Where The Ice Gives Way (Charlotte and Blake) novel Chapter 262

Chapter 262 What We Build Next

Blake

Dad and I watch from the front step as Theo and Emily disappear around the side of the house.

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“You know,” he says, hands tucked into his coat pockets, eyes on the two-storey place in front of us, “I wasn’t sure about this at first.”

“The house?”

“The six of you living together without adult supervision.”

I huff a laugh, looking back at the wraparound deck, the wide windows, the snow gathered along the railings. From the outside, it looks

too big and too quiet, but I know we’re going to fill it with life.

“It made sense,” I say.

Charlotte stands near the front steps with Mum, talking quietly as she points out something about the porch. Her hair blows loose around

her face, and every few seconds, her gaze flicks back to me with a sweet smile that makes me melt.

Lex presses warm and steady beneath my skin.

Mate likes our new home.

This house is for her as much as anyone else.

For Charlotte, who spent too long making broken places feel liveable.

For Emily, who deserved a greenhouse over a cell.

For Theo, who needs people around him because the quiet places scare him.

For Charlie and Jess, if they choose to start their own story here too.

Dad shifts beside me. “Tell me why you want them here.”

“What?”

“Them.” He nods toward the house. “Not Charlotte. I know why you want Charlotte here. What about the others?”

I look back at the windows.

The answer is easy. Betas, Gammas, future leadership all under one roof. It’s practical. Smart, even.

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Chapter 262 What We Build Next

But Dad is not asking for what’s in my head. He’s asking for what’s in my heart.

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“Because they fit,” I say slowly. “Theo and Emily already hold people together in different ways. He reads a room before anyone else

knows something is wrong, and she knows what it feels like to be powerless, so she will never be careless with power.”

Dad hums thoughtfully.

“And Charlie… Charlie has spent his whole life being the first wall around Charlotte. He doesn’t trust easily, but once he does, he will

stand there until something breaks against him. Jess is the same in a quieter way. She sees what people are feeling before they say it. She

cares even when she is scared.”

Dad’s eyes stay on me, and I shrug once. “I don’t want them because I need to fill spots beside us. I want them because I trust them to

stand with the pack and give our people what they need.”

For a moment, Dad is quiet. Then he places his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m proud of you,” he says, and there is something in his eyes that makes me feel younger and older at the same time. “I’m proud of the

man you’re becoming, Blake. You’ve made excellent choices in the people you want standing beside you.”

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I look back at the house, at the space waiting to be filled with voices, footsteps, and the chaos of all of us.

“You really think so?”

Dad gives my shoulder a little shake. “I do. You’re not choosing people for titles. You’re choosing people you trust with the pack’s future.

That’s what matters.”

Before I can answer, a car pulls up at the curb.

Charlie gets out, then walks around to open Jess’s door. She steps onto the snow with her hand tucked into his, wrapped in a thick coat

that looks like one of Mum’s. She still looks tired from last night, pale around the edges, but her eyes are clearer.

I leave Dad by the steps and head toward them, careful with my pace and my voice, because with Charlie, everything goes better when it’s

not pushed.

“Hey,” I say, looking between them. “Do you two have a minute?”

Charlie’s shoulders stiffen immediately, and his nose scrunches like he wants to tell me to piss off. “Jess needs to rest.”

“I know. And she can. I want to show you both something first.”

Charlie opens his mouth, but Charlotte steps up beside me, her hand slipping into mine as she looks at her brother.

“It’ll just take a minute,” she says softly.

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Chapter 262 What We Build Next

Charlie’s eyes flick to her, and whatever argument is sitting on his tongue disappears.

Jess squeezes his hand, making him look down at her. “I’m okay,”

“Fine. One minute,” he says, dragging his eyes back to me.

Charlotte and I lead them next door and up the steps.

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The house is empty inside, but not cold. The heating has taken the bite out of the air, and the living room opens wide in front of us with

bare floors, pale walls, and windows looking out over the snow-covered yard.

Footsteps sound above us, then Theo appears on the stairs with Emily behind him.

Theo points upward with complete seriousness. “Just so everyone knows, I already called dibs on a room.”

Charlie stares at him. “You what?”

“Dibs,” Theo repeats. “Ancient law. Completely binding. The one at the end of the hall, it’s ours.”

Emily rolls her eyes, but she is smiling, and there is something soft and overwhelmed in her face that tells me Theo has completely won

her over.

I reach into my coat pocket and pull out two more sets of keys.

I hold one set out to Charlie and one to Jess. “Look, I know you both have a lot going on, so there’s no need for answers right away.”

Neither of them moves, so I let the keys sit there between us.

“But I got this house for all of us.”

Charlie’s eyes lift to mine. “Why?”

The question is blunt, suspicious, and so completely Charlie that I almost smile.

“Because, brother,” I say, “when the time comes, I would really like it if you would be my Gamma. You and less.”

I glance around the empty living room, then back at them. “I’d like us to have a place that is all of ours. Somewhere we can grow together

before the titles get too heavy. Somewhere we can learn how to be the people this pack will need.”

I look at Charlie. “No pressure, seriously. Just… think about it?”

His throat moves, and his eyes flick back to the keys.

“What does a Gamma actually do?” he asks quietly.

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