Winter's Wolf (A Court of Shifters Chronicles #1)

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  I laughed. “Classic? As compared to what?”

  “You don’t meet too many panthers in these parts or anything.” James gazed around the meadow. “At least that I know of. One never knows what shifters are around I suppose.”

  “True.” I’d learned not to jump to conclusions too. Shifters were very good at hiding and blending in even if they were required to register with a court if they lived within the borders.

  “What is your experience with battle?” Frost turned the question back on James.

  James grinned. “You don’t even want to know.”

  “Yet I do.” Frost shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I absolutely want to know.”

  “You could write a book about it.” James’ grin widened. “Or many.”

  “I assumed there must be a reason they brought you in.” The Courts hated to even turn to each other for help, let alone turn to outsiders. “So I’ll take your word.”

  “As I implied, I have a lot of experience.”

  “Against Dwellers?” Frost crossed his arms. “In particular?”

  “Unfortunately.” James’ expression darkened. “And against some far worse.”

  “What are the Dwellers?” Frost asked. “No one has quite explained that yet.”

  “Being kept in the dark?” James gazed up at the darkening sky.

  I heard the distant sound of thunder. The storms were coming back already. “Yes.”

  “I know the feeling. Comes with the territory of your position, I bet. I get my share of it as well.”

  “And you said you were a Guardian to the Essence?” I normally sat back and let someone tell me their story without pushing for a response, but I decided to deviate from it this time. “Pardon my lack of knowledge, but what does that job involve exactly?”

  “Protecting the most important woman in our world.”

  “So you weren’t joking? There is still an Essence? A leader with the ability to control all the elements?”

  “Yes.” James nodded. “Her name is Charlotte by the way, but that is neither here nor there.”

  “Is she your lover?” Frost asked.

  James laughed. “Uh. No. My fiancée is named Ainsley if that helps. But I might as well ask, what’s your position, Frost? By the way you move around Wren here you must be some sort of protector yourself.”

  “Yes.” Frost nodded formally. “I am sworn to protect my Court, especially the royal members.”

  “My guess is we can relate on quite a few things. Maybe we will be friends.” James smirked.

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “I was making a joke. Trying to lighten the mood.” James gave me a look. “Is he always this uptight?”

  “In Energo you may be used to war. We are not here. We have been at peace for two decades.”

  “I get it. But you can’t let the stress get to you. It’s only going to make you weaker.”

  “That’s generally my philosophy.” Frost seemed to have relaxed some.

  “But not today?” James raised an eyebrow.

  “Not today.” Frost looked up at the sky. “The rain will be starting again. We should head inside soon.”

  “I need to find Elron anyway.” James nodded. “I’m around if you want my assistance. I’m going to help either way.” He turned to me. “Pleasure meeting you, Wren. I think my fiancée would like you.”

  “Pleasure to meet you too. Thanks for joining in with us to defend our land.”

  “No one wants to let these Dwellers gain more power.” His expression darkened again. He went from jovial to dark so quickly.

  “I’m getting that sense.” I shivered. Shivering at Spring Court? It seemed impossible except that the shiver had nothing at all to do with the temperature.

  “When you guys are ready to work, come find me.” James turned and walked away.

  As soon as James disappeared around the corner, Frost looked at me. “If he was too forward with you, you had every right to put him in his place.”

  “He wasn’t too forward. Besides, I’m not putting anyone who has come to help us in their place. We need all the help we can get.”

  “I agree with that point in theory, but you need to be respected.”

  I smiled. “Frost, I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m good. I can handle myself.”

  “I know you can. You can handle anything.”

  “Well, almost anything.” I tried to ignore the growing ache inside. “I can’t handle the way I feel about you.”

  “And what way is that?” He stepped closer.

  “You know what was happening before we were interrupted.”

  “Yes, yes I do.” He smiled that sinfully sexy smile of his.

  “I don’t know if I handle that.” I pressed my palm to his chest. “You are a hard man to resist.”

  “You don’t have any idea how hard you are to resist.” He put a hand on my hip. “There’s nothing in the world I struggle with more.”

  “Well, you don’t have to resist me.” I so didn’t want him to. I wanted him, and I wanted to know he wanted me.

  “Yes, yes I do.” He swallowed hard. “I need to stay focused.”

  “Won’t you focus better after you give in?” What was I doing? I was full on coming on to Frost. Maybe it was the honeydew, or the stress of everything, or the fear of the trouble to come, but I could barely think straight.

  “We can’t be together. We both know that. I can’t be your mate. I’m not what your mother wants for you.”

  “And who cares? About any of that?” I was tired of worrying about anyone or anything other than the moment. “Life is supposed to be lived. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

  “And your life is precious to me. I will not hurt it, or put you at risk in any way.” He looked deep into my eyes. And I didn’t think. I kissed him.

  He kissed me back, and before I knew it, the haze set back in. I couldn’t think. I could only feel. His warmth. His taste. We were down on the wet grass, his hard body on top of mine. I buried my fingers in his thick, damp hair while his hands and lips explored me further. I started to unbutton his tunic.

