Chapter 285

Chapter 285
“We need to leave the Snow Palace.”
Drea stared at Logan without answering. The words should have sounded simple. They were only six words, nothing more than a destination changing and a door opening. Yet the room seemed to contract around her as soon as he said them.
Leave.
She had once wanted nothing more.
For almost two years, she had dreamed about crossing the boundary of the Snow Pack and never looking back. During the first few months, she had counted the guards, memorized the changing patrols, and tested every door she passed. She had run once, only to find teeth waiting in the forest and Logan behind her before the cold could finish what the wolves had started. After that, the palace had slowly become the only world she knew.
She knew which corridor warmed first in the morning. She knew the stairway the servants used when Brianna did not want to be disturbed. She knew how long Cole remained at each post and which kitchen maid sometimes hid sweet bread beneath a linen cloth for her. She knew where Rita found herbs, where Alice kept her bitter medicines, and where Logan stood when he wanted everyone in a room to remember that he was Alpha.
The walls had imprisoned her until she learned how to live within them. Now Logan was telling her she had to walk out, and everything beyond those walls had become uncertain.
Drea’s hand tightened over her stomach.
“When?” she asked.
“As soon as I can arrange it.”
“How soon is that?”
“Two days, if Noel confirms the southern route is clear.”
Two days.
Her breathing changed. Logan noticed immediately, but Drea had already begun imagining the gates opening. She saw the forest beyond them, remembered the wolves rushing through the snow, and felt phantom teeth near her throat. She imagined Kael’s men waiting between the trees. She imagined strangers recognizing Logan, attacking the convoy, and discovering what she carried. She pictured herself falling in the snow while the cold inside her child grew stronger.
“What if two days is too late?” she asked.
“I do not believe it will be.”
“You do not believe it?”
Logan’s expression tightened. “The symptoms have only recently started. That gives us some time.”
“How much?”
“I cannot give you a number.”
“Then you do not know.”
“I know enough to act.”
Drea took a step back. Her heel caught the edge of the rug, and she reached for the bedpost to steady herself. “South Carolina is nowhere near here.”
“I know.”
“We would be outside for days.”
“We will travel by vehicle once we clear the mountain roads.”
“What if the roads are blocked?”
“We find another route.”
“What if Kael finds us?”
“He will not take you.”
The certainty in his voice made her anger flare. “You cannot promise that.”
“I can promise I will kill anyone who tries.”
“That does not mean I survive it.”
Logan came toward her, but she lifted a hand before he could touch her. The room had started to feel too warm despite the cold stirring beneath her skin. Her heart was striking her ribs with frantic, uneven beats, and each breath stopped before it reached the bottom of her lungs.
“Drea, calm down.”
“I am trying.”
“Look at me.”
She did, but the sight of him made the fear worse. Water still shone on his bare chest and shoulders, and the towel remained secured around his waist. A few minutes earlier, she had been furious because he had excluded her from decisions about her own child. Now the size of what they had to do had swallowed that anger and left her with nothing firm to stand on.
“Breathe slowly,” he said. “In through your nose.”
“I know how breathing works.”
“Then do it with me.”
Logan drew in a measured breath and released it slowly, but Drea could not match him. Her lungs kept snatching at the air. The child inside her seemed suddenly too fragile, an unseen life surrounded by poison, magic, and every terrible choice Logan had ever made.
“I have not left this place in almost two years,” she said.
“I know.”
“No, you do not.” Her voice rose. “You have walked in and out whenever you pleased. You have crossed the borders, gone hunting, met other Alphas, and returned because this is your home. I have been here every day since you took me.”
“Drea.”
“I woke up here after Westside burned. I did not know whether my brother or sister was alive. I did not know where I was. I did not know what you planned to do with me.”
“Drea, breathe.”
“You called me a hostage. Then you called me a breeder in front of everyone, as though my body was something you had captured with the rest of the territory.”
Logan’s face tightened, but he did not defend himself.
She continued because stopping would require her to feel everything at once. “I tried to escape, and wolves attacked me. I nearly froze to death in that forest. You brought me back and made me believe I could never get farther than the trees. Brianna has hated me since the moment she saw me. Kathryn watches me as though she is deciding where to bury me. Noel thinks every innocent person who died at Westside was an acceptable price.”
“Andrea.”
The use of her full name should have reached her. Instead, it became another sound beneath the rushing in her ears.
“You told me my father murdered yours. You told me you ordered the attack that killed my family. Then I started dreaming about your death, except I was the person killing you. I found out I was pregnant, and I could not even tell you because I did not know whether you would see a child or an heir.”
