Everything has a cost. I taught you that.
He had taught me that, but sometimes the cost does not matter. Please. She needs me.
She needs us.
I will do anything. Save her.
You need to accept me. You will have to let me in.
You are in. You have been in my head this whole time. I thought over Charlotte’s words. She had been concerned he had the power to control me.
You must accept me. And you must promise to pay my price.
I made no hesitation with my response. I accept you, and I will pay any price to save her.
Very well.
My body convulsed while a surge of electricity ran through me. My eyes closed, and the first surge was followed by something even stronger that left me lying on the floor in agony. My body writhed in pain as a torrent of darkness flooded my entire soul. With the darkness came an enormous sense of power and strength that pulsed through my body in currents like nothing I had ever felt before.
I moved to standing while I adjusted to the new sensation of power and strength.
I was nearly overwhelmed by the power in every inch of my body. I silently reached out to others I could sense were nearby. Others who I knew would come to my aid. I called on the undead and any who were already touched by the darkness. I then pulled on the bars, and this time they easily moved at my touch as I used the rage and the fear running through my veins to bend them. I hurried down the corridor, already hearing cries above.
I pushed past every guard that approached me, tossing them aside as if they weighed nothing at all. I was stronger than I had ever been. By the time I reached the front, a small army of corpses were distracting the guards. I slipped through and headed toward the stables.
Charlotte and the rest of the Guardians were nowhere in sight. Not that they could stop me. Nothing could. I was invincible now.
Once I reached the stables and quickly mounted my horse, I rode off in the direction my new internal compass led me. Ainsley was outside the Woods of Elsie. I was sure of it. I rode as fast as I could while a strength so far greater than anything I had ever felt before ushered me on.
The ride took hours. I barely noticed the blurry landscape as I rode. The beauty of the forests and hills were lost on me as thoughts of Ainsley swirled through my head.
Finally I made it, jumping off my horse as soon as I reached the frozen lake. The shore of the lake was empty, but I saw the signs of footsteps in the snow leading to one section in the ice that did not appear as thickly frozen as the rest. I hurried over and looked in. My heart nearly beat out of my chest at the sight of her suspended beneath the ice unmoving, her eyes wide open. I pounded my fist at the ice, expecting it to take several tries to make any headway, but the ice easily broke away and I pulled her out, wrapping her up in my coat and cradling her in my arms.
“James,” She whispered my name against my neck.
“I am here. I am here.” I would always be there for her. I pressed my lips against hers, needing to express the intensity of my feelings and relief. She responded, opening up to me and welcoming me in. She wrapped her arms around my neck. We remained locked in that position for several minutes before we broke the kiss. We were both breathless and holding on to each other as if the other would disappear if we let go.
“You saved me.” Her big blue eyes locked on mine.
“I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“Making what up to me?” She was not shivering. Her body was wet yet calm.
“Letting you end up in this situation. I will protect you better. I promise.”
She rested her head against me. “Please, take me home.”
“I will. Right away.” I was not taking her back to Charleston or Belgard. I was taking her to a place very few knew existed, a fortress so hidden and secure, no one, not even the Essence could breach it.
But first I had to do something else. I was not sure if I was doing it for myself or my father but I bent down and took Ainsley’s hand in mine. I put our hands on the ice. A warmth spread through me and the ice started to melt. The melting started from the spot we touched and continued spreading across the lake. The men came to life, and with one hand I pulled the first man out. He moved on and helped the next. I waited until they were all on the bank before heading to my horse.
The men silently followed.
“Can I close my eyes?” Ainley asked as I helped her onto my horse.
“Yes. Of course, my love. Rest.” I kept her tight against me, wrapped in my coat. I would protect her no matter the cost.
I knew you would eventually come to me. The future is ours.
Yes, father. I knew better than to ignore the voice in my head. I owed him everything. Including my soul. But he could not have my heart. I would keep that pure. And it would always belong to Ainsley.
Afterword
James and Ainsley’s story will continue in Forged in Fire. Please keep reading for a preview of Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1) an NA Paranormal Romance by Alyssa Rose Ivy.
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Dire
The Dire Wolves Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Prologue
A single howl made me stop short. “The wolves!”
“Let’s hope they are farther away than they sound.” Gage tightened his hold on my hand and pulled me forward.
Three more howls filled the night. “They sound closer.”
We picked up the pace, and I chanced a glance behind me. That was a mistake. Several large grey wolves came into view. “Run!”
Gage didn’t need to be told twice. He broke into a run without letting go of my hand.
I ran as fast as possible over the frozen snow, but we didn’t get far before the wolves started circling around us. “Oh my god.” Could things get any worse?
“You have to make a run for it.” Gage’s voice quivered. “They’re going to kill us.”
“I’m not leaving you.” I tried to stay strong, and I kept my eyes locked on the wolves. There were five of them. All of them were massive, much larger than any wolf I’d seen before, but one of them was even bigger and had a large silver streak running down its back. That wolf seemed to be staring right at me.
“I’ll distract them. You run. I’ll catch up.”
I spotted an opening next to one of the smaller of the wolves and went for it. I didn’t make it far before one of the wolves stepped in front of me. I froze, paralyzed with fear, before my legs were knocked from under me. Suddenly, I was lying in the snow with a giant wolf hovering over me.
“We’re fucked.” Gage voiced exactly what I was thinking.
The silver streaked wolf stared down at me. It’s almost glowing eyes bored into mine. Was I really going to die as half-frozen food for a giant wild animal?
Then things got hazy and the air seemed to buzz. Moments later it wasn’t a wolf on top of me—it was a man. A completely naked man with a faint scar across his face.
“What the heck?” I tried to scurry back, but Hunter didn’t move. His very exposed parts nearly touched me. I didn’t want to notice his size, but I did. He was huge. He also didn’t look remotely concerned with the cold.
