Arctic hearts, p.1
Arctic Hearts, page 1
Arctic Hearts
The Sanctuary of Elth Series
T.A. Note
Contents
Book Blurb
Dedication
Author note, Trigger & Content Warning
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter One: Elsie
Chapter Two: North
Chapter Three: Elsie
Chapter Four: North
Chapter Five: Elsie
Chapter Six: North
Chapter Seven: Elsie
Chapter Eight: North
Chapter Nine: Elsie
Chapter Ten: North
Chapter Eleven: Elsie
Chapter Twelve: Elsie
Chapter Thirteen: Elsie
Chapter Fourteen: North
Chapter Fifteen: North
Chapter Sixteen: Elsie
Chapter Seventeen: North
Chapter Eighteen: Elsie
Chapter Nineteen: Elsie
Epilogue: Elsie
Welcome to the Sanctuary of Elth
Thank you so much for reading!
Acknowledgements
Book Blurb
What happens when a family of renowned monsters has a human child? They hide them away out of shame until they can toss them out for good...or at least, that's my story.
I've spent my whole life cursing the Fates for the life I was born into, but that all changed when my brother whisked me away to an isolated cabin. He gave me a sanctuary, a place of freedom to be myself.
And the Fates? They gave me North. He is the warmth and love I'd been missing my entire life...ironic considering what he is.
However, happy endings are always hard-earned. Although we've found each other and planned forever, what happens when the enemies of our past collide and threaten to rip us apart?
We fight.
***Arctic Hearts is a standalone prequel into a new world created by T.A. Note and will have a HEA with an ongoing subplot for future books in the series. This world will be filled with humans, monsters, fated mates, and love vs. hate. All books will include a variety of human/monster pairings/tropes/and themes.
Dedication
Dedication:
This book is dedicated to anyone out there who's been made to feel like they're not enough. You're perfect just the way you are. There is beauty in the broken and our imperfections. Never hide who you are to make it easier for someone else. I love you and I'm glad you're here. You, my dear reader, make this world a brighter place. You make my life a brighter place. Thank you for giving me a reason to write this book. <3
Author note, Trigger & Content Warning
Hello, my dear readers,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Arctic Hearts. This book feels like it carries a piece of my soul. This world, these characters, they're my fight song. Writing this book reminded me why it's important to not let the bad days win. I found myself in the dialogue of these characters, and I hope a small piece of what I've written in these pages resonates with you.
Arctic Hearts is a prequel to a new world that I've created full of monsters and their human mates. Across this series, you will experience a queer normative world with mental health representation, spice, and so much more. Every set of characters will be given their own book, but there will be an interconnected plot connecting this world together.
Through each book, you will experience a range of kinks, tropes, and triggers that represent each dynamic uniquely. Please practice caution before diving in, although I don't intend for any of these books to be dark, there will be some unpleasant topics discussed.
Trigger/content warning for Arctic Hearts:
Mentions/brief depictions of child neglect and abuse (FMC)
A fictional hate group against monsters
Brief mentions of obsession with pure bloodlines (FMC parents)
Swearing & violence
Steamy moments between a monster and a human that include, but are not limited to: ice play, horn play, and bondage.
Insta-love/feelings
Fated mates
Representation of PTSD and Anxiety
Mentions of hunting for food/survival (Not detailed).
Nightmares (FMC)
Mentions of fire including one that destroys a home/village
FMC is 18
Interconnected plot points that will be continued in future books, including Wren and Elon's.
If you think I missed anything, please reach out to me at authort.a.note@gmail.com or on IG @t.a.noteauthor. It is important to me to protect the mental health of all of my readers so please, do not hesitate to reach out. You matter. Your mental health matters.
Playlist
What was I made for? – Billie Eilish
Say you won't let go – James Author
This is what winter feels like – JVKE
Happiest year – Jaymes Young
Happy – NF
Beautiful things – Benson Boone
Home – MGK, X Ambassadors, Bebe Rexha
Silence – Marshmello, Khalid
Can't help falling in love – Haley Reinhart
Always been you – Jessie Murph
Unsteady – X Ambassadors
Get you the moon – Kina, Snow
Stay with me – Sam Smith
You are the reason – Calum Scott
Love you still (abcdefu romantic version) – Tyler Shaw
Rescue – Lauren Daigle
Infinity – Jaymes Young
Someone to you – BANNERS
Can we kiss forever? – Kina, Adriana Proenza
A thousand years – Christina Perri
Scars to your beautiful – Alessia Cara
Kiss me – Sixpence none the richer
Prologue
Pip,
I hope this letter finds you before your eighteenth birthday. I tried to hide it in a book I know you frequent, so you have time to prepare.
My dearest sister, oh, how I love you. I'm sorry the Fates have led you to a life filled with cruelty, and the guilt I harbor for not protecting you knows no bounds. You were meant to be cherished, and instead, you've been made to live in a cruel reality, filled with blunt words and harsh touches.
