Frostbitten
(The Ice Rose Series, Book Two)
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It cannot be re-sold, reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without permission from the author.
Copyright © 2018 Destiny Hawkins
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Frostbitten
Book Two of The Ice Rose Series
By
Destiny Hawkins
Chapter One
Anchorage, Alaska…
We were finally here, arriving just before sunrise. I wasn’t sure of what kind of strings Alexa had to pull back at the airport, but by one A.M. she got us both on a private plane without having to pay. She seemed to be familiar with the clerk, them both being on a first name basis, but the ticket exchange was so fast that I couldn’t really be sure. The most that they said to each other was hello and goodbye with the woman behind the desk glaring at me like I was going to snatch the ticket and run.
Her aura was red.
She was lucky.
Walking down the steps of the plane, I paused to see that the sun was just peeking over the mountains in the distance. A part of me was afraid that the sunlight would burn me, but another part of me yearned for it. Now that I was a vampire, I would burst into blue flames if I were ever exposed to the sun, which meant that I could never feel the warmth of it ever again. Not the kind that I preferred at least.
“You will get used to it,” Alexa said calmly behind me. “Don’t worry.”
Her words in her soft French accent were soothing, making me forget all about the things of the past. I had a new life to live and new things to see under the light of the moons and stars. Who needed the sun when they had that?
Looking ahead, I spotted a black limo with dark tinted windows already waiting for us outside. I wondered what kind of connections Alexa had as I quickly walked over to the car, anxiously trying to avoid being caught in the sunlight as it spread over the earth. If it weren’t for her stepping around me and opening the car door, I would’ve ripped it off.
On the entire flight here, I wondered why Alexa wanted me to come with her. I understood that she was my master and I was sired to her, but that couldn’t have been the reason.
Before, she only wanted to keep me until she knew that I could control my urges to feed. Well, I had proven that I could, so what made her bring me with her?
Sitting back in the car, I turned to catch her gazing out at the mountains through her window. I wanted to ask her now, since I was too afraid on the plane ride, but the moment that I opened my mouth to speak, I had begun to fall into a deep sleep.
Right, I forgot that at sunrise, I basically fell into hibernation.
Alexa seemed lost, like she was thinking about something, but then she spoke just as my eyes were closing. “This is a great place for a new start…” she turned to me. “You will love it here.”
~Frostbitten~
If I were awake, through my eyes I’d be seeing exactly what Alexa was seeing right now. This was the first time that it’s ever been done like this, so I had the feeling that she was feeding me the images in my dream. As a matter-of-fact, I think that she was controlling my dream.
I was riding in the limo while gazing outside of my window at the busy city of Anchorage, Alaska. For the most part, the city looked just like home, only with less people. There were tall buildings, stores, and countless cars driving towards their destinations. I saw a group of teens walking on the sidewalk, workers working on the street, and joggers getting in a good workout. This wasn’t so different from where I was from, but it was still a new home. There weren’t beautiful mountains out in the distance like this in New York.
As if time skipped ahead, we were no longer in a populated area. Gone were the cars and buildings, replaced with dozens of healthy green trees and empty roads. It seemed as if we were headed towards the mountains, secluded off to where no one could find us. No wonder when she brought up Alaska I received images of tall trees and running rivers. She lived alone in peace.
It seemed nice, but also kind of lonely.
Suddenly, my dream changed, and it looked as if I was reliving one of Alexa’s memories now.
I was walking up a set of red carpeted stairs in a huge mansion. The stairway curved to the right as I came to the top of the steps, then with another time flash, I was standing outside of a woman’s doorway.
Esha’s doorway…
“Alexa,” her voice echoed from the king-sized bed.
The next thing I knew, we were in bed together, holding one another. Esha’s arm was wrapped securely around my waist as I curled towards her. She smiled at me, revealing her sharp fangs, and gave me butterflies.
Esha slid her hand up the side of my bare skin all the way until her fingers were tangled in my hair. “I love you, Alexa.”
My fangs descended in response. “I…I l ―”
The bedroom door was abruptly kicked open and a crew of men dressed in black came pouring in with their guns pointed at us.
Esha was the first to jump out of bed, hissing at the men before attacking them.
The memory skipped again, and I was on the floor, naked, bleeding, and in a world of pain. Bullet holes covered my arms and legs, and with every rough movement of my wrists being cuffed behind my back, I groaned out in pain.
With my face pressed against the floor, I could see Esha, bloodied and beaten to a pulp. I could still feel her, so I knew that she was alive, but she was unconscious.
