Storm

The fire crackled softly as I sat in my chair recalling the way the glow had played over the soft lines of Ailith's face. I had been unable to tear my eyes away. I had peeked in on her a while ago and even in slumber, her face held a mixture of strength and vulnerability that stirred something primal within me.

What little she had shared before exhaustion claimed her again only deepened the mystery surrounding her. She spoke of loss, of fleeing from a past she couldn't face. But there was more, I was certain of it. The way she held herself, the flashes of steel in her eyes – this was no ordinary woman running from ordinary troubles.

My wolf paced restlessly within me, equally fascinated and confused by her presence. Her scent was... perplexing. There was an undercurrent of something wild, something that reminded me of pack, but it was muted, as if hidden beneath layers of humanity. It made no sense. Either she was wolf or she wasn't, yet Ailith seemed to exist in some impossible space between.

This protective instinct caught me off guard. I'd come to this cabin to escape the weight of responsibility, the constant need to care for others. Yet here I was, feeling drawn to this stranger in a way I couldn't explain.

As the night deepened, I felt my own exhaustion creeping in. I should move to my bedroom and get a good nights' sleep but the thought of leaving an entire room between us, even for a moment, felt wrong. So, I settled deeper into my chair facing her door and let myself drift off.

Untold hours later, a sudden noise jolted me awake. The fire had burned low, its once-roaring flames now reduced to softly glowing embers that cast long, flickering shadows across the cabin's weathered wooden walls. Watery, pre-dawn light filtered through the frost-covered windows, barely strong enough to illuminate the fat flakes that were falling swiftly. The latest blizzard had shown up full force while we slept.

I blinked, momentarily disoriented by the abrupt transition from sleep to wakefulness. My neck ached from the awkward position I'd maintained in the chair, a reminder of my vigil over Ailith. Trying to stretch the kinks from my neck and back, I shuffled toward the coffee maker to start the morning elixir, when a folded piece of paper with my name scrawled across propped up against the machine caught my eye.

My blood chilled as I read the hastily scrawled words—"Garrick, You cannot know how much your kindness and help have meant to me but I cannot stay and bring danger to your door. Thank you for everything. Someday I will repay you for the clothes I had to borrow. I'm sorry for lying to you but it has to be this way. I'll never forget you, Ailith."

The words hit me like a physical blow – Ailith was gone.

I stood quickly, ignoring the protest of stiff muscles, the adrenaline taking the place of the missed caffeine in my bloodstream. For several long moments, my mind refused to believe the words on the paper. I stood stock still, searching with all my senses. The cabin felt eerily quiet. Ailith's scent, that perplexing mixture of wolf and not-wolf, still hung in the air, but it was fading rapidly. A quick glance toward the front door showed my eyes that the pile of outdoor gear I kept near the door was disturbed, key pieces missing.

My heart raced as I pieced together what must have happened. Somehow, Ailith had managed to slip away while I slept, venturing out into the pre-dawn chill. The thought of her alone in the wilderness, filled me with a fear I hadn't experienced in years.

"Damn fool woman," I growled, striding to the door. I yanked it open, only to be met by a wall of swirling white. The wind was howling like a pack of hungry wolves. The blizzard not yet blown itself out.

I stepped onto the porch, squinting against the onslaught. There, barely visible beneath a fresh dusting of snow on the porch, was a single set of footprints leading down the steps and away from the cabin.

Fear and anger warred within me. What was she thinking, heading out into this? She could die out there, lost in the whiteout.

I called to my wolf, feeling the familiar surge of power as we merged. My senses sharpened, cutting through the chaos of the storm. I caught Ailith's scent, faint but unmistakable, and set off in pursuit.

The blizzard raged around me as I pushed forward. Snow stung my eyes and caked my fur, but I pressed on, driven by an urgency I didn't fully understand. This woman – this frustrating, enigmatic woman – had awakened something in me. The thought of losing her before I'd even begun to unravel her mysteries was unbearable.

I lost track of time as I searched, the storm making minutes feel like hours. Just as despair began to creep in, I caught a flash of color against the stark white landscape. There, huddled at the base of a massive oak, was a lump of bright yellow. My parka—Ailith.

Her lips were blue with cold. Her long lashes caked with snow and ice lying still against her pale cheeks. I shifted back to human form, gathering her into my arms. The increased cold against my skin in this form barely noticeable in my concentration on the small female held against me. The skin lying still over my heart was as cold as marble.

"Ailith," I called, shifting back into my human form, oblivious to the storm swirling around me. My voice sounded feral with worry. "Can you hear me?"

Her eyelids fluttered causing crystals to fall against my fingers as I stroked my thumb across her jaw. A faint moan escaped her lips. It wasn't much, but it was enough. I clutched her to my chest tightly and began the arduous trek back to the cabin through the ever deepening snow.

"Stay with me," I murmured, more to myself than to her. "Just hold on."

By the time we reached the cabin, Ailith was limp in my arms, her breathing shallow. I kicked the door shut behind us and hurried to lay her before the fire. My hands shook as I stripped off her wet clothes, replacing them with the warm, dry furs again.

The fire crackled softly as I struggled to warm Ailith's nearly frozen body, my hands rubbing under the blankets desperate to feel the blood warming her limbs. After several interminable moments, I realized my current methods weren't working fast enough. With a muttered curse, I made a decision born of desperation.

