Stolen on Christmas

Beneath the Frost

The beast shattered into shards of frost and mist, dissolving into nothingness.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping for breath. My magic sputtered out, leaving me drained and shivering.

Valen strode toward me, his expression carved from stone, but something flickered in his eyes — something close to... concern.

"You’re reckless," he growled, sheathing his blade.

"You’re welcome," I bit back, still shaking.

His gaze darkened, sharp with frustration... but also something warmer, something I couldn’t quite name. "You could’ve been killed," he said, softer this time.

I lifted my chin, defiant despite my trembling. "So could you."

For a heartbeat, we just stared at each other — breathless, exhausted, and alive.

Finally, Valen sighed and extended a gloved hand toward me. "We need to keep moving."

This time... I took his hand.

I didn’t know why I did it. Maybe I was too tired, too shaken from the fight, or maybe it was the way he’d looked at me just then—almost like he cared. But whatever it was, my pride took a back seat to survival. I gripped his hand, letting him pull me to my feet. My legs wobbled beneath me, but I managed to stay upright. We stood there for a moment, the air thick with the bite of winter, before Valen began walking again, leading the way through the endless expanse of snow.

I stumbled after him, still dizzy, my breath coming in sharp gasps. The cold cut into me like jagged shards of glass, each breath I took burning my lungs. The frost clung to my skin, and I could feel it creeping beneath my coat, gnawing at me with icy fingers.

"This way," Valen called over his shoulder, not looking back. I didn’t question him. What choice did I have? There were no paths here, no landmarks — just a frozen wasteland stretching out endlessly in all directions. It felt like the world itself had been swallowed by winter, frozen in place by some curse I didn’t understand.

The howls of the Frost Wraiths had faded into the distance, but a sense of foreboding still clung to the air. The forest around us felt... alive. But not in the way I was used to. The trees were twisted, their branches gnarled and covered in thick layers of frost, reaching out like skeletal fingers. The wind whipped through the branches, carrying with it a strange, mournful whisper — as if the very land was grieving.

"I don’t understand any of this," I muttered, more to myself than to him.

Valen didn’t respond right away, but I could feel his eyes on me. It wasn’t a comforting feeling. His gaze was too intense, too unsettling. It made me want to squirm beneath his scrutiny.

"You will," he said, his voice low, "in time."

I didn’t know what to say to that. How could I understand something that made no sense? A cursed land, monsters lurking in the shadows, and now, a vampire who claimed I was his mate? It felt like a nightmare, one that I couldn’t wake up from no matter how hard I tried.

The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating, until Valen spoke again, his tone almost conversational.

"Tell me, Mina... Do you ever wonder why you’ve always felt different?"

I froze, my heart skipping a beat. The question hung in the air like a challenge, but I couldn’t answer him. How could I? I didn’t even know what he meant.

"I... I don’t know what you mean," I said, my voice shaking despite my efforts to sound confident. Valen stopped walking, turning to face me. His eyes were dark, unreadable, but there was something in his gaze that made my pulse quicken.

"From the moment I found you, there was something about you. Something I couldn’t place, but it was there. You’ve always been marked, Mina."

"Marked?" My voice was barely a whisper, my chest tightening with an unease I couldn’t shake. "What do you mean by that?"

He didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he took a step closer, his presence swallowing up the space between us. I wanted to back away, but my legs felt like they might give out if I moved.

"You’ve always been connected to this place," he said, his voice a low murmur, like he was speaking to himself more than to me. "The curse runs through your veins, just like it does mine. It’s why you can feel the magic of this land... why you were drawn here, even if you didn’t know it."

I stared at him, struggling to make sense of his words. "That’s impossible. I’ve never been... connected to anything like this."

"You’ve always had the power," Valen continued, his voice growing quieter, more intense. "You just didn’t know how to harness it. The curse has kept you dormant, but now that you’re here... it’s awakening."

I shook my head. It sounded insane. I had power? Magic? It didn’t fit with the life I knew, the ordinary world I came from.

"You’re wrong," I said, more to convince myself than him.

Valen’s gaze softened, his expression unreadable. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, like he was searching for the right words.

“Perhaps... Perhaps I should show you,” he said finally. "The curse is a heavy thing to bear. It’s a bond that can’t be broken easily. But there’s more to it than just power. There’s a purpose, a reason you’re here. And I believe you’ll understand it soon enough."

I couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. I could barely grasp the reality of my situation as it was. The curse? Power? A bond between us? It all felt too much, too overwhelming.

The wind howled again, and I shivered, pulling my coat tighter around me. I wanted to argue, to demand answers, but part of me knew he wasn’t wrong. There was something about this place, something about him, that pulled at me in ways I couldn’t explain.

Before I could say anything more, there was a rustling sound ahead. My senses snapped back into focus, my body on high alert.

Valen’s hand shot out to grip my arm, pulling me behind him in one fluid motion. He didn’t have to say a word. I could feel the tension in his body, the way his muscles coiled like a predator about to strike.

Another Frost Wraith emerged from the trees, its hollow eyes glowing with a cold, unnatural light.

There was no time to react. Valen was already moving, his blade flashing through the air. I heard the sickening c***k of bone, and the Wraith disintegrated into nothingness.

But before I could breathe, another one appeared, and then another.

"I thought they couldn’t track us after the fight earlier," I whispered, panic creeping into my chest.

"They’ve sensed you," Valen said, his voice calm, but I could hear the underlying urgency. "We can’t stop them all. We need to get to safety, and quickly."

I nodded, my heart pounding as I followed him. The Frost Wraiths were closing in, their movements swift and relentless.

Valen glanced over his shoulder. "Trust me."

And for some inexplicable reason, I did.