His lips brushed against my ear. “Were you going somewhere?”
Mary Anne
He wore black athletic shorts that sat low on his hips and gave me a fantastic view of his perfectly sculpted abs. I had a strong desire to touch those abs with my hands and quite possibly my tongue. His bare chest was equally as alluring, all muscle with just a little bit of sweat sliding down.
“Thanks for waiting up for me.” He walked into his room and closed the door. “I was worried you’d have fallen asleep already.” He slipped off those black shorts and walked toward
his bed that amazingly enough I was already tucked into. He pulled back the blanket. “And you’re wearing the lingerie I like best.” He grinned wickedly as he slipped in beside me.
“Isn’t the best part taking it off me?” I bit my lip, knowing that it would only turn him on more.
“You remembered.” He slipped the strap down off my right shoulder.
“I remember everything about you. I always have.”
“How’d I get so lucky?” He slipped off the other strap as he left tiny kisses from my shoulder up toward my neck.
“You know you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”
“I know.” He pushed my top down and out of the way. “I feel exactly the same way.” His mouth closed around my breast.
“Mary Anne!”
My eyes flew open as someone pounded on the door to my dorm room. I blinked a few times, trying to hold on to the remnants of my dream.
“Mary Anne!” The voice yelled louder.
I grudgingly dragged myself across the room and opened the door. I wasn’t surprised to see Genevieve standing there.
“Finally!” She pushed into the room. I closed the door and cut her off before she could sit on my bed. I needed to make it first. I pulled back my jersey knit lime green sheets and navy blue comforter. As soon as I smoothed out the comforter, she took a seat.
I sat in my desk chair and watched her. “As lovely as it is to see you, I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re here?”
“Aren’t you a little grouchy this morning?” Suddenly her glossy lips twisted up into a smile. “Wait….you were dreaming about him again.”
“Why do you have to say it like it’s a bad thing? Most women have some sort of sexual dreams. It isn’t at all abnormal.” I ran my fingers through my long red hair to get out the tangles.
“Mary Anne, I’m only saying this because I’m a friend and I care about you, but you’re obsessed.” She crossed her legs. “Most women may have sex dreams, but they’re about celebrities, not a guy they actually know. Plus, the frequency is the crazy part.”
“There’s nothing wrong with dreaming about Gage.”
“There is. If you want him so bad, just get with him. It’s not like he’d say no. He’s gotten with half the girls on this campus already.”
I groaned. “That’s not entirely true. I admit he has a reputation, but he doesn’t actually sleep with everyone. Plus, I can’t just sleep with him. We have a history. We’re from the same town.” Maybe claiming we had a history was a bit of an overstatement, but I had known him practically my entire life.
“Is he still driving you home for break?” She leaned back on her hands.
“Of course. Why would that change?”
“I thought you might have considered taking Roy up on his offer to drop you off on his way home.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Gage and I are going to the same place. It makes sense to have him drive me. Plus, my parents know him.”
“Mary Anne.” Genevieve was in the habit of saying my name far more often than necessary. She was the best friend I had at Eastern U, so I didn’t remind her of how annoying the practice was. “You know what you’re doing, right?”
“Are we still discussing my plans to get a ride home with Gage?”
“More specifically we’re discussing your decision to say no to Roy’s offer. You’re chicken. You’re afraid of accepting an overture from a guy who you actually have a chance with. A guy who is really interested in you.”
“I wonder why you want me to give Roy another shot?” I bit back the smile that was ready to come out. “This would have nothing to do with his best friend, would it?” I’d gone out on one date with Roy, and although there was nothing particularly wrong with it, I had no intention of seeing him again.
“What?” She put a hand on her chest. “Of course not.”
“Oh? It wouldn’t be convenient for you if I were dating Roy?”
“Sure, it would be convenient to have an excuse to spend time with Tony, but that’s not why I want you to give Roy another chance. He’s a nice guy.”
“He is nice. He’s also intelligent and cute, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend four hours in a car with him.”
“Not when you can spend the same amount of time in a car with Gage.”
“Gage drives a truck.”
Genevieve sighed. “Same thing. My point is that you have no excuse to be sitting around pining over a guy when you have real, good options knocking down your door.”
I didn’t take the bait. I was too stressed out to get into a fight about my love life. “I’m taking a shower.” I walked over to my closet and pulled down my favorite pair of worn in jeans. I took a purple thermal shirt from my dresser. December in Boston was cold.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a cold shower.” Genevieve made no move to leave my room.
“I hadn’t even gotten to the good part in my dream, so a hot shower will be perfectly fine.”
“I’ll wait here.” She lay back on my bed. “We can walk over to the exam together.”
I hesitated with my hand on the door knob. “That sounds great, but please no more overanalyzing my choice of men. I need to keep my mind focused on the test.”
“You’re going to ace it. You know this stuff inside and out.”
“Let’s hope. I refuse to become the first member of my family not to get the Youngston Fellowship, and I need to ace calculus to get it.”
“You’ll ace it, but so what if you don’t get the fellowship? You’ll still get into grad school, and you’ll be able to do exactly what you want anyway.”
“You don’t know my parents.”
She sat up. “I’ve met them.”
“Meeting them is different than knowing them.”
“Yeah, but you said they wouldn’t mind you getting a ride home with Gage. That makes me question their sanity.” She laughed. “Ok, take that shower. We don’t have much time.”
“I wonder why not.”
“Don’t start. Your alarm would just be going off.”
As if to prove her point, the dinging of my alarm started. Genevieve turned it off, and I headed down the hall to the bathroom. Four hours in the car with Gage. I could hardly wait.
Dire is available now!
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Forged in Ice Page 18
