Broods of Fenrir

Broods of Fenrir by Coral Moore

Bared Teeth Publishing Paperback Edition, November 2011 Copyright © 2011 Coral Moore http://www.chaosandinsanity.com Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey http://razzdazzdesign.com/ This book is Copyright© 2011 All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

For my brother, who left the world too soon.

Prologue Brand spat a mouthful of blood onto the frozen ground. The sharp flavor coated his tongue. He rolled to his feet, favoring the cracked rib from the blow that had sent him flying. The heavy tread of his sire‟s approaching footsteps brought up his head. Though fear tightened his chest, displaying weakness would likely mean death. Geir glared down at Brand, disgust evident on his hard face. “This tiny, frightened pup is not worthy to be called my offspring.” In his shadow, Brand felt small indeed. His mother had told him he would stand taller than his sire one day, but he found it hard to believe. Geir was a giant of a male. His powerful body swelled with every enraged breath. Brand curled his hands into fists at his sides. Keeping a tight hold on the panic twisting his gut, he stared up at Geir. “I‟m not scared of you.” With a motion too quick to follow, Geir locked his hand around Brand‟s throat. “Then, you‟re an idiot, and I should cull you for the good of my bloodline.” Pain shot through his neck as Geir‟s fingers tightened and lifted him off his feet. He clawed at the hand holding him aloft, but the stone-like grip didn‟t loosen. He couldn‟t draw a breath. Geir stared into Brand‟s eyes, on a level with his own. 1

The almost-black irises glowed. “I‟m going to snuff out your pathetic life right now.” His voice sounded as if he were enjoying a meal rather than strangling his first-born son. Anger surged, pushing away Brand‟s fear. Rage roared through his body. A furious presence howled to life within him and wrested control of his body; he was too weak to resist. With his consciousness pushed aside, the pain faded to a distant annoyance. Pressure built in his chest until he thought his ribs would burst. His ears rang with a low rumble like thunder, but after a few seconds, he recognized his own growl. His wolf had roused. The dormant beast shouldn‟t have woken yet. Brand was years too young. Panicked, he scrambled to regain control, but with every attempt, he lost more ground. Deep within, a barrier gave way. A rush of power flooded through him. Confusion narrowed his sire‟s eyes. With a curse, Geir released him. He fell heavily, the impact jarring his teeth. Muscles and bones shifted under Brand‟s heated skin as he flailed. All over his body, countless stabs of pain pricked his skin. A yowl of anguish escaped his lips, and the wolf clamped his mouth shut. The agony continued in waves as he convulsed. Sheltered from the worst of the sensation by the wolf, he wondered how much suffering the beast could endure before it broke. He concentrated on each tremor, willing himself to survive. Several minutes later, he lay panting on his side. Beneath him, the ground was icy cold. The wolf maintained control, but Brand could sense the precariousness of its grip. A gentle hand patted the fur covering his head. Though his eyes were closed, he recognized his mother‟s scent at once, a honeysuckle meadow after a rain. His mother pulled the front half of his wolf body into her lap. “Easy now. He‟s gone, and you made it through.” Her power radiated into him, lessening the lingering pain in his exhausted muscles. 2

He strained to regain control, and after a brief struggle, the wolf relented. His fear eased. Falling under the thrall of the beast wasn‟t as common as dying in the throes of the first change, but it did happen. He nuzzled into his mother‟s warmth and opened his eyes. Her amber gaze filled with worry, she looked down at him. Her lips curled into a soft smile that made her face all the more lovely. “There you are. Can you shift back? It‟s not wise to provoke him further.” He tried to puzzle out her meaning while he took stock of his newly transformed body. Like his sire, he was large, with coal-black fur. He‟d hoped for the tawny coloring of his mother‟s line. In principle, he knew what was required to make the return transformation, but everything seemed so different in the wolf‟s body. His senses felt sharper, and a strange thrumming he couldn‟t identify vibrated at the back of his skull. “It‟s the moon,” an annoyed voice said from beside him. He lifted his head to look at the female who had spoken. While it was rumored Ingrid could read minds, he‟d never believed it. She stared at him, her mouth set in a severe line. “The moon is new. That is what you feel. Now shift back before he decides he should kill you while you pose no threat.” Brand realized why they were concerned. No other among the Broods of Fenrir could shift at the new moon, and he had done it his first time. Even his powerful sire had a difficult time shifting past the half moon. Individuals who surpassed his sire in any way soon found themselves bleeding out on the frozen ground. With no idea what he looked for, he searched for a switch he knew must be inside him. A few seconds later, frustrated with the effort of fruitless probing, he grumbled. His mother rubbed his side and spoke in a soft voice. “You have to relax. You‟re trying too hard.” 3

Ingrid snorted. “You‟re coddling him, Kolla.” She knelt next to him and grabbed the ruff of fur behind his neck. Her eyes glowed like molten silver. “Breathe in as deep as you can. Where you feel tightness, push.” He inhaled, pulling the winterberry and earthy scent of Ingrid all the way into his chest. At once, he understood what she meant, and pushed at the odd tension under his breastbone. He convulsed as pain once again lanced through his body. The second transformation took less than half the time. Afterward, he lay on the ground exhausted and shivering. The pain had been much less, but still enough to make him wish he‟d left the wolf in control a while longer. His mother covered him with the clothing that had slid off when he shifted to wolf form. She rested a hand on his forehead. “He tried to kill you.” He closed his eyes. “I couldn‟t let him hurt you again.” His parched throat hurt when he spoke. She smoothed his hair away from his face. “You mustn‟t intercede again. Next time, he won‟t hold back. Killing a newly transitioned wolf would be seen as an act of weakness. That is what stayed his hand.” He opened his eyes and looked up at her. The concern on her face made his stomach clench. “I‟ll do what I can to protect you, no matter the danger.” “You‟re a stupid, arrogant fool,” Ingrid said in a harsh whisper as she stood. “One day you‟ll be a match for him, but not today.” “I don‟t care. I will no longer stand by and watch him brutalize every female in this brood. It‟s barbaric.” Anger shook his voice. Ingrid turned her attention to his mother, a frown drawing her face tight. “Take him somewhere out of sight and talk some sense into him. I‟ll see that Geir gets enough mead to keep him from reconsidering his decision, at least for tonight.” After Ingrid walked away toward the center of the village, his mother helped him to his feet. She groaned under 4

his weight. “I think you‟ve gained weight since you transformed.” Looking over himself, he thought she might be right. His chest seemed thicker, as if his muscles had rearranged themselves into a bulkier alignment. “Is that normal?” She patted his arm. “I‟ve never seen it happen so fast, but your first transformation marks your turn into adulthood. You‟ll get bigger and stronger than you ever imagined.” Her smile warmed him. Strong enough to protect her, he hoped. Strong enough to defeat his sire and make sure he couldn‟t hurt anyone again. A high-pitched scream rent the cold night air. His mother shuddered and drew her shawl closer. Brand turned, pulling away from her. Ingrid struggled in the grip of one male while shrieking curses at another who writhed on the ground at her feet. She kicked at him, connecting once with his head as he dragged himself out of her reach. Blood streamed from her neck where he‟d bitten her, coating her bared breasts. His sire strode toward her across the path in front of his longhouse, his face a harsh mask of annoyance. Ingrid shifted her stream of profanity to him. Irritation gave way to wrath as he lifted one hand to her jaw, shutting her mouth so all that emerged were muffled grunts. He spoke too softly for Brand to overhear, but when he was done, Ingrid‟s eyes were wide with fear. Geir pulled a knife from his belt and drove it into her right shoulder. His hand stifled her scream. The stab was obviously calculated to wound and weaken, not kill. Geir had used that move before to subdue her for the worst of his brutality. Unable to bear the thought of what his sire would do to Ingrid, Brand headed toward them. His mother‟s hand on his elbow stopped him. She pitched her voice low, and he had to strain to hear it. “There is nothing you can do for her. He will kill you and 5

then do it anyway.” He turned back to his mother, about to tell her how much the outcome didn‟t matter to him, as long as he wouldn‟t have to hear Ingrid‟s pain throughout the interminable winter night. Tears rimmed her light brown eyes, and her expression implored him to come away. He was her only offspring. If he died, she had nothing. Without him, there would be no one to protect her. He let his mother lead him away from the anguished cries that grew louder with each moment. He hated himself more with every step.

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Chapter 1 Brand walked along the yellow crime scene tape that cordoned off the dilapidated building. His gaze wandered over the stained brick wall and broken windows. He remembered when the building was new, how modern it had seemed rising out of the barren landscape. The abandoned industrial complex south of downtown had deteriorated from a Denver landmark into a crumbling eyesore over the last several decades. Glare from the bright, early winter sun prevented him from seeing inside the dim structure. The patrolman guarding the perimeter passed a long, appraising look over him. Brand nodded to the man and handed over his identification. The uniformed officer glanced at the badge. He gave Brand another once-over and frowned. “Private security? You‟re not authorized to be in this area.” Between his height and the presence of the wolf inside him, most humans found Brand intimidating. They would never be able to define exactly what bothered them, only a vague sense of strangeness. The more sensitive they were to the energies of the natural world, the harder he had to try to put them at ease. If the man in front of Brand had been a wolf, his 7

hackles would have been raised. Brand pulled off his sunglasses and smiled without showing his overlong canine teeth. “Detective Grant asked me to stop by.” He kept his voice light, trying to convey that he was just another guy, there to do his job when he‟d rather be anywhere else. With a pensive creasing of his forehead, the officer seemed to come to the conclusion that Brand was no threat, and his expression eased. He turned to speak into the radio at his shoulder. “Tell Grant a guy named Brandon Geirson from Sword Security is here to see him.” For Brand, dealing with humans was easier than interacting with his own kind. Aggression was counterproductive, rather than required. He appreciated that humans responded better to courtesy than intimidation, something that would never work in the brutal subculture into which he‟d been born. The constant battle for rank among the Broods of Fenrir brought out unwelcome feral tendencies. The crackling that answered was all but incomprehensible. The patrolman handed back Brand‟s identification. “He‟ll be here shortly.” “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Brand slid his sunglasses back into place. “Sure thing.” The officer nodded and resumed his scan of the area. Grant emerged from the building a few minutes later and jogged over to the edge of the cordoned-off area. He made a beckoning gesture with one thick-fingered hand. Brand ducked under the yellow tape. “What‟s going on, Grant?” They‟d never met under what could be called pleasant circumstances, so Brand wasn‟t surprised Grant seemed perturbed. Grant led the way toward one of the oversized loading doors that had been propped open. Police personnel wandered in and out of the building. Snatches of conversation drifted over to them. 8

Grant paused several feet short of the entry. “We got a call about a body inside. Your company is the security outfit for this place?” Brand swiped a hand down his face. He hoped some kid hadn‟t thought to have an adventure exploring the empty derelict and instead had fallen down an open elevator shaft. It had happened before, and the guilt gnawed at him. “They don‟t pay for anything but one guard doing occasional walks of the outside.” Grant made a note, then fixed his astute eyes on Brand. “Must be frustrating for you.” Brand sighed. “It is. I‟ve tried to talk to the owners about it, but they aren‟t interested in spending money to keep out trespassers.” “Well, in this case, it‟s not some adrenaline junkie looking for a new high.” Grant shook his head. “Wish it was. Lady in there is all slashed up.” Brand froze in the act of scratching his jaw. “She was murdered?” Grant looked over his notes and gestured toward the page with one finger. “The coroner‟s hemming and hawing about bites that look canine, but there‟s no animal I know of would do that kind of damage.” Dread slithered up Brand‟s back, raising the hairs on his neck. “Canine?” Grant flipped a few pages in his notebook. “Maybe some coyotes came in after the guy was done with her and had a snack, who knows?” He shrugged. “All I know is, there‟s no dog-like thing on Earth that would slice her up that way.” Brand knew firsthand that wasn‟t true. Bloody images bubbled up from the deep place he‟d buried them. His stomach turned while he battled the painful memories. “Why‟d you ask me to come here?” “I need to know about anything unusual going on in the vicinity.” He met Grant‟s cool stare. “Kids come to get their 9

kicks exploring the empty building. It‟s been happening since they closed the factory down years ago.” Grant scribbled some more notes. He pushed a few buttons on his phone and held it up for Brand to see. “You know her?” Bruises and cuts covered the woman‟s swollen face. Brand swallowed to alleviate the sudden tightening of his throat. At the bottom of the frame, bloody gashes in her clothing made the pain she had endured before her death obvious. Teeth marks were visible along one side of her neck. Not canine, not at all, though Brand understood why someone who didn‟t know about the existence of his kind might assume that. He closed his eyes briefly and searched for calm. His temper flared, but he regained control. “No, I‟ve never seen her before.” Grant harrumphed. “That‟s all I‟ve got for you right now. I‟ll call your office when we clear out of here.” “Thanks.” Brand offered his hand, and Grant shook it with a short nod. While walking back to his motorcycle, Brand mulled over what do to next. Leaving the investigation up to the police was out of the question. Even if they could figure out who‟d done it, they were ill-equipped to deal with one of the brood. The responsibility of seeking justice for the woman‟s death fell to him. The leader of the brood in the Denver area was a longtime friend and one of his biggest clients. In all likelihood, a member of Erik‟s brood had murdered that woman. That placed Brand in a dangerous position since he wanted to put the wild animal down. *** Brand pushed through the office door amid the protests of Erik‟s assistant. 10

Erik pinned Brand with a stern stare, then waved his assistant back. “It‟s all right. Call me when Harris gets here.” She nodded, giving Brand a disapproving glare as she exited and closed the door behind her. Erik stood, his hands braced against the dark wood of his desk. “You‟d better have a damned good reason for barging in here like this.” Coming to Erik‟s office unannounced was a rather serious breach of etiquette, and relationships between brood males were strained at the best of times. Brand had distanced himself from his own kind for several reasons, but the most prominent was the constant power struggles. Existing outside the social structure of any brood, he was always considered a threat. The complex rules of propriety even kept him from being able to apologize for bursting in without increasing the tension between them. Instead, he ground his teeth and crossed the office with slow steps. He lowered himself into a chair in front of the desk without breaking eye contact. Erik sat a few seconds later. Brand cleared his throat. “I just came from a jobsite of mine where police found a woman‟s body.” He kept his voice level, though he wanted to shout. “She was murdered by one of us.” Erik leaned back in his chair and laced his hands over his stomach, but didn‟t speak for several beats. “You‟re sure?” “I wouldn‟t be here otherwise. The bites I saw were from a brood male, no question. I need to know who you think could have done this.” Erik showed off his complement of elongated canine teeth in a silent snarl. “Why? You‟ve no dominion over my brood.” “She was shredded,” Brand said, his voice harsh with disgust. “I won‟t abide it, Erik, not even from one of yours.” As anger overtook him, Erik‟s eyes lightened from blue to arctic white. “You are not in charge here. You gave up that 11

right, so back the fuck off.” He growled, a low, menacing sound. Fury radiated from Erik in waves. Brand could almost see the infectious cloud of rage. Through an often-practiced strength of will, Brand reinforced the barriers that isolated him from the emotions of others. Around humans he didn‟t have to exert as much effort, their feelings were so much easier to shut out. The churning, mercurial emotions of the brood put Brand constantly on edge. When Brand didn‟t respond to the challenge, the tension in the room gradually eased. Erik‟s fingers drummed on top of the desk. “It wasn‟t one of mine. We were running at my lodge last night, like every week of the full moon. All males accounted for but one.” Brand leaned forward. “Who was missing?” “Lucas has been gone for a few weeks. I was going to call you in to help me look for him if he didn‟t turn up by the full moon.” Erik ran a hand through his spiked blond hair. “He‟s not aggressive. There‟s no way he killed a woman, Brand.” The sincerity and affection in Erik‟s voice was cause enough for Brand to doubt Lucas was the culprit. “I‟ll look for him, but if I find out he‟s involved, I won‟t spare him.” “Fair enough.” Erik bent his head to write for several seconds, then held out a sheet of paper. Brand reached for the note and looked down at the address printed in Erik‟s neat handwriting. “A young male striking out alone isn‟t unusual.” Erik shook his head. “He wouldn‟t leave without talking to me.” The intercom buzzed. “Harris is on his way up,” the assistant‟s smooth voice said over the speaker. Erik pressed a button on his phone. “Send him in.” Brand stood and turned to leave. “You should stay for this, actually,” Erik called after him. “It‟s a meeting with the Bioden lawyers.” Brand‟s company handled the security at all of Erik‟s 12

construction sites, so the name was familiar. “That‟s the biotech outfit giving you a hard time with the new project?” Erik nodded. “They‟ve been glad-handing and paying bribes all over town. I can‟t even get a foundation poured at that site off Mississippi Avenue because of the permit and license bullshit they‟re shaking up.” Brand moved to a credenza along the wall at a right angle to Erik‟s desk and leaned against it. “What‟s the problem?” “Loki only knows.” Erik made a dismissive gesture. “They claim the construction will cause problems at one of their nearby warehouses.” A knock sounded on the door, and Erik called for them to enter. The assistant showed two men into the room and retreated once more. Both men had the polished, easy manner of long-time businessmen. The taller of the two wore a navy suit, his dark hair impeccably slicked back. He extended a hand toward Erik. Erik clenched his sharp-edged jaw and stared at the offered hand as if he were seriously considering biting it. “Harris, I don‟t have time for your idiocy today. Sit down and get to the point.” Harris swallowed and brushed at his knee as he took his seat. “A hundred-thousand-dollar donation to Mr. Rivera‟s leukemia research fund would see this matter resolved without issue.” Erik pressed his hands into the desk until his fingers mottled from the pressure. “That‟s ridiculous.” His voice was low and dangerous. “He can have half that.” Harris glanced at the man next to him. After a brief pause, the unnamed associate nodded. Harris‟s eyes popped open, but he covered his shock quickly and turned back to Erik. “That will be fine, Mr. Sorenson.” Both men stood. “We‟ll get out of your way now.” Harris crossed the room with the measured steps of a man trying his best not to scurry away, with the other man following close behind him. 13

Erik watched them go from beneath a furrowed brow. He reached for the phone and slapped the intercom button. “Molly, have a check cut for Harris and get him out of my building.” Erik released the button before she responded. He paused to run his fingers through his hair and made the blond spikes stand up even more. Brand cleared his throat. “I thought you were going to tear them apart. Glad you didn‟t. Cleaning up their guts for the rest of the afternoon isn‟t my idea of a good time.” Erik smiled, but the strain was obvious around the edges of his mouth. Before Erik could respond, Brand‟s phone rang. Not wanting to take a call in Erik‟s office, he gestured to the door and nodded his farewell before exiting into the lobby. He pulled the phone from his pocket and glanced at the display before answering. “What is it, Cam?” His assistant replied, “I‟ve got Detective Grant for you.” “Put him through.” Harris and his colleague were still in the lobby, arguing with an annoyed-looking Molly. Brand turned his back on them and stared out the window at the darkening street. Grant‟s gruff voice came over the line a few seconds later. “I need to know if you‟ve had any nuisance animal complaints at the factory site recently.” Brand watched the cars roll slowly to the stop sign at the corner. “None of my guys have reported anything. Why?” “When we canvassed the neighborhood, someone said they saw a wolf about a week ago. I‟m wondering if that‟s the answer to our bite mark dilemma.” Brand hesitated before responding. “Isn‟t a coyote a lot more likely? There hasn‟t been a wolf pack in Colorado since the nineteen twenties. The closest wolf is probably hundreds of miles away.” If Grant wondered why Brand had such detailed 14

knowledge of wolf movements, he didn‟t ask. “According to the witness, the animal was huge with dark red fur.” Brand rested a hand on the windowpane and leaned his forehead against it. Red. Perhaps a dozen of their kind had that coloring, including Erik‟s mate, Bera. The red coat was a trait specific to her father‟s line. Björnkarl‟s offspring were troublesome and, like their sire, tended to follow their own rules. That the wolf had transformed so far from the full moon considerably narrowed the list. Few among them were powerful enough to transform more than a week away from the moon‟s peak. The image of the murdered woman flickered through his mind. Her tortured face wrenched his gut. He‟d been witness to similar scenes more often than he cared to remember. With tension tightening his chest, he realized the woman‟s condition bore an eerie resemblance to how he‟d found Alice years before. His pulse raced, thudding in his ears. The moment it took to compose himself seemed to go on forever. “It‟s probably a stray dog.” His voice sounded choked. “I have a meeting.” Brand hung up without waiting for a response and ran from the lobby. *** Alice smiled when heavy footfalls echoed down the hallway to her lab. Only one person could make the simple act of walking sound so urgent. She straightened from the enzyme analysis she‟d been working on and stretched her back with a sigh. Brand didn‟t usually come to her work, and she wondered what had brought him there. His shadow fell across the doorway a few seconds before he came into view. Long-limbed and muscular, he looked the same as he had the day he‟d saved her life nearly a century ago, like an oversized helping of trouble. He wore his dark hair—almost unheard of among their kind—shaggy and 15

unkempt. His jaw was set in an angry expression that an observer might assume he meant for her, but she knew better. Still, she felt her smile slip. “What‟s got you so wound up?” His shoulders relaxed as he leaned against the doorjamb. “Don‟t know what you mean. I came to say hello.” His eyes slid away from her and scanned a row of test tubes on the lab table between them. Alice bit her lower lip. Brand didn‟t avoid eye contact with anyone. He also didn‟t lie. The combination of the two made her heart race. His evasion covered something terrible, and she could only think of one thing that bad—Arnbjörn. Memories of the agony he‟d inflicted on her rose to the forefront of her mind. Fear climbed from her chest into her throat. She couldn‟t breathe. Brand‟s attention snapped back to her. He darted into the room and caught her as she fell from the high lab chair, his arms too tight around her. Panicked, she pushed at him in a pointless attempt to escape the trapped sensation that pulled her under a veil of terror. In the dark place she retreated to in her mind, she felt, or perhaps heard, a deep, resonant beat. The note pulsed through her, and drew her attention from the desperation spiraling out of control. She opened her eyes, which she hadn‟t realized she‟d closed, and stared up at Brand. His wolf‟s power wrapped her in a blanket of warmth that kept the fear at bay. She found it so easy to believe, while he was near, that Arn could never hurt her again. He smoothed her hair with one hand. Concern tightened his mouth while his blue eyes searched her face. “Better?” She nodded, but still couldn‟t speak. His calloused fingers moved over her cheek, rough, but gentle. “I‟m sorry.” She leaned her head against him and sighed. He was the only one of the brood ever to have apologized to her. An 16

apology was a rare gesture in their world, implying a degree of subservience one didn‟t just give away, certainly not to one as low-ranked as she. “He‟s in Denver?” She didn‟t need to specify who he was. In fact, she didn‟t think she could actually say his name without stuttering, though so much time had passed. The soothing motion of Brand‟s hand stilled and he frowned. “I don‟t know for sure it‟s him. A woman was killed by one of us last night and a red wolf was reported nearby about a week ago.” Alice swallowed. In her opinion, that was pretty solid evidence. Still, she had doubts. If Arn was in the city, wouldn‟t he have come for her? “I haven‟t felt him,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “That‟s good.” Brand showed her a tight smile, the kind he used when trying to hide his teeth so he wouldn‟t frighten her. He put her on her feet in an effortless motion. “The wolf might have been Bera for all I know.” “I appreciate that you don‟t want to scare me, but I‟d rather know he might be out there.” She trailed off at the end, but managed to finish before her voice failed her entirely. Brand pulled her into a hug before she could protest. The reflexive terror in response to his nearness clenched her stomach, and she struggled against succumbing to it. After a mercifully short embrace, he backed away, then reached to hold her face between his palms. “I won‟t let him hurt you.” Since he‟d found her, broken and bleeding by the side of a road, he‟d never let anything harm her. So why did she find it so hard to believe him? Alice nodded into his large, warm hands and tried to smile. “I know.”

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Chapter 2 The heavy door of Erik‟s home swung open in front of Brand. Bera stood in the entryway, a redheaded statuesque beauty straight out of Norse myth. A smile played across her face. From her, that expression was more dangerous than a glare. She inclined her head exactly as much as required, the barest inch. She stood high in the ranks among their kind, almost even with Erik. “Welcome, Brandúlfr, son of Geirúlfr.” She gestured with her arm, welcoming him into her home. Brand hesitated, shaking his head. “I shouldn‟t come in. He‟ll smell me, and he didn‟t know I was coming here.” “That‟s what I‟m hoping for.” Her lips curled into a deeper, mischievous smile. “I will not speak to you across my threshold. Some of us still keep to the tenets of hospitality.” Brand grumbled. He couldn‟t decline to enter without causing offense, which would put him in the prickly situation of having to apologize. He moved past Bera through the marbletiled foyer and into the elegant drawing room. He sat awkwardly on the overstuffed couch and waited for her to bring him a drink, trying not to seem as irritated as he was. She 19

offered him a glass of whiskey, bending in a deep and precise curtsey. She took a seat opposite him, crossing her long, shapely legs at the knee. “I don‟t suppose you‟re here to make a pass at me? Erik could use a good fight. He‟s been in a foul mood for weeks.” Brand almost choked on his first sip of whiskey, swallowing past the sudden blockage in his throat with effort. “The last time Erik and I fought, I almost killed him.” She bared sharp teeth in a menacing grin. “That‟s as may be, but he wasn‟t fighting for me, then.” “True enough.” He put down the glass and leaned back into the couch. “I don‟t know why you‟re bringing this up. You wouldn‟t accept me if I did.” She answered him in Norse, her tone rough with scorn. “Do not presume to know my mind, son of the Spear.” Her anger roared around him, but his defenses remained in place. After a pause, she continued in English, “I am as much the moon‟s daughter as I am my father‟s.” Brand repressed the urge to shiver and seized the opportunity given by her silent glare to change the subject. “Have you been running around Denver in wolf form?” One red eyebrow arched in inquiry. “Why would you ask me that?” “A woman was killed by one of us in the city last night. During the investigation someone reported seeing a red wolf in the surrounding area.” Bera pursed her lips. “You‟re not seriously implying I killed her?” “No, I‟m here because I want to know if one of your brothers might be in town.” Bera stood with a smooth motion and moved toward him, stalking with lithe hunter‟s grace. He tensed, unsure of her intentions. She pulled up her right sleeve and offered her wrist. Brand lowered his head, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he leaned to catch her scent. She had a sweet scent, like night20

blooming jasmine in the minutes before dawn. Beneath that was the sharp tang of female hormones associated with pregnancy. She couldn‟t have transformed last week, not without putting her offspring in danger. Brand settled back, annoyed. “You could have just told me.” Her grin sharpened as she pulled down her sleeve. “Nowhere near as fun as watching you bow over my hand.” He didn‟t succeed in swallowing the growl that leapt from his throat, though he tried. The surge of his power came unbidden as he reached for her wrist. She chuckled low, her eyes darkening to black in response. “When you take your proper place as king, you won‟t have to tolerate my taunting. That will be a great day.” Brand released her, revulsion tumbling through him. “Never. I‟ve told you that before.” “A crown for the taking and you won‟t bend your neck enough to have it placed on your head.” She backed away a step, shaking her head. Taking that crown involved becoming the monster his sire had been, but he didn‟t want to have that discussion. “I believe that red wolf was Arnbjörn.” Bera folded her arms across her chest. “I find that difficult to believe. My sire forbade him from coming.” “Arn‟s not known for being level-headed, or for letting an insult pass. I thought he would have come before now, regardless of Björn‟s wishes.” Her head tilted to one side. “So why would he come now?” Brand offered a bitter smile and shrugged. “Maybe he got tired of following directions.” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “I need your help to find him.” “The attack was him venting frustration over not being able to find Alice.” Bera twisted a lock of red hair between two of her fingers. “Since he‟s not smart enough to figure out where she is, he‟ll be looking for another outlet for his anger 21

before long. Find a place he‟d look for prey and you‟ll find him.” The idea that Arn might be out hunting another victim drove Brand to his feet. Bloody images of the state he‟d found Alice in flickered through Brand‟s mind, and he pushed them away. He couldn‟t afford the distraction. He stalked toward the entryway, a list of likely places already taking form. “Brand,” Bera called and the urgency of her tone made him turn back to her. “Take care in how you deal with him. My sire despises you, and Arn is his favorite.” The harsh consonants of the Norse language added weight to her warning. “He‟s a beast, and it‟s past time someone put him down.” Brand wrenched the door open and exited. Behind him, Bera swore. *** Brand‟s cell phone rang as he pulled up to his first destination, a bar named Kick. The biker hangout wasn‟t far from the factory where the dead woman had been found. One of the less appealing areas of the city, the street outside was almost empty at dusk. Erik‟s office number showed on the display. Unsurprisingly, Bera had called him and explained what Brand had in mind when he found Arn. Erik didn‟t wait for a greeting. “You can‟t just kill him.” The ache of fury that had been building in his chest made Brand snarl. “I can and I will. It should have been done a long time ago.” “You gave up the right to make those decisions. It has to be put to a Conclave.” Brand struggled to contain the shout that wanted to burst from him. He should be searching, not arguing bureaucracy with Erik. “No matter what he does, a Conclave won‟t rule against Arn. Björnkarl will bully the other earls to get his way.” “I‟m glad you think so much of my backbone.” The 22

sardonic sneer Erik wore was obvious, even over the phone. “You won‟t receive a summons to any Conclave Björn calls. He‟s still angry you stole and defiled his daughter.” The sound over the line distorted as Erik spat out a long Norse curse. When he stopped for a breath, Brand responded. “Do you really think you‟ll upset me by insulting my lineage? I‟m the first to admit my sire was a lecherous goat.” Erik laughed briefly, then continued in a serious tone. “If you do this you‟re going to spend the next hundred years running.” Brand had no intention of running from Björn, or anyone else. “I‟ll do what I have to do to make sure Alice is safe.” *** Brand scanned the dim interior of the bar. He avoided these places when he could. The heightened emotions of so many in so tight an area strained his barriers to their limits. Kick was a well-known brood hangout, but the only patrons were a few humans in black leather huddled around pool tables. He spotted the female he was looking for across the room. As she leaned over to clean a table, her familiar backside moved with a rhythmic shake to the beat of the loud music. As she bent and stood on her toes to reach the far end, her short skirt displayed an obscene amount of thigh. Sigga must have felt his stare, because she stopped moving abruptly. She turned to look over her shoulder at him, her pink hair falling to obscure part of her face. She dropped the washcloth and hurried across the empty dance floor, a smile curling her lips. When she stood in front of him, she said, “Is there something I can help you with, my lord?” “You can start by not calling me that.” He clamped his jaw shut, despising himself for snapping at her. “I meant no offense.” She dropped her gaze and bowed her head. When she straightened again and met his eyes, her 23

desire cascaded over him and overran his barriers. He closed the distance between them. No longer buffered, her lust surged through his body, making his skin tingle. The wolf inside him strained for control, amplifying his emotions. He imagined parting her unresisting thighs, lifting her skirt until she was revealed to him, tearing open her shirt, and pushing her back to sink his teeth into the creamy skin of her breast. He could almost taste her blood on his tongue, a heady combination of minerals and her essence. That thought brought him back from the near trance her emotions had driven him to. He craved violence and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. Curling his hands into fists, he drove his nails into his palms until the pain brought clarity. “I‟m looking for one of us, a big male with red hair. I doubt he‟d take the time to introduce himself.” Sigga blinked several times. The haze of desire gradually lifted from her features. After a few moments, she shook herself. “I haven‟t seen anyone like that.” As her scent crept toward the normal end of the spectrum, Brand relaxed. He resisted the temptation to push a lock of hair away from her left eye. “There‟s a male from your brood by the name of Lucas, have you seen him?” Her brightly painted lips compressed in thought for a few seconds. “He usually comes in here a lot, but I haven‟t seen him since the last full. He hasn‟t been at the brood runs either.” Brand nodded. “Call me if you see either of them.” Worried that she might try to approach Arn, he added, “And don‟t talk to the redhead, he‟s dangerous.” “Like you?” An impish grin made her dimples stand out. “No,” he grumbled. “He‟ll hurt you.” Her grin faded into a more sultry smile. “I like that you worry about me.” He reached to touch her cheek, but stopped short. The desire she felt for him permeated his fingers even without the 24

contact. Months ago, he‟d decided attraction wasn‟t enough. A sense of warmth he craved was missing between them and he refused to keep using her, comforting as it could be. He lowered his hand and turned away. *** Brand examined the door of Lucas‟s apartment. After spending most of the night cruising seedy bars in the worst areas of Denver, he needed a break and the address had been nearby. No one had broken in as far as he could tell. He had no idea how to pick a lock, so he forced the door open with brute strength. He‟d pay for a new one if Lucas ever returned. The air in the apartment was stale, indicating the place had been unoccupied for some time. He inhaled, letting the odors settle into him as he cataloged them—dirty laundry, rotting food, old dust. He picked up a male scent that was undoubtedly Lucas and committed it to memory. A handful of human female smells drifted through, all transient visitors by the lack of depth. He looked through Lucas‟s apartment for several minutes, but didn‟t see anything that struck him as unusual. Though difficult to say for sure, given the level of disorder, nothing looked out of place. He came across a pile of coasters with numbers scribbled on them from several area bars; all had female names associated with them. He used a finger to scan through the collection, noting the names of the places Lucas frequented. His luck with women emphasized the point that Erik had suggested; Lucas probably wasn‟t aggressive. Brand was tempted to believe that the young male, bored of the Denver scene, had moved off on his own. One fact made that conclusion difficult to believe, though. All of his clothes and personal items remained in the apartment. From what Brand could tell, nothing had been packed. If Lucas had left of his own accord, he‟d taken nothing with him. After four more hours of searching dark bars overrun 25

with longing, Brand fell into his bed near three in the morning frustrated and exhausted. He never caught sight of Arn or spoke to anyone who‟d seen him. Shortly after midnight the next night, the forty-eighthour full-moon period would begin. Emotions, already almost overwhelming in his kind, peaked with the moon. There would no doubt be another body if he didn‟t find Arn before then, and the idea that he would fail another female the same way he‟d failed his mother kept him awake, staring at the ceiling, for a long while before sleep overtook him. *** Alice‟s stomach clenched when she reached her car. A familiar, rising whisper of violence filled the night. She tried three times before she managed to push the small button on her remote. The chirp of her car locking comforted her, though the implied safety was an illusion. Arn could force his way inside her car with little effort and he was close. Her only hope was that he might not know exactly where she was, yet. She pulled out her phone to call Brand, and while trying to open it she dropped it. Nearly breathless with panic, she bent over to search the bottom of the car under her feet. Just as her hand caught hold of the plastic case, darkness obscured the streetlight that shone in her window. Alice looked up into the shadowed face that had haunted every day of her life since he bought her more than two hundred years ago. He was every bit as cruel and huge as he was in her nightmares. She couldn‟t contain the scream that tore from her throat.

