Bitten by Frost

Mitchel stepped off the train into a flurry of snow. It drifted lazily around him, not quite thick enough to hide the ‘Welcome to Huntly’ sign, but it was only a matter of time, going by the look of the clouds. The snow was set to fall for at least the next few days. Or until the weather warden got it under control.

He pulled in a breath, enjoying the crisp air, clean despite the hint of diesel and hot metal from the train. It was a nice change from the heavy pollution-layered air that made up Glasgow.

Someone had cleared the platform’s edge, so dragging his suitcase under the station’s limited shelter was easy. The building had a wide awning, large windows that showed hard plastic seats, and a very bored-looking ticket seller behind a Perspex screen.

A quick scan showed several cars in the car park, but they were all covered with thick snow, and no one got out. Mitchel’s lift wasn’t here yet. But to be fair, he was late, and he’d only been able to get a text through less than ten minutes ago. He could wait.

Behind him, the train chuffed and ticked as the hot metal cooled, but it didn’t continue onto its next stop. It wasn’t going to for some time if the weather forecast was accurate.

‘We can’t stay here,’ a voice to Mitchel’s left said. A young man huddled in his wool coat, shivering as he grabbed the train conductor’s arm. ‘Do you know how close the Rift Scar is?’

The Highland Rift Scar was over fifteen miles from Huntly, but Mitchel didn’t correct him. It probably wouldn’t help the nervous man feel any better.

Huntly had been one of the first towns to be reclaimed after the Fae War had ended over a hundred years ago. The Scottish weren’t about to let a little thing like a corrupted beast-infested wasteland stop them from taking back their hometown.

The conductor was a squat man with a round waist that wasn’t entirely hidden by his yellow hi-vis jacket. He kept his smile as he spoke to the young man who’d grabbed him. ‘The weather ahead has blocked the line, as I’ve already said. You need to wait until it’s cleared.’ The conductor avoided responding to the Rift Scar comment altogether. Not that it helped calm the man down. ‘You’re welcome to wait on the train or at the station.’

The conductor indicated to the small station building, then frowned at Mitchel, looking him up and down. Considering that Mitchel was the only one not arguing, he didn’t know what he’d done to deserve that look.

‘We can’t stay here,’ the man said again, looking back at the small group still on the train. ‘It’s not safe. What if something escapes the Rift?’

‘I can assure you that Huntly hasn’t seen a Rift creature in decades. The local rift rangers do an excellent job keeping us safe.’ The conductor’s voice was growing cooler by the moment. Mitchel wondered how often he’d had to deal with this kind of mentality. He was certainly more patient than Mitchel would have been.

‘Great,’ the man said, curling his lips. ‘I feel so much safer knowing Mutts and Sparkles protect me.’

Mitchel tightened his grip on his suitcase handle, feeling the cold seep into his skin. He hadn’t heard that slur to describe Shifters and Elementals in a long time, and he was no happier to hear it here. It didn’t matter what they did or how long it had been; some people would never accept anything from the Rift Bloodlines.

He stepped towards the confrontation, then jumped as a hand fell on his shoulder. Mitchel turned to see a familiar man had moved up beside him. Oliver was tall, with broad shoulders, brown hair, and a wicked sense of humour. Today, he was dressed in a thick grey waterproof coat that was closed up tightly and dark blue jeans. He’d bulked up in the six months since Mitchel had seen him, not that he’d been small before.

‘Don’t give him the satisfaction of engaging,’ Oliver said as he watched the group on the train with a flash of yellow in his eyes. There was no anger in the look, just disappointment. ‘Someone like him isn’t worth the breath needed to argue.’

Mitchel wished he could have been as quick to disregard the comment, even if he knew Oliver was right. ‘After all these years, you’d think they’d appreciate the work the rangers do. They wouldn’t be impressed if the Rift creatures started raiding again,’ Mitchel said, turning away from the group as snow flurried into his face.

‘They don’t have that kind of foresight,’ Oliver said, then he gave Mitchel a lopsided grin, which turned serious. ‘You going to be okay with the weather?’

