Winter’s Wolf
A Court of Shifters Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Copyright © 2020 by Alyssa Rose Ivy
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Cover Design: Cover Couture
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Contents
Winter’s Wolf
1. Wren
2. Frost
3. Wren
4. Frost
5. Wren
6. Frost
7. Wren
8. Frost
9. Wren
10. Frost
11. Wren
12. Frost
13. Wren
14. Frost
Thank You
Afterword
Forged in Stone (The Forged Chronicles #1)
James
Ainsley
Ainsley
Winter’s Wolf
A Court of Shifters
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Wren
I needed a man. A wolf to be specific. Not because I needed sex, although I needed that too, but because my mother was going to kill me if I didn’t find one soon.
It’s not as if there were lots of options. Men? Sure. There were plenty. But not wolf-shifter men. At least not the kind that checked off the other boxes for me. And I had a lot of boxes that needed to be checked.
“You have to go home eventually.” Lacey wrung water from her long black hair.
“Do I?” I sprawled out on the soft grass beside the river we’d just taken a swim in. “Because I really like it here.”
“But this isn’t your home.” Lacey sat down beside me.
“Some kind of friend you are.”
“I’m a friend who doesn’t want you to lose your own court just to spend time in mine.” She patted the ground beside her.
“I won’t lose my court. Well, that is unless I refuse to settle down and find a mate.” I used a high-pitched voice reserved for when I was mimicking my mother. She wasn’t a bad mother, but she was a tough queen to live up to. Nothing I did would ever be good enough.
Lacey lay back. “She has a point.”
“Oh?” I rolled over onto my side. “She has a point, does she? Where’s your wolf then?”
“I’ll find one. Soon enough.” She started to braid her hair.
“You can’t talk.”
“Well, my parents aren’t pushing me. They say I have time.”
“Of course they do. You have normal parents. Not only do you get to spend your life living in Spring, your parents aren’t on your back all the time.”
“Spring isn’t perfect.” She moved on to creating a second braid without missing a single strand.
“It isn’t?” I sat up and grabbed a towel. A cool breeze moved through the valley. It was warm, but not hot at all. We weren’t in Summer, which was a good thing. I didn't exactly get along with Coral, the heir to the throne in the Summer Court.
“Come on, Wren. I love when you visit, you know that. But this isn’t a visit anymore. This is avoidance.”
I pulled a lightweight dress on over my wet one-piece swimsuit. “You’ll eat your words when your parents start pushing you.”
“Probably, and then you’ll get sick and tired of me hanging out at your place all the time.”
“Sick and tired? Didn’t you just say you love when I come and visit?”
“You’ve been here over a month.”
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t.”
“Yes, you have. You’ve been here thirty-six days.”
“You’re counting the days now?” I wasn’t remotely surprised. Lacey was all about attention to detail.
“Is there anything else keeping you from going back?” She ignored my question and asked one of her own.
“What else would there be?”
“Nothing… well, aside from what happened with Frost.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“That was nothing.”
“Nothing?” She raised an eyebrow. “Kissing your best friend isn’t nothing.”
“You are my best friend. Last time I checked we haven’t kissed.” When trying to avoid an unwanted conversation a little bit of deflection and humor can work wonders.
“Ok. Your best friend in Winter Court.” She wrapped up in a towel.
“Fine, sure. But it’s over. It only happened once.” It had been one heck of a kiss. But that’s all it had been. A kiss. And no matter how good he’d tasted, I wasn’t going back for more. I was lucky our friendship had survived that indiscretion.
“You know he could be the perfect mate for you.” She went where I’d known she was heading.
I laughed. “Oh yeah. That’s a good one.”
“What? Don’t tell me you haven’t considered it.”
“Of course I haven’t.” Of course I had. But I knew it was impossible. “He’s a great guy, a great wolf, but we’re friends. That’s it.”
“Friends who kissed.”
“So what?”
“You’ve been talking about him in your sleep.”
“What?” Panic seized me. Real and clear panic. If I’d talked about Frost, what else had slipped out of my mouth while I slept?
“You have.” She undid her braids. “And if you don’t want me to know these things, stay in your room. The guest room you were so generously given.”
“I like your room. I miss having sleepovers.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun beating down on my face.
“We never had sleepovers.”
“Ok.” I opened my eyes. “I miss the idea of sleepovers.”
“You could be having sleepovers with Frost if you wanted.” She grinned, clearly proud of herself for throwing that one in.
Thoughts of a very naked Frost on top of me entered my head, but I pushed them away. “Who says I want that?”
“I didn’t say you did. I said if you wanted.”
“Well, you implied it.” I so hoped my momentary fantasy wasn’t clear on my face.
