Will rubbed his hands together. Even though we were inside, I could still see each puff of his breath. The Dozing Dragon was dead cold, lifeless without its owner. 

I’d been careless, not stoking the flames first thing. As a dragon shifter, I naturally ran a bit hotter than humans. I hadn’t expected anyone else to show up. Certainly not this delicious omega. 

“Let me get a fire started,” I told him. “You’re shivering.” My voice dropped as I said that. Couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to take him into my arms. To warm him. To claim him.

Despite every resistance, the magical energy of Vale Valley flowed around me and through me. I was more than just a human. I was more than a business-minded robot. I was a shifter, and my primal nature was starting to come out.

To tell you the truth? That scared me.

I busied myself with the fireplace to take my mind off the omega in my living room. It had been burning as long as I could remember, sustained by my mother’s magical dragonfire. Now it was dead, and so was she. I bit my lip, wondering if I could call up enough fire to light it again. 

I tried. I reached down within me, to that part of my soul I’d so long neglected. Got nothing but sparks on my tongue and a smoky taste on my breath. Figures. 

“Something wrong?” Will asked me. He stood by the Christmas tree, gazing at the lavish decorations. It seemed almost out of place in this cold, bare room. A relic of a bygone time where the hearth flickered with life and a hot meal was always around the corner.

I cleared my throat. “Out of firewood,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Gotta go gather some.” 

Will peeled back one of the curtains, eyes wide. “You can’t really be thinking about going out there right now, snow’s blowing everywhere!” 

I looked. He was right. A cold wind howled through the skeletal trees, their branches bowing. We’d been warned about this blizzard, but I thought it wasn’t supposed to come in for another day. Guess I was wrong.

In the last waning rays of daylight, a white fog blustered across the landscape, obscuring all in its path. The sunset painted the small, sleepy valley in rich hues of amber and gold. Each ray of light was a glistening diamond on ice. 

Was it cold? Yes. But I was struck with something else as I watched the gale of Mother Nature rush around us. It was beautiful. It was powerful. And something about that called to me in the deepest part of my soul. I had to go.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured Will and turned for the door. 

“But you’re not even wearing a coat!” He cried, rushing forward to grab my hand. His skin was cold as ice, sending prickles of not just cold but surprise and desire racing up my arm and straight to my dragon. He stirred and paced, a warm roar bubbling through me. 

My eyes flashed gold and the world sharpened around me. Each speck of dust, each reflection of light off the baubles and ornaments on the tree. Each sliver of ash in the deadened fireplace. I turned to Will and placed my hands on his shoulders. I caught those beautiful eyes and held them there, suspended for the briefest moment in time.

“Sebastian?” Will asked, his voice weak. “The fire?” He nodded to the still chilly room and the empty hearth. 

“Oh.” I drew back like I’d been shocked. I cleared my throat and turned my face away so he couldn’t see the fiery blush heating my cheeks. The firewood. The mission. Right. 

I shook my head and squeezed my eyes tight. I’d almost lost control there. Too close for comfort. I should send Will on his way home. This was no place for a lone omega. And yet...

“Stay here,” I rumbled. “I’m coming back for you.”

Still shocked at the intensity of my own words, I opened the door and stepped out into the blizzard. 

The icy gale pushed against me and I squinted my eyes, trying to see through the whiteout. No use. Will was right, it was a mess out here. But if I couldn’t start a fire, then what good was I?

Some dragon I’d turned out to be. 

I froze, realizing I’d heard that in my mother’s voice. Great. I was even disappointing her in death. I clenched my fists, set my jaw, and moved forward. 

Dragons may run a little hotter than humans, but that isn’t to say that we don’t get cold. By the time I’d found enough dry wood for the fireplace, I was wet, sore, and frozen to the bone. Not even my considerable insulation could make up for the chill that wormed its way through me.

Maybe, the voice in my head chided, if you hadn’t been trying to be all alpha and come out here without a coat, you wouldn’t be in this predicament right now. 

Ugh. 

I hefted the wood under one arm and started stomping back toward the house. When I drew closer I noticed lights on from within, and a figure moving around from behind the curtains. 

He’d stayed.

Something about that touched me, just then. What reason did he have to stay in this cold old house waiting for me? It was blustery and cold, sure, but if he’d really wanted to? He could have left, no problem. Vale Valley Inn and Restaurant would have a roaring fire this time of night, as would just about every other establishment in the Valley. 

So the question remained...why?

The voice within me, the voice of my dragon, thought he had an answer to that. 

Because he’s yours. 

The door banged against the hinges the moment I touched it. Wind and dead leaves and snow blew into the house in a wet, stormy torrent. I threw myself inside and shoved the door closed, having to put all my weight behind it. 

The door latched, and the house fell silent again.