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Chapter 3 Brand woke not long after dawn with Alice on his mind. It wasn‟t unusual for his first thought to be of her. He dreamed variations of how he‟d found her almost every night. In the heart-wrenching twist of events his subconscious had created tonight, she‟d died in his arms. To still the frantic thumping of his heart, he forced himself to remember. A whimper had drawn his attention to an uneven mound in the ditch beside the road. The shape shifted a fraction of an inch and then ceased. He closed the distance and knelt in the mud where she‟d been discarded. The blond hair was the first detail he noticed, curly and tangled. She lay on her side, her bare back facing him. One pale shoulder shuddered when she groaned. The curve of every rib in her emaciated torso was visible, and half-healed, sinuous cuts ran from her shoulders to her waist. He pulled off his jacket and placed it over her. She was small enough that it covered her from shoulders to knees. He moved his hand to her forehead and felt the energy of her wolf buried under the unconscious mind. She was not powerful, but she was certainly one of the brood. He maneuvered his hands 27

under her and lifted her into his arms. She weighed very little. Her bones protruded from her skin everywhere he touched her. Her head lolled against his shoulder. Bruises darkened her jaw, and red lines from fingers marked the much too white skin of her throat. Dried blood from her nose and mouth covered the delicate curve of her cheeks. That image of Alice so broken in his arms, before he‟d even known her name, was the one that haunted him most. He‟d held her hand for hours, uncertain she‟d survive, using his empathic ability to calm the fear that terrorized her even as she slept. His cell phone rang from the living room, where he‟d dropped his clothes the night before. Relieved to have a momentary distraction from the memories, he ran down the stairs. The number on the display was unfamiliar. “Yes?” “You are looking for Arnbjörn.” He recognized the cold female voice at once and suppressed a groan. Ingrid. Quite simply, he didn‟t want to deal with anyone less as the moon approached full. “I am. Have you seen him?” He rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers. Whatever she wanted in trade for the information would be difficult and likely painful. “Come to my lair at dusk.” The phone clicked when she disconnected. Brand sighed. Dealing with her melodramatic insanity was exhausting and he was not looking forward to an evening in her company. A low note, like the strum of a cello string, vibrated at the back of his skull. Every second the moon crept closer to full, and he was beginning to feel the tug of it. He started to dial Alice‟s number, since she was still on his mind, and then glanced at the clock. He was reluctant to wake her so early. He tossed his phone onto the couch and climbed back up to his loft to try to get a few more hours of sleep before he began his search for Arn again. *** 28

As Brand lifted his hand to knock on the door, he heard Ingrid call in Norse, “Enter, Brandúlfr Geirson.” The air in the small cabin was pungent and thick. Many strong scents hit him all at once when he inhaled. Human blood, wolf urine, and deer musk were the strongest, the combination almost revolting enough to make him wretch. After he subdued his gag reflex, he said, “Have you been kidnapping human girls again? You know Erik doesn‟t approve.” The female had an array of noxious substances smeared over her naked skin and tangled in her golden hair. Beneath the filth was a harsh beauty, though nearly impossible to discern. She held a teacup in one hand, sipping delicately and watching him over the rim. Her eyes glowed iridescent silver in the dimness of the room. “Eiríkr‟s approval does not concern me.” She paused, and a small grin curved her lips. “Betimes, your approval does. Does it bother you if I kill human females?” Brand struggled to keep his expression neutral, and his voice unworried. “Yes.” She snorted, an amused, dismissive sound. “You never used to be so stuffy, Black Sword.” She spoke his nickname in Norse, her tongue trilling over the syllables like a caress. “Don‟t call me that.” “I‟ll call you whatever I like. Your father was the Black Spear when he was king. You shall be the Black Sword.” “I will never be king.” She sat on a rough-hewn stool, crossing her legs at the knee. “You never did explain what your objection was to taking your proper place.” He ignored her inquiry. She knew better than anyone why he couldn‟t be king. “You said you know where Arn is.” A calculating smirk played over her face. “I did.” “He‟s dangerous.” “Are you actually concerned for me? How gallant. 29

Surely, you realize there is no need.” Her laugh was light, yet edged with cruelty. “Even you could not best me, unless I wanted you to.” Her eyes glowed like molten metal, and he felt his beast straining to meet the challenge she offered. She watched him with an amused expression. After a pause, he said, “Tell me where Arn is.” She made a clicking sound with her tongue. “I don‟t offer such information freely.” He suppressed a sigh. Her requests were always difficult. “What would you have of me, Ingrid?” She stood and put the teacup on the stool she had vacated, then turned to regard a pile of incongruous objects on a table beyond her. “Nothing that would be onerous for you.” Her eyes wandered over him in a slow glance. “An offspring of your line.” At first, he was sure he had misheard her. When he realized that he hadn‟t, he still couldn‟t formulate an answer. He stared at her for several seconds and then turned to go. Before his hand closed on the door handle, she spoke again. “Brandúlfr, I gave you no leave to go.” He rounded on her, his fists clenching at his sides to avoid crossing the room to throttle her. “I‟m well aware you‟re insane, but I had no idea you‟d broken quite so much with reality. There are no offspring of my line by my choice, and I‟m not about to change that with you.” Brand had spent years bound to her sadistic whims after his sire delivered him into her care. Memories of their time together haunted him still. She knew how to manipulate his empathic sense to make the agony of a moment last forever. “You were always a difficult pup to lead, no matter the collar around your neck.” She came toward him, the epitome of calm, each foot precisely placed to maximize the swing of her hips. “Geir understood you well.” The reminder of his sire stung, especially from her. Brand hoped he kept the pain hidden. “Not so well. If you 30

recall, I killed him.” “He drove you to it.” She stepped closer, until she stood a scant few inches away. The snarl of her emotions pressed in on him. Brand shuddered before he could stop himself. “Stay away from me.” Her eyes held a fierce gleam. “Or what?” He lifted his hand to her throat and tightened his fingers a fraction. “Or I will choke the life from your perverse throat.” Her lips spread into a slow, toothy grin. “I know you better than that.” She leaned against his chest and looked up into his face. “You have endured so many hours of torture at my hands, and yet, I am still alive.” After the cruelty his sire had put her through, he couldn‟t bring himself to hurt her, no matter what she did to him. His wolf didn‟t share his reservations, though. He stared at his fingers against her pale throat. “I should let the wolf end you.” Her eyes narrowed as if she appraised him for slaughter. “How poorly you understand yourself.” She turned away and, muttering to herself, searched through the mess that cluttered the low table. Loki’s teeth, but she was infuriating. He realized after watching her for a few seconds that he had no idea what he was still doing there. She had no intention of telling him where Arn was, if she even knew. Irritated for being drawn in by her manipulations, he again turned to go. “You‟ll want to see this.” When he looked back, she held a bloodied knife in her hand. She offered him the handle. Dark blood from the blade smeared her fingers, and she raised her hand to her lips. She licked the blood with exaggerated care. “I think you know the vintage.” He didn‟t have to lift the knife to identify the owner of the blood, despite the horror of smells crowding the room. He knew the scent almost as well as he knew his own—Alice. “If you‟ve hurt her, you miserable bitch…” 31

She cut him off, her tone rough with scorn. “Of course I‟ve hurt her. How do you think her blood got on the knife? Whether she gets hurt more is your decision.” Her predatory grin widened. He swallowed, almost choking on bile roiling in his stomach. “Fine, I‟ll do whatever you want.” Ingrid made a murmur of approval. “That‟s right, my sweet lamb, you will. First, you will apologize for calling me a bitch. Then, you will kneel before me.” He spoke between clenched teeth, “I meant no offense.” It took a moment to get his legs working, but he managed to stagger forward one step and drop to his knees without falling over. “Look at me, sweet dear,” she said in a cooing tone. Hating her, himself, and every member of their godsforsaken race, he lifted his eyes from the floor. She reached down, smearing Alice‟s blood over his cheek as she caressed him. “This is why mankind glories in subjugating the wild. To feel the ferocity of nature bent to your will is the most thrilling sensation.” Her parted lips drew back into a satisfied smile as her nails scored his cheek. She pushed with her power, trying to force her emotions on him, but his barriers held. After several attempts, she gave up with a sigh. “This would be easier if you would allow me to enthrall you.” Brand remembered the taste of her blood, winterberries and fertile earth. There had been a time when he would have done anything for her. He shook his head. Her mouth twisted into a petulant frown. “Before I tell you where your pet can be found, I will have your word that you will do as I command for what remains of this full moon.” When he hesitated, she slapped him. Alice‟s blood splattered over his face from the impact. “You have my word of honor that I will do your bidding for the duration of the full moon.” She smoothed his hair fondly. “Arnbjörn came to me to 32

ask my aid in acquiring her. Knowing your affection for the sniveling girl, I offered to help him in order to gain your attention.” The vile bitch had sold Alice off to bring him to heel. He growled, the anger creeping up his chest and into his throat. He bolted to his feet before he could stop himself. “Save your strength, Black Sword. You will fight under the full moon.” She looked up at the ceiling of the cabin with a frown of concentration. “Almost time, remove your shirt.” Trying to clear his mind, he unbuttoned his shirt with numb fingers. Thoughts of what Arn could be doing to Alice made the rage difficult to control. His breath rasped through his teeth. Ingrid appraised him as he let the shirt drop from his shoulders. Her gaze floated over his torso, and her tongue poked from between her lips as she ran it over the edges of her teeth. He felt the tendrils of her seduction trying to work at him again, but she gave up soon after. “When did you stop desiring me?” Her voice was soft, almost sad. Brand ignored the question, turning his face away from her. The days when he would have thought her enticing were long gone. She was diseased, like a tree rotting from the inside out. With a sigh, Ingrid went to the table once more and returned with a silver torc worked with runic designs. She twisted the heavy circle of metal in a complex pattern until it opened. She gestured for him to lean forward, but he didn‟t comply. With a frown, she reached up and cinched the adornment around his neck with another series of twists. The fit was snug. She slid her fingers beneath it and tugged sharply. Still, he refused to bend toward her. She released her hold on the torc with a snarl. “Run west for thirty minutes and you will find your Alice.” He bolted out of the cabin.

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Chapter 4 Brand ran west. The trees moved by in a blur. Blood pulsed through him, spreading the rage to every part of his body in a throbbing surge. His desperation to reach Alice made every stride an eternity. He felt the pull of the moon like a thrumming song in his chest. It stretched him, creating tension that felt as if it would break him into pieces from the inside out. The trees thinned the higher he climbed, and the ground grew ever more rocky. Soon, the forest disappeared entirely, and he was alone with the moon on the barren hillside. Silver light played over the terrain, casting everything in an unearthly glow. Brand smelled Alice‟s terror well before he reached them, the scent sharp enough that pain lanced his chest. He crested a small rise, and they came into view at the base of a butte. Arn‟s teeth locked onto Alice‟s slim shoulder. The sounds of greedy suckling carried through the air. Her bruised body was limp underneath him. Blood smeared her skin and matted her long, pale hair. Brand screamed and barreled downhill. The moon‟s call evoked a torrent of fury that ripped through him. Still 35

screaming a wordless challenge, he crashed into the larger male. Arn slid across the ground and came to a stop when he hit the wall of rock. Pebbles rained down on him from above. Brand stood over Alice. The state of her frail, naked body reminded him so much of how he‟d found her almost a century ago, when he‟d sworn to protect her. He‟d failed. He always failed. The smell of her blood and the stink of the other male wafting up from her body ratcheted Brand‟s anger even further. With a puzzled expression, Arn righted himself, one hand braced on the wall. When his gaze settled on Brand, he growled. He spoke in a low, rough voice, “Leave now, and I‟ll let you live.” Brand stepped over Alice, putting himself between her and Arn. His hands curled into fists. “You‟re not ever going to touch her again. I should have killed you when I took her from you.” “The Spear‟s son is soft. No one was surprised that I survived our last meeting.” Arn‟s eyes flicked down to Alice, and a leering grin spread over his face. “Soft in more ways than one, it seems. She didn‟t smell anything like you. I guess you can‟t get your staff up at all, if you can‟t even mount that one.” Brand launched himself at Arn. Arn dodged, and Brand crashed into the wall where Arn had been standing. Arn drove his shoulder into Brand‟s back, crushing him against the rock. The pressure squeezed the air from his lungs. Spots danced through his field of vision. Brand pushed away from the wall and turned as Arn backed away for another blow. Brand landed a kick on Arn‟s thigh. Arn shouted and drove Brand into the wall again. They grappled against the wall for several seconds. Brand lunged forward, using his foot to trip Arn and knock him off balance. Arn landed hard on the ground. Brand leapt on him and struck with a punch under Arn‟s jaw. Arn twisted under him, knocking Brand free and smashing him into the rock wall. Sharp rock sliced into Brand‟s shoulder, but he barely felt the pain. 36

Brand jumped for him again, but Arn rolled out of the way. Brand leapt to his feet and, before Arn could right himself, Brand kicked him in the jaw. A loud grunt from Arn accompanied the crack of breaking bone. Arn shook his head, dazed. Brand pressed his advantage, driving a knee into Arn‟s ribs. Arn tried to curl around his injured side, but Brand‟s weight on his chest kept him pinned to the ground. Brand landed another blow on Arn‟s jaw and felt the thrill of victory well up when Arn sagged under him. Brand pummeled him in the face several more times and then roared before sinking his teeth into his defeated rival‟s neck to tear open the carotid artery. Acrid blood filled Brand‟s mouth and poured over his chin in hot rivulets. He swallowed twice, feeling the surge of Arn‟s power through him, then spat a mouthful of blood into the dying male‟s face. He watched with grim satisfaction as the glow of power drained from Arn‟s eyes. A soft sniffle attracted Brand‟s attention. He lifted his gaze until his eyes found the source of the sound. Alice, still naked on the ground, watched him with an expression of horror. The beast reigned, certain that it would take its prize since it had killed the enemy. He crawled two feet toward her before the thinking part of him regained a measure of control, and he settled back on his haunches. Brand wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Cover yourself, Alice. I need some time before I can take you out of here.” He started to shake as the wolf tried to assert its will over him again. A look of resolve settled over her face, mouth pinched tight. “You‟re hurting.” She moved toward him hesitantly, her hand out. He pushed backward, until he came to a rest against the butte. “For the Wolf-mother‟s sake, don‟t come any closer.” She paused. “I was going to try to ease you.” His teeth chattered as he shivered convulsively. 37

“There‟s no easing this.” When he stopped shaking, he drew up his legs and rested his arms across his knees. His mood surged back and forth like the tide in response to the moon. He tried to modulate his voice into some semblance of calm. “I need to know how badly you‟re hurt.” He watched her as she tried to come up with an appropriate response. When she saw his eyes roving hungrily over her, she stammered and blushed. Brand took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Okay, listen. You‟re not going to be safe until I can force the transformation on you, and I need a little more calm than I have right now to achieve that. So please, Alice, tell me how badly you‟re hurt, and cover yourself.” Alice shifted on the ground, and he had to screw his eyes shut to avoid staring. The beast still raged. It knew a naked female lay almost within arm‟s reach, even if it couldn‟t see her. She cleared her throat. “I‟m not badly hurt.” The tension in her voice gave away the lie. Pressing his forehead into his arms, he closed his eyes tighter. He inhaled a hiss between clenched teeth. “That‟s not going to work for me. Tell me something true.” “I‟m worried about you.” Her fear should have goaded his anger, but his protective instinct surged instead. She was frightened, and he could help her. The transformation would ease her terror, and being linked with him would speed her healing. He raised his head. She had covered herself with the torn scraps of her clothing. His tense muscles gradually relaxed and, after a few minutes, he sat straighter. He eased his barriers back into place and sighed when his sense of her fear dulled. “Are you ready?” Alice nodded, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. He closed his eyes and concentrated on calming himself. His heartbeat slowed. The Call came from a place inside that he couldn‟t point to or identify, and it resonated, long and low. Alice‟s response 38

was immediate. He forged a link between them and sent the command to transform. The air around him heated. He waited with his eyes shut, gradually calming as her terror waned. He opened his eyes. Alice was a diminutive wolf, white as the snow-capped hills. Her eyes reflected pearly and opalescent in the winter night. He smiled. “You‟re lovely.” He gestured her forward with one hand. She sat next to his foot and, with a deep sigh, put her chin on his knee. The wolf was a creature of the present and didn‟t dwell on her earlier trauma. Her contentment filtered through him, a warm and gentle touch. The link between them bypassed the effect of his protective barrier, but he didn‟t mind. He rested his hand on her head. “It‟s been a long while since you‟ve transformed, hasn‟t it? I hope it wasn‟t unpleasant?” She shook her narrow, white muzzle from side to side, a curious gesture from a wolf. “I‟ve never felt it before. No one can Call me.” He stroked her smooth fur for several minutes, then put his hand under her muzzle to scratch her chin. “You aren‟t going to like this part, but I‟m not going to let you transform back for a while.” Her lips pulled back into an approximation of a fierce snarl that made him laugh. “Like this, you‟re safe from me. More importantly, you‟re safe from Ingrid. I have some unfinished business with her, and I can‟t take you home until it‟s been tended to.” He frowned as the weight of responsibility asserted itself on him again. “She knows if she so much as rubs the fur wrong on a wolf I‟ve Called, I‟ll tear her apart.” Alice whined briefly, but inclined her muzzle once. She licked his hand, her warm tongue a comfort. The bond with her was strong, and he gained strength from being linked to her. He‟d forgotten how wonderful such a connection felt. He ruffled her fur again, then pushed to his feet. 39

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Chapter 5 Brand approached Ingrid‟s small cabin, Alice trotting at his heel. Ingrid stood in her open doorway. “Clever of you to transform her.” Still naked, Ingrid had at least cleaned some of the caked-on mess from her skin. When he stood before her, she shook her head. “Under the moon.” She pointed to the left, around the side of the cabin. Brand nodded at Alice. “She waits inside, and you don‟t touch her.” Ingrid let out a brief cackle. “I wouldn‟t dream of harming your one subject.” As long as Alice was safe, what happened to him didn‟t matter. “Let‟s get this over with.” “There‟s a clearing around the side. Wait for me there.” Brand walked around the cabin. A wooden post a foot thick stood in the center of a circle thirty feet in diameter. By the smell, the circle was cast in ewe‟s blood and wolf piss. Something moved under a canvas tarp just inside the far curve of the circle. He sat down with his back to the post, eyes locked on the tarp. 41

Ingrid approached and dropped an array of straps next to him. Whistling a carefree tune, she crouched and began to sort them into piles. He watched her for a while in silence before he said, “You know I won‟t allow you to carry an offspring of mine regardless of my oath, so what‟s this really about?” She lifted her face to regard him. “Retribution.” Her lips pulled back into a savage grin. She held out a leather cuff. He stared at the cuff. As always where Ingrid was concerned, guilt and confusion prevented him from defying her. A part of him thought he deserved every moment of pain, even welcomed it. He placed his wrist inside without argument. She bent his arm around his back, and he offered the other wrist so she could fasten it as well. She lifted his elbow, and said, “On your knees.” He shifted awkwardly, bringing his knees under him. Ingrid fastened his hands to the post, then stepped in front of him. She gestured to the tarp behind her. “You‟ve seen your present? That‟s where your seed will be sown. My daughter by Hildigrímr. Dagny is the last of that line.” “I have not the slightest interest in becoming part of whatever breeding program you‟ve dreamed up.” She snorted. “Pain worked well enough to pique your interest in the past.” He looked away from her and she laughed. Try as he might to forget, he remembered every time she‟d beaten him. When he endured too much pain, the beast took over and had none of the same reservations about harming her. The result was always horrific. Though he had no control, he witnessed every brutal moment, every shriek. Afterwards he would ask her why. She always answered with a pain-ridden laugh and a statement that it was for his own good. Ingrid dragged the tarp several feet closer before pulling the covering back partway to reveal her daughter. The female inside was bound, and only a thin robe covered her naked body. Chestnut hair, damp with sweat, clung to her face and 42

neck. The muscles of her shoulders stood out as she pulled against the bonds. The ferocity of her rage was beautiful to behold. Even stronger than her mother‟s, her rampant power rose around him until his breath came short. Her anger hit his barriers like churning currents of heated air. A growl started deep in his throat. His muscles tensed as he yanked at the bindings holding him to the post. He tore his gaze away from the struggling Dagny and glared at Ingrid. “You know I‟ll hurt her. Don‟t do this.” Her laughter was a cruel, mocking sound. Ingrid grabbed his jaw in a tight grip. “Beg me.” He didn‟t hesitate for an instant. “Please, let her go. This will destroy her.” “I know.” Her hand became tender on his face. For an instant, he thought she would relent. She slapped him hard enough to make his ears ring. “The sooner she knows not to trust anyone, the better off she‟ll be.” He stared up into her face, still hoping he could get through to her. “She doesn‟t have to learn that lesson. You can protect her.” “No one protected me.” Shame struck him harder than she ever could have, and he sagged against the post. “I‟m sorry I failed to protect you from him. I‟m sorrier than you can ever know.” The apology was far too late, but she deserved to know the humiliation he felt. She hesitated a long while, her eyes locked on his. With a small shake of her head, she said, “Your arrogance is astounding.” She turned away from him, her mouth set in a tense line. He looked down at Dagny, convinced there was nothing more he could say. She‟d ceased moving and her eyes fixed on him, twin pools of moonlit mercury studying his face. Her expression carried a strength he couldn‟t fathom considering the disaster that awaited her. 43

Coiling a long, thin strap around her hand, Ingrid stepped back to him. She snapped her wrist, and the leather jumped forward, cutting his chest. She continued, her lashes precise and methodical. Once the strap sliced open his skin, the pain doubled with every strike. Brand roared a challenge when she finally stopped for a break. She tied the strap to the back of the torc and pulled it through a ring high on the post. The metal came up under his chin to bite into his throat and almost cut off his air. He straightened with a groan so that he wouldn‟t choke himself. Dagny struggled at the edge of his vision, trying to work her hands free. He contemplated telling her how useless it was to test Ingrid‟s knots. Considering the situation, he felt clearheaded. The beast had settled back almost at once. He said in a hoarse voice, “It‟s going to be all right.” Ingrid snickered next to him. “Don‟t lie to her.” She balled a wad of fabric in her fist and approached her daughter. Ingrid sliced into her upper arm with a long knife. Dagny glared up at her mother and bared her teeth in a snarl. Ingrid scrubbed the fabric over the wound to soak it in Dagny‟s blood. When Ingrid returned to Brand, she crammed the cloth into his mouth so far back that it choked him. The vivid scent of Dagny‟s blood filled his head. He tasted Dagny‟s anger almost as if it were his own. His barriers wavered, then crashed around him. The fabric stuffed into his mouth mostly stifled his groan. He sagged back against the post. Ingrid selected a spiked strap of leather from the pile and moved back toward him. She circled the strap, with the sharp tines facing inward, low on his belly. The insidious thing cut into him as she tightened it. The pain, so like the cut of dozens of teeth, drove the beast to the edge of fury. The rage boiled over. He struggled, but that only made the biting sensation worse. She wound the strap about him, up his torso and then around his neck. Each inhalation brought an agony of metal 44

teeth tearing at his skin. He fought so long that it seemed there had never been anything before the sharp teeth that tormented him. Ingrid murmured, “I can feel your pain.” She pulled the strap to increase the bite. When he shuddered with agony, she leaned against him. The thrill she felt at torturing him leeched through his skin and clawed inside of him. The sadistic glee tormented him more than the pain ever could. His empathic nature shrank away from the wrongness of what she did. The whine that filled his ears came from his own throat. Ingrid backed away with a throaty laugh. “You‟re not as strong as you need to be.” Brand looked up into her beautiful, spiteful face. How often she‟d repeated that sentiment. Over time she‟d convinced him he couldn‟t ever lead while he was so weak. She mocked him because he let her abuse him. Still, a part of him felt he deserved the treatment. If he‟d protected her when he had the chance, perhaps she wouldn‟t be so broken. A savage growl filled the air around him. He felt the coiling of Dagny‟s rage before she pounced, knocking her mother to the ground. The remains of the straps that had bound her still clung to her wrists. The two females scuffled, wrestling for control of the knife Ingrid had left on the ground nearby. Brand watched them, powerless to help; he barely had enough strength to keep his head up. Dagny struck her mother in the face with her forearm, then grabbed a handful of golden hair and slammed the back of Ingrid‟s head against the ground. While Ingrid was dazed, Dagny leapt to where the knife had fallen. Outrage carving tension into every muscle, Dagny set the blade under Ingrid‟s jaw. Dagny‟s silver eyes, metallic irises iridescent in the night, flicked up to Brand. Her lips pulled back into a victorious grin, both fierce and joyful. She looked back down at 45

her mother, and said in a rough voice, “Free him of his oath, or I will cut your throat.” She dug the blade into the hollow of Ingrid‟s jaw until it drew blood. Fear marred Ingrid‟s lovely face, and she gasped. Her eyes darted until they came to rest on Brand. She spoke in a rush, as if unsure what her daughter would do if she delayed. “You are released of your oath to me with no impunity to your honor, Brandúlfr Geirson.” *** Brand leaned into the post and tried to summon the calm he needed to form his barriers. He teetered on a dangerous edge. He felt the wolf, frustrated and furious, clawing inside him. The energy of the moon pulsed, tempting him to give in and let the monster rage. He panted with the effort, but accomplished nothing. Dagny came out of Ingrid‟s cabin a few minutes later. Kneeling next to him, she pulled the fabric out of his mouth. “Are you okay?” Brand felt the beast surging forward again, desperate to have her. He swallowed. “You shouldn‟t untie me right now.” “I don‟t believe you‟re going to hurt me.” He snarled. “I‟ll have you on your back before you can blink.” She thought it over for a few seconds, then tilted her head. “I don‟t think so.” She worked the straps loose with care. The cuts ached even more with the pressure released. He tried not to look at her. The wolf was still close and he feared what it might do to her. He concentrated on her emotions since he couldn‟t block them. A quiet sense of ease filled her, and he let that spread through him. When the last of the bindings came loose, he clawed his way over the ground to get away from her. Feeling the constricting of the torc around his throat, he tore it free and tossed it aside. He sat alone with his head down. 46

After several minutes of silence, Dagny spoke. “You aren‟t weak.” His head snapped up. How could he ever explain how truly weak he was? How much he feared losing control and never being able to wrest it back? He simply shook his head. “Your mother is right. I‟m weak.” “You gave your oath to that sadistic bitch to save a female much weaker than you. You sought to protect me, though you don‟t even know me. What about that makes you weak?” He couldn‟t formulate a response that she would understand, so he said nothing. She spoke again after a brief hesitation, “Here, let me help you.” She moved closer and wrapped an arm around him. Her strength was a soothing, calming current that flowed into him. The pain of his wounds ebbed a bit at a time. He lifted his head. Lost in the reflection of the moon in her iridescent eyes, he was unable to find words that approached the gratitude he felt. He swallowed, then lowered his head to her shoulder. “Thank you.” She pulled him against her, the warmth of her body and her presence a profound comfort. “No need to thank me.” Brand sent the Call to Alice to allow her to transform. Within a minute, Alice darted out of the cabin, while pulling his shirt around her. She ran straight for Brand, but came to a skittering halt when she saw Dagny. Brand said, “Dagny, this is Alice.” Dagny inclined her head in greeting. A protective arm wrapped around his chest. That small gesture felt so right, though he should have been embarrassed that she thought he needed her protection. “Alice, can you find my phone? It should be in my jacket, hanging over my bike.” She nodded and turned away. “I must be crushing you,” he said to Dagny after a few seconds. He didn‟t move, though; the calm radiating out of her 47

was too enticing. She shook her head. “You‟re actually keeping me warm.” “I‟m an idiot, you must be freezing.” He sat up and shifted to pull her closer, putting one arm around her back. She tensed and started to slide away from him. “I‟m fine.” He let her sidle away, confused by her sudden skittishness. “I didn‟t mean to frighten you.” She pulled the robe tighter around her and seemed to curl into herself. “I know that.” “Then, what‟s wrong?” A blush crept up her neck, and she hesitated for several seconds before she answered. “You surprised me.” He looked her over again, concentrating on the details. Her knees were drawn up, thighs pressed tight against her belly. He replayed her reactions and realized that when she‟d initiated the contact, she‟d been fine. Life in a brood was about physical contact as much as camaraderie and protection, yet she reacted as if she couldn‟t stand being touched. Alice came back then, glancing between Brand and Dagny as she passed him his phone. Keeping his eyes on Dagny, he speed-dialed Erik. His friend didn‟t pick up. He left a message explaining the barebones of what had happened and asking if Erik could come out to Ingrid‟s to pick up his bike. He couldn‟t ride with his injuries and didn‟t trust what he might do to Ingrid if he had to come back for the bike. He turned to Alice. “Can you find Ingrid‟s keys and bring her car closer? I‟m not up to walking far, but we need to get out of here.” Her mouth curved into a frown as she examined his injuries. “Are you going to be able to stand?” “I‟ll manage.” He caught her hand before she pivoted away. “Thanks.” The frown vanished. “You‟re welcome.” She walked 48

toward the cabin. He turned back to Dagny. She stared into the woods, eyes unfocused. When she noticed his attention, she met his gaze. “Are you going to leave me here?” He barely contained the growl that wanted to leap from his throat. “No, I‟m not leaving you here.” Her shoulders sagged, and a bit of the tension left her. “I appreciate that. What do I owe you for getting me out of here?” He shook his head. “You really must think I‟m a complete asshole.” “Not at all. I just know how our world works.” Fenrir‟s fucking teeth! She had to be from one of the broods where females were sold like chattel. The thought of what might have happened to her there almost unhinged him. He reached out to touch her hand. Her hand twitched away, but then came back to brush against his. At once, he felt better. Calmer. “I don‟t want anything except for you to be safe.” She narrowed her eyes, but nodded.

