Love Like Winter

It had been just over a day, and Aurora could tell by the tense look on Aiden’s face that they were pushing it. He had began to gather their things together; picking up the blood-stained knife that he’d used to carve the rabbits and the water bottle she’d left lying beside the fire. With a sigh he knelt down and dug his fingers into the dirt, allowing the stark coldness to caress his skin slightly before pulling the soil up from the ground and tossing it over the fire. The fire dulled, the flames flattened by the dirt, and when he reached down and threw on another handful it withered away completely, leaving behind marred logs and sprinkles of ash.

Aurora turned around abruptly from her seat on the ground when she no longer felt the warm comfort of the fire’s flames against her back, her hands whipping out to tug Aiden’s jacket further across her chest. “Why did you put the fire out?” she questioned warily, trying to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice.

Aiden grunted, and Aurora felt like rolling her eyes at the animalistic sound. Reaching down, he grabbed a log with his hand, flinching only slightly from the burn he received before throwing it out towards the woods. “We can’t give them any clues about where we’re going,” he said simply, tossing another log to the side without giving her a glance.

Aurora frowned, trying to force herself to overlook just how far he’d managed to throw the logs, reminding herself stiffly that he wasn’t the same as her. Plus there was the fact that his shirt had ridden up at the sleeves and she could see the bulging curves of his biceps, and that was definitely not something she could afford to be thinking about.

Her cheeks feeling increasingly heated, she cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. “How will Lucas find us then?” she asked finally.

Aiden looked slightly peeved as he glanced over to her, wiping away the ash on his fingers against his shorts. “Luke is a hunter,” he said gruffly, reaching down and threading the straps of his backpack through his fingers. “And a damn sight better than those other wolves. He’ll find us.”

She wanted to ask if he was sure, because her chest was thick with worry for Lucas, but the rough look on Aiden’s face said that he was done talking. Instead she pushed herself up, batting away the worry and anxiety bubbling in her stomach and walking over to stand beside him. She went to take off his jacket but he placed his hand on top of hers, his skin still slightly warm from the fire. Startled, she glanced up at him to find that he was avoiding her eyes, instead glaring steadily out at the bush. “Keep it on,” he said lowly, his eyes finally flickering slightly to look down at her. They then lowered to look at their hands, his hand lingering slightly before he pulled it away and stepped backwards. “We need to keep going.”

Still slightly started, Aurora wordlessly nodded her head and allowed her hand to drop back to her side.

After a few moments of silence Aiden handed her the backpack before lowering himself onto his knees against the ground, his back arched slightly and his hands held outwards. Aurora looked at him in alarm, the backpack still hanging lazily from her hand as her eyes began to widen at his position. Aiden grunted again, glancing up at her with heavy eyes. “Get on,” he said gruffly.

She looked down at him, slightly alarmed. “What?”

He tilted his head to look at her fully then, his composure relaxing slightly as his lips curled into a wolfish smile, dark eyes twinkling at her playfully. “Get on my back, Princess,” he repeated lowly, his grin only widening when she glared at him.

Letting out an irritated sigh, she swung the backpack over her shoulder and walked to stand behind him, glaring at his back as she placed her hands on his shoulders. “Humans aren’t completely useless, you know,” she grumbled, placing her legs over his back and gripping around his neck with reluctant hands. “We have as many legs as you do.”

Aiden barked out a laugh, hoisting himself upwards and gripping her thighs much more tightly than he needed to. He ran his fingers down her legs, tauntingly pressing against her calves before dragging his hands up to cup just below her bottom. “I can most certainly see that.”

Mortified, she reached out to smack him across the head when he took off in a sudden sprint, and she found herself letting out a startled cry and gripping his neck more tightly. Settling herself against his back, she buried her head in the crook of his neck, the wind whipping through her hair and her body jerking with his movements. “Ass,” she settled for saying, grumbling it against his neck and ignoring the way his chest rumbled with laughter.

They had only been running for a few minutes when Aiden came to an abrupt stop, his back stiffening at such a speed that she found herself gripping onto him more tightly. Her breathing quickening, she went to whisper his name in alarm when she felt him tightening his grip on her legs as he began to turn around, his head tilted slightly and his eyes keen, face tense with worry.

“Aiden,” she whispered, her voice coming out in a croak as she pulled her face away from his neck. “Aiden, what…”

A stick cracked, and she looked upwards.

A wolf was standing in the clearing.