I don't have much to offer, little sister. I can't protect you how I wish just yet, but I hope and pray to the Fates that I can offer you a safe space.
In my visits with you, I’ve mentioned the cabin I've been building for Elon and myself. A place where we could live away from Mother and Father's influence, but it doesn't feel right for me to hide away while you are still within their grasp. Instead, Elon and I want to gift you our cabin.
It's not luxurious, but it has everything one may need for comfort, and it's isolated from the surrounding villages, tucked safely away in the forest at the top of a mountain not many dare to climb.
It's a long trek, two to three days, but I know you can do it, my strong girl. Elon and I will prep the cabin for your arrival. I'll keep a fire lit in the hearth for you when you arrive, but please don't waste time. Our parents must not find out about our plan.
On the day of your birthday, you must leave as fast as you can. Don't hesitate, Elsie. Run and run fast. Spread your wings and fly, little sister. Embrace the freedom you have always deserved but never had. Welcome adulthood and your new life with open arms. Be who you are meant to be, pip.
I love you so much. I'm so proud of the woman you've become. Your kindness shines through despite being forced to live in the shadows. You make me want to be a better man, a better monster. You are the reason I can provide and care for my mate. You deserve the world, dearest sister.
On the back of this letter is a map. I'm not an ink mage, but it should be easy to follow. I've taught you how to read harder maps than this. At night, stay in the caves I've marked as safe, and only travel during the day.
Elon and I will visit soon. I'll need to see you to ensure you make it safely.
Be free, Elsie. May the Fates bless you on your journey. May they guide you safely to your destination. May they make up for the cruel path they cursed you with.
With all of my love,
Wren
Chapter One: Elsie
Inever imagined my freedom would come in the form of an isolated, triangular-shaped cabin hidden from the surrounding villages by thick trees and dangerous trails. But in this moment, it’s exactly how I picture my salvation.
Fresh snow drifts down around me, distorting the image in front of me with a haze of white. I can’t help but smile as the powdery flakes kiss my exposed face, clinging to my lashes and mingling with the icy tears caused by the wind twirling around me. It's like nature is greeting me, welcoming me to my new home with its icy embrace and quiet solitude. The cold, crisp air fills my lungs and clears my senses, making me feel alive.
I’ve lived my entire life locked away—an embarrassment, a disgrace, too human—but my brother has offered me the greatest gift.
Wren has given me a place where I can be myself without fear and shame. He’s allowed me a home that doesn’t judge based on my genealogy and things outside of my control.
The soft light glowing in the windows has me gravitating toward the cabin; the promise of its warmth is too enticing to deny as goosebumps litter my skin. The strong wind sends an unshakeable chill through my bones, encouraging me forward. My steps crunch across the icy ground, narrating my journey to the front door of the cabin. Every new beginning deserves a theme song, and I can’t think of a better one for mine than the whistle of the wind mixing with the sounds of the frozen ground crunching beneath my feet.
I trail my gloved fingers across the faded gold doorknob, hoping it’s unlocked as my brother promised. The letter that gave me this fresh start taunts me as it rubs against my chest, goading me to take the leap and open the door.
The knob turns smoothly, allowing me to exhale the anticipation and rush of anxiety that hit me as I approached. The door opens with a squeak, adding to the melody of the outside world around me. The inside of the cabin is small but quaint and beautiful in its craftsmanship.
The floorplan is completely open, showcasing a tiny but hopefully functional kitchen directly across from the front door, while the wood-burning stove and large bay window create a picturesque backdrop behind the two-seater round table.
The living room makes up the center of the cabin, breaking up the space with a small worn leather couch that faces the front wall. The wall features five large windows and a bookshelf stacked with dust-covered novels. A wooden basket is perched on the top shelf, a blanket spilling out over its side.
As I turn to shut the door, I take in the small sleeping nook with a sizable wood-carved bed that is pressed against the wall and stacked with pillows and a heavy-looking comforter. A small fur rug sits to the left of the bed in an attempt to ward off the chill of the wooden floors. The only interior wall in the cabin sits behind the bed, stretching toward the kitchen, the single door open to showcase a small toilet.
After locking the door behind me, I rush to remove my boots and drop my threadbare backpack before launching myself on the bed. A sigh slips past my lips as I allow my eyes to drift closed, savoring this moment. The cabin may be small and in need of a good cleaning, but it's perfect. Safe. Warm.
Without second guessing it, I allow the rays of the setting sun to dance across my skin, adding to the warmth from the wood-burning stove to lull me to sleep.
For the first time in my life, I don’t fear being caught vulnerable as I rest or the possibilities of what could be waiting for me when I wake.
Opening the door to my room, I can't help the small smile that stretches across my face. I can't remember the last time I held the power to open this door, but the letter tucked against my breast spurs my steps. It's been a week since I found Wren's gift, a week of anxious planning and waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally escape the confines of my prison.
