Heart of Frost and Scars (Frozen Fate #3)

by Pam Godwin

Montgomery Strakh. My uncle. Kody’s half-brother. Wolf’s father. Frankie’s husband.

The part that I’m really struggling to wrap my head around is that Kody, the guy who’s been my little brother my entire life, is actually my uncle. And we share the same woman. Shit doesn’t get more tangled than that.

Denver said this…admirer is from my past, yearning for me in a way far darker than his own affection.”

Kody’s our hunter, the silent predator. His watchful strength and feral intuition, honed by a lifetime of survival, reassures me, even as I grapple with my swirling doubts about what lies ahead. Frankie’s our healer. Her intelligence and medical skills saved us more times than I can count, and now she faces an even greater challenge. We need her to keep us intact through the psychological scars we bear. Her ability to see the best in us, to push us toward healing even when it’s the last thing we think we need, is more critical than ever. I’m the brawler, the fucking enforcer. In the wild, my boiling temper and leadership often made the difference between life and death. Here, I need to find better ways to channel my protective fire. Not just against physical threats, but against the psychological, insidious dangers that might sneak up on us.

Our strengths complement one another, creating a force of solidarity. Whatever happens, we’ll face it as a team, a partnership forged in blood, survival, and unbreakable love.

The importance of our unity can’t be understated. In the hills, where the world tried to crush us with ice and starvation and hungry beasts, our trust in one another kept us alive. Now, facing a world of concrete and excess and unknown predators, that trust is our greatest asset. We are each other’s protector.

“Give me one good reason not to throw you over my shoulder and haul you out of here like a caveman.”

“Because I secretly enjoy the caveman act and might start thinking it’s the only way to travel.”

“Woman, I’ll always be you...

“When I buckled you in on the Turbo Beaver, I checked it about twenty times. Bet you thought I was just being overprotective.” “There was another reason?” “I was making excuses to stay close.” I peek at her face. “To get into your pants.” “Stop.” She laughs, the sound warming my skin.

Our eyes lock, and the world outside the plane, with all its threats and uncertainties, falls away. It’s just the two of us, connected and safe in the knowledge that our bond is the constant we can rely on.

“Brave, beautiful thing.” I inch closer, my lips finding hers. I pour all my love and devotion into the kiss, all my promises of protection. She’s going to make it. We all are.

You also taught me kindness. And forgiveness.” I caress my hands along her legs. “You taught me how to be with a woman. Not just sex. But the truest form of love I’ve ever known. A woman’s love.”

Anger flares in my chest. Not at her but at the thought that she might believe her worth or beauty has anything to do with her condition.

“Woman.” I bend closer so she can see the sincerity on my face. “You’ve always been beautiful to me. Not because of how you look but because of who you are. Even when things were at their worst, it didn’t change how I saw you.”

“You are strength and courage in a world that was falling apart. You’re the fire that warmed the coldest nights and the light in the darkest times. Your beauty isn’t just in your a...

“Every time I looked at you, even when you were struggling, I saw the woman who challenged the wilderness with me, who fought through every day with a heart full of hope. Do you know how attractive that is? You’re hot as fuck, and I will keep saying it as long as I live because it’s the truth.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, “for seeing me like that.”

“Why are you thanking me? Resting my eyes on you is a g...

I want to see her not just surviving but thriving, laughing, and lively, her soul as nourished as her body. To see her more freely, without the shadow of hunger darkening her eyes, fuels a deep, burning hope inside me.

That tenderness in his gaze is new, a softness that didn’t surface until he met Frankie. Whenever I look at her, I know my face does that melty thing, too.

“You’re making me cry.” “Every tear is a sign of your infinite worth.” He runs his thumb across my wet cheek. “In you, my universe lies.”

“What are you waiting for?” “Got my eyes fixed on eternity with you. There’s no rush.”

Standing just outside the bathroom, Kody holds his phone low, the camera lens angled at me, with his coal-black eyes focused on the screen. “Did you just take a picture of me?” “More than one, woman. You’re my favorite feature on this thing.” He turns the phone, revealing a photo of me bent over the bathroom sink. It’s a picture of my ass. “Delete that.” “Never.” He pockets the device and prowls toward me.

“I won’t betray you, Kody.” “I know. I can feel you.” His fingers dip beneath my waistband and free the button. “I see you, all of you, and I’m still here, not to judge but to protect and love. I find deep beauty in the parts of you that others can’t see.” He pushes his fingers inside my undies, cupping me. “I’m addicted to your strength.”

