Born of Ice

Fang shrugged. “It’s a skill.”


“Well, it’s one I wish you’d unlearn.”

Fang let out an irritated breath at the constant bitch-topic that had grown old three hundred years ago. He wasn’t the kind of wolf to suck it up. Rather he gave as good as he got, and most times he gave better. “Against the grain is the only way. Stop being such an old woman.” He turned and headed for the edge of camp where Anya had chosen to den with her mate Orian.

Fang always had to bite his tongue around them. He hated the wolfswain the Fates had picked for his sister. She deserved so much better than that half-wit, but unfortunately, that wasn’t in their hands. The Fates chose their partners and they could either submit or the male would live out his life completely impotent, the woman infertile.

To save their species, most accepted whatever abysmal mate the Fates assigned them. In the case of his parents, his mother had refused and now his father was left impotent and perpetually pissed off.

Not that Fang blamed the old man for that. He’d probably be insufferable too if he had to go centuries without sex. But that was the only part of his father he understood. The rest of the wolf was a complete mystery to him.

Luckily Anya’s mate wasn’t with his sister. Anya was lying down on the grass in the fading sunlight, her eyes barely open as a light breeze stirred her soft white fur. Her belly was swollen and he could see her pups moving inside her.

It was pretty much gross, but he wouldn’t insult her by telling her that.

“You’re back.”

He smiled at her soft voice in his head. “We are and . . .” He held the bag out toward her.

She sat up immediately and trotted over to him. “What did you bring?” She nosed at the sack as if trying to see through it with her snout.

Fang sat down and opened the sack to see what Aimee had given them. The moment he did, his heart quickened. She’d thrown in two steaks, baklava, beignets, and cookies. There was also a small note in the bottom.

He dug out the cookies and held them for Anya while he read Aimee’s flowing cursive.


I really appreciate what you did and I hope your sister enjoys her food. Brothers like you should always be treasured. Anytime you need a steak, you know where we are.



He didn’t understand why such a short, innocuous note touched him, but it did. He couldn’t help smiling at it as an image of her drifted through his mind.

Stop being a head case.

Yeah, something was definitely wrong with him. Maybe he needed to see one of those pet psychics or something. Or maybe have Vane give him a sharp kick to the hindquarters.

“Do I smell bear?”

He tucked the note into his pocket. “It’s from the Sanctuary staff.”

She shook her head and sneezed on the ground. “Gah, could they stink any worse?”

Fang had to disagree. He didn’t smell bear, he only smelled Aimee and it was a delectable scent. “They probably think the same about us.”

Anya paused to look up at him. “What did you say?”

Fang cleared his throat as he realized how out of character it was for him to defend another species. “Nothing.”

She licked his fingers as he held out more cookies for her.

A shadow fell over them. Looking up, he saw Vane standing there with a stern frown.

“Shouldn’t it be her mate doing that for her?”

Fang shrugged. “He was always a selfish asshole.”

Anya nipped hard at his fingers. “Careful, brother, that’s the sire of my pups you’re talking about.”

Fang scoffed at her protective tone. “One chosen by a trio of psycho bitches who—ow!” He jumped as Anya sank her teeth deep into the fleshy part of his hand. He cursed as he saw the blood dripping from the wound she’d given him.

She narrowed her gaze. “Again, he’s my mate and you will respect him.”

Vane cocked him on the back of his head. “Boy, don’t you ever learn?”

Fang bit his lip to keep from snapping at both of them. He hated how they treated him like their mentally defective distant relation. As if his opinions didn’t matter. Anytime he opened his mouth, one of them told him to shut it.

Honestly, he was more than tired of their treatment. All they saw him as was the muscle they needed. A loaded gun to be used against their enemies. The rest of the time, they wanted him kept in a box, completely silent and unobtrusive.

Whatever.

Changing into a wolf, he left them before he said something they’d all regret.

But one day . . .

One day he was going to let them know just how tired he was of being their omega wolf.