Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Elari 

The rink was quiet , but my heart refused to follow suit. It kept beating away at a gallop. So loud that at times I was sure the people around me could hear if. But no one really paid me any attention after the game had restated. They were too busy rooting for their team and being teenagers.

I really wanted to be just another teenager as well. Frost swirled faintly around my head , like the residue of what had happened on the ice was still lingering around me.. Snow flakes still floated on the winter air around me  as I walked beside my mother, toward the grand doors of the Dean’s office. They were growing weaker and weaker but everyone who saw them knew they weren’t natural. The  dark winter night was cloudless. They fell only on me.

The hallways smelled faintly of ice and pine, polished stone echoing under our steps. Students drifted past, some shooting curious glances, others pretending not to notice. I tried to focus, telling myself to breathe, to calm the tingling in my hands. My wolf was still asleep, but something inside me hummed, as though waking to the world for the first time. It was the most intense feeling I’d ever experienced.

Impossible I told myself again. You didn’t get your power until you got your wolf. Those were the rules of the world.

The doors opened into a vast office lined with bookshelves, glowing faintly with enchanted runes. Behind a carved mahogany desk sat a woman whose presence reminded me of the mountains themselves: tall, commanding, and impossibly composed.

She looked- untouchable. Like she was made of stone or something. 

“Welcome, Elari Frostborne,I am Dean Maren” she said, voice smooth but sharp, cutting through my nerves. “I trust your arrival… was uneventful?” Her eyes raked over me. And I knew she already knew everything that had happened. A smile tugged at the corner of her thin mouth. “Or maybe I should say eventful.”

I forced a nod. “Yes, Dean Maren. Very… eventful.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, perceptive. I looked away quickly. Why did it feel like she was reading my thoughts?

Was that her power?

. “I saw the display on the rink. Frost magic… uncontrolled, yet promising. That is something we will need to explore.”

I swallowed, aware my face was burning. “I don’t know what happened. It just… happened.”

Dean Maren’s lips quirked up  in a faint smile. “Power rarely waits for readiness. That is what makes it… interesting.”

She gestured to a pair of tall double doors. “Let me show you to your dorm. You will be staying in Glacien House—upper floor, east tower. Your wolf will awaken in time, hopefully , and I expect you to be prepared. I expect every student here to master all the aspects it takes to be a Frostveil graduate. Whether that is academically, magically or in strength. I will not give you special treatment because of who your stepfather is. I want you to be prepared for that.”

Prepared. I wanted to ask what that meant, but a creak at the door made me stop mid-step.

He was here.

Kade Pyrrhos. Standing in the doorway, leaning casually on the door frame like knocking on the principles office door had never occurred to him,every inch of him radiated power. Strong, commanding, every movement controlled. His dark hair fell slightly into his eyes, the faintest glint of stubble on his jaw catching the light. His golden flecked   eyes landed on me.

And the world tilted.

“Are you ok dear?” My mother’s hand came down on my arm.

I wanted to look away. I wanted to pretend I was calm. But my stomach twisted, a flash of something electric passed  through me that I could not explain. My dormant wolf stirred faintly. 

I could feel her. She was waking up. 

He raised a brow. “So little sister,  you’re the transfer,” he said, voice low but audible. There was no mockery in it, only… calculation. Curiosity. Interest.

“Yes,” I said, suddenly aware I sounded smaller than I felt. “Elari Frostborne.”

“Frostborne? You’re keeping your old pack name?” he repeated, testing the weight of it on his tongue. 

I nodded , not trusting myself to speak.

. “I’ll remember that.” He nodded. His eyes never leaving my face. And now I was seeing him properly, I could see his eyes weren’t gold flecked at all. They were more amber . Like gold  that had been heated by fire. 

Dean Maren cleared her throat. “Kade, I trust you will conduct yourself appropriately. I was just about to show our new arrival her dorm, so she can settle in before supper.”