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Chapter 6 Alice gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles hurt. Brand growled from the backseat of Ingrid‟s car. The deep bass rumble reverberated through her. She could feel the beast straining for control, driven half-mad by the pain of his healing wounds. He‟d been getting worse since entering the car. She hoped they could make it back to his house before he snapped. She feared he couldn‟t last much longer. Next to her, Dagny peered over her shoulder at Brand when he subsided into harsh panting. The grumbling started up again almost at once. If Alice didn‟t think of something soon, he would tear the car apart from the inside out, and both of them as well. She glanced over at Dagny again. The other female was so calm, her hands folded in her lap as if she hadn‟t a care in the world. Proximity to her had to be what settled Brand at the cabin. He‟d latched on to her strength, using it to calm the wolf. Alice pulled the car to the side of the road. “This is probably going to sound crazy, but I think you should get in 51

back with him.” Instead of looking at her as though she were insane, Dagny nodded. She pushed open the door without a word. Brand tensed when she slid in next to him, then backed away from her. “Don‟t. Hurt you.” “You won‟t.” She reached for his arm. When she touched him, he collapsed against her with a barely audible groan. She put her arm around him, resting her cheek against the top of his head. Alice felt the coiled knot of tension behind her relax. She leaned back in the seat and exhaled hard. The strongest of their kind spent their entire lives battling between what the beast desired and what the human would allow. Brand‟s situation was even more difficult because of his empathic abilities. The beast drove him to terrible acts that she feared would someday drive him mad. She pulled back into traffic. Of course, the monster within had its upsides. The only reason she was even functioning now was because Brand had Called her to wolf form. The wolf didn‟t care about the future, or relive the horrors of the past. It lived in the moment and gloried in every breath. She wished, not for the first time, that she was strong enough to transform on her own. Half an hour later, she pulled into Brand‟s underground parking garage. Erik stood near the door that led inside the house. He leaned into the driver‟s window. “Come on out, Brand. We have to talk.” Alice scrambled out of the vehicle and moved away, her hand seeking out the cool roof of one of Brand‟s cars for comfort and support. Erik backed off a few feet while Brand struggled to exit Ingrid‟s car. The process was slow and difficult. Dagny came out next, adjusting the robe wrapped around her. She stayed behind Brand, but within reach. Brand‟s face twisted with pain and rage, and his power charged the air around him. Erik hunkered down against a concrete wall. “The 52

females should come with me.” Every muscle in Brand‟s body tensed until he trembled. “Fuck you.” Alice felt for the moon—only twelve more hours until the peak. If it came down to a fight, Erik didn‟t stand a chance, even with Brand injured. Power increased as the moon filled in direct relation to strength. So near the full moon, Brand was all but unstoppable. “You‟re almost done, and you know it. The anger will only fuel you for so long. When you wake up, you‟re going to be worse than this. You could hurt them.” “Only way you leave with them is if you kill me. Good luck.” Brand bared his teeth in a snarl, impressive canines flashing. “You‟re hurt.” Brand chuckled, low and menacing. “You‟ll hold back. I won‟t. I‟ll tear your throat out before I let you take either of them.” Erik glared, his eyes lightening to white. “Alice is mine. She comes with me.” Brand started to charge forward, but Dagny moved fast, grabbing Brand around the chest and pulling him back against her. “The fuck she is. You don‟t own her,” Brand shouted. Alice looked from Erik to Brand in quick succession. They were about to tear each other to shreds because of her. She wanted to intervene, but she didn‟t think it would help. Erik lowered his head. His mouth drew down into a scowl. “You Called her, you arrogant fuck.” Brand panted, surging into Dagny‟s arms. “Had to. Protect her from Ingrid.” His degrading speech patterns marked how close to the surface the beast was. Erik leaned back, seeming to shrink into the wall. “Are you going to give her back?” “Can‟t now. Up to her. When moon wanes.” Brand turned his head, fixing her with intense blue eyes. A warm feeling in her chest told her that he wanted her 53

to stay, no matter what he said. She wasn‟t going anywhere. Dagny pulled Brand back. She whispered something in Brand‟s ear, and he sagged against her. Tension filled her voice when she called out over his shoulder, “We‟ll be fine. Go. He‟s about to lose it.” Not used to taking orders, Erik bared his teeth at Dagny, but he stepped lively nonetheless. He bolted to his vehicle, climbing inside just in time. Brand roared. The air in the parking garage vibrated with his untempered wrath. His wolf‟s power, combined with his abilities, projected his emotions. Alice fell to her knees, a surge of terror freezing every muscle in her body. She wasn‟t sure how long she cowered there, but a shout from Dagny snapped her back into reality. “Alice, open that door!” Horrified, Alice looked up. Erik was gone, and Brand had broken free of Dagny‟s arms. If he managed to escape the parking garage into the streets of Denver, it would be a disaster. Alice jumped to her feet and ran to the heavy steel door that led into his house. Brand had once explained the biometric locking system to her, but she‟d never used it. She put the wrong hand into the scanner the first time, and the angry beep the machine emitted let her know. She cursed and replaced her left hand with her right. After a delay that seemed too long, the machine chimed, and the door unbolted. She glanced over her shoulder and yelled, “It‟s done.” Brand crouched, fingers of his left hand splayed on the ground; his stare fixed on Dagny, who was working her way around him in a wide arc. In a calm voice, Dagny said, “Get inside. Move slowly and hide in a room with a lock.” Panic surged through her, but she held onto her wits. “What are you going to do?” A grin twitched the corners of Dagny‟s mouth. “I‟m going to turn my back and run.” Alice stammered for several seconds before she could voice her concerns. “You can‟t… he‟ll…” 54

Dagny nodded, her grin widening to show her teeth. “Chase me. That‟s the idea.” She sounded thrilled at the prospect. “Go.” The bite of the command spurred Alice into motion. She stumbled her way to one of the guest bedrooms and pushed the heavy door shut, then threw the bolt. Every door in Brand‟s house had been built to contain him at his worst, so she knew it would hold. Shivering, she collapsed onto the bed. *** Dagny gave Alice a count of ten that she tried not to hurry. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. Sweet Nótt, he was magnificent—muscles coiled, ready to pounce, blue eyes glowing so bright she almost couldn‟t look into them, lips pulled back into a leering grin, showing his dangerous teeth. His eyes made a slow sweep of her body. She pivoted until she faced the door, then turned to look over her shoulder. A nearly inaudible rumble vibrated through her. She dashed through the door. Not knowing the layout inside, she tried to buy herself some time by closing the door partway. Behind her, Brand slammed into the metal and threw it open with a bellow. She only made it to the end of the hallway before he caught her. One hand tangled in her hair and pulled her back into him. The impact drove the air from her lungs. He grabbed her about the waist and held her against him. He leaned down and smelled her, pressing her into the wall of the narrow hallway with his massive body. He trembled, then made a noise in the back of his throat reminiscent of a large cat. His cheek pressed into her neck and slid up until his lips were at her ear. His voice was a rasping whisper. “I‟m not exactly certain how you got in this position, but I like it.” Apparently, he‟d somehow won the battle with the beast once again. Not sure if she was more relieved or 55

disappointed, she struggled to calm herself. He turned her around fast, pushing her back. His thigh came up between her legs and pinned her against the wall. “I trust Erik got away safely?” She nodded because she couldn‟t form words to answer. “And here you are almost naked in my living room… at my mercy.” His voice was ominously low. The feeling of his chest against her torso drove her to distraction. She couldn‟t even manage to nod. “Dagny, I don‟t have much in the way of mercy.” He chuckled in response to the tensing of her muscles and eased his leg away from her. His hands traveled down, opening her robe as they went. Wherever he touched, her skin heated to an almost uncomfortable level. He stroked his fingers over her breasts before continuing down her belly. When his hands reached the level of her hips, he suddenly backed away. Terror made her gut clench, as she knew without a doubt what he felt. The shame overwhelmed her. He lowered his head. She glanced down, dreading what she would see and knowing that he would tell her to leave. If she saw pity in his strong face, she thought she might die. With his head tilted down, she couldn‟t see his expression, only the top of his dark head. His fingers caressed the edges of the burns that marked her from one hip to the other below her navel. “Who in the fuck burned you with runic warnings?” He looked up, his face carved with fury. She sagged with relief and almost fell, but he managed to catch her and ease her to the ground. “Dagny, answer me, who did that to you?” Rage shook his voice. If he didn‟t want her anymore, that was all right, but she couldn‟t take the pity, not from him. Her hands trembled as she tried to close the robe again. “It‟s not important. It was a long 56

time ago.” He gripped her chin hard, forcing her to look at him. His blue eyes bored into hers. “Unless the pig is already dead, I want to know who did that to you.” “I really don‟t want to talk about that right now.” She tried to look away, but he held her face toward him. He pushed forward. The anger radiating from him was so intense she couldn‟t breathe. “Let me make this absolutely clear. I‟m going to kill whoever did that to you.” His voice took on a dangerous purr. The lines of his face were stark, taut with barely controlled wrath. She swallowed twice before she could speak. “Why would you do that?” An expression of shock crossed his face, followed soon after by the small curve of a smile touching his lips. “Anyone who hurts you has me to contend with.” His hand slid down, pulling her robe open when he reached the marks across her lower belly. She didn‟t try to stop him, but her stomach muscles clenched. Repressed memories came back in a rush. The terror and pain flooded her. She felt the ropes that tied her down, heard the screams torn from her throat as the heated iron seared her skin over and over again. Blinking several times, she swallowed past the rising fear. Brand backed away, eyes closing slightly. “So much agony.” She should have been insulted that he read her without permission, but the roughness of his voice spoke of outrage as much as compassion. The light touch of his hand on her skin soothed her. He brushed his fingers across her belly until he reached the left-most mark, and then traced the raised scar from bottom to top with one slow stroke. He proceeded to the next rune and gave it the same treatment. The sensation was strangely erotic. She found herself struggling not to squirm to meet his touch. The marks were 57

shameful, yet he treated them with a bizarre reverence. The fourth rune was directly under her navel. After he traced that one, he kept moving up until his finger circled her belly button. He reached the end of the row in the same manner. He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, a serious expression on his face. His fingers moved over the skin of her belly with a light, idle touch. “Dagny,” he spoke slowly, each syllable flowing to the next. “May I bite you?” Lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes as a slow smile spread over his face. A tremor coursed through her and, before she could consider the wisdom of the action, she nodded. *** Brand couldn‟t believe the beast wasn‟t struggling for control. A nearly naked female rested in his arms, and what he wanted most was to protect her. The desperate need to taste her was almost as powerful and had his mouth watering. He had no idea why he‟d asked, aside from that it felt like the right thing to do, and she‟d shocked him by agreeing. His throat tightened as her head fell back to bare her throat. Such an effortless movement, and yet the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He watched her for several seconds, enjoying the soft expression on her face. He pressed his lips where her pulse beat strongest, feeling the blood flow under her skin. She shivered. He whispered against her throat, “I appreciate the offer, but not here.” To gain her trust, he needed to prove to her that the marks on her torso didn‟t disgust him. Shifting her in his arms, he laid her on the plush rug closer to the center of the room. When he pulled the edge of her robe open to expose her right hip further, she tensed. He traced the rune furthest to the right with a delicate touch. The harsh angular scar looked out of place burned into her smooth skin. Leaving a mark that scarred brood flesh was no simple matter; it took persistence and a great deal of time. He trailed his fingers over her skin to the curve of her right hip, and the 58

hesitation in her melted away. He moved slowly until his lips brushed the soft skin of her hip. She smelled like a pine forest under new-fallen snow, fresh and fragrant. He paused to drag his tongue over the spot he intended to bite. She gasped the instant before his teeth touched her. His canines sinking into her succulent skin was thrilling beyond anything he could remember. The flood of blood over his tongue made him moan. A sense of peace spread through his ravaged body as her power flowed into him. He drew more into his mouth, the taste of her cascading down his throat. Her hand reached down to the back of his head and tangled in his hair. He reveled in the feel of her as she trembled beneath him. Originally intending to only to take a taste, he soon found he didn‟t want to let go. The urge to mark her nearly overwhelmed him. He tightened his bite a fraction. She groaned, her fingers twisting in his hair. His lips tingled. With a start, he withdrew his teeth before the mark took hold. A long, shuddering sigh escaped her. He swiped his tongue over the wounds to stem the bleeding. She shifted under him. He looked up into her flushed face. His position gave him a lovely view of her breasts heaving with each breath. The taste of her lingered on his lips. Her blood rushed through him, making his entire body ache. He realized, to his shock, that he wanted more from her than a moment between two strangers on his floor. His hand slid over her belly to touch the scars marring her perfect skin. It offended him that someone had hurt her and still lived. “Tell me who did this to you.” She opened her eyes to watch his fingers play over the scars. When she hesitated, he thought she still wouldn‟t name him. Then she spoke. “Ansvarr.” Of all the names he thought might cross her lips, the name of his half-brother was not among them. He tried to hide 59

his surprise, unsure if he succeeded. “You were in Vancouver?” She withdrew her hand from his hair. Her jaw set, hardening her features in an instant. He wondered if he should reveal his relation to Ansvarr, but he didn‟t want her to be upset, so he decided to wait. He tried to get to his feet, but dizziness overtook him. With her blood strengthening him, he had all but forgotten how bad his injuries were. With less than a dozen hours to the peak, and thirty-six before he could sleep naturally, he wasn‟t going to make it. Dagny gasped when he almost fell and hurried to her feet. “Let me help you into bed.” Brand couldn‟t help smiling as he took her offered hand. “With an offer like that, how can I refuse?”

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Chapter 7 Dagny stared down at Brand while she dried her hair. He lay sprawled on his bed with the covers drawn up to his waist. He‟d barely made it into bed before collapsing. She‟d jumped into the shower in the adjoining bathroom after making sure he was comfortable. Now that he was unconscious, she had time to consider the whirlwind of what had happened. Her rational mind offered that the slow burn under her skin had to do more with the coming full moon than the male in front of her, but she wasn‟t so sure. Her wolf normally fought against any act of surrender, but not where he was concerned. She had bared her throat to him without a second thought, and the wolf hadn‟t objected. It put her in a vulnerable position she found more than a little alarming. Dagny flipped through Brand‟s closet until she found a shirt she liked. She paused while rolling up the sleeves of the gray flannel, noticing that it smelled like him. She buried her nose in the collar and let the scent surround her. She couldn‟t put a name to it, something herbaceous and woody at the same time that made her want to lay down and rub up against him. 61

The moon would force him back to consciousness sooner than his wounds could finish healing. He‟d wake confused, in pain, and worst of all, unpredictable. She contemplated tying him, at least to slow him down, but after what her mother had done to him, she couldn‟t bring herself to bind him. Besides, she didn‟t believe he was a danger to her or Alice, only to himself. She descended the stairs from his loft bedroom and walked barefoot through the house. The decor was masculine, but tasteful—rich with dark colors and expensive fabrics. She followed her nose to the room that Alice hid in and knocked. “Alice, it‟s Dagny.” The door opened after a scurry of light feet over the floor behind it. Huge blue eyes dominated a face that was frightened, almost desperate. “Is Brand okay?” Dagny noticed that Alice wore fresh clothes. The female had clothes at Brand‟s house. She swallowed a curse, furious with herself because she had absolutely no reason to feel jealous… but she did. “I think so. He passed out. We‟ll have to see what he‟s like when he wakes up.” Alice nodded in response. She stared at the floor next to Dagny‟s feet. Her bottom lip sucked in, as if she wanted to speak, but couldn‟t. The bruising around her face and neck had faded most of the way, leaving only slight discolorations. Overall, she looked so pathetic that Dagny felt bad for being irritated with her. She tried to make her voice sound calm and friendly. “Come on. Let‟s go find something to eat. You must be starving.” When Alice didn‟t move, Dagny turned and headed to where she thought the kitchen should be. The hesitation lasted a few seconds, and then soft footsteps followed behind her. At the end of the hallway, she passed into a dining area. Furnished with a sturdy wooden table and chairs, the room connected to the kitchen through a large open archway. The counters and appliances within were impeccably clean. Dagny opened the fridge and laughed when she saw the 62

meager contents. Brand‟s food stocks could be counted on one hand—jugs of water, two apples, horseradish, and three bottles of hot sauce. Alice walked around her, leaving a wide space between them, and peeked inside. “Yeah, he‟s not much for cooking.” “Mostly take-out?” Alice nodded. “But, I don‟t think—” “Yeah, it‟s a bad idea. If he wakes up and smells someone else, even a human, it‟s going to be rough.” Her perusal through his cabinets didn‟t turn up much else, though she did manage to find bread, peanut butter, and some coffee. Deciding that peanut butter sandwiches were preferable to the gurgling of her stomach, she set about the preparation. Dagny poured two mugs of coffee, then slid them and the plate of sandwiches to the middle of the table. She seated herself opposite the chair Alice had taken. “Help yourself. Hope you don‟t take cream because I didn‟t find any.” Alice pulled one of the mugs toward her. “Black is fine. Thank you.” Her lips twitched into a tremulous smile. Dagny wondered how such a delicate flower could have survived in their world. The Broods of Fenrir were ruthless; Alice should‟ve been crushed. She studied the bruising and the scars that trailed down Alice‟s neck. Perhaps she‟d been crushed after all and was more resilient than she seemed. A few bites into her sandwich, Dagny tried to start up a conversation. “How long have you known Brand?” Alice looked up at her, then dropped her fearful eyes back to the table. “Ninety-eight years.” “The male that brought you to the cabin. Did he have something to do with how you and Brand met?” She had an inkling of the answer from something her mother had said while waiting for Brand to arrive. Alice swallowed, several times. “Brand lived with the brood I was born into for a while. Slavery is still allowed under Björnkarl‟s rule. Weaker offspring are often sold by their sires.” 63

Her hand lifted up to her mouth before she noticed and brought it back to the top of the table. “Arn owned me.” Her eyes closed, as if trying to shut out a horrendous memory. Dagny had been in the bedroom of the cabin at the time, so she hadn‟t seen Arn, but he‟d sounded cruel. “That must have been terrible for you.” “It was.” Alice inhaled a shaky breath and sighed. “Brand took me away from there. He brought me here and got Erik to take me into his brood. I‟m so weak that most broods wouldn‟t take me unless I was mated to someone very strong.” Dagny choked on her coffee. It took her a few coughs before she could force words out. “You and Brand are mated?” Alice‟s face dropped into an expression of shock. “Oh, no. I just meant that Erik‟s unusual because he let me in when others wouldn‟t, that‟s all.” When her heart had stopped its frantic flailing, Dagny said, “Well, I wasn‟t sure. You have clothes here, and it‟s obvious that you two are close.” Alice lowered her eyes and made a murmuring noise of agreement. “His wolf gets out of control on occasion, and sometimes I can calm him down. I stay here to help him if he goes through a bad patch. There‟s never been anything but friendship between us.” “I can‟t believe that.” The words escaped before she realized how rude it was to imply Alice was lying. Alice‟s gaze came up, guileless and confused. “Why not?” “He‟s so powerful. If you‟re here when he‟s really on edge… I mean, how could something not happen?” Dagny was much closer to his level of power, yet even she could barely form a thought when he had sex on his mind. He could overwhelm someone of Alice‟s low strength without any effort at all. Alice folded and unfolded her hands a few times. “He doesn‟t affect me the way he does most females.” After a beat of hesitation, Alice continued, “What I mean is… I‟m not 64

right.” She took a sip of her coffee from a shaking mug. “I have no idea why I‟m telling you this. He doesn‟t even know.” She reached across the table and covered one of Alice‟s hands with hers. “Don‟t worry, I won‟t tell him.” “Thank you. It means a lot to me. I owe him so much, and his life is difficult. I only want to help him.” She glanced up and offered Dagny a hesitant smile. They sat in silence for a few awkward moments, sipping coffee. After a while they resumed chatting, carefully avoiding the subject of Brand. Dagny looked up when Brand strolled into the kitchen nearly two hours later, shocked that he was up so soon. A smile curved his lips when he met her eyes. He wore only a pair of blue boxer briefs low on his hips, exposing the miles of taut muscle that made up his stomach and chest. Not a trace of injury remained on him. He stopped next to Dagny and swept her hair back from her shoulder. “I‟m glad you‟re still here.” She turned her face up to him. His fingers moved to trace the side of her throat and jaw. The thrill that coursed through her body at his touch made the muscles of her belly twitch. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin. It took her a few heartbeats to form a thought coherent enough to speak. “How are you so calm?” “You mean, why am I not thrashing myself against a wall? Your blood, I think.” He smiled down at her before continuing across the kitchen. After pouring a mug of coffee, he boosted himself onto the counter. He watched her over the rim while he took a sip. As his eyes traveled over her, her cheeks heated. He said, “I like that shirt on you.” Alice‟s soft voice came from across the table, her tone worried. “It‟s only been two hours. You were hurt so badly.” Brand nodded to Alice and swallowed another gulp of coffee. “I‟m one hundred percent, thanks to Dagny.” 65

The surge of pride Dagny felt was irrational, but undeniable. Brand‟s eyes slid over to her, his expression amused. The fact that she relaxed so much when he looked at her got on her nerves. The corners of his mouth lifted into a knowing smile. She grumbled, “Stop reading me.” “I can‟t. I can usually shut it down, but I haven‟t been able to since last night. Not where you‟re concerned.” A tremor of concern raced through her; she had no idea how much he could actually feel from her. She closed her mouth as soon as she realized it was hanging open. He chuckled. “Come here.” Dagny didn‟t move, but her hands clenched into fists as she fought the urge to go to him. He made a noise in his throat. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more controlled. “As hot as that makes me, can we save the foreplay for later? This is important.” After a hesitation long enough to prove she was the one making the choice, she stood and crossed to him. He cleared his throat before he began. “I want to take you out of his brood.” The flare of his power was dangerously hot, but quickly smothered. “The idea that you‟re still linked to him after what he did to you is more than I can take.” She hesitated, uncertain that her instinct to agree could be trusted. Though she didn‟t want to be in Ansvarr‟s brood any longer, joining Brand posed its own set of difficulties. She was used to being stronger than most males and she could use that strength to protect herself somewhat from males that wanted to harm her. Brand, much more powerful than her, had no such restrictions. She studied Brand. He hadn‟t done anything to hurt her, and he had protected Alice for a hundred years. “You could do it without asking, couldn‟t you?” His blue gaze didn‟t waver from hers. “I could take you from him without your consent, yes.” He let out an explosive breath. “I don‟t want to do that to you, though.” 66

Her throat tightened, and she swallowed to alleviate it. “Tell me why.” His face softened, his lips curling into a smile. “I want you to come to me willingly, Dagny. Is that what you need to hear?” She fought against the urge to run into his arms. She felt like an idiot, standing there and not saying anything, but if she opened her mouth, she was going to fall apart. Instead, she nodded. He leaned toward her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his arms. Holding her against his body, he pressed his nose to her hair and inhaled slowly. Her face rested against his bare shoulder. He looked behind her toward where Alice sat. Dagny couldn‟t tell what passed between them but, after a moment, she heard the other female withdraw from the room with nearsilent footsteps. He returned his attention to her and showed his teeth in a feral grin. “Need a little blood.” Setting his thumb under her chin, he tipped back her head. The action of baring her throat to him was enough to weaken her knees. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up to his mouth. He broke the skin at the side of her neck with a quick nip, teeth so sharp she barely felt the nick. The hot moisture of his caressing tongue made her melt in his arms. His lips murmured against her skin in a whisper she couldn‟t comprehend but somehow understood. She felt his Call like a bass note thrumming from deep inside her. Her wolf rushed up to meet him, and she knew that even if he hadn‟t asked first, she would have gone to him. She could no more stop her wolf from joining him than she could hold back a wave on the ocean. The full force of his power roared around her in a torrent. He lifted his head in a motion that seemed too slow. His voice reverberated off the walls. “Your blood is my blood. To the last drop, you are mine.” The links with Ansvarr‟s brood, stretched thin by 67

distance, ripped free. A claustrophobic, mind-numbing sense of possession gripped her, lasted an instant, then eased. She gasped, held against Brand‟s chest in a tight grip. Dagny thought she was shaking, but after a few seconds, she realized it was Brand. She craned her head back to look up at him. She swallowed to clear her throat before she spoke. “What was that?” His lips twitched. Under closed lids, his eyes moved back and forth for several seconds. “Hold on.” The words threw open a door inside her head. Impressions from Brand flowed into her in quick succession, like a slideshow. So many strong emotions one after another, she couldn‟t keep track of them all. She fell against his chest, her mind whirling. The emotions faded, and then the links between them settled into something more normal. She could feel his presence, but little else. He touched her cheek. “Are you okay? Your wolf made that a little difficult.” She turned her face to him and nodded. “What happened?” He smiled. “Don‟t worry about it.” Her irritation spiked, then eased when warmth radiated into her. “Why does it feel so different?” He tilted his head to the side. “I‟m stronger than you. You‟ve probably only been in a brood with a leader weaker than you.” When she nodded, he said, “They would have tied you off, so you couldn‟t wrest control from them. It put you outside the brood, so you never would have known the full linkage.” “I didn‟t know any of that.” “None of the earls want it advertised that a stronger member could take control. That‟s why a stronger male is almost never brought into a brood.” “I see.” “That‟s not the only reason it feels strange.” 68

Something about his tone set her on edge. “What else?” He hesitated, as if trying to find the right words. Panic seized her. Far too many links connected them, and the web of energy seemed to glow. She struggled against them, tugging with her will, but they didn‟t move at all. Brand leaned back, his face impassive. “Why are you so upset?” “I didn‟t want this.” He grew more distant by the second, his expression darkening. “What exactly do you think this is?” She wanted to reach out to him, but she suppressed the weak part of her that craved his attention. “I think this is a bond that will allow you to Compel me.” He pulled farther away from her, a frown creasing his forehead. “You really believe I would do that to you?” Memories of Ansvarr‟s attempts to Compel her crept up from within. Resistance was difficult and caused tendrils of pain to radiate through her skull, but he‟d never managed to overcome her wolf. He wasn‟t strong enough. She curled her fists and shut the memories out. What she believed was that brood males were untrustworthy. “I don‟t know.” He reached to touch her face, but she withdrew from him. In a soft voice he said, “You are very powerful and strong-willed, but neither can stop me. What stops me is that I don‟t want to Compel you.” He dropped his hand and rubbed it against his thigh. She examined his face and was struck by the tightness of his mouth and how it contrasted with the gentleness of his eyes. Her instincts screamed for her to believe him, but trusting him that much terrified her. “So what did you do?” Some of the tension in his muscles eased and the corners of his mouth lifted into a brief smile. “This is a bond that hasn‟t been used in a long time. Two can share the leadership of a brood as partners. You stand on equal footing with me.” 69

The shock of what he‟d done left her dumbstruck. Females weren‟t allowed to be leaders, and she couldn‟t understand why he‟d share his brood with her.

