Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 161

**Charlotte**

Emily stares down at the melted edge of her ice cream for a long moment after I mention going to school. The little spoon slows between her fingers, and her voice comes quietly. “I don’t know if I could do that.”

I lean back against the headboard beside her, one knee tucked beneath me. “School?”

She nods slowly. “I mean… People would stare at me.”

I glance at her braid resting over one shoulder, the clean borrowed clothes, the little bit of colour finally returning to her cheeks after food and warmth and sleep. People probably would look, but not because she’s strange. Because she’s beautiful in that quiet, wounded sort of way that people tend to notice. But I know that’s not what she means.

“They looked at me too when I came back,” I say softly. “Not in a bad way. More like…” I shrug. “People don’t really know what to do with tragedy.”

I notice Emily’s fingers tighten around the spoon. “I don’t know how to be around people anymore,” she whispers.

Shanti stirs softly inside me, sadness brushing through her. *Poor wolf.*

I look around the little room for a second before my eyes settle back on Emily. “Well… how about we just get you out of this room for a bit?” Her brows pull together slightly, and I quickly continue. “You could just come up to the house for dinner with me. It can’t be healthy to be cooped up in these four walls for too long.”

“Would that even be okay?” She says, not even looking at me now.

“Of course it would.” I laugh softly. “Everyone’s welcome there. Honestly, Mara would probably adopt you permanently if someone let her.”

That earns the faintest flicker at the corner of Emily’s mouth, but I wince a little as another thought hits me. “Theo might also be there,” I admit carefully. “I don’t think he’s moved much from that tree since you got here. He’ll probably follow, and I don’t know if that’s okay or…”

Emily surprises me by frowning slightly and saying, “He needs to eat.”

Now it’s my turn to blink at her as I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to stop myself from smiling too obviously. Shanti practically purrs inside my head. *The bond is strong between them.*

She looks down at the melting ice cream again, seemingly lost in thought or conversation with her own wolf. “He’s been standing out there all day.” She says quietly.

“Mmhm.”

“And it’s cold.”

“Very cold.”

Her eyes narrow slightly when she realises I’m teasing her, and I grin outwardly. “I’m just saying.” I throw my hands up innocently. “It’s okay to care, even if you don’t know what you want to do about it.” 

Colour immediately rises into her cheeks, and her eyes go wide. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

I laugh softly before she can spiral herself into panic and bump my shoulder gently with mine. “Em, it’s whatever, really. No big deal. Don’t overthink it and you’ll be fine.”

She exhales quietly, some of the tension easing from her shoulders again, and I keep talking to try to distract her. I tell her all about my disastrous English test, how Jessica nearly got us both in trouble for laughing halfway through class, and how Charlie spent ten minutes trying to convince our teacher that song lyrics counted as poetry analysis. Emily listens while she slowly finishes her ice cream, and now and then I catch tiny reactions crossing her face before she remembers herself and smooths them away again. By the time she scrapes up the last spoonful, she looks comfortable enough. So I slide off the bed and hold my hand out toward her. “Come on.” Emily looks up at me, tilting her head slightly. “Now that you’ve had dessert, we should probably get some actual dinner into you.”

She hesitates only a second before placing her hand in mine. Her fingers are cold, and I squeeze them gently and help her to her feet. When we step outside, Emily stops abruptly beside me on the small porch. I feel it before I see it. The pull. Her eyes lift across the yard straight toward Theo, and he straightens immediately where he stands beside the trees with Charlie. Charlie notices at once and quietly pushes himself upright too, but it’s Theo and Emily who stay completely still. Eyes locked on each other as the whole yard seems to hold its breath around them.

Then Blake jogs up beside us from the rehabilitation building, wiping dust from his hands onto his jeans before his eyes land on Emily. “Hey,” he says warmly. “Oh. Hey, Emily.” The moment breaks gently as Emily lowers her eyes first, and I glance at Blake. “Emily’s going to come up for dinner.”

His whole face softens instantly. “Yeah? That sounds great.” Then his gaze flicks toward Theo before returning carefully to Emily. “Do you want me to ask him to stay out here?” Blake asks quietly.

Emily’s fingers tighten once around mine before she shakes her head and looks down at the ground. “No,” she says in a small voice. “This is his pack… and he needs to eat too.”

Theo’s entire body goes still near the tree, and I know he heard it too. Charlie looks between them both with wide eyes like he’s watching a live grenade. I myself try to pretend not to notice any of it, but Shanti, however, is absolutely delighted as we watch Theo very slowly take one step away from the tree line. He heads towards the house with Charlie, and I squeeze Emily’s hand as I look at the range of emotions on her face. “It’s just dinner in a warm house, with people that want you there.” She looks at me with slight uncertainty. “If you want to leave at any point, I’ll pack up a couple of plates, and we can come right back, okay?” I watch as she thinks and then slowly takes a step forward.