Kade’s expression flickered, almost amused. His full lips curved inwards as he rolled them between his teeth. Then he stepped aside, and we passed him as we moved toward one of the exits that lead to the bridge over the canyon and to the tower that would be my home for the next four years 

. My pulse was still hammering; my hands tingled faintly as I touched the railings, and stepped out over the darkness. I’d never been good with heights. Heights or the cold but it wasn’t either of those things that was making me so uneasy. It was the memory of Kade's eyes and how I had reacted to them.

The tower was carved from pale stone, frost etched into every surface, glowing softly under enchanted torches. The air smelled of polished ice and old magic. Dean Maren led me to a carved door that opened onto a warm common room, hearths flickering despite the chill outside.

“Glacien House,” she said. “You will share this floor with students your age. Observe, learn, and if your wolf awakens, you will understand why we chose this arrangement.”

“If?”

She looked away quickly. “Not everyone who comes to Frostveil, graduates. Do you understand?”

I nodded even though I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Instead I looked around , taking in the space: long tables, a small library nook, a fireplace surrounded by enchanted ice sculptures of wolves mid-leap. Down a corridor  dorm doors lined the walls, each with a carved emblem of a wolf paw and a shimmering rune.

“Your room is at the end of the corridor,” Dean Maren said. “Unpack, settle in. You will find uniform and books already there for you. Supper  is in an hour.”

I opened my mouth to ask her, just exactly where supper was being served but her and my mom were already walking away.

My mother hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.

I stepped toward my room, trying to steady my nerves, when I felt it again. A faint pull, subtle but undeniable.I wasn’t alone. I could feel him, somewhere near, and though I told myself it was just the academy’s magic lingering, a part of me knew that wasn’t it. For some reason Kade, darling of Frostveil academy, captain of the hockey team and future Alpha had followed me here.

I shook the thought  and pushed open the door to my dorm. The room was small but comfortable, with a window overlooking the snow tipped pine trees in the ravine below.. Frost patterns glimmered along the glass, catching the light from the moon and stars that glittered overhead. 

It was beautiful. In a cold dreadful kind of way. I didn’t belong here but here was where I had to stay.

Sighing I turned around and swept my eyes around the room again. My suitcase sat at the foot of the bed, waiting for me. Sighing I heaved it up to my bed and began to unpack. Sliding in my normal clothes next to the uniforms that hung from the rail. 

My fingers brushed against the thick wool of the uniform. The kit I would use to train in next, and then - leather? My eyebrows shot up. Why did I need leather? 

So many questions and not one person to ask. My stomach rumbled angrily. Reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since this morning.

Behind  me, though I didn’t look, I felt something move. Almost like someone had whispered my name and ordered I look. I fought against the urge because I already knew who it was.

Strong. Commanding. It could only be Kade.

“Are you following me?” I asked.

He chuckled. “And why would you say that little sister?”

I whirled on him, and there he was. Leaning against the doorframe in the same cocky manner as before. I took him in properly this time. Not just his face which was too handsome but the way he wore the uniform. He made it look edgy and cool.

“I’m not your sister.” I snapped back, my voice a pathetic little growl. “My mom marrying your dad doesn’t make us brother and sister.”

His eyebrows arched up towards his perfectly tousled dark hair. “Oh I am well aware we don’t share blood.” He said through gritted teeth. 

I suxked in a breath. What did he mean by that?

“Get changed,” he said with a roll of his eyes. 

“Why?” I eyed him warily. 

“Because I’m hungry after the game and I want to talk to you.”

I stared at him. Unease prickling across my skin like ice. “Why?”

“Do you even know another word?” This time his voice was mocking. “You sound like a kid the way you keep asking why.” Striding forward he reached passed me and grabbed a hanger. Thrusting it into my hands. “Change and I’ll show you where the slop they call food is served. We can talk on the way.”

“Wh-“ I paused and a blush heated my cheeks.

“Why?” He teased. “Because I want to know what the hell happened out there on the ice.” His hard eyes bored down into mine. “So I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”