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Chapter 8 Brand wanted Dagny—not in the shallow way he‟d wanted other females, but in a desperate, possessive way he‟d never before experienced. In truth, he‟d thought himself incapable of that kind of attachment. The emotional depth scared him as much as it thrilled him. Her emotions tumbled in a confusing tangle that enraged the wolf within him. He struggled for control, but the fear she emitted threatened to undo him. Every protective instinct he had screamed that she was in trouble, and all he wanted to do was rip apart whatever was scaring her. Unfortunately, at the moment, he was the one frightening her. “Dagny,” he said, his voice rougher than he‟d meant it to be. “Tell me what‟s wrong.” Her eyes focused on his face, gray irises searching. The color shifted toward iridescent silver as her wolf fought for the surface. When she didn‟t answer, his rage soared even higher. He grabbed her arm, and she started as if he‟d hit her. He moved her out of the way gently, jumped down from the counter, and stalked toward the door. “Don‟t go.” Her voice stopped him mid-stride. 71

He didn‟t trust himself to turn around. “I can‟t be in the room with you right now. You‟re terrified, and it‟s making me crazy.” “Just tell me why you‟re doing this.” He couldn‟t blame her for not trusting him. She‟d been given reason to doubt males all her life. “You protected me when you didn‟t have to.” “I don‟t want your gratitude.” Anger roughened her voice. “Good, because I‟m not offering you that.” He looked over his shoulder. She stood with poise, courage evident in the lines of her body, though he felt the fear and uncertainty inside her. So much about her confused him, but he knew he couldn‟t let her go. “I want you. It‟s as simple as that.” “You‟ve barely touched me.” The revelation hit him like a fist to the gut. She really believed he didn‟t want her. He lifted his hand to rub his jaw. “Let me clarify. I want you to be mine.” She blinked several times. After a long delay she said, “I can‟t.” Her voice was soft. “Does someone else have you?” His lips pulled back from his teeth. “I‟ll eat him alive.” Her mouth dropped open. The attraction coming from her was so overwhelming that he had to shake his head to clear it. So close to her with the moon peaking, her longing tumbled over him. She barreled forward until she hit his chest hard enough to make him grunt. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him until she relaxed a bit. He pulled away so he could look down into her face. “Dagny, tell me what‟s wrong.” Two spots of pink appeared high on her cheeks. He wanted to kiss those spots and feel the warmth of the surging blood beneath. Suddenly, she looked on the verge of crying. She hesitated, mouth compressing to a thin line as she tried to restrain her emotions. 72

After waiting for almost a minute, he said, “Tell me what this is about.” Her lips trembling, she stared up at him. “I can‟t give you what you want. It‟s not in me.” The list of things he wanted to beat Ansvarr for grew. Number one on that list was whatever he‟d done to give her the mind-fuck that caused her to doubt herself. Brand raised his hand and held her chin. “All I need right now is for you not to leave.” “I…” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed. “I can agree to that.” “Good.” He smiled and felt better when she smiled back. The phone rang, and he bit back a curse. The last thing he wanted was to let her go. He hugged her tighter before he loosened his hold. “Just a second.” He felt her eyes on him as he walked into the kitchen. Leaning against the archway, he picked up the phone on the other side of the wall. Aside from Alice, only one other had his home number. “Yes, Erik?” “What are you doing up so soon?” “Quick healer. I assume you want to talk to Alice to make sure I haven‟t eaten her?” “That would be nice.” “I don‟t suppose you‟ll take my word for it?” “No.” He felt Alice creeping up behind him. She must have made the same assumption about who had called. He held out the receiver. “Your earl would like to know you‟re still alive.” She took the phone. “Hello, Erik.” She paused. “I‟m fine. You don‟t have to come get me.” With a small smile, she handed the phone back to him. “Stay here, I‟ll be done soon.” Then, into the phone, Brand said, “You need something else from me?” Erik hesitated for a few seconds. Brand thought he 73

heard his friend‟s teeth grinding. “When are you releasing your hold on Alice?” Brand flicked a glance at Alice. “Never said I was going to. She and I haven‟t discussed it yet.” He ignored the growl coming through the line. “Oh, if Ansvarr calls, you can give him my cell number.” “Why would your brother be calling me?” “I appropriated one of his females.” “What the fuck, Brand?” “Not going into it right now. If he wants to know why, tell him he can take it up with me.” Brand hung up before Erik could nag him about the consequences of what he‟d done. He knew taking Dagny into his brood was a risk; he didn‟t need to be reminded. He turned, putting his back against the doorjamb and narrowed his eyes at Alice. “So, what‟s your decision?” Alice‟s gaze slid over to where Dagny sat. Brand avoided looking that way. A riot of prickly emotions came from Dagny, and he was enjoying the idea that she might be jealous. Alice cleared her throat. “You said it was my choice if I wanted to go back to Erik‟s brood.” Brand nodded. “You don‟t want to go back, do you?” “I want to stay with you.” That brought Dagny to her feet. Alice turned her head, but no hint of fear emanated from her as she looked at Dagny. He ignored the outburst. “Why?” Alice faced Brand again. “I can help you more this way.” He shook his head. “That‟s a shit reason. I‟ve told you before, I don‟t need help.” Alice closed her eyes and squeezed her small hands into fists. “You do need help.” Her eyes popped open, and he was shocked to see they were lighter, almost pearly white. “All right, I agree to let you stay, but only because I‟ve never seen your wolf fight to surface before. I must be a good influence on you.” 74

Her laugh was cheerful and bright. Brand couldn‟t remember when he‟d last heard her laugh. The connection between them helped her, and that made his decision a simple one. He reached for Alice‟s arm, his fingers enormous around her slight wrist. Dagny took two steps toward them but stopped when Brand fixed her with a stare. He waited for her to object, but she didn‟t say anything. Brand pulled Alice closer, lifting her arm to his mouth. Alice turned her head away. He made a shallow bite halfway between her elbow and wrist. Shifting his eyes toward Dagny, he extricated his teeth from the wound. He swallowed a mouthful of blood, then licked the wound closed. Alice tasted like she smelled, of spring flowers. With his power and Alice‟s blood, he forged a new link between them, twisting it around the old thread in a complex pattern. He wove Alice and Dagny‟s link in a similar way; he refused to consider that Dagny would leave his brood. Her strength would put her in danger anywhere else. Even if she wouldn‟t be with him as he wanted, their connection wasn‟t going anywhere so long as he lived. He unfurled his power and drew some of Alice‟s energy into the collective of his brood. She gasped as he ripped her away from Erik‟s brood, the dozens of connections she shared with those wolves torn free in an instant of violence. He lifted his head and looked into Alice‟s eyes. “Your blood is my blood. To the last drop, you are mine.” Her head tipped back, and she fainted. Brand moved forward to catch her before she fell. He lowered her into a nearby chair, keeping one hand on her back until he was sure she wouldn‟t fall out of it. “That was different than it was for me,” Dagny said. Brand turned to her. “You‟re orders of magnitude stronger. Your wolf fights to get what it wants.” “Didn‟t feel like much of a fight to me. I couldn‟t stop the wolf from going to you.” 75

He smiled. “I never said it fought to escape.” The woman might be unsure what she wanted, but her wolf held no doubts. The wolf‟s insistence had been the reason he changed the bond at the last second to bring her in as a partner. Her forehead creased, but she didn‟t speak. Brand returned to the phone and dialed Erik‟s number, but his friend didn‟t pick up. He assumed Erik was either raging around his living room or on his way over. He hoped for the former. If Erik showed up, he would probably end up dead. Brand left a message emphasizing that the choice to stay in his brood had been Alice‟s. Next, he called his office and spoke to his assistant, explaining he‟d be out of town for a few days on a family matter. Cameron took the change in stride, promising to reschedule his appointments and redirect emergency calls to his operations manager. After he hung up, he went back to check on Alice. For one as weak as she, every transition was painful. The small bit of power he took from her to bring her into his brood was a significant portion of her total. Her eyes were glassy as she looked up at him, but through the bond, he could tell she felt happy. He touched her cheek with the pads of his fingers and sent her some of the strength of the brood to speed her recovery. She showed him a tired smile. Dagny moved closer. “You really do care for her.” Brand nodded. “She‟s been my closest friend for a hundred years.” Despite being glad to have both of them in his brood, guilt nagged at him. He wasn‟t sure he‟d done either of them a favor. The day he‟d killed his sire and forsaken the crown that had passed to him, he‟d sealed his fate. Anyone who wanted the power he spurned had to kill him to take it. That put any in his brood in danger, so he‟d sworn to bond no one to him. Dagny nodded, her throat convulsing as she swallowed. “Thank you, Brand.” It was the first time she‟d used his name, and it stunned 76

him how much he wanted to hear it again. “What for?” “For taking me out of his brood. He wouldn‟t let me leave. I‟ve been trapped there since my sire sent me to him.” Her revulsion, prompted by remembering her time with Ansvarr, turned his stomach. He would derive so much pleasure from tearing Ansvarr apart. “You were part of a treaty agreement, weren‟t you?” Surprise registered on her face, but shame was the emotion he felt from her. Her eyes remained fixed on the floor when she finally responded. “I was to be Ansvarr‟s mate to seal the peace between the Canadian broods, but he found me lacking.” Brand‟s anger rose again. Gods, but Ansvarr was an idiotic fool. And if her sire weren‟t already dead, he‟d be on the list for gutting alongside Ansvarr. “There‟s nothing lacking in you, Dagny.” Her eyes came up to search his face, the small frown she wore a clear indication that she didn‟t believe him. He took a step toward her, the urge to comfort her all but undeniable. “Your sire was foolish.” It surprised him that, considering what Ingrid had been through in her life, she hadn‟t advocated on behalf of her daughter. “Why didn‟t your mother intervene?” Dagny shrugged, and her expression became even more miserable. “She never wanted much to do with me. I grew up in my father‟s brood and she never sought me out until a month ago.” Brand looked Alice over once more to make sure she was all right, then with a nod toward Dagny, he walked down the hall and into the living room. He settled into one of the leather chairs and leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees. “Have you heard what happened between my sire and your mother?” Dagny eased onto the sofa across from him and shook her head. “Before her, there‟d never been a female born that was 77

her equal. She was passed to ten different earls before she ended up in my sire‟s brood.” She frowned. “I can‟t imagine what that must have been like for her.” “I was young when she came to Geir‟s brood. He was a brutal bastard, like most of his generation. He considered it a matter of male pride to best her, because she had a reputation of fighting any who tried to take her… and winning.” He leaned back into the chair and rubbed his knee. “At his hands, she endured the cruelest assaults I‟ve ever witnessed. He battered her into submission when he couldn‟t overpower her wolf.” Despite the urge to look away, he kept his eyes locked on Dagny‟s face. “That‟s why I could never end her, even after everything she‟s done to me. She‟s the way she is now because of what my sire did to her.” Dagny fidgeted, but didn‟t speak. He looked down at his hands. “Eventually, she got the upper hand on him somehow. I think she used his paranoia against him. She convinced him to send me away with her.” Closing his eyes, he recalled their time together. Every full moon, she had tied him and beat him until he snapped. The vivid memories lasted much too long for his comfort. Brand sighed and forced himself to open his eyes. “He went on a rampage not long after and killed every male in the brood near his level of power.” She stared at him for a long while, her hands folded in her lap. “So, as much as you hate her, you owe her your life.” She had quite the knack for exposing his softest parts without mercy. “Yes,” he hissed between his teeth. She shifted in her seat. “Why are you telling me this?” “You‟ve been bullied into believing that you‟re inadequate, and it‟s not true. Ansvarr beat you and bullied you because he couldn‟t defeat you, like Geir did to your mother.” She pulled her legs up underneath her. The silence lasted a long while before she spoke again. When she did, her eyes were on the floor. “Do you know what the marks on my 78

stomach mean?” He narrowed his eyes, unsure what that had to do with their conversation. “A warning of witchcraft.” He shrugged. Her hands clasped in her lap, and her voice cracked when she spoke. “Ansvarr said that I bespelled him to make him impotent. My wolf wouldn‟t accept him. He couldn‟t make it submit. Before he set me aside, he had me marked so that no one else would touch me.” Desperate to comfort her, Brand moved to her side. He lifted her face to him and covered her slightly parted lips with his. Her mouth tasted like snowflakes. He drew away, afraid that if the kiss lasted longer, he wouldn‟t be able to stop. “Dagny, look at me.” Her eyelids fluttered open, her beautiful eyes ensnaring him. “I‟m going to make him sorry he ever touched you.” He hadn‟t seen his half-brother since before Brand had killed their sire, but he looked forward to the reunion. Her lower lip trembled. “I believe you.” He pulled her toward him and hugged her against his chest. “No one will hurt you like that again.” He‟d make sure no one would dare.

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Chapter 9 Stretching the muscles of his back to ease the tension building in his shoulders, Brand climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He needed to unwind before the moon peaked, or he‟d probably start tearing at the walls. If he had his way, Dagny would never know how much he had risked in taking her from his brother‟s brood. Ansvarr might not be as powerful as Brand, but he was well respected. As far as the members of their breed were concerned, Brand was at best an eccentric to be tolerated and, at worst, a rebel that should be routed. Sliding into bed, he listened to Dagny and Alice talking downstairs. The sounds of their voices floating over the loft railing soothed him. He sighed and began a relaxation exercise. Picturing a rocky stream through a dense pine forest, he conjured the smells that belonged there: mud, moss, sap, grass. Next, he imagined the sounds—water burbling over rocks, wind rustling the branches, birds calling. Instead of the mattress below him, he felt dirt under his paws and wind ruffling his fur. His conscious mind floated free, and the wolf passed into a dream state. 81

He ran over the loose rocks at the foot of a steep climb further into the mountains. His four feet were steady over the uneven terrain, though he jogged at a quick pace. An elk had used the path not long before. Inhaling, he filled his nose with the scent of his prey. Flesh, musk, and fur combined to form an image—a big bull, not far ahead. Prey as experienced as the one he followed wouldn‟t give in easily; it would fight. Most wolves would use pack tactics to bring down such a large foe, but he didn‟t have a brood to help him. The battle would be life-threatening and exhilarating. Stalking the elk over miles of rugged ground, he closed the distance between them. Finally, he heard the sound of its passage and the snuffle of its breath. He turned a corner around an outcrop of rock and saw the prey in front of him, pawing through the snow to reach the roughage below. The elk‟s winter coat grew in thick, dark patches around its head. The rack of dangerous antlers stretched four feet from tip to tip. Crouching close to the ground, he took cover in a patch of scrub. His dark coloring made him easy to see on bare, late fall hillsides. With the infinite patience of one who had hunted for centuries, he would wait until an opportunity presented itself. The low call of another wolf came from beyond the elk, and its head came up with a snort. The elk‟s tufted ears flickered back and forth, then the huge animal bolted back in his direction. The confusion lasted only an instant before he recognized the other wolf. She had joined him in the hunt. Her presence felt so right that he had no question she belonged with him. He heard her quick steps driving the elk toward him. He dashed from cover and took two bounding leaps before launching himself at the elk‟s neck. His sharp teeth punctured the thick hide over the large blood vessel that fed the brain. He clamped his teeth together in a firm bite. Rich 82

blood splashed over his tongue with a burst of intense flavor. The power of the elk surged through him. The wound was mortal. The elk stumbled, and then tossed its head before continuing forward at a run. The elk‟s muscles lurched, dragging him along with the huge strides over the rocky ground. Blood poured from the wound and into his mouth, propelled by the animal‟s tremendous heart. His she-wolf nipped at the elk‟s heels, driving it ever onward toward death. The bellowing breath came faster as the chase wore on. Spittle dripped from the nose of the large mammal. The prey slowed, and his she-wolf grabbed the left rear leg in her teeth. Determination radiated from her. The heavy animal lurched forward, but recovered, dragging both wolves. By its stuttering inhale, the elk knew it was done, but continued to fight. After another few bounds, the elk began to fall. At the last instant, Brand leapt clear of the heavy weight that would crush him. The ground shook when the elk came to its final rest on the cold earth. Jumping forward, not willing to let such a magnificent animal suffer a second longer than necessary, he fastened his jaws around the windpipe of the elk and applied pressure. He used his power to soothe the elk as the last bit of life drained from the hulking body. His she-wolf came to stand beside him, her dusky gray fur brushing his. He released his hold on the elk and turned his muzzle toward her. Her silver eyes glowed in the darkening twilight. He licked at the rich blood of the elk painting her snout. She pressed closer to his side, her body warm against his. He needed no other. Brand came out of his wolf‟s dream confused by the conflicting sensory input. Dagny nestled against his side in the bed, as she had in the dream. Her hand rested on his chest. The scent of her filled his room. Her breath tickled his skin. She shifted sluggishly, her hand gliding over his stomach. His skin heated where she touched him. Her face 83

nuzzled against his shoulder until he moved his arm around her and tucked her against him. She made a sleepy murmur into his chest, and he smiled. His wolf had never invited another into his dream. Beasts as strong as his seldom did. It had developed an attachment to her, and such a connection wasn‟t trivial. As long as Dagny lived, the wolf would not accept another. The moon crept closer to full. He rubbed his hand over her back as they lay together, almost but not quite sleeping. The rumble of her stomach startled him out of his near-doze. “I have to go out for a while.” He kissed the top of her head. “Stay here.” He got up and began to dress. Despite his best efforts, his eyes kept drifting back to the appealing shape curled up in his bed. Twice, he almost abandoned his plans to hunt down something for her to eat, but he managed to escape the room. *** Brand pushed open the door to the butcher shop and was surrounded by the mouth-watering aroma of fresh meat. The man behind the counter looked up from trimming a pork roast and smiled when he saw Brand. Though he was elderly, there was no mistaking the strength in his arms attained through decades of lifting and shaping large cuts of meat. “Nice to see you again. Been a while.” Brand nodded and looked through the offerings in the glass showcase. “Don‟t suppose you have any wild elk?” The white paper hat twitched when the old man shook his head. “Only farm-raised, but it‟s just in today. It was on the hoof a week ago.” “A full rack of rib steaks, bone-in, please.” “Sure, it‟ll be a minute while I cut that up.” He scrubbed his hands under the sink and then turned toward the thick plastic curtain leading into the refrigeration room. An image of Dagny‟s jaws clamping onto the elk‟s leg 84

came to him, and he couldn‟t have repressed the smile that came to his face if he‟d wanted. “If you‟ve got a shank, I‟ll take that, too.” A toothy grin lit the butcher‟s face. “Surely do.” He disappeared, leaving Brand to peruse the delectable array of meat on display with a rumbling stomach. To her credit, Dagny hadn‟t mentioned his poor hospitality, but he wanted to make the slight up to her. Brand paused in his pacing. It was unusual for him to dwell on such old-fashioned sentiments. He supposed it had to do with the new brood bonds and a sense of responsibility for both Dagny and Alice. Thoughts of them reminded him of the danger he‟d placed them in just by linking to them. Brand‟s eventual death had been a near certainty since he‟d killed Geir. He‟d slain his sire for the most basic of reasons, because the brutal son of a goat had killed his mother. Taken away by Ingrid months before, he‟d been unable to protect her and no one else had raised a hand in her defense. Why would they? Geir had never taken a mate. His sire preferred to keep a harem of females that he treated like trash. When he killed one, no one was surprised, and no one said a word. It was expected, even encouraged, for the leader of the Broods of Fenrir to behave in such a way. Everything the king did was calculated to emphasize the fear of him because, if his subjects didn‟t cower before him, they would tear him down. Years later, as he stood over the shredded corpse of his sire, Brand had sworn that he would never become what Geir had been. He would not be king or allow his beast to reign over him. Though he‟d resisted the craving for companionship for centuries, once he‟d felt the familiar connection after he‟d Called Alice, he couldn‟t fight the temptation any longer. The butcher came through the plastic curtain with a large wrapped parcel and a pleased expression. Brand paid the 85

man and offered his thanks. *** The door opened before he had to use the hand scanner. Dagny had managed to find a change of clothes that fit her, more or less. His gray sweater hung almost to her knees, but Alice‟s leggings only went to mid-calf. He held up the parcel. “I brought you some real food.” A smile quirked her lips. “That‟s where you were?” The expression was so alluring that he had to touch her. He rushed forward and put an arm around her back, lowering his head to rub his cheek against hers. She tensed for an instant, then relaxed into his embrace. She sniffed twice before she laughed. “Elk? Where did you find that around here?” He backed away and grinned. “Secret hunting grounds. Perhaps I‟ll show you some day.” Her answering smile filled him with a sense of ease. Taking her hand, he led her into the kitchen. He seared a half-dozen of the steaks, cooking them only enough to char the outside. After a while, Dagny spoke up from behind him. “I didn‟t think you could cook. There was nothing in here when I looked earlier.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Not bothering and not knowing are two different things. I didn‟t have anyone to feed until recently.” She chuckled, a throaty, delicious sound. “I‟m flattered.” Brand served her and was pleased to see her dig in as soon as the plate touched the table. A strange feeling of excitement tickled his stomach while he watched Dagny eat. He had hunted with her, and he let her eat first. He‟d always made fun of other males when they behaved so traditionally. Since he‟d met Dagny, he understood all too well why they deferred. 86

She noticed his attention and met his eyes. Glancing down at his empty plate, she stopped chewing. Brand smiled. “When you‟re full, I‟ll eat.” He felt the sharp edge of her shock, and then her affection for him an instant later. To feel that warmth from her all the time, he thought he might do anything. She resumed chewing, then swallowed the mouthful. “Alice?” “Nothing short of compulsion will bring her within ten feet of food when there‟s a male present. I‟ll make sure there‟s enough left when I‟m done.” Alice had been terrorized too long to conquer her fear, no matter how patient he was. He‟d tried asking her, yelling at her, and even feeding her from his hand, but nothing would make her eat with him in the same room. Dagny‟s face became somber. “Why does it have to be like this?” “Because no matter what happens around us, the Broods of Fenrir don‟t change.” She stared at him for a long while, food forgotten on her plate. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was a whisper. “Can‟t you change it?” He stood and paced across the room. “You don‟t know what you ask.” “Then, explain it to me. You could be the king. Doesn‟t that mean you can order them to stop?” “A king only remains in command as long as his subjects fear him, Dagny. What do you suppose I would have to do to maintain fear among this lot of brutal animals?” She put down her utensils. “I hadn‟t considered that.” He stared out the window, watching clouds race by the bright outline of the full moon high above. The moon felt so close, her song crowding every thought. The beat of his heart kept time with the song as his blood pumped through him. Images from his youth crept into his mind, but he fought them back. “I watched what my sire had to do to 87

control them. I‟ve had the years since I killed him to consider what it would mean if I took his place. More than long enough to know that I can‟t do what would be required of me.” She came up beside him and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I‟ve upset you. I‟m sorry.” A current of sadness flowed from her that tasted like old metal in his mouth. “Don‟t apologize to me.” He didn‟t mean it as a command, but it sounded like one. Her face lifted, eyes narrowed. “I‟ll do what I please.” With a quick move, he had her pressed against the counter. He clamped his hands around her wrists. She made a small gasp, but didn‟t struggle. Her pulse raced under his hands. He lowered his face close to hers. “Is there anything you won‟t defy me on?” She shivered, but maintained eye contact. “You should probably get used to it if you plan to keep me around.” “Oh, I intend to keep you.” He dove in and covered her mouth with his. He pushed her wrists back, pinning her arms behind her back. A warning growl made her lips vibrate. He smiled against her mouth, then backed off. He stared down at her. She didn‟t blink, deliberately provoking him. Fenrir‟s teeth, she was amazing. Her wolf roused, lending her eyes the shine of silver. The brood energy sparked around her, heating her skin. She pushed against his arms, trying to free herself. She fought with the tenacity of the best fighters he‟d ever known. Even so, the bite caught him off guard when her blunt teeth ripped open the side of his neck. His blood hit her tongue, and a tremor shook him. Every nerve seemed to come alive at once. He groaned as waves of sensation from her surged through him. Dagny went limp against him with an incoherent moan. He released her wrists and wrapped an arm around her to keep her upright, bracing his other hand on the counter. She loosened her bite and brought up her head. A thrill 88

raced through him when she licked his blood from her lips. She had actually bitten him. Her audacity was unbelievable, not to mention exciting. He rushed in to kiss her again, threading his fingers through her hair. Leaning into him, she raised her chin. Her arms came up around him as he lifted her onto the counter. He slid his hands up her legs, fingers pressing into the curve of her thighs. Her knees parted, and he stepped into the space between them, pulling her closer. The racing of his heart pushed searing heat through every blood vessel. His hands dug into her backside and ground her against him. The force of his kiss increased until he pushed her back against the cabinets. The beast inside him roared. Panic seized him. Gasping, he pulled away from her. Without even noticing, he‟d almost lost control. She jumped down from the counter and reached for him. “What‟s wrong?” How could he explain just how much of a monster he was? He could lose control and be unable to stop himself until she was bleeding on the ground. Loss tore through him at the idea of hurting her and he knew he couldn‟t risk it. He had to get away from her. “I can‟t let it happen, not with you.” His voice sounded strangled to his own ears. He staggered down the hallway to the front door. She followed after him. “What?” When he reached the door, he pulled it open. Bera stood on the other side, eyes glassy and red. The shock of seeing her on his threshold cleared his head. She rushed forward and closed the door behind her. He‟d never seen her in such a state of near panic. It took several attempts for her to say, “Erik is gone.”

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Chapter 10 Unsure how to interpret what she‟d said, Brand stared at Bera. „Gone‟ wasn‟t a word mates used lightly. Unless Erik was dead, Bera should be able to feel him. Brand put a hand on her arm to calm her. “What happened?” “He felt Lucas, nearby and hurt.” She pulled a hand through her disarrayed hair. “He told me to leave because he thought something was wrong.” Her entire body shuddered. Brand frowned. That Erik had told her to leave was one thing, and that she had actually done it was another. Guessing that she wouldn‟t be able to stay on her feet much longer, he slid his arm around her back and led her into the living room. He eased her into the leather chair and sat across from her on the coffee table. Alice hovered in the doorway of the bedroom she had claimed, head down and arms wrapped around her middle. He sensed Bera‟s distress as keenly as Alice did. “I know you better than that. You wouldn‟t leave just because he told you to.” She looked into his eyes. Tears overflowed her lower lids, streaking over her red-splotched cheeks. “He Compelled 91

me. He‟s never done that before.” His throat constricted. He knew Erik wouldn‟t have Compelled her unless the situation was dire. “He told you to come here?” Bera sniffled once, then nodded. “He had an escape tunnel put in the basement a long time ago. It leads to a garage on the adjoining property. He never got over the torch and pitchfork days.” Her lips twitched in a weak smile. “I was about halfway here, when he faded out. There‟s nothing. I can‟t feel him at all.” Panic shook her voice, as if saying the words somehow made it more real. “Take it easy.” He put a hand on her knee. “You‟d know if he was dead without any doubt.” She nodded, but she didn‟t look convinced. “I‟ve never felt anything like this. The link is there, but where he should be there‟s nothing.” Alice said, “He‟s drugged. It has to be a dissociative anesthetic, like ketamine, and a big dose at that. Otherwise, she‟d feel his wolf.” He turned to Alice. “How many places around here would have doses that big?” She shrugged. “Veterinary clinics, zoos, lots of places.” That wasn‟t any help at all. He returned his attention to Bera. “Okay, I‟m going to assume that Lucas told whoever has him where you live. Who else might be in danger?” Bera‟s eyes flicked back and forth a few times. “Gunnarr is the only male he‟s close to. The two of them spend a lot of time at Kick.” Brand stood and crossed the room to pick up his cell phone. While grinding his teeth, he punched in Kick‟s number. When a female voice that wasn‟t Sigga‟s answered, he said, “Let me talk to Sigga.” She came on a minute later. “Hey, I was just going to call you. These guys came in here tonight, and I remembered I‟d seen them with Lucas before he disappeared. They‟re human, which is why I forgot. Gunni‟s here with them now.” 92

After a brief commotion on the other end of the line, she said, “Oh, they‟re leaving. Gunni looks blasted. I don‟t think he had more than one drink.” Her voice grew distant. “Gunni‟s in trouble, isn‟t he?” His fingers tightened around the phone. He tried to head off whatever impetuous idea had occurred to her. “Sigga, I want you to go home right now.” “I‟m following them. Track me.” She hung up. “Fuck. She‟s going after whoever has Erik.” He pocketed his phone and moved to the closet. “Of all the ridiculous, harebrained ideas I‟ve ever heard…” “You forgot brave,” Bera said from behind him. “They took Erik, and Gunni is nearly as strong. Sigga isn‟t going to stand a chance if they figure out she‟s following them. That‟s not brave; it‟s careless.” He grabbed two knives from the top shelf and clipped them to his belt at the small of his back. Three pairs of eyes were on him when he turned around. “No.” He looked at each of the females in turn. “No fucking way.” Bera grumbled, “You can‟t stop me from going after my mate.” “Do you think he‟ll thank me for finding him if anything happens to you?” He reached into the closet and ripped his jacket from the hook. Alice said, “You‟re going to need someone to drive if you‟re tracking her.” Always logical and calculating, that one. “Absolutely not.” The three of them were crazy if they thought he was letting them come along into Loki-knew-what mess he was about to stumble into. He yanked his jacket on while glaring around the room. “How are you going to stop us?” Dagny asked. He‟d felt her in the hallway from the kitchen throughout the conversation, indecision and worry battling inside her. He would Compel all three of them if he had to. He opened his mouth to say as much, and then stopped. Even if he could make himself do it, which wasn‟t at all certain, what 93

would happen if whoever hunted them showed up here? With an order like „Stay in the house,‟ they‟d be unable to leave even if the place became a deathtrap. He looked from Bera to Alice and finally to Dagny. “Come here.” Dagny came forward, stopping in front of him. He stared down at her, indecision gnawing at his gut. “If I say so, you will take the two of them and leave without the slightest hesitation. Do you understand me?” Both of the other females started to protest. With a glare he said, “Alternatively, you can all stay the fuck here.” When they quieted down, he returned his attention to Dagny and waited for her answer. She searched his face. After a moment, she nodded. Brand shook his head. “Not good enough.” “I‟ll do it, Brand. I promise I‟ll take them away if you tell me to.” “I‟m counting on you.” He drew her into a kiss only long enough to leave him wanting more. He let her go, still reluctant to bring them with him, but without another viable choice. “You‟ll follow me in the car, but don‟t even think about getting out.” *** The ride to Kick was silent. Brand had chosen his work vehicle because the huge Escalade with the words „Sword Security‟ emblazoned on the side would keep people from asking questions. When he pulled up to the curb, the kids smoking in front of the club scrambled away in a riot of multicolored hair and black leather. He jumped out of the SUV and pulled in a lungful of the cold night air. Dagny was all he could smell. His infatuation with her was going to make things difficult. He had no interest in tracking someone else when he only wanted to bury his nose in her. With a last stern look at the trio of females he hoped 94

would keep them inside the vehicle, he closed the door. Walking a few steps away, he tried to relax himself by stretching the muscles of his back. He craned his head back to look up at the moon. Five hours left. The pull was strong, the urge to transform and run free like an itch on the inside of his skin. Waiting longer wasn‟t going to make his task any easier. The cold air tickled his nose as he inhaled again. So many powerful smells flooded into him that for a moment he was dizzy. The swirling scents of people living so close to one another assaulted him—exhaust, garbage, sewage, concrete, plastic, metal. He filtered them without conscious thought. When he was done, a handful of brood scents remained. He caught Sigga‟s scent—a sunlit prairie in the fall. He opened his mouth and dragged in more air. Following Sigga‟s scent, he started down Mississippi Avenue at a quick walk. He tried to figure how much time had passed and how far they could have gotten in that time, but he was too distracted to think it through all the way. He turned left when her scent veered and glanced over his shoulder to watch the Escalade turn the corner behind him before he picked up his pace. He scented a few times, trying to estimate how many men he was tracking. Four distinct human scents came from the group ahead. One of them seemed familiar. Scattered as he was, he couldn‟t figure out where he‟d smelled the man before. He continued, turning twice more, onto increasingly more desolate streets whenever her scent changed direction. When the smell of Sigga‟s blood hit him like a slap to the face, he came to an abrupt halt. After examining the area around him, he saw a dark spot on the sidewalk a few feet ahead, a splotch smaller than his palm. Searching for more indications of violence, he tried to control his temper. The anger climbed his chest until he panted with the effort of containing it. Someone had stepped in the blood, splattering the dark stain around the print of a smoothsoled shoe. 95

