Winter Wolf

Part 9

They weren't far from the cabin, and the walk back was lively with one sided conversation. Leander managed to stay quiet for the first five minutes, but then it was a litany of "I can't believe you!" "You could have just told me!" and "Jesus Christ, you asshole, you know I thought you were dead?" Axton tried to keep his instincts in check and not grovel just because his tone of voice was scolding.

Then they got back to the cabin porch and Leander sighed, opening the door and motioning Axton in. Shaking the snow off of his coat, Axton complied.

"Oh, thank you," Leander said as he stepped inside, having been sprayed with snow. Axton gave him a wounded look. "Oh, all right," Leander allowed. "I guess I can just take mine off." He took off his layers until he was down to what Axton now thought of as his sexiest black sweater. Axton watched him strip down, sitting neatly, paws tucked in close to his body.

"Well?" Leander said after a while, crossing his arms across his big chest. "Are you going to change out of that so that we can talk?"

Axton looked unsure.

"Go on, then," Leander told him.

Axton got up to his feet but just shuffled around uncomfortably, wondering if he could hide behind the couch.

"Come on," Leander said, snapping his fingers, "Hurry it up. I have questions."

Axton trotted off towards the bathroom, turning when he was at the door to give Leander a look of irritation that transcended species. Then he nudged the door open with his paw.

Jesus, time pressure! Axton wasn't very good at swapping back into human shape at the best of times, and this was not the best of times! A human had just found out his deepest secret, and now--now---

Well, Leander didn't seem to be going for the shotgun to blow his brains out.

And no pack enforcer was going to come by and execute him for knowing too much, being that Axton hadn't been part of a pack in a decade.

Axton jumped into the dry bathtub and curled up on himself protectively, ready to stay there until he felt better enough to change. If that gave Leander time to decide to go for the shotgun, all the better. Hadn't Axton been long ready to flee, thinking he would need to since the first day Leander had moved into this cabin?

Fleeing would be less complicated.

++

While he waited, Leander put on a pot of coffee. His hands did not shake as he spooned in the grounds. He left a clean pair of jeans by the bathroom door, along with one of his favorite flannel shirts, because he didn't want to go through the bags Axton had packed when he first came over. It would have been rude. He made the bed, crisp and neat. A few piles of books where re-shelved, while some were stacked by the couch. Then Leander ran out of busy work.

He sat down to wait.

Outside, it had turned into a pretty winter day. The sun was shining now, bright and true, and the sky was clear. Leander looked at it through the window, and his grey eyes were calm and placid as a lake on a windless day.

The cups of coffee he'd poured had turned lukewarm before Axton sulked into the room. He came to the table and sat down, eyes lowered the whole time and not looking at Leander. He sat stiffly, clearly expecting unpleasantness.

Leander's annoyance as they tromped through the snow had been borne mainly of tension and straggling disbelief, and he had softened much in the time they'd been inside. So the first thing he said to Axton was gentle:

"I'm sorry I tricked you."

Axton raised his eyes, the faint surprise there being chased out by something else.