That could have gone better. Now I had a whole pile of slush and leaves to clean up as well. I kicked off my boots and shook the snow out of my hair. I was still freezing, but at least I was out of the wind. I’d warm up a lot quicker than Will would, which made starting the fire all the more important. 

I’d gone scavenging just in time. The sun set low on the horizon now, a final pale strip leaking over into our world. In just another few moments, night would arrive once more. Though the sky was full of clouds and blowing snow, I could still see a razor-thin sliver of the moon watching over us.

And that soothed the shifter inside me.

Even though I tried my best to find dry wood, the fact was, nothing was totally dry out there right now. I hoped they would still light.

That, or that I’d have to figure out how to use my dragonfire. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket but I ignored it. My hands were too full. 

I walked by the large kitchen with my arms full of firewood and caught the smell of something sweet. It brought back memories instantly—cups of hot cocoa on a cold night. Whipped cream. Sweaters and blankets and steaming mugs. 

I poked my head into the kitchen. Will snapped his head up to greet me, a smile on his face. He stood over the stove, stirring a pot of something that looked suspiciously like my mom’s special cocoa recipe. 

“Thought you could use a warm drink,” Will offered. He ladled the warm liquid into a mug and held it out toward me. “Go get the fire started, I’m almost done.”

I stood there for a few moments, staring at him. Not only had he not left, but he’d taken it upon himself to start up the stove and make cocoa. 

Damn, I wasn’t trying to fall in love, but this omega sure was making it easy. My mouth opened and closed a couple of times before I found the words. “You didn’t have to...”

Will just waved me away and turned back to the stove. “Go on, don’t get dirt in the cocoa! I’ll be right there.”

I walked out of the kitchen in a daze, still enjoying the warm scent of chocolate in the air and the fresh pine boughs over the hearth. The wood didn’t take long to pile up and after a few false starts, the wood was hissing, sizzling, and popping. Finally, the last of the moisture burned away and flames tickled at the logs, flickering up toward the chimney. I’d just taken a step back to admire my handiwork when Will entered the room with two mugs on a tray.

Will set the tray on the table and pulled up a chair next to the fireplace. I joined him and couldn’t help watching his quick, efficient movements. He’d always kind of reminded me of a small animal, even before I left town. Like a rabbit, maybe. Small, skittish, ready to run off at a moment’s notice. But he wasn’t running. Why was that?

“Oh hey!” Will called, brightening. “You’ve got wood!”

“I’ve—wha—” I dropped my hands to groin level, heart racing. I spun on my heel and just about ran out of the kitchen. 

Then Will laughed. And what a laugh it was. Didn’t matter that I was totally mortified and my dragon was doing somersaults. I could listen to the music of his voice forever. 

“Oh my god!” Will cried between choking laughs. “The firewood! For the hearth! What did you think I was talking about?” His eyes danced with amusement and his body shook with each laugh. 

Oh. OH. I started laughing too, and once I started I couldn’t stop. It was ridiculous. Everything about this situation was ridiculous. I was back in Vale Valley, there was a strange omega in my mom’s kitchen, and I “had wood”...in more ways than one.

I’d been through so much stress. So much grief. I hadn’t even had a chance to process it all properly. So what could I do? I laughed. I let it all go, and I laughed.

I stared into the mug for a few moments, letting the steam hit my face and the warmth of the mug unfreeze my hands. The fire had picked up now, and was roaring away merrily in the hearth. The flames threw long shadows through the room and the warm, cozy odor of burning wood. It wasn’t able to change colors like my mom’s fire, but it was good enough for now.

“Oh, one more thing.” Will fished into his pockets. “A little sweet treat.”

He handed me a candy cane. 

There were those memories again. The smells, sounds, tastes of the holidays in Vale Valley. My mom’s smile. Her laugh. I hadn’t even been here a day, and already this place was working its magic on me. The cold walls of ice I’d built around my heart were starting to melt, little by little. And I didn’t know what I was gonna do when they were gone.

I met Will’s eyes and reached forward to take the peppermint from him. Our fingers brushed for the briefest moment, and I jerked my hand away as a spark passed between us. Will’s eyes lit up with the same shock. He wiped his hand on his pants, looking away.

“Must be static,” he mumbled, suddenly very interested in his cocoa. 

Right. Static.

Mate! My dragon screeched inside me. Mine! Mine!

I closed my eyes, wanting to remember this scent forever. The crackling of the hearth. The smell of the hot steamy cocoa. The fresh scent of pine. And then there was something else, hidden beneath it all. The delicious, spicy scent of cinnamon. 

I opened my eyes, looked around. It was coming from him. From Will. If cinnamon wasn’t my favorite flavor before, well...it was now. I buried my face in my mug and took a few sips, trying to squelch the flood of sensations rushing over me. Surely I wasn’t the only one that was feeling this. I couldn’t be. 

But I stayed the course. Sipped my cocoa. And watched as the fireplace danced before us.