“Andrea, look at your hands.”
She looked down.
Frost had covered her fingers.
Thin white crystals formed along her knuckles and spread toward her wrists. She curled her hands, but the cold slipped between her fingers and crawled over the bedpost.
“I cannot stop it,” she whispered.
“Yes, you can.”
“You do not know that.”
“I know it is reacting to your fear.”
“My fear is not going anywhere.” Her voice broke. “My baby is dying because of something inside you, and now I have to leave the only place I know to travel across the country for a root that may not even work.”
“It will work.”
“You cannot know that.”
“I will make it work.”
“How?” she shouted. “By threatening it? By ordering it to save us because you are Logan Frost?”
The cold surged through her arms. Logan moved toward her again, but Drea stepped back, her breathing turning into painful gasps.
“Andrea, stop talking and listen to me.”
“I cannot stop. I cannot stay here, I cannot leave, and I cannot protect my own baby. I do not even know whether every time this happens I am making it worse.”
The pressure inside her broke.
Cold exploded from her body with a sharp crack.
The blast struck the room in every direction. Ice raced over half the bed, sealing the blanket to the mattress in a hard silver sheet. Frost climbed the wall behind it and covered the carved panels. The water still running down Logan’s chest froze into bright trails against his skin, and the washbasin split beneath a sudden crust of ice.
Silence followed.
Drea stared at what she had done.
Her hands shook violently. The frost faded from her fingers, leaving them numb and pale. She looked at Logan, expecting anger or fear, but he stood motionless with ice glittering over one shoulder and his attention fixed entirely on her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Her voice collapsed on the words.
“I’m so sorry.”
Tears blurred the frozen room. She covered her mouth, but the first sob forced its way through her fingers. Once it began, she could not contain it. Her knees weakened, and she reached blindly for the bed before remembering that half of it had become solid ice.
Logan crossed the distance between them.
He did not hesitate this time. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against his chest before she could fall. The ice against his skin had already begun to melt, but his body remained warm beneath it. Drea pressed both hands against him, intending to push away, yet her strength deserted her.
“You did not hurt me,” he said.
“I could have.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I froze the room.”
“I have seen worse.”
“This is not funny.”
“I am not laughing.”
His arms tightened around her. Drea cried against his chest, humiliated by how desperately she clung to him. She had been angry with him moments earlier. She still was. Anger had simply become too small to hold everything else.
Logan placed one hand behind her head and kept the other firmly around her waist. “The child is alive,” he said. “The root exists. We know where it is, and we are going to get it. That is what is true tonight.”
“What if we fail?”
“We deal with what is in front of us first.”
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
“I hate that you keep saying that.”
“I know that too.”
A broken laugh escaped her through the tears. She lifted her face and found him looking down at her, his expression stripped of the authority he showed everyone else. Guilt remained there, but so did fear. He was frightened for the child. He was frightened for her. Drea could finally see it without wondering whether she had invented it.
Logan brushed the dampness from her cheek with his thumb. The movement was careful, at odds with the strength in the arm still holding her.
Drea’s gaze dropped to his mouth.
She did not decide to kiss him. The need rose out of the same place as the panic, desperate for warmth and proof that she was still inside her own body. She caught his face between her hands and pressed her lips to his.
Logan went still.
For one heartbeat, he did not respond. Then his hand tightened at the back of her head, and he kissed her with a force that stole the next breath from her. Drea opened to him, pulling him closer until there was no space left between her dress and his bare body.
The kiss tasted of anger, fear, and everything they had failed to say properly. Logan’s mouth moved over hers with controlled hunger at first, but Drea felt that control weakening every time her fingers slid into his wet hair. He turned them carefully, keeping her away from the frozen side of the bed, and backed her toward the unfrozen edge.
When his mouth left hers, they were both breathing hard.
“Drea,” he said. “You are frightened. I will not take advantage of that.”
“You are not.”
“You need to be certain.”
She held his gaze. “I am terrified about the baby. I am angry with you. I still want this.”
His thumb moved over her lower lip. “Tell me to stop if that changes.”
“I will.”
Logan kissed her again, slower now. His lips were warm and gentle against hers, asking a question she had already answered. She touched his hair, still damp from his bath, then let her hands travel down his shoulders, over the hard muscles of his chest. He tasted like toothpaste, like clean skin and Logan. He leaned her back on the bed, careful to keep her away from the ice that had taken over half the mattress. His hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing along her jaw.

