Ice’s POV.I tie my hair into low braids before covering my body with sunblock. After lunch earlier, Hunter dismissed everyone and informed us that we will begin our travels by three in the afternoon so that there is enough time to prepare the camels.As I apply a coat of lip tint, Kelly knocks from the other side of my door. “Ice, would you want to borrow a hat?”I give myself a final look before putting the shades on top of my head and rush to open the door. “Yeah, definitely.”She hands me a plain beige hat while frowning at my outfit. Worry fills me. Is my plain white shirt, denim shorts, and sneakers culturally inappropriate for the Desert Heart?I look down at my clothes, “Is anything wrong?”“No,” She shakes her head, “It’s just that you look like a tourist.”“Oh,” I let out an awkward chuckle. “I apologize.”“It’s normal.” Brushing me off, she twirls around and showcases her blue geometric dress that covers her knees and her plain white hijab. “Don’t worry, we’ll go shopping l

Ice’s POV.Bright light of the sun shines through and falls on the breakfast table. I roll my neck to ease the aching muscles from the training earlier. Since the last time I visited the sacrifice ritual, I have been afraid to face Kelly and her brother. Much to my relief, Kelly isn’t with me today. She was invited to a tea party while I chose to stay in the palace. “ICE!” Master Athan’s voice startles me. I turn around and watch his gorgeous face and fine physique walk towards me. As much as I don’t like to admit it, my ex mate is a perfect specimen carved on an image of a God walking on this planet. I hate, no, I despise his guts, but don’t I just love his physical appearance.One of the reasons why I fell hard for him even before knowing that we were mates would be his looks, after all. Thinking about it, I find it odd how he doesn’t look his age. Then again, we are werewolves. And despite not being immortal, we do age slower. But still, it seems like he doesn’t age at all.My tho

Ice’s POV.I can’t believe Athan took care of me the whole time.When I woke up earlier in my bedroom, I wondered how I got there because the last thing I remembered before drifting to sleep was that I was lying down on the clinical bed. I looked for Freya for answers, and she simply told me that Athan was the one who brought me to my room.“Are you guys together?” She asks me. “I find it weird for him to carry you like that.”“What are you talking about?” My eyes widened uncontrollably before brushing the idea off her head. “He’s just being a good instructor. He would do that with anyone.”With a raised eyebrow that obviously looks like she doesn’t believe me, she shrugs and drops the topic.Now that I’m alone in the cafeteria eating my lunch, I am able to spiral in my own whirlwind of questions that might remain unanswered forever because knowing Athan, he won’t give me anything.But why did he go out of his way to take care of me? According to Freya, he brought me back to my room l

Ice’s POV.I wake up with a nasty headache. When my senses come back to me, I notice that I am sitting down on the cold hard floor with my hands chained behind me.I hold in a sarcastic laugh because this is giving me déjà vu.My dark humor, however, is cut short when I see the familiar cave-like walls that surround me. Pure dread consumes me, and I immediately pull my legs toward me while looking around the room I am locked in with pure horror.Despite the vague imprints on the walls because of the darkness with only seeing them because of the dim light from the moon, I know this place. The awful smell gave it away.No, Moon Goddess, no. Pure fear embraces my senses as I try to stop myself from spiraling to a break down. I can’t be here. Not yet, at least. I have not done anything wrong. Not yet, damn it!“Why am I here…?” I ask myself, expecting my wolf to reply. However, when all I get from my head is silence, the feeling of dread doubles because I remember what happened before I l