Talia never thought silence could feel this heavy.
She sat on the ridiculously soft fur throw draped over Luka's oversized leather couch, the warmth from the crackling lodge fireplace brushing her skin in little waves. She should've felt safe here. Anyone would… this place looked like Christmas married luxury: stone walls, golden lights, expensive rugs, timeless wood… a billionaire's winter fantasy.
But the soft glow didn't erase the memory of what she'd seen in the snow.
Luka tearing through vampires like they were made of shadows.
Fangs. Claws. Power that wasn't acting.
Not role-play.
Not fantasy.
Reality.
He knelt on the hearth, adding another log. The flames reflected in his eyes… those same sharp, molten-amber eyes that had changed in the snow. Eyes that weren't fully human.
"Your breathing's too fast, little bunny," Luka murmured without turning. "You're scared of me."
His voice was soft, teasing…dangerously gentle.
Her skin prickled.
"I'm… not scared," she lied, clutching the throw tighter around her.
He finally looked at her.
That smirks…low, knowing.
"Sweetheart, you're trembling."
Her cheeks burned. She wasn't trembling from fear alone. His shirt still clung to his body, damp from melted snow, outlining muscles she had touched accidentally in the chaos. His hair was wet. His jaw rough with stubble. The man looked like sin carved out of winter.
And her heart was behaving stupidly.
Luka rose and walked toward her with that smooth predator gait- like he didn't walk, he stalked. He stopped in front of her and lifted her chin with a single finger, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"It wasn't supposed to happen tonight," he said softly. "You weren't supposed to see any of it."
"You mean…the vampires?" she whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"And the… wolf thing?"
Her voice cracked on the word.
A slow exhale left him.
"That too."
She swallowed. "So you're admitting it? You're really… what? A werewolf?"
"Alpha," he corrected, without apology, without doubt. "Of the Northern Moonline. And before you panic again" he held her chin a little higher when she tried to look away, "no, I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, I would have done it the moment those leeches attacked."
His thumb brushed her cheekbone.
Gentle.
Too gentle for someone who had slaughtered monsters minutes ago.
"That's not comforting," she breathed.
"It should be."
He gave her a slow smile…feral, gorgeous.
"Because I didn't choose to save them. I chose to save you."
Her heart jolted.
The fire crackled behind him, throwing shadows along his shoulders as he finally let go of her chin and took a step back.
"Alright," Luka said, rolling his neck like he was preparing for a boardroom meeting instead of a supernatural confession. "You want the truth? I'll give it to you. But you're not running. You listen. Then you breathe. Then you ask questions."
"This sounds like a TED Talk," Talia muttered.
His lips twitched. "Think of it more like a… presentation." He pointed to the fireplace. "Your movie screen."
She blinked. "My what?"
He snapped his fingers once.
And suddenly the flames shifted.
The fire stretched upward, forming shapes. Silhouettes. Whole scenes dancing in flame and shadow.
Talia gasped.
Luka walked behind the couch and leaned against it, arms crossed, voice low and smooth behind her ear.
"Let me show you."
The fire's orange glow molded into an ancient snowy forest. A hulking wolf bigger than any normal animal stood in the center.
"Werewolves," Luka began, "aren't what humans think. We're not cursed. Not bitten. Not half-beasts that turn under the moon. We were born of it. Our kind has ruled the wild for thousands of years."
The fiery wolf lifted its head, howling silently. Talia watched, hypnotized.
"But," Luka's voice deepened, "we weren't alone."
The scene changed. Dark, wing-like shadows crawled across the trees, taking shape into slender figures with glowing red eyes.
Vampires.
"They crawled out of the old kingdoms," Luka said. "Fed on human blood. Manipulated rulers. Built empires with lies and fear."
The flames showed silver castles dripping in crimson banners.
"And when we ,wolves stepped in to protect the humans…"
The fire exploded into a war scene: claws against fangs, snow stained red.
"A thousand years of war."
Talia swallowed hard.
In the fire's reflection, Luka watched her carefully, measuring her reactions, studying every breath she took.
"And the humans never knew?" she whispered.
"Your world isn't built to see ours."
He leaned closer, breath warm against her neck.
"But you saw it tonight."
The fire shifted to the earlier scene: Luka-massive, half-shifted… tearing vampires apart. Blood spraying onto snow.
Her stomach twisted.
Because watching it again, even in fire-form… she saw something she missed before:
Luka had stood between her and the attack the entire time.
Always shielding her.
Always placing his body in front of hers.
"You're dangerous," she whispered.
His lips brushed the shell of her ear.
"So are you."
She froze.
"What?"
He slid around the couch, lowering himself until his face was level with hers. Flames flickered behind him like a halo of heat and danger.
