Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 104

**Charlotte**

Something is definitely off with Blake. If there hadn’t been that incident this morning with Theo, I would have thought maybe it was just the added pressure to keep me safe. Gareth had given us a big, long talk about how we really need to be careful after yesterday’s threat. But this feels different. I can’t quite put my finger on it, which is strange because we’ve just completed our bond. 

We step out of the car together, and his hand finds mine like second nature as we walk in. The school grounds are busy, with students spilling in from every direction, just like any other day. Expect today, it’s not me that’s reacting to socialising, but Blake. Obviously, he puts on a very good mask. From the outside, he’s still the bright hockey captain everyone wants to get close to. Through the bond, though, his emotions brush against me in small waves. He feels alert, focused, and on edge, like he’s waiting for something he can’t see yet.

Shanti stirs quietly beneath it. *He is listening.*

“To what?” I murmur under my breath.

Blake glances down at me, and I smile up at him. We start walking through the main building, with Charlie already a few steps ahead of us. Blake’s grip on my hand tightens slightly, as his emotions brush against me again.

“Blake,” I say softly, tugging his attention back to me. “You good?”

“Yeah.” The answer comes too, and his eyes flick past me, over my shoulder, then to the side like he’s tracking something I can’t see. “Just… feels busy today.” I almost laugh at that.

“It’s always busy.”

“Not like this.”

His tone makes me pause. I follow his gaze, scanning the space around us. Nothing looks out of place. Nothing that explains the way his shoulders have gone tight or the way his jaw keeps clenching. He’s going to break his own teeth at this point. Then his hand stills in mine. “Blake?”

His head turns slightly, eyes fixing on a point across the courtyard near the lockers. Two guys stand there, talking too close, their bodies angled in a way that makes something in my chest tighten without knowing why. Nothing’s happened yet, but Blake takes a step forward, pulling me with him.

“Hey—” I start, but he’s already moving faster now, cutting across the space between groups of students, his focus locked on those two like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. We’re still a few steps away when one of them shoves the other hard.

The second guy stumbles back into the lockers with a loud bang, his bag slipping off his shoulder as his expression twists from surprise to anger in an instant.

“Watch it!” he snaps, stepping forward again. Blake lets go of my hand and steps between them like he’s been waiting for that exact moment. His body turns just enough to block the second shove before it lands.

“Cut it out,” he says, and there’s a hint of something dominant in it that makes me shiver. Maybe that’s the alpha in him. Both boys freeze at the sound of it. The one who shoved first frowns. “What the hell—”

“Drop it,” Blake cuts in, his voice carrying that same tone. The second guy exhales heavily, rubbing at his shoulder where it hit the lockers. “He started it.”

“I don’t care,” Blake replies, his gaze flicking between them both. “Not worth it.”

The tension that had been building between them falters. The first guy scoffs, shaking his head as he steps back. “Whatever.”

The other mutters something under his breath, but he doesn’t step forward again. Just like that— It’s over. Blake steps back slowly, his hand finding mine again like he needs the contact. I don’t mind giving to him at all, but what the hell was that? The noise of the school rushes back in around us, conversations picking up where they left off, people already losing interest now that nothing dramatic actually happened. I stare at him.

“You knew that was going to happen,” I say quietly.

His shoulders tense again.

“No, I—”

“You did,” I cut in. “Blake, you moved before anything happened, and you forget I can feel you. Also, Shanti can feel you. She told me you were listening to something.”

He looks at me and for a second, I see a battle behind his eyes.

“I felt it,” he says finally. “I think. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Shanti’s sounds in my mind then. *He feels the break before it comes.* My fingers tighten in his. “That’s… new,” I manage.

“Yeah.” His mouth pulls slightly to one side. “A bit inconvenient.”

I look around then, suddenly realising just how crowded the hall is with humans.

“Come outside.”

Blake follows me, letting me guide him back through the doors and out toward the edge of the building. The second we’re away from the press of bodies, I turn to him.

“Is Lex telling you anything?”

Blake drags a hand through his hair, frustration flashing across his face now that there’s no one around to see it. 

“Not anything useful. He’s just as confused as I am.” He looks back toward the doors for half a second, his jaw tightening again. “I can feel all of it, Lotty. Other people’s anger, the push behind it, that moment right before it turns physical. It’s like it climbs under my skin and sits there until it breaks.” Shanti rises inside me at that, proud enough that I can feel it. *We gave them a gift.*

*What?* I ask her. I think I would remember giving someone a gift. Her presence swells, calm, almost smug. *All white wolves need a mate who can stand against what we soften. We bring peace. They bring force. We restore. They hold the line. They are made to counter us.* My breath catches as I stare at Blake with wide eyes now.

“What?” he asks.

I step closer, lowering my voice because this is clearly not a conversation to have carelessly in a school courtyard. “Shanti says… she says we gave you a gift.” My fingers tighten around his. “That white wolves need a mate who can equal them. Counter them. Balance them.” Blake goes completely still before his free hand lifts slowly to the mark on his neck, his fingers pressing there. His eyes widen just slightly as his thumb drags over it.

“Through our bond,” he murmurs, and I nod.

“What the hell am I?” He all but breathes out.