Read Online North Pole City Tales 02 - The Heart of Frost by Charlie Cochet - Free Book Online Page A

Even the sweet scent of cinnamon had abandoned him. “I should have been there.”
    “You couldn’t have known.”
    “Blast it!” Jack slammed his fist down against the fireplace mantle. If only he hadn’t gone to that blasted pub, he would have been there on the tarmac. He might have been able to stop Rudy from getting into the plane. If not, he surely would have known something was wrong right away and had more time to do something, anything, that wouldn’t have resulted in Rudy lying here like this.
    “Jack, please. Blaming yourself isn’t going to help him heal any quicker.”
    Jack was about to argue the fact when Noel entered the room, his gaze going from Tim to Rudy and back.
    “Well?” Jack asked impatiently.
    “Kringle’s on his way.” Noel went over to Tim’s side and pulled him into his arms, his sharp gaze on Jack, who couldn’t keep himself from pacing.
    “Good.” He knew Kringle couldn’t drop everything and rush over, but one would think he’d make haste, considering his top Rein Dear was out of commission. Was that all anyone around here cared about? Their precious Christmas? What about Rudy? What about what he meant to Jack? What if Kringle couldn’t heal Rudy? What then? No, that was impossible. Rudy’s magic was linked to Kringle. If anyone could set things right, it was the Spirit of Christmas.
    Who would want to hurt Rudy? The more he thought about it, the angrier he could feel himself growing.
    “Jack, the cold,” Tim reminded him softly.
    “For the love of Holly!” Jack stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath. If it wasn’t bad enough he hadn’t been there to help Rudy, now he couldn’t even keep it together long enough to be in the same room as his lover without hurting him. He thundered through the palace, ignoring the concerned gazes of all the servants, and burst through the doors leading out into the gardens where he would have plenty of room to let off some steam without hurting anyone. What good was all his power if he couldn’t help Rudy? If all he brought him was harm?
    The moment he saw the beautiful red roses, he regretted coming out here. Around the meticulously carved ice sculptures of swans and forest animals, of sea creatures and dragons, were clusters of red roses which Jack had planted for Rudy, the crimson a stark contrast to the sea of white snow, symbolizing their own differences but highlighting how well they fit together. Frost covered the branches of the surrounding pine trees, whose white lights twinkled bright enough to rival the stars in the evening sky above him. The garden had once been unkempt and empty, overrun with thorny vines and weeds until Rudy had come into his life, bringing his radiance with him, showing Jack what it was like to have love in his once-cold heart.
    Jack stood, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Did they know who they were trifling with? Someone had tried to take that love away from him. Who would be so arrogant, so foolish as to attempt such a deed? Surely they knew he would hunt them down, would go to the furthest ends of the earth until he had his hands on the culprit, and then….
    The snow swirled around him in a flurry of white, thunder exploded high in the night sky, and dark clouds gathered to smother the stars. The pine trees trembled, snow falling from their quivering branches. Had the North Pole not learned the first time what happened when someone he loved was ripped away from him? Is that what they wanted? Did everyone want the same as his father? Did they want a monster instead of a prince? He could become that monster.
    “Jack, I’m speaking to you!”
    Jack spun around, the snow surging outward toward the figure, whose reaction was as swift as the impaling ice, throwing a hand up and putting a stop to the impulsive assault. The snow dropped to the ground at his father’s feet, the thunder faded, and the skies cleared. There was something in those eyes as black as Jack’s that