Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 66

**Blake**

Charlotte stays curled beneath the blanket with her head tucked against Charlie’s shoulder and her legs bent toward me. Her breathing has evened out now, and a few strands of pale hair keep falling across her cheek. Charlie sits still beside her. Still for him, anyway. One arm is braced along the back of the couch behind her, the other resting over the blanket near her knee. Every so often, his eyes drop to check that she is still sleeping properly before he looks back up at whatever is happening in the room. Theo is stretched out in the armchair opposite us with one ankle over his knee and a mug balanced in both hands, unusually quiet for once. Lex paces slowly beneath my skin, calmer now, though still slightly on edge. *Our mate,* he says, and there is a low note of awe in it. *Our beautiful mate.*

I look at her again, and something warm spreads through me. *Yeah,* I send back quietly. *She is.* Lex sounds reverent when he talks about her, and I know what he means. We all watched it happen. We watched Charlotte stand there, Shanti shining through her, and pour that impossible sound into the room until a rogue dropped to his knees and cried like a man waking from a nightmare. My brain can’t fully wrap around the idea. Charlie shifts slightly and glances over at me. “You gonna keep staring at her like that all day?” I blink and look at him, and Theo snorts into his mug. “Didn’t realise I was,” I mutter.

“Sure you didn’t.” Charlotte breathes out and nestles a little deeper into Charlie’s side. His whole body softens straight away, and some tight little knot in my chest eases at the sight of it. There is nothing defensive in him right now. No edge. No warning. Just his sister sleeping against him, while he lets me sit close enough that my leg presses lightly against the blanket over hers. *He lets us stay,* Lex says with a strange, pleased sort of pride. *Yeah,* I tell him. *We’re getting somewhere.*

Charlie’s eyes flick toward me like he knows exactly where my thoughts have gone. “You’re doing it again,” he says quietly. I glance at him. “Doing what?”

“Looking at her like the rest of us aren’t even in the room. It’s creepy, man.” I don’t miss Theo huffing into his mug, trying and failing to hide a grin. I lean back into the couch and drag my gaze from Charlotte long enough to look at them both. “Can you blame me?” Charlie snorts softly. “I really don’t want to answer that.” Charlotte shifts beneath the blanket, her hand loosening near her chest before she settles again, and all three of us go quiet for a second without thinking. Charlie’s eyes drop to her face, checking, and when he looks back up, the edge of his expression has softened. The room stays hushed around us, the house moving in low sounds and muffled footsteps. The three of us sit there with Charlotte sleeping between us like she has become the centre of the whole place without even trying. Theo rolls the mug between his hands. “She’s going to lose her mind when hockey season starts again.” Charlie glances across at him. “Lotty?” Theo nods. “Half the school already froths over game nights. Add in the fact that she’s mated to Wellington’s golden boy, and the whole place is going to be even more unbearable.” I roll my eyes. “Golden boy?” Theo points his mug at me. “You know exactly what you are.” Charlie looks down at Charlotte, then over at me. “She did come to practice pretty quietly the first few times.” I frown slightly at that. “I noticed.”

“She’s naturally quiet,” Charlie says. “It takes her a while to come out of her shell, but when she does, it’s always special.” Theo tips his head back against the chair. “She’ll fit in with the team fine.” Charlie’s mouth twitches. “With the girls, probably. With the idiots in the stands? Different story.”

“She’s already handling you two,” Theo says. “That’s basically advanced training.” This time, Charlie actually laughs, low enough not to wake her.

Then the back door opens and cold air brushes through the hall, followed by the heavier sound of boots on timber. Dad and John come in together, both carrying the outside with them. Snowmelt darkens the hems of their jeans. John has a fresh scratch running along one side of his neck, and Dad’s shoulders are held stiff. Theo straightens, Charlie lifts his head, and I sit forward a little, careful not to bump Charlotte’s legs beneath the blanket. Dad’s eyes go straight to the couch, and he softens when he sees Charlotte asleep there. “How is she?” he asks quietly.

“Sleeping like a baby protected by wolves,” Theo says. Charlie glances down at her and adjusts the blanket higher over her shoulder. “She hasn’t moved much.” Dad nods once, then looks toward the kitchen. “John.” John jerks his head that way, and the two of them start to move off, clearly intending to keep the conversation away from the couch. I push up automatically, and the second I do, Charlotte makes a soft sound. It is barely more than a whimper, but it stops me cold. Her head shifts and her body turns, searching. The blanket pulls with her toward the space I just left. Charlie frowns at me over the top of her bowed head. “Sit.” I look at him as his face stays flat. “She doesn’t want you to go.” Lex goes still beneath my skin, then gives this smug, satisfied little rumble. Our mate wants us close. I sit back down quickly. The cushion dips and Charlotte settles instantly, her body easing with one slow breath, her leg brushing mine beneath the blanket. Charlie watches the whole thing, then shakes his head once while letting out a long sigh. “Well… I guess it’s inevitable.”