At the reminder of the weather, the air stirred, the cold pressing into Mitchel, trying to worm its way under his skin. It took effort not to allow it in. It always took effort.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Mitchel said, trying to sound confident. He’d rarely spent time in places that were this cold, but he’d learned a long time ago how to hide that he was a Frost Elemental. A little snow wasn’t going to change that.

Not that being a Frost Elemental was a problem in itself, even if it was pretty rare. But when neither of his parents were Frost, it was a secret that could ruin his family’s position. God forbid he ruin his mother’s lifestyle.

Mitchel bit down on the bitter thought before it could bring down his mood further. The decision to pretend he was a Water Elemental had been his, even if he’d been too young at fourteen to understand what it would mean. Now, he was stuck with the lie that he was so weak in Water Magic that he could barely raise a bead of water. He’d keep that secret even out here in the middle of nowhere, which meant suppressing the need to let the frost in.

Oliver gave him a look like he wasn’t convinced Mitchel’s fast answer was true. Oliver was one of only a handful of people who knew the truth. ‘And that’s why you’re not wearing a jacket?’

Mitchel bit back a curse. He hadn’t remembered to put on his jacket over his short-sleeved T-shirt. It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel the cold, he could. Every inch of snow around him pounded his senses, trying to pull him to connect. But it didn’t chill his skin. If anything, it did the opposite.

‘Thank you,’ Mitchel said as he pulled his jacket out of the backpack and put it on. If not for Oliver, Mitchel wasn’t sure he’d have made it past that first year after he’d come into his power and it had still been a secret.

The conductor blew his whistle, drawing Mitchel’s focus again.

‘The roads are still clear, so unless you want to hire a car and drive, you’ll be staying here,’ the conductor said to the broader group, his tone now far from polite. It looked like he’d had enough.

Mitchel shook his head at the shocked sounds from the passengers. He’d initially been scheduled to get a later train, but when the weather changed, he hadn’t wanted to risk getting left out. He’d switched his tickets, which had been a good decision by the looks of it.

‘Come on, let’s get you to the hotel,’ Oliver said, turning towards the car park behind them. A single car free of snow was now parked there. ‘Then we can make the most of the free afternoon.’

‘Has anyone else arrived yet?’ Mitchel asked as he threw his bag over his shoulder again, trying to tramp down on his excitement as he thought about why he was there. To find out how the Rift Scar had shrunk. He let his magic seep into the ice and snow under him, stopping it from melting into his jeans.

The Rift Scars in the UK had been monitored ever since the Rifts had closed. In the last hundred years, there hadn’t been any changes in size. Until two weeks ago, when the local rift surveyor had submitted a report that no one had expected to see. A change. New grass was growing where the Rift Scar had been.

Every scientist Mitchel knew had been discussing this trip north to discover how they could replicate what had happened in the Highland Rift Scar.

‘No idea. But your boss is supposed to be sending the list of who’s coming to Hale. No mention yet on how or when they’re getting here,’ Oliver said, glancing back at him as they arrived at his car. ‘Did they not tell you?’

‘No. But that’s not unusual. The Institute of Rift Studies and Defence isn’t exactly great at communication,’ Mitchel said, shaking his head. That was putting it mildly. Someone in the IRS&D had put together this research trip a little too quickly, and apart from a letter with instructions on where to be and when, he’d had little else. ‘Who’s on the list?’

‘I don’t know,’ Oliver said, eyes flashing to amber. This time, there was heat there as he looked around.

‘Is everything okay?’ Mitchel asked. Wolves tended towards territorial, but Oliver was usually a lot more laid back. Maybe working in the Rift Scar had changed some of those instincts.

‘You know how us wolves get when too many strangers come into our space,’ Oliver said, avoiding Mitchel’s eyes. ‘But enough of that. I’ve the perfect place to show you. You’ll love it. It’s got the best whisky.’

That Oliver wanted to go for drinks wasn’t a surprise. He liked to party and wasn’t wearing his rift ranger uniform. But it was evident that he was trying to avoid the topic of the scientists arriving.

