Fox should have never seen that.
He should have run out of the house, been out of that damn place before Luke’s body hit the floor.
But things went to shit too fast.
Closing his eyes, Winter tried to tell himself that it was better this way. Fox needed to know the truth about him. The whole truth. Winter Varik was a killer. He’d murdered countless vampires to protect his family. And he would go on protecting his family until his life finally ended.
Since meeting Fox, he’d been kept in this protective bubble of lies. He’d seen only a little sliver of Winter. The man who liked a quiet night in his house playing video games and laughing with his brothers. A man who talked about protecting his family and used his gift of invisibility to escape any harm.
Fox would want to escape him now. He’d have to send the witch to stay with Rafe or maybe Bel and Marcus. Yes, Bel had a soft touch, and Fox had already bonded with River. He’d be happy there until they could take care of Damon. Fox could forget about Winter.
Except Winter didn’t want him to forget. Didn’t want to let him go. Even with all this fucking prophecy nonsense.
Fox wasn’t a threat to him. The witch wasn’t going to tear their family apart. Even after he’d watched Winter kill all those vampires, he’d still tried to protect Winter from being attacked from behind.
Cursing himself, Damon, and this whole damn mess, Winter shut off the water and quickly dried off. He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt before marching straight to Fox’s room. He needed to make sure he was okay, that he hadn’t tried to leave on his own. It wasn’t safe out there for him right now. If he didn’t want to stay with Winter, he’d make arrangements so he did feel safe.
He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Slowly, he pushed it open and found Fox sitting on the floor against the wall. The room was dark except for golden light pouring out of the bathroom. His elbows were resting on his bent knees and his hands were thrust into his blood-crusted hair.
“Fox, are you okay?” he asked, knowing full well that Fox was nowhere near okay. He was covered in vampire blood and caught in the middle of a war. The man he’d slept with was a killer. Nothing about any of this was okay.
Fox’s head snapped up and he stared at Winter for a second as if he were trying to get his brain to focus on the here and now. Winter remained near the door, not wanting to crowd him or make him feel threatened.
“Yeah, I…just lost in thought,” he said softly. He lifted his hands from his hair and rubbed his fingers together as if suddenly registering the grittiness of the dried blood. “I’m supposed to be getting a shower.”
“You can do that, but I think you need to talk first. About tonight. May I come over there?”
Fox actually jerked at the question. He cocked his head at Winter, his mouth pulling down into a hard frown. “Of course. Are…are you scared of me now?”
Winter’s mouth fell open. Of all the things to come out of Fox’s mouth, that was the last thing he’d expected. It took him a couple of seconds to recover. “No, of course not. I thought maybe you might be afraid of me now.”
“God, no! You protected me. They were going to kill you. Kill your family!”
They both started moving at the same time, but Fox didn’t get any farther than pushing to his knees before Winter reached him. His body shook with relief and he dropped to his knees, pulling Fox against him. He didn’t think. He just kissed him. It was desperate and messy and so damn hungry, but it was also perfect. He smelled of sweat and old blood, but he felt like home.
Gasping for air, Winter reluctantly ended the kiss. “I was so afraid I’d destroyed things. I don’t want you to be scared of me.” He blinked and found unshed tears glistening in Fox’s bright eyes.
“What about the prophecy? What if it’s dangerous that I’m here?” Fox asked, his voice cracking.
Winter held him tight. “The prophecy is bullshit. I can’t prove it yet, but it is. You’re not going to hurt me or my family. I know it.”
“But—”
“There are no buts. No exceptions. Nothing.” He wouldn’t listen to any arguments. He didn’t give a shit if it wasn’t logical. He’d dedicated his entire existence to protecting his family, and so much of that had been following his instincts. Those same instincts were shouting that Fox was not a threat.
The only real threat was allowing Fox to walk out of his life.
Winter turned his head and brushed a kiss to the shell of Fox’s ear, earning a small shiver. “Come on. Let me help you shower.”