He lurched forward and then inhaled, straining to catch her scent. They‟d picked her up in a vehicle. Unlike the odors of living beings, which were unique, something mass-produced like a car was difficult to track. He might be able to follow it a short way, but not far. After running several more paces, the scent overlapped with so many other similar-smelling vehicles that he couldn‟t distinguish one from another. He grumbled and looked around, studying the dilapidated buildings and empty lots. They could have gone only a limited number of directions from there. He kept moving forward until he hit the next intersection. He looked both ways down the street that crossed in front of him and realized he knew the place. On impulse, he turned right, toward a rundown industrial complex. Between the moon and his anger he couldn‟t concentrate enough to isolate where he was. He waved the Escalade forward. When it stopped in front of him, the passenger window slid down. “Why do I know this place?” Brand asked Bera. She looked at the road ahead, a frown twisting her tense lips. “Erik‟s new construction project is in there.” The scent memory of the familiar man snapped into place—Harris‟s colleague from the meeting with Erik. “That‟s the site he‟s having problems with because of the medical research company.” Bera looked confused by the statement. Alice spoke up from behind her, “Bioden.” Her voice was soft. Brand nodded. “Yeah, right. They finally agreed to let him build if he gave money to some research fund.” He swiveled his eyes to Alice. “What do you know about this?” “Bioden processes a lot of my samples. They made a bid to buy my lab earlier this year.” The fear on her face bled into the brood bond. “What happened, Alice?” “Erik told them the lab wasn‟t for sale. That‟s the main reason he‟s been having this issue with them.” 96

“Why did they want to buy your lab?” “They never said. It‟s strange. I‟m not published or anything. Nobody knows what I‟m doing. It‟s all privatelyfunded research.” He knew she was a biochemist, but what she actually did went way over his head. “Give me the layman‟s version.” She shrugged, and looked uncomfortable with the course of the conversation. “Erik‟s interested in learning more about our metabolic processes, to see how similar we are to humans. He‟s having me collect samples and test them.” “Just so I‟m clear, you‟ve been taking samples from Erik‟s brood and sending them to a lab down there?” “The lab isn‟t actually down there, but that company owns adjoining property to Erik‟s construction site.” His hand clutched the door of the Escalade. “And now the trail of two in Erik‟s brood ends right here? Was Lucas one of the ones you sampled?” “Yes, but there‟s no way they could have found that out. I didn‟t tell them where the samples came from. They wouldn‟t even know what I was doing.” The rage felt so good, so right, as the moon roared above him. “No way? You‟re absolutely sure of that?” She stammered for several seconds. “I don‟t think…” She stared at her hands in her lap. “I want to say I‟m sure, but I can‟t, not without doubt.” Uncertain how much longer he could control the anger and not wanting to focus it at her, he tore his attention away from Alice. Bera recoiled from his gaze when his eyes turned her way. “Do you feel anything from Erik?” Her head shook in a miniscule motion. The set of her mouth made the extent of her concern obvious. That she‟d held herself together so long was a testament to her strength. She‟d been able to feel her mate for every waking moment of her life for over a century. Brand put his hand on Bera‟s shoulder. “If he‟s in there, I‟m going to get him.” 97

Dagny sat in the driver‟s seat, her hands resting on the wheel with a light touch. “What do you want us to do?” He admired her calm. The more tense the situation, the more composed she became. He could think of no safe place to send them, not until he knew more about what was going on. “I think there‟s an empty lot up ahead on the left. Wait there. Keep the engine running.” She nodded. It wasn‟t enough. Irrationally, he felt as though he were leaving them defenseless. He walked around the vehicle and leaned into the driver‟s side window. Closing the remaining distance between them, he drew Dagny into a kiss. Her hand came up around his neck. The parting of her lips was accompanied by a small sigh that got lost in his mouth. Her hand tightened against the back of his neck. He stroked his thumb against her cheek as he pulled away. “You‟ll know if something happens. Get them out.” Her slow nod was reassuring. She radiated confidence—cool, like the first touch of frost. With her at his side, he could do anything. When he let her go, he felt bereft. He turned away fast and raced down the street without looking back. The streetlights along the sidewalk were all out, which suited Brand just fine. Moving at a speed that would be a blur to human eyes, he kept to the deepest shadows. Running free under the moon gave him a rush he hadn‟t experienced in too long. He approached the Sorenson Enterprises construction site and slowed. Leaping over the fencing without effort, he landed with almost no sound on the other side. He loped across the construction site at a jog. The Bioden warehouse came into view as he approached the far side. He scaled a construction trailer parked next to the fence so he could see what was beyond. Brush crowded the building along every wall, and the grass grew long. Brand inhaled, pulling the air into his mouth and over 98

his tongue. No distinct scents were present. He let his gaze wander over the brick walls. He noticed no obvious security measures, and no movements or sounds. The blacked-out windows betrayed nothing to indicate whether the building was occupied. All appearances to the contrary, it was the right place. A trace of brood power tickled in his belly. Nothing much, only the barest whisper, but with the moon minutes from full, he could feel the presence of at least one of his brethren within.

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Chapter 11 Brand jumped down from the construction trailer and dropped into a silent crouch on the far side of the fence. He paused to listen once more with a tilt of his head. A light breeze stirred the unkempt shrubs, but nothing felt out of place in the quiet night. He stalked forward until he reached the high brick wall of the Bioden warehouse and leaned against it, taking cover in the deep shadow cast by the building. He crept along the wall until he came to a door near the corner of the building. He sniffed. No one had used the door in the past few days. He tried the handle, but wasn‟t surprised when he found it locked. The windows along the wall were twenty feet off the ground. With the moon peaking, the jump wouldn‟t pose any trouble, but breaking glass might cause more noise than he wanted right now. He had no idea how many potential enemies were inside, and alerting them to his presence wasn‟t a good idea. He peered around the corner of the building, but didn‟t find the fire escape he‟d hoped to see. A window midway along the wall was propped open, though. He strode forward until he 101

was underneath it. No light showed. Brand appraised the distance to the sill of the window and plotted how much of an approach he‟d need. He paced out ten long strides and looked back at the building. He went out one more, just to be sure. He raced forward four running steps, then sprang. As soon as his feet left the ground, he knew he‟d hit the jump. His hands caught the sill, and his body struck the wall with a solid thump, knocking the wind from him. He took a moment to recover, and he almost lost his grip. Sigga‟s terror-streaked scent came out of the window in a cloying cloud. His angry growl turned into a grunt of exertion as he struggled to pull himself onto the sill. He scanned the interior, a small office with sparse furnishings. Sigga was tied to a metalframed office chair in the center of the room. A hood covered her head. Heedless of the presence of others, Brand clawed his way into the room. When he thudded to the floor, Sigga jumped at the sound. He sent a wave of soothing energy toward her as he approached, cursing himself for scaring her even more. She inhaled and the tension seemed to melt out of her. He pulled off the hood. She stared up at him, makeup smeared over her face, but otherwise unharmed as far as he could tell. Relief eased the edge off his anger. He removed the layers of cloth bandage wrapped around her mouth. She started to speak, but he held his fingers to her lips. He drew a knife and cut her hands loose, then crept across the room. Cracking the door open, he paused to smell and listen. He didn‟t detect any humans nearby. Returning to Sigga, he whispered, “You okay?” She nodded and kept her voice low. “Gunni told them I was some girl who stalks him. They stuck me in here until they could figure out what to do with me.” “Do you know where the others are?” Her head shook. “Downstairs somewhere. I saw a 102

bunch of rooms before they put the hood on me.” “Did you see Erik?” The shock that her captors might have her leader froze her until he touched her hand. “No. I‟m not sure how many of us they have. I haven‟t felt anything.” “I‟m going to boost you out that window. Head south until you hit a fence. Jump that and run across the construction site. Don‟t let the guards see you. You should be able to feel Bera from the other side. Go to her.” She nodded, but looked reluctant when he led her to the window. “I can help you…” It seemed every female he knew was out of her mind today. “You can help me most by getting out of here.” He interlaced his fingers and held out his hands. She hesitated until he frowned. “It‟s not up for debate.” She put her foot into the cup of his hands. He lifted her until she could reach the window. Pulling herself up, she slipped one leg over the ledge. She glanced down at him once more before she lowered herself out the window. When he thought enough time had passed for Sigga to have crossed the construction site, he pulled open the door and peeked into the hallway. A wooden stairway that had seen better decades descended to the dimly lit lower level. He waited several seconds, acclimating himself to the native sounds of the building. The walls settled. Heated air rushed through vents. A clock ticked. Once certain no one was nearby, he snuck into the hallway and approached the railing of the stairway. He peered down at the floor below. A wide hallway split the floor, and the stairway continued downward after a small landing. The doors on the first level were all closed. He crept down the stairs, scanning the dark hallway. Moving to the first door on the right, he leaned his ear against it. Nothing. Every room on the right was the same—the entire floor seemed deserted. He reached the end of the hallway and peered into a tiny lobby devoid of furniture. The front 103

door was on the opposite wall. The sound of voices and heavy footsteps on the stairs came from behind him. He darted into the lobby and hid on the far side of the wall. He picked up a conversation between two men. The first had a nasal voice, as if his nose had been broken too many times. “Maybe we should drug her.” Glad he‟d gotten Sigga out of the building, Brand had to concentrate not to rush around the corner and careen recklessly into them. The second man had a deeper, more resonant voice. “No way, she‟s not one of those things. Let‟s wait until he calls us back.” “Maybe she is. You don‟t know.” “Naw, man, she looked normal to me.” “That Sorenson guy looked normal, too, until we tased him.” Brand risked a peek around the corner, anger making him bold. The two men walked up the hallway slowly, not paying much attention. They stopped outside one of the doors on the side Brand hadn‟t checked. “Naw, he had creepy eyes even before that.” The man with the nasal voice was the taller of the two, with more bulk. The second man was more slender and better dressed. Brand recognized him as Harris‟s associate from the meeting with Erik. “Whatever, want to jump outside for a smoke first?” They continued to walk up the hallway toward him. A moment of doubt troubled Brand. They suspected that those they‟d captured were something other than human, but Brand didn‟t know for sure if the men had hurt any members of Erik‟s brood. “I don‟t understand why we can‟t just smoke in here.” “Mr. Rivera doesn‟t want it near the equipment.” “Yeah, yeah.” They continued to talk as they walked right by him. Brand crouched with his knife drawn, ready to spring if they 104

turned around and saw him. The smell of tobacco trailed behind them as they disappeared into the darkness outside. Brand ducked back around the wall into the hallway and moved to the door they had paused near. He put his ear to the metal surface and listened. The soft sounds of machinery came from the other side. He pushed the door open a fraction. Before he could see the interior of the room, he smelled brood blood. Inside, a large male was strapped to a hospital bed—Lucas. He knew him by smell. A tangle of wires and tubes snaked into the open cavity of his chest from an array of different machines he couldn‟t identify. The smell of meat and offal hung in the stagnant air. The slow beeping and chugging of the machinery made his stomach turn, and he swallowed back the urge to vomit. He let the door close, his hand still braced against the cool metal. The horror on the other side defied sanity. Reveling in torture was an aspect of his kind he had never understood, but what that room contained went beyond what the most depraved of the brood would condone. The wolf raged, eager for vengeance. He clenched his hands into fists until he attained a measure of calm. He needed to find the others before he could allow himself the satisfaction of a rampage. He thumped his fist against the door. “I‟ll be back for you.” Stalking down the hallway, he paused at the other doors to listen but no sounds came from behind them. When he reached the stairwell, he leaned over the railing. The lower level was quiet. Nothing moved. Just after he started down the stairs, he stopped short. A pulse of brood power came from below, but winked out at once. He knew Erik well enough to identify the source from that brief touch. He rushed down the remaining steps and turned to his left. A man in a lab coat stood facing into a room at the far end of the hallway. He was too occupied with taking notes on a 105

clipboard to sense Brand sneaking up behind him. Brand grabbed him around the neck and scanned the area beyond. Erik and Gunni were inside, bound to gurneys and unconscious as far as he could tell. He pushed the man inside and shut the door behind him. The lab-coated man struggled but was no match for Brand. Erik‟s eyes came open. “Now I‟ll never hear the end of how you rescued me.” His voice sounded hoarse. Brand squeezed his arm around his captive‟s throat until the man went limp, and then dropped him to the floor. “If you didn‟t want my help, you shouldn‟t have sent Bera to me. You know my weakness for redheads.” A flare of anger came from Erik with an accompanying burst of power. “You‟re an asshole.” Brand smirked. Erik wasn‟t at full strength yet, but the strong emotion would help burn off what remained of the sedative‟s effects. After cutting Erik‟s restraints, he moved over to Gunni and shook him, but received no response. Erik sat up and rubbed the back of his head. “He coming around?” Brand pulled back one of Gunni‟s eyelids; the pupil didn‟t even twitch. Inside the heavily drugged body, he sensed the presence of the wolf. “Not yet. Are you strong enough to Call him?” Erik shook his head, then squinted as if he regretted the motion. “Not for a while. Plus, Bera is a complete basket case, and I can barely think.” Brand grunted in acknowledgement. “I can do it.” Erik glared at him for several seconds before he sighed. “At least you asked this time.” Brand put his hand on Gunni‟s forehead and pushed with his power. Gunni‟s wolf dreamed inside the inert body and Brand had to wake him. The Call he sent was urgent and stronger than any he‟d sent before. Once he made the connection, he pulled the wolf to the surface through the thick 106

layer of drugged consciousness. Gunni‟s eyes opened, and the bright blue of an alpine lake stared up at him. Brand whispered, “The moon calls you,” and sent the signal to transform. Gunni tensed and drew in a deep breath. He twitched. Gray fur sprouted from his skin everywhere at once. Under the surface, muscles and bones shifted, making the body seem almost fluid. His form condensed and became more solid. With the aid of the nearly full moon, the change completed in seconds. Gunni jumped to his clawed feet, slipping out of his clothes at the same time, and then shook himself. Brand patted the ruff at the back of the wolf‟s neck when the furry head nudged his arm. Brand looked toward Erik, who still sat on the gurney. “You good to go?” “Yeah, distracted by Bera. I tried to chill her out, but it‟s impossible.” He jumped down and wobbled on his feet. Brand reached out a hand to steady him. “Do they have anyone else?” Erik shook his head, wincing again. “Only Lucas, I think. But I haven‟t felt him the entire time I‟ve been here.” “He‟s upstairs. It‟s not good.” Erik lifted his gaze. “Let‟s go.” His voice was stronger, with an edge of temper. Brand tied up the man in the lab coat. Gunni paced back and forth across the doorway of the room while whining. Erik growled in annoyance, and the wolf dropped into a submissive crouch. Brand straightened from his task. “Take it easy on him. There‟s no man there, just wolf. He‟s bound to be a bit twitchy.” Erik whipped around to face him, teeth bared. His anger rose in response, but Brand tamped it down without much effort. “Tread carefully.” Erik‟s shoulders tensed, and his fists clenched. 107

Ignoring him, Brand pulled open the door and motioned the wolf outside. Gunni darted out and ran to the foot of the stairs, where he stopped at Brand‟s command. Brand closed the door, and then said in a low voice, “I don‟t want to transform you in front of one of yours, but I will if you make me. If you‟re still keen to fight after we‟re out of here, we‟ll get into it.” Gradually, Erik‟s eyes darkened to their usual shade of blue. “Later, then.” His clipped syllables sounded harsh in the small room. Brand nodded and headed out the door. Though Erik‟s short temper was understandable, it wasn‟t the time for territorial squabbling. Brand climbed the stairs, pausing halfway to listen for the guards. He figured they had to be back from their smoke break. He crept up the last few steps, but didn‟t hear or see any sign of them. When they reached the room Lucas was in, the front door of the warehouse opened. The two men came inside, chatting about the Broncos game the Sunday before and not paying any attention to the hallway in front of them. Brand sprang forward, sprinting down the hall. He summoned the wolf and pushed a wave of power out ahead of him, enough that even a human would sense the aggressive energy. The humans stopped mid-stride and looked up. He roared, filling the corridor with a rumble of menace. The human with the nasal voice dropped to his knees, and Harris‟s associate reached for a gun. Veering toward the one drawing the weapon, Brand closed the distance before the weapon even cleared the holster. He grabbed the wrist of the hand pulling the gun and squeezed. Bones ground together with a satisfying crunch, and the man yelled. Brand cranked the man‟s broken hand around behind him and shoved him into the wall. The man crashed unconscious to the floor. Turning toward the other man, the one who had spoken so casually of hurting Sigga, Brand grinned. The man 108

cowered on the floor. He started to shake when Brand approached. Brand nudged him with the toe of one boot, evoking a small whimper. “No interest in taking on someone more your size? That‟s a shame.” With an irritated sigh, he lifted the man to his feet by the back of his jacket and shoved him toward the nearest door. Unfortunately, the conscious man gave him no trouble. He bound both men and tucked them into a closet. With reluctance, Brand walked back to the room where Lucas was being kept. He didn‟t think they could disconnect Lucas from the machines without killing him, never mind get him out of the building afterward. He approached the room and looked inside, though he was in no hurry to see the horror again. Gunni‟s furry head rested on the bed, nose touching Lucas‟s hand. Erik stood frozen inside the door. The chugging and slurping of the machines seemed to echo in the windowless room, lending a sinister rhythm to the scene. Brand put his hand on Erik‟s shoulder. His friend‟s gaze slowly turned from the bed to meet his. Tense lines around Erik‟s mouth betrayed the amount of strain required to control his anger. “Rivera‟s dead. I‟m going to tear the motherless pig apart with my bare hands.” “Why don‟t you take Gunni out of here, and I‟ll do what needs doing?” It took a few moments for Erik to catch on, but then his shoulders sagged, defeat evident. He put a hand on Gunni‟s head. A plaintive whine rose from the furry muzzle. Erik looked down into the wolf‟s eyes and petted the top of his head. After Erik didn‟t move for almost a minute, Brand prompted, “We shouldn‟t stay here too long.” “Alice could disconnect him,” he replied, looking up at Brand with a hopeful expression. Brand was shocked he hadn‟t thought of that. Undoubtedly, she was better equipped to disconnect Lucas 109

from the machines. “They aren‟t far away.” He called Dagny to him. Her calm acknowledgement filled him with warmth. Surprise rose into Erik‟s face, followed quickly by anger. “I knew she felt too close. Why the fuck would you bring Bera here?” “You didn‟t leave me much choice. I couldn‟t know for sure they‟d be safe anywhere else.” He darted out of the room and started up the hallway. Erik remained behind, cursing in a dizzying combination of languages. He met the Escalade outside the construction site and leaned into the driver‟s side window. He peered into the back seat, relieved to see that Sigga had made it to them. Before Brand had a chance to say anything, Bera spoke up. “Where‟s Erik?” Brand met her eyes. “With Lucas. There‟s a problem we need Alice‟s help with. The rest of you are staying in the car.” Bera began to protest, but cut off at a sharp glance from Dagny. Alice slid out of the back seat and came to stand near him. One corner of Dagny‟s mouth lifted in an adorable smile when she turned back to him. “They‟ll stay.” Brand chuckled; nothing short of amazing could describe her. Even Erik couldn‟t wrangle Bera into obedience most days. “Pull into the construction site. When the guard comes up to talk to you, give him this.” He unclipped his ID badge from his jacket pocket. “Tell him I‟m doing a random check, and I‟ll be back with Mr. Sorenson when I‟m done.” “And who should I say I am if he asks?” “My partner.” He pulled her into a brief kiss before he turned away to head back toward the warehouse.

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Chapter 12 Checking the street and lot for signs of additional guards, Brand walked with Alice back to the Bioden warehouse. Halfway there, she asked, “What‟s going on, Brand?” “They‟re doing some kind of experiments on Lucas. They cut him open, and he‟s hooked up to machines. I don‟t know what they‟re doing but there are tubes and wires everywhere.” She seemed to huddle around herself, tucking her hands further into her coat pockets. “That‟s monstrous.” He repressed a shudder. Monstrous didn‟t even begin to cover the grotesque nature of the individual who had flayed Lucas open. Following a long pause, she said, “I‟m not sure I‟ll be able to unplug him. It depends on what‟s been done.” “I was going to kill him until Erik mentioned you might be able to unhook him, and that‟s still the backup plan.” The idea of opening the young male‟s throat turned his stomach, but they couldn‟t leave Lucas to that fate. She shuddered. “At least he won‟t suffer much longer either way.” 111

“True.” The urge to run ahead and put the two guards through a wall almost overwhelmed him. He settled into a simmering silence instead of giving in to the need for violence. Brand had expected Alice to fall apart when she entered the room, but her expression barely flickered. She stepped up to the bed with decisive strides and examined the machines. Her forehead creased when she turned her attention to Lucas. She traced the path of the tubing that drew fluid away from the open cavity of his torso. Pausing to put on latex gloves, she leaned over Lucas‟s prone body. With steady hands, she probed his abdomen. With each minute that passed, her expression grew darker. Finally, her eyes rose to meet Brand‟s. “He won‟t survive unplugging. They‟ve removed his liver and kidneys. The blood is being filtered externally for a reason I can‟t determine. If the organs were only damaged, he might regenerate them given enough time, but they‟re completely gone.” Brand‟s chest tightened. The realization struck him hard. He‟d been so sure she‟d be able to save Lucas. “Wait outside, all of you.” Erik picked up Gunni, who struggled in his arms. He made a soothing noise, and the wolf quieted. He walked out, holding Gunni to his chest. Out in the hallway, he softly spoke to the wolf in Norse. When Alice didn‟t move, Brand came up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. “Go on, you don‟t need to see this.” She shrugged off his hand and faced him. “What I don‟t need is for you to take on more guilt for something not your fault. This is my responsibility, and I‟ll take care of it.” “Alice, I don‟t think you should—” “I didn‟t ask your permission.” Turning away, she spun a dial on one of the machines and pushed buttons on two others. She stripped off her gloves and put a hand on Lucas‟s forehead, smoothing his hair. The soothing touch of her empathic power flooded the room. 112

Brand took Lucas‟s hand. Confusion and fear rushed into him from the contact. He concentrated on the moon, pulling the song into him and through him. He drew on the power of the wolves around him and sent their strength into Lucas, sharing the sense of kinship he felt. The fear melted away and the pain dwindled. The rhythm of the machines slowed like a clock winding down. The wolf inside of Lucas struggled for one heart-wrenching moment, and then gave in with the body‟s last breath. Alice leaned down to kiss his cheek, then whispered, “Run into the night, the moon awaits.” Her tears fell onto his face, and she wiped them away. From the hallway, two forlorn howls rose and fell in unison. *** Brand spread several blankets on another gurney while Alice disconnected the hoses and closed up the large incision. When she finished, he moved Lucas over onto the bed he‟d prepared. Alice tucked a corner of the blanket around Lucas‟s feet. “What are we going to do now?” He‟d sent Erik to check on their three captives in hope that it would keep his friend settled a few more minutes. As incensed as Erik was, a chance existed that he‟d tear the men apart, but it was better than hearing him growl and pace outside the door. He covered Lucas‟s face and folded the end of the blanket under the body. “We need to get out of here before the moon peaks.” “Erik and Bera can‟t go home.” “We‟ll head out to my hunting lodge for now. He can collect the brood and decide their next steps.” Isolated, the lodge was also a good place to ride out the full moon. Churning white-hot fury came from the level below 113

them. Alice let out a startled gasp. “Did Erik…?” Brand nodded and continued to wrap Lucas‟s body in silence.

Erik came in the room a minute later carrying Gunni‟s clothes. The wolf padded in behind him. Brand looked up and said, “What about the guards? Are you going to kill them, too?” Erik glared at him, fists clenched. “Are you questioning my judgment?” The challenge hung in the air. “Just asking a question.” He kept his voice calm and controlled. The last thing he wanted was to have to take down Erik. “It‟s not your way to kill humans.” With a tense jaw, Erik stared at the gurney where Lucas‟s body rested. “They don‟t seem to share that sentiment about us, do they?” “Killing humans is bad for us, it brings attention.” Erik‟s arctic gaze swiveled up. “In case you missed it, we already have attention. Every one of them dies. Not only for what they did, but for what they know.” In the end, though it troubled him, the decision belonged to Erik. Overruling him risked a fight they couldn‟t afford. “Hurry up and finish it, then. Our ride is at the construction site.” Brand picked up the blanket-shrouded body and walked out of the room, Alice and Gunni following close behind him. Erik remained, grumbling curses in alternating Norse and English until they were out of earshot. He stopped a bit short of the construction site and put Lucas‟s body down. He said to Alice, “Wait here with Gunni, please.” She was wringing her hands, forehead creased. Her gaze drifted over to the warehouse. “Isn‟t there anything we can do?” “If I tried to stop him, he‟d attack me. Besides, it‟s difficult to argue they don‟t deserve it.” He inclined his head 114

toward Lucas‟s body. “They‟d have done the same to Erik and Gunni, Bera too, if they‟d caught her. Where do you think that ends?” She blinked three times, her lashes collecting a few errant tears. “I understand.” Lowering herself to the ground, she sat near the blanket-wrapped body. Gunni moved to lie beside her, resting his head in her lap. She placed one hand on his head and rubbed a spot behind his right ear. He let out a sigh. The protective surge of emotion from Gunni convinced Brand that Alice was safe in his care. Brand walked to the construction site at a quick pace. His Escalade sat parked with the engine running at the guard shack. One guard leaned against the driver‟s side door, head bent to talk to Dagny. From his expression, the guard welcomed the distraction from the usual boredom of guard duty. Dagny glanced over her shoulder at him. Her welcoming smile soothed his mounting irritation. He walked up to the vehicle and extended his hand. “Brandon Geirson.” The guard gave him a quick glance, then shook his offered hand. “Pleased to meet you, sir. This is pretty strange, you sending these ladies in here and all.” Brand offered a reassuring smile. “We were all out for a late dinner. Mr. Sorenson had some reservations about the security of this site, considering some of the problems he‟s had in recent days. I offered to let him walk the outside perimeter so he could see for himself that everything is fine.” “Find any problems?” “Not a one. You‟re doing a good job.” “Thank you, sir.” Brand nodded in response. “Now, if you don‟t mind, I‟m going to take these lovely ladies off your hands and go pick up Mr. Sorenson.” He opened the driver‟s side door. Dagny slid out of the seat and right into his arms. He missed whatever words of farewell the guard spoke as he caught the reflection of the moon in Dagny‟s eyes. She pulled 115

him into a kiss that was nowhere near long enough. “You missed me,” he said as he drew away. A smile curled one corner of her mouth. “I did.” She moved toward the back door, then stopped. “Is Alice all right?” The concern in her voice implied that a bond had grown between them, independent from him. He touched her hand with a fleeting caress of his fingers, just long enough to feel the warmth from her. “Well enough. Gunni is with her right now.” She reached so their fingers brushed again. “He‟s the new link?” He nodded. “It‟s temporary. I had to transform him.” He stepped around her and opened the back door. She ducked under his arm to climb into the back seat. He stopped her when she passed in front of him and leaned down to rub his cheek against hers. “I missed you, too.”