“If you want to argue with me, why are you even here?”
“Don’t make me go back.” I was only half joking. Returning to Winter Court sounded anything but thrilling.
“I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t push you to do the right thing.”
“Oh? Like pushing me to have the third glass of honeydew last night?” Thankfully the headache I’d woken up with was now only a dull memory.
She laughed. “Oh, come on. I didn’t push you to have that. You wanted it.”
“Still, you didn’t try to stop me.”
“But I did stop you from hooking up with my cousin.”
“And thank you for that.” I cringed just thinking about it. “That might have ended badly.”
“Might have?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Ok, it would have ended badly. But it was only because you let me have the third glass of honeydew.”
“So now it’s not that I pushed you, but I let you? Come on, Wren. Eventually you are going to have to take responsibility for your own decisions.” She led the way toward the gazebo and took a seat at the long table. Wordlessly two servants set out tall glasses of nectar juice.
I sighed. “I suppose. Just like I suppose I should head home.” I took a seat across from her.
“You don’t have to yet.” She took a long sip of her nectar. “But soon.”
“See. I knew it. You like having m
e around.”
“Of course I like having you around. You’re my best friend.”
“Oh, you are taking that title back now?” I wrapped my hands around my glass and inhaled the sweet scent of nectar. The smell was nearly as good as the taste as far as I was concerned.
“I never wanted to get rid of it, but I was trying to make a point.”
“Yes, I get it. Absolutely.” I took a tiny sip of the sweet, sticky liquid.
“What do you want to do tonight?” She set her glass down.
“Shouldn’t I be shipping out?”
“Come on. Like I said, you don’t have to go quite yet. You can wait.”
“No. I get it. My presence isn’t wanted here anymore.” I put my hand over my head dramatically in my best impression of a damsel in distress.
“I’m not going to beg you to stay if that’s what you want to hear.”
“You think I want you to beg me to stay?” I laughed. “Are you serious?”
“No need to put on an act for me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I never put on an act.” I burst out laughing then abruptly stopped.
“Ok. Fine. Beg me to stay. Please.”
“Fine, but on one condition.” She leaned forward on her elbows.
“What?”
“You admit you’ve secretly wondered what it would be like to sleep with Frost.”
“Nope. Not going there. It was nice knowing you, Lacey.” If she’d only known just how recently I’d been picturing it.
“You can’t be serious. You’re just going to leave?”
“You know. Time to face responsibility and all that, yada, yada.” I looked at my nearly full glass of nectar longingly. Surely I could take that with me. Spring Court had plenty more glasses.
“You really don’t have to leave now.”
“Then when will I leave? Huh?” I pushed back my chair. “Never?”
“Keep me posted.”
“Oh? You want to hear about all my exciting adventures? Oh, wait. That’s right, I don’t have any exciting adventures.” I downed half my nectar. One less thing to carry.
“Like I do? If you haven’t noticed not much happens in Spring Court.”
“Well, the only things that happen back home relate to Summer causing trouble, and there is nothing fun about that.” Have I mentioned how little I get along with the Summer Court heir?
“Of course there is something fun about it. Feuds can be fun.”
I set down my glass. “That isn’t a very Spring thing to say.”
“You’ve said plenty that isn’t Winter.”
“Maybe I was born into the wrong court.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to switch with you.”
“Of course you don’t. You can say I have it good all you want, but you know you wouldn't want to be stuck in Winter.”
“No one wants to be stuck in Winter.” There was nothing mean in her words, just sobering truth.
“No. No, they don’t.”
Frost
What kind of trouble had she gotten me into this time? Being friends with Wren wasn’t a choice for me; I was like a moth drawn to the flame, completely unable to stay away. But it sure did come with its share of consequences.
I waited outside the palace door with absolutely no interest in going inside but knew staying away was out of the question. Ignoring a summons from the queen was a surefire way to get yourself into hot water—or worse.
“Are you ever going to enter?” A light voice asked.
I glanced over to see Genevieve, Wren’s much younger sister, peeking at me from behind a fir tree. “Are you ever going to stop spying on me?”
“Are you ever going to tell my sister you love her?” Genevieve tugged on her long, blond, side ponytail.
“Ok. That’s enough of this game for today.”
“Come on. It’s a fair question.” She climbed up on the ice-covered wall and took a seat. Most people would be freezing, but not Genevieve. She had ice in her blood.
“Speaking of Wren, do you know what she did to get me summoned here today?”
“What makes you think that’s why you were summoned?”
