Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 16

**Blake**

The second I get Charlotte back inside and know she's safe, I keep walking. When she’s out of sight, I push the link open. *Dad. There’s a group of rogues near the school.* His reply comes instantly, calm but edged. *How many and how close? I’m sending patrol now.* I breathe in through my nose, and the scent sits at the back of my throat like rot. *It’s strong,* I send back. *Maybe ten or fifteen. I’m heading out there now.*

*Blake, wait for the patrol.* Dad’s voice has the alpha in it now, all command and weight.

*I am. I’ll meet them.* I shut the link and move faster. The school corridor is still loud with lunch noise, kids slamming lockers and laughing and yelling across the hall. I cut through the front doors and into the cold air.

I move along the edge of the school building, keeping low and casual enough. I slip behind the gym, past a row of bins, and hop the fence into the bush like I’ve done a hundred times. The second I’m under the trees, Lex presses forward, already pacing in my mind and snarling at the scent rolling in on the wind. I strip, leaving my clothes in the trees, and we run. The ground slopes down into thicker scrub where the scent gathers. That rotten stench gets stronger, and my stomach turns with it. Rogues come through sometimes, sure, but it’s one or two, desperate, half-starved, skirting the edges of territory. We don’t get packs of them. Not here and not this close to town.

Lex’s lip curls as the scent thickens. His hackles lift, and he slows, listening. I can feel my pack coming. There’s a pulse through the land, through the link that ties us together. Lex pushes forward anyway. He wants the first strike. He wants to make sure none of them gets close enough to smell what’s behind us. Charlotte. My mate is only a fence and a few hundred metres away, thinking she’s safe, rubbing at her chest because she doesn’t understand the pull. Lex slips between trees, and the scrub opens into a small clearing. There’s a spread of dark shapes moving in a loose half circle, all scarred and lean and wrong. Their fur is matted and patchy in places, and their eyes shine too brightly. Their bodies twitch like they’re fighting their own skin, and the air reeks of them. Lex stops at the edge of the clearing, crouched low. There are at least twenty of them.

One of them lifts its head and locks onto us. A low growl rolls out of it, deep and hungry, and the others follow, heads snapping around, teeth flashing. Lex bares his teeth and steps into the clearing. My alpha blood runs hot. This is my territory. My school. This is my mate’s town now, whether she knows it or not. The first rogue launches, and Lex meets it head-on. The impact knocks snow and dirt up in a spray. Lex twists, jaws clamping down hard on the rogue’s shoulder and ripping. The taste of its blood is foul. The rogue screams, and Lex throws it off, spinning as another hits from the side. I let Lex loose, and he fights like he was built for it. He moves through them with brutal precision, aiming for throats, legs, anything that drops them fast. My body is fast, strong, and trained, and the rage in Lex turns every strike into a promise. Rogues die quickly when they meet a pack of wolves that isn’t afraid, but twenty is still twenty, and they swarm. Lex takes a hit across his flank, claws tearing through fur. Pain flares hot and sharp, and it only makes him angrier. He snaps at the one that did it and clamps down, shaking until it goes limp. Another rogue lunges for his neck. Lex ducks, twists, and slams it into the ground hard enough that the sound cracks through the trees. It goes still.

The clearing becomes chaos. Rogues don’t fight like pack wolves. There’s no structure, no teamwork, just hunger and feral instinct. They pile in, biting and tearing, caring more about damage than winning. Lex uses that against them. He pulls back, makes them chase, then turns and strikes while they’re off balance. One goes down, then another. I feel the patrol before I see them. A wave of pack presence pushing in through the trees, fast and coordinated. Then they hit the clearing, spreading out, taking flanks, cutting off escape. Their minds brush mine through the link, quick confirmations and hard focus. *Blake. You alright?*

*Fine. Get them down.* The fight turns in our favour the moment the pack is in it. Rogues try to run, but the patrol takes them out. One bolts for the trees and gets dragged down by two wolves working together. Within minutes, the clearing is quiet again. Lex stands over a body, chest heaving, blood warm on his muzzle. He lifts his head and finds two rogues are still breathing. One is pinned under a paw, whimpering, eyes rolling. The other lies a few metres away, legs twisted wrong, chest rising shallow. The patrol leader, Bennett, shifts slightly, looking at Lex. We’ll take them back to Alpha and Luna. Lex holds the stare for a beat, then dips his head once. Dad will want answers.

The patrol starts moving, two wolves hauling the living rogues between them, the rest spreading out to sweep the area. Lex backs out of the clearing, muscles still tense, ears flicking at every sound. Only when we’re deeper in the scrub again do I shift back. The change hurts more when you’re coming off a fight. Cuts sting and bruises bloom. My hands shake slightly as I pull my jeans back on, then my shirt and jersey—the fabric sticks for a second where blood has dried on my skin. I lean my forehead against the tree trunk and force myself to steady. Charlotte’s face flashes in my mind. She was about to answer me before the howl cut through the air. Her eyes widened when she asked if it was a wolf. She looked like she was piecing something together. I’m pissed those rogues interrupted. Pissed they came this close to her. Pissed they showed up now, my mate was in my territory. I’m conflicted, because the second I go back inside that school, Charlie is going to be there. He’s going to be smiling, talking hockey, acting like everything is normal. Then he’s going to look at me and tell me again to stay away from his sister, like that’s an option. Like I can. Lex rumbles under my skin when I think of it, still raw from the fight. *Mate.*

I have to be careful. I have to keep my friend. I have to keep Charlotte safe. I have to figure out what Charlie knows, and what Charlotte doesn’t, before this turns into something that blows up in all our faces.