"Fine," Azaria said with an exaggerated sigh. "Prove to me that you're a werewolf, Mr Aldrith." The smile she wore was warm, patient and filled with amusement.
That smile, on a normal day would have unravelled him if she'd looked at him across a crowded room, but right in that moment, Theon couldn't return it. Instead, he stood perfectly still, staring at her as the weight of her words hovered over him.
This was it. There would never be another chance quite like this one. If he backed down now, if he laughed it off or let her guide him back into the cabin for cocoa, he knew exactly what would happen. He would apologise for taking the joke too far, she'd eventually stop asking questions, and the secret would remain exactly where it had been for months.
Hidden.
Then New Year would come and go and he'd have to find another excuse so that he and his mother could break the news to her. It was another reason to wait and another reason to protect himself.
