Alexander grasped his hand and began guiding him toward the entrance. They stepped out into the cold night. Below them, the towering silhouette of the castle rose from the mountainside, immediately drawing Alexander’s eyes. The sight still managed to take his breath away.
Alexander’s breath curled in white clouds in front of him as they started down the path.
After a moment, he glanced back at Blade.
“Do you want to hear some good news?” he asked.
“Yes,” Blade said, carefully stepping over a fallen log half-buried beneath the snow.
The narrow path was almost impossible to walk on this time of year. Thick snow had swallowed the trail, and frost clung to the branches overhead, turning the forest into a glittering white paradise.
They could have simply appeared inside the castle in the blink of an eye.
But Alexander had chosen to walk.
He needed the air.
The cold mountain wind filled his lungs as they moved down the slope, carrying with it the familiar scent of pine trees and the faint sweetness of stubborn wildflowers that somehow managed to bloom even in the brutal cold.
God… he had missed this place.
“I found her,” he said after a moment.
“You did?” he gasped, excitement lighting up his face. His green eyes glowed brightly in the darkness.
“Yes.”
Blade slowed to a stop, suddenly looking Alexander up and down. His nose wrinkled. “Dressed like that?” he asked, his lips pulling in disgust.
Alexander glanced down at himself and burst into laughter. “Yes,” he admitted.
Blade groaned dramatically, dragging a hand down his face. “You should have come back and changed your clothes!” he said, sounding personally offended. “You need to make a good impression. Just because she’s your bride doesn’t mean she’s going to just accept you. You actually have to try.”
Alexander chuckled softly.
“I will,” he said. “I just… couldn’t wait to meet her.”
Blade looked at him curiously.
“I’ve been dreaming about her while I was asleep,” Alexander said. “I couldn’t leave without seeing her.”
There had been another reason too. Hunger.
A deep, gnawing hunger that had clawed at his insides the moment he woke up. But he would never tell Blade that. Some things were better left buried. As far as he was concerned, it was already forgotten.
He would never feed from Boaz again. Ever.
“Tell me about her,” Blade said eagerly, practically bouncing beside him as they continued down the snowy path. His excitement was contagious. “Is she beautiful?”
“She’s very beautiful, lively and…” Alexander began, then trailed off as he searched for something more to say. But nothing came. All he had were fragments of the dreams he’d had of her while he slept, cocooned in Boaz’s scent.
Alexander frowned slightly, disturbed by the thought.
He had spoken to Lyla. Touched her hand. Looked into her eyes. She had even been kind to him—wary, but still polite. And yet nothing from that interaction had stayed with him. Because the entire time he’d been standing there, he’d been trying not to notice the werewolf across the clearing. Trying not to breathe in his scent.
“You spoke to her?” Blade asked eagerly, pulling Alexander from his thoughts. “I want to meet her.”
“Not yet,” Alexander said quickly. “I’ve only just met her. I’m still trying to win her over.”