The Frostwolf's Mate

*They threw me to the wolves—and one of them claimed me.*
Ellara was the unwanted daughter, the outcast with strange powers her village feared. Branded a witch, her family offered her as a sacrifice to the Frostclaws—winged werewolves cursed to bring eternal winter. Left chained and shivering on an icy altar, she prepared for death… until the Frostclaw prince, Kaelen, descended from the skies.
Kaelen should have killed her. Instead, his soul marked her as his mate, igniting a bond that neither of them wanted but neither could deny.
Thrust into a world of icy magic, betrayal, and forbidden love, Ellara discovers her fiery powers might be the key to breaking the Frostclaw curse. But doing so will demand sacrifices neither she nor Kaelen are ready to make.
Ellara and Kaelen must learn to trust one another—or risk the wrath of the Frostspire itself. And with Pip, a mischievous and sassy magical fox, adding chaos at every turn, their journey is anything but predictable.
Fire and frost. Fate and fury. Will their bond be their salvation—or their undoing?
*****
“You can’t keep running from me.”
“I’m not running,” Ellara’s breath hitching as his hand grazed her cheek. “You’re just… in the way.”
He leaned in further, the tips of his fingers trailing along her jawline. “Am I? Because it doesn’t look like you’re trying very hard to move.”
Her hands finding his chest for balance—or maybe for an excuse to touch him. The mate bond burned between them, pulling her closer, her lips parting as his breath ghosted against her mouth--
“Alright, break it up, lovebirds!” a sharp, high-pitched voice rang out.
Both of them froze.
Kaelen groaned, forehead dropping against Ellara’s shoulder while Pip was perched on a rock nearby.
“Don’t let me stop you,” Pip small voice dripping with mockery. “It’s not like this cave is tiny or anything. Oh wait—it is.”
“Pip,” Kaelen’s wings drooping. “You have the worst timing.”
“And you have no shame,” Pip shot back, hopping onto Kaelen’s shoulder. “You’re all ‘ooh, Ellara, you’re mine,’ and she’s like ‘oh, Kaelen, save me,’ and meanwhile, I’m here freezing my tail off!”
“I didn’t say, ‘save me,’” Ellara muttered defensively, though her cheeks burned.
“You didn’t have to, sweetheart, your eyes said it all. I’ve seen frozen ponds with less heat.”
Kaelen narrowed his eyes, “Do you ever stop talking?”
“Do you ever stop brooding?” Pip shot back, “If you’re going to mate her, at least do it somewhere I don’t have to watch all that cough cough--”
Ellara burst into laughter. Kaelen sighed heavily, running a hand down his face.
“One day, you’re going to regret having a tongue.”
“Not as much as you’ll regret not kissing her when you had the chance,” Pip said with a wink.