Chapter 16: Cracks in the Ice
863 Words
Morning came like a bruise — cold, blue, and slow to fade.
Raine woke to silence.
Luca wasn’t beside her.
She sat up quickly, heart thudding. Her skin was slick with sweat, her breath unsteady. The fur blanket tangled around her legs was torn — shredded by her claws during the night.
Another sign.
The curse was stirring again.
She looked down at her hands. The veins beneath her skin glowed faintly silver, even in daylight. They pulsed with something wild. Hungry.
She couldn’t let the others see it.
⸻
Luca stood on the ridge above the camp, shirtless despite the cold, staring out across the frozen treetops. His back was bandaged, still healing from the spear wound. The wind tugged at his dark hair, and his wolf stirred beneath the surface — restless.
He’d felt her stir.
Not just physically.
Through the bond.
The connection they’d deepened last night was still raw and buzzing inside him — electric, addictive, dangerous.
Silas approached from behind, his footsteps silent. “She’s changing.”
“I know.”
“Faster now.”
“I know.”
Silas studied him for a moment. “And you? Are you ready to lead them into war with your heart already claimed?”
Luca didn’t look away from the trees. “It’s not a weakness.”
“No,” Silas said softly. “It’s your biggest strength. And the greatest weapon they’ll try to use against you.”
⸻
Back in the cave, Raine scrubbed her skin raw in the stream behind the rocks, trying to wash away the scent of ash that never seemed to fade. Her thoughts were fractured, memories flashing like lightning behind her eyes — not hers, not exactly.
A forest on fire.
A child screaming.
Her own voice — older, darker, whispering spells she didn’t know she knew.
“Blood remembers. Even when you don’t.”
She flinched.
The voice wasn’t her own.
She looked up — and caught her reflection in the water.
For a moment, her eyes were black.
⸻
That evening, the council gathered.
It wasn’t formal — not yet — but it was serious. Silas, Luca, Wren, the other scouts, and two of the older betas. Raine stood near the back, her hood up, shadowed.
Wren began. “There are signs of movement near the eastern border. Ember Pack scouts. They’re not hiding anymore.”
One of the betas leaned forward. “They want us to see them. To make us act first.”
Another added, “Or to draw Luca out.”
Luca stayed quiet until they finished. Then he stood, shoulders squared.
“I’ll go.”
“No,” Raine said, voice sharp.
All heads turned.
Luca looked at her, but she didn’t flinch this time.
“If they want you, they’ll use magic. The same kind they used in that clearing. They want to turn you into a weapon. Or break you.”
“Then let them try,” Luca said calmly.
“They already have. They sent that wraith with your father’s voice.” Raine stepped forward now, eyes bright. “Don’t you get it? This isn’t just war. It’s personal. Blood magic means blood lines. They’re after both of us now.”
The room fell silent.
Luca finally nodded. “Then we fight together.”
Silas frowned. “Not yet. We’re not ready.”
“We don’t have time,” Luca countered. “You saw what they did to Eli. What if the next trap kills someone?”
“What do you suggest?” Wren asked.
Luca glanced at Raine. “We take the fight to them. A raid. Small. Targeted. One of their outposts.”
“You want to provoke them?” a beta growled.
“No,” Luca said. “I want them to know we’re not prey.”
⸻
🌒 That Night
Raine couldn’t sleep.
Not because of the cold, or the pressure of the coming mission — but because she could hear it again.
The whispering.
Soft. Twisting.
“He will burn for you.
You will break for him.”
She stumbled out of the cave, bare feet crunching over frost. The moon hung low, blood-orange and swollen. Her breath came fast. Her body felt wrong. Heavy. Buzzing.
She fell to her knees near the treeline, her hands sinking into snow.
Something inside her was rising.
Trying to take.
“Let me in…”
“No,” she gasped.
But it didn’t stop.
It wanted the bond.
Wanted Luca.
And it was starting to win.
⸻
Suddenly, warm arms wrapped around her. Luca’s voice broke through the fog.
“Raine. It’s okay. I’m here.”
She shook her head. “I—I couldn’t stop it. It wants to use me. It’s using us.”
He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “Then we fight it. Together.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “What if I hurt you?”
“You already have,” he whispered. “And I still chose you.”
She collapsed against him, breathing hard.
And he held her, even as the silver light pulsed under her skin like something barely chained.
- Writer
