Chapter 10
1583 Words
Festival Preparations
The White Fang Palace had never been this busy. Servants hurried through the halls carrying decorations. Warriors moved crates of supplies across the courtyard. Children ran around chasing one another while pretending to help.
Music echoed from distant buildings.
Laughter drifted through the snowy air.
Everywhere Sam looked, excitement buzzed like electricity. The Winter Moon Festival was finally approaching. And the entire White Fang Territory was preparing for it.
Everyone seemed excited.
Everyone except one person.
Froz White Fang.
“Absolutely not.”
Sam sighed.
There it was.
The phrase she had heard at least twenty times that morning.
They stood in the main courtyard surrounded by workers preparing festival decorations. Queen Rhed had placed them in charge of overseeing the preparations.
Unfortunately.
Or fortunately.
Depending on who was asked.
Because forcing Sam and Froz to work together had become Queen Rhed’s favorite hobby.
“Why not?” Sam asked.
Froz crossed his arms. “Because it’s unnecessary.”
“It looks beautiful.”
“It’s excessive.”
“It looks beautiful.”
“It’s excessive.”
Metro stood nearby.
Watching.
Judging.
Probably enjoying himself.
The traitor.
Sam pointed toward a large silver archway covered with glowing lanterns.
“The entrance needs more decorations.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
A nearby servant whispered to another servant. “Five silver coins on Lady Summit.”
The other servant nodded. “Agreed.”
Apparently people had started betting on their arguments.
Wonderful.
Froz pinched the bridge of his nose. “You are impossible.”
Sam grinned. “You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
The grin widened. “And yet you’re still here.”
For some reason, that shut him up.
Only for a second.
But still.
Victory.
Tiny victory.
Yet victory nonetheless.
Later that afternoon, the preparations became even more chaotic. Queen Rhed had apparently decided that the Winter Moon Festival needed to be bigger than previous years.
Much bigger.
The result?
Absolute madness.
Sam loved it.
Froz hated it.
Which naturally meant she loved it even more.
She stood in the center of the festival square directing workers.
“No, move that table over there.”
The workers obeyed.
“More lanterns.”
They obeyed again.
“Flowers.”
More obedience.
Froz arrived carrying several documents.
Immediately frowning.
“What are you doing?”
Sam blinked. “Working.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
The Alpha stared.
Then slowly looked around.
The entire square had transformed.
Colorful banners hung from rooftops.
Lanterns lined every path.
Decorations covered every available surface.
Children were helping paint signs.
Even the warriors looked interested.
The place felt alive.
Warm.
Happy.
For a brief moment—
Froz remembered what the palace used to feel like before his father’s death.
Before grief.
Before betrayal.
Before loneliness.
The memory disappeared quickly.
But not before Sam noticed something.
A shadow.
A brief sadness in his eyes.
The smile slipped from her face.
“Froz?”
His attention returned immediately. “What?”
“You okay?” The question caught him off guard.
Nobody asked him that.
Ever.
The Alpha blinked.
Then frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Sam shrugged. “You looked sad.”
Silence.
For some reason, that answer made his chest tighten.
Because she noticed.
Again.
She always noticed.
Things nobody else saw.
Things he worked hard to hide.
Things he didn’t want to think about.
The moment stretched.
Then he looked away first.
“I’m fine.” The answer sounded distant.
Sam didn’t believe him.
Not even slightly.
But she let it go.
For now.
That evening, snow began falling again. Large snowflakes drifted from the darkening sky. The festival square glowed beneath hundreds of lanterns.
Workers slowly headed home.
Servants returned inside.
The palace became quieter.
Sam remained behind.
Admiring the decorations.
She smiled.
Everything looked beautiful.
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
“You missed one.”
She turned.
Froz stood nearby.
Pointing toward a crooked lantern.
Sam groaned. “Seriously?”
The Alpha nodded. “Seriously.”
She squinted.
The lantern was slightly crooked.
Barely.
Almost impossible to notice.
Of course he noticed.
The annoying man noticed everything.
“Nobody cares.”
“I care.”
She stared.
The words came out so naturally that she almost missed them.
Almost.
A strange feeling stirred inside her chest.
Before she could examine it—
The ladder beneath her suddenly shifted.
Her balance disappeared.
The world tilted.
And once again—
She began falling.
“Ah!” The scream escaped before she could stop it.
Strong arms immediately wrapped around her waist.
Stopping the fall.
Everything froze.
Again.
It seemed to happen a lot lately.
Sam opened her eyes.
And found herself staring directly into Froz’s.
Blue.
Cold.