He lowers to his haunches behind me, his nose trailing up between my thighs until his teeth close around my ass cheek in a claiming bite. The pain awakens me, setting me on fire. My legs shake. My back arches. Then his nose is there, buried between my legs, smelling me. Of course, he is, and I’m fucking here for it.

With his shoulder blades braced against the wall, his boots planted wide, and his massive cock jutting from the open V of his jeans, he runs a hand through his rumpled hair, looking for all the world like a sculpted, immortal sex god. Mine. I’m going to fuck him until he can’t move.

He smirks, and Lord Jesus help me, it’s such a rare thing to see on those gorgeous, pouty lips. I could come again just from the sight of it.

“Did I kill the mood?” I recline against the wall. “Impossible.” Kody shifts forward, caging me in. “You’re exactly how I want you—naked, dripping, and delicious.”

The honesty in his expression, how blatantly hungry he is for me, how accepting he is, sharing me with the only brother he has left—I’m addicted to it. I’m addicted to the three of us.

“Only one thing missing.” I reach down and grip Leo’s hand on his cock. “Stop strangling that thing and put it inside me.”

My Lycan prince. My sulky hunter. My grizzly lover. His undoing is glorious.

The love between them runs deep, but it’s not sexual. Leo has boundaries and jealousy issues, and Kody wants to crash through them. Leo just wants to fuck me to the edge of my life.

“Take her ass, you stubborn fuck.” He shifts, spits on my back hole, and shoves his thumb in it. “She’s fucking throbbing for it.”

“Woman, you’re making me so hard.” Kody squeezes my breast with one hand and fingers me with the other. “I can’t wait to fuck you again.”

I don’t know what kind of succubus-level magic she’s wielding, but with her, the sensations are different. The chemistry, the orgasms, the connection—everything with her hits differently. Her sexual magnetism is so fucking intense it terrifies me and makes me insanely hard.

She left a fierce ache in my chest, a burning need that never fades. Every time I look at her, I want to bend her over my knee and spank the resentment out of her. I want to choke her, bruise her, tie her to our bed, and fuck every hole in her body until her heart finds its way back to me.

Beside me, Frankie is curled up on Kody’s chest. She’s so much smaller than him, like a child sleeping on a giant, hugging his bicep with both arms as he holds her in place. And the legs entwined with mine? Yeah, those are his. Better his legs than the fully erect limb between them. I have no interest in going near that thing. Not purposefully. Not accidentally. Not even when it’s inside the hole I want to be in.

I roll out of bed. “Nice morning wood, Uncle Kody.” “Don’t ever call me that.” “Someone needs to make it uncomfortable since Wolf isn’t here.”

Floating toward the railing, I grip my cock. “Leo,” Frankie says sleepily, “don’t you dare pee off that balcony.” Busted. I drop my hand. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

She looks well fucked and deeply loved.

Pulling out the chair across from him, I settle in. “You look like shit.” He drags his angry gaze over my tied-back hair, beard, and clenched teeth in my feral smile. “You look like you’re ready to raid a village and rape its women.”

“How ironic that, not so long ago, I stood where you’re standing now. I was possessive, angry, and willing to kill anyone who touched her. You read her journal, so you know how that worked out.” His lips curl back from his gnashing teeth. “I was wrong to try to own her. She deserves better, and I’ll be damned if I let you ruin her life any more than you already have. So back the fuck off.”

“I’m not destroyed.” I grind my molars, my gaze falling to her neck. “Seeing those marks feels like a knife in my soul, but I’m still breathing. I bleed, and I breathe to protect you.”

“Look at us.” She forks up a bite of eggs. “Conversing like adults. There’s hope for us yet.” Kody grunts. Leo looks like he wants to pee on her.

She’s under my skin, in my head, and infecting my bloodstream. She’s everywhere, all around me, yet completely out of reach. The agony is too much.

I hunger for every beat, drip, and whisper of her pure, unfiltered goddess essence. I want to devour her soul with my kisses until she remembers the depth of my love and adoration. She’s captivating and introspective, a treasure far beyond what any man could ever deserve.

“Everything I have is yours.” I search her face. “My energy, my presence, my heart—all of it exists for you, to support you and keep you safe.”

“Didn’t know you could sing…” He stares down at her, then back at me, cruelty frosting his eyes. “Like a goat.”

“His face gives my middle finger an erection.”