She deepened the kiss, pulling him closer. She needed this, needed him. Needed to feel his skin against hers. She touched his face, then let her hands roam down his neck, his shoulders, his chest again. He was so solid, so warm. His hand rested on her thigh, thumb rubbing slow circles. She wanted more of that, more of him.

“Wait,” Logan said softly, pulling back just enough to look at her. “You’re sure?”

She nodded, running a finger along his jaw. “I’m sure.”

He smiled slightly, then kissed her again, slow and deep. His hand moved from her thigh to her waist, fingers tracing the tie at the front of her dress. He paused there, looking at her for permission.

“Untie it,” she said.

His fingers complied, slowly pulling the bow loose. He spread the fabric open, baring her skin inch by inch. He kissed her collarbone, her shoulder, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts through her bra. She arched into his touch, a soft sound escaping her lips.

“You are beautiful,” Logan said.

“So are you.”

“That is the panic speaking.”

“No. The panic thinks you are an arrogant bastard.”

She smiled at him and he chuckled. “That sounds more like you.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, his hands sliding down to untie the side of her skirt, then the straps of her bra, sliding them off slowly. She helped him, lifting her hips so he could slide her undergarments off completely. He tossed them to the floor.

She reached for his towel, pulling it loose and throwing it aside. His cock was hard against her thigh, hot and heavy. She wrapped her hand around him, stroking slowly. He groaned, his forehead resting against hers.

He moved lower, kissing down her neck, her chest, her stomach. He paused there, looking up at her for confirmation. She nodded, running a hand through his hair. He continued downward, kissing her hips, her thighs, then settling between her legs. His tongue found her clit, hot and insistent. She gasped, her hips jerking upward.

“Logan,” she breathed, pulling him closer.

He complied, his tongue moving faster, more insistently. She could feel the pressure building, her body tensing. She gripped his hair, holding him to her as she came with a cry, her body shaking with the force of it.

Logan kissed his way back up her body, settling beside her. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She could feel his cock hot and hard against her thigh. She reached down, wrapping her hand around him again.

“Drea,” he said softly, his voice strained.

She looked up at him, seeing the tension in his jaw. “I want to,” she said. “Let me.”

He nodded, his eyes closing as she stroked him. He was so hard, so hot in her hand. She leaned down, taking him into her mouth. He groaned, his hands fisting in her hair.

“Drea,” he said again, his voice tight. “I’m close.”

She looked up at him, seeing the strain on his face. She didn’t stop, though, increasing her pace instead. He came with a groan, his body tensing as he spilled into her mouth. She swallowed, then crawled back up his body, settling beside him.

He pulled her close, kissing her softly. His hand rested on her hip, thumb rubbing slow circles. She could feel his cock stirring against her thigh again. She reached down, wrapping her hand around him. He was already hard again, hot and insistent in her hand.

“Again?” she asked, smiling at him.

He chuckled, pulling her on top of him. She straddled him, her knees on either side of his hips. He entered her slowly, filling her completely. She leaned down, kissing him as she began to move.

She set the pace, slow and gentle at first, then building as her pleasure increased. He matched her movements, his hands on her hips, guiding her. She could feel the pressure building again, her body tensing as she chased her release.

“Logan,” she gasped, her body convulsing as she came. She collapsed against him, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

He held her close, his own breaths coming fast. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, his hands roaming over her back. She could feel him still hard inside her, his body tense with restraint.

She lifted her head, looking down at him. “Your turn,” she said softly.

He smiled, his hands gripping her hips as he began to move again. She met his thrusts, their bodies moving in sync. She could feel another orgasm building, her body tensing as she chased her release.

“Drea,” he groaned, his body tensing as he came. She followed him over the edge, her body convulsing around him as she found her own release.

She collapsed against him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He held her close, his hands running over her back, her sides, her hips. She could feel his cock softening inside her, their bodies slick with sweat.

They lay like that for a long time, their breathing slowly returning to normal. Logan’s hand rested on her hip, his thumb rubbing slow circles. She could feel his cock stirring again, hot and insistent against her thigh. She reached down, wrapping her hand around him. He was already hard again, ready for more.

Logan kissed her softly, his hands roaming over her body. She shifted, rolling onto her side so she faced him. He followed, his body pressing against hers. His cock slid into her easily, filling her completely. She wrapped her leg around his hip, pulling him closer.

She set the pace this time, slow and gentle, their bodies moving in sync. He matched her movements, his hands on her hips, guiding her. She could feel the pressure building again, her body tensing as she chased her release.

“Logan,” she gasped, her body convulsing as she came. He followed her over the edge, his body tensing as he found his own release.

He collapsed against her, their bodies slick with sweat. She held him close, her hands running over his back, his sides, his hips. He kissed her shoulder, her neck, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

They lay like that for a long time, their breathing slowly returning to normal. Logan’s hand rested on her hip, his thumb rubbing slow circles. She could feel his cock softening inside her, their bodies relaxing into each other.

She shifted slightly, pulling away from him just enough to look at his face. He smiled at her, his eyes soft and content. He kissed her gently, his hands cupping her face.

Neither spoke immediately.

Logan shifted to keep his weight from resting heavily on her, then pulled a blanket from the untouched side of the bed and covered them. Drea lay against his chest, listening as his heartbeat gradually slowed. The frozen water on his shoulder had melted completely, leaving his skin damp beneath her cheek.
Her fingers traced one of the old scars near his ribs. “Is it safe?”
Logan’s hand moved slowly along her back. “What?”
“Going to South Carolina.”
He was quiet long enough that she already knew the answer.
“No,” he said. “Kael is moving near the southern border, and someone inside this palace may be feeding him information. Once we leave Snow territory, I cannot control every road or every person we meet.”
Drea lifted her head. “Then why are we going?”
“Because staying guarantees the strain grows stronger. Leaving gives us a chance.”
She studied his face in the weak firelight. “You really believe we can do this?”
“I believe we have to.”
His hand settled over hers where it rested against her stomach.
“For the baby,” he said.
Drea looked down at their joined hands. The fear remained. It would still be there in the morning, waiting beside the gates and following them onto every road between the palace and South Carolina. She could not defeat it tonight, but she could choose what mattered more.
She nodded and rested her head against his chest again.
“Yes,” she said. “For the baby.”