  He stopped short. “We can’t keep doing this.” He jumped to his feet and offered me a hand to help me up.

  I refused. I chose to lie there in the wet grass and let the humiliation wash over me. “Why not? How does this hurt my life?”

  “Maybe it doesn’t. But it’s going to make it harder when I have to let you go.” He held out a hand again. “Please, Wren. Please understand how hard this is for me.”

  “I know.” I did, but it stung. It stung that he could reject me even if it was the right thing to do. “Just leave me out here.”

  “Are you serious?” His eyes bugged.

  Lightning lit up the sky above us.

  “I love you, Wren. Ok? I love you so much it hurts sometimes, so no. I’m not going to leave you all alone out here in a magic-induced thunderstorm.”

  I accepted his hand, the words I love you floating around my head. “You said I love you.”

  “Because I do. And don’t pretend to be surprised.”

  “I love you too.” I took both his hands in mine. “Even if I don’t know where that’s going.”

  “Right now it’s getting us inside.” He looked up at the sky after another loud roll of thunder filled the air. “This storm isn’t going anywhere.”

  Neither is the way I feel. I kept the thought to myself. Things were messy enough already.

  Frost

  I’d done many hard things in my life, but rejecting Wren like that gutted me. But what choice did I have? What right did I have to let things continue between us physically when we couldn’t possibly be together? Not to mention, how could I possibly protect her if I was messed up over things with us? Well, that second problem was now going to exist no matter what.

  Her taste. Her taste was the most intoxicating thing possible, and the way she felt in my arms. I’d never get enough. When I closed my eyes the first thing I s
aw was her face. I knew every inch of it, and I could almost feel her soft skin under my fingertips.

  But she wasn’t mine to have. And if I didn’t do my job, she’d be no one's to have. Not even her people’s. Wren was to be queen, and ensuring her safety was more important than my individual desires and needs. Not to mention defending my court. I still didn’t know much about these Dwellers, but they didn’t sound pretty. I was in over my head in a way I’d never been in my life before.

  It was time to stay clear and focused. I had no other choice.

  After making sure Wren was going to change out of her wet clothes, I made my way to the council room to meet the king. Hopefully, he’d be ready to share more information. I was still sopping wet, but that was fine. Discomforts like that didn’t phase me, and the Spring Palace was more like the outside than the inside, so I assumed dripping water wouldn’t cause any major issues.

  “We’re on the same side.” James cut in front of me before I could turn toward the council room. There were so many little hallways in the Spring Palace.

  “I realize that.” Which is why I didn’t appreciate him slowing me down. I stepped around him, but he stepped into my path just as quickly.

  “Do you?” He raised an eyebrow. “Because you seemed threatened by me before.”

  I laughed. “Threatened? Why would I be threatened by you?” I wouldn’t pretend that no one threatened me, but he certainly didn’t. He may have been a skilled fighter, but he wasn’t a shifter.

  “I don’t know. And I don’t really care unless it interferes with getting rid of the Dwellers.”

  “What are these Dwellers? How can I plan on taking out creatures if I don't know what they are?” It was a rhetorical question. It was impossible. That was the answer plain and simple.

  “I’m sure the king will fill you in, but here’s the best way I can describe them. Shadows. More specifically your shadow. Or mine. They become them. And not just when you are supposed to have a shadow. They can show up at any time.” He looked over his shoulder.

  “Shadows? Like an actual shadow?” I wanted to make sure I was hearing this right. What he was saying sounded positively crazy.

  “They take over your shadow. Like a parasite. I think that’s the best way to describe it.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  Parasite? I didn’t like the sound of that at all. But something about the whole situation was bothering me. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of Spring soldiers heading somewhere further down the hall. They walked in one big group, nothing like the regimented lines of Winter Court. “How’d you get here?” It wasn’t often we got visitors from other worlds.

  “Someone opened yet another chasm.” He made a flippant motion with his hand.

  “Yet another?” That didn’t sound good. Not at all. But Energo wasn’t my problem. Winter Court was. That was unless more chasms opened into our world, and I so didn’t want to think about that possibility.

  “It’s been an ongoing problem.” He let his hand fall back to his side. “Something is going on, but right now I can’t focus on that issue. We have to get rid of the Dwellers first.”

  “I need to protect my court.” And I needed to protect Wren. I didn’t like knowing she’d somehow have to be part of this fight. Maybe she was set to be queen and it was only right she be part of the defense of her people, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

  “What court is that?” He adjusted his belt. Light bounced off the metal sheath of his sword.

  I blinked. “Winter.”

  “Ah, a winter wolf, huh? I wonder if you are at all like my friend Talon. He’s an Arco. Ever hear of those? Arctic wolves in my world,” James rambled on. “I didn’t like the guy at first, but once someone saves your life you tend to like them more, you know?”

  I had heard of them, but I’d never met one before because we didn’t generally cross worlds. Changing courts was a big enough step for us. “I have. And I’m not a true winter wolf. I was taken in during the Court War.”

  “Ah, I see.” He nodded. “I cannot say I know much about that war, so I will not pretend I do. I loath when people do that.” He smiled suddenly. “But who needs to know anything about the world they are protecting, am I right?”