I couldn’t help but think that it would’ve been better if she died there, because she had no idea what was in store for her. Neither of us did…
Chapter Two
I jolted out of my sleep with a gasp. Staring up at the white ceiling above me, my heart pounded loudly in my chest. I replayed the last images of my dream ― No, Alexa’s memories ― in my mind and balled my fists at my sides. How could they do that to her? Who exactly were they anyway? All I knew was that they took Alexa and Esha and turned them into something else. Something modified. At least that’s what Alexa thought of herself.
I took in a deep breath to calm my shaking, then slowly pushed myself into a sitting position to observe the room that I was in. There was nothing unordinary about it, and from looking out the window I could tell that I was on the second floor.
The walls in the room were painted white but had a purplish-blue glow from the giant-sized moon outside the window to my right. The room had a typical set up with dressers, a closet, a nightstand, and of course a full bed set with a brown head and footboard. The bed had no comforters, but that was alright since I enjoyed the cool breeze coming through my window, and there was no television set, which was also fine since I didn’t have one back home.
My old home.
Kicking my legs over the bed, I found that I was just in my panties and white beater. My cheeks warmed at the thought that Alexa undressed me just to make sure that I was comfortable. Hopefully, it was
her and not someone else. I wasn’t even sure that this was Alexa’s home. Anything could’ve happened on my unconscious ride here.
Sensing for her, I could feel Alexa in the distance. She wasn’t home, but close by and probably outside somewhere unless this mansion was just as big as the one from her memories.
The thought of her old home brought a slight ache to my chest, which I was sure something she probably felt often.
Standing from the bed, I walked over to the window to get a look at the new and unfamiliar outside world. I was right when I said that I was on the second floor. Below me was what looked like a backyard with chairs and a fire pit close to the house. It was a small backyard, but only because of the large lake behind a set of neatly cut bushes and flowers.
The sight outside this window was absolutely breath taking. The lake glistened a purplish color from the moonlight with tall green trees surrounding it. Out in the distance, there was even the silhouette of mountains.
To the far right, I noticed that there were a set of trees that led into the woods. It was the same on the left, but my eyes were mostly drawn to the right. Nothing was there for the first few seconds, but then I saw her.
First, I only noticed the turquoise glow of Alexa’s eyes as our gazes locked, but when I really looked at her, I noticed that there was blood dripping down the corners of her lips. There were also a few droplets on her white shirt and clawed fingers.
I drew my eyebrows together as if asking her what was going on, but she didn’t respond, and her facial expression remained blank, giving me nothing to go off of. It obviously looked as if she fed from something, but what? And why did she seem so off?
Instantly, I got a flash of Esha smiling down at me through her window. Her long brown hair cascaded over her bare shoulders, and she seemed pleased to see me. She was always p ―
I was startled by the sound of something being bumped behind me and snapped my attention towards the door. It was cracked open, making me wonder if it’s been that way the entire time. If it wasn’t, then who could’ve opened it? Who else was here?
Exhaling, I turned back to the backyard to find that Alexa was no longer there. I didn’t want to be nosey, but what was she hunting? Whatever it was had to be big for her to get blood on her hands and clothes since she was usually clean after a kill.
There was another sound of something being bumped in the hallway before soft footsteps scurried off. The footsteps then lightly tapped down the hall until they were unheard again.
A chill ran up my spine, and my hairs stood on edge. “Alexa?”
Of course, no one answered.
I shouldn’t be afraid. I’m a vampire for Christ’s sake.
Right. I was strong, fast, and resilient. Nothing should scare me now. Especially not mysterious footsteps in the middle of the night.
I took a quick breath and bit down over my lower lip, then slowly approached the door. Once there, I gently opened it with a loud creek and peeked outside of my room.
Before me was a long hallway that led to a set of steps with a white wooden railing. The hallway was also tinted blue from the light shining in though the window of another room, and I thought that it may have been Alexa’s bedroom, but upon looking, it was just a study with book cases and a desk that clearly hadn’t been used for a while. Everything was covered in dust.
I heard shuffling down the steps, setting my hairs on end. When I listened closer, it sounded more like something was hopping down the steps instead, and then silence. A moment later, there were soft taps on the tile floor at the bottom.
Swallowing, I walked down the hall and stopped at the railing that curved left down a set of steps and found that no one was at the bottom. Whoever it was may have walked through either rooms on the left or right side of the mansion. I was going to follow the taps when I heard the sound of a door creaking on my right.
I turned to look and found that at the end of this hallway, there were a pair of large brown wooden doors, and out of curiosity, I flashed over to them.
Slightly pushing open one of the doors, I found Alexa standing inside with her back towards me. She was undressing out of her blood-stained clothes, currently pulling off her shirt and tossing it in the hamper on her far left. Her skin glistened in the moonlight shining down on her through the circular window up ahead, and her long black hair fell from its pony-tail and down her back.