‘No one is coming to cause problems. We just want to know what happened to the Rift Scar,’ Mitchel said, keeping his voice soft, but Oliver’s shoulders tightened further. ‘Maybe with that knowledge, we can get rid of the Rift Scars once and for all.’

‘I believe you want that, yes,’ Oliver said, giving a short huff of breath as they reached his car, and he took Mitchel’s bag to put it in the boot. After closing it firmly, he turned to look back at the train. ‘But apparently everyone but you is a Shifter. It feels a little like we’re being invaded.’

‘All of them?’ Mitchel asked. Having an entire group of Shifter scientists was unusual. Shifters tended towards more physical jobs, and there weren’t many who’d trained to be scientists. At least, not that Mitchel knew.

‘That’s what Hale thinks, though we can’t be sure without the list,’ Oliver said. Hale was the local alpha and the rift warden. There was a level of respect when Oliver spoke about him that Mitchel hadn’t heard before. Though to be fair, he’d met Oliver’s old alpha and father, and he wasn’t someone to inspire anything but fear. ‘But enough of business. We have all of tonight before work tomorrow. I want to hear about everything I’ve missed.’

Mitchel wanted to press, but there were things that happened in the pack that Oliver couldn’t talk about. It made Mitchel glad Elementals didn’t have a pack-like structure or connection. Having someone who had sway over what you could do and say sounded like a shit way to live.

The thought settled, then twisted as Mitchel realised his life was no less restricted. It was just his mum’s guilt trip that bound him, not an alpha.

He got in the passenger seat as Oliver slid into the front.

‘They sent us on a crash course on how to deal with the Rift Scar,’ Mitchel said as he clicked in his seat belt.

The tension dropped out of Oliver’s shoulders, and he smiled. ‘A crash course? Did they walk you through a PowerPoint?’ he said, smiling as he looked over his shoulder to reverse.

‘No. It was an entire half-day of field training. I got to fire a gun,’ Mitchel said, smiling despite the strange tension with the pack.

Oliver laughed. ‘Did anyone shoot themselves?’

‘Well, not exactly,’ Mitchel said, wincing at the memory. It had been a hard lesson, mainly on the group’s pride. Then a lot of frustration as none of them got picked to come north.

He relaxed further into the chair, telling Oliver the story in all its ridiculous detail. Maybe if the rest of the scientists were due to get the next train, Mitchel might have a few days to hang out with Oliver before they arrived. He’d not realised how much he’d missed his friend and being around someone who knew his secret until now.

***

The armoury was silent except for the hum of the air filtration system and the click as Amelia slotted the last piece into her rifle. It hadn’t been fired during her patrol, but the damned snow had been nonstop, and the gun had got damp and needed to be oiled.

Between the training in London and her three months working in the Rift Scar, dismantling the SA80 A2 was nearly second nature now. But Amelia was still slower than the rest of her patrol, who’d already cleaned and returned their weapons to the armourer.

Bored, Luna, her wolf said, chuffing a breath. Claws quicker to clean.

I’m almost done, Amelia said, pushing down a sigh, patience thinning. This was the fourth time her wolf had complained in nearly as many minutes. We’re on patrol again tomorrow. We could offer to be wolf scouts? Then we won’t have to clean weapons when we get back.

Not like Rift Scar, Luna said, turning her back with a huff of air that sounded more human than wolf. The snark had, as always, gone over her wolf’s rather literal head. Smells bad. Not good hunting.

Amelia shook her head. She needed to remember that for the next time. If her wolf stayed quiet.

The room had four metal tables in the middle for cleaning weapons, a worktop that split off the armoury from the store, and a door that led out into the main building.

She picked up her rifle and put it on the worktop divider. The armourer nodded, motioning he’d be a minute. He was a quiet man, human, short, medium build, and uninterested in talking except where he had to. She nodded at him and turned back to clean up the table she’d used.

The paper she’d put down was damp with no signs of Rift dust, but she folded it up anyway and put it in the biohazard bin. Anything originating from the Rift Scar could make humans sick, so there were special procedures to dispose of the waste.

