Page 288 of Heart of Frost and Scars

“Fuck!” She spins, staring wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”

He gives her a tight smile. “I disarmed the bombs on the planes.”

“Okay, but question…” She holds up her hand. “On the island, I saw shit. Shadows. Silhouettes in the windows. We all saw things. Was that you?”

His smile stretches, twisting his features into a chilling mask.

Then his expression clears, and he turns away.

“Oliver.” Monty slings a rifle over his shoulder, his eyes hard. “Will you stay here and guard Frankie?”

“I’ll guard her with my life.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s get this party started.” Wolf leans against the doorframe, flipping a knife in his hand. No guns. No ammo. Just a belt of sharp blades buckled around his waist. “He’ll wear himself out before we catch him.”

Frankie grabs a bear trap and places it in my hands.

“Butcher that monster until there’s nothing left of him to bring back. I don’t want to see any part of him again.” Calm, controlled, and stunningly fierce, she’s a force of nature.

But right now, she’s holding it back, letting us take the lead, letting us be the animals we’re meant to be.

“I love you.” I kiss her lips, but my mind is elsewhere, already in the tundra, hunting Rhett down, imagining all the ways I’ll carve him up.

She kisses the others and sends us off.

We step outside, the cold air biting into my cheeks. There were enough fur coats left behind to go around. It’s good to see Wolf in pelts rather than that bloodstained thing he’s had for ten months.

It’s good to see Wolf. Period.

If Rhett hadn’t pulled him from the river, we would’ve found him. We would’ve had him with us this entire time.

Just one more reason to make Rhett pay.

I’m not angry. I’m beyond that. I’m something else entirely, something feral and savage that I’ve kept buried deep down for far too long.

The man I was before is gone, burned away by the fires of revenge. What’s left is hellish, an unholy fiend that wants to rip and tear and kill.

We hike across the snow-covered terrain in silence, slipping into the frigid night like ghosts.

Born and bred in this frozen hell, we know these hills, this tundra, better than anyone. Every crevice, slope, and jagged boulder is part of us.

Rhett thinks he’s running for his life, but he’s just running deeper into our territory.

Leo, Wolf, and I keep a close eye on Monty. He could easily get lost out here, but he’s tough. And he’s ours. We won’t let anything happen to him.

I breathe in deeply, and the scent of Rhett’s blood hits me like a punch to the face, strong and metallic, hanging in the crisp air.

My pulse quickens. My muscles tighten, and my senses sharpen. He’s bleeding out there, leaving a trail like a wounded animal, and I snarl with anticipation.

“Got him?” Wolf looks at me, his eyes dark with the same need to kill.

“That way.” I lead them a mile into the hills before holding up a hand, stopping them. “Let’s set the trap here.”

Leo helps me place the bear trap in a clearing and carefully covers it with snow.

“We need to corral him near the river.” His eyes glint in the starlight. “We’ll play with him for a while. Then flush him into the trap.”

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