I stripped her down, pushing aside the inappropriate thoughts that tried to surface. This was about survival, nothing more. If she had been worried about her modesty, she shouldn't have done such a fool thing as leaving a nice warm cabin to run into the middle of a blizzard. I pulled Ailith's limp form against me, continuing to attempt to rub warmth into her limbs, wrapping us tightly in furs.

The shock of her icy skin against mine made me hiss. I could feel every curve, every line of her body pressed against me. Her breasts, soft yet firm, rested against my chest. The slender slope of her waist fit perfectly in the curve of my arm. I forced my mind away from these observations, focusing instead on the dangerously slow beat of her heart. My wolf whined and paced under my skin.

"Come on, Ailith," I murmured, rubbing her back vigorously. "Fight."

With a flick of my wrist, I called upon the ancient magic that flowed through my veins. The fire roared to life, flames leaping higher and burning with an intensity that no ordinary blaze could match. This was the gift of the Ice Wolves - the ability to command fire in a land of eternal winter.

It was this very power that had driven us to the Frostpeak Range generations ago. Other packs feared what they didn't understand, viewing our magic as an abomination. They had hunted us, tried to wipe us out, forcing my ancestors to flee to these unforgiving mountains. Here, isolated and protected by the harsh landscape, we had built a new life, our unusual gifts becoming the key to our survival.

As the enchanted warmth filled the cabin, I focused again on Ailith. Gradually, achingly slowly, warmth began to return to her limbs. Her breathing deepened, becoming more regular. I let out a shaky breath, relief washing over me. The color was returning to her cheeks, a soft pink replacing the alarming blue tinge of before.

I found myself marveling at how this stranger had so quickly become important to me. My pack's magic, a closely guarded secret, had been used without hesitation to save her life. The implications of that instinctive action were not lost on me, adding yet another layer to the mystery this woman who seemed so set on her own destruction.

"Come on, Ailith," I urged again, rubbing her arms to stimulate circulation. "Fight. You can do this."

As I worked to warm her, I found myself whispering a prayer to the Moon Goddess. It had been years since I'd called on Her, my faith shaken by the burdens of leadership. But now, faced with the possibility of losing this stranger, I found myself reaching for that forgotten connection.

"Please," I whispered, "don't take her. Not when I've only just found her."

The words surprised me, but I knew they were true. In the short time since Ailith had stumbled into my life, she had awakened something I thought long dead. Curiosity, yes, but also a fierce protectiveness I hadn't felt since my siblings were small cubs.

As the immediate danger passed, the reality of our position became impossible to ignore. The soft swell of her hips pressed against mine, her legs tangled with my own. The scent of her hair, a mixture of pine and something uniquely Ailith, filled my nostrils.

My body responded, a primal reaction I couldn't fully suppress. Shame and desire warred within me. This wasn't the time or place for such thoughts. Ailith was vulnerable, unconscious. I was meant to be her protector, not...

I shifted slightly, trying to put some distance between my swelling cock and her naked curves without sacrificing the warmth she desperately needed. Ailith stirred, a soft moan escaping her lips.

"Kael," she murmured, the name barely audible.

I froze, confusion and an unexpected pang of jealousy hitting me. Kael? She had said she had no family, no one to return to. Who was this Kael she kept calling to in her sleep? A lover? A husband she was running from? Or perhaps someone she had lost, driving her to flee into the wilderness?

The questions swirled in my mind, adding new layers to the mystery surrounding Ailith. Whatever – whoever – she was running from, it was clear the wounds ran deep.

After what felt like hours, her breathing evened out once more and her heart became a steady thump-bump under my hand. I found myself studying her face, searching for clues in the curve of her cheek, the furrow of her brow, the slope of her straight nose.

The night again deepened around us, the blizzard's howl a constant reminder of how close I'd come to losing her. My wolf paced restlessly within me, agitated by Ailith's lingering scent of not-quite-wolf and the name she'd whispered in her fevered state.

As exhaustion began to claim me, I allowed myself to acknowledge the truth I'd been avoiding. Ailith had awakened something in me – curiosity, protectiveness, and a hunger for connection I'd thought long buried. But her past, her very nature, remained an enigma.

I couldn't shake the feeling that by rescuing Ailith, I'd set something in motion that would change everything. The isolation I'd sought in coming to this cabin was already crumbling. Yet I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

Tomorrow would bring new challenges. Ailith would have questions, as did I. The path ahead was far from clear. But for now, in the quiet of the storm-wrapped night, I allowed myself to simply exist in this moment. To feel the gradual warming of Ailith's body against mine, to listen to the steady rhythm of her breathing.

Whatever secrets Ailith held, whatever demons drove her, I was now irrevocably part of her story. And she, whether she knew it or not, had become part of mine.

I was an Alpha, used to strength and certainty. Yet this woman made me question everything. The tenderness I felt as I brushed a strand of hair from her forehead was foreign, almost frightening in its intensity.

Without loosening my grip around the now warmed woman in my arms, I allowed my eyelids to shutter closed—exhaustion finally overcoming me. A soft sigh escaping from her pinked lips tickled my skin before I allowed myself to drift off into the arms of Morpheus once again.