Page 98 of Winter’s Teeth

He shifted slightly, and the plastic wrapping the bouquet rustled, drawing my attention to the flowers he’d walked off to buy. “Something tells me you’d do the same for me now.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, a single dimple appearing before he lifted his forehead off mine. “Oh, did you think these were for you?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. Trying to needle him in the side with my fingers, he wrapped his arms all the tighter around me so I had to squirm to have any control. “Fox—”

He kissed me again, which happened to be my favorite way for someone to make me be quiet. I would never stop blabbing if he did this every time.

My fingers slipped into his hair, tugging gently at the nape of his neck. I was two seconds away from insisting he carry me inside and continue this make out on the sofa when a car honk startled me away from his lips.

Shira’s car pulled into the drive, stalling at the edge since Fox and I were in the way. The window rolled down, and Corbin stuck his head out of the driver’s side with his hand poised lazily over the steering wheel. “What was that about this being a love shack again, Rae?”

I couldn’t help it. I kept my fingers around Fox’s head and went right back to kissing him. Though, one of those fingers did lift, giving Corbin a friendly, middle finger welcome home.

Fox’s lips were stuck in a smile as he kissed me back, making it difficult to continue for long. Before I could protest, and before Corbin could honk at us again, Fox scooped me up, flowers and all, to carry me inside.

***

WHILE CORBIN PUT AWAY the groceries, Shira and I sat at the counter with fresh mugs of coffee in hand. I threw glance after glance out the front window, watching Fox shovel the snow that had picked up once we went inside. After Shira re-wrapped my leg and Everly came out asking where shower towels were, there was already an inch on the driveway.

“It’s pointless to shovel right now,” I mumbled. “It’s still snowing.”

“He probably can’t sit still,” Corbin said while reaching up to a high shelf I had no chance of ever getting to without climbing furniture. Maybe that was exactly why he put the bread rolls that high, knowing I would steal them if he didn’t. “I definitely can’t. Not with too many unknowns.”

Shira squeezed my arm reassuringly. “You must be worried. What with his birthday in a week and all.”

My brows knitted closer together, a crease pinching my forehead. “It is? Huh. I should try to get him something... Do you guys know if there’s a manga he’s been wanting to get?”

Corbin and Shira met me with blank stares.

“What?”

“You know how old he’s turning, right?” Corbin drawled. At my confused expression, he said, “Fox is turning twenty-five next week.”

“Um... Okay. He’s only a little bit older than me.” I tucked hair behind my ear, staring at the counter since they scrutinized me so overtly. “I don’t see why that’s a problem though—”

“Rae.” Shira squeezed my arm again. “Don’t you remember what happens when a Winter turns twenty-five?”

The reminder sparked something in my memory. Twenty-five meant something in the Winter family, even if I couldn’t remember what exactly.

Corbin blessedly didn’t leave me floundering for long. “When we turn twenty-five, the leading members of the family decide if we’re allowed to get married. If they have an approved bride ready, they’ll force us into that marriage instead. That happened to my brother, August. You have to get permission to be with anyone after twenty-five. If I was that old, they would make me and Shira break up by any means necessary. Plus, it’s like a cardinal rule that breeding isn’t allowed with anyone but the sanctioned couples.”

I squinted my eyes shut, holding up a finger to request a hot second to process it all.

As horrible as it all sounded, it made sense why Fox had held back in the woods. Why he had fought so hard against his instincts to be with me. He might not have agreed with the “no breeding” rule, but the fear of breaking it clearly had its talons embedded deep.

“Rae?” Shira tilted her head forward to find my gaze wherever it had wandered. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.” I shook my head, coming back to the present issues. “So basically, we’ll be on the run from Arthur and the others forever. If we stay together... There are dire consequences?”

“More than dire.” Corbin gripped the edge of the counter, nails digging into the vinyl covering. “You could find yourself dead in the creek beside him if you’re caught.”

“Not to mention,” Shira added, “Arthur’s been jipped out of his bride since we got your sister back. I don’t think he’s going to sit back and let us all slip away so easily.”

The more we discussed it, the more I realized I had every reason to be worried. Maybe even more worried than Shira and Corbin since Fox was the closest to the fateful age when all the rules really kicked in. I had no plans of breaking up with him either, and if I had to commit to the possibility of death to be with him, then so be it.

Death wasn’t so terrifying to me after almost experiencing it a dozen times in the last three days.

The front door swung open as Fox came in, stomping snow off his boots on the front mat. I shoved aside the worries and fear, not wanting to discuss them further when we couldn’t do anything about it this very second. I forced a small smile for Fox, changing the subject to something I had the bandwidth to handle. “If the roads aren’t too bad, maybe I should stop at a walk-in clinic to get my leg looked at—”