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Chapter 13 Brand gripped the wheel to avoid climbing into the seat behind him and throttling Erik. He pulled onto the mile-long dirt driveway leading to his hunting lodge. The Escalade was cramped, and they were all on edge with the moon peaking in the next hour. Still, Erik had crossed the line by demanding Gunni‟s immediate return. Brand couldn‟t break the link so close to the full moon. The possessive nature of the wolf made it impossible, and Erik knew that. As soon as he parked, Brand stormed away from the vehicle. He headed for the tree line to get as much distance between them as possible. Footsteps approached behind him, the heavy tread giving their owner away. He spun around with a snarl. “Back off.” Erik kept closing in, his fists shaking at his sides. “Never did it occur to me that you‟d been waiting all this time to steal my brood out from under me one member at a time.” Bera came up behind Erik and touched his arm. He snapped his teeth at her. She paled, but didn‟t back off. Eyes wide and expression desperate, she turned her gaze to Brand. “I‟m not stealing anyone.” Brand started to walk away 117

again. He made it three strides before Erik responded. “Running from a fight, as usual.” Brand stopped short and pivoted to face him. “I‟m leaving because I don‟t want to kill you.” “You‟re a coward,” Erik spat, his voice brittle with rage. Bera grabbed at Erik, but he shook her off with an irritated growl. When she tried to reach for him again, he shoved her away. Off-balance, she reeled, and then fell backward. Brand kept his voice low so that it wouldn‟t carry back to the group still at the lodge. “I‟m not your enemy. I understand your pride is hurt, and the moon is impairing your judgment, but my patience has limits.” “Maybe you‟ll finally shut up and get to it then.” Mouth open and teeth bared, Erik panted. Brand inclined his head to where Bera sat on the ground. “Do you really want me to kill you in front of your pregnant mate? What do you think will happen to her after?” The reminder of how precarious her situation would be without him seemed to penetrate Erik‟s anger where nothing else had. He turned to look at Bera, whose eyes shone with unshed tears as she stared at him. He started toward her, a few inches at first, and then with increasing speed. With a murmured apology, he sank to the ground next to her. Brand took a deep, cleansing breath after they were well away. “You can stop hiding now. I can smell you.” Dagny came out from behind a nearby tree. He admired her stalking skills. She‟d approached quite close while he‟d been distracted by Erik. He turned back the way he‟d been heading, and she fell into step next to him. After a while, she said, “Where are we going?” She glanced at him when he hesitated. “There‟s a cabin a bit further along. I was going to ride out the peak there alone.” “You‟re not alone anymore.” She reached to take his 118

hand, interlacing her fingers with his. The surge of emotion from her was simple contentment. He smiled. “You‟re right.” The cabin was little more than a collection of boards with a roof. He found a stash of blankets that seemed to have survived without an insect infestation and spread them out over the threadbare rug. Dagny eyed the small fireplace. “What do you think the odds are that we‟d burn the place down if we lit that?” “Near a hundred percent. There‟re probably bird nests in the chimney. Are you cold?” “Yeah, a little bit.” Ignoring her halfhearted protests, he shrugged out of his jacket and put it around her shoulders. He kissed her on the forehead. “Get under those blankets. I‟ll see if I can light a fire without cooking us.” After a few minutes of examination, he decided that lighting the fireplace was a terrible idea. Cobwebs and debris cluttered even the lowest part of the chimney. She lifted the blanket when he sat down next to her and settled it over his shoulders before snuggling against his side. “No good?” He wrapped an arm around her. “Nope, it should warm up, though. It‟s a small area, and I generate a lot of heat.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “I feel warmer already.” “Good.” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. The first snow of winter in an alpine forest tickled his nose. “Brand?” He murmured an affirmative noise into her hair. She turned her head to look into his face. “Would you sing with me?” “Of course I will.” He smiled, pushing back a few strands of chestnut hair that had fallen into her face. “I assume you‟re asking because you want to lead?” She nodded, her tongue coming out to moisten her 119

lower lip. “You‟ll follow?” He threaded his fingers with hers. “I‟ll follow you anywhere.” Beaming a smile at him, she sat straighter and filled her lungs. She raised her face and howled. The grace of her features, reverent and peaceful in song, captivated him. He had never witnessed anything so beautiful. Then, he remembered he was supposed to be singing with her. Inhaling, he lifted his voice to join her. They finished the solemn song together, his lower howl chasing hers in the ancient melody. When the last note trailed off, she darted in to kiss him, her lips warm and soft against his. Placing her hand in the center of his chest, she pushed him back. His pulse pounded in his ears, an echo of the beast‟s struggle inside him. He fought the urge to take control of the kiss, combating it by bracing his hands behind him. As if his retreat were an invitation, she continued forward. Her fingers opened the buttons of his shirt one at a time. She pulled his shirt open and broke away from the kiss to lower her mouth to his neck. Leaning his head back, he inhaled a shaking breath. Her lips and tongue caressed the skin of his bared throat. It took every bit of his control to contain the beast. He couldn‟t let it free and risk hurting her. She pushed him the rest of the way down, until he was flat on his back. His heart thumped as it did while on the hunt. She was out of her clothes in what seemed an instant and loomed above him, one hand on his chest to keep him on the ground. She dove for his neck; the strength of her sudden bite made him jerk. When his blood hit her tongue, a shockwave reverberated through him. His power flowed into her like a current of electricity. She moaned into his neck. A languid feeling settled into him. He curled an arm around her head, pressing her mouth tighter against him. She responded to his encouragement by biting down harder. The 120

pain raced through his body with each beat of his heart. His head fell back as a groan escaped him. She moved atop him without letting up on the pressure of her teeth, her breasts pushing into his chest. The area around the wound began to tingle. She kept her teeth locked, snarling as she tugged on the skin to set the mark. A pulse of her power throbbed around the wound. She drew more of his blood into her mouth, and then released her hold on his neck. She sat up, pushing her hands against his chest, triumph lighting her face. She was the most amazing creature he had ever seen. The wild tangle of her hair fell over her shoulders to almost, but not quite cover her breasts from view. The angle of her thighs, straddling his torso, accentuated the delicious curve of her hips. He ached from his struggle with the beast. She slid her hips down along his torso. Her red-painted lips parted in a toothy grin as she unfastened his belt. With deliberate slowness, she unzipped his pants. The tension building within made him writhe under her. He reached for her, but she pressed him back down onto the floor with one hand while freeing him from the uncomfortable confines of his pants with the other. She took him in a quick, decisive movement that tore the breath from his lungs. She gripped his throat as she took what she wanted with no remorse. Nothing but her desire mattered while her hunter‟s gaze held him motionless. Allowing himself to be mastered by her bordered on profane, but he didn‟t care. Brand lost track of time in the carnal rhythm of her hips. Her body was all he knew, her thrall more potent than even the moon peaking to full. Heat bloomed in his chest, intensifying until his breath came in gasps. The decadent pain of her fingers digging into his throat sped him onward. An erotic growl from deep in her chest pushed him over the edge. The beast surged forward, taking advantage of his distraction. The wolf reached up to grab her throat. Inside, his 121

conscious mind screamed, fighting to prevent what he feared most. Her eyes opened, silver and luminous. A slow smile spread over her face, and she pushed into his grip. Her hips pressed him into the ground once more, and her entire body shuddered. The wolf tightened his fingers, holding her still as she gasped, until her rigid muscles relaxed. His hand opened, and she collapsed against his chest. His wolf retreated a bit at a time, gradually relinquishing control. Her tongue lapped in lazy strokes at the wound on his neck. He slid his hands around her backside and pulled her closer. She made a contented murmur as she snuggled against him. His blood pumped through her; he felt her like an extension of himself. A sense of satisfaction filled him. Even with the moon minutes away from full, the beast relaxed. Brand stroked his hand over her back. He inhaled, taking her scent deep into his lungs. The aroma of piney, snowburdened boughs filled him. The instant her wolf gave up control was obvious because every muscle in her body tensed. Dagny bolted upright, her hand braced against his chest. She stared at the wound on his neck, mouth open. “Merciful Sigyn, what have I done?” He chuckled. “I would think that‟s obvious, considering where you are.” “This really isn‟t the time for jokes.” She started to move away, but he caught her arm in a tight grip. He waited until her frantic eyes met his before he spoke. “You‟d better think long and hard before you offend me with an apology for what might be the most amazing experience of my life.” Shame drew her mouth tight, and her hand shook in his grasp. “What I‟ve done is unspeakable.” She had given up her attempts to get away, so he released her wrist and put his hand on her knee. “I don‟t care what others think is proper behavior for a female. I‟m honored 122

to bear your mark.” She looked from the wound on his neck to his face several times. “You really mean that?” Brand smiled. “I do.”

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Chapter 14 Brand wiped a thin coating of frost from the inside of the cabin window and peered out at the inch of new-fallen snow. Winter shrouded the early morning with darkness and silence. Gunni and Alice approached the cabin at a quick pace. The anxiety coming from Alice troubled him. His first thought was that Erik had taken off to confront Rivera in a fit of rage. If he managed to get himself arrested for attacking the well-respected businessman, his brood would be in peril. Locked away from the earth and sky, his wolf would succumb to madness. With their leader fallen to insanity, the entire brood wouldn‟t be far behind. Dagny came up beside him. She leaned her cheek against his bare shoulder. She looked enticing dressed in his shirt and jacket, and a bit disheveled. Worry creased her forehead. He‟d spent the first hours of the waning moon enjoying her, tasting and touching every inch of her skin. Still, he craved her. He almost gave in to the temptation to tumble her back onto the floor. To Helheim with whatever the problem was. With a grumble, he moved to the pile of blankets and 125

picked up his sweater. Dagny had been wearing it when they arrived and, when he pulled it over his head, the delectable scent of her skin surrounded him. Pulse-pounding lust overtook him in a rush. When he looked up, she was watching him, a hint of a smile curling her lips. He stalked toward her, a growl at the back of his throat. Her smile widened. “Down, boy. They‟re almost here.” He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent again, directly from the source. She smelled amazing. She giggled while his mouth worked at the ticklish spot he‟d discovered earlier where her neck curved out to her shoulder. A tentative knock brought his head up with a grunt. He pushed her hair away from her face. “We‟ll continue this later.” She nodded and showed him a dazzling smile. “This had better be good,” he said as he pulled open the door. He regretted the harsh tone as soon as he saw Alice. She had felt anxious, but she looked worse. Her eyes wide, she worried at her lower lip with her teeth. Gunni, still in wolf form, dashed in front of Alice, meaning to protect her from Brand. Brand nudged him out of the way with a knee. “I‟m not going to hurt her, you dolt.” With a half-hearted grumble, Gunni moved aside and took up position inside the door. Dagny stepped toward them. “Come in, Alice. You must be freezing.” She led a reluctant Alice into the cabin, then shut the door behind her. Alice looked up at Brand. “I didn‟t want to interrupt you two, but Ingrid insisted.” She swallowed before adding, “She‟s back at the lodge.” He had no idea how Ingrid even knew where his lodge was. “What does that crazed bitch want?” “Ansvarr called for a Conclave.” Dagny spoke up before he could respond. “For me?” Desperation plain on her face, Alice turned to Dagny. 126

“He‟s claiming you as a stolen mate.” A dark blush colored Dagny‟s face. “That‟s ridiculous. He discarded me twenty years ago.” Dagny‟s outrage welled inside of him until he thought he‟d choke on it. “He‟s not doing it because of you.” He paced, feeling their eyes follow him. “I meant to tell you earlier, and I‟m sorry I didn‟t.” She interrupted him before he could confess his omission. “You think I don‟t know that he‟s your halfbrother?” He stared at her, unblinking, for several seconds. “I still should have told you.” “You should have.” Her face was set, but not angry. “Why do you think this has to do with you?” “He wants to be king. As long as I live, no one but me can claim the title.” “If they decide against you, he can have you removed?” Brand shook his head. “For this, he could have me killed.” She closed the distance between them, her anger filling the room with the urge for violence. “What?” He smiled; he couldn‟t help himself. She glared, eyes passing from gray to shining silver in a flash. “Why are you smiling like that?” “I can get out of whatever he has planned, and you‟re enchanting when you‟re angry.” *** Brand walked the path back to his lodge, his thoughts a violent swirl of potential actions. He‟d expected trouble from Ansvarr, but it bothered him that the call had come so soon. Dagny kept up easily, her swift steps silent alongside his. He reached for her hand, but stopped himself before he touched her. Giving away how attached he‟d become would add nothing but trouble to the problems ahead. 127

Ingrid sat on her heels on the bare ground outside the lodge. Her hair, a mess of golden tangles, ruined the peaceful effect of her position. She rose with graceful ease. At least she was clothed, a marvel in itself. A wrap of red-dyed leather covered her from shoulders to ankles, though her feet were bare. Erik emerged from the lodge, but Bera and Sigga were nowhere to be seen. “I asked her to leave, but she reminded me this is not my property.” Brand made a swift nod at Erik, glad that his friend had calmed from the rage he‟d been in earlier. He came to a stop in front of Ingrid and put on his best imperious glare. “You‟re not welcome here.” He paused for a beat. “What do you want of me?” Ingrid‟s gaze swept over Dagny and then back to Brand. Her steel-gray eyes narrowed when she saw the mark on his neck. She seemed more sane than usual, though with her, it was difficult to say for sure. “My daughter‟s return to where she belongs.” “She belongs right where she is. Anything else?” “You overstep. Return her to Ansvarr, and this will go no further.” He clenched his jaw so he wouldn‟t shout. “Out of the question.” “If you don‟t return her, I have no choice but to call a Conclave.” Anger tumbled inside him. “He discarded her decades ago. He has no claim.” Ingrid stared back at him in silence for several seconds. When she finally spoke, her face softened. “Loki knows I have no affection for your brother, but his mating to her is part of the Canadian Treaty. It‟s as good as signed in blood.” Dagny moved forward. “Ansvarr never claimed me.” Ingrid settled her hands on her hips and turned toward her daughter. “I know that, but he says otherwise.” She tilted her head. “To the males who will preside, your version of 128

events matters little.” Brand understood where Ingrid was headed with her reasoning. “How many of them will back him for no other reason than to be rid of me?” Her shrug was careless, but her gaze remained sharp. “A third, perhaps more. You are not well-loved, but it will depend on which earls preside.” “You believe I would lose.” She rolled her eyes. “I believe it‟s a risk you shouldn‟t take. That you refuse your birthright is frustrating; that Ansvarr might take it from you is unacceptable. He is not fit to rule.” “Surely the earls know that.” “What they see is someone they can cow and manipulate.” She smiled a little. “When faced with you as the alternative, can you blame them for their choice?” Brand struggled to contain the rage that threatened to explode. “I won‟t send her back to him. Do you have any idea what he did to her?” “We all do what we must, Brandúlfr, my daughter included.” His hands tightened into fists. “No.” Ingrid made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “Why must you be difficult? You were supposed to impregnate her and send her back to your brother. Instead, you fancy yourself her rescuer, like some gallant knight. She is no damsel.” “You‟re a callous bitch.” “Perhaps, but my plan would have undermined his authority. Instead, you do everything you can to fortify his position. You have no idea the precarious edge you cling to.” “Fenrir only fucking knows why you do the insane things you do, but don‟t pretend it‟s for my benefit.” “Believe what you will.” She folded her arms and nodded toward her daughter. “Ask her if she needs your help.” He knew the answer to that question without asking. Dagny needed him as much as he needed her. He knew that down to the deepest part of him. He turned to her, a smile 129

pulling at the corner of his mouth until he saw her expression. Dagny‟s lips compressed while she searched his face. The muscles of her jaw stood out. “I‟ll go back to Ansvarr.” The wolf surged fast and took over without warning. A passenger in his own body, he heard the words roaring from his mouth. “You will not.” Rather than cower under the force of the beast‟s rage, she stood taller. “You don‟t tell me what to do.” The monster grabbed her arm. He knew the grip was bone-crushing because he felt pain, distant though it was, in his fingers. “You are mine.” She didn‟t blink. The silver eyes bored into him. “No.” How she shamed him. He wanted to look away, but the wolf would not. “You misunderstand, puppy.” The words slipped from him in a rumbling growl. “I do not ask. I take.” She moved closer and lowered her voice. “Then, you‟re no better than any of them, despite your sweet words.” The wolf hesitated, confused. After several seconds, the hold on Dagny‟s arm loosened. “I would never harm you.” In the smoothest transition that had ever occurred between them, the wolf relinquished control. Brand swallowed, his throat tight. “You can‟t mean it.” Her gray eyes didn‟t waver at all. “I‟m going back to Ansvarr.” He shook his head, unable to understand why she was making the choice. “No, I won‟t let you.” She stared into his face, her expression blank. “It‟s not your decision.” The icy resignation flowing from her made his stomach churn. Her strength made his weakness all the more terrible. He wasn‟t sure he could let her go. The drive to protect her went beyond need. Thoughts of what Ansvarr would do to her whirled in his mind and threatened to break him. She deserved so much better, yet what sort of beast would he be to hold her against her will? Sighing, he closed his eyes. “I‟ll unlink you.” 130

Removing the brood ties first, he unwound her from Alice and Gunni. After that was done, he touched their connection for the last time. The warmth made the back of his throat ache. He sighed again and began to break the bond between them. Pain tore through his chest with every tendril he peeled away. When he was less than halfway done, Dagny collapsed, whimpering. Hearing the pain he caused her, he doubted he could keep going, but he pressed on. When he finished, he was drenched in sweat and felt as though he‟d been beaten. He looked down at Dagny huddled at his feet. She sobbed, mumbling incoherently into her hands every few seconds. She suffered more because she was alone, with no brood to soothe her or share their strength. He lowered himself to one knee beside her and picked her up off the ground. The pain she felt hit him hard right below the ribs, nearly knocking him over. He staggered to his feet. Walking slowly, he memorized the fresh scent of her and the softness of her body held against his chest. Ingrid opened the door of the car. He kissed Dagny‟s forehead before leaning over to put her in the passenger seat. Tears squeezed from her tightly closed eyes and careened down her cheeks. Touching her face, he sent what energy he could through her skin. Her ragged panting eased. He whispered into her hair, “There will never be another,” and closed the door. Ingrid started the car and pulled away. He watched until they went around a corner in the winding driveway and disappeared from sight. Alice approached him, her face grim. “Brand…” “I don‟t want comfort, and I don‟t want company.” He turned away from her, walking toward where Erik stood. “Call Björn and tell him I killed Arn. I‟ll be waiting here for him whenever he wants to show up.” Erik nodded. “All right.” 131

Brand held out his hand. Erik examined the offering skeptically, but took it after a moment. Brand pulled the ties with Alice and Gunni free with one swift yank. Alice cried out behind him, and Gunni yowled in pain. He pushed the links to Erik through their joined palms. “Get out, all of you. Take my car and go.” He stalked into the woods without looking back, the loneliness an all too familiar dull ache in his chest.

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Chapter 15 A hand touched her cheek with a soft caress. Alice blinked. Pain pounded at the back of her skull, and her vision blurred. A large shape loomed over her. She rested in the lap of a male and could only think of one who might be holding her so gently. “Brand?” The arm that held her tightened. The scent was wrong—not Brand‟s earthy aroma, but more like grass. She made an effort to focus. A male she didn‟t recognize stared down at her, his forehead creased. Bright blue eyes scanned her face. “No. Are you all right?” She realized she couldn‟t feel any emotions from him and stretched out her awareness. Nothing, she felt nothing beyond the ache in her head. Panic surged through her. She tried to sit up, but dizziness overcame her. Her stomach threatened to empty. The male‟s other arm wrapped around her to hold her down. Her heart raced. She couldn‟t get away. Brand had left her. She was alone and helpless, again. Though she knew it would do no good, she flailed against his grip. “Be easy, Alice.” He ran his hand over her arm. 133

She stopped struggling at the gentle touch. If he‟d meant to hurt her, wouldn‟t he have done so while she was unconscious? After a few shaking breaths to calm herself, she asked, “Who are you?” His grip around her loosened and he frowned. “I forgot you‟d only seen me as a wolf. No wonder you‟re so scared.” He shook his head. “I‟m Gunni.” Now that the panic had receded, memories flooded back. Inconsolable and terrible, Brand‟s anguish had ripped through her. He‟d dismissed her and then torn her from his brood. “Where‟s Brand?” Gunni‟s mouth tightened. “He stormed off into the woods.” “I have to go find him.” She began to sit up again. He pulled her back against him. “We‟re not at his lodge anymore, and you‟re in no condition to go after him, even if he wanted you to.” While not painful, the way he held her seemed too intimate. She pushed against his arms. “Let me go.” “No. You‟re still too weak.” “I am sick to death of everyone reminding me how weak I am and telling me what‟s best for me.” He shifted his arms and turned her so she was facing him. His angular face wore a serious expression. “I have no doubt of your strength, I‟ve been witness to it, but right now you need to rest. Two brood transitions in one moon is dangerous. If he cared for you, he wouldn‟t have done that.” She glared at him and shoved his chest. “You don‟t know him. He‟s done more for me than anyone.” Gunni narrowed his eyes. “That may be, but he doesn‟t want you now.” His attention made her uncomfortable, so she looked away. “I know that.” She didn‟t want to have that conversation. The reminder that Brand had left her brought the sting of tears. He cradled her chin in one hand. A pulse heated her skin. Strength flowed from his fingers into her body, burning 134

along her nerves. Her wolf rushed forward, and the pain dwindled. When his fingers dropped away, she shuddered and turned toward him. His eyes glowed a deep, shimmering blue. “Please, let me help you.” Heat radiated out of him, warming her chilled body. The comfort Gunni offered enticed her. In fact, she couldn‟t remember the last time she‟d wanted anything so badly. Closing her eyes, she gave in with a small nod. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer so that her face rested against his shoulder. The power of his wolf embraced her, making her skin tingle. The ache in her head lessened at once. Her tensed muscles relaxed, and a drowsy sense of contentment filled her. She listened to the beating of his heart and concentrated on the power rushing through him. Needing to feel his skin under her fingers, she raised a hand to his neck. He made a low sound in his throat that vibrated through her. A sudden tightness clutched her belly. He pulled her hand away. She opened her eyes to look up at him. His half-lidded gaze burned with intensity. She reached to touch his face. He leaned into her hand with a barely audible murmur, and then turned to kiss her palm. “Alice.” His voice had an edge at odds with the gentle caress of his lips on her skin. Her name had never sounded so wonderful. She moved her hand around behind his head. He let her draw his face down until his breath tickled across her mouth. Delicious heat fluttered through her belly. He held completely still, waiting, although she recognized the desire to crush her against him in the tension of his arms. She lifted herself up to meet him. The chaste kiss wasn‟t enough; she needed to taste him. Her tongue slid over the seam of his mouth. His lips parted with a soft groan, and his hands came up to support her back. He never tried to take control, just responded to her, 135

increasing the intensity of the kiss only after she did. The slow, sweet pull of his mouth drew warmth from a place she‟d thought long dead. He backed away and looked into her eyes. She licked her lips, unable to get enough of the taste of him. “More.” His smile carved dimples in his lean cheeks. He cradled the side of her face with one large hand. “There‟s no need to rush. I want you to feel safe.” Something in his tone bothered her. She scanned his face. “You know what happened with Arn.” His expression darkened. “Bera told me while you were unconscious.” Regret tied her stomach in knots. It would be like Brand all over again. All he wanted was to help some broken thing, and she was tired of that. She tried to free herself from his grasp, but his arms were a cage around her. A scream of rage bubbled up from inside of her. “I understand. I‟m too delicate, too weak for you to be interested in. You wouldn‟t want to break me. Let me go!” He held her firmly. “No, I don‟t think you do understand. Will you let me finish?” She glared up at him. “Fine.” “Bera told me because she thought if you woke up alone with me, you‟d be terrified. I didn‟t care; I had to hold you.” His eyes swept over her. “Not because you‟re weak, but because I wanted to feel you in my arms.” Her heart raced under his hungry gaze. “I don‟t want to be anywhere else right now.” He held her eyes for several seconds before lifting his head to look at something behind her. “Satisfied?” She turned and was shocked to find Erik standing inside the open doorway. Judging by the menacing expression on his face, if her emotional sense had been working, she would have felt his anger long before he entered the room. Erik gave a curt nod. “Now that she‟s awake you should both join us downstairs. I‟m about to go over what the plan is 136

from here on out.” Gunni‟s arms tightened around her a fraction. “We‟ll be down soon.” “Five minutes.” Erik clamped his jaw shut with an audible click of his teeth. He left the room and slammed the door behind him. Gunni returned his attention to her and answered her unspoken question. “He came when you screamed.” He stroked the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “I‟m glad you‟re feeling better.” She leaned into the warmth of his hand. “Are you empathic?” “Not in the slightest.” His smile came back. “I assume you wouldn‟t be flailing around and yelling at me if you were still hurting.” Abashed, she started to apologize, but he stopped her by bringing a hand to her mouth. “No apologies between us.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, I rather enjoyed you squirming around in my lap.” He traced a finger along her lower lip. A jolt of sensation surged into her. Her stomach lurched. Desire rolled through her, overwhelming her senses. Her head fell back. Gunni pressed a kiss into the pulse point at her throat, his mouth hot against her skin. “I‟ll take care of you.” His affection flooded into her from all sides. She couldn‟t doubt the truth in his words. *** Alice followed Gunni down the stairs to the main floor of the cabin, her hand engulfed in his. He‟d told her Erik‟s brood used the cabin for their full-moon runs. Exposed logs gave the interior a rustic look, though the furnishings were modern and sturdy. The room was filled to bursting. Thirty sets of eyes stared at her, most belonging to males and females she 137

had never met. She felt their confusion, their fear. Gunni squeezed her hand, and she realized she‟d stopped. Since she‟d met Brand, she hadn‟t been in a room with so many brood members. She concentrated on shutting out their emotions so they wouldn‟t overwhelm her, then nodded. Gunni led her down the last two steps and walked to a blond male who occupied a dark leather chair in an out-of-the way corner. “Move.” His demanding tone drove the male from the seat in a hurry. He eased her into the chair and sat in front of her on the floor. Though he wasn‟t a barrier in any real way, the gesture brought so much comfort. He scanned the room as if expecting an attack at any moment and bared his teeth at a few males who refused to look away. By her reckoning, Gunni stood highest in the room. She hadn‟t thought him particularly powerful, but then, she was used to Brand, who was far above any in Erik‟s brood. Erik entered, followed closely by Bera, and all conversation stopped. He motioned toward a male who sat in the chair nearest him. The male ducked his head and slid out of the way. Erik watched Bera take the seat, then looked around the room. He met each pair of eyes before moving on. He sought Alice last and held her gaze as he spoke. “Humans learned what Lucas was and detained him. His death is on their heads. I called you all here because I don‟t know how much information he shared with them about us. At the very least they know where I live.” A murmur of surprise floated through the room. Erik paused for silence again before he continued. “From now on, no one travels alone. You have one day to pack what you need and meet at a rendezvous point Bera will call you with. You‟ll be temporarily relocated to my ranch in Wyoming until I can determine how much information they have.” No one spoke as he looked around the room again. “We will see vengeance for this. I promise every one of you.” 138

A chorus of yips and eager howls filled the room. Erik nodded to the group, then dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They filed out in an orderly column, leaving Alice and Gunni alone with Erik. Gunni stood, effectively blocking her, as Erik crossed the room. “Get out of my way,” Erik growled. Gunni ignored the command and squared his shoulders. Alice had to act before the situation got out of control. She rose and took Gunni‟s hand. “It‟s okay.” Gunni turned to her. He studied her face before nodding. Returning his attention to Erik, he said, “Don‟t frighten her.” Erik appraised him with a quick glance. “You and I are going to have words later about your attitude.” Gunni bared his teeth in a grin. “I look forward to it.” Standing so near to them, Alice realized for the first time how close in strength they were—a dangerous prospect. Alice spoke up, hoping to diffuse the tension between them before it could spark. “You didn‟t mention what happened with Brand. I‟m worried about him.” Erik looked at her, his frown intensifying. “You should be. I delivered Brand‟s message, and Björn called a Conclave. He‟ll arrive tomorrow.” She‟d held to the idea that Erik might have some news that would make her feel better, but the situation only seemed to worsen. “What will happen?” Erik folded his arms across his chest. “I don‟t suspect Brand will answer the summons, so Björn will make his case, and Ingrid will have no choice but to cede to him. Björn and a half-dozen of his sons will hunt Brand down when he doesn‟t show.” “Can he handle that many?” Erik shrugged. “He might be able to on his best day, but I don‟t imagine tomorrow will be one of those.” The fear tightened her throat. She had to swallow so 139

she could speak. “Why would he do this?” Erik fixed her with his intense blue eyes. “I imagine because he‟s tired of fighting the wolf. He‟s been on the hard side of that battle for a while now. This just accelerated the process.” She‟d thought the heartbreak she felt from Brand would shatter her. Her vision blurred. “Why won‟t he let me help him?” Gunni wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her against his side. He leaned to kiss the top of her head. “If he longs for the end, you can‟t help him.” Erik spoke in a gentle voice, trying to comfort her. “He‟s protecting you. If you were linked with him, the pain would be unbearable. There‟s nothing to be done.” The anger she‟d previously felt at being coddled returned in full force. She wouldn‟t let Brand go; she simply couldn‟t. “If you think to protect me by trying to stop me from going after him, I‟m going to bite you.” Erik‟s warm expression turned brittle, his gaze becoming icy in a heartbeat. Gunni‟s hand tightened on her waist, and he pulled her behind him. “She didn‟t mean that.” She shrugged out from under Gunni‟s arm and turned to face him. “I did! And how dare you apologize for me?” Gunni opened his mouth to respond, but Erik held up a hand to quiet him. Erik‟s eyes glittered ice-white. “I‟ve given you a lot of leash in the past, Alice, but don‟t assume my leniency is limitless.” A menacing growl rumbled from Gunni as he came between them, blocking her once again with his body. Erik swiveled his stare to Gunni. “Back. Off. Now.” Gunni lowered his eyes, but didn‟t move from his protective stance. “I mean no disrespect, but I won‟t let you touch her.” His voice was low and dangerous. Erik glared. “I wouldn‟t hurt her. You, I will pummel.” Gunni stepped forward, but Alice stopped him with a 140

hand on his arm. “There won‟t be any pummeling.” She pulled Gunni back before turning to face Erik. “Brand is your friend. I know you don‟t want anything to happen to him.” Erik tilted his head to look at her. “Of course not. What do you suggest?” She swallowed and tried to fill her voice with a confidence she didn‟t quite feel. “I want to go talk to Dagny.” Erik frowned. “She made her stance quite clear. If you‟re counting on her to talk him back, I don‟t believe she‟ll be inclined to help.” “She didn‟t want to leave him. I felt how much it hurt her.” His eyebrows drew down. “Then, why did she?” “That‟s what I intend to find out.”

