Page 47 of Frosted Torment

The pain in my scar subsided. Uncertain of what it meant, I continued to run out into the field until I finally slowed down to a jog.

“What gives, Noa?” Ena ran up next to me, then stopped to lean over. She hugged her stomach while taking short, deep breaths.

“Not sure.” I shook my head as I scanned the clearing. “I don’t feel anything now.”

Bent over, she planted her hands above her knees. “You,” she panted, “don’t?”

I shook my head as I looked over at an old, weathered totem pole standing tall in the middle of the clearing. Each part was hard to make out from where we stood. From what I gathered when I examined it, there was a bear paw and a fish carved into it.

Three rows of wooden benches and rocks fanned out in a half-circle with an aisle down the middle. To my left stood a white house remodeled from a two-story barn. It had a red metal roof and a bricked silo that remained attached to the front right side. The front had floor-to-ceiling glass-paned windows and a red-stained, oversized wooden door that matched the roof.

A loud crack echoed through the forest, and I turned to scan my surroundings. Dark shadows emerged from behind the trees, followed by another. My heart seemed to stop as two intense pairs of piercing lavender eyes fixed on me with predatory focus.

As they stepped out from the cover of the trees, their silver fur shimmered with each slow and calculated move. I tumbled backward into Ena, uncertain of their intentions, but this time Ifell into a pile of gravel. My hands broke my fall, and I rolled over, spitting dirt from my mouth.

“Dawson!” Ena cupped her hands around her mouth and called out toward the house. “We’re going to need an ice pack!”

“You okay, Noa?”Baz called out to me, his breathing becoming faster with each quickening step.

“I’m fine,”I grumbled, feeling more humiliated than anything else.“Your friends scared me.”

“Holy night, girl. What the heck is goin’ on?” An aged hand appeared in front of my face to help me up.

I looked up at the sun and squinted, not quite able to make out the figure of an elderly man. He wore denim overalls over a white t-shirt, and mud covered his work boots, showing signs of wear and tear.

“On top of freakin’ demons and oversized wolves jumping out at me like I’m in a never-ending haunted house? And my best friend fighting for her life,” I snapped, grabbing his rough, calloused hand. “I damn near peed my pants in those woods.”

“The name’s Dawson,” he offered, helping me back onto my feet unaffected by my outburst. Then, he gave a curious glance at Ena. “That true about the woods?”

Ena shrugged one shoulder, and her eyes begged me. “Kind of, but you should tell them, Noa.”

I looked away, ignoring her intentions and saw the truck we left back at the gate parked next to the house. The front door slammed, and Jossy and Lex came running across the path. Nakoma trailed behind them, offering a wave to the other wolves. My heart was in my throat as worry for Ivy took over any other fears I had.

Baz darted out from between the house and a row of stables to the right.

“What happened to you?” asked Jossy.

“Nothing,” I insisted. “How’s Ivy?”

Ena shook her head, then blurted, “Yes and no, right, Noa?”

My eyes widened and I chewed my bottom lip. It was a situation I wasn’t ready to explain. “Damn, Ena.”

“What is she talking about?”Baz asked with a questioning look as he sat down next to me. His head towered at least a foot above mine, and I shrank back into myself.

The other two wolves joined us, and I felt the world closing in on me. I couldn’t breathe. Now, I had no choice but to tell them about the man infiltrating my mind since Ena had outed me.

“The pain in my head,” I said, annoyance boiling up inside me. “My scar is bothering me and the headaches. There’s a reason, and it’s?—”

“Maros,” Lex interrupted me before I even started. I shook my head in disagreement as he pointed to the sky. “Everybody, inside!”

CHAPTER 19

We spun around, eyes magnetized to rolling clouds that erupted with darkness across the sky—a clear omen of Maros’s arrival. Time stood still, and there was no room for doubt. We bolted across the field and headed down the gravel path.

Amidst the chaos, I tripped over an unseen rock and tasted the sharp sting of gravel against my lips.

“Fuck!” I was getting tired of running for my life and was ready to end him.

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