Chapter 3 Noelle
Noelle
I white-knuckle the leather steering wheel tightly, the highway growing sparser and narrower the further I drive away from the bright city lights of New York. Concrete soon gives way to snow-capped evergreens and mountains as I curse under my breath, fog dancing before my lips.
It’s been ten years since I last took this drive—ten whole years since the Wynter Pack ripped my heart straight out of my chest before the driveway of my house.
No. I can’t afford to think about them. Nana is sick. I am only making this journey for her.
This may very well be her last Christmas.
A lump forms in my throat as tears burn my eyes. The snow is getting worse. At first, the snowflakes were small, beautiful even, like little pieces of lace.
But the beautiful flakes soon became a deluge, and now my window wipers work faster than ever as they squeak back and forth over the glass.
Nana’s gift rests on the passenger seat beside me, and I can’t wait to see the expression on her face on Christmas morning when she unwraps it beneath the tree.
The snow is growing heavier, and my wipers can just about keep up. Every time they clear a space, another sheet hits the glass. It’s getting harder to see.
My full-beam headlights showcase a wild torrent of white snow, and my heart thumps in my ribcage.
I should have just taken the train, but I didn’t want to risk bumping into anyone I knew. But this storm is unforgiving.
At this rate, I won’t even live to see the launch of my book. I hope Mr. Merrick writes a sweet dedication in the book’s front matter when I’m gone.
Noelle Hale. The Omega who dared to dream beyond the impossible…
My heart lurches when my tire slips on the road, and now my fingers turn even whiter than the snow.
Phew. That was a close call. That could have ended up really ugly.
Yet my joy is short-lived. A frolicking deer skips out onto the road ahead, and in a panic, I yank on the steering wheel.
The car spins and crashes into a thick bank of snow. My head jerks forward on impact, and for a moment, my world grows dim as adrenaline courses through my veins.
I’m alive… I hope.
That damn deer. I didn’t even see it until it was too late.
“Fuck!” I curse, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. Great. Flipping fantastic. I’m stuck on the highway, and I have nasty whiplash.
I check my cell reception. None whatsoever. Naturally.
Soon, the cold creeps in. So I open my glove compartment, slipping on my bright purple gloves and scarf.
The blizzard has died off somewhat, but the car is still covered in a fine blanket of snow. My best bet is to get out of the car and find a hill somewhere with good reception.
I hope I don’t get eaten by bears.
Bright headlights appear behind me next, sweeping over the snow as they dazzle me in my rearview mirror.
In my cold, exhausted state, the light almost resembles an angel’s halo, and I’m saved... Someone has come to my rescue.
The truck rolls to a stop behind me, its engine rumbling as low as an Alpha’s purr. As I turn my head around to get a look at my savior, my heart drops.
No, no, no, no…
Anyone but him.
I’d take a bear in the woods over the Alpha stepping out of the driver’s seat of the truck any day—the one currently making his way toward me.
The glare of his headlights hides his features, but I would recognize those broad shoulders and that slow, self-assured swagger in any century.
Even when walking across the snow, he looks as if he’s skating, while I was always unsteady on my feet.
Well, his father didn’t call him Frost for nothing.
Frost appears at my window, rapping his knuckles on the frosted glass. “Hello.”
I grip the steering wheel, screwing my eyes tight shut, as if I needed any more confirmation that it’s him.
I'd recognize that deep lilt anywhere. One that has only grown more sinful and sexier with time.
Of course. Frost is a man now. He will have lost all that awkward teenage charm.
But who am I kidding? He and his brothers just bypassed that awkward teenage phase. They went from cute, angelic boys to three devastating heartthrobs in just a few years.
Meanwhile, I was dorky and spectacled, even throughout high school.
He knocks on the window again. “Anyone in there?”
He knows I’m fine. The glass may be frosted from the cold, but he can still see my movements.
I inhale a deep breath, unbuckling my belt. Best to get this over with.
Like ripping off a Band-Aid.
Remember, you are here for Nana. That is all.
