is getting hotter by the second. I focus past the smell of fire. He smells like whiskey and wolfsbane. He's been poisoned! “Oh shit, oh shit. What should I do?” "Don't panic, Kas. You're a healer, you can save him. We learned about this. Come on!" I hear Lex call out. “Lex, are you strong enough? Can you help me?” “I can try, Kas. Go ahead. Let's save our mate. But hurry, we have to ge

Kas's POV Things have been so uncomfortable since the fire. At first I thought it had to do with being in a different packhouse and everyone being in closer quarters than we are used to, but I think it's more than that. Bronx is like a man possessed. He has moments where he is very sweet like he always has been, but it's few and far between. He’s generally grumpy and rude to everyone, even me. That's if I even see him. People scurry away when they see him coming, hoping to avoid his wrath. He spends long hours at MasonCo and when he isn't there, he spends his time with Milo locked in the conference room. Most nights he doesn't get back to our apartment until the early hours of the morning. I pretend to be asleep, but I can feel the bed sag when he gets in. He always wraps his arms around me and deeply breathes in my scent. I hear him whisper how much he loves me and how much he misses me. The gross smell of cigarettes mixes in with his coffee and dark chocolate scent more and more ev