Maybe this was best. Maybe this was the only way he could keep from hurting her since he’d been failing miserably at controlling himself around her. If she thought the worst of him, she would no longer trust him. She’d no longer welcome his advances. The problem with that scenario was the hurt that now shined in her eyes was like a dagger to his heart. He wanted to make her listen, explain what had happened, make her understand, but this could be his only chance to make sure he didn’t hurt her even worse down the line.
He nodded and let her go. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and slowly started back toward the cabin with her head down and shoulders slumped. A few steps later, her back straightened and her head was held high.
The newly found determination in her steps made him smile at her retreating back even though his chest ached at the loss. She was strong, and she had refused to let him see how much he’d upset her. That was his woman. No.
She isn’t for you.
Shannon sniffed behind him, and he turned back to face her. “Go back to the cabin, where it’s warm.”
He was surprised when she nodded and started off in the same direction as Melony without argument. He doubted he’d understand women even if he lived a thousand years, but again, there was only one woman he’d met that he wanted to understand, and he’d just ruined his chances with her.
* * * *
Melony was miserable. She couldn’t believe she’d gone after Lorent only to find Shannon in his arms. How had she been so wrong, so blind about something, about someone? Had he been playing with her the whole time?
Had he thought her attraction to him amusing? No. She refused to believe that. No one could fake the kind of chemistry they had between them, or had it all been one-sided?
When she had gotten back to Brent and Rindy’s cabin, she’d put on a good show of being happy for the rest of the dinner and then excused herself to go home. Rose had insisted Knox walk her home, and now she was glad to be curled up in her own warm bed with Puss, wallowing in her self-pity 104
Lycan Christmas
S. K. Yule
party while the snowstorm blew furiously outside. She was thankful she’d thought to put an electric blanket on her list since she’d always been cold natured, and reached up to turn the controller up another notch.
Tomorrow she’d see if the Internet was working at the Learning Center—she wasn’t counting on it, especially if the storm continued throughout the night—to check the status of the order she’d placed for the hair supplies. She doubted the items had been shipped with the holiday and all, but it would give her something to do to whittle away some of her time.
She was determined to keep her head up and not let Lorent know how much he’d hurt her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She’d continue her lessons with him on Monday, get through them as quickly as possible, and that would be that.
She huffed out, “Men,” to the empty room before petting Puss’s head.
Too bad her heart didn’t agree with her on that theory. She wasn’t sure she’d ever completely get over Lorent, but she’d have to. If Shannon wanted him, she could have him. But as she drifted to sleep, her brain argued with her once again traitorous heart over that point.
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S. K. Yule
Chapter Fourteen
She looked down and was surprised to find she was walking through the snow in nothing but a pink nightgown, yet she wasn’t cold. She must be dreaming again. It was the only explanation why she wasn’t freezing her ass off and frostbite wasn’t setting in on her bare feet. She’d never had such vivid, strange dreams before she’d come to Sanctuary.
She shrugged and kept walking, not sure where her subconscious was leading her, but too intrigued to care. She was in the forest again, and the ground was covered with fluffy white snow. She smiled as she looked up through the trees, the bright moon casting a soft glow upon her face. It was a beautiful sight, and it was eerily quiet.
“Melony?”
She spun around, right into Lorent’s broad chest, and gasped when his arms came around her to steady her. Why was she dreaming about him again? Wasn’t she mad at him? Yes, but “the heart wants what it wants” wasn’t just a saying. It was the truth.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as if she had a reason to be angry at the image her own brain had fabricated for this dream. After all, could she blame him when she’d been the one who’d conjured him? He wasn’t real, after all.
The answer to that was yes. She could still be angry at him even if he was only a figment of her subconscious, and she was too stubborn to admit that only meant she was mad at herself.
“I needed to see you.”
“Why don’t you go see Shannon?” She raised a brow, hoping the expression on her face adequately supported the sarcasm of her question.
“I don’t want to see Shannon. I only want to see you.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me.”
“It wasn’t what you think.”
She sighed and pulled away from him. “It doesn’t really matter anyway, does it? It’s not like we’re married or anything. You can do what you want.”
She started to walk away, but he gently pulled her back to him, nuzzled his nose against her hair, and took a deep breath while she fought the urge to lean against him.
“It does matter, and I’m not into Shannon. I never have been. She was upset, and
