The road leading out of Aidan’s cabin was covered in a thick blanket of powdery white snow. The trees glistened with icicles, their branches laden with the heavy covering of frost and ice. The sky overhead was a dusty blue, with purple and red ribbons shooting across the sky. Not a cloud in sight. My reddened nose stung from the cold, fresh air. I inhaled a deep breath as I looked out over the empty landscape in front of us, so vast I couldn’t see the end of it.

Aidan fired up his GPS watch, and stuffed his satellite phone into his backpack. When I started towards his truck, he grabbed me gently by the shoulders and turned me around to face the back of the cabin. A three-car garage made of dark, roughly hewn logs was situated behind the house. A steep roof was at the top of the structure, and the front was lined with mirrors that reflected the deep snowfall around us.

“We can’t take my truck. Where we’re going, there aren’t any roads,” Aidan explained.

He lifted the corrugated metal garage door and to my surprise, there was a tidy workshop inside with tools, as well as several off-road vehicles and a boat.

“Wow. This place is incredible.”

He smiled. “Thanks, I call it my toy chest.”

“Boys and their toys.” I arched my eyebrow at him. I glanced around the garage. It was easily two stories tall, with vaulted ceilings inside. The interior was as clean as the main cabin, with bright lights illuminating the space overhead.

“We’ll take the snowmobiles. Head down the river. It’s frozen solid, so it’ll make a nice path. We’ll get there in a quarter the time it’d take in the truck. And it’s safer, too.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip nervously. I’d never even been on a snowmobile, much less driven one down a frozen riverbed.

Aidan pulled out two identical snowmobiles, both bumblebee yellow and black, with sleek leather seats. He tossed me a shiny, black helmet and a pair of neoprene gloves.

“You’ll be needing those.”

“Mmm.” I nodded, suddenly unable to find my voice. How was I going to convince the High Council of anything when I couldn’t even handle a snowmobile?

“You’ll get the hang of it. It’s like riding a bike,” he said as he tossed me the keys.

“Is it that obvious I’ve never ridden one of these things before?”

“Pretty much. But everybody’s got to have a first time. I’m glad yours is with me.”

He laced his arm around my back and kissed me softly before we set off. I loved the way his mouth felt against mine. He was so warm and inviting. I could’ve stayed in the garage all day and never stopped kissing him.

“Time to go,” he winked at me as he placed me gingerly down on the seat of my snowmobile.

Aidan mounted his snowmobile and led me down the hillside towards the river, and then onto the thick ice. I’d never so much as ice skated on a lake. Racing down a frozen river was more terrifying than I could’ve imagined.

“You’re sure this is safe?” I called out over the roar of the motor.

He yelled back. “You’ll live. Just stay close and follow me. We shouldn’t get into any trouble, but in case we do, you should be armed.”

“No, I can’t.” I gaped at him.

“Whatever you say,” he smiled over his shoulder at me. “But in case you change your mind, I put a loaded gun with the safety on in the compartment behind your seat. Just call it an insurance policy.”

He revved his motor, and we sped down the long, windy river. I trusted he knew where he was going. This winter landscape was foreign to me, but he’d known this area since childhood.

The wind chapped my cheeks as we raced down the slick, long corridor. There wasn’t another person in sight. The sound of the motor roared in my ears and the smell of gasoline tickled my nose. So, this is what freedom felt like. I’d never admit it, but I found the ride completely exhilarating.

“To your left,” he called. Aidan slowed down and edged over to the side of a snowy embankment. He cut the engine at the edge of the steep creek bank. “We’ll have to hike the rest of the way. The terrain is too rocky for the snowmobiles. It’ll tear up their motors.”

“We have to hike? How far?”

“Here, let me give you a lift,” he said as he hoisted me up the side of the steep rock wall separating the river from the land.

“I don’t see anything out here.” I gazed across the frigid, vast landscape; there wasn’t a house or a building in sight. I peered through the thick trees to look for the smoke of a chimney or the light of a window. But there was nothing on the horizon except for the wild, winter landscape.

“You won’t see where we’re headed until we get closer. Then you can’t miss it,” he said with a gleam in his eye. Although I was certain I was headed towards my doom, Aidan made the whole thing seem strangely exciting.

After he climbed up the side of the rock wall, he stopped in front of me and crouched down. I remembered how he’d carried me on his back when we first met. He didn’t even need to tell me to do it again. I climbed onto him and held on tightly to the slippery fabric of his coat. He pulled my legs snugly around his waist, and carried me with ease, as if I was as light as a feather.

