Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 130955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Air escaped his lungs as his gaze trailed toward the kitchen and the pantry, where the back door was. With a curse on his lips, Yev ran there and found the other entryway into the lodge unlocked. Worse yet, huge footprints led away from the door, clearly made by his own shoes yet carrying Radek’s smell.
The poor idiot would freeze out there on his own. And what if he shifted back and was spotted by some trigger-happy excuse for a hunter?
Yev glared at the damn slippers, wondering if he shouldn’t put on clothes before venturing out, but Burian hadn’t been here five minutes. Radek couldn’t have gone far.
“Can’t fucking believe this,” Yev said, kicking off the slippers and dashing forward. He regretted his decision the moment his bare foot sank into snow, but there was no point in changing his mind. He sped up, convincing himself he wouldn’t feel the discomfort anymore once his skin became numb.
The tracks were easy to follow, and sunshine helped him spot the little menace between the trees. Radek was indeed wearing Yev’s hat and jacket, which reached all the way to Radek’s knees, but Yev could still spot his own sweatpants too. Radek trudged through the snowy bushes, like a child wearing his dad’s clothes as it waded through the sea. He was using the shortcut that would have gotten him to the road faster if it wasn’t for the knee-high piles of white fluff.
“Stop! Stop!” Yev shouted, his jaws already dancing from the cold.
Radek turned to him and froze, a speck of color in the khaki jacket on the black and white background of the forest. “I said I’m sorry! I’ll work everything out and bring your clothes back.”
“No! You don’t get to walk out on me and leave an apology with a spelling mistake! You’re not going anywhere before we talk,” Yev roared, blowing out clouds of vapor while he continued forward on feet that had lost their purpose and had become endless throbbing.
He could spot Radek’s frown when he got closer. “Why are you in pajamas? Ever heard of hypothermia? And there’s nothing to talk about. You said it yourself that you don’t know what else to say to me.” He pushed some of that luscious ginger hair off his face, or at least tried to because he must have realized his sleeve drooped limply where his hand used to be and used the other arm.
Yev roared and dragged his hands down his face. “That’s not how I meant it! And now come home. You can shift again any moment, and we need… precautions.”
“What precautions? I’m fucked. I can’t play fox anymore. This is my real life, and I have to keep it secret, and no one will ever understand what I’m going through. I hate this!” Clouds of steam left Radek’s mouth with every word he spoke, but he wasn’t running from Yev, just stood there shivering like a fawn that lost its herd.
“I know,” Yev said, steadying himself in front of Radek even though all he wanted was to return to the lodge—preferably walking on his hands this time to give his poor feet some rest.
Radek pushed at his chest without much force. “No you don’t! I’m some mythical creature? What’s up with that? My parents aren’t my parents? What’s it even supposed to mean that I’m half fox? And take the jacket for fuck’s sake,” he said, starting to take it off. It wasn’t zipped up either, probably because he’d only had one hand to use.
Yev raised his hand in protest, inhaling the cold air as he locked eyes with the bright amber gaze. He did understand, and out of all the outsiders he’d met before, Radek would be the one man who could understand him too.
He pushed down his pyjama pants.
Radek stopped struggling with the jacket and stared. “Um. Really? Sex? Right now?”
Yev scowled as he kicked off the fabric, standing completely naked while the sunlight offered the illusion of warmth. “Just… watch, okay? Don’t take your eyes off me.”
Radek blinked, swallowed, but said no more, staring at Yev, whose skin shivered with a chill while his insides remained boiling hot.
He’d never done what he was about to in front of an outsider, but he and Radek had more in common than the boy realized, and it would be much easier to show him than say it with words.
Yev closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the scents of the snowy forest run in his blood to awaken what hid within. It no longer hurt when his joints shifted, and the familiar tingle of hair pushing through skin was pure relief in this cold.
He looked at Radek again once he was on his fours, but the boy stood much taller now, so Yev needed to raise his muzzle to meet the wide-eyed gaze.