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Chapter 16 Dagny stared out the filthy windows of her mother‟s cabin. The three days since she‟d left Brand had passed slowly. Her head still hurt, but most of the pain associated with the abrupt removal from his brood was gone. Ingrid‟s annoyed voice interrupted her thoughts. “This was all part of the plan.” She didn‟t bother to look up when she responded. “I know, Mother.” “Then, why are you still sulking?” “I‟m not sulking.” Ingrid snorted. “This is the best way to get what we want, dear.” “So you‟ve said. Repeatedly.” “Well, I want to be certain you remember, since you fucked up the plan so badly.” Gods, not this again. “I had to let him bring me into his brood. It was the only way to gain his trust.” That was only partially true. She could have gained his trust other ways, but she‟d wanted to believe him. Gods, she was so stupid. Males couldn‟t be trusted; that was one thing her 143

crazy mother was right about. In the end, he‟d let her go back to Ansvarr, despite saying he‟d protect her. At once, she realized that wasn‟t fair. She‟d made him do it by throwing his promises back in his face and telling him if he didn‟t let her go, he was just like all the others. She‟d been repeating the scene over in her head since she‟d left him. Each time she went over it, the guilt became worse. His stricken face was burned into her mind. Ingrid narrowed her eyes. “I‟m still shocked he actually let you go. Males with his level of power never give up members of their brood, certainly not female ones.” “You told me he was exceptional.” “He is that.” Ingrid paced across the small living room. “I know you wonder if staying with him would have been better for you.” Dagny sighed. “Get out of my head, Mother.” Her mother spoke in a gentler tone. “You want Ansvarr dead, and so do I. This is the best way to achieve that goal.” She slumped back in her seat. “Brand told me he would kill Ansvarr for what he did to me.” “You can‟t believe a word he says.” “He never lied to me. I‟m the one that lied.” She swallowed when her voice broke. “I lied to him about everything, and I hate myself for it.” “He will stomp on your heart. I have occasion to know.” “So you‟ve said.” She made a dismissive hand gesture. Ingrid grumbled. “Girl, you are treading on my last nerve.” Dagny lowered her head into her hands. “I want this to be over.” “As soon as you‟re sure we can take the next step.” She rubbed at her forehead with one hand, wishing the headache would go away. “I did exactly what you told me. I took his blood within a half-hour of the peak of the moon.” Ingrid scoffed. “You did more than that. I can‟t believe 144

he allowed you to mark him. He could have killed you.” The reminder of their time together and how she‟d treated him afterward made her stomach tense until she felt sick. “He wouldn‟t hurt me, Mother. I‟m certain of it.” A knock at the door interrupted their discussion. Dagny looked at her mother, wondering who it might be. Ingrid continued to appraise Dagny, unperturbed. Ingrid‟s voice rose. “Enter.” The door swung in and Alice‟s head peeked around the corner. Ingrid hissed. “Loki‟s cock, what are you doing here?” “I need to speak with Dagny, please,” Alice said in a voice that wavered a bit. “Well, come in.” Ingrid gestured with one hand, encompassing the cluttered area against one wall where a stool stood. Alice crept into the room. She glanced around, eyes nervous. Her nose twitched. Dagny couldn‟t blame her. The cabin air was overpowered with a mixture of putrid substances, as usual. Alice made her way to the stool. After she sat, she fidgeted nervously. “I‟d like to speak with her alone.” “Of course, I‟ll leave my own home.” Ingrid laughed harshly and headed out the door. Alice smoothed her hands over her knees. “I came here to tell you that Brand is going to kill himself.” Dagny shot to her feet. “What are you talking about?” “Björn is coming to take vengeance for the death of his son, and Brand‟s not going to put up a fight.” Dagny blinked, trying to understand what was happening. “He wouldn‟t let himself be killed while you‟re still linked to him.” “I‟m not in his brood any longer. Right after you left he gave me back to Erik.” She sat back down heavily. “Fenrir forgive me.” Their plan had gone so terribly wrong, and it was all her fault. Alice stood and crossed the small room. “Go talk to 145

him.” Dagny looked down at her hands. The shame of what she‟d done was all the more terrible with Alice staring at her so hopefully. “I rejected him. It‟s done.” Alice knelt next to her and touched her arm. “I know you don‟t want to go back to Ansvarr. Just tell Brand you made a mistake.” Dagny rubbed her mouth with the back of one trembling hand. Whenever she thought of Brand, she could taste him, dark like the earth in the deep woods. “The only mistake I made was allowing him to become infatuated with me.” Alice withdrew her hand. “Merciful Sigyn, you set him up.” Feeling the tears gather, Dagny nodded absently. “Now you see why I can‟t go talk to him. What would I say?” “The truth. Don‟t you owe him that?” For the first time since Dagny had met her, Alice‟s voice had an angry edge. “Why do I owe him anything? I never promised him I‟d stay with him. I did this for all of us, Alice. He needs to take his place and change things.” Alice stood abruptly and stared down with her jaw clenched. “That‟s what this is about? You expect him to take charge of the Broods of Fenrir and undo centuries of ingrained behavior all by himself? They‟ll tear him apart.” “After everything that‟s happened to you, how can you just sit here with him, cozy in Denver, knowing what goes on everywhere else? Have you forgotten how terrible it is to be in a real brood?” The anger shook her voice. She detested that she begrudged Alice her years of safety. Alice had been with Brand, while Dagny had been tortured and shamed by Ansvarr. Alice made a disgusted sound in her throat. “I know more of what happens in a brood than someone like you could ever understand.” “What‟s that supposed to mean?” “You‟re stronger than most males. What do you think 146

it‟s like being as weak as I am, Dagny?” “That‟s why I did this, to protect you, to protect all of us.” The petulant tone that had crept into her voice annoyed her. Alice glared. “Don‟t pretend you did this for me. I never asked you to save me. I‟ve come to terms with my lot.” She lifted her eyes to meet Alice‟s angry stare. How was it possible that she‟d misjudged everything so badly? Her mother had portrayed her part in this as the avenger for every female who had been wronged over generations. After a few seconds, Alice walked to the door. Dagny asked, “Where are you going?” “I‟m going to try to convince him that he shouldn‟t kill himself.” “May I come with you?” Alice turned back to her. “Only if you‟re going to tell him the truth.” Dagny sighed. “Telling him that I betrayed him won‟t save him.” “Maybe not, but telling him how you feel about him might.” “I told you, it was all an act, part of a plan my mother devised to manipulate him into claiming his kingship.” Alice‟s mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “That may have been how it all started, Dagny, but that‟s not all you feel. You can‟t fake what I felt from you.” “Is everyone but me a damned empath?” Alice shrugged. “Brand and I might be the last.” Dagny joined Alice at the door and reached for the handle. “You should let me go first. She‟s going to freak out.” Ingrid confronted them on the other side of the door. “Where in Helheim do you think you‟re going?” Dagny cleared her throat. “I‟m going to talk to Brand.” Ingrid glared at Alice. Next, she turned her stare to Dagny. “That‟s a bad idea. Ansvarr will be here in a few hours to collect you.” 147

She gaped, unable to understand her mother‟s admission. “What? My going back with him wasn‟t part of the plan.” Ingrid smirked. “I had to improvise. We need to increase the incentive to get Brand to kill Ansvarr.” “You‟re a raving lunatic.” “Perhaps, but you‟re going back with Ansvarr.” She wouldn‟t walk back into that sadist‟s hands. She‟d tie her mother up if she had to. Alice came forward, putting a hand on Dagny‟s arm. “Your plan isn‟t going to happen if Björn kills Brand.” Ingrid turned to Alice. “The days Björn might have been able to kill Brand are long past.” “Even if Brand doesn‟t fight back?” Ingrid made a dismissive noise. “He wouldn‟t do that. He‟s too proud.” Her face adamant, Alice advanced toward Ingrid. “You counted on him feeling responsible for her, but he feels much more. Without her, he‟s desolate.” Ingrid cast a glance at Dagny. “I don‟t believe it.” “He severed my brood ties with him right after you left. He was in agony already, and he yanked them all loose at once. There‟s no other reason he‟d do that.” The words cascaded out, her voice unwavering. Dagny had never seen Alice so animated, so alive. Ingrid‟s lips pursed. “Go.” She pushed past them to enter the cabin, her face drawn in thought. *** Dagny stepped out of Alice‟s car into the cold winter air and listened. With sound dampened by a fall of fresh snow, the night was nearly silent. Alice moved to where she stood. “I‟ll wait in the lodge. No idea where he is, but I know he hasn‟t been inside since we left three days ago.” 148

“I don‟t know how I‟ll find him in that case.” “He‟ll find you.” Alice patted her on the back before she began walking to the lodge. Dagny wasn‟t so sure. Her stomach clenched, as if filled with something heavy and cold. She suspected he wouldn‟t want anything to do with her. Even if she found him, she didn‟t have any idea what she should say. She pondered that as she struck out through the knee-deep snow in a random direction. Alice had made it sound so simple, but the reality was anything but. If she bared her heart to him, told him everything, and he rejected her, she‟d be crushed. And wouldn‟t she deserve exactly that because it was what she‟d done to him? Gods, but she was a fool. She‟d trusted a plan spawned from her mother‟s deranged mind rather than what she‟d felt. She climbed a small rise and examined the surrounding terrain. The trees were close together, but the sparse underbrush made traversing the woods easier. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with icy air. Her heart rate climbed when she caught his scent. She set off down the hill in the direction her nose dictated. Twenty minutes later, she found him sitting with his back against a tree, arms draped over his upraised knees. The snow had drifted around him in piles that covered his feet. He lifted his head, tension obvious in the lines of his face. His blue eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the night. “I‟m surprised you‟re back. I would have thought you‟d be in Vancouver by now.” Her throat suddenly dry, Dagny swallowed. “Alice came to talk to me. She‟s worried about you.” He curled the fingers of one hand and then the other, moving them stiffly. “She‟s always worried. There‟s nothing she needs to concern herself about.” “I‟m worried, too, Brand.” His chuckle was humorless. “Are you? I wonder why. If you cared anything about me why would you force me to let you go back to him?” 149

She couldn‟t think of a response, so she didn‟t say anything. She moved closer, clearing a patch of snow away with her feet before she knelt nearby. Brand shook his head. “Can‟t you just leave me alone? It‟s not enough that you left me so that you could go back to my fucking brother, you have to come here to torture me?” His voice cracked as his volume rose toward the end. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Seeing him so forlorn, so beaten, hurt. She wanted to crawl away and cry. “I came here to tell you the truth—” He interrupted her with a snide chuckle. “No thanks. You already told me you want nothing to do with me. That‟s all the truth I can handle from you.” “I was never going to go back to Ansvarr.” He turned his face toward her, the back of his head still against the tree. When he didn‟t speak, she continued, “I was going to wait at Mother‟s until I was sure that I carried your offspring. Then, she was going to take some of my blood and convince you that Ansvarr had killed me.” His jaw tightened. “What the fuck are you talking about?” “The plan my mother devised to make you kill Ansvarr and force you to take over as king.” “You‟re serious.” He grimaced and passed a hand over his face. “That makes me feel much better. Thanks for sharing.” He started to rise, but he‟d obviously been seated there for a long time. He stumbled and had to hold on to the tree to remain standing. She rose, taking his arm to hold him up. He glared down at her. “I really don‟t need more of your fucking help.” He yanked his arm out of her grip. “Brand, please.” She reached to grab his hand. When she touched his icy fingers, he reeled so badly she was sure he would fall over, but somehow he maintained his feet. He tugged his hand away and braced his head against 150

the tree. “Loki wept. How the fuck do you scramble my circuits like that?” “I don‟t know what you mean.” She wanted to reach out and hold him, but didn‟t think she should. He closed his eyes. “When you touch me, even now that I know it‟s all an act, I feel warmth. So much that I want to bask in it.” She inhaled before she answered. “That‟s what I came here to tell you. My mother‟s plan set this all into motion, but I do care about you.” He turned his face toward her. A frown twisted his mouth. “If that‟s true, why did you leave?” “I‟ve spent my entire life being lied to and manipulated. I didn‟t trust you.” She took his hand again and held it. He didn‟t take his hand back, but he didn‟t tighten his grip either. “You betrayed me. Not only that, but you just about destroyed me. The idea that you were going back to him to be abused again almost killed me.” She squeezed his fingers. “I know. I owe you a debt so huge I‟ll never be able to repay it.” He pulled away from her with a growl. “Do you really believe what I want is repayment?” Her eyes burned and she shook her head. He exhaled a long sigh. “Then, why do you offend me by offering it?” “I‟m sorry.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks. The urge to run away tightened her belly. She‟d lost her chance. He‟d offered her exactly what she wanted, and she‟d hurt him because she‟d been afraid to believe in him. She turned away, wiping her face. After a few seconds, he said in a soft voice, “If you can‟t or won‟t give me all of you, leave me to my misery.” *** The delay was soul-wrenching. Brand wanted to scream 151

in frustration and pain. His chest burned, the beast‟s claws tearing at him from the inside. He fully expected her to walk away, but time ticked on, and Dagny stood frozen, her breath misting the air. Each minute felt like a year, the seconds slicing through his heart. She looked over her shoulder, tears damp on her face. “Claim me.” He barely allowed himself to believe it might be true. “You‟re sure?” His pulse quickened when she nodded. “And the wolf?” Her shrug was miniscule. “It hasn‟t had much to say the last few days.” He knew how to fix that. He swallowed, then whispered, “Forgive me.” Her eyes narrowed a fraction. An instant was all the time he gave her to contemplate what he was about to do. He closed the distance between them. Gripping her wrist, he twisted her arm behind her back, and turned her around, pushing her forward into a tree. The impact shook snow from the branches above them, causing it to land in heavy, wet clumps on the ground. “Brand, what—” Her words cut off with a small yelp. Curling his fingers in her hair, he tugged her head back. He lowered his mouth to her ear. “Quiet.” He licked her, tasting the skin he‟d so desperately missed. “I need to talk to the wolf, Dagny.” Her chest heaved as she panted. “I told you. I haven‟t felt her in days.” “She took the brunt of the pain from severing our connection. She‟s hurt and confused. You have to let go. She‟ll come to me.” “If she won‟t accept you, what then?” “Let me worry about that.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Give her control.” By gradual degrees, Dagny‟s body relaxed. Nuzzling his face against her neck, he smiled. She did trust him, finally. He 152

released her wrist, letting her arm dangle at her side. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her pliant body against him. Several seconds later, without warning, her body tensed. She went from a rag doll to a crazed badger in an instant. She writhed, trying to escape his arms, but he held her fast, the feeling of her ass grinding against him all the incentive he needed to hold her tighter. “There‟s my girl,” he murmured. A growl vibrated through her while she continued to struggle. “Let go of me.” “You and I have unfinished business I intend to put right.” She froze. “If you think I‟m going to roll over and let you scratch my belly after you turned me away, think again.” She elbowed him in the side hard enough to make him grunt, and then stomped on his foot. He tugged on her hair, cranking her head back and staring into her silver eyes. “I‟m not asking your permission.” He covered her mouth with his. A gasp that was almost a moan escaped her parted lips. His kiss was a challenge, aggressive and demanding. The shewolf ceded quicker than he‟d hoped, her body relaxing against him. He broke the kiss and slid his mouth over her jaw, down to her throat. He tore at the top of her shirt, exposing the junction of shoulder on the right side of her neck. He lowered his head and bit her, mouth stretched taut over her skin. With a groan, her head fell forward, bowing her back against his torso. Her energy roared through him with concussive force. He began to weave the mating bond, threading his power with hers in an intricate pattern. The process was a slow one, but he relished every second. The link between them solidified with each connection he made. Her chest expanded into his arm with her deep, rhythmic breaths. His hold on her was light, barely enough to keep the contact between them. When the last of the bond was 153

tied off, the sense of her came alive inside him, and he sighed into her skin. His lips tingled, and he tightened his bite. He pushed energy through the wound, setting his mark in her skin. She shivered against him. He drew more of her blood, repeating the knots of the links that bound them. When he finished, he extricated his teeth and sealed the wounds. He pressed his cheek to hers. “Twice knotted, twice bound. Under the waning moon, I claim you.” She lifted her voice into a joyous howl. He moved his hand to the lower portion of her belly, pulling her closer. Enjoying the sensation as she squirmed against him, he groped her breast. Eager to feel her skin, he tore open her shirt. He pulled the clothing from her, kissing down her neck and over her shoulder as he did. He opened his mouth and scratched down her back with his canines, careful not to break the skin. She shuddered in his arms. He pushed his hips forward into her, pulling her back at the same time. His cock ground against her ass. A gasp escaped her lips. Worry that he might hurt her made him hesitate. The beast roared inside of him, desperate for her. She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “What‟s wrong?” He spoke softly, lips caressing her back. “I‟m afraid the wolf will hurt you.” Her sultry smile was immediate. “Neither of you would ever hurt me. I know it.” He answered with a smile of his own, and a low growl rumbled between his teeth.

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Chapter 17 Brand lay awake in the shallow bowl of evergreen boughs with Dagny curled against him. He was exhausted, but he wouldn‟t submit to unconsciousness while she slept unprotected. He was also a little afraid to close his eyes because he feared her coming back to him had been a dream, irrational though that was. He‟d picked the copse of trees because it smelled like her, the scents of pine and snow mixing in just the right balance. For two nights, he‟d sat there, feeling the wolf writhe inside him in a desperate attempt at self-preservation. The day before she‟d come back, he started to feel the claws tearing at him. Still, he‟d kept an iron grip on the wolf so it wouldn‟t interfere in his plan. Not that his plan was overly complex. Sit there, not sleeping or eating, until Björn showed up to end his miserable life. When he‟d smelled her, he‟d been sure he was delusional and falling to madness. He hugged her against his chest and touched his lips to her bare shoulder. Given every opportunity to leave, she‟d come back on her own. His hand slid over her belly, down to the burns that 155

scarred her soft skin. She‟d endured hours of agony in their creation. He‟d felt the smallest part of it through her memory when he first touched the marks, and that brief glimpse had been horrifying. He nuzzled her neck, wishing he could take the pain of that experience away from her. She murmured as she came awake and turned in his arms. Her eyes blinked in a lazy rhythm. “How long have I been asleep?” “A while, it‟s just before noon.” Her mouth turned down in an adorable frown. “That‟s longer than a while. You should have woken me.” “You were tired.” He lifted a hand to smooth a few errant tresses of her chestnut hair. She made an annoyed noise. “Are you going to treat me like I‟m fragile forever? Because that‟s going to get old fast.” “Not forever, only nine moons or so.” She inhaled sharply and dropped her eyes. “I did mention that, didn‟t I?” Much as he rejoiced in the idea, he wondered how she could be so sure. “Why would you think you carry my offspring?” “Taking your blood near the full moon should have started my fertility cycle. It‟s a trick Mother‟s used before.” “You‟re telling me what happened in the cabin was part of your plan?” He tried to keep his voice level, but didn‟t think he succeeded. After a long hesitation, her gray eyes met his. “Not entirely. I was supposed to seduce you, but the wolf took over instead.” He stared at her, counting the passing seconds, waiting for the anger to overtake him, but it didn‟t come. She avoided his gaze. “I‟m so sorry, Brand. I‟ll transform.” He took her hand and kissed the spot where her thumb curved back into her wrist. “You‟re forgiven. I don‟t want to hear another apology about this, and you don‟t need to 156

transform. We move forward, not dwell on what‟s happened.” Her hand came up to stroke the few days‟ growth of beard along his jaw. She drew his face down toward her, lips soft against his. She tasted like the snow, clean and cool. He pulled away after a few seconds, though he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in her kiss for hours. “It‟s much too early to say one way or the other, but I suspect like many of her schemes it‟s not based entirely in reality.” Dagny nodded, a frown twisting her mouth. Her regret made him uncomfortable, so he chose a new subject. “What do you think your mother will tell Ansvarr?” “I think she‟s going to tell him exactly where we are. She let me go too easily.” He hoped so, because Ansvarr had to die. It went beyond the damage he‟d done to Dagny, though that was enough to send his anger soaring. She was safe with him, but who knew how many others Ansvarr would abuse and terrify. Like their mutual sire, Ansvarr was a beast that had to be put down. Brand felt no remorse for the task in front of him. He stood up, helping her to her feet at the same time. “Well, we‟d better go meet him, then.” *** Brand knew something was wrong before they came within sight of the lodge. The smell from downwind was faint, but the earthy quality of the fresh blood was unmistakable. He froze and sniffed the air. Dagny stopped next to him. “What is it?” “Brood blood scent coming from the lodge.” She sniffed a few times, and her body tensed. With a panic-stricken expression, she said, “I left Alice at the lodge.” She started up the next hill. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “It‟s not Alice. Gunni wasn‟t with her?” “Not when I left.” 157

He scented again, deeper. “Three males, all blood I‟ve never smelled before. One is probably Gunni, but I can‟t say for certain.” “Why do you think one is him?” “Similarity between the smell and what I know of him from when I Called him. I can‟t really explain it.” He felt her eyes on him. “Neat trick.” He shrugged, scanning the hill separating them from the lodge. “One of the perks of being king.” “I didn‟t think there were any perks, given how you‟ve spoken of it.” “That‟s a conversation for another time.” He started up the hill, and she came behind him after a short delay. When he reached the top, he gazed down into the valley. Gunni and another male circled each other in front of the lodge. The other combatant was much larger, and Gunni looked almost small by comparison, though he was above average in size himself. Gunni limped when he moved; blood leaked from a wound in his upper thigh, staining the snow around him. Nearby, a third male lay unmoving on the ground. “Find Alice,” he said, as he accelerated toward the fight below. Gunni was driven to the ground, snow exploding around him. His assailant landed atop him, clawed hands digging into Gunni‟s chest. Gunni grunted; blood spurted from his mouth. Brand closed the remaining distance in a handful of long strides and hit the attacker with his shoulder. The male went sprawling over the snow. Though he recovered quickly, Brand was faster. He kicked the attacker in the chest, hard enough that he heard the crunch of ribs. Settling a boot into the center of the male‟s back, Brand pushed him into the ground and turned to examine Gunni. “You okay, Gunni?” Gunni rolled over onto his side. He spat up a dark clot of blood onto the snow. He gasped twice before he answered. 158

“Fine. Is Alice all right?” “I sent Dagny to look for her. Any more of these about?” Struggling to sit up, Gunni shook his head. He ripped a piece of cloth from his torn shirt and began to bind the wound on his leg. The male under his foot struggled a bit, and Brand put more weight on his back to discourage him. He looked like one of Björn‟s offspring, fair-skinned and red-haired. “Your father couldn‟t come for me himself, so he sent you instead? That isn‟t like him. Which one are you?” “Farbjörn.” The redheaded male laughed. Brand pushed down until Fari groaned. “Where is he, then?” When Fari didn‟t answer, a response came from Gunni. “Ingrid‟s.” “What in Tyr‟s bloody hand is he doing there?” Fari spluttered as Brand increased the weight of his foot. “I don‟t ask questions.” “Of course you don‟t, you‟re the dumb one.” Fari proved his point by snarling and struggling until nearly unconscious. Brand let up on the pressure. “Easy, big guy, I don‟t want you to die by accident.” Dagny and Alice came from behind the lodge. From the bundles of rope in Alice‟s arms, he assumed she‟d taken refuge in his shed. When she saw Gunni, she ran toward them. Dagny walked up next to him, a shotgun cradled in the crook of her elbow. After an appraising glance, he flashed her a grin. He gave Fari one more kick to encourage obedience before turning away. “If this dumb shit moves, shoot him somewhere that hurts.” Dagny raised the shotgun, leveled it at the center of Fari‟s back, and gave a small nod. Brand went to check on the other attacker, but when he approached, it was obvious the male was dead. The snow 159

around the prone form was turning brown with the drying blood. Gunni had scored either a skillful or a lucky hit, tearing open the male‟s neck. The dead one had blond hair and was slight compared to Fari, likely not one of Björn‟s sons. “Your friend is on his way to the moon. I can‟t believe Björn would send only his seventh son and some under-grown lackey to fetch me. What are you doing here?” “Fifth,” Fari spat. “We were sent to collect the female.” Gunni said, “Björn called for a conclave. That‟s why I came.” Alice stopped fussing over Gunni‟s wounds and stared at him. Her face drew tight. “What do I have to do with that?” Gunni reached to take her hand. “Erik believes Björn is going to convince you to give evidence against Brand.” Alice‟s eyes found Brand. “I never would.” Fari laughed. “Bold words for one who has never been subject to his attentions. Bigger wolves than you have begged to do what he asked.” Dagny stepped forward and stomped on Fari‟s hand. “Shut up.” Fari retracted his hand with a yelp, curling his injured fingers in toward his chest. “Stupid bitch.” Brand was on him in an instant, his knee pressed into the flailing male‟s back. “Apologize before I get angry.” Fari spluttered for several seconds before he said anything coherent. “I meant no offense.” Leaning into his back, Brand increased the pressure and grabbed the nape of Fari‟s neck in a tight hold. “The next time you refer to my mate as anything but „my lady‟ you will lose your head. Understood?” Fari nodded. “Of course, my lord.” His Norse was badly accented and barely comprehensible with his face pressed into the snow, but the message came through nonetheless. “Don‟t offer me false respect now. The only reason you‟re still alive is that I‟m hoping to trade you to your sire in exchange for him backing off.” 160

“You might as well kill me now. Arn was his favorite. He won‟t give up a chance for vengeance for anything, least of all my life.” Despite having every reason to pummel him, Brand eased up. His own sire had been none too fond of him, and he knew the sting of that rejection well enough. “Don‟t give me any more trouble, and I won‟t break any more ribs.” Fari nodded against the snow. “I understand.” He backed off. “Give me your right hand.” Fari complied, bending his arm behind him. “Alice, the rope?” She tossed the rope before returning her attention to Gunni‟s injuries. Brand tied Fari‟s wrists behind his back and yanked him to his feet. He gestured to Dagny. “Don‟t move, or she‟s going to fill you with buckshot. Believe me, it stings.” He walked to where Gunni sat. Alice knelt next to Gunni, her face set in a worried frown. She knotted another bandage around the wound in his leg, then looked up at Brand. “Is he okay to travel?” Brand asked. Her frown deepened, but before she could answer, Gunni spoke up. “I‟m fine.” Alice searched Brand‟s face with her pale blue eyes. “Where are we going?” “You two are taking his car and going to Erik‟s place in Wyoming.” They looked at each other. “No, we aren‟t,” Alice said. Gunni nodded in agreement, a ghost of a smile touching his normally reserved features. Brand grumbled. “Why is everyone in the fucking mood to defy me today?” A cough came from Dagny, and he sent a glare in her direction. She had made it abundantly clear during their walk back that she wasn‟t going to be sent away, and perhaps that had made him a bit more irritable than normal. Her eyes didn‟t move from Fari, but the lifted corner of her mouth told him 161

what she thought of his outburst. He brought his attention back to Gunni. “You take Alice and get the fuck out of here.” Gunni cleared his throat. “You‟re going to need help if it comes to a fight.” “If it comes to a fight, I don‟t want you on my side.” He made his voice as harsh as he could. Gunni‟s face, ruddy from his battle minutes before, fell. The dejected expression tugged at Brand‟s heart, just a little. Fenrir‟s teeth and claws, what was wrong with him? He didn‟t need that pup chasing around after him, thinking he was helping and getting himself killed, especially not when Alice so clearly cared about him. Alice fixed Brand with a distinctly disapproving glare. He stomped toward her through the snow. She stared up at him, expression cold. Forcing an even more harsh tone, he said, “I suppose you‟re going to come up with some excuse why I should bring you as well. This is going to be difficult enough; I don‟t need two anchors tied to me.” Her eyes didn‟t waver at all. “You‟re an arrogant bastard.” He managed to restrain the smile that threatened because of her act of defiance. She‟d changed so much recently. “So I‟ve been told on more than one occasion.” Though never by her. Tension tightened his belly in knots. He needed to ensure their safety, and the best way to accomplish that was for them to be far from him. Ingrid, he thought, could be trusted to protect Dagny if the confrontation went badly, but she wouldn‟t inconvenience herself for Gunni or Alice. In fact, she would probably offer them up as a sacrifice to save her daughter. He couldn‟t let that happen. Gunni reached for Alice‟s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. He pulled her close to him and whispered, “Let‟s get out of here.” Her eyes searched his face for a few seconds and then 162

she nodded. She dug in the pocket of her jeans. Coming up with her keys, she tossed them in Brand‟s direction without looking at him. He caught them one-handed and turned away. Brand manhandled Fari into the backseat of Alice‟s car. The male groaned with each impact to his battered ribs which Brand made sure happened enough keep his attention. Dagny watched him with a tight-lipped expression. Brand got behind the wheel and wrestled with the seat, lifting his gaze to her afterward. “Go ahead and say it.” “Oh, no. I‟ve got nothing to add to that stellar performance.” She glowered at him. “I‟m wondering if you‟re stupid enough to try that on me? Or are you going to Compel me to go hide somewhere, like Erik did to Bera?” “If I thought pushing you away had a chance of working, I might try it.” He grumbled and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “As to Compelling you, I can‟t anymore.” “You… what?” She leaned closer, looking more than a bit shocked. “I changed the bond so I can‟t Compel you anymore.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Why would you do that?” “I wanted to give you something no one else has.” He paused to smile. “I don‟t want to make you do something you don‟t want to, as crazy as I‟m sure that will make me sometimes.” A tear streaked down over her right cheek. He reached for her, but she leaned away, wiping at her face irritably. “Shouldn‟t you give Alice that same respect?” Her words stung like a slap. He faced out the window toward where Gunni‟s car sat rather than confront her accusation. Alice leaned against the fender. “You don‟t understand.” “I understand that you‟re caught between your need to protect and your sense of honor. I can feel how tortured you are by that choice.” She touched his arm with hesitant fingers. He turned back to meet her eyes. “She‟s not like you.” 163

“No, she‟s not, but she cares for you, too.” She sighed. “The choice isn‟t yours to make, Brand.” “You‟re both going to be the death of me.” He got out of the car and stalked across the space between the vehicles. Alice watched him crossing the distance, eyebrows drawn down. Gunni scrambled out of his car and got between them. Brand hadn‟t expected that reaction, but he approved. He remembered how difficult it had been to stand up to his sire that first time. Fixing Gunni with his most fierce glare, he stopped. “Get out of my way unless you want me to knock you on your ass in front of her.” A low growl came from between Gunni‟s clenched teeth. Brand stopped, pulling up his sleeves one at a time. “Listen, pup, step aside, or I‟m going to move you.” Gunni wasn‟t small, but Brand topped him by three inches and at least twenty pounds of muscle. Still, the young male didn‟t flinch when Brand approached him. Satisfied that Gunni would do what was needed if required, Brand tilted his head to look at Alice. By her wide eyes, she knew Brand couldn‟t back away after a challenge like the one Gunni offered. She understood the subtleties of power plays, even if she didn‟t participate. She reached for Gunni‟s arm. “It‟s all right.” She tried to pull him back, but he wouldn‟t budge. Her hand slid around his waist. “Gun, he‟d never hurt me.” Gunni craned his head to look at her. She smiled up at him, a beautiful expression Brand had never seen from her before. Without a word, Gunni deferred to her with a fluid bow of his head. Brand cleared his throat. “I apologize for acting as I did. I was trying to protect you. I have since been reminded that not every choice in the lives of those I care about is mine to make.” Alice‟s eyes flickered to her car before coming back to Brand. “She‟s quite something.” 164

He nodded, feeling a smile at the corners of his mouth despite his resolve to remain stone-faced. “I would still prefer it if you‟d allow Gunni to take you somewhere safe.” Alice ran forward, squeezing him in a tight hug. Her head rested against his chest. She tilted her head back to look up at him. “Thank you.” He wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace. “You‟re welcome.” “I‟ll agree to stay away on one condition.” “What‟s that?” “Take me back into your brood, and Gunni, too. That way, we‟ll know if you need us.” He frowned, considering her offer. “I gave you back to Erik to protect you from this.” “You said it‟s my choice whether I take that protection or not.” He struggled to keep his voice reasonable. “If I fall, there will be pain like you‟ve never felt.” He remembered the agony of his sire‟s death vividly. The sensation had been akin to what he thought being skinned alive might feel like. Alice appeared unmoved. “Pain doesn‟t frighten me.” “You would end up in another brood not of your choosing.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Björn could be your leader again. Is that what you want?” The memory of her state when he had taken her haunted him—terrorized, starved, and so badly beaten that she couldn‟t stand. The desperation he‟d felt when he‟d seen her discarded like trash had changed him. She stared into his face, a pensive crease between her eyebrows. “I fear your death more than what he might do to me.” “Very well, my sweet.” He lowered his head to press his lips to her cheek. A rumble of anger came from Gunni. His hand slid around Alice‟s hip to pull her away from Brand. Rather than get into a tug-of-war match with her as the rope, Brand released his 165

hold. Gunni drew her back against him and wrapped both his arms around her torso, backing against his car. He fixed Brand with a menacing glare, the glowing blue of his wolf‟s eyes sharp in the failing light. “She‟s mine.” Rage flared to life in Brand‟s gut, hot tendrils of fire racing through him. He was about to pounce on them and rip Alice free, when he glanced at her face. Eyes half-closed and lips parted, her expression wasn‟t at all the terrified one he‟d expected. Gunni‟s arms held her close, but not in a tight grip. He held her as though she were delicate and precious. Gunni dropped his head to her neck, sinking his teeth into the skin above the fine network of scars. She let out a soft moan and shut her eyes. Brand watched for any sign of resistance, but the only move she made was to pull his arms tighter around her. He felt their wolf energy twist as Gunni began to tie the mating bonds. Several minutes later, Gunni released his bite and closed the wounds that made his mark. He whispered against her neck. Alice shuddered as the bonding settled into her. Gunni nuzzled a spot under her ear. “Forgive me, I should have asked first. The thought of him biting you was more than I could take.” She raised her hand to his face and held his cheek against hers. “Forgiven. The end result is the same.” Brand ignored the warning snarl coming from Gunni when he approached. “Let‟s get this done.” Gunni glanced down at Alice, who nodded. He offered Brand his left arm, the other still wrapped around Alice‟s middle. He shifted Alice further away in a move that seemed unconscious, partially shielding her with his body. Brand was growing to like Alice‟s pup, insolence and all. “You‟ll do.” With a chuckle, he grabbed the offered forearm. Gunni‟s fist clenched, but he didn‟t pull away. Biting another male could be tricky at the best of times. Making him submit moments after he‟d taken a mate qualified as the 166

absolute worst timing. “Breathe through it,” Brand said. He let the wolf come forward, pulling from the reservoir of energy inside of him. He clutched Gunni‟s wrist in a tight grip. After a shallow bite, he sucked a mouthful of blood. Gunni tasted like spring grass after a rain. Gunni‟s wolf roared to the surface. He let go of Alice, and his right fist came flying at Brand. Brand twisted Gunni‟s left arm behind him, knocked him off balance, and pushed him to his knees. He swallowed, feeling the torrent of Gunni‟s power raging inside of him. Very strong, and not inclined to cooperate, his wolf put up a brutal fight. Sweat rolled down Brand‟s face as he struggled with Gunni. The waning moon stripped his wolf of much of his energy. Coupled with the fact that he was tired and hungry, he didn‟t have as much of a power advantage over the younger male as he normally would have. What he lacked in strength, he hoped to make up in determination. Alice slid to the ground in front of Gunni, her hands rising to hold his face. “You don‟t have to prove anything to me.” She leaned to kiss him. When he felt Gunni relax, Brand released him. He spun the brood weaves as quickly as he could, not knowing how long Alice could keep his attention. He tugged them both out of Erik‟s hold, tying part of their power into his brood. Brand leaned to put a hand on each of their heads. “Your blood is my blood. To the last drop, you are mine.” Alice collapsed against Gunni‟s chest with a gasp. He cradled her against him, murmuring into her hair. The warmth they felt for each other made Brand smile. Their bond glowed with it. “Take care of her.” Gunni met his eyes and nodded solemnly. “We‟ll wait here.” His tone, more statement than question, seemed to challenge Brand to try sending them away. Brand fixed him with a narrow-eyed stare. “I make the 167

decisions.” Gunni stared back; his jaw clenched and released several times in a slow rhythm. After a long hesitation, he bowed his head in acceptance. “Get inside. I think you‟ll be safe enough here, since I‟m going to them.” He smiled at Alice. “You‟ve always been much better to me than I deserve, and for that I thank you.” “Come back to me,” she said as he turned away, her voice thick with tears.

