My Snow Princess

Stone's Return

Present

The pack house is a flurry of activity as we prepare for the return of Stone and my parents. They are arriving a couple of days earlier than planned, and they didn't send an advanced warning, so we only found out when air control let us know they would be landing soon.

There was fear on everyone's faces and the atmosphere was tense. There was no reason for them to be home early from the Imperial Celebrations, so it was safe to assume something went wrong.

I ran up flight after flight of stairs until I reached the rooftop, where I would greet my family as they came off the helicopter. I already had staff waiting to take their luggage but they were waiting in a different stairwell, so my parents wouldn't see them. They preferred not to see the staff. The staff didn't mind because they were all afraid of Stone.

We had all thought that Stone would be at the Academy for another year. When word was sent back that he had met his mate at the Celebrations and would be bringing her home, the change in morale was clear. My parents were harsh leaders, but the North was used to that, but Stone was something else.

A psychopath. He was a psychopath.

I knew him better than anyone else. Years of waiting on him hand and foot had given me a first row seat to watch his viciousness develop. He loved mind games. He would torture and kill with impunity. It was a packhouse effort to keep as many staff members out of his view. Luckily, there were many hidden passages that my family were unaware of that we were able to utilize to get our jobs done without being seen.

In the past two years, while Stone was away, we had been quietly renovating so that we could add new passages. We wanted to be able to access as many parts of the pack house as possible. My mother was always redecorating so it was easy enough to keep it off their radar.

I put my game face on as I hear the whirring of the helicopter blades approaching the landing. I open the door, ready for them to be able to run in quickly. It was -32 degrees Celsius today. Even werewolves have a hard time staying warm in that weather and we ran much hotter than humans.

Stone jumped out of the helicopter before it even landed. I hadn't seen him in a year, but I wasn't surprised to see that he had added on a lot of muscle. He walked slowly to the door to show that something as simple as the cold wouldn't affect him. Why he felt the need to put on this show when I was the only one watching was beyond me. I kept my face neutral. You can't let Stone see any emotions because then he can manipulate them.

My parents caught up to him as they ran to the door. Once we were all inside, they started off on a brisk walk and I followed. Any pretense of me being part of the family was gone years ago. There was no greeting or 'We missed you'. I would still sit with them at public events, but when it was just us, I was their servant.

I followed them, knowing they would have instructions for me. They didn't like leaving me too much extra time. As a default, they trusted no one. It was ironic that the Alpha's daughter would serve her brother to ensure loyalty, yet they had absolutely no trust in me.

I had done nothing that they knew of to warrant the distrust, but they were right nonetheless. For years, I had been building connections all around our pack to create a network of people to help those in need.

Our pack understood the need for our strict traditions and upbringing because they were needed to survive the harsh environment of the North. However, for as far back as we can remember, each Alpha has become meaner and meaner, culminating in Stone.

At the moment, the main use of my network was to get people out of the pack house once Stone had his sights set on him. Sometimes he killed on the spot and there was nothing we could do, but other times we could get his target out safely. Something as small as over salting his food could put you on his hit list.

The network has also had to provide a fair share of medical assistance. There was only one doctor at the pack house and Stone decided whether he healed the injured or not. Part of his torture would be that you wouldn't get medical assistance. We had doctors who we could sneak in to help with injuries so that they set properly and give medicine to take away the pain if the victim was forced to heal slowly like a human.

When we arrived at my father's office, a couple of guards opened the doors to let my family in. The second they closed, Stone threw a vase across the room. I watched in silence as it shattered. I didn't react, these outbursts weren't abnormal. It's something he's done since he was old enough to throw. No one was worried because anything of value in this office was broken years ago, and we were now watching him break the replacements of the replacements of the replacements.

Eventually, he ran out of steam and turn to face us, screaming, "I want her brought to me!"

"Son, we are just as disappointed as you are. We thought the Onyxmane Alpha had better control of his daughter than he does. She's nothing special. We will find a suitable replacement for her," my father says with disapproval.

"No. I want her," he says, adamantly.

"Honey, why do you care? You said it yourself, she's not your true mate. She's a sheltered, doe-eyed girl. The alliance with the Onyxmane pack is what is important and after this failure, they are prepared to do anything we want," my mother says.

"She was promised to me. I will not look weak by having her stolen away by a Gamma," Stone scoffs.

My father rubs the bridge of his nose and says, "If it was an average Gamma, we would simply take her, but it's not. It's Gamma Killian, he's the Gamma of the Imperial pack. Stealing her won't go unpunished. It will also be next to impossible to get to her now. Everyone is watching and protecting her after the way her parents reacted."

Stone falls into my father's chair behind his desk. I've noticed the shift in dynamics. Stone was taking over, I could see it.

"Tell the Onyxmane pack that we expect them to deliver on their end of the bargain. It's their mistake so they can retrieve her. Give them until the New Year," Stone says decisively, ending the conversation.

My father sighs and says, "Alright. I'll go call them now."