Black Ice-Completed
Chapter 3

Upon waking, Dimetrov found Liliana and his four daughters missing. His wife’s words floated around in his head, but he told no one as they looked all through the keep for them. After several months of searching, the pack slowly gave up and stopped searching. What use was it to try to replace a woman who had cursed him? The first year things went back to normal and the Alpha went to sleeping with the red headed she wolf. He was proud when he found out that she was pregnant and hoped that it would be a son.

But then trouble soon started. First it was nothing but stillborn and miscarriages. A female would be pregnant and then would lose the babe or was dead upon arrival. It wasn’t noticed until a son was born that the babies that had been stillborn had been females.

After it was noticed, a fever struck swiftly without warning. A contagion swept through the pack. More than half the females of the pack died. The other half got extremely sick but upon recovering they were left infertile and unable to become a wolf. Many more took their lives after that for they felt lost without their wolves.

Within five years, the female population of the Black Ice nation had been decimated. Only a handful of the women remained and none were able to produce. Panic began to erupt within the pack. How were they to have children, wolves to protect the land?

Dimetrov had gone to many villages asking for willing daughters to join the pack. But the people had heard of what had happened to the packs females and so told the Alpha that no female of theirs would reside on cursed pack land.

As more time passed wolves began dying from in fighting or old age. The pack was becoming restless until one night a few of Dimetrov’s betas came into the keep with high spirits.

“Alpha!” called one and bowed low before him, “We have brought you a gift!”

Dimetrov shifted in his seat, curiosity evident on his brow. Had the betas finally tracked down his wife and daughters so that she might break this curse his pack was under?

Instead the beta shoved three half naked woman to their knees before the throne. A blonde, a brunette and raven haired beauties. All three were shivering and smudged with dirt. The raven haired one in particular looked to have been passed around by all three of his betas. And much to his consternation he felt himself begin to get hard, his wolf purring at the prospect of taking one of these women.

“What is the meaning of this?” he growled as he stepped down and examined each woman. Inhaling, he smelt blood on the blonde and tilted her head to look at him. She flinched at his touch but her eyes stayed glassy with no emotion.

“We give you these two women,” the beta said pointing to the blonde and the brunette, “If the villagers will not give us females then we will take them!” hauling the raven haired to her feet, he pulled her close and gave her a bruising kiss, his fingers biting into her arm, “This delicious bit is pregnant with one of ours in her belly. “

Dimetrov stroked the blonde’s cheek, contemplating the pros and cons of such actions. He didn’t think long though for his wolf was prowling close to the surface, it had been so long since he had taken satisfaction with any female, so without further thought he gave in to his body to the demand for release, he took the woman to his bed.

And so the Black Ice wolves started raiding villages and taking any young female that wasn’t hidden. Against their will the women became nothing more than brood mares for the wolves. Passed around as slaves to be used until they became pregnant or until their usefulness was extinguished, when that happened they were taken out into the frozen wilderness and left to wander the frozen wastes, prey for the animals or taken by the weather.

But as more time passed and females became pregnant, the only pups to be born were males. Before the curse the wolves had been colorful. Blacks, browns, greys, whites, patched, highlights with several colors in the eyes as well. But now, the wolves that were born had pitch black fur and ice blue eyes that could cut a person in two. As more wolves were born it truly became a Black Ice wolf nation and the cycle continued. Women would be kidnapped, raped repeatedly, forced to bear pups and when the wolves grew bored with them, they were killed to be replaced by another woman.

That was until Braytek stared into the emerald eyes of his daughter and felt her wolf just below the surface of her skin.

Braytek’s hands were shaking as he placed his daughter into Analise’s arms and immediately walked to the door to lock it. Turning back he stared at all the nursing women and growled, “Has anyone else been told?”

All the women were white faced and shaking, “No Alpha,” one said, her voice trembling, “We reported to you as is our duty.”

Braytek felt his heart grow heavy and glancing at Analise, he saw that she had her eyes closed and had turned the baby away. This was why he loved her. She was everything a mate should be. Analise knew what had to be done and was ensuring that there was no witness.

Should any of the wolves up above ask about the screams and begging, all Braytek had to say was that the nursing women had put his pup in danger. He was Alpha, nobody would question him.

In the shadows remained one nursing woman, her eyes downcast and shielded from the blood splatter.

“Veronica,” the nursing women straightened and looked into Braytek’s eyes, “You love your sister?” he asked, his eyes straying to Analise before pinning her again.

Nodding silently, Braytek sighed in relief, “Good because that love will be tested. You will be leaving tonight!”

“But!” Veronica started to say but was cut off when the alpha growled.

“You WILL be leaving along with your niece. You are to take one of the horses and flee Azgeta because your life and that of my daughter's will depend on it. I can stall my wolves for two days before they notice the horse is missing. Two days, Veronica, it will take five days without resting the horse and yourself to get to the border. Between here and there, there is hunting packs, Thurian wolves, ice spiders, and frostbite. You need to survive and take care of this little girl.

“But where will I go? How are we to live?” Veronica asked, confusion and terror causing her voice to tremble.

“I will give you some supplies; use it well and frugally for I cannot give you a lot right now. You must be swift. As for where, go somewhere warm where the Black Ice wolf nation dare not tread for long. I will replace you soon after things settle here.”

Veronica gulped and rushed over to Analise. Braytek followed her over and brought his daughter into his arms to stare down at her while the sisters embraced.

The pups green eyes blinked up at him and Braytek couldn’t help but smile, “Survive little one so this nation can. You will do great things once you are older. You have the bloodlines of an Alpha, I can see you will be a great one too. Survive my little Starlight because you are just as precious as those little lights up in the sky.”