Normally a fast reader, Jaden made sure to take his time and make the book last. Even so, it seemed like he was done all too soon. He closed the book and looked nervously at his companion. The alpha hadn’t interrupted him at all while they read, but he had shifted his weight and changed positions several times.

As Jaden watched him read, Cale absently reached up a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. He stretched it a couple of times, adjusted his legs, and then turned the page. Jaden found himself studying the man intently. Before he could force his gaze away, Cale glanced up. Their eyes locked and a chill went through both of them.

This is going to be a long night, thought Jaden as his entire body tensed at the eye contact. Cale’s blue-gray eyes seemed to bore into his.

“This is good,” Cale offered, lifting the book a bit.

“Thanks.”

Jaden looked around the shack and noticed a faint burning scent. “Oh crap.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Jaden hurried across the room to where, sure enough, his mulling spices were congealed and burning to the bottom of the pot. The water had boiled out. He scraped them out of the pot, aware that Cale was watching him, and then added fresh ones with plenty of water. He watched for a moment after settling the pot back on the stove and it occurred to him that several hours must have gone by. The pot had been nearly full of water before.

Satisfied his spices were cooking again, Jaden returned to the couch and picked up his discarded book. He wondered if grabbing the sequel would be awkward. Then again, he doubted the situation could get any more awkward than it already was. He shot another nervous look at the alpha to gauge his reaction, but Cale seemed content to go back to reading as well.

Movement caught Jaden’s eye as he opened the book and he turned his attention back to Cale as the man rubbed the back of his neck. The discomfort on his true mate’s face made Jaden’s insides twist. Of course sitting on the cot wasn’t comfortable.

“You can sit here, if you want,” Jaden offered before he could stop himself.

Cale looked up at him in surprise.

“I mean, the cot isn’t the most comfortable…”

The alpha considered it, then stood and crossed the short distance between the cot and the couch. He gave Jaden a small, almost nervous smile of thanks and sat down. Even though he was as far from Jaden as possible, the couch was so small that the omega immediately regretted his offer. He waited until Cale’s attention was back in the book before sliding as far away as possible. He only gained another inch or so before pressing himself firmly against the arm of the couch.

They read in silence once more, but this time Jaden found himself basking in Cale’s scent every time he inhaled. He wasn’t sure how long he tried to ignore it before he finally managed to focus on the book.

Jaden was probably halfway through when his stomach started rumbling. Wishing for a way to gauge the time, he looked at the snow-coated window. It was black with snow. Was the snow that deep or had the sun set?

“I wonder what time it is,” Cale said softly.

“Do you think the storm has stopped?”

“One way to find out.”

Cale set down his book and headed for the door. The door slammed open in a rush of snow and wind. Cale scrambled to close it again.

“Phew!” he gasped, stepping back and brushing the snow off. “I think it’s worse.”

Jaden sighed. There went any hope of leaving anytime soon. “Could you tell how late it is?”

“The sky looked pretty dark,” said Cale. “Granted, I couldn’t see much, but I think we’ve managed to read past sunset.”

“No wonder I’m hungry.” Jaden headed for the little kitchenette. “What do you want for dinner?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cursed inwardly. He was not making dinner for the alpha.

“I’m not picky,” Cale said. “Hell, I’d eat pancakes again if we have to.”

“Not a lot of options, but you can make whatever you like,” Jaden said. He hoped the message was clear without being too rude. He grabbed a can of chunky soup and dumped it into a pot without another word. As he turned on the stove he noticed his mulling spices were nearly burned down again. He added some more water and gave them a stir.

If Cale was insulted or surprised, he didn’t show it. Jaden focused on stirring his soup on the stove, watching the alpha out of the corner of his eye. Cale browsed the cupboards and eventually pulled out his own soup.

Soon, Jaden’s soup was steaming nicely. More importantly, so were the mulling spices.