  “How can everything be a joke to you?” I realized the irony that the king had essentially told me the same thing earlier, but this was different. James had been brought into our world specifically to help. At least that’s what he claimed. I wasn’t naive enough to believe he was only there out of the goodness of his heart.

  The last of the soldiers disappeared from view.

  “This isn’t my first time preparing for battle. When you’ve done it enough you have to find a way to keep things light.” He glanced over his shoulder as if to see what I was looking at. At this point it was just an empty hall.

  “Energo is always at war?” I really didn’t know much about that world other than it was old. Possibly even older than my own world

  “Not always. But there are plenty of enemies.” He rubbed his hands together. “We do get occasional breaks, but not as much anymore.” There was a sadness to his voice. As much as he tried to make it sound as if he loved the thrill of battle, I got the sense he’d have preferred a quieter life. But maybe I was projecting my own feelings on him. I did that more than I cared to admit.

  “Maybe what we have here is simpler.” As much as I got tired of the Court disputes, it had been years since things had gotten too out of hand. Thankfully we’d never stopped with our training. We were ready to protect our Court, whether we faced a threat or not. But I still worried we might not be ready to face this threat. This parasite of shadows.

  “Nothing is simpler or more complicated. It just is. At least that's how I view it.” James turned around and started back down the hall.

  I matched his pace. “You don’t intimidate me.”

  “Right now I don’t. I seem to when Wren is around.”

  “We need to get to the council room. At least I do. The king is expecting me.”

  “He’s expecting me too.” James smiled. “Of course.”

  “Of course.” I picked up my pace. “We better get there before we miss anything important.”

  The doors to the council room were wide open, and the space was wide enough to allow us both to enter at the same time.

  I immediately took in the tall ceilings and wood floor. This was a more formal room than the rest of Spring’s Palace, but it had nothing on the marble and ice council room back at Winter Court.

  The long table was crowded with far more chairs than belonged there. Still there were several empty next to the head of the table. I assumed those were for the queen and Lacey.

  I knew some of the assembled men and women at the table—mostly men. Like the other courts, the councils were still dominated by men, but the numbers were getting better as the years moved on.

  The room grew quiet once we reached the table.

  “Sorry we’re late.” James pulled a chair up to the table. “We were continuing with our icebreakers.” He laughed. “I guess that’s pretty appropriate for a wolf from Winter Court, huh?”

  Even in the council room he was making jokes. I wasn’t the only one who was a glutton for punishment.

  Still, I pulled up a chair and sat next to him. James’ bad jokes were better than disrespecting the king by standing by his council table. Our world was full of all sorts of rules like those. Rules that didn’t really make sense, but that we followed anyway. There were way more important things to debate.

  “For anyone who doesn’t know, this is Frost.” The king pointed at me. “Wolf from Winter Court. And the other is James Mendel. Guardian from Energo.”

  All eyes turned to James rather than me, which wasn’t particularly surprising. I wasn’t the only one unaccustomed to meeting people from different worlds.

  “As we are short on time let’s save the detailed introductions,” the king continued. “But suffice to say there are both here because t
hey have skills and experience that will prove important to our fight. Queen Esmeralda herself sent Frost. She believes he has singular abilities that cannot be replicated.”

  “Is he going to be the next queen’s mate?” A man I didn’t recognize asked from the table. I took a look at him again. He was a small man with absolutely no hair.

  “I don’t believe Wren has chosen her mate yet,” The king gave me an unreadable look. “That is neither here nor there for today’s discussion. But I do have other questions to address.”

  I nodded, letting him know I was ready for him to continue. “Is your brother trustworthy?”

  I startled at the question. “Preston?”

  “Yes. It should be a simple enough question to answer.” The king fixed his gaze on me. “Is he trustworthy?”

  It should have been simple, but it wasn’t. Not after Preston’s cryptic response to who he had borrowed money from. But I had no choice for what answer I gave. I would not disparage Preston in the presence of a king. “Yes. Of course he is. Preston is a wolf of his word and dedicated to protecting his court. He will be ready to take is oath to Queen Esmeralda when the time comes ”

  My stomach turned. I hoped I was telling the truth. Surely Preston would step up when he needed to.

  “We can use all the shifters we can get.” King Leon moved his gaze around the room. “Can we not all agree on that?”

  There were murmurs of agreement from the table.

  “He’s not of age. He’s only seventeen.” Surely the king knew that. He couldn’t be implying that Preston be pulled into the fight.

  “In my day that was of age.” He was. He was truly suggesting it.

  “But your day was long ago, Father.” Lacey walked into the chamber arm and arm with Wren. Both were dressed in one piece jumpsuits: Wren in blue, Lacey in pink. It had been a long time since I’d seen Wren in anything so bright, and it suited her. It lit up her face. I tried to stop my thoughts from going to the grass, and Wren’s body, and the feel of her hands on me.

  “So was our last war with anyone outside of our world.” King Leon stood as his daughter took her spot at the table. She made room so Wren could share the chair. “So my day is relevant.”