Chapter 4

The Frozen Palace

The East Wing was silent.

Too silent.

The kind of silence that made people uncomfortable.

The kind that made a person feel completely alone.

Summit Angel Warm sat beside the large window of her room and stared outside.

Snow.

Everywhere.

Endless snow.

White mountains stretched across the horizon.

Frozen forests stood motionless beneath the gray sky.

Even the wind sounded lonely here.

Different.

Everything felt different.

The Warm Clan had always been full of life.

Children running through the streets.

Merchants arguing in the market.

Warriors training in the fields.

Music during festivals.

Laughter.

Noise.

Life.

But White Fang Palace…

It felt like winter itself had swallowed every sound.

Sam rested her chin on her knees.

She had only been here for a day.

One day.

Yet somehow it already felt much longer.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

“Come in.”

The door opened.

A young servant entered carrying a tray.

Tea.

Pastries.

Fresh fruit.

The servant immediately lowered her head.

“Lady Summit.”

Sam smiled. “You don’t have to bow every time.”

The servant nearly dropped the tray.

“I-I apologize!”

Sam blinked. “Oh.”

Interesting.

Everyone here seemed terrified of doing something wrong.

The servant placed the tray down carefully.

Then immediately stepped backward.

Like Sam might suddenly attack her.

“What’s your name?”

The servant froze. “…Lila.”

“Lila.”

The young woman nodded nervously.

“Relax.”

Lila looked confused. “My Lady?”

“I don’t bite.”

Lila looked unconvinced.

Sam laughed.

That seemed to help a little.

Just a little.

Before leaving, Lila hesitated.

Then quietly spoke.

“Everyone is talking about you.”

Sam groaned. “Wonderful.”

The servant smiled slightly.

“They’re curious.”

That was understandable.

A strange Luna candidate suddenly arriving in the most feared clan in the North was bound to attract attention.

“What are they saying?”

Lila swallowed. “They’re wondering how long you’ll survive.”

Sam blinked. “What?”

The servant immediately panicked.

“I-I mean—”

“No, continue.”

Lila looked toward the door.

As if considering escape.

Eventually she sighed.

“Most servants never speak directly to Alpha Froz.”

Sam frowned. “Why?”

“Because they’re afraid.” That answer wasn’t surprising.

“What about Queen Rhed?”

The servant smiled. “Everyone loves her.”

That sounded about right.

Queen Rhed was probably the only source of warmth in this frozen kingdom.

After Lila left, Sam sighed.

Wonderful.

Apparently the entire palace was taking bets on her survival.

How encouraging.

Very encouraging.

⸻

An hour later she couldn’t take it anymore.

She needed to move.

She needed to explore.

She needed something.

Anything.

Because if she spent another minute staring at snow, she might lose her mind. Without hesitation, she threw on a coat and left her room.

The East Wing was enormous.

Long hallways.

Tall ceilings.

Beautiful silver decorations.

Despite being abandoned, everything remained spotless.

Which was strange.

Who cleaned a wing nobody used?

As she wandered through the corridors, she noticed something else.

Guards.

Lots of guards.

Every hallway seemed to have one.

Or two.

Or three.

All of them stationed near her wing.

Metro hadn’t been joking.

Froz had indeed assigned extra security.

The question was—

Why?

A nearby guard immediately straightened when he saw her.

“Lady Summit.”

“Hi.”

The poor man looked confused.

Apparently nobody greeted guards here.

“What’s your name?”

He blinked. “R-Ronan.”

“Nice to meet you, Ronan.”

The guard looked ready to faint.

Interesting place.

Very interesting place.

The farther she explored, the more attention she attracted.

Servants whispered.

Guards stared.

Some even looked impressed.

Probably because she wasn’t hiding in her room.

Eventually she reached a massive staircase leading downward.

Curiosity won immediately.

Big mistake.

The moment she stepped onto the first floor—

She got lost.

Completely.

Absolutely.

Hopelessly.

Lost.

“This palace is ridiculous.”

Every hallway looked identical.

Every door looked identical.

Every statue looked identical.

Who designed this place?

A wolf?

After twenty minutes of wandering, she admitted defeat.

“I’m lost.”

“Obviously.”

Sam jumped.

She spun around.

There, standing a few feet away, was Metro.

Holding documents.

As always.

“Moon Goddess.”

Metro adjusted his glasses.

“You have poor survival instincts.”

“You appeared out of nowhere.”

“You walked in circles for twelve minutes.”

Her jaw dropped. “You watched?”

“I was curious.”

Sam stared.

This clan was weird.

Very weird.

Metro sighed. “Where were you trying to go?”

“I don’t know.”

“That explains a lot.”

She glared.

He ignored it.

Eventually he gestured down a hallway.

“This way.”

“To where?”

“The library.”

Sam brightened immediately.

A library sounded much better than being lost.

So she followed.

⸻

The White Fang Library was breathtaking.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

Ancient scrolls.