“Could you get bowls?” he asked. The moment the open cupboard door hid him from view, Jaden leaned over the mulling spices and inhaled deeply. He was so close the steam nearly burned the inside of his nose, but that had been the idea. With any luck it would diminish the affect the alpha’s scent was having on him. “Thanks,” he said, accepting a bowl. He poured his soup into it and retreated. “Stove is all yours.”

Cale nodded in thanks and dumped in his own soup can without complaint. Jaden returned to the couch and gave his soup some time to cool. He watched the alpha cross the room to retrieve a tray table and set it up on his side of the couch. Jaden had been hoping that Cale would eat elsewhere, not that there was anywhere else to sit. Once Cale’s soup was cooked he joined Jaden on the couch and they ate in silence.

Jaden reached the bottom of his bowl and started to pick it up, intending to drink the remaining broth.

The cabin plunged into darkness.

“Whoa!”

“Hey!”

They had strong night vision, even in human form, but it wasn’t nearly powerful enough to penetrate the totally pitch black room.

Jaden carefully set his bowl down and eased to his feet. “There are candles, hang on,” he said. The omega felt his way across the room, hands stretched blindly in front of him. At last, he bumped into the cupboards. He felt around until he found the one he remembered seeing the candles in. Sure enough, after a bit of fumbling, his fingers found a pile of candles. He grabbed what felt like a tea light and then felt around for the lighter.

He was prepared for the light, but even still the tiny flame made him blink in surprise. Once the tea light was lit, Jaden set it down on the counter. It wasn’t nearly enough to illuminate the room, small though the shack was, but he could make out Cale’s silhouette by the couch. It looked like the alpha had stood.

The flame was, however, more than enough to help Jaden see his way around the cupboards. It was easy to light a couple more of the tea lights. Then, it was no trouble at all to locate the candle holders and put a couple of tapers in and light them.

The roar of the wind seemed even louder. Jaden wondered if his ears were compensating for the darkness or if the storm had just gotten that much stronger. He hoped it was the former.

“Do we have pellets for the stove?” Cale asked.

Jaden cursed inwardly. That was something he hadn’t taken inventory of. He quickly racked his brain, trying to remember if he had seen any.

“No…” He started opening cupboards. “No, we don’t. Shit.” The omega turned to gauge the alpha’s reaction. He didn’t’ look happy, but didn’t look like he thought they were going to freeze to death either. “Guess we better hope the power comes back on,” Jaden said with a forced laugh. He turned back and eyed the cupboards, going over the contents in his head. “And we’re going to need the stove for cooking too… I don’t mind cold soup, but if we’re here for too long we won’t have enough of it to last. And almost everything else needs to be cooked.”

“We won’t have to last that long,” Cale said. His confidence made Jaden look to him curiously. “The stove can take wood as well. Even if we can’t get back to the lodge, we can collect firewood. Unless there’s any in here.”

“There isn’t, not inside.” Jaden said, glad he could project a confidence of his own. “I’d remember seeing it.” This time, it was Cale’s turn to look skeptical. “I remember seeing the stove and wondering if I should gather some firewood. I spotted a pile outside, so I didn’t bother. It’s there, but it’s not that close to the cabin, so I don’t think we’d be able to get to it tonight. Not without risking getting cold without a way to warm up.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll try to get it tomorrow if need be. So, now it’s just a matter of heat tonight.”

Jaden nodded.

Their eyes locked again and each knew what the other was thinking. If it got too cold, there was a chance they’d have to share body heat. It wasn’t something either wanted to resort to. Almost as one, they turned their attention to the cot and the solitary blanket over it.

“Is that the only…” Cale’s words died in his throat.

“Yeah…” Jaden said. “The radiator kept it nice and toasty. I didn’t know a storm was coming…”

“That’s not your fault.”

“I thought about the firewood.”

Cale snorted. “And what? Should have known to bring some inside before a freak blizzard made walking twenty feet to the woodpile too dangerous to risk?”