I couldn’t help but notice the numbers two, three, and six, tattooed on her right shoulder. It was my first time seeing them, and I instantly began to boil inside. Those people branded her with that tattoo after doing who knows what to her. Torture? Experimentation? Both?
“Faith,” Alexa spoke softly. My name was always soft on her lips.
My eyes widened in embarrassment, and I stepped back from the door.
Alexa looked at me over her shoulder through her glowing blues. “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, um, yeah. Everything’s fine. I was just looking around,” I quickly answered.
Alexa’s eyes lowered from mine. “Come here.”
As I entered the room, she turned around to face me in nothing but her black bra and jeans. Her expression was blank, as usual, but there was a softness in her eyes.
As I made my way towards Alexa, I took a look around her room. It was two times bigger than mine with a large bathroom on the far right and a brown carpeted floor. There was also a small seating area in the corner with two armchairs and a small round coffee table in the middle. On the left side of her room was a large cream and brown canopy bed, and on the further left was a walk-in closet.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No. You just haven’t fed yet.”
“Oh…”
Alexa stepped to the side. “Sit down.”
I did as she said and sat on her bed. I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until she bit into her wrist and held it out to me.
I licked my bottom lip as I slid my hands under her wrist, then felt my teeth descend without my control. The smell of her sweet blood stirred the monster inside of me, so I had to be careful not to hurt her. Pain was the last thing I’d ever want to make her feel. She has had enough of that.
“Faith,” Alexa warned. Her wound was already healing.
“Sorry.” I swallowed and gently inserted my fangs into her wrist, then I began to feed.
I could literally feel my energy replenish itself as her blood traveled down my throat, filling my belly. Whenever I was with her, I always seemed to feel full. Happy even, but most of all, warm. Most of my life, I’ve been cold and empty, but with Alexa, I was warm.
Exhaling, I let my teeth sink deeper into Alexa’s flesh, and she stiffened.
When her memories came flooding into my mind, I saw Esha hovering over me. I was feeding from her neck with my hands locked in hers, then she giggled ―
“Stop it,” Alexa snapped.
I quickly yanked away from Alexa’s wrist and stared up at her in shock. She used a command on me, only I wasn’t sure of what she wanted me to stop. I pulled away from her wrist willingly, so what was it that upset her enough to command me?
Alexa drew her eyebrows into a frown, but her eyes reflected regret. “Stop prying into my mind, Faith.” Her voice softened. “Those are my memories to bare. I don’t want you seeing those things.”
I licked my lower lip and swallowed. “I’m…I’m sorry. I don’t do it on purpose.”
“I know.” Alexa sighed and lowered her lids. “Please. Leave me for the night. I would like to be alone.”
I bit down on my lower lip in embarrassment and disappointment before standing. I didn’t like the fact that I upset her. It wasn’t like I could help that I saw her memories. It was almost as if whenever she was haunted by them, then so was I. Still, since it was something that I could apparently control, I would try harder not to let myself sink into her mind again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I said softly.
Alexa nodded, then stood there as I
left her bedroom.
Chapter Three
Wow, my first night here and I’ve already screwed up with her. More than once, Alexa has asked me not to pry into her mind, and I ended up doing it anyways. She actually commanded me to stop, which left me feeling uneasy. It had only been a few days since I’ve been turned, and I’ve already forgotten that she could command me to do pretty much anything. Even to not feel pain.
It wasn’t something that I liked to think about. The most that I could do was hope that she wouldn’t abuse her power over me. I didn’t get the feeling that she ever would, but I didn’t know her as well as I would like to. She had a dark past and not to mention a beast just below the surface, waiting to be released, so until I knew her completely, I had no idea of what she would do with her ability to command me.
I walked down the hall, only glancing back at the closed doors once before heading down the stairs, then decided to continue exploring the mansion.
First, I went to the right side of the house, which was what looked to be the living room. It had the usual set up with couches, a fire place, a coffee table, and a large window, and on the left side of the house was the dining room that had a long wooden table covered with a white table cloth, a chandelier, and brown wooden table chairs.
I walked over to the table, never actually seeing a set dining table with my own eyes before and admired the neatly placed plates and silverware. They were covered in dust, but with a little cleaning, they would be as good as new.
I gently placed my fingers over a spoon and smiled half-heartedly. I was finally in a place where I could eat from a silver spoon, only now I couldn’t actually consume food. Blood was all that I could take in now, not that I was complaining. It was delicious and made me feel replenished. Not to mention that it was sweet, depending on the person. I just wished that I could eat from real silver at least once.
The sound of something being knocked over in another room startled me.
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