Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 29

**Blake**

The door closes behind them, and I instantly hate myself for not being able to keep my mate safe. Charlotte’s scent lingers in the hallway, strawberries and cream, mixed with my scent on the jacket. It trails toward the front door and then fades, swallowed by winter air the moment she steps outside. Lex paces under my skin like he’s trying to claw his way out. *Go. Follow. Bring her back.* I stand in the living room, my hands clenched at my sides, watching the spot where she was sitting, as if staring hard enough will rewind the last ten minutes and make her choose differently. They have their reasons, and I get that, but it doesn’t stop the ache in my chest. Dad’s voice cuts through the quiet. “Let them get to the end of the driveway.” Theo snickers, “This feels like the worst version of letting a kid touch a hot stove.” Dad shoots him a look, and Theo lifts both hands. “What? I’m not wrong.” Lex makes a low growl. *Mine.* I turn on Dad. “We can’t let them go back there.” His gaze stays calm despite everything he just heard. “We can’t force them to stay.”

“She’s hurt,” I snap, my voice rising before I can control it. “She’s going to get hurt again.” Dad’s expression tightens as he runs a hand down his face. “I know, but having Alpha blood doesn’t mean you get to take their choice away,” he says, quiet and firm. “It means you learn to hold your power until it’s needed.” Lex bristles at that, and I swallow the urge to argue but Lex keeps pacing, still restless, still furious. I can’t just do nothing. I won’t do nothing. I step toward the window and look out. Theo comes up beside me. “You’re going, aren’t you?” Mum steps in front of me before I can reach the door. She looks up at my face with that quiet mum strength that has always been scarier than my dad’s growl. “No hero moves,” she says. “You hear me. No bursting in. No threats. No violence unless it’s necessary.”

“I won’t,” I promise, even though Lex is snarling at the idea. Mum’s hand comes to my cheek for a second, softly holding there. “You’re allowed to be furious,” she says. “Just don’t let fury choose for you.” I nod once and step around her.

The cold hits the second I open the door. It clears my head like a slap. I cut around the side of the house, into the trees behind the yard, where the snow is deeper and strip down fast. I hang my clothes on a low branch the way I’ve done a hundred times, and shift. Lex takes over instantly, and we run. We stay on the long edge of the neighbourhood and stick to the bush line that runs parallel to the road—staying in cover and staying quiet. Charlotte’s scent is easy to catch, and it doesn’t take me long to catch up to them. I can make sure she’s safe from here. Lex slows near the end of the street. We watch from behind a cluster of trees as Charlie and Charlotte reach their driveway. Charlie keeps glancing up at the porch, body tense. Charlotte stays close to his side, and I watch as she takes his hand as they pause at the base of the steps. Are they considering turning around? Do they want to come home with me? Will they see that I can keep them safe? My chest tightens. *Go back,* I think at her, uselessly. Charlotte inhales deeply once, then forces herself forward, and Charlie unlocks the door. They slip inside. Lex stays frozen behind the trees, ears forward, listening for anything, but there’s nothing. No crash. No shout. No thud. Relief hits me quietly.

But it doesn’t last. I know that quiet doesn’t mean safe. Quiet means it hasn’t started yet. Lex paces in a tight circle, frustrated. He wants to cross the yard. He wants to put his body between her and every bad thing that has ever touched her. He wants to mark her, claim her, make the world understand she is protected. I force him to stay. Not yet. Not like this. I will wait. I’ll wait, and I’ll watch for as long as I have to for her to make the choice. Minutes drag by as Lex sits in the snow, eyes locked on the house. Then, faint on the wind, that rotten scent threads through the night again. Rogue. It’s not close enough to be in the yard, but it’s definitely in our territory, and that sets every nerve on edge. Lex lifts his head and snarls silently. *Dad,* I send through the link quickly. *Rogue scent near the north-east outskirts.* A response comes back just as quickly. *Copy. Patrol is moving.* I stay where I am, eyes fixed on the dark house.

A light flickers on upstairs, and a shadow moves behind an old curtain. Then it’s gone. My teeth ache with the need to do something. *Charlotte,* I think, even though she can’t hear me. *Please be asleep. Please be with Charlie. Please be okay.* Lex finally settles into the snow, chin on his paws, watching. Time passes, and the house stays quiet. The rogue stink fades a fraction as patrol shifts it farther away. I let out a long breath through Lex’s nose. I should go back, but my body won’t move yet, not while she’s behind that door. I understand something in that moment that I didn’t understand when I first scented her on the ice. Finding a mate is not just a gift. It’s a responsibility, and mine has been surviving alone for a long time. If she’s going to trust me, it won’t be because I showed up like a storm and dragged her out of her life. It will be because I keep showing up, quietly and patiently. It will be because she looks back one day and realises she hasn’t been alone for a while. Lex closes his eyes for a second, but his ears stay sharp. *Mine,* he thinks. I stay in the snow until the sky begins to lighten, guarding a house I’m not allowed to enter, and a girl I’m not allowed to claim, hoping that being near is better than being nowhere at all.