He raced towards something in the distance, but I couldn’t see what it was. Then, after a moment, I saw a single point of shining, bright light ahead of us. It was brilliant green with a streak of cobalt blue running through the middle of it. It pointed straight up to the heavens; it was so bright that I couldn’t stare at it without hurting my eyes.

As we drew nearer, I saw what he’d meant when he said I couldn’t miss it. Laid before us was a crystal palace made entirely of ice, carved into intricate and elaborate patterns. Instead of a roof, the magnificent structure was capped by a powerful, multicolored energy force field that looked eerily like the Northern Lights.

“What is this place?” I whispered.

“It’s the realm of the High Council. Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights as most people call it, is an ancient magic passed down from our Fae ancestors. It forms a dome of protection around our sacred gathering space.”

“Protection?”

“From evil spirits, and from our enemies. Although shifters may look bad to humans, we’re actually the good guys of the magical realm.”

As we got closer to the High Council’s palace, I saw that it was perched on the edge of a glacier. On the other side was a cliff that fell further than I cared to imagine. Two gray-backed, snarling wolves kept guard by the front entrance. They bared their teeth as we neared; I tensed, and grabbed Aidan’s arm for support.

“They don’t look like good guys,” I said pointing towards the wolves.

“They’ll know you’re with me. Stay close, and let me wrap you in my protection.” His muscular arms encased me in a tight, warm embrace.

We walked through the arched, crystal doorway as prisms of light shot through the translucent, icy glass. The palace smelled clean and crisp, with a hint of woodsy musk that burned my nostrils as I inhaled. We passed through a light-filled corridor, until we entered a grand, cavernous room with a wide ceiling opening to the heavens.

The room was peaceful and practically silent. I heard only the faint sounds of icicles breaking off the edges of the room from their cumbersome weight.

“Are we the only ones here?” I whispered.

“No, stay silent and follow my lead.”

Aidan grasped my hand and a warm tingle raced up my spine. I squeezed his hand back as he led me to the other side of the cavernous space, and behind a thick veil of reflective ice. Once we were on the other side of the veil, I saw the High Council of shifters.

It was a large gathering of beings, some in human form, some in pure animal form, and others somewhere in between. In the center of the group was a large, imposing throne made of iron and ice. It curved at the top, and had a tall spire that reached through the rooftop. The bottom of the throne was made of branches rooted into the ground, covered in a thick layer of frost.

An imposing man was seated in the center of the throne. His face looked young, but his hair was as white as snow. His lips curled down in a permanent scowl, and his eyes were like slits on his unlined, smooth skin. A white, almost translucent beard covered his jaw and came to a point at his chin. His teeth were jagged in his mouth, and looked like knives protruding from his thinly drawn lips.

“Bring the human female closer,” he growled.

I quaked, overcome by fear and an intense longing to head back to the warm confines of Aidan’s cabin in the woods. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I hadn’t imagined that the leader of the High Council would be so incredibly terrifying.

Aidan linked his arm around my waist and walked forward three steps, supporting the weight of my body, until we were almost at the foot of the intimidating shifter seated on the throne.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said softly. “I’m…”

“Silence,” he growled. “You are not to speak to me unless I ask you a direct question, human.”

It occurred to me that this scary shifter was no different than the judge of the courtroom, and if I was to live, I needed to make my case respectfully. I nodded my head in agreement, and zipped my lips up tight.

Aidan stepped forward and spoke on my behalf.

“Your honor, Dominic Holmes, Alpha of the High Council, Ruler of all Arctic Shifters, this is Olivia Ryan. She’s the attorney defending Chase Reynolds in the human murder trial of Charlotte Smith. We’ve come to gather your blessing, and to ask for your support.”

My eyes widened at Aidan’s bravery. He was doing just fine on his own without my help. Dominic raked his eyes menacingly over me before he answered.

“It is the very nature of humans to be manipulative, thieving liars who want nothing more than the destruction of our way of life. This human is not to be trusted,” he said evenly.

“No, it’s not like that. I’m not like that,” I stammered. “Sorry,” I apologized just then realizing I wasn’t supposed to speak out of turn.

Dominic glanced at me, and then slowly turned his gaze towards my breasts, where he stared unapologetically at their roundness. He traced his tongue over his lips as he watched me; I’d seen that hungry look in a man’s eyes before, and it scared me. I was helpless and vulnerable here, even with Aidan’s protection. If I survived, it would be only by the good graces of the other High Council members in attendance. And they didn’t seem like the graceful type.

The other High Council members surrounded Dominic’s throne, each member terrifying and imposing in their own right. I noticed a few wolf shifters, of course. I was quite familiar with how to spot them after spending time with Aidan in Black Oak. The moose shifters were so much larger than I’d ever expected. The black and brown bear shifters were an imposing, grumpy lot who’d been thinned out by their winter hibernation. But, by far, the most frightening were the polar bear shifters, all with shocks of white hair and translucent snowy beards.

