The Frostfang Wolf’s roar thundered across the vast icy field, long and filled with rage. The sound bounced off the distant ice cliffs, shaking the frigid air that already bit to the bone.
Nathan felt the vibration travel up through the soles of his boots, pressing into the slick surface beneath him.
From beyond the thin veil of mist drifting over the ice, massive silhouettes began to move. Heavy footsteps sounded... one, two... then many more.
"Don’t tell me..." Nathan muttered.
Four other Frostfangs emerged from different directions, their white fur reflecting the bluish light of the frozen sky above. Their eyes were sharp as shattered glass, and their breath came out in thick clouds, forming a thin curtain in the air.
"Yeah... a pack," Nathan exhaled, long and slow. "Of course."
Livia, standing not far from him, gave a brief glance. "We don’t have time to play around. Finish this quickly."
"Easy for you to say..." Nathan lowered himself, the axes in his hands spinning slowly.
The Frostfang whose leg had been struck earlier looked even more feral now. It roared again, and the four pack members spread out across the ice, forming a semicircle that boxed Nathan and Livia in.
A sharp wind swept through, carrying snowflakes that stung against skin. The temperature plunged as the freezing aura of all five Frostfangs flooded the open air.
Livia stepped forward, a bluish aura starting to wrap around her body. The air around her seemed to ripple, the drifting snow pushed back as if by an unseen force.
One Frostfang from the right lunged first, its claws raking the ice and sending shards flying. Nathan dodged to the side, his left axe slicing across its lower jaw—but from behind, another Frostfang came barreling in.
In a single burst, Livia vanished from her spot—fine cracks spiderwebbing across the ice where she’d stood—and reappeared in the wolf’s path. Her palm slammed into the side of its neck with enough force to send the beast skidding across the ice until it crashed into a mound of snow.
Nathan gave her a sidelong glance. "That counted as ’a little,’ right?"
Livia just shrugged, her breath calm despite the biting air. "Don’t get spoiled."
The remaining three Frostfangs moved all at once—two from the front, one from the left. Nathan tightened the muscles in his legs, his eyes sweeping over each opponent—searching for a faint glimmer, a tiny gap in the muscle, or a movement that lagged by just a fraction of a second.
One well-placed strike... and they’d fall, one by one.
Nathan fixed his gaze forward, gauging the distance between each Frostfang circling them. The icy wind whipped against him, but it wasn’t the cold that threatened to break his focus—it was Livia, standing half a step ahead of him.
The thin cloth she wore—barely enough to cover her chest and hips—fluttered with every gust, offering fleeting glimpses of pale skin that contrasted sharply against the blue aura surrounding her. Every shift of muscle as she tensed or stepped forward was in full view, unshielded by any heavy coat.
Focus, Nathan... focus! he growled inwardly.
The first Frostfang lunged. Nathan braced to swing his axe, but Livia darted forward instead, her body dipping low before slamming into the beast’s chest with her shoulder. The sudden motion made the cloth across her chest slip slightly out of place, snapping back into position as she straightened.
Nathan almost cursed—not because the wolf was still standing, but because his eyes had strayed to the wrong place for a fraction of a second.
A Frostfang from the left came in next. Livia spun midair, her foot smashing into the wolf’s lower jaw. The motion sent the fabric around her hips flaring open, revealing the smooth curve of her waist and thigh as they moved in perfect rhythm.
Nathan clenched his jaw. "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"
"If your focus is that bad, you might as well go home," Livia replied flatly without looking back.
Two more wolves attacked at once. Nathan forced his mind back into Predator’s Insight—his eyes locked on the hind leg of the limping Frostfang. He leapt, his right-hand axe cleaving into its flank where the weak point lay.
CRACK! The wolf slid across the ice, howling in pain.
Nathan rose to his feet, breathing hard, but his gaze was once again pulled—if only for a moment—to Livia, who now leapt low, her back arching beautifully before she landed with a crushing stomp on another wolf’s spine.
"Seriously..." Nathan exhaled, half frustrated, half impressed. "You’re more dangerous to my focus than they are."