“Is there ever another reason?” If it weren’t for my friendship with Wren, I’d have stayed well off of the queen’s radar. That would have been a far safer place to be, but also a far less colorful and enjoyable one. Wren got me in trouble, but she also made me feel alive in a way no one else could. Especially when we kissed. It had been one kiss, a drunken one at that, but she’d tasted even better than I imagined. And the spark? It had been off the charts. Sometimes we build things up so much we get disappointed, but not with Wren. And I could only imagine what sex with her would be like.
“Of course there could be another reason.” Genevieve swung her legs.
“As in you know something you aren’t telling me?”
“Isn’t that fun?”
“Fun isn’t the way I’d describe it.” I stared at the doors again. I’d been summoned plenty of times before, yet I was dreading it more than usual this time.
“Well, either way you should probably get inside. You know how my mother gets when she’s kept waiting.”
“Yes, I know all too well.” I had enough problems. But if she didn’t want me there because of some trouble Wren was in, what was it?
I took a few steps toward the tall double doors, and they slowly opened for me. There was nothing magical about it. The two guards waiting just inside had undoubtedly been watching and waiting for me to finally decide to enter the giant marble and ice palace. They said nothing as I stepped inside. I’d been inside that palace nearly as much as the residents.
“You don’t mind if I come with you, do you?” Genevieve followed along beside me.
I looked at her. She had the same long hair of her sister, but otherwise they didn’t look all that alike. Their personalities weren’t all that different though. Wren had been quite the spitfire herself at that age— and to be fair she was still one hell of a spitfire as an adult.
“You live here. Who am I to stop you?”
“Live here or not, you don’t have to want my company.”
Genevieve was playing with me. She knew, as well as I, that I had no authority to tell her to leave me alone. The heir or not, she was a member of the royal family and demanded respect no matter how young she was.
* * *
I walked down the white marble halls of the palace. The walls matched the floor, and when paired with the crystals hanging from the ceiling gave the impression of walking through a hall made of ice, even though the inside wasn’t actually frozen. The whole palace was that way save the princesses' bedrooms. Those were bright and full of color.
I’d walked these halls countless times, often with Wren, but by myself plenty. Yet I was never fully comfortable there. It was probably because it was designed to be that way. Cold and intimidating. It was one of the few places where I felt intimidated. As one of the few wolf shifters in the court, there were not many who would cross me.
“Enter.” Esmeralda, the Queen of Winter Court, bellowed as soon as I reached the entry to the throne room. She was always able to sense you, to see you instantly no matter where else her attention had been.
I did as she ordered. For nothing the queen said could be interpreted as anything but an order.
I walked in, stopping midway from the dais. I bowed my head as was customary.
“Thank you for coming, Frost.”
Thank you? The queen never thanked anyone as far as I knew. “Of course, my queen.”
“I am sure you know that Wren has been spending time in the Spring Court.” There was no question in her words. I generally knew Wren’s whereabouts, although I didn’t always know her timelines or plans. She was much more of a spur of a moment type than I’d ever be. In that way it was strange how our friendship started. Maybe she liked my more rigid personality as a foil to her free-spirited one. All I knew was that I’d fallen in love
with her before I even knew what love was.
“Yes. With Lacey.” She’d said she missed her friend, but I knew she was hiding out. I got it. We all needed a break sometimes, particularly those of use with the level of pressure Wren had. I just hoped the prolonged nature of the trip had nothing to do with avoiding me after our kiss. I needed things to be okay with us. I needed her in my life.
“But she has sent word that she is returning.”
“Oh. That’s great.” It was more than great. I’d missed Wren like crazy. Just the thought of seeing her did things to my body. Things that thoughts of no one else could do.
Esmeralda’s violet eyes brightened. “I have an assignment for you when she returns.”
“An assignment?” Whatever the assignment was I’d have to take it, but that didn’t mean I was going to like it.
“Yes. An important one. But it is top secret. You can tell no one.”
“Not even Wren?” I told Wren everything—well, most things. She didn’t know quite how deep my feelings ran for her.
“You will tell Wren at the proper time.”
What? I was supposed to keep a secret from her? Trick her? But I had no choice. “Yes, my queen.”
“She needs to find a mate.”
My chest clenched. I knew that reality just as well as everyone else, but that didn’t mean I was ready to face it. Deep inside me hope grew. Could it be possible? Could the queen view me as a suitable mate for her daughter?
“And not just any mate will do,” Esmeralda continued.
“Yes, my queen. It must be a wolf shifter.”
“Of course. But even that isn’t enough. It must be someone who can help us form an alliance. Times are dangerous. We need allies.”
“Oh.” My small ember of hope was extinguished. Not that I truly believed she’d suggest I mate with her daughter. I may have been a wolf shifter, but I wasn’t highborn. And if she wanted an alliance with another court, I couldn’t provide that either. I was a winter wolf, even if not by birth, as my parents had moved to the court when I was a pup,
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