“When you put it that way…”

They shared a small smile before falling into silence.

“I’m not really tired yet,” Cale said. “I might keep reading.”

“I will too,” Jaden said, eager to put off the sleeping arrangements question for as long as possible.

They set up the candles on the tray tables and settled in on their respective sides of the couch to read.

Based on his progress, Jaden thought a couple of hours had gone by before he started to feel cold. He lowered the book slightly and looked around. The candles had burned down quite a bit and a couple of the tea lights were out. It was noticeably colder in the cabin. Really cold, in fact. He shivered. Of course, the alpha noticed.

“Cold?”

Jaden nodded reluctantly. Cale set his book down and rubbed his hands together. “Me too.”

“We have our jackets,” Jaden suggested. He hurried over to get his. To his dismay, it was still wet. So was Cale’s. “Nevermind,” he growled in annoyance. “I should have hung these closer to the radiator.”

“There’s wolf form,” Cale suggested half-heartedly. It would give them an excuse to not talk to each other, but it would also make reading nearly impossible. And it was a short term solution. They’d have to be awake to maintain their wolf forms, which meant either forcing themselves to stay awake all night or taking turns with the blanket and bed. That, or risking falling asleep and ending up as a naked human in the middle of a freezing cold cabin.

“Until we get tired,” Jaden said, obviously following the same train of thought. It seemed that the blanket was the only option. “We could share the blanket,” he muttered, hoping Cale wouldn’t think it was an invitation to the bed.

“That’ll do, I guess.”

Jaden grabbed the blanket and brought it back to the couch. Better to share it there than on the cot. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a large blanket. In order to drape it over their shoulders, they had to move significantly closer to each other.

Soon, they were sitting side by side. Jaden resisted the urge to snuggle even closer to the alpha’s warmth. Bad enough their thighs were practically touching. He picked up his book, but when Cale did the same their elbows bumped. They shifted around and ended up shoulder to shoulder.

It was hardly the best position to read in. Jaden did his best, but he realized that he was reading the same page over and over. The scent of his true mate was driving him crazy and the proximity was overwhelming. Even with their clothes he swore he could feel every millimeter of Cale that was touching him. It was as if a small patch of his thigh, shoulder, and elbow were on fire from the contact. And, of course, it was impossible to concentrate on reading with the almost painful erection he was sporting.

He wondered if Cale was having the same problem and felt his breath catch. Jaden closed his eyes and tried to breathe through his mouth.

Do not imagine what his dick is doing, do not think about his erection,” he chided himself. Christ, was this the effect a true mate had? No wonder his brother and Tanner were constantly touching each other. When he had woken up that morning, Jaden didn’t want a true mate or anything to do with one, now he was practically drooling over the man.

He shifted his weight, trying to reduce the pressure building between his legs and ended up even closer to Cale. He needed space, fast, but couldn’t figure out what to do. Suggesting they sleep separately was just stupid. It was too cold for that and Jaden knew it. But, even getting up and trying to clear his head would be pointless, in such close quarters. Sooner or later, they were going to have to discuss sleep.

Jaden took a deep breath, “What do you—“ he started to ask, turning to Cale.

“Are you—” Cale turned to ask if he was alright at the same moment.

They were so close their noses bumped. Both froze.

“I…”

“Uh…”

Jaden’s eyes seemed to close of their own accord. Cool lips pressed against his own, but he couldn’t have said who moved first.

For a few seconds, the kiss was simple. Firm. Chaste. Lips on lips. Cold-chilled noses gently touching. Neither dared to move or breathe. But when the time came for air, since their mouths were busy, they each took a slow breath in through their noses.

The scent of true mate washed over them, flooding them.

In a flurry of motion, hands were grabbing at clothing and hair. The simple kiss became kiss after kiss after kiss. Nipping at lips, tongues exploring and tasting and filling.

It was everything and nothing they had ever wanted all at once.