Chapter 4: The Haven of Ice

The jet was sleek. Black. Silent.

It sat in a clearing like a metal predator waiting to pounce.

No logos. No markings.

Just pure stealth technology.

Lycian walked up the ramp without pausing.

Arielle followed.

The interior was not luxury.

It was military.

Metal seats. Gun racks. Monitors.

Lycian strapped himself into the pilot's seat.

"Sit down," he ordered.

"Strap in."

"Unless you want to be a stain on the wall."

Arielle sat in the co-pilot seat.

She fumbled with the heavy buckles.

The engines whined to life.

A low hum vibrated through the floor.

"Where are the other pilots?" Arielle asked.

"I fly alone," Lycian said.

He flipped three switches.

The jet lifted vertically.

Smooth. Fast.

In seconds, they were above the treeline.

The forest below looked like a carpet of moss.

Somewhere down there, a scout was waking up with a broken moon carved into his chest.

Arielle looked out the window.

She watched her old life shrink until it disappeared.

"How long until we reach the North?" she asked.

"Two hours," Lycian replied.

He didn't look at her. His eyes scanned the radar.

"Sleep."

"You'll need it."

"The North isn't kind to newcomers."

"Especially Hybrids."

Arielle scoffed.

"I can't sleep."

"My blood feels like it's boiling."

Lycian glanced at her.

"That's the Void."

"It's hungry."

"You used magic back there."

"Magic has a cost."

"If you don't feed it, it feeds on you."

Arielle looked at her hands.

The veins in her wrists were dark.

Black lines pulsing under the skin.

"What do I feed it?"

"Energy," Lycian said simply.

"Or life."

"We have raw mana crystals at the Haven."

"You can chew on those."

"Better than eating people."

Arielle shuddered.

"I don't eat people."

Lycian smirked.

"Not yet."

The flight was silent after that.

Arielle watched the clouds change.

They went from fluffy white to heavy gray.

Then, the snow started.

It wasn't a gentle snowfall.

It was a blizzard.

White chaos swirling outside the glass.

The temperature gauge on the dashboard dropped.

Zero. Minus ten. Minus twenty.

"Welcome to Winterhold," Lycian muttered.

He pushed the stick forward.

The jet dove.

Through the clouds.

Through the storm.

A city appeared below them.

It was breathtaking.

Built into the side of a massive glacier.

Towers of black stone rose from the ice.

Lights glowed warm orange in the windows.

A massive wall surrounded the perimeter.

Armed guards patrolled the top.

Wolves. Hundreds of them.

This wasn't a pack.

It was an army.

"This is your home?" Arielle whispered.

"It's a fortress."

"It has to be," Lycian said.

"We are the last line of defense."

"Against what?"

"Everything."

The jet landed on a private pad near the highest tower.

The ramp lowered.

The cold hit Arielle like a physical slap.

It bit through her thin dress instantly.

She pulled Lycian's cloak tighter.

It didn't help much.

Lycian stepped out.

He wasn't wearing a coat.

The cold didn't seem to bother him.

"Move," he said.

"If you stop, you freeze."

Arielle ran after him.

Her teeth chattered.

Her breath came out in white puffs.

They entered a large steel door.

Inside, it was warm.

Stone floors. Fireplaces. Fur rugs.

It looked like a medieval castle upgraded with modern tech.

Servants bowed as they passed.

They were all werewolves.

They smelled Lycian and lowered their heads in submission.

Then they smelled Arielle.

Heads snapped up.

Noses twitched.

Confusion. Disgust. Fear.

She didn't smell like a wolf.

She didn't smell like a human.

She smelled like... nothing.

Like a gap in the world.

"Who is she, Alpha?"

A woman stepped into their path.

She was tall. Blonde. Beautiful.

Her eyes were sharp green.

She wore a white uniform with silver insignias.

A Beta. High ranking.

Lycian didn't stop walking.

"None of your business, Freya."

"Prepare the Guest Wing."

Freya blocked his path.

It was bold. Borderline disrespectful.

"She smells wrong, Lycian."

"She smells like the Dead Zone."

"You can't bring a stray into the inner sanctum."

"The Elders will riot."

Lycian stopped.

He looked down at Freya.

His eyes glowed gold for a second.

"Let them riot."

"I am the King."

"I bring who I want."

"Move."

Freya flinched.

The Alpha command hit her.

She stepped aside, bowing stiffly.

But her eyes stayed on Arielle.

Hateful. Suspicious.

Arielle met her gaze.

She didn't look away.

She let her black eye show from under the hood.

Freya gasped and took a step back.

Fear.

Good.

Lycian led Arielle down a long corridor.

He opened a heavy wooden door.

"This is your room."

It was huge.

A king-sized bed with furs.

A fireplace roaring with logs.

A balcony overlooking the frozen city.

"Stay here," Lycian ordered.

"Do not leave this room."

"Do not talk to anyone."

"I have to deal with the Council."

"They will want to know why I brought a monster home."

Arielle stepped inside.

The warmth wrapped around her.

"Am I a prisoner?" she asked.

Lycian paused at the door.

"For now?"

"Yes."

"For your own safety."

"If you wander the halls alone, my pack will tear you apart."

"They fear what they don't understand."

"And right now, nobody understands you."

He closed the door.

The lock clicked.

Arielle was alone.

She walked to the fire.

She held her hands out to the flames.

Her fingers were still numb.

She looked around the luxurious room.

It was a cage.

A gilded, warm cage.

But it was better than the altar.

Better than the pit.

She saw a mirror on the wall.

She walked over to it.

She pulled the hood down.

Her hair was a mess. Her dress was torn and bloody.

She looked like a survivor.

But in her eyes...

The brown one looked tired.

The black one looked eager.

She touched the glass.

"You saved me," she whispered to the Void inside her.

"Now I have to feed you."

She looked at a crystal bowl on the table.

It was filled with blue glowing stones.

Mana crystals.

Decoration? Or a snack?

She picked one up.

It hummed against her skin.

Her stomach growled.

Violently.

She didn't think.

She put the stone in her mouth and crunched down.

It tasted like electric sugar.

It shattered.

Energy rushed down her throat.

The black veins in her wrist pulsed.

More.

Arielle smiled.

She grabbed another crystal.

She wasn't just going to survive here.

She was going to thrive.

Let Freya glare.

Let the Council riot.

The Glitch had arrived in the North.

And she was hungry.