The Snow King

The Four Kingdoms. The Snow King. Book One. The Snow Kingdom, Northern Glaciers, The World of Mythicalia. Chapter One. A low whimper echoed around the Glacier pack, as a tall man with hair as white as snow, and a face marred in pink scars as if it had been bathed in acid, held a distraught woman against his chest. His three white snow bear pelts hung over his shoulders, clasped at the front with a golden circle. Only the king himself possessed four. The pelts acted as an outward warning of the dangerous man he could be. The woman he was holding close to his body convulsed as a strangled sob left her shaking body. The man glanced down at her with red rimmed eyes, his hands rubbed her back in a rhythmic motion, to console not only her, but himself. He never believed he would find himself in this situation, yet here he stood, and no amount of warrior skills or battlefield heroics could help him. The pack members of The Glacier Pack had been called to witness the justice of the king, each standing in shocked silence and disbelief, that one of their number, someone they had known since childhood, a girl they had all respected and some even loved, could commit such a heinous crime. Large white wolves circled the outer rim of gathered pack members, warning growls and snaps of their large, powerful jaws holding the pack in place, as they bore witness to the judgment that was about to be served. In the centre of the snow-covered land, stood two silver poles side by side, five feet apart, glistening against the ice-capped mountains which surrounded the pack. The killing poles were designed to hold in place those who had been issued the royal death sentence. Their naked bodies stretched out between held with pure silver shackles, as the king’s envoy pronounced the judgement, and the pack Alpha would rip out the heart of their former pack member who had committed a traitorous act. Today, though, the Alpha of the Glacier Pack had gone against the royal orders, refusing to wait for the arrival of the Snow King’s representatives to pronounce their judgement over Aiden and Meradith Whitestone’s youngest daughter, Eliza, at the behest of their eldest daughter. The chill in the air was nothing in comparison to the coldness in Rein’s eyes, as she begged Alpha Greyson for justice. The alpha had recently become an impatient man, made more so by the constant crying from his fated mate, who sat next to him. Tears streaming down her face, as she held her lower abdomen, she buckled in pain. Greyson was eager for his vengeance, to avenge his unborn pup, and heart heart-wrenching pain of his mate. His wolf pushed at the surface, urging him to shift and be done with the girl whom he had once loved, who now had torn his world apart. He had known that Eliza Whitestone had been heartbroken when it was revealed that Rein, her elder sister by five years, had returned to the pack, after a ten-year absence, was his mate. But for the younger daughter of the Whitestone family, to have gone to such murderous lengths, crazed by her jealousy, was not something Alpha Grayson could ever have imagined. Like the gathered members of his pack, he had believed her to be as kind at heart as she was beautiful; alas, her perceived sweet nature was nought but a lie. He had once loved the girl, waited patiently for her 18th birthday, to declare her his mate. That day was not what either of them had believed it would be. Eliza Whitestone was not his mate. He had been distraught, the beautiful woman with hair as white as her parents' and eyes as blue as the Glacier Packs, lake, and lips the colour of a red rose, had been his obsession for as long as he could remember. But fate played her cruel hand, and it was not meant to be. Yet, despite the pain of the missing mate bond, they had maintained a friendship with each other, spending time laughing and sharing each other’s hopes and dreams, in clandestine meetings. However, not even a stolen kiss had passed between them, despite the constant temptation, each having a huge respect for the mate bond. Their love had been pure, and they had made a pact. If neither of them found their fated mates, after three years, they would choose each other, and Eliza Whitestone would become the Luna of his pack and wear his mark upon her neck. Three years after Eliza’s eighteenth birthday, neither she nor Alpha Greyson had happened upon their fated mate. Hope had sprung eternal in both their hearts. They would now be together for the rest of their long lives. Their secret plan to choose each other is finally coming to fruition. However, fate had twisted its cold knife and thwarted their designs. The day they planned the announcement to the pack members, where Greyson would forfeit his fated and choose the beautiful Eliza as his mate, Rein, her sister, arrived. From where nobody but her closest family knew. Not even Alpha Greyson himself. She had gone missing five years previously, but the prodigal Whitestone daughter was back, and with her came a mate bond so strong, Greyson immediately abandoned all thoughts of Eliza, his focus on nobody but his mate. The temperature of the infamous frozen lands of the northern kingdom of Mythicalia dropped further, as the large ice rocks that led to the cold dungeons were pushed apart by the huge warrior wolves of the Glacier pack. Aiden and Meradith gasped as their beautiful daughter was dragged through the snow toward the death poles, leaving a trail of fresh red blood in her wake. They could not comprehend how Eliza could have done something so evil against her elder sister. Aiden’s wolf let out a long, low growl, seeing his daughter beaten to a pulp, her eyes black, a huge contusion poking through the strands of her pure white hair. Her normally rose-red lips, now grey, as she defiantly glared at Rein. Aiden felt a small amount of relief when he noticed that she was not naked, her body covered in blood-stained white muslin. Maybe Rein had taken pity on her sister, covering her embarrassment in her final moments on this world. Or maybe his eldest daughter was concerned that her mate’s eyes would wander, knowing of the love that had once existed between him and her captive sister. The guards dragged her limp body to a standing position, clasping the silver cuffs to each of her wrists, as she stood stretched out before the pack. “Murderer!” Rein shouted, jumping from her Luna’s throne, only to double over once more in pain, a harrowing scream escaping her lips as she slumped back down onto the wooden structure. Grief bubbled in Adien and Meradith’s stomachs, as their eyes beheld their youngest child. Eliza was not a vengeful person. Had this been Rein, Aiden could have accepted the possibility of something so egregious happening, but not Eliza; she was good, kind, and loving. Desperately, he thought she must have some defence for her actions. “She must die. Avenge our pup!” Reing cried out to her mate. “NO. She has not had a trial, the King has not pronounced his judgement,” Aiden shouted out in desperation. Something deep inside him knew his youngest daughter was innocent of the crimes she was accused of, yet even when the king’s men arrived, there was little possibility she would be saved. Greyson, enjoying the warmth of only two pelts, clasped together with a bronze clip, turned to his mate and the prisoner’s father and silenced him with a withering glare. “There is no defence, she killed my pup with a silver knife. She plunged it without mercy in my stomach, in a fit of jealous rage!” Rein cried out, hatred toward her sister oozing from every cell of her body. “You always took her side,” she added, before looking up at her Alpha mate. “Please, Greyson, let us not wait for the Kingsmen, pronounce your judgement, so that we may heal together,” Rein pleaded with her mate. Greyson bobbed his head once in agreement. He needed to be done with this situation, once and for all. Striding towards Eliza with claws extended. The thick snow clouds parted, as the sun made a rare appearance, rays of warmth hit Eliza’s face. “What are your final words?” Greyson growled at the girl he had once loved, whom now he felt nothing but contempt for. “Goodbye, cruel world,” Eliza muttered, a serine look on her battered face, as she tilted her head up toward the sky, closing her eyes, and basking in the unusual warmth of the sun’s rays, waiting for the man who had once held her heart in the palm of his hand, to rip it out of her body, and end her painfilled existence.