Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 108

**Blake**

Mum’s eyes move over the page one more time before she clears her throat and begins to read.

“All living things are bound by balance.

Where there is stillness, there must also be force.

Where one gift restores, another must defend.

Thus, the White Wolf was never made to walk alone, nor bear her burden unanswered.

It is written that when the White Wolf marks the one woven to her by fate, she does more than bind mate to mate. She calls forth his answering nature. She awakens the wolf that sleeps beneath the wolf, the one made not to soothe, but to stand.

This counterpart, though not born in all bloodlines, rises in the chosen mate beneath the sacred mark. In these pages, it is named the Howler.

The Howler is a wolf of guarding force. Strength is laid upon him beyond his former shape. His body deepens. His power grows. His senses sharpen toward fracture, so that he may feel violence before it breaks and stand between ruin and the one to whom he is bound.

As the White Wolf calls the lost back into themselves, so the Howler breaks the path of harm. He is a shield where she is peace. He is a warning where she is mercy. He is made by her mark, and for her keeping.

Let it be known: such wolves do not rise for every White Wolf. Only where the bond is true, the mark complete, and the balance accepted in full, shall the answering howl awaken.”

The room goes quiet when she stops. I’m still staring at the page at the back of the book. *Strength* *beyond* *his* *former* *shape**.* *Senses* *sharpen* *toward* *fracture**.* *Feel* *violence* *before* *it* *breaks**.* *Stand* *between* *ruin* *and* *the* *one* *to* *whom* *he* *is* *bound**.* Every strange thing that’s happened since the bond clicked fully into place starts lining up in my head so fast it makes my pulse kick harder. Theo at the door. The shove at school. Theo flying across the rink. The jar shattering in my hand like it was made of paper instead of glass. None of it was random. I wasn't losing my mind. It was all meant to be so that I could counter Charlotte. I can protect her. *We can protect her.* Lex rumbles in agreement. 

Mum lifts her eyes to me then and repeats a few of the lines.

I let out a breath through my nose and drag a hand over my jaw. “So…” My mouth twitches, into what I am sure is a cocky grin. “I’m a bodyguard?”

“No,” Mum says, and there’s just enough amusement in her face to tell me that isn’t even close. Dad steps in then, smiling in that way he does when something has just made perfect sense to him. He slaps a hand against my shoulder, solid and approving all at once.

“This,” he says, “is how you protect your mate.”

I look at Dad. “I need to train. I want to figure out exactly what’s happening and how I can use it to keep her safe.” Mum closes the book with a soft thump before Dad can answer, the old leather cover settling under both her hands like she’s physically putting a stop to whatever either of us is about to suggest.

“There’s plenty of time for that,” she says, cutting straight through me. “After dinner.” She exhales and glances toward the kitchen, where the smell of tomato still hangs in the air, with the sharp bite of broken glass and basil. “I just have to figure out what to do for a sauce and keep you away from any jars from here on.”

That gets the smallest pull at the corner of my mouth. From the kitchen, Charlie calls out before I can say anything.

“Don’t stress, Mara. I’m making poor people’s sauce for the pasta. It’ll taste just as good as the jar stuff.” There’s the sound of a cupboard door opening, then a spoon clattering against the bench. “Just don’t ask me what’s in it.”

Mum closes her eyes for half a second. “I’m asking anyway.”

I look back at Dad, ready to push past Mum’s answer, because I know he understands the need for this better than anyone in the room. He’ll know that waiting feels wrong when whatever this is is already moving under my skin, changing me faster than I can keep up with. But Mum catches the look before I can even open my mouth and shoots him one of hers, the one that says don’t you dare encourage this. Dad’s mouth opens. Then shuts. He clears his throat and shifts gears so quickly it would almost be funny if I weren’t standing here feeling like I’m vibrating from the inside out.

“After school tomorrow,” he says instead, folding his arms. “I’ll get John around here. We can work out what you can do, okay?” 

It’s not what I wanted, but it’s close enough that I can live with it. For now.

“Okay.”

Charlotte tugs lightly at my arm before anyone else can say more. I look down at her and note then that she’s not okay. I let her pull me out of the living room and down the hallway. I stop when we reach the shadowed space near the laundry door and turn to her. She’s already shaking her head, her fingers twisting together in front of her. “I don’t want you getting hurt.” Her eyes move over me, from my face to my shoulders to my hands, and she lifts one of them in a small, helpless gesture. “This.” She waves vaguely at my body. “It’s all a lot.” Her voice softens. “I’m so sorry, Blake.”

I let out a quiet breath and step closer, taking both her hands before she can twist them into knots. “Sorry?” Her eyes flick back to mine. “Lotty. This is the best news.”

Her brows pull together. “How?”

I huff out a laugh. She still can’t see what I’m seeing. “Because if I can launch a rogue the way I launched Theo, I can keep you safe. All day I’ve felt like something was wrong with me. Like I was coming apart at the seams, and everyone could see it. Now it turns out it’s not wrong. It’s what was meant to be.” I squeeze her hands. “They said it, didn’t they? I’m made to stand between ruin and the one I’m bound to. That’s you.” 

Emotion moves through the bond then, soft and aching and bright enough that I feel it in my throat. “Blake…”

“No. Don’t apologise to me for this. Don’t stand here and tell me you’re sorry because your mark woke something in me that lets me protect you better.” I lift one of her hands and press it flat to my chest. “I’d take that every time. I will shield you in every lifetime, Lotty.”