“Let’s take a moment to convene in private,” Dominic commanded.

The crowd of shifters encircled the glassy throne, leaving Aidan and me out of the inner circle. I heard the shifters speaking in a language I didn’t understand. Aidan put his arm around my shoulders and lowered his head towards my ear.

“You’re doing great,” he whispered.

“I don’t feel great,” I rasped. “That guy, Dominic. He’s a polar bear shifter, isn’t he?”

“The hair gives it away, doesn’t it?” Aidan smiled.

I wanted to smile back, but I was too petrified. There was so much at stake in this one little meeting. My client’s fate hung in the balance. I didn’t want Chase Reynolds to die. But even more than that, I didn’t want to take my last breaths in the crystal ice palace of the High Council.

After a few moments, the council split apart, and we were summoned back to the foot of Dominic’s ice and iron throne.

“We have decided to hear your plea, woman,” he said. “If it suits us, we will let you live. If it doesn’t, then we’ll eat well tonight.” His lips snarled back, showing his powerful jaws and gleaming, pointed teeth.

I scooted forward and bowed down, pushing my head to the cloudy ice of the glacier floor beneath us.

“Your majesty,” I began.

Laughter erupted in the room.

“Up on your feet, human,” Dominic said. “We don’t prostrate ourselves in front of each other the way you humans do. Your social customs are so quaint, and dishonest.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” I stammered. “I really want to help your cause. I know that humans have been unfair to shifters in the past, and I want to remedy that.”

Dominic laughed. “Oh, I see. The white knight riding in to save the poor shifters. Isn’t that precious? We’re doing just fine on our own without your pity.”

“I didn’t mean any offense,” I quaked.

“None taken,” Dominic said, leveling his eyes with me. The piercing blackness of his round pupils against his white, luminous skin was so intimidating, I had to look away. He sighed and leaned back in his throne.

“Nevertheless, I cannot let you go back to your human world. Because of Aidan’s faulty trust in humans, you know too many of our secrets now. You have been made privy to many things that humans cannot know. Since humans are inherently untrustworthy, you really leave me no choice but to terminate your life. Or you may stay as a sex slave here at the palace, at the pleasure of the visiting High Council members.”

“Excuse me,” I gulped. I steadied myself against Aidan’s muscular arm. He felt like the only strong, steadfast thing in a world that was spinning too quickly around me. I laid my head dizzily against his shoulder and forced back the urge to cry. I wouldn’t let Dominic or any of the other High Council members see my tears. No, I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.

Aidan’s eyes locked with mine, and he kissed my forehead gently. His fingers smoothed over my hair, and down my neck, until he placed his hands securely upon my shoulders.

He cleared his voice. “I have an alternative proposal.”

“Yes?” Dominic arched his snowy-white eyebrow.

“I will take the woman as my mate. She will be mine, and I will transform her into one of us. If she is one of us, she will no longer be human. She will no longer be untrustworthy. I will have dominion over her, and I will pledge my life to hers.”

My eyes widened as my jaw hit the floor. He couldn’t possibly serious. His gaze met mine, and I looked for a wink, or some indication he was lying to the council. Had he really meant those words?

Dominic interrupted. “You would sacrifice yourself for her? You would lower and debase yourself by mating with this…human?”

“Yes,” Aidan said evenly.

“Even though it means giving up your position as alpha in your pack. You cannot lead when you are yoked with such an unworthy, weak mate.”

Aidan shook his head. “She will not be weak…”

“She will always be weak,” he hissed. “She will never truly be one of us. Only those born by birth to pure shifter parents are worthy of such a position.” He closed his eyes for a moment, composing himself. “But I am in a generous mood today. I see no reason why your plan couldn’t work and the human’s life might be spared. Such a large sacrifice for you, though.” He sniffed the air like he smelled something putrid. “She even smells inferior, like human waste and greed.”

I swallowed and lowered my head. “Thank you for your grace.” I knew well enough that the only way to survive was to play along with Aidan’s farce. It was a joke, wasn’t it? He didn’t really want to mate with me. What did that even mean?

“And why haven’t you taken a mate already?” Dominic looked at Aidan suspiciously. “A fine, strong shifter like yourself could easily have your pick of mates. Worthy mates,” he said as he glared at me.

“She will be my first, and my only true mate,” Aidan said evenly. “I give my oath.”

An audible gasp shot through the room. The council members fixed their gaze on Aidan; their mouths widened with shock.

“What happens if you break an oath?” I whispered to Aidan.

“You die.”