Chapter 21

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**Aaaand another one, because I'm so far ahead on writing this

As always, if you enjoy, shoot me a comment or vote to let me know what you think!**

Only Fair

    It was no use.

    I had been tossing and turning, bundled up in the soft blankets on my bed for hours, but sleep refused to come.

    Throwing the layers of blankets from my body, I rose from the bed, sliding my feet into the fuzzy slippers that Eden had brought me earlier in the night when she had spotted the goosebumps dotting the skin of my arm. I wrapped a thick robe around my shoulders as well, for good measure.

    There were logs sitting beside the cold hearth. I struggled to recall the way Eden would set them up, settling for my best approximation of the neat stacking, just to have it all be for naught. I hadn't an idea how to light it.

    I rummaged around, on the hunt for matches, or a lighter. I would even settle for flint and steel, if it meant relief from the freezing temperature of the room.

    None of it was anywhere to be found.

    I had just given up, throwing my hands up in frustration as I turned to retreat back to the warmth of my blankets, when I noticed a cream colored paper sticking out from under the door to the alphas foyer that hadn't been there previously.

    'Is everything alright in there?'

    'Yes,' I stared down at the page, hesitating before adding on, 'I was attempting to light my hearth. Sorry if the noise woke you.'

    'Not at all,' he wrote back, 'I was already awake.'

    'You couldn't sleep either?'

    'Unfortunately not. Would you care for some company? The hearth in my foyer is lit quite nicely.'

    I stared down at the words on the page, debating for only a moment before stepping to the door to tap a few soft, hesitant knocks against the wood.

    His eyes glowed in the dim lamplight as he opened the door. I met his gaze shyly, glancing past him to the flames dancing in his hearth, as promised. He stepped aside to allow me into the room.

    I tried to ignore the awkward tension in the air, walking past him to perch on the edge of his settee. My eyes fluttered closed as the heat from the fire warmed my body. The settee dipped as he sat down in the remaining space beside me, close but not touching. I could feel the weight of his eyes on me, but refused to look at him. Instead, I continued to soak up all of the warmth that I could, knowing that eventually I would have to return to my icebox of a bedroom.

    "Are you cold?" He asked, as if the concept were foreign to him.

    "I was,'' I admitted, "but I'm much better now." I finally peeked my eyes open to meet his gaze.

His head was cocked to the side as he studied my face, creases forming along his brow. "I apologize, I should have remembered that humans get cold so much easier than shifters do."

"Nothing I can't handle," I offered with a weak smile, not sure why I felt the need to comfort him, if only a little.

He frowned, but did not press the subject, turning his gaze forward into the roaring flames.

I was silent for a while, both of us staring at the fire as if in a trance. Then he spoke, voice soft as if he were unwilling to break the tranquility of the room, "Tell me about yourself."

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