Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 196

Where The lee Gives Way

Chapter 196 The First Real Punishment

Emily

I know this part next now. There is a rhythm to it. Charlotte speaks. Shanti reaches. Blake holds the line if the wolf pushes too hard or panics too fast. Dr Hale waits behind them with his bag open, Bennett beside him with blankets and clothes ready. Theo and I stand a little farther back until the shift is done. Then we go in. That is my part. It still feels strange to have a part, to be considered useful in something so miraculous and life–changing.

Marcus whimpers from his cage when Charlotte places one hand near the bars, and the sound crawls down my spine. I look away from him, and my eyes land on Alpha Thomas standing with his arms folded so tightly his knuckles have gone pale. His eyes keep flicking from Charlotte to Marcus, then back again. I enjoy seeing him not get his way.

“Hi,” Charlotte says softly. “I’m Charlotte.” I turn back around and watch as the wolf growls weakly. “I know. You don’t have to trust me yet.”

I feel it even from here. There’s a calm that washes over the room as Shanti rises further in her. It’s beautiful to watch.

“Emily.” Marcus makes a broken sound as some of the effects wash over him as well. Theo’s hand touches the back of mine, and Charlotte begins to hum. It slips through the building, moving between the bars and across the dirty concrete. The brown wolf’s growl catches as the hum turns into a howl, just for them. I remember that sound from the other side of myself.

I remember being trapped somewhere dark and deep within my mind, hearing something gentle through the hurt. I remember the feeling of Charlotte’s call guiding us back to ourselves. The wolf in the cage trembles as the small howl curls around the wolf, calling them back now. The brown wolf jerks back, claws scraping the floor, teeth snapping at empty air. “Easy,” Blake commands, settling the panic. Charlotte keeps going, and the wolf’s body shudders and bones crack. I force myself not to look away as the wolf whines, high and human at the edges, until there is only the sound of a woman crying. Bennett steps in with a blanket, then I take it from him and kneel in front of the woman. Dr Hale crouches on her other side, already checking her breathing, his fingers gentle at her wrist.

“Hi,” I say softly.

The woman flinches, and I stop moving.

“My name is Emily. You’re safe right now.”

Her eyes dart around the prison, wild and terrified, then land on Charlotte, then Blake, then Theo behind me. There are too many people, too much noise. I know that feeling all too well.

ľ “I bet you’re scared. I was, too, when I first came back.” I say softly as I slowly move to wrap the blanket around her shoulders. The kneels beside me, opens a bottle of water, and passes it to me. I hold it toward her. “Small sips for me.”

Her fingers shake so badly she cannot take it, so I hold the bottle while she drinks. Water runs down her chin, and she makes a small sound when she swallows, as her throat hurts.

Dr Hale looks at me. “Dehydrated. Likely malnourished. No obvious breaks, but let’s get her moved somewhere warm.”

The woman grabs my sleeve before I can answer. Her grip is weak, but desperate, and her eyes are wide and pleading. “No cell,” she rasps.

I lay my own hand over hers. “No,” I say at once. “No cell.”

“A room can be prepared in the estate.” Alpha Thomas says then, his voice loud and boastful. The woman’s grip turns painful, and I look back at him. “No.”

His eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”

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12:31 pm PT

Chapter 196 The First Real Punishment

Internally, I roll my eyes. “They don’t need flashy, bright and crowded places right now, Alpha Thomas. They need somewhere warm.”

Thomas’s mouth tightens, and Gareth steps forward before Thomas can argue. He crouches near the woman, bringing himself lower.

“I’m Alpha Gareth Atlas of Wellington Pack,” he says. “You have options now. You can remain here under proper medical care while we assess the origin of your pack. You can ask to contact family if you have any. Or you can come with us to Wellington, where we have a rehabilitation centre, medical support,

and pack members trained to help with this transition. The woman stares at him, and he offers her a warm smile. “I know this is all a lot. But we’re here to

help. We want to help.”

Her eyes move to me then, as if seeking reassurance, and I take her hand and squeeze. “They mean it. They’ve done the same for me.”

She swallows, then she whispers, “Wellington.”

Thomas says nothing as Theo helps me guide the woman to her feet. She leans heavily against me at first, then Bennett takes her other side. We walk her

past Marcus’s cage. He is crouched near the bars now, fingers wrapped around them, eyes fixed on me. “Emily,” he says, but I keep walking. “Emily, please.”

The woman beside me flinches at his voice, and I turn my body slightly, putting myself between her and him, and keep moving. Theo walks on Marcus’s side

-a wall in a hoodie.

“You can’t keep ignoring me.” Marcus’s breathing turns ragged.

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“I can,” I say calmly.

We get the woman to a cot Dr Hale has set up near the front of the building, far from the cages but still within sight of the door. I help her into a set of

clothes and put shoes on her feet, and tell her about Wellington as she silently digests it all. Eventually, she tells me her name is Margret, and she’s

thankful that I’m here today. Just as I was thankful Charlotte was there for me. I make sure she’s okay before I move back to the cells, and the day keeps

going.

Each time I walk past that cell, Marcus becomes less important. He is still there. Still muttering and still watching me. He calls my name, he begs, he snarls

when I help a restored man sip water, and Blake only has to look at him for Marcus to go quiet. But the more we work, the smaller he gets. Thomas watches

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