Not many minutes passed before laying atop him was more awkward than intimate, and again Regina felt the urge to flee. This time it was the upwelling of grief, longing, loss that provoked it, and her refusal to give in to them that made her stay.

So when she shifted, it was only to lay beside him and rest her head against his shoulder as she had when they'd danced. She'd never known how to ask for comfort because it had been punishable first, a weakness later, and a desire she couldn't admit later still. All she could do was make herself as soft as she knew how to be and hope that the wolf would stay with her a little longer.