"Talia Hart," he murmured, tapping her nose lightly, "is no ordinary human. You're prey-kind."
"Prey-kind sounds insulting."
"It's a compliment," Luka chuckled. "It means your aura is… tempting. Rare. Not food. More like" his gaze dropped to her lips "a delicacy."
Her breath hitched.
"That's worse."
"Not for me."
He leaned back, giving her space… but his eyes never left hers.
"Your scent pulled me across that park before I even saw your face."
"My scent?"
She pressed a hand to her chest.
"Are you saying I smell like a snack?"
"Like the last meal before winter." Luka's grin sharpened. "Which is why they were hunting you."
Her heart hammered.
"The vampires?" she whispered. "They were after me?"
"Yes," he said simply. "And they will try again."
Her lungs tightened, fear spiking… but Luka knelt in front of her in one smooth motion, placing his hands gently on her knees.
"Look at me, little bunny."
She didn't want to.
She couldn't not.
His voice softened to something dangerous and intimate.
"As long as you're with me, you're safe. I don't let anyone take what's mine."
"H-hey," she stammered, "I'm not your"
He leaned in, eyes glowing faintly gold.
"But you are under my protection. That alone makes you mine."
Heat crawled up her throat.
This shouldn't sound attractive.
This shouldn't make her pulse throb.
But it did.
"So what now?" she asked, barely managing breath. "You keep me here forever? Like some… bunny hostage?"
Luka laughed… low, deep, unfairly sexy.
"Sweetheart, if I wanted to keep you forever, you wouldn't even notice I'd done it."
Her thighs squeezed together involuntarily.
He noticed.
His gaze dropped…slowly, deliberately.
"Careful," he murmured. "Bunnies shouldn't show wolves where they're soft."
Talia yanked the blanket over her lap.
Luka's smirk grew.
Before she could argue, the fire erupted again…this time showing a massive, luxurious lodge surrounded by storms.
"This place," Luka said, rising to full height, "is protected by Moonline wards. Vampires can't cross the boundaries unless invited. You're safe here until I deal with them."
"Deal with them… how?" she asked cautiously.
"With teeth," he said simply.
She glared. "You're not funny."
He walked toward the kitchen area…open concept, marble counters, black cabinets, everything too sleek for a mountain lodge pulling off his damp shirt and tossing it aside.
Talia forgot how to inhale.
Back muscles like sculpture.
A V-line she wanted to unsee but could not.
Broad shoulders, warm skin, hints of scars…
He grabbed two glasses, poured warm spiced cider, and returned, offering one to her.
"You're really rich, aren't you?" she blurted.
He sipped his cider.
"I have… assets."
"Like what?"
He shrugged. "Businesses. Property. Investments. Territory."
"Territory," she repeated. "Of course."
Luka sat beside her… too close.
The couch dipped.
Her pulse betrayed her again.
"So," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "you fight a centuries-old war, shift into a giant wolf, and run a company on the side?"
He tilted his head.
"You make it sound exhausting."
"Isn't it?"
"No."
His eyes dragged down her face slowly.
"Not when I have a bunny distracting me."
Her cheeks burned again.
"Stop calling me a bunny."
"Then stop acting like one."
She sputtered. "I'm not"
"You're soft," Luka murmured, touching the end of a loose curl near her cheek. "Warm. Skittish." His finger trailed down to the base of her throat. "And every time you look at me like that… I want to bite."
Her knees went weak.
"And that," she whispered, "is supposed to make me calm?"
"No."
His gaze locked on hers, full Alpha dominance.
"It's supposed to make you trust that I'll bite anyone who comes near you first."
She swallowed hard.
"But you're safe here," Luka continued softly, brushing a finger under her jaw. "You'll stay in the lodge tonight. And tomorrow, I'll show you how to survive in my world."
"Your world," she repeated.
"Mm."
His eyes glowed faintly.
"A world where Christmas is snowy, where wolves guard their homes fiercely… and where little bunnies don't walk outside alone."
She huffed. "You're insufferable."
He leaned in, lips near her ear again.
"And you, little prey," he whispered, "are irresistible."
Her heartbeat tripped.
The fire dimmed, returning to normal flames.
The movie was over.
But Luka wasn't done.
He stood, offering her his hand.
"You're exhausted," he said. "Come. I'll show you your room."
"Not yours?"
His eyes darkened for a second too long.
"Talia," he said in a low growl that vibrated through her bones, "if you sleep in my bed tonight, I will not behave like a gentleman."
Her legs nearly buckled.
He smirked knowingly.
"Your room, bunny."
And she followed him… because running from Luka felt impossible now.
Because the wolf had already chosen her.
And she wasn't sure if she wanted to escape.