Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 205

Chapter 205 Someone Else’s Problem

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I watch through Yelen’s eyes as Charlotte moves up beside Emily, and immediately, I don’t like it. Yelen’s jaws tighten around the back of

Desmond’s neck, just enough to remind him we are the only reason he is still breathing. Marcus’s wolf trembles under us, body pinned in

the snow, paws clawing uselessly at the ground. He has stopped fighting since Gareth dragged Thomas away, but he hasn’t calmed. There

is no calm left in him, only hunger for Emily. I would growl if my mouth weren’t full of this bastard’s neck.

Charlotte stops beside Emily, her face pale but steady, and Blake stays close behind them both. I know the decision she will make before

she even says it, and every part of me rejects it. He doesn’t deserve one more second of her softness. But it’s Emily’s choice, and I love

her enough to let that matter more than my anger. My job as her mate is to stand beside her, not above her, beside her.

Emily and Charlotte step forward together, and Marcus finally goes still beneath me. His breathing changes as his head strains against

Yelen’s teeth, trying to turn, trying to see her. A low, broken whine pushes up from his chest, and I press him harder into the snow as

Emily kneels in front of him. “Marcus,” she says, and his ears twitch at her voice. “Charlotte is going to help you now. She is going to give

you back your humanity, but you are going to have to find a reason to keep it.” Marcus’s wolf shudders at her voice. “That reason can’t be

me,” she says. “Our bond no longer exists. I have moved on. Now you need to do the same.”

A desperate sound tears out of him, and Emily watches him for another breath. Then she stands. She steps back toward me, and Charlotte

moves into the space she leaves behind. Charlotte lifts her chin, draws in a breath and lets her howl rise into the cold. It reaches for

something buried beneath rot, pain, and madness, and the second I feel his bones start to change, I release him. Blake gives me one sharp

nod from behind Charlotte, and I step back and shift myself.

Cold air hits my bare skin, and Gareth tosses a pair of track pants at me without looking. I catch them against my chest. “Thanks,” I

mutter and drag the pants on quickly, keeping my eyes on Marcus the entire time. His shift is ugly, or maybe that’s just him. It is all pain

and no control. His wolf folds in on itself as he comes apart in front of everyone. The proud future Alpha of Munroe collapses naked in

the square, shaking hard, his whole body knocking against the ground. Then he starts crying.

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Great, broken sounds tumble out of him as he curls into himself, one arm over his stomach, one hand clawing at his own chest. His face

presses into the snow, his ass out to the world. There is nothing powerful about him now. Nothing impressive. Nothing left for anyone to

follow. It’s…pitiful.

A guard steps forward with a blanket and drops it near him, then backs away fast like Marcus might still bite. Marcus fumbles for it with

shaking fingers. He drags it over his hips and chest, but it does nothing to make him look whole. He lies there in the snow, half wrapped,

face wet, hair sticking to his forehead. “I…” His voice breaks. He looks at Emily, but he cannot hold her gaze. “I don’t know what to do.”

Emily stands beside me now, her shoulder brushing my arm as we look down at him. Marcus swallows hard, shaking his head as more

tears spill down his face. “I don’t know how to move on.”

Emily takes a long, tired breath before she reaches for me. Her hand slips into mine, cold fingers threading through my own. I fold one

arm around her waist without thinking, pulling her against me. Finally, that’s all I can think. Finally, she’s safe. I have her.

“That’s someone else’s problem, bud,” I say over Emily’s shoulder.

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13:00 Sat, Jul 18

Chapter 205 Someone Else’s Problem

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Marcus flinches like I hit him, and I should probably feel bad about it, but I don’t. The Goddess gifted me to be her second chance. Me. I

get to pick up the pieces that he broke. Marcus wipes at his face with the back of his hand as he stares up at us with red eyes and a snot

nose. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

Emily goes still in my arms. I feel her breathe in deeply again before she turns to him. All she says is, “I know.” That is all: no forgiveness

or absolution.

Emily turns away from him and presses her face briefly into my chest, then I lower my mouth to her temple and breathe her in. “Fuck,” I whisper, just for her. “That was so scary, petal.”

Her breath catches, and then she gives me the smallest laugh that trembles against me.

“Don’t tell anyone I said that,” I add.

“I won’t,” she whispers.

I kiss her temple and keep my arm around her as we walk away from Marcus.

Gareth stands near the steps as we pass. His eyes flick over Emily, then me, and I give him a nod. Thankful doesn’t even begin to cover

what he’s done for me today. His voice comes through the link a moment later. I’ll be a while here. Head back and get some rest.

I glance over the square. Thomas is gone. Marcus is on the ground. Munroe pack stands in frightened clusters, waiting for someone to tell

them what comes next. Bennett is already organising guards. Charlotte is with Blake and Dr Hale with the restored rogues near the

fountain. I don’t envy Gareth. One day, that weight will sit on Blake’s shoulders, and part of it will sit on mine, too. But right now, I am

selfish enough to be grateful it is not my turn yet. Right now, I get to hold Emily’s hand and walk her out.

“Sweetheart?” Her father’s voice stops her cold. Her eyes close briefly before she turns to face them. Her mother stands beside him, her

eyes red.

“I…” Her mother’s voice cracks. “We would like a chance to explain. If you’ll let us.”

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