Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182 Breath With Me, Petal

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Blake’s eyes flick from my face to Emily, then to the grey bastard of a wolf pinned in the snow beneath Gareth. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his truck keys, and throws them to me without hesitation. Don’t have to tell me twice. I turn and scoop Emily against

me, one arm under her knees and the other around her back. She doesn’t fight, doesn’t even seem to register that I have lifted her. I think

she’s in a state of shock right now as her body is shaking so hard her teeth chatter, and her eyes are cloudy and distant. I hear that prick snarl, and I carry my mate to the truck. Fuck him. She’s mine. I hold her tighter, pulling her even closer to me as I whisper, “I’ve got you,

Em. No one’s going to hurt you. I’ve got you.”

I run for the truck, and my shoulder clips the door when I yank it open, but I barely feel it. I get Emily into the passenger seat, pull the

belt across her, and click it into place with hands that want to shake and tear and hold and fight all at once. Her eyes are wide, empty and full of horror at the same time. I grind my teeth, shut her door and run around to the driver’s side just as another command tears out of

Blake behind us. “Shift!”

I don’t bother looking as I jump in, slam the door, hit the locks, and shove the key into the ignition. I need to get my mate away from

here, now. That’s all I care about in this moment. Through the windshield, I see movement, but I don’t look for long. If I do, I will get out

and kill him. I swear to every god available that if Marcus Simmons gets anywhere near Emily again, I will rip his throat out with my

teeth. Fuck the consequences. Yelen snarls inside me, low and vicious and completely on board with the idea.

I throw the truck into reverse, turn hard, then swing us back onto the road in a rough U–turn that makes the tyres spit snow and gravel.

Emily makes a small, broken sound beside me, and my hand flies across the console on instinct to hold hers.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” I tell her. “You’re safe. You hear me? I’m taking you away.”

She whimpers in reply, and my heart fucking shatters when I look over to see tears spilling from her eyes that are squeezed tightly shut.

Fuck. I wish I had time to go back there and kill him. I drive fast. Too fast for the ice in places, but not fast enough for the fury in my

chest. The road unwinds behind us, the border disappearing in the rearview, the sign gone, the voices gone, the wolf gone, but the look on

Emily’s face is stuck with me. My hands lock around the wheel until my fingers ache.

I keep driving until the road bends down toward a stretch of forest, and the only thing around us is snow, trees, and the soft grey sky

pressing low above the windscreen. Only then do I pull over. I unclip my seatbelt, then hers, and I don’t give myself time to think before I

reach across and pull her onto my lap. She comes with me in one shaking piece, folding into my chest with a sob that barely has sound to

1. it. Her hands grab at my hoodie, my jacket, anything they can find, and I wrap both arms around her so completely that there is no room

for the cold to get between us.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper, burying my face against her hair. “I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe. You’re with me.”

Her whole body trembles in my arms, her breath breaking in quick, sharp pulls that scrape against my chest. I run one hand up and down

her back, then over her arms, trying to push warmth into her through her coat.

“It’s okay,” I murmur, even though nothing about this is okay. “I’m here. I’m right here. No one is ever going to hurt you like that again.

No one. I promise you.”

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Chapter 182 Breath With Me, Petal

Her fingers dig into my hoodie, and her face presses against my neck. I feel the wet heat of her tears against my skin and the raw ache

screaming through the bond.

Mate. Hurt. Hold. Fix.

I tighten my arms around her and rock her back and forth. “I know,” I whisper. “I know, Em. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

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Yelen moves through me with a low rumble, then purring softly for his mate, dying to soothe her broken heart.

I drop my mouth to Emily’s temple and nuzzle there, breathing her in through the fear, and the salt of her tears. “Emily,” I say gently.

“Em, hey, look at me.” I cup her face carefully and lift her face to me. “Look at me,” I say again, softer. “Just me.” Her wet lashes flutter,

and her eyes find mine. I run my thumbs over her cheeks, trying desperately to take away the pain. “There you are,” I whisper and her

breath stutters. “I’m your mate. Me. Right here. I want you. I choose you. That piece of shit back there, those people, that pack, they do

not get to decide what you are worth. They do not get to touch you. They do not get to take you from me, and they sure as hell don’t get

to take you from you. They mean nothing. You hear me? Nothing. Only you decide who gets to hurt you now, okay?”

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