“Still, you were just a child. Weren´t you afraid to be on your own?”
“At first, but the frost was there. It warmed me, kept me safe. When I started to grow it told me what I was, what had happened to me and what to do next. It told me to help conquer the lands of Ice Falls and become its king. ”
“You were lucky to have it, then,” Freya murmured and he pulled her closer.
“I was,” he agreed, “and I´m even luckier now that I have you.” He kissed her at the top of her head and suddenly Freya couldn´t breathe. Wolf was not lucky to have her, not even close. She was going to betray him, die and join Philip in the afterlife and leave Wolf to his own in Ice Falls. Freya tried to get away from him, pushing at him and he reluctantly let her go.
Trying to hide that she was shaking with unease, she sat up, pulling her knees into her chest.
“What´s wrong,” Wolf asked and his voice was unsteady. He stroked her spine with his knuckles as if he couldn´t bear not to touch her.
“Nothing, I´m fine,” she lied.
“You´re shivering,” he said. “I didn´t hurt you, did I?”
She shook her head. “It´s getting cold, maybe we should return to the castle…”
Before she even had a chance to finish the sentence, they were inside the castle in what appeared to be Wolf´s bedroom. There was a huge bed by the wall overflowing with pillows and furs. A crystal chandelier was hanging in the ceiling and the windows were without curtains, letting in the last of the day´s light.
“This is where you belong,” Wolf said, his chest heaving. “You belong in my bed.”
Deep inside that was what Freya felt too but it was a risky feeling.
“Whatever is bothering you,” Wolf said, looming over here. “We will find a solution.”
We will but you´re not going to like it.
Instead of answering, she just wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Kiss me,” Freya begged and he obliged, spreading her legs at the same time. “I´m a little sore.” His hand froze and she smiled. “But don´t let that stop you.” She jerked when she felt his breath, cooling her, making her sigh.
“Freya,” Wolf said throatily, “You´ve weakened me like no one else.”
His lips slanted against her and Freya pushed back her tears.
Chapter Thirteen
Freya feared when it would come. The day when she abandoned Wolf for Philip. At first she had thought it would be easy but now her heart was pulling in opposite directions and it made her feel sick. A couple of weeks had already passed and had she not known that it would all come to an end, she would have savored it all. Every night they made love, each time better than before and for each time the thought of betraying Wolf became harder and harder. The notion felt like a curse, burning like a scorching fire in her heart.
She and Wolf were walking on the grounds around the castle. It was a beautiful morning with only the softest snow falling and she was wearing Wolf´s white fur, keeping it in place with a thick belt around her waist. A diamond crown proudly decorated her red hair and diamond earrings glistened in her ears, making her look like a true queen of Ice Falls. But Freya couldn´t quite enjoy it. Agony was withering inside of her and Wolf could sense her tensions.
“I heard you last night,” he said and Freya stiffened, looking up at him and he frowned, removing a hair strand that was covering her face. “You had a nightmare.”
“I did?” Freya said, trying to look unfazed. “I don´t remember.” She remembered very well. She had been dreaming about burning flames and death. “Did I say anything in my sleep?” Freya held her breath.
“Murmuring but I couldn´t hear what.” Wolf seemed displeased with that fact but Freya breathed out and he shot her a side eye. He kissed the back of her hand and she tried to give him a reassuring smile but the way he was looking at her, didn´t match the gentle gesture. “Next time, I´ll make sure to listen more carefully.”
“Whatever for?” Freya asked. “You wouldn´t hear anything of interest anyway.”
“Do you think that I will hurt you?” he asked and Freya looked up at him in surprise. It was the last thing she had on her mind.
“Never!” she said with indignation.
“Then why don´t you tell me what is troubling you? Is it because of what happened with the other god´s?” That devilish look turned up in his eyes. “Say the word and they will never be able to form any of their own.”
The thought of them frozen, unable to move as they watched men come to the shore without being able to do anything, made her smile a little.
“It is not that,” Freya said but it scared her how incessantly he was trying to find out the truth. She had tried to hide her worry from him but it didn´t work on someone like Wolf.
“Is it because you miss your old life? Miss being by the Emerald Forest?” he tried persistently but she shook her head.
“Damn you, what is it then?” Wolf said and stopped walking. He raked a hand through his hair. “Tell me!”
“Why must you continue asking me, when I´ve told you that it´s nothing?”
“Because the frost keeps telling me that you´re hiding something,” he said between pressed lips. Flakes of snow were stuck in his dark eyelashes and it would have been charming, had it not been for the abrasive look in his eyes.
“Your frost is wrong,” Freya said with an emphasis on the word wrong. She continued walking. Wolf pulled her back by the elbow so that she slammed against his chest and she caught a hint of his smell, making her weak in the knees.
“Enough with keeping secrets from me, Freya,” he said and she could tell what he actually