I read the letter repeatedly until the paper became permanently creased by my grip. The imaginary timer that set itself when I opened the letter ended today, welcoming me to adulthood as the midnight hour struck.
Peeking my head out, I look both ways down the hall and see no sign of my parents. Tightening my hand on the strap of my backpack, I tiptoe out of my bedroom, quietly closing the door behind me. As I sneak down the hall, keeping my steps silent, I look around the tiny home. Built into a cave, I once thought it was beautiful. I loved the way my family shaped the walls and floors into smooth stone with glass-less windows cut out sporadically to let in natural light. Furs line the sparse furniture and the floor, although I never understood why because, outside of me, my family doesn't get cold.
Now though? I hate everything about this place with a passion. What I once thought beautiful has been warped and made into a place that haunts my sleep. My soul is trapped within these smooth walls, my hopes and dreams stunted by the cruel words that still linger in the air. I need to get out of here, I need to breathe.
The front door taunts me as I move toward it slowly and quietly. It feels so close yet so far at the same time. Reaching out with my right hand, my fingers brush the metal door handle, and a sigh of relief escapes my lips, but I should have known the Fates wouldn't let me off the hook that easily.
My eyes widen when I’m jerked backward by my backpack and thrown to the unforgiving stone underneath me. Tears burn my eyes, and a whimper escapes my lips as pain surges through my hip where I landed.
“You stupid bitch! Where do you think you're going?” my mother's sinister voice seethes. I hesitate, unsure of what to say that won't upset her more. My mother, however, takes my lack of response as a sign of disrespect and kicks me in the side with a punishing blow.
“P-please, just let me go. You don't want me here,” I beg through clenched teeth.
“You ungrateful little witch! Do you think you can honestly survive out there on your own? No one will want you. You're a disgrace to this family and monsters alike. What human would want you? You weren’t raised with them. You may look like one, but you aren’t one. You’re a pathetic little hybrid no one will want to taint themselves with.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I try to hide the tears threatening to fall. I want to deny her words, but how can I? What proof do I have that anyone would want or accept me when my own family, my own mother, does not?
“Please,” I beg again.
A cruel smile stretches across my mother's face as she squats down, grabs my hair tightly, and forces me to meet her cold eyes. You would think I'd find her yeti form the scariest, but in reality, it's her glamoured form that haunts me the most. It's like staring into a cruel mirror. I look so much like my mother when she’s in this form, but where my features hold fear and signs of my abuse, hers hold a cold emptiness you can feel deep in your core. She knows it, too. My mother never wears her glamour unless she wants to taunt me.
“You want to leave, Elsie? Then fucking leave, but know this, if I see you or even hear about someone seeing you, I will hunt you down like the pathetic creature you are, and I will kill you. Do you understand me? From this moment on, you are dead to this family and me, so stay out of our way.”
A shaky breath leaves me as hot tears drip down my face. “Deal,” I whisper.
Without warning, she lets my hair go and snarls, causing my head to slam against the floor and stars to dance behind my eyes. “Get out now!” she yells roughly, pulling me up off the ground and throwing me against the front door.
With a whimper, I manage to open the heavy door and limp out into the snow without a backward glance. I’m not sure how far I make it before the physical and mental pain of everything catches up to me, and I black out. The last thing I feel is the soft blanket of snow catching my fall and the scratch of the letter tucked safely in my clothes.
I wake with a gasp, a layer of sweat coating my clothes and the blanket below me despite the chill inside the cabin now that the fire in the stove has died. I roll out of bed, grateful for the rug beneath my feet as a shiver courses through me, the brisk air clinging to my damp skin in an unwelcome embrace. Bright pinks and oranges of the sunrise stream in through the windows, sending a kaleidoscope of colors across the open space.
My stiff joints pop as I stand and stretch my arms over my head, the cold exacerbating old injuries. Determined to shake off the chill and showcase my newfound independence, I pad to the kitchen and open the heavy iron door of the wood-burning stove. The faint glow of dying wood flickers through the depleted logs, begging to be fed. A rack of chopped firewood sits behind the table, out of sight from my previous perusal of the small space.
A soft hum escapes me; the song Wren taught me leaks out in a wordless tune. I begin loading logs into the stove, entranced by the quickly spreading flames and the warmth that seeps into the air around me. Closing the heavy stove door, I take a moment to bask in pride at my accomplishment. Such a simple task seems so monumental, but it proves I can survive on my own.
The sound of birds chirping pulls my attention to the bay window, my gaze locking on another cabin in the distance. A trail of smoke lazily drifts out of the chimney, indicating someone must be home. Wren never mentioned anyone else, and I can’t help but wonder about the person next door. My heart pounds in my chest, my palms dampening as I stare at the neighboring home.
Is there a chance a new friend could be lurking inside of that house? Or would my parents be proven correct, and I'd be facing a foe? Would they welcome me, or would I be forced to defend myself without the skillset to know how? My hum cuts off on a stutter as my anxiety grows, and I try to exhale a shaky breath.