Finally, I step out of the car. It’s worse than I thought. Frost is even more handsome than I remember. Still has a strong jawline and a butt chin.
All the brothers have an annoying butt chin.
Frost is as silent as the thick snow that falls from the sky as we take each other in. I wrap my arms around my pink coat, closing off my heart so that the Alpha can’t hurt me again.
His piercing blue eyes widen, prominent brows jumping up into his hairline as he takes me in. And then little by little, a smirk cracks across his glacier face, and there he is again...
Out of all the brothers, Frost treated me the worst, and now I see that emo teenage boy again with his panty-soaking cool indifference.
“We don’t want you, Noelle…”
“Well, well,” he drawls, his voice ruinous and bordering on dangerous. “If this isn’t a blast from the past. Noelle Hale… What brings you back to Silverpine?”
My teeth clench. “I’m not so thrilled to see you either, Frost… and that’s none of your business.”
The Alpha scoffs, having the audacity to lean against my car. The prick. “Oh yeah? Did the big city lights start getting to you after a while? Finally realized that you were living in a fantasy?”
My fists clench beneath my gloves. He hasn’t changed at all. At least at seventeen, he could blame his cruelty on his hormones.
One side of his chiseled mouth tugs at the corner. “How’s the writing going, by the way, Noelle?”
Ooh, this is going to be good. I can’t wait to wipe that smug look off his face. “As a matter of fact, it’s going well. A major publisher has picked up my manuscript.”
Darkness clouds his eyes, and then he stops leaning against my car. “Good for you.”
Now I have a smirk of my own. “How’s the music career going, Frost?”
The Alpha has already closed himself off as his shutters go down. He moves around the hood of my car to check the engine.
“Hey, I asked you a question. Are you bigger than the Beatles yet? That was always your dream, right?”
“Just shut up and tell me what happened…” he growls through clenched teeth, making a point not to meet my eyes.
I cross my arms, planting my heeled boots firmly into the snow-packed ground. The wrong weather for boots, but so long as I don’t slip and fall onto my ass, I’m good.
“I don’t need your help,” I declare.
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, Bronte, but it’s twenty degrees and dropping. Unless you plan to hibernate in the woods this winter, you need me. So, shut up, and tell me what happened.”
He leaves me in a chokehold when he uses his old nickname for me. Frost may have wanted to be bigger than the Beatles, but I wanted to be the modern-day Emily Bronte…
A girl can dream.
My pulse hammers. His pine and candy-cane scent drifts my way, wrapping around me like an old, familiar blanket.
So infuriatingly Alpha in every way, I can just about steady my Omega.
How she missed that scent, and at once, she’s transported back to an easier time—back when life still made sense and she had her three best friends and Alphas in her life.
“A deer jumped out onto the road.”
He snorts. “A deer? Did it have a glowing red nose?”
I toss him a withering look as he shuts the hood down on my engine again. That would be reindeer, dumbass.
“Car’s fine. But you’re in no fit state to drive. You look like shit. So, what’s your plan, Bronte?”
Blowing a sigh from my lips, I turn my head away, gazing at the snow-covered road ahead. “I’ll call a tow vehicle.”
“With no service?”
Dammit.
He starts moving toward his truck. “Looks like I’m your best bet.”
I guffaw. “I’d feel safer with a wild bear.”
The Alpha stops just before he climbs into his truck, looking back at me as if I just said the most asinine thing. “What?”
Of course, he wouldn’t get it.
He rolls his eyes, getting behind the wheel. “Just come on. Unless you want to freeze your ass off out here.”
Frostbite does sound preferable, but he’s right. He’s the lesser of two evils here. The cold chews at my cheeks next, and walking back to town is out of the question in these boots.
Putting my pride aside at last, I open my car door and collect my personal effects. Then I get into the truck with him, scowling out the window as he starts the drive back to Silverpine.
“Just so you know, this doesn’t change things between us. I still hate you,” I snark.
His mocking laugh drips down the sides of my neck like sinful honey as he keeps his eyes on the road.
“Duly noted, Bronte .”