The scent of rotten meat left to go putrid in the sun rose around her as she closed the lid to the bin. There really was nothing quite like the stench of the Rift Scar. Even with the snow, the smell clung to everything that went near the place.

Run in forest. Clean nose, Luna said, sending Amelia images of doing just that.

Not tonight. Remember, I’m going out, Amelia said, though she felt the pull as well. The freedom of it. Especially since Sam had changed the land agreement. They could shift and hunt any time they wanted.

Not want drink, Luna said sulkily. Want hunt.

You had last night. Tonight, it’s my turn to have fun, Amelia said, turning back as the armourer called her name.

‘Thanks,’ Amelia said as she signed the log for the weapon he’d given her. He grunted, took her rifle and log back towards its designated cage, and locked it up.

Armour man could have cleaned it, Luna said with a huff, still unhappy.

It’s not his job, Amelia said. Though there wasn’t exactly much else for him to do between patrol shifts coming and going.

The door at the opposite end of the room opened, and Kenneth walked in. He was taller than her at six-one, but only just. Dark shoulder-length hair covered his dirt-coloured eyes. His smile when he saw her was too broad, almost predatory, as he stalked in her direction.

‘Baby, are you still cleaning? I’d have helped if I’d known,’ Kenneth said, drawing out the word baby. His scent said he wanted to help with something else altogether.

Not need help, Luna said, showing teeth, though Kenneth wouldn’t see it. Neither of them was a fan, but Kenneth hadn’t been on her patrol.

‘What do you want?’ she asked, not bothering to engage with him or the look he gave her. Her anger grew sharper, deeper. She pushed down on it, fighting the snarl that rose and loosening her cramped fingers, not realising she’d closed her fist.

Luna pushed so close that Amelia could almost feel her fur. Calm. Not hunt pack. Even stupid pack.

I know, I know, Amelia said, forcing her anger back a little further. She’d not lose her temper.

‘You have to ask?’ Kenneth said, either ignoring her anger or deliberately trying to push her buttons. With Kenneth, it was impossible to tell.

‘Not interested,’ she said, tone moderately polite.

Kenneth smiled like he didn’t believe her. ‘Next time then, baby.’ He turned away, heading towards the patrol rota that had been put up, claiming his section. They were assigned shifts already, so it was just a case of picking an area to patrol.

The armourer gave her a brief look that implied she was the one being unreasonable. Maybe she was. But she didn’t want Kenneth.

We find better, Luna said, pulling back. Not need weak mate.

Amelia turned and left but didn’t answer her wolf. They didn’t need any mate. She was happy by herself.

Outside in the hallway, she dragged in a breath to clear the lingering smells of Rift Scar and Kenneth. Old sweat, leather, and pack filled her nose, all familiar. But other scents mixed in were less familiar—hopefully temporary. Chemicals, hot metal, and brick dust. She let out the breath and headed towards the combined stink.

The building was an ugly brown-brick three-storey rectangular box that sat slightly apart from the rest of the industrial estate. Years ago, Hale had converted one half of it from an old gym into the rangers’ base of operations.

The ground floor had been converted into the armoury, storage for their gear, and a kitchen. But the upper floors still held parts of the original gym for training, showers, a small space converted to allow those on rapid response to sleep and a studio apartment at the top.

Hale had negotiated with the owners earlier this month to let them use the second half of the building for Sam’s rift surveyor machines. Since no one had wanted to rent the building next to the rangers’ headquarters, it had been an easy win all round.

Over the past month, Hale had been helping Sam move all her monitoring and analytical machines here, letting her separate work from home. In reality, the IRS&D should have done it years ago, but not having to pay rent had been too much of an appeal for them to bother.

Amelia paused at the entrance to the new section. The door was still missing, and the walls were unfinished, but most of the machines that had once lived in Sam’s garage now sat in the room.

‘Come on, you can do it,’ Sam whispered to a large machine with green writing on the screen. It beeped quietly. She was a petite woman, barely over five feet, with thick blond curls and green eyes.