Yet somehow not cold at all.
Not anymore.
His hands remained on her waist.
Her hands had grabbed his shoulders.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Neither seemed capable of breathing.
For a long moment—
The world simply disappeared.
Then a nearby worker shouted:
“Should we leave?”
Another worker answered.
“Definitely.”
Everyone immediately scattered.
Fast.
Very fast.
Sam’s face turned bright red.
She quickly stepped back.
Too quickly.
The sudden loss of warmth felt strange.
Dangerous.
Confusing.
Froz looked equally uncomfortable.
Which somehow made her feel better.
A little.
Only a little.
The next morning arrived with another disaster.
Naturally.
Because peace rarely lasted around Summit Angel Warm.
The disaster arrived in the form of children.
Lots of children.
Apparently several families had already arrived early for the festival. Their children immediately discovered Sam.
And decided they loved her.
A mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Because within minutes—
The future Luna had become a playground attraction.
“Lady Summit!”
“Lady Summit!”
“Lady Summit!”
Sam laughed.
Surrounded.
Captured.
Hopelessly outnumbered.
The children dragged her across the courtyard.
Showing her drawings.
Stories.
Snow sculptures.
Everything.
She adored every second.
Froz did not.
The Alpha watched from a distance.
Trying to work.
Failing.
The constant noise made concentration impossible. One little girl suddenly ran toward him. Froz immediately became suspicious. Experience had taught him that whenever children approached—
Summit was usually involved.
The girl stopped in front of him.
Then held out a flower.
A tiny winter flower.
The Alpha blinked. “What is this?”
The child smiled. “For you.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Nearby warriors stopped moving.
Servants stopped moving.
The entire courtyard stopped moving.
Nobody knew what would happen.
The girl continued smiling.
Completely fearless.
Completely unaware she was offering a flower to one of the most feared Alphas in the North.
Then—
Unexpectedly—
Froz accepted it.
The child giggled.
Then ran away.
The courtyard collectively exhaled.
Several warriors looked emotional.
One servant looked ready to cry.
Froz immediately regretted everything.
Especially when he spotted Sam watching.
Smiling.
That smile.
That irritating smile.
That beautiful smile.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Later that day, Queen Rhed gathered everyone for a planning meeting. Which turned out to be a mistake. Because Sam had ideas.
Many ideas.
Too many ideas.
“We need a skating area.”
“No.”
“Music competitions.”
“No.”
“Storytelling contests.”
“No.”
“Snow sculptures.”
“No.”
Metro quietly wrote everything down.
Traitor.
Absolute traitor.
Froz noticed. “Why are you writing that?”
Metro looked up. “Queen Rhed approved them.”
Silence.
Froz slowly turned toward his mother.
The Queen smiled.
Sweetly.
Dangerously.
The Alpha closed his eyes.
Defeat.
Pure defeat.
Sam nearly fell out of her chair laughing.
That night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, Sam found herself wandering through the palace.
Again.
The habit had become normal.
Sometimes she simply liked the quiet.
The peace.
The solitude.
Eventually she found herself standing on a balcony overlooking the territory.
Moonlight covered the mountains.
Snow sparkled below.
Everything looked magical.
A familiar presence appeared beside her.
Froz.
Neither seemed surprised anymore.
“You should sleep.”
Sam smiled. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The nightly lecture.”
The Alpha sighed. “You need rest.”
“And you don’t?”
“No.”
“See?” She pointed triumphantly. “That’s the problem.”
Froz raised an eyebrow. “What problem?”
“You act like you’re a machine.”
Silence.
Then unexpectedly—
He laughed.
Not loudly.
Not long.
Just a short breath of amusement. But it was enough. Enough to shock both of them.
Sam’s eyes widened.
“Wait.”
Immediately.
The Alpha regretted it.
“You laughed.”
“No.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You absolutely did.”
The grin spreading across her face made him want to leave.
Immediately.
Instead—
He stayed.
Watching the moon.
Watching the mountains.
Watching her.
The realization came suddenly.
Unexpectedly.
Dangerously.
The palace no longer felt empty.
The silence no longer felt comforting.
And for the first time in years—
Froz found himself looking forward to tomorrow.
Because tomorrow meant another argument.
Another smile.
Another moment with the girl who had somehow invaded every corner of his life.
The thought should have bothered him.
Instead—
It didn’t.
And that terrified him more than anything.
Because somewhere between the snowball fights, the teasing, the late-night conversations, and the stolen smiles—
The Cold-Blooded Alpha had stopped merely tolerating Summit Angel Warm.
He had started needing her.
- Writer
