As I stepped through the heavy timber door into our private quarters, the soft, ambient warmth of the room enveloped me like a velvet blanket. Across the grand chamber, a fire was roaring in the stone fireplace, its dancing orange lights casting warm shadows against the walls while the wood crackled merrily.
I smiled softly to myself, a wave of affection rushing through my chest. Demetrius, with his running-hot lycan body temperature, usually preferred the cool air and avoided the extra heat, but he lit the hearth for me on nights like this because he knew how much I loved the soothing sound and the hypnotic flicker of the flames after a long, exhausting day.
He was sitting at the edge of a plush leather armchair in the center of the living room, a glass of dark amber liquor resting in h
