Frost Bite.

Chapter Seven.

Nixon.

She was so weak, so exhausted as she lay in the snow, her hair flared out around her with her hand tightened around the necklace that she stole from me. I knelt beside her, eyes roaming over her facial features, from her bloody chin and smudged lips to her gaping mouth and canines. Her eyes were no longer a deep, vibrant blue but instead a faded mix between grey and black. There was no more fight left in them when her body convulsed and another cry escaped her. I moved to brush her hair back from her eyes, watching her calm down at my touch, her breathing becoming less ragged and frantic. She was like a wounded animal, vulnerable and at the mercy of the world around her. I slipped both of my arms underneath her and lifted her, standing as her head fell backwards, limp so she was staring at the world from an upside down perspective. I moved her so that her head instead rested on my chest with one arm tucked beside her body and the other dangling down towards the ground, still gripping my necklace. Her eyes began to droop, looking up at me through half shut lids as I started walking in the direction of the castle, being careful not to enter through the Courtyard for fear of being spotted. No one could know of my ties to the commoner wolf. I carried her through the castle halls and to my bed Chambers that was located in the East wing, away from most of the activity. I slipped through the double doors and splayed her out across the surface of my bed, the dark sheets a stark contrast to her milk white skin and her silver hair. She had fallen unconscious during the trip so I decided to clean her myself, retrieving a cloth from the bathing room and wetting it before I sat down on the bed beside her and started wiping at the areas around her mouth and chin. Her bottom lip caught on the cloth and exposed one of her lower fangs that I gently ran my thumb over, pausing to examine its sharpness and length. She stirred when I moved on to her hips, waist and thighs, cleaning until there was no more blood left to be found. The coat she was wrapped in smelt strongly of leather, dirt and alcohol so I peeled it away and replaced it with my own jacket, dressing her in it as best I could and buttoning it up to her navel. I draped a blanket over her and returned to my desk where stacks of paperwork were awaiting me, along with a book on the history of wolves that I still needed to finish reading. I leaned back in my desk chair and opened the thick, brown leather bound book to continue scanning the pages, hoping that I could gain some type of understanding for her. I wanted to know how she worked, what she felt like, why she felt and acted the way she did and since there were no other documented wolves that I could turn to for answered, all I had to go on where the scribbled writings of a man from over a hundred years ago.

Aron.

She hadn't been looking at me, her eyes had been looking at him, the man who had ordered me to bring her to the Capital where she was to be trialed for the theft of his mother's necklace. She collapsed in the snow, chest and back heaving, body going limp, barely moving and seeming almost like she was dying as she coughed and gasped and groaned in agony. I shrugged off my coat and was about to head in her direction to cover her, to help her when the King appeared at my side, holding his hand out to me, fingers covered in heavy rings while his coat fluttered in the chilling wind "Leave us" he ordered. I could not deny a direct order from my King. I handed him my coat and took one last glance back in Blythe's direction before I left, heading back towards the armory. I paused some feet away and ducked behind the base of a large tree to observe from afar as he draped my coat over her and knelt in front of her, hand brushing across her cheek to tuck her hair away. She immediately calmed down and when he lifted her up in his arms, she looked at him with tired and relaxed eyes. Her hand clung to his necklace as if it was her last breath, desperate and frightened. It was clear that she and the King were close, far closer than I had first realized. I slipped away in between the trees and returned to the armory, kicking myself for ever having been attracted to her both physically and mentally since she was already taken and by a nobleman no less. What could she possibly see in a lowly Huntsman like myself.

Blythe.

I was standing in a white clearing, eyes searching for something, for someone. My wolf stood across from me, her black eyes almost glaring at me as I turned to continue my search 'He is not our mate' he voice said in the back of my mind, drawing my eyes back to her. I stood naked, my form, face and features reflecting in her eyes as the sky above us swirled black, glittered with stars. I saw a figure move in the trees behind her and began running after it, my body crashing into hers and causing her to shatter like grey glass around me. I hardly took the time to think as I ran, breathing white, hair a mess from the nipping winds of the North 'He is not our mate' her voice repeated, somewhat louder, this time echoing throughout the trees around me. I stopped and turned in every direction, eyes scanning the grey trees, the white snow and black sky. All I knew was that I had to find him, I had to see him, his face. I reached a cliff overlooking the sea and there my wolf stood once more, eyes burning as she faced me, her back towards the black horizon 'He is not ours' she said once more, taking a threatening step towards me. I stayed rooted in place, my mind trying to remember his face, his smell, his voice but I couldn't, I could barely remember his name. She suddenly changed, body becoming smoke that took on the form of a man dressed in black with eyes as green as the summer trees to the South "I am right here" he said, moving forward. I took a step back, shaking my head as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember. Were his eyes green? No, they were dark grey, almost black. My eyes snapped open and in front of me he stood, a crazed look in his eyes, lips curled back in a playful grin as he stepped closer, his arms bare with scars littering his tan skin. He forced me into a tree, arms on either side of my head as he leaned in close so that our noses were touching and his breathing fanned my lips "I am right here" his gruff voice whispered, hand moving to cup the side of my face before gripping my chin harshly. He kissed me, his lips devouring mine as his tongue pushed through to battle with mine. I melted into him, eyes closing to savor the kiss along with its taste of musk and alcohol but when I opened them again, a man with darker hair and paler skin was the one kissing me 'He is not our mate!' my wolf yelled in the back of my mind as I pushed the man away, struggling against him, fists raining down on his chest as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. This person who was kissing me was King Nixtoni and not the one I wanted to be close too. I pulled away from him long enough to scream a name that was not his "Aronis!"

