silence Fox blessed him with when they were together was absolutely divine. It was the best gift.
Maybe part of him had known it for days, but he’d been afraid to believe it, to reach out and fully grab it. He’d needed Zelda to actually say the words. He’d found his peace, but it was more than silencing the voices in his head. Fox was the peace he needed to soothe his soul and face the world with new energy. Fox was his hope. His heart. His everything.
Joy exploded in his chest, and Winter’s knees nearly gave out. It was over. He had everything he wanted in this adorable, red-haired witch.
But Fox didn’t look pleased.
“What? That mean you had a fucking death wish? Were you running around risking your life so it would be over?” Fox snarled at him.
Winter tried to pull him into his arms, but Fox planted his hands in the middle of his chest and shoved. “Fox, please. I was tired and hurting. It had been so long. I was afraid of the ghosts driving me insane like my mother. I refused to hurt my brothers the same way she did.”
“I don’t give a shit! You keep fighting. You always keep fighting. You’re too important and too wonderful for this world to ever lose you!”
“Fox—”
“If you ever thought you were gonna be rid of me, you can think again, buster. I am never leaving your side. You obviously need someone to watch your back and tell you when you’re being a fucking idiot.” Fox grabbed his side and pulled him in for a brutally tight hug and Winter happily went, joy bubbling over in his chest.
“I never want to be rid of you,” Winter whispered. “You are my happiness.”
“Damn straight. Stupid vampire,” Fox murmured against his chest. “I can’t live without you anymore. What would I do if I lost you?”
“You won’t ever have to find out. I’m not going anywhere.” Winter closed his eyes, soaking in the feel of Fox in his arms. He needed this man, his witch, more than he needed anything else in the world. Fox had truly become his everything. He was his hope and his happiness. He silenced all the other noise and clutter, letting him focus only on what was important. And it was divine.
Winter looked up from where he held Fox to find Zelda standing in the middle of his kitchen, sipping tea from her china cup with the delicate floral pattern. The expression on her face was so damn smug.
“This is it. This is why you made up that prophecy and told Damon about it. You pointed him toward Fox,” Winter said.
“And you would then steal Fox from him, keeping your witch locked away with you,” Zelda finished.
“But he could have killed me!” Fox cried, which only made Zelda laugh.
“No, I couldn’t have,” Winter admitted before Zelda could speak. Fox looked up at him, and Winter could feel his smile become a little lopsided. “I took one look at you and just knew I had to take you home with me. I might have thought of killing you, but I truly doubt I could have done it. Not really.”
Fox hummed happily. “You know how to say the sweetest things to a boy.”
Winter kissed him soft and slow. He loved those lips and that taste of Fox’s happiness on his tongue. He wanted to spend years learning and memorizing this mouth. He wanted to spend a few lifetimes making Fox happy.
“Come along, boys. I know I’ve got your attention for only a little while, and I have other irons in the fire I need to attend to,” Zelda said, breaking them apart. Fox and Winter followed her into the living room, where she settled on the couch with Fox next to her while Winter was waved over to the chair. So they would both focus, according to the old witch.
It did help. The physical distance allowed Winter to concentrate on the tangled web they were in rather than wondering when he could get Fox up to his bedroom.
“You always knew Fox would block out the ghosts for me,” Winter murmured.
“I knew there had to be a way of doing it. At the time of the prophecy, I didn’t know it was going to be Fox, because he wasn’t born yet. But I will say that the ghost issue wasn’t my main reason in pulling Fox into your orbit.” Zelda narrowed her eyes on Fox and then Winter as if she