All Chapters of The Weight of Frost: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Stephen walked away from Julia with nothing but the cold, biting night air to keep him company. The adrenaline that had fueled his rage all day was completely gone, leaving him hollowed out and dangerously numb.​He didn't know where he was going. He just knew he couldn't go back to the Alpha box, and he certainly couldn't stay in the arena. Out of pure, ingrained habit, his feet carried him toward the VIP compound—a secluded grove of high-end timber cabins reserved strictly for visiting pack leadership.​The walk only deepened the bitter ache in his chest. By some cruel twist of fate or Frost Pack logistics, the cabin assigned to the Claw Mountain Gamma chief and his mate was located directly across the path from Alpha Cobb, Nesha, and Emerald.​As Stephen approached his cabin, he couldn't stop his gaze from drifting across the moonlit path to Emerald's door. Soft, warm light spilled from the windows of the Silver Paw cabin. Even from outside, it looked safe. Protected. Everything he

The heavy, suffocating drama of the night games gave way to a crisp, bright morning. The festival grounds woke early, the air thick with the smell of roasting meats, pine, and the sharp metallic tang of freshly sharpened steel.Down in the main arena, the brutal mud pit from the Beast's Tether had been completely filled and packed down with fresh dirt. In its place stood two colossal, reinforced timber walls, each painted with a massive, multi-tiered grid resembling a giant, wooden game board.Emerald stood at the railing of the Alpha box, a warm mug of spiced cider in her hands. The deep sleep she had gotten in her safe, heavily guarded cabin had brought a fresh rush of color to her cheeks."Okay, so explain this one to me," Emerald said, leaning over the rail to inspect the massive wooden grids. "Because it looks like giant tic-tac-toe with weapons.""That's basically what it is," Reagan laughed, leaning against the rail beside her. "It’s officially called the Scholar's Cleave, but

"No need to bow, Stephen," Zyan commanded quietly, his deep voice carrying a strange, heavy calm that immediately halted Stephen's movement.Stephen slowly straightened, though he kept his posture completely neutral and his eyes respectful. Zyan stepped right up to the timber barricade, completely ignoring the Beta's daughter standing frozen a few feet away, and turned his full, undivided attention to the disgraced warrior in front of him."Speak," Zyan ordered.Stephen took a slow breath. He didn't puff out his chest. He didn't try to sound like a Gamma chief. He just sounded like a man who had finally realized the sheer magnitude of his own failures."Alpha Zyan," Stephen began, his voice steady but rough with exhaustion. "I asked for this meeting to apologize. My actions on your fields since we arrived have been a disgrace. I allowed my personal failures to bleed into my leadership, and I abused the men who trusted me. In doing so, I deeply disrespected your territory, your hospita

The heavy, rhythmic sound of Zyan’s boots fading into the tree line left behind a silence so absolute it felt like a vacuum.For a long, agonizing minute, neither Stephen nor Julia moved.Stephen kept his eyes squeezed shut, letting out a long, ragged breath that materialized as a white cloud in the freezing air. The devastating truth Zyan had just dropped didn't come as a shock. Not really. If Stephen was entirely honest with himself, the signs had been there all along. He just hadn't wanted to admit it.He had seen the way Reagan, the fierce and untouchable Frost Alpha's twin, had been hovering around Emerald, treating her not like a guest, but like family. He had watched from a distance as Emerald walked through the festival grounds, her head held high. She wasn't the trembling, shattered girl he had abandoned. She had gotten to a point where she wasn't afraid of Alphas anymore. She didn't flinch when massive, lethal warriors walked past her.She felt safe. Because she was standing

The heavy canvas flap of the isolation tent was pulled back, letting in a sliver of pale afternoon light, but Stephen didn’t look up from the cot. His bloodshot eyes stared blankly, and his hands trembled where they hung between his knees. For three days, he had barely moved from Julia's side, ignoring food and sleep entirely. The only sound in the stifling tent was Julia’s ragged breathing, every rasp sounding weaker than the last."MacGregor." The familiar voice cut through the suffocating silence.Stephen flinched and looked up to see Reagan standing just inside the entrance, her arms crossed tightly over her chest in a rigid, openly hostile posture. But it wasn't the Frost warrior that stole the breath from his lungs; it was Emerald. She stepped quietly into the dim tent, sunlight framing her for a brief moment before the canvas flap settled closed behind her.She didn't speak, simply taking in the agonizing scene before her. She looked at the metal tub packed with melting ice, th