Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 11

**Blake**

I wake up before my alarm. Lex is already awake too, curled tight under my skin like he spent all night staring at the same memory I did. Mate. I lie there for a moment, staring at the ceiling and listening to the house. Then I sit up fast, because if I stay in bed, I’m going to replay it until school starts. I pull on a hoodie and head downstairs. Mum is already in the kitchen, hair clipped back, robe tied, kettle on. She looks over her shoulder when I enter and raises an eyebrow like she’s counting. “You’re up early,” she says. Dad is at the table with a mug, reading something on his phone. He looks up slowly. “You didn’t sleep,” he says. “I slept,” I lie. “Just not much.” Mum’s gaze slides over me like she’s checking for blood or bruises. “I saw her last night,” I say, unable to hide the smile on my face. Mum’s expression softens, and Dad’s mouth twitches like he’s trying not to smile too fast. “You saw your mate,” Mum says quietly. I nod quickly. “Yeah.” Dad sets his phone down. “Where?”

“The lake,” I tell them. “The one out past the woods. She was skating.” Mum’s eyes widen just a fraction. “At night? Alone?” “She thought she was alone,” I correct. “I was trying to stay back and just watch her.” Dad leans back in his chair. “Trying.”

“I stepped on a branch,” I admit. “Or Lex did. Either way, she heard it, and then she bolted.” I rub the back of my neck. Mum lets out a quiet breath. “Let me guess. You chased her.”

“For a second,” I say. “It was pure instinct. Lex went straight after her.” Dad’s voice comes out on an exhale. “But you stopped, right?”

“I stopped,” I confirm. “I realised what it looked like.” Mum walks over and touches my arm softly. “I’m glad you pulled back, sweetie. That’s real alpha restraint.” Dad stands and claps my shoulder. “Eat something and go to school. You’ll meet her when you meet her.”

I grab a piece of toast and shove it down without tasting it. My stomach is too tight for food. My mind is already there, out on the ice, watching blonde hair fan out under moonlight. I shower, dress, and leave the house with Lex pacing in my mind like he’s counting steps.

The drive to school feels too short. Wellington High comes into view under a pale winter sky, students gathering out the front in clumps, breath fogging as they talk. I pull into the lot and step out, scanning without meaning to. No strawberry scent yet. I tell myself to chill out, to act normal, and then I spot Charlie near the front gates. He’s easy to pick out with that second-hand jersey. I walk over with my hands in my pockets. “Morning,” I say. Charlie turns, and his face brightens. “Blake. Hey.” The scent hits me the second I get close, not his, but hers, clinging to him faintly like leftover warmth. Lex bristles, and I have to fight to keep a growl down, “How’d you pull up after yesterday?” Charlie shrugs. “Good. Still feels weird being new, but hockey helps.”

“We’ve got practice after school,” I remind him. 

“I’ll be there,” he says quickly. “We’ve got a game coming up, yeah?”

“Yeah, next week,” I say. “Home game.” Charlie’s eyes light up. “That’s sick.”

We talk hockey for a bit, and I see Charlie loosen up when he talks about it. It’s like it’s the only subject that doesn’t cost him anything. I keep catching that mate scent on him, and it makes my jaw tighten. I want to ask a hundred things. Where do you live? Who is she? Why is she alone at night on thin ice? Does she know what she is? Do you? But Charlie is careful…. and polite… and clearly not used to people digging around in his life. So I keep it on hockey, but then the wind shifts and my lungs fill with strawberries and cream. My whole body locks, and Lex lifts his head so fast it feels like my spine straightens with him. There. I turn sharply, scanning the crowd, and the world narrows to a single point. She’s walking toward the building with a bag slung over one shoulder, hair tied back, face pale from the cold. She’s wearing the school uniform, second-hand but neat. My chest tightens. This is it. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I swear the whole school slows down around her, noise fades, people blur. She is the only thing in focus. Lex presses forward, urgent and hungry. *Mate.* The second she scents me, she’ll know. She’ll gravitate toward me. She’ll look at me and something in her will click the same way it did in me. I take one step toward her… Then a hand slaps my back hard enough to jolt me. I blink and turn, dragged out of that frozen moment. Charlie is grinning and waving over my shoulder. “There’s my sister,” he says. My stomach drops. I turn back to her like I need to make sure I heard him right.

She’s closer now, and the similarities hit even harder. They have the same eyes and the same face shape. Their hair is different; hers is lighter, straight and pulled tight. Charlie’s curls are messy and warm. “Your sister?” I repeat, voice rougher than I mean it to be. Charlie nods, like it’s obvious. “Yeah. We’re twins.” Twins. Her gaze flicks up briefly, passing over me without stopping, like I’m just another guy in a crowd. She doesn’t even register the way my whole body is leaning toward her. Maybe she hasn’t scented me yet. Charlie watches my face, and something changes in his expression. The grin fades, and his eyes narrow slightly. He steps closer, lowering his voice. “Don’t even think about it,” he says. I go still. “She’s the only good thing in my life,” Charlie continues, voice tight now. “If we’re going to be friends, you’ll do the right thing and stay away from her. She doesn’t need any trouble.” My throat dries out. Trouble. I look past Charlie at his sister again, my mate. Lex growls low inside me, offended by the idea of staying away. *Mate.* I force my face to stay neutral. “Look, Charlie…” He cuts me off with a sharp look. “I mean it.” If Charlie doesn’t know anything about wolves, about packs, about bonds, then would she?

She walks straight up to Charlie, and the second she reaches him, he steps in close and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight. “You good?” he asks, low enough that it’s only for her. She nods once, quick and automatic. And then she looks up. Her gaze lifts over Charlie’s shoulder and locks onto mine. Everything in me stops. The crowd blurs. The cold air disappears. Even Lex goes quiet. Those green eyes hit me like a hand to the chest. Her voice is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. “Oh, hey,” she says. “I’m Charlotte.”