Howl at Christmas

Chapter Eleven: Secrets Under the Snow

Clara sat on the couch, curled up in her thickest blanket, staring at the fire. Every crackle, every pop of the flames felt louder than it should have. Her hands wrapped tightly around her knees, elbows digging into the wool, as if grounding herself could keep the forest at bay.

Outside, the snow had stopped falling, but the cold remained—sharp, unforgiving, invasive. The cabin, once a haven, now felt fragile, like a thin layer of glass protecting her from something relentless.

Lucas had been quiet since the attack on the porch. Quiet in a way that made her pulse spike every time the wind rattled the window. He sat in the corner near the door, back straight, eyes scanning the forest beyond the frost-coated windows. She could feel the tension in his muscles even from across the room. The way he always seemed to notice everything—every movement, every sound, every shadow—was unnerving and somehow magnetic.

Clara tried to focus on the fire. She tried to calm her racing thoughts. But the memory of him fighting that massive black wolf—the sheer strength, the way his eyes had glowed gold—kept pressing against her mind like a hammer against glass.

She finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly. “Lucas…”

He didn’t turn. Not immediately. “Hmm?”

“What… what are you?” Her voice was low, almost a whisper, as if saying it louder might make it real.

He exhaled slowly, a soft huff that sounded like frustration mixed with exhaustion. Then he finally turned to face her. The firelight caught his features, throwing his sharp jaw and tense shoulders into stark relief. There was something wild in his gaze that didn’t fully belong to the human world.

“I’ve tried to tell you,” he said quietly, “but timing is everything. And right now, timing is a luxury we don’t have.”

Clara swallowed hard. “I don’t care about timing. I need to know.”

He hesitated, jaw tightening. He looked away, toward the window. The faint outline of the snow-covered forest was visible, a silent reminder that danger wasn’t gone.

“I’m not… like other people,” he admitted. “Not fully.”

Her breath caught. “You mean… you’re what? One of… those?” She hated the word, but it slipped anyway.

He gave her a long look, his eyes golden for just a fraction of a second before the color softened back to normal. “Yes. A werewolf.”

Clara froze. Every instinct screamed to run, to deny, to pretend she hadn’t heard. But something in the quiet gravity of his tone kept her rooted. “You… you’re a werewolf?”

“Yes,” he said simply. No theatrics, no dramatics—just the truth.

Clara blinked. Then blinked again. Then laughed, bitterly. “I… I should’ve guessed. All the weird things, the… the forest, the howling, the way animals avoid you. Everything.” She rubbed her temples. “I just… I thought it was stress. Or maybe… you’re crazy.”

Lucas didn’t smile. Not even slightly. “I’m not crazy.”

“No, you’re dangerous,” she muttered, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

He looked at her, expression unreadable. Then, after a long moment, he stepped closer. “I can control it. Most of the time.”

Clara swallowed. “Most of the time?”

“Yes,” he said simply. “But the wolves that live outside the pack… they aren’t controlled. They test boundaries. They hunt differently. They… fight differently.”

Her pulse quickened. “So the black wolf… that thing out there… it’s like you?”

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “A rogue Alpha. Stronger than most. He’s challenging my territory, my pack. And right now, because you’re here, he’s testing me.”

Clara pressed her hand to her chest. “Because of me?”

“Yes.” His voice softened slightly, almost imperceptibly. “Because you’re here.”

Her stomach twisted. This was terrifying. And yet… there was a strange warmth in his words. Something protective. Something that made her pulse a little too fast, even as fear clutched at her chest.

The fire crackled between them. Silence stretched long, heavy, and uncomfortable.

Finally, Clara said, “So… what does this mean? For me? For the cabin? For Christmas?”

Lucas ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “It means you’re under my protection. It means you can’t leave. Not tonight. And probably not for a few days.”

She felt her stomach knot. “I can’t leave? Because a rogue wolf is out there?”

“Because a rogue Alpha is out there. And you’re in the middle of it,” he said.

Clara exhaled, feeling the cold pressure of helplessness wrap around her. “And what if he comes back?”

Lucas looked at her directly, the weight of his gaze making her swallow. “Then we fight.”

She blinked. “We?”

His jaw tightened, and he didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he paced once, then stopped in front of her. “Yes, we,” he finally said, quietly but firmly. “I can’t let him hurt you. I won’t.”

The words wrapped around her chest like both a promise and a warning. And though she hated to admit it, her pulse betrayed her, quickening in a way that wasn’t just fear.

Clara looked down at the floor, fighting the sudden heat rising to her cheeks. “You really aren’t making this easy,” she muttered.

Lucas’s expression softened for a fraction of a second before he masked it again. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”

She exhaled shakily. “I… I know.”

Another pause. The only sound was the fire and the wind brushing against the cabin walls.

Clara finally asked the question she had been holding back, afraid of what the answer might be: “Lucas… if you’re like that, if you’re… you… why am I not afraid of you?”

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Because I’m protecting you. Because my instincts know you’re not a threat.”

Her pulse quickened again. “You’re saying that like it’s normal.”

“It isn’t normal,” he admitted. “And you shouldn’t understand it. But… I trust you.”

Clara’s chest tightened. Trust. She wasn’t sure if it made her feel safer or more vulnerable. Both, maybe.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, rattling the windows. The forest outside groaned under the snow. Her pulse jumped.

Lucas moved instantly to the door, hand on the handle. “It’s him,” he said, low and tense.

Clara’s stomach flipped. “The rogue Alpha?”

“Yes.” His gaze scanned the treeline. “He’s close.”

“What do we do?”

Lucas didn’t answer immediately. He opened the door a fraction, enough to peer outside without exposing himself fully. His posture shifted, coiled and ready.

Clara’s eyes widened as she saw the tracks in the snow—huge paw prints, massive, deep, leading straight to the cabin. They stopped just at the edge of the porch, as if the creature was daring him.

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “He’s marking the boundary. He knows I’m here. He’s… testing me.”

Clara shivered. “And… what if he doesn’t leave?”

“He won’t. Not until he’s satisfied. Until he knows I won’t back down. And until he knows you’re… untouchable.”

Her pulse skipped. Untouchable? She stared at him. “Untouchable?”

Lucas’s eyes softened for the tiniest fraction of a second, enough to make her feel something that was entirely new. “Because you’re under my protection,” he repeated.

The wind howled again. The shadows of the trees flickered like something alive. The tension in the forest pressed against the cabin walls.

Clara’s fingers dug into the blanket around her shoulders. “And if he attacks?”

Lucas’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Then I fight. And you stay inside. No matter what.”

Her stomach twisted, a mix of fear, awe, and… something else. Something unspoken. A spark that made her pulse race even though her mind screamed at her to step back.

She nodded slowly. “I’ll stay inside. But… Lucas…”

“Yes?”

She hesitated, then whispered, “Thank you.”

For a moment, his expression softened again. He didn’t say anything, just nodded. That small gesture held more meaning than words ever could.

Outside, the snow continued to fall lightly, the wind whispering through the trees. The forest waited, silent and watchful. And inside the cabin, two people sat quietly, knowing that the night had only just begun.

Clara sipped her coffee, her hands trembling slightly. Every nerve in her body was alive, every instinct screaming that the forest wasn’t safe, that the rogue Alpha was out there, and that Lucas… Lucas was more than she ever imagined.

And for the first time, she realized she didn’t just fear the forest. She feared what the night could do to her heart as well.