Winter Howl

Chapter Ten – Fire in the Snow

Two days after Fenrik’s challenge, the air in Frostwood turned razor-sharp.

The wolves called it hunter’s weather — a brittle cold that carried sound far and hid predators even farther.

Elysia was on the outer edge of the Frostbane settlement, gathering snowmoss under Calian’s instruction, when a scream tore through the stillness.

Not a howl.

A human scream.

She dropped the satchel and ran toward the sound.

Through the trees, she saw him — one of the younger Frostbane hunters, no older than eighteen, sprawled in the snow, his leg caught in a steel trap. The metallic scent of blood mixed with the raw stink of fear.

“Hold still,” she said, sliding to her knees beside him.

His eyes widened. “You— you’re not—”

“Save your breath,” she cut in, already feeling the frost crawl into her palms. Calian had warned her about using magic without control, but there was no time for careful lessons now.

The trap’s jaws were frozen solid, the teeth biting deep into the boy’s calf. She pressed her hands to the steel, summoning cold — colder than the snow, colder than the air — until the metal groaned and cracked under the strain.

With a sharp snap, the trap shattered.

The boy gasped, clutching his leg. The wound was ugly, blood seeping fast. She didn’t think, didn’t hesitate — just pushed her magic again, this time coaxing the frost into the bleeding flesh, slowing the flow, sealing the edges without killing the skin beneath.

When she looked up, she saw shadows moving — a patrol, drawn by the scream. And at their head, Calian.

For a heartbeat, no one spoke.

Then the boy rasped, “She saved me.”

Murmurs swept the group. One of the older wolves knelt, inspecting the wound, then looked at Elysia with something between shock and reluctant respect.

Calian’s gaze locked on hers, unreadable — but his voice was steady. “Get him back to the healer’s lodge.”

The patrol obeyed, half their eyes still on her.

When the clearing emptied, Calian stepped close. “You could’ve frozen his leg clean off.”

“But I didn’t,” she said.

His mouth twitched — almost a smile. “No. You didn’t.”

The snow between them felt warmer somehow.