Bite Of Winter (Fae's Captive #3)(32)

“You’ve been to the otherworld?” She eyes me, this time with a bit more curiosity.

“Once, and I’m happy to never go there again.”

“Interesting.” She hides her face in the shadow of her cloak again.

Awkward moments pass until I’m compelled to press my palms to my frigid face. “Does it ever get warm here?”

She laughs, quiet and lovely. “You’ll get used to it.”

A thought strikes me. “How do you grow food?”

“Hmm?”

“We made a deal with the Vundi to trade goods with them, provide food. But if it’s forever winter, how do you grow anything?”

“We’re a hardy people. Excellent hunters.” She smiles, a hint of pride in her profile. “But some of us are rather ingenious, as well. When we get to Cold Comfort, you’ll see most buildings there have a greenhouse atop them. And if you venture to the east and into the Aurora Fields, you’d find long stretches of fields and crops, all safe and warm inside stone walls with latticed wooden roofs. We burrowed deep beneath the frozen surface to create vents of heat from the depths of Arin. Not even the hoarfrost can touch the plants we tend there.”

“Geothermal energy. Wow.” Here I was thinking it was all barbarians and nothing to eat but snowcones. “That’s pretty advanced.”

“We feed our people. It isn’t always easy, and there are lean times, but ever since Leander became king we’ve made huge leaps in just about every area.” She shrugs. “But it will always be cold.”

“As long as there’s plenty of furs and fire, then I think I—”

A howl pierces the night air, and an electric tingle runs up my spine. “What was that?”

A frosty wind picks up, swirling the snow around us, and the flakes fall heavier.

“What—”

“You must go. Now.” Gareth rides up next to me, his face pinched.

“What is it?”

“Leander is through the barrier. He’s here, and he’s out of control.”

Beth wrinkles her nose. “How do you know he’s—”

The howl rips through the night again, and my insides turn molten. Is this fur hot?

“That’s how.” Gareth leans over and checks my grip on Kyrin’s reins. “It’s his feral.”

“Like separate from him? Like Delantis?”

“Yes. We’ll try to hold him off. But you must ride swiftly. Stick to the road, Kyrin. You know the way.” Gareth, satisfied with my hold, rears back and slaps Kyrin’s flank. “Fly!” he cries as Kyrin takes off, his hoofbeats muffled on powdery snow as I lean forward. I hold on, my eyes stinging from the cold wind.

The howl is closer this time, the sound sending tingles through me until I’m panting as hard as Kyrin. Trees blur past as the snow falls harder, the wind like a tangible fist pushing us back. We run and run, the landscape hilly and full of trees. Eventually, Kyrin slows, his breath coming out in steamy bursts.

“It’s okay.” I run my hand down his mane. “It’ll be okay.”

The wind forms a white funnel ahead of us, and Kyrin halts. I’m not afraid. Not of winter. Not of my mate.

“It’s him.” I can feel it down to my toes. “He’s come for me.” Holding onto the saddle, I slide down Kyrin’s side, and my feet hit the snow with a soft crunch.

“Leander.” I step toward the funnel of wind and snow.

The vortex dissipates, and I see him. The feral. A huge white wolf—bigger than Kyrin—with ice blue eyes. It rears back and howls, the sound burning me up. I push the fur cloak off my shoulders, and when the wind wraps around me, I can feel its cool fingers sliding along my skin.

The wolf approaches, and through the snow, I see another shape. Leander, his chest bare and his gaze fixed on me.

“I warned you, little one.” He stalks closer as the wolf circles me. His fangs are long, the tips impossibly sharp.

I swallow hard and clench my thighs together. “I know.”

“Waiting for you has been the sweetest agony of my life.” He reaches me and presses his cool palm to my hot cheek. “And I can wait no longer.” The wolf howls its agreement, and I can’t seem to catch my breath. Hot, so hot. Leander’s hand snakes around my neck, cooling my overheated skin, and his mouth meets mine in a bruising kiss that rocks me off my feet.

He swoops me up with one arm and crushes me to him, his possession complete. I open my mouth as he ravages me with his tongue, teasing and taking as I hold onto him and the vortex forms around us. Snow and ice spin and dance as we kiss, and I feel his claim on me, seared into my heart and written on my soul.

Pulling back, he strokes my cheek. The wolf is gone, and I can sense it inside him. His low voice is almost guttural. “I want you, Taylor. All of you.”

His dark eyes sparkle in the night, and ice sits atop his head like a crown. He is the winter, the bite of frost and the crackle of ice, but I’ve never been warmer in all my life.

“I want you.” I kiss him softly. “I feel it, too.” The connection I’ve been denying for so long roars to life inside me. “Please, Leander.”

“I can never deny you, my queen. My heart.” He kisses me again, his fangs grazing my lips as he lies me down on my fur cloak. “But I cannot be gentle. Not with this claiming.” He swipes my hair from my neck and kisses along my throat. “I must mark you so that every male knows you belong to me, to the king of winter, to the one who will bring their death if they dare harm you.” He reaches down and hikes my dress up.