Livia only gave a faint smile before stepping forward again, her blue aura thickening—ready to open the next gap for Nathan to finish the rest.
The limping Frostfang tried to get back on its feet, but Livia was already moving. She shot forward, her body dipping low like a predator closing in on its prey. As she spun in the air, the bare stretch of thigh and the smooth line of her waist flashed into view—taut muscle shifting with each lightning-fast motion.
Nathan held his breath for a fraction of a second... God, is this a battle or a test of faith?
BAM! Livia’s heel slammed into the side of the wolf’s head, sending it crashing straight into the path of another charging Frostfang.
Nathan wasted no time. Predator’s Insight surged to its peak—his eyes catching the faint glimmer along the second wolf’s flank. He leapt, twisting midair, and drove his right axe into that weak point.
CRACK! The beast collapsed, shards of ice scattering into the air.
Livia landed right in front of him, the thin cloth over her chest shifting slightly from the impact. Nathan swallowed before he could stop himself.
"Gonna stand there gawking, or are you gonna finish them?" she said with a thin smile, her eyes sharp yet teasing.
The two remaining Frostfangs circled, searching for an opening. Livia dropped low, sliding sideways like lightning, her hips turning in a smooth arc before her kick smashed into one wolf’s knee. The monster lost balance, its side exposed.
Nathan didn’t hesitate. He sprinted past her—the faint scent of her skin mixing with the biting cold—and brought his axe down on the glowing spot beneath the beast’s thick fur.
Livia paced slowly around it, each step making the cloth at her hips sway freely, as if deliberately testing Nathan’s focus. "This one’s yours. Show me you can do it without me laying a finger on it."
Nathan raised his axe, a faint smirk forming. "Challenge accepted."
He locked eyes on the last Frostfang. In the next few seconds, there was only the howl of the cold wind, the crushing pressure between predator and prey... and one blur of movement that ended the ice predator’s breath.
The monster fell still on the frozen field.
Nathan stood there, steadying his breathing before glancing at Livia. "Satisfied?"
Livia chuckled softly. "Not bad. But your focus... still way too easy to break."
Nathan snorted, fighting back a grin. "If you keep dressing like that, don’t underestimate human libido," he muttered.
Silence settled over the frozen field. Thin snowflakes drifted down, slowly covering the bloodstains and scattered ice left from the battle.
Nathan stood tall, both axes still gripped tight, their blades catching the pale blue glow of the frozen sky. His breathing was heavy, but his eyes stayed sharp, as if ready for whatever came next.
Livia’s gaze lingered on his back... then drifted lower, to the axes in his hands.
In an instant, the cold around her seemed to fade, replaced by the sound of footsteps—footsteps not belonging to Nathan, but to someone from long ago.
A tall figure stood before her, wielding twin axes even larger than her own body back then. His face... stern, yet warm. Eyes that never wavered, always watching, ready to cut down anything that threatened them.
The vision was so vivid, she could hear his voice again.
"Don’t back down, Liv. As long as I’m here... nothing will ever touch you or Domina."
That voice echoed, then shattered in a flash of light and the roar of a beast. She still remembered how warm blood soaked the branches above... and how that body fell—not because he was defeated, but because he chose to be a shield.
Livia’s breathing grew faintly uneven. Her hand curled into a fist, the blue aura around her pulsing softly.
Nathan turned slightly, sensing her stare. "What is it?"
Livia blinked once, severing the chain of memory. Her expression returned to its usual flatness, though a trace of emotion lingered in her eyes. "Nothing. You just... remind me of someone I used to know."
Nathan raised a brow but didn’t press. "Hope it’s someone strong."
"The strongest person I’ve ever seen," Livia replied quietly—almost like a whisper—before stepping past him. "Come on. We don’t have much time."
Nathan twirled his axes and followed, but in the back of his mind, he knew that look in her eyes wasn’t just casual recognition.
And, annoyingly enough, he also knew his dick was still hard, even after a fight where his life was on the line.