Frostbitten is the tenth book in the Women of the Otherworld novels. It is narrated by Elena Michaels.
Synopsis[]
Smart, sexy, supernatural—the men and women of the Otherworld live and love, fight and die, among us. Unseen and unsuspected, this realm of witches, ghosts, and werewolves is now threatened with exposure by a brutal series of bizarre murders that has left even the supernatural world baffled—and cold with terror….
Being the world’s only female werewolf has its advantages, such as having her pick of the Otherworld’s most desirable males. And Elena Michaels couldn’t have picked a more dangerously sexy and undyingly loyal mate than Clayton Danvers. Now their bond will be put to the ultimate test as they follow a bloody trail of gruesome slayings deep into Alaska’s frozen wilderness.
There’s nothing the werewolf community dislikes more than calling attention to itself. So when a pair of rogue man-eaters begins hunting humans, it’s up to Elena and Clayton to track down the predators. But any illusions their task would be simple are quickly dispelled. For even in werewolf terms, there’s something very disturbing taking place in the dark Alaskan forests. A werewolf more wolf than human and more unnatural than supernatural is on the hunt—a creature whose origins seem to spring from ancient legends of the shape-shifting Wendigo.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Clayton and Elena find themselves confronting painful ghosts from their pasts—and an issue neither of them is eager to discuss. For one of them has been chosen to become the new Pack leader, and as every wolf knows, there can be only one Alpha. They’ve always been equals in everything. Now, when their survival depends more than ever on perfect teamwork, will instinct allow one of them to lead…and the other to follow?
Plot[]
Elena and Clay chase a young werewolf named Reese across multiple states. He fears they are trying to punish him for being involved with maneating mutts, but they are trying to warn him that the mutts have a habit of killing their temporary "partners." When they finally track him down in Alaska, he agrees to seek refuge with the Sorrentinos.
While in Alaska, they decide to investigate some potential werewolf kills and get back in touch with former Pack members Dennis and Joey Stillwell. They find evidence of foul play around Dennis's remote cabin home, and Joseph refuses to speak with them. They scent another Stillwell at Dennis's cabin, who Joseph eventually identifies as his own son Noah, whom Dennis was caring for.
They encounter a werewolf living among a wolf pack, as well as the Shifters: human-wolf hybrids who resemble Neanderthals when in "human" form. The Shifters are angry about the Teslers and want Elena and Clay to get rid of the mutts.
They also encounter the Tesler brothers, the maneaters who have caused the disappearances of three human girls, killed Dennis, and kidnapped Noah. They also want Elena, so Joseph drugs Clay and Elena. Noah helps her escape.
The rest of the Pack arrives in Alaska and help take out the Teslers and their cronies. The Pack parts on good terms with the Shifters. Morgan, the werewolf living among wolves, is given an open invitation to visit the Pack. Noah is taken in by the Sorrentinos.
Characters[]
Pack & Allies[]
- Elena Michaels
- Kate Danvers
- Logan Danvers
- Clayton Danvers
- Jeremy Danvers
- Jaime Vegas, Jeremy's girlfriend
- Nicholas Sorrentino
- Antonio Sorrentino
- Karl Marsten
- Hope Adams, Karl's girlfriend
Mutts[]
- Joseph "Joey" Stillwell - lives as humanly as possible, dislikes the werewolf life and culture.
- Dennis Stillwell - killed
- Noah Albright (Stillwell)
- Reese Williams - Got into trouble with Liam and Ramon, finally tracked down by the Pack in Alaska.
- Morgan Walsh - Living with a natural wolf pack in Alaska
- Ramon Santos - harassed Reese
- Liam Malloy - harassed Reese
- Yuli Exteberria (mentioned) - previous partner of Ramon and Liam, killed when he outlived his usefulness
- Roman Novikov *Ramon Santos *Liam Malloy - Russian Alpha
- Tesler Gang
- Travis Tesler - older brother, brutish
- Eddie Tesler - younger brother, the brains
- Danya Podrova - "Dan"
- Marko
- Andrej - Romanian. killed by Nick and Elena
- Unnamed Ukranian werewolf
- Paul
- Stefan
- Gavril - chubby with bad teeth
- Rumored North American mutt with a wife and kids
- Raymond Santos (mentioned)
- Josef Marsten (mentioned)
- Malcolm Danvers (mentioned)
Humans[]
- Tom, a human who lived in the Alaskan wilderness (killed)
- Lila, Dennis's neighbor
- Charles, Dennis's landlord
- Mallory Hirsch - Anchorage reporter. Defensive.
- Garth - editor of Mallory's paper. Too friendly toward Elena
- Lynn Nygard - crime scene photographer. Believes in the paranormal.
- Joy Sataa - victim girl, killed
- Adine Aariake - victim girl, chooses to stay with the Shifters
Shifters[]
- Eli - teenage shifter
- Miles - Eli's father
- Unnamed Alpha
Mentioned[]
- Paige Winterbourne - interracial council, witch delegate. Very tech-savvy.
- Lucas Cortez - taught Clay lockpicking, though he didn't pay much attention, in thanks for all Clay has taught him
- Jason (foster brother)
Continuity[]
- Elena will turn forty in a few months. Clay is 47, and the twins are three and a half years old. (They will turn four in September.)
- Elena has been a werewolf for twenty years, since Beginnings/Becoming
- Reference to Clay biting Elena in Beginnings/Becoming
- Jeremy got Elena hooked on decaf lattes while she was pregnant in Broken.
- Jeremy recently told Elena he intends her to succeed him as Alpha. He first mentioned it to Jaime in Amityville Horrible
- Reference to Clay as a child werewolf in Savage
- Reference to Clay's brutal mutt torture from Ascension
- Clay's right arm was permanently damaged in Broken
- Jason (foster brother) stalked Elena in Beginnings
- Clay and Elena were stalked on their honeymoon in Stalked
- Reese came to North America after Chivalrous
- Morgan will take up the Pack's offer to visit in Forbidden
Trivia[]
- The twins recently attempted to jump out of a second-story window, resulting in a twisted ankle for Logan and a sprained ankle for Kate.
- Karl's father was rumored to have been killed by Malcolm
- Dennis's notes on shapeshifting legends, which Clay is also familiar with:
- Ijiraat (from Lynn's research) - Arctic/Inuit
- Wendigo - Plains Native Americans
- Bajang - Malaysia
- Striga - Greece
- Leopard men - West Africa
- Leyak - Bali
- Selkies - Scotland
- Encantando - Brazil
- Kludde - Flemish
- Tanuki and Kitsune - Japan
- Crocotta - Ethiopia
- Skinwalkers - North American Natives
- Tlahuelpuchi
- Nagual
Publication[]
Translations[]
- German: Biss der Wolfin ("Bite of the Wolf")
Cover Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Elena is a few months shy of forty years old. She was born September 29 per http://kelleyarmstrong.com/PDFs/Otherworld-Character-List.pdf
- ↑ Morgan has been living with the wolf pack "since summer"