I sat up straight in a bed that wasn't mine, heartbeat racing, breathing ragged and eyes wide. Opposite of me hung a mirror on the wall where I could see myself dressed in a black coat that was buttoned up just enough to cover my core but only went to under my bust area. The coat had silver and blue detailing and was made of silk and cotton. My mind went to the person from my dream, the man with green eyes and then to the necklace. I looked to my neck but it wasn't there so my hands roamed the black material beneath me for any sign of it "Looking for this?" a voice that sent chills down the back of my spine questioned. I froze, knowing that it was the man my wolf preferred and prayed that she'd remain dormant for the time being as I slowly turned to face him, seated behind a large wood desk. His index finger was hooked around the silver chain that was attacked to his neck and from it dangled the bear pendant "My King" I breathed, one leg dangling over the edge of the bed while the other was tucked beside me. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he leaned forward in his seat, elbows propped up onto the surface of the desk with a sinister gleam in his eyes like he owned me. I realized then that he did, he was King and if he wanted to, he could have me killed within seconds of him saying the word "Do you know why this necklace means so much to me?" he asked, not bothered by my use of his title. He dropped the necklace, letting it bounce against his chest before he stood, the seat scrapping back on the marble flooring as he moved around it "It used to belong to my mother before she passed away" I could feel my skin tingling as he got closer, my fingers tightening on the material of the bed sheets and my breathing leaving my lips as uneven gusts of air. I got onto the bed and made to back away across the feather mattress when my wolf stopped me. My body froze and I was unable to move. He stopped at the edge of the bed and removed the necklace, placing one knee on the mattress to lean in and attack it around my neck. His knuckles brushed against my skin and resulted in my heart starting to thunder in my ears "And now I give it to you" he began, his hand moving to glide across my cheek and jaw until he was able to grip my chin between his forefinger and thumb like he had done in my dream. I felt trapped, stuck, squeezed in between him and my wolf "Because you are very important to me" my eyes shot up to his, wider than expected. I had not heard those words be addressed to me since I was a small child and hearing them made my soul ache with a need, a desire to be close to him. I leaned up, our fronts pressing up against each other as my hand gripped his undercoat almost longingly. My lips hovered over his, eyes drooped and just as I was about to kiss him, my own words echoed in the back of my mind 'He is someone very important to me' the words I had said to Mila when she had asked about mine and Aron's relationship tore me out of my daze. An image of his face flickered before me, tan skin with a dark, short bears, eyes the color of a storm and brown hair that hung into those very eyes. The small scars that littered his face, the wrinkles in his forehead and around his eyes, the white teeth that showed whenever he'd shoot me a sly smirk with one gold one hidden off to the side "I-I" I stammered, placing my palm flat against his chest and pushing against him lightly. He moved away from me with question in his eyes and watched me curiously. I stared down at the bed sheets, understanding that the attraction I felt towards him was not me but my wolf manipulating me "I must go" I abandoned the bed, hands quickly moving to remove his coat that fell to the floor as I scooped up the old, worn one made of fur that was draped across the back of a sofa. I tugged it onto my frame, buttoning it up and tugging my hair out of the heavy material around my neck. Nixon stood by his bed, eyes following my every move "Your ceremony as the new Commander of the Guard will be held tomorrow" he informed as if nothing had happened. I turned to look back at him to find that his eyes held a challenge, one to get me to fall for him. My wolf enjoyed the look but I felt threatened by it and headed for the double doors to the Chamber "I will not be late, my King" with that I left, closing the heavy doors behind me and leaning back against them as I heaved a sigh of relief at being distanced from him. I could feel the dull pain starting to rise in my legs and arms as I walked down the hallways and corridors, trying to find my way back to him.