Watching Sam work helped loosen some of the anger. It felt familiar, routine. Which, considering the short time they’d known each other, said a lot. Nothing had entirely turned out the way Amelia had expected when she’d come here.

‘Does talking to it help?’ Amelia asked, making Sam jump.

Sam gave Amelia a lopsided grin. ‘Rarely. But it was my last resort since hitting it didn’t work.’

‘Did it get damaged in the move?’ Amelia asked, moving closer. All the machines looked as old as this one, and Amelia had no clue what they did.

‘No, I think it’s just bitter we dared to move it at all,’ Sam said, sighing. ‘I don’t know why I’m worried. If they see it broken in person, maybe IRS&D will replace it.’

‘But you want it to be perfect for your boss coming?’ Amelia guessed. They hadn’t known each other long, barely a month, but had become fast friends, even if it was still new to both of them. In that time, she’d learned a lot about Sam.

‘Part of me wishes I’d just left them where they were. But I know Hale was right. It was just another reason to have people on my land who didn’t need to be there,’ Sam said. ‘Especially with all the scientists coming tomorrow.’

Protect pack’s second home, Luna insisted, pressing for more control.

Be calm, Amelia said, her turn to soothe her wolf as her anger sharpened again. No enemies here.

Yet, Luna said darkly. Not fighting with the pack was one thing, but invaders deserved anger as far as Luna was concerned. Danger come soon.

These people aren’t our enemies, Amelia said again. Her wolf huffed a breath and backed off a bit. The small group of scientists coming were unwanted rather than uninvited. However, it was hard for her wolf to make that distinction.

The IRS&D just wanted to know how the Rift Scar had shrunk for the first time in a hundred years. And they weren’t alone in that desire. Even now, two weeks since they’d first confirmed the discovery, Amelia couldn’t believe it, and she’d been down there and seen the fresh grass for herself.

‘Any idea who’s coming?’

‘No,’ Sam said, turning serious again. ‘They are going to be sending the list through to Hale today. He’s going to email it to me. Because, clearly, I’m not important enough for the IRS&D to tell me directly they’re even coming.’

Frustration and fear burrowed through Sam’s scent, making Amelia’s nose itch. The IRS&D didn’t know that Hale and Sam were together, and they should have been telling both of them that they were coming. These people were coming to check Sam’s findings. She should have been told.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ Amelia said. ‘They don’t know anything. They can’t.’

‘I know,’ Sam said, biting her lip. ‘I just wish …’

She didn’t need to finish. They’d spoken extensively about it over the past two weeks. It was too dangerous to tell anyone she was an Earth Elemental when Sam could lose everything. Even if she wanted to take a chance, Hale wouldn’t do anything to endanger his mate. Not even to heal the land. Amelia didn’t blame him one bit.

‘Come on, let’s get changed and get out of here. This is as good as you’re getting until the workmen come to finish the walls.’

‘You’re going to shower first, right?’ Sam said, wrinkling her nose as she pulled in a breath. She didn’t quite make it all the way through the inhale before her grin broke through.

‘Thanks,’ Amelia said, wincing as she caught a whiff of it from her own hair. She must have become more nose blind to it than she’d realised if Sam was picking it up that clearly. She only had a human nose. ‘I’d have thought the cold weather would have stopped the stench clinging to me. Clearly not.’

‘There are a bunch of papers with theories on how and why the scent buries into everything if you want me to read to you while you shower?’ Sam said as she stripped off her lab coat and grabbed a bag she’d hung in a small metal storage locker by the doorway.

‘Ask me if I ever get insomnia,’ Amelia said, snorting, feeling the calm finally replace the anger.

‘I feel very underappreciated,’ Sam said, laughing. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting Oliver’s scientist friend, especially after he’s spent the past week hyping the man up. If Mitchel is dull, I’m going to be very disappointed.’

Amelia laughed. She doubted any friend of Oliver’s could be dull. But she suspected that Oliver had invited them in the first place so Sam could talk science with someone who understood it for a change.

They headed upstairs towards the showers and changing rooms. A shower was definitely in order.