Historical records.

Maps.

Thousands and thousands of books.

Sam’s eyes widened. “Wow.”

Metro looked mildly pleased. “It is one of the largest libraries in the North.”

“I can see that.” She wandered through the shelves.

Running her fingers across the spines.

Some books looked centuries old.

Others appeared brand new.

Everything was organized perfectly.

Naturally.

This was White Fang.

Then something caught her eye.

A section dedicated entirely to clan history.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

She immediately grabbed one.

Then another.

Then another.

Metro watched silently.

“Researching?”

“Maybe.”

The servant raised an eyebrow.

“About what?”

Sam opened the first book. “Your Alpha.”

Metro nearly choked.

She grinned.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, tell me.”

Metro sighed.

“You are either brave or foolish.”

“Maybe both.”

“Most likely.”

Sam laughed.

The more time she spent with Metro, the more she liked him.

He wasn’t expressive.

But he was honest.

And after years of dealing with people like Fuji—

Honesty was refreshing.

Very refreshing.

Hours passed.

Sam learned about White Fang territory.

Its history.

Its wars.

Its leaders.

Its traditions.

One thing became obvious quickly.

Froz wasn’t exaggerating when he warned her.

This clan was different.

Completely different.

Strength mattered here.

Discipline mattered.

Loyalty mattered.

Weakness was rarely tolerated.

Which explained a lot about Froz.

He had been raised to become an Alpha in one of the harshest territories in existence.

No wonder he seemed emotionally unavailable.

He probably viewed emotions as weaknesses.

Poor idiot.

⸻

By late afternoon, Sam found herself wandering outside. The palace gardens stretched across acres of land.

Frozen fountains.

Snow-covered trees.

Ice sculptures.

Everything looked magical.

Until she heard shouting.

Sam immediately followed the sound. It led to a training field. Hundreds of warriors were gathered.

Training.

Sparring.

Fighting.

The atmosphere buzzed with energy.

Finally.

Something interesting.

Then she saw him.

Froz.

Standing near the center.

Watching.

Observing.

Judging.

His presence alone commanded respect.

No.

Not respect.

Fear.

The warriors moved differently around him.

Straighter.

Faster.

More carefully.

As if making a mistake could cost them their lives.

Sam frowned.

That couldn’t be healthy.

One warrior suddenly stepped forward.

A large man carrying a battle axe.

“Alpha.”

Froz looked at him.

The warrior bowed.

“I request a duel.”

The entire training field became silent.

Sam leaned forward.

Now this looked interesting.

Froz’s expression didn’t change.

“No.”

The warrior blinked.

“What?”

“No.”

The warrior looked devastated.

Several others laughed.

Apparently this happened often.

The warrior tried again.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Just once?”

“No.”

Sam snorted.

The man looked like a rejected puppy.

Then something unexpected happened.

A young warrior spotted her.

“Lady Summit!”

Every head turned.

Oh no.

Immediately.

Everyone started whispering.

Sam suddenly regretted existing.

The young warrior smiled.

“You should challenge him.”

Silence.

Pure silence.

Even the snow seemed to stop falling.

Sam blinked. “What?”

The warrior pointed at Froz.

“Challenge the Alpha.”

The training field exploded with excitement.

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

“I want to see that.”

“She’d die.”

“Probably.”

“Still entertaining.”

Sam stared.

Then looked at Froz.

Froz looked at her.

Neither spoke.

The tension became unbearable.

Then—

To everyone’s shock—

Sam grinned. “You know what?”

Metro, who had just arrived, immediately closed his eyes.

“No.”

Too late.

Sam pointed directly at Froz. “I challenge you.”

The entire field lost its mind.

Warriors started cheering.

Servants appeared from nowhere.

Someone was taking bets.

Queen Rhed somehow appeared carrying tea.

Nobody knew how.

Froz stared at Sam.

Expressionless.

Completely expressionless.

Then he spoke. “No.”

The cheering stopped.

Sam blinked. “What?”

“No.”

“You accepted a duel request?”

“No.”

“You didn’t.”

“No.”

She pointed toward the warrior.

“He literally asked you.”

“No.”

The warrior looked heartbroken again.

Sam groaned.

Froz turned around.

Conversation over.

Apparently.

The crowd immediately started complaining.

Even Queen Rhed looked disappointed.

“You’re no fun.” Sam shouted.

Froz didn’t stop walking.

But for a brief second—

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Almost.

Almost like a smile.

And for the first time since arriving at White Fang Palace—

Summit Angel Warm realized something.

The Cold Alpha wasn’t impossible to provoke.

She simply hadn’t found the right buttons yet.

But she would.

Soon.

Very soon.

And somewhere deep inside the frozen walls of White Fang Palace…

A dangerous game had quietly begun.

One stubborn sunshine wolf.

One cold-hearted Alpha.

Neither willing to surrender.

Neither willing to lose.

Neither realizing they had already started changing each other’s world.