My Snow Princess

Friendly Visit

After roaming the pack house and grounds at the Imperial pack for the past two days, I know my way around. Despite no one announcing who I am or where I'm from, news seems to have gotten around. I look like the spitting image of my mother and Stone, so I'm not surprised.

By the third day, I'm so bored by all the frosty glares that I decide to venture out to find Josie. By now, she should have had enough time to catch up on doctor's appointments and see friends.

All I know is that she lives in the barracks in a house, so I head in that direction. Everyone I pass gives me a weary glance, but I'm so used to not fitting in that I don't care. At my home pack, I mostly socialized with the servants, but they all watched me carefully because I was part of the Alpha's family. No one ever truly trusted me.

It's actually a little surprising that I'm allowed to walk around this pack freely. I don't know if Josie vouched for me or if being Colt's mate buys me a bit of trust, but I'll take it.

I find the only house within the barracks and take my chances that I'm in the right place. I knock on the door and am greeted by Killian confused face, "Hey Aniu. I didn't know you were coming. Come on in."

I shrug and say, "I'm getting a little bored by myself in the pack house. I thought I'd come check on how Josie was doing."

"Of course. I'm glad you're here. I want to thank you for everything you did for Josie. She told me how much you helped her while in the Northern pack, and we all know the escape was 100% planned by you," he says, with genuine gratitude.

I wave off his thanks, uncomfortable with compliments and gratitude, saying, "I'm happy to be out of there. I created the escape routes and a network of help for that exact type of situation. And Josie turned out to be more than worth saving. You have an amazing mate there. So smart."

He stops and faces me and reiterated, "You can downplay it, but I know what you did was a big deal. I know you weren't loyal to your family, but I know you love your pack and your territory. You left not knowing when you would be able to return and that's not easy. I'm glad you think so highly of my mate. She feels the same."

He turns back around, likely because of how uncomfortable the compliments are making me and I appreciate it. He guides me to the backyard where Josie is sitting with a hot chocolate.

When she sees me, her face lights up. "Aniu, it's so good to see you. Sorry I haven't been able to show you around yet. I've been gone for a while, so there were things I needed to get done. Come sit," she says, patting the chair beside her.

I'm not used to such a sunny Josie, and it's nice to see. I sit in the chair she guided me to and say, "Don't worry about it. You've been gone for a while. I'm glad you had time to get settled," I reassure her.

Killian offers me something to drink, then goes off to make me a hot chocolate.

"You're in for a treat. Killy makes an amazing hot chocolate," she says seriously.

I laugh and say, "I can't believe you call the commander of the Imperial Army Killy."

"He's a softie when you get to know him," she says. I just shake my head at her naivety. She's so smart that I forget how sheltered her upbringing was. I'm sure no one calls him Killy but her. However, I get a fun idea.

Killian returns with my hot chocolate and I say, "Thanks Killy."

It's hard to keep a straight face as I say it. His head snaps to me, and he shakes it to tell me no. Josie can't see, and I laugh. He is a completely different person for her, so much softer, and it's so nice to see. In my pack, you don't see a lot of happy mates because we don't treat the mate bond as we should. It's ironic that my pack wants to take over with the claim they want to restore tradition.

"So how are things going with Colt?" Josie asks.

I can't hide my surprise at her question. Everyone seemed to have forgotten, leave it to Josie to remember.

I shrug and say, "I haven't really seen him since I got back."

She makes a face and I say, "Not all mate bonds have the heat yours have."

"That's not true for you. I saw the two of you together and I felt the tension. I also know both of you and I know you would be perfect for each other. You're exactly who each other needs," she argues.

"Josie, I've told you what my pack is like. It's too dangerous. Maybe if he was some unknown shifter I could disappear to some far away pack and they would give up trying to find me, but I've made too much of a statement. What I did made them look weak. What do you think would be the most obvious direct hit to counteract it?" I ask.

She nods in understanding and says, "Kill Colt."

"Exactly."

Killian jumps in defense of his friends and says, "I don't think you guys understand how hard it would be to kill Colt. He didn't get the role of Beta for no reason. It's not a given that you inherit your father's position. There are trials that need to be performed. You may inherit the Beta gene, but you need to learn everything that goes along with it."

"At the end of the day, he's one person and the Northern pack has more reach than you think. It's better if no one knows. I like my independence anyway, I'm not worth the bother," I say, shrugging off the topic.

It's at that moment that I learn that they don't lock their door.

"You're worth it. Don't ever say that," Colt says angrily. The intensity in his eyes makes me shiver. I've never felt more special than when Colt looks at me.