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Chapter 18 Brand hadn‟t been sure what to expect at Ingrid‟s cabin, but the calm scene outside her cabin under the clear evening sky was certainly not it. Golden hair reflecting the rays of the setting sun, Ingrid knelt with her hands folded in her lap. Dagny walked next to him as he approached. He stopped in front of Ingrid and glared down at her. Deciding that was the wrong tactic, he relaxed his tensed jaw. She looked up, her face expressionless. “Brandúlfr, so pleased you could join us. I feared we might have to hold the Conclave without you.” He struggled against his irritation, keeping his face calm. “A difficult task, considering I am the accused.” “Perhaps. No matter, you have graced us with your presence after all.” Her mouth twisted into a frown as she examined him. “Go into my cabin and garb yourself appropriately.” He put a hand on the small of Dagny‟s back and turned away. Ingrid coughed. “She stays here.” He didn‟t bother to look back. “No.” 169

“She is the object of dispute.” That statement drew him up short. He glared over his shoulder. “She comes with me.” Urging Dagny onward, he went into the cabin. Dagny pointed to the stool in the center of the main room before she walked through the door leading to the bathroom. He sat with a weary sigh. The altercation with Gunni had taken more out of him than he could afford. Drained and on the edge of collapse was not the optimum way to begin the coming ordeal. He closed his eyes, intending to relax before he washed. The light brush of Dagny‟s fingers on the back of his hand jolted him awake. Worry pulled her mouth into a pinched frown. “This is a bad idea. You‟re exhausted.” He forced a smile, lifted her hand to his mouth, and kissed the inside of her wrist. “All will be well.” The lie tasted foul, doubly so because he‟d spoken in Norse without realizing it. She grimaced and twisted in his grip to take hold of his hand. A pulse of her power traveled up his arm, settled into his chest, then spread through his body. The ache that had begun at the back of his head eased at once. Her eyes took on the luster of polished steel. “Don‟t lie to me.” The anger was preferable to fear, and his smile came easier. He nipped the bottom knuckle of her thumb with a gentle scrape of his teeth. “I am ever at your command.” One corner of her mouth lifted and she tilted her head. “Eventually we‟re going to get into an argument your charm won‟t get you out of.” “Not quite yet, though?” He brushed his lips over the soft skin between her thumb and index finger. “Will you help me prepare?” “Of course.” She turned to the basin she had set on the table beside him and soaked a cloth in the steaming water. Brand stared, watching her strong fingers wring the cloth several times. She washed his back with long, slow strokes. 170

Needing to feel her closer, he reached for her arms and wrapped them around his chest. Her body warmed the chill that climbed his spine to take root at the back of his head. Part of him wanted to take her and run away, to go where none of their kind could ever find them. How many would he abandon then, to a life every bit as torturous as hers had been? How many more females like Alice would be sold into slavery because he was a selfish coward? He released her arms and stood. He stepped out of his soiled jeans and let her wash the rest of him. Afterward, she offered him the pants her mother had left for him, deer hide dyed coal black. He pulled them up his legs and tied the laces. “She has a flare for the dramatic, your mother.” She walked around him slowly, her hand coming to rest at the small of his back. “They suit you.” His chuckle sounded strained in the still air of the cabin. “Well, when we‟re done here, I‟ll make sure to take them with us so you can have more time to stare at my ass.” Her fingers trailed down along his spine and then over his right butt cheek. A smile tugged at her lips. “See that you do.” She turned back to the table and lifted a silver armband. Polished blue stones caught the light as she examined it. “I suppose she wants you to look regal so they will think twice about accusing you.” She fit the band around the narrow part of his biceps. “Or she enjoys dressing me up like a doll for her own amusement.” “Or that.” She laughed as she fit the other armband into place. “I wonder why she lives in this nasty place if she‟s got stuff like this hanging around.” Brand shrugged. He still found it odd that he knew her mother so much better than she did, but since Dagny had been raised by her sire, he‟d spent much more time with Ingrid. “Modern niceties make her nervous. She has enough money to live any way she wants.” 171

“And she prefers a drafty hut that smells like piss and dead rabbits?” She shook her head, while lifting a matching torc carved with angular runic symbols. Leaning forward to let her fasten it behind his neck, he rested his hands on her hips. How many times had he sworn not to bend for a collar to be placed around his neck? For the light touch of her fingers at his nape, he would have dropped to his knees. He hoped she had no idea of the power she held. She twisted in his grip and draped a thick, black bearskin cloak around him, fastening it at his right shoulder with a silver clasp in the shape of a sword. She examined him with a slow sweep of her eyes and her lips curled into a sultry smile. “If there is a more handsome male than you, I‟ve never seen him.” He drew her toward him, pulling her tight to his torso. Her arms stretched around his neck as her body relaxed against him. His mouth covered hers, parting her lips. He released her from the kiss, but kept his mouth on hers, enjoying the delicious warmth of her breath against his lips. “No matter what happens, know you are adored,” he whispered. She opened her eyes and started to pull away. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck to prevent her escape and captured her lips again. Her brief noise of protest was lost in his mouth. He scratched the delicate skin of her lower lip with his canines. His tongue sought the twin drops of blood that formed there. Bolstered with an infusion of her power, he wove a variation of the partnership bond. When he was done, he released her, but kept one hand on her hip to steady her. “Gunni and Alice will pass to you should something happen to me.” She stared up at him, confusion evident on her face. “You can‟t do that.” He smiled. “Says who?” She blinked, then laughed. “Well, I guess that doesn‟t matter, does it?” “Right.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Let‟s get this 172

over with.” They walked out of the cabin hand in hand, proceeding around the corner to the large circle where Ingrid had tortured Brand days earlier and everything had begun. *** Dagny‟s gaze drifted to the post where Brand had been strapped a few days earlier. Her fingers tightened around his hand. She resisted the urge to apologize again for what had happened to him there, knowing he didn‟t want to dwell on the devious agendas that had brought them together. She moved closer to him, and he smiled. She worried for Brand. His exhaustion had progressed into dangerous territory some time ago. She felt it through their bond, like an anchor pulling at him. He stood tall, though, and walked with ease. She hoped the matter could be resolved before he collapsed. On the ground near the center of the circle, a group of six males sat with their legs crossed under them. They were all garbed similar to Brand. She recognized only two of them— Ansvarr and Erik. Her eyes were drawn to Ansvarr. When she had been sent to him, she had rejoiced at first. Among the females of her sire‟s brood, he was well known for his stunning good looks and fighting prowess. Physically, he was perfect, the very image of a finely-wrought statue with masculine features, chiseled muscles, and golden hair. Her impression of him changed when she discovered what a monster he really was. The grimace Ansvarr wore marred his handsome face. His black eyes bored into her with unfiltered hatred. She let her gaze pass over the rest of them. Erik appeared calm, splayed hands resting on his knees. The other males in the arc fit somewhere between the two in terms of expressions and body language. Ingrid stood ten feet in front of the males, but faced 173

Brand. Dagny had no idea what to expect. She‟d never been present at such an occasion; females weren‟t generally allowed. An exception was made for Ingrid because she was acknowledged as the arbiter of brood law. How she‟d gotten that title was a secret she‟d never shared, but Dagny assumed she held some advantage over the powerful males seated behind her. Brand stopped before crossing the boundary. He turned to face her, showing her a warm, boyish smile no one else ever saw. Her heart sped up. Before she knew what she was doing, she was pressed against him and pulling his head down. He let her steal the kiss, chuckling against her mouth. When she pulled back, he sauntered away, leaving her staring after him at the edge of the circle. Dagny walked around the outside and eased herself to the ground where she could see Brand‟s face. “Kneel, Brandúlfr Geirson,” Ingrid said in a haughty tone. He stopped in front of her and made a show of surveying the males behind her. “I will not kneel before you or them, so you may as well get on with it.” Ingrid frowned and put her hands on her hips. “You stand twice accused, and the Conclave has been called. What do you have to say for yourself?” “What is it that I am accused of?” Ingrid gestured over her shoulder toward Ansvarr. “Ansvarr, Earl of the city of Vancouver, accuses you of stealing his mate.” Brand gave Ansvarr a hard stare. “My brother lies.” His voice betrayed his disdain. Ansvarr jumped to his feet but, before he could attack, Ingrid lifted her hand. “The accuser will remain seated.” A harsh growl came from him, but Ansvarr dropped back to the ground. Brand spared Ansvarr a quick, contemptuous glance before he returned his attention to Ingrid. “Dagny Hilsdóttir 174

came to me unmated.” Ansvarr shouted from his position, “That is a technicality. She was promised to me in exchange for a treaty. I demand her return.” Brand‟s gaze didn‟t waver from Ingrid. “Respected Arbiter, that treaty took place over twenty years ago. If he meant to take her as his mate, then he should have done long since.” His eyes turned to Dagny. “Returning her will be impossible, because now she is my mate.” Ingrid‟s mouth dropped open. That they‟d managed to do what her mother hadn‟t predicted filled Dagny with satisfaction. Ansvarr surged to his feet again and bolted toward Dagny. Despite the jolt of panic that shot through her, she remained still. Perhaps it was naive, but she needed to prove she wasn‟t afraid of him any longer. Brand intercepted him before he reached her. He tripped Ansvarr to the ground and drove a knee into the middle of his back. She exhaled the breath she‟d been holding and clasped her hands together. Ingrid motioned to one of the other males. He gave her a baleful look before rising and walking to where Brand and Ansvarr struggled on the ground. He wrestled with Brand to unseat him, then pulled Ansvarr back to his feet. Ansvarr snarled as the other male dragged him away and back toward his position. “The Black Wolf is too cowardly to fight me? You killed our sire with his own sword, and you won‟t stoop to fight me?” Teeth bared, Brand took a step toward his slowly retreating rival. “I‟ll fight you, no matter what decision is reached. I just wanted it known that you were unable to claim the female I‟ve taken as my mate.” His lips lifted into a predatory grin. The largest of the males snickered. With a mane of redgold hair falling around him, his similarity to Bera was striking and he could only be Björnkarl. The bass rumble of his voice 175

filled the clearing. “Is that your complaint, Spearson? Your brother took the bitch you couldn‟t mount?” Ansvarr rounded on him. “Stay out of this, old man.” “Watch your tone with me, pup.” Björn‟s eyes darkened to black in the space of a heartbeat, all luster fading from them. “You‟re the one who insisted on putting this to our decision when it is clearly a private matter.” As he resumed his seat, Ansvarr glared at those around him, but said no more. The male who had retrieved him took his seat as well. A general resettling occurred throughout the line, some of the males casting sidelong looks at Ansvarr. Brand returned to his previous position. Satisfaction trickled from him through their bond, along with a sense of anticipation, as if Brand couldn‟t wait to get his hands on Ansvarr again. Dagny admitted a certain amount of excitement to see that herself. She knew it was barbaric, but the idea that Brand would fight for her pleased her. Ingrid took control of the group again after several moments of silence. “May I then assume, Björnkarl, that your vote is against punishment?” Björn leveled an annoyed gaze at Ingrid. “Put another word in my mouth, and you‟ll regret it, bitch.” He waited until her neck bent in acquiescence. “My vote is neutral. I care not at all for their family squabble. The matter should be settled between them, not brought before us.” Aside from the one seated directly beside Ansvarr, all of the males cast their vote agreeing with Björn‟s assessment. Ansvarr‟s irritation increased with each vote. Ingrid turned to face Ansvarr. “Your claim is denied.” He lifted his face to regard her with a hateful glare. “You purposefully chose this Conclave to support the outcome you wanted.” “The only male I chose was Erik, and that was merely convenience because of his proximity. If you would have preferred to wait a week to find another earl who would travel here, you should have stated such. Magnús came with you. 176

Agmundr and Haukr both came with Björnkarl.” With each name she recited, she pointed to one of the males before her. “I suggest if you have an issue, you take it up with the senior member of this Conclave.” She turned her head to Björn and offered him a respectful nod, which he didn‟t return. Dagny wondered at her mother‟s behavior. Was Ingrid pointing out the allegiance of each male so Brand would know? She dismissed the thought after brief consideration. Her mother was nothing if not vain; she craved the attention and was making the most of it with grandiose gestures. Ansvarr‟s balled fists shook where they rested on his tense thighs. He bounced to his feet once more. “I challenge him as the King of the Broods of Fenrir.” Dagny stared. Brand wasn‟t the king. Could he really be challenged as if he were? Brand watched his brother with an unwavering gaze and a wry twist to his mouth. Ingrid didn‟t look at all surprised by the development and turned to Björn. “You have a complaint yet to be considered. Do you wish it to take precedence?” Björn looked between Brand and Ansvarr several times, and then waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “My matter will wait until the challenge is answered. Could be that afterward it will be moot.” Brand spoke before Ingrid had returned her attention to him. “On the condition that my mate is not a spoil in this challenge.” Ingrid considered the request briefly. “Done.” Ansvarr looked as though he might protest, but Brand prevented it with his reply. “Accepted,” he snarled, glaring at Ansvarr. He stalked back to Dagny, slid the cloak from his shoulders, and handed it to her. She clutched the cloak to her chest and stared at up at him, fear welling up inside her. A smile brushed the corner of his mouth. “You don‟t really think he can beat me, do you?” Remembering that he could feel her worry, she 177

swallowed past the panic that had worked into her throat. After she made sure no one was near enough to overhear, she whispered, “You‟re exhausted. He‟s supposed to be one of the best fighters alive.” “Only because he‟s never fought anyone like me.” His grin grew rakish in the dying light. “Fear not, bunny.” When she drew an indignant breath, she realized he had provoked her intentionally. She hoped her glare was more ferocious than it felt. “Ass.” “Glad to be of service.” He stepped closer to her and pressed a kiss against her forehead while slipping his arms around her waist. “I feel the touch of your mother‟s hand in this challenge.” “You aren‟t alone.” She spotted her mother walking toward them, two sheathed short swords in her arms. “Speak of the troll, and she arrives.” With a snort, Ingrid said, “I‟ve always thought myself more of a giantess than a troll.” Brand turned to regard Ingrid, but kept his arms around Dagny. “Your duplicity would melt Loki‟s icy heart.” Anger gave his voice a rough edge. “You could whelp a brood of your own and manipulate them.” He eyed the blades she held with interest, though. “Your grandsire‟s blades.” She held them tighter against her chest. “Perhaps I should offer them to your brother instead. He might be more appreciative.” Brand looked at the blades and frowned. He reached for one leather-covered grip, pulled the sword partway from the scabbard, and examined the sharpened edges. Pushing the sword home, he glared at Ingrid. “Why do you have these?” “That is not your concern.” She made to hand the swords to him, but he didn‟t move to take them. Instead, he swiveled his gaze to Dagny. He waited with a neutral expression. She had no idea what he wanted from her as his blue eyes swept slowly over her face. When the delay had lengthened to an uncomfortable 178

duration, Ingrid cleared her throat. “Take your lord‟s weapons. He‟ll accept them from no hands but yours.” Dagny reached for the bundle, but paused when she noticed her mother‟s irritated posture. More was going on than she understood. She took the swords without speaking, their heavy bulk weighing down her arms. Ingrid turned a glare on Brand, who ignored her utterly. “You have twenty minutes to prepare,” she said, before she stormed away.

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Chapter 19 Dagny looked down at the pair of short swords in her arms and then up at her mother‟s swiftly retreating back. “What just happened?” “Your mother attempted to take an honor that‟s yours. You don‟t know the traditions, and she tried to take advantage.” She met his eyes. Something about his remote expression chilled her. “What am I supposed to do?” “I‟ve never drawn these blades. They need to be prepared.” He maintained the calm expression. “There‟s a stream a hundred paces behind you. The old blood must be washed away with running water.” She‟d seen the blade he had bared. There was no blood; the cleansing was symbolic. She turned to comply, but he stopped her. His fingers stroked the inside of her forearm. He bent to deliver a lingering kiss. “Hurry, love,” he whispered against her mouth. She ran in the direction he‟d indicated, hearing the burbling sound before the water came into view. Unsheathing 181

one blade, she dunked it into the icy water and counted to twenty. After it had soaked, she extracted it and rested the cold sword across her lap. With the edge of her shirt, Dagny lovingly dried the weapon and returned it to its scabbard. She repeated the process with the second. Her teeth chattered as she ran back to where Brand waited. He took the blades from her with a formal bow, thanking her in Norse. She frowned. If anything, he felt wearier than he had before. Echoes of his pain radiated through her skull. She stood in front of him, holding his face in her hands. “Brand, you can‟t fight like this.” He sheathed both of the weapons. “I‟ll be fine, sweet.” He took her hand. “Your mother, maddening though she is, is clever. This is probably one of the best outcomes.” “I don‟t call fighting when you haven‟t slept in almost a week and can hardly stand a good outcome.” “On his best day, Ansvarr has small enough chance to beat me, but today he has none.” He curled an arm around her back and pulled her against his side. “I have too much to fight for.” She looked into his face. Resolve drew the muscles of his jaw tight. Despite the fact that she could feel the weariness and pain weighing him down, she believed him. She pushed the fear away. “Kiss me.” The subtle change in his face wasn‟t so much a smile as an acknowledgement. “As my lady commands.” He lowered his head to take her mouth, gripping the nape of her neck in one strong hand. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself up on her toes to meet him. His kiss was an act of possession, bold and unrepentant. The growl rumbling up his throat and the scratch of his teeth sent a shudder of delight along her spine. Her wolf surged forward, answering his call. When he released her, the wolf whimpered. The profound loss of sensation made her throat ache. She stared up into his luminous blue eyes, wondering how she would manage 182

to survive if she never saw the dangerous heat there again. “Take care of her, little wolf.” On the edge of control, his voice was nearly a snarl. He bent to run his teeth along the edge of her jaw, making a satisfied grunt when her head tipped back. Her knees gave way, and he lowered her to the ground, the gentle movement at odds with the fierce power radiating from him. *** Brand found it difficult to leave her as she stared up at him with those huge silver eyes. She looked so frail with her lips parted and cheeks flushed, though he knew she was not. He drew his knuckles down the side of her neck in a final caress, pausing where his mark stood out against her pale skin. The beat of her pulse sped up under his hand. He showed her the smile he knew she loved, and then cleared his face of all expression before moving away from her. He was keenly aware of the eyes on the two of them. Most of the public display had been for their benefit, though kissing Dagny was a reward in itself. Her wolf had submitted with eye-catching grace, and not a male around them had missed the show. Ansvarr almost quivered with irritation. The wellrespected males he had thought allies would jeer at him in private. No matter what happened here, his reputation was ruined. That Ansvarr‟s reign would be short-lived if he managed to kill Brand was cold comfort. Brand harbored more doubts about the coming challenge than he had let Dagny see. He hid the apprehension he felt—along with the guilt for keeping it from her—so that she wouldn‟t worry. The concentration required to maintain the deception was an additional drain that he couldn‟t really afford, but when she was afraid, he had trouble thinking clearly. Pulling both blades from their scabbards, he hefted the weight of them. They were fine weapons. He stretched one 183

group of muscles at a time, feeling his back and legs warm. The ache crawled its way into his head again. Looking at neither participant, Ingrid stood in the center of the circle. When the twenty minutes elapsed, she raised her arms to gesture them forward. “It is time.” Sizing up Ansvarr as he strode forward, Brand walked to where Ingrid stood. His brother swung the huge sword that had belonged to their sire, a weapon Brand would recognize until his dying day. Brand shifted his gaze to Ingrid. She‟d given his brother that sword; he was sure of it. Did she have any idea how much advantage she‟d given Brand? A broadsword was slower, the arc of attack much longer. Ansvarr had let his emotions get the best of him with that choice and displayed his inexperience in real combat for all to see. Brand was fast and fought well with either hand. A large, heavy sword was the wrong weapon against an opponent like him. Ingrid held out a hand to him. Brand drove the point of the blade in his right hand into the ground near her foot before placing his fist in her upturned palm. Head bent, she dropped into a deep curtsey. Her lips pressed to his knuckles. Silver eyes shone when she lifted her gaze. “My king.” Her breath tickled his skin. He ignored the urge to tear his hand from her grip and offered a respectful nod. “Arbiter.” “A challenge brings you before me. How do you answer?” “Bring it.” She frowned at his informal confirmation, but held out her left hand for Ansvarr. His brother came forward and placed his right fist in her hand. “Earl, your challenge is acknowledged.” She lifted both their hands. “You meet here, embraced by the moon. Fight well.” She brought their hands together, knuckles touching, and then dropped her arms. “Begin when I clear the circle.” She turned and stepped toward the edge of the 184

ring with a steady gait. Ansvarr‟s lips pulled back into a sneer. “I‟m going to carve you up, brother. Then, I‟m going to go over there and fuck that bitch of yours until she screams.” Brand laughed. In his peripheral vision, he saw Ingrid cross the perimeter of the circle. “I don‟t think you have enough men here. Last time, it took half your brood to hold her down for you. Isn‟t that right?” Ansvarr yelled and lunged, sword swinging from his left hand. Brand pulled the other blade out of the ground as he dodged the blow. With his left hand, he struck Ansvarr below the shoulder blade with the pommel of his sword. Ansvarr careened forward, off balance. He caught himself on one hand before his face hit the dirty snow. With a graceful jump Brand had to admire, he rose to his feet. Brand circled him, analyzing how his opponent moved. It was clear Ansvarr had trained with their sire and had taken little time learning other methods. His choice of blade made some sense; Geir had fought with the finesse of a wild boar crashing through the underbrush. Ansvarr rushed him again, sword raised. That was the opportunity Brand had been waiting for. He lunged aside, scoring a line along his brother‟s ribs with his left-hand blade as he pivoted. Ansvarr hissed, but didn‟t appear hindered by the scratch. Brand had used the move as a gauge of his brother‟s speed and reaction time, nothing more. Allowing himself a taunting grin, he continued to circle in a slow arc. Ansvarr feinted right with the sword and came at Brand‟s face with his left fist. Brand parried the punch, leaving a shallow slice on his brother‟s forearm with the outside edge of his blade. He was better and much faster but, unfortunately, his fatigue put him at a disadvantage. It was only a matter of time before he stumbled or miscalculated. The faster fighter 185

generally let the slower one exhaust himself before moving inside the deadly range of the larger weapon, but Brand didn‟t have the luxury of time. He parried aside Ansvarr‟s next slash, but instead of pivoting away, he turned toward his brother‟s body and struck with his right hand. Ansvarr anticipated and dodged left, catching a glancing blow across Brand‟s face with his elbow as he swung his sword back. Brand danced back before the sword could slash him in the belly. Dagny‟s sudden panic tightened his throat. A tide of rage swept through him. He clenched his teeth, fighting the desire to make sure she was safe. Ansvarr came at him again. He easily ducked under the sloppy overhand slash and scored the back of his brother‟s arm. Brand pivoted around, sparing Dagny a glance to confirm she was all right. Why was she so afraid? He hadn‟t taken a scratch, and wasn‟t likely to if she could rein in her blasted fear so he could… Movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He dodged another strike from Ansvarr. The blade parted air inches from his sternum as he turned his head toward the source of the distraction. One of Björn‟s lackeys had risen from his place to stand behind Erik. Erik‟s eyes were still fixed on the fight within the circle, but his hand had shifted to rest on his calf above his boot. That his friend was aware of the imminent danger reassured him, though Dagny‟s anxiety still piqued his emotions. A part of his mind churned, thinking about what Björn had planned for the conclusion of the contest. His brother charged again, poised for a sidearm slash. Brand anticipated the movement and parried. Too late, he realized that Ansvarr‟s other hand had drawn a knife and made an underhand jab to his ribs. The knife cut deep, but didn‟t hit anything vital. The pain served to return his focus to the battle. Though he outclassed Ansvarr by a fair margin, he couldn‟t afford to dismiss his brother entirely as a threat. 186

He pressed the attack for the first time, slashing with both hands as he advanced. Ansvarr backed away, and Brand spun. He opened a wound across his brother‟s chest with a well-timed slice in the opposite direction. After two more of his strikes were parried, he backed off, wary of exhausting himself. As he‟d hoped, Ansvarr leapt forward into his retreat. Brand ducked the overhand smash and drove his shoulder into his brother‟s gut. He rolled out of the way, slicing into the thigh of Ansvarr‟s leading leg with his right-hand blade. That wound was deep and drew a hoarse shout from his brother. Brand panted with effort, his breath coming in halting gasps. The chill of true fatigue settled into his legs. Pain stiffened his lower back. He concentrated on dodging for the next several attacks, slowing his reactions so he barely cleared each thrust. His strength wasn‟t returning as fast as he‟d hoped, and with resignation, he made the decision not to wait longer. On the next strike, he used his elbow to deflect the blow and stepped into Ansvarr‟s guard, ramming the left-hand sword into his belly. His brother gasped and froze with an open-mouthed expression of horror. Releasing his hold on the sword lodged in his brother‟s gut, he reached to pry his sire‟s blade from the swiftly weakening grip. He leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “That was for me. This is for Dagny.” He shoved his right-hand blade into the center of his brother‟s chest with a satisfied growl. In his bloodlust, he‟d forgotten about the other threats, but Dagny‟s urgent shout reminded him. Even as he turned to make sure she was safe, a fist jabbed him in the side, shooting pain up along his ribs. He twisted away from the blow and made a quick scan of his surroundings. Two males backed Erik away from the circle at knifepoint. Another held Ingrid pinned against the ground amid her flailing and cursing. The one who‟d hit him followed his retreat warily, directing him toward… what? He stole a glance over his shoulder and managed to dodge Björn‟s mighty blow aimed at the back of his head. He 187

turned to keep both his assailants in his field of vision and saw Dagny. She‟d advanced toward him when she saw him in danger, and a male had veered to intercept her. He heard another coming up behind him. Fuck. How many were there? He‟d been a fool to think Björn would wait to collect his vengeance. Fatigue pulled at his limbs, making Brand feel sluggish. He ducked under an attempt to grab him. Gripping the attacker‟s arm, he twisted it around behind the male until the elbow and shoulder snapped. Ignoring the pain-wracked wail, Brand used him as a shield to put off the approaching combatants. Björn glanced around, appraising the situation much as Brand just had. He returned his black gaze to Brand after a few seconds. “Give yourself up, and none of these whom you care about have to die.” Dagny struggled behind him. The offer was tempting, but he knew Björn wouldn‟t keep his word. A more likely outcome was that Brand would be tied and made to watch as he gutted them one at a time. With a shake of his head, he said, “I could make you the same offer. Fari is alive. I can see that he‟s returned to you unharmed.” Björn snorted. “I have ten more like him, maybe more. They all pale in comparison to Arn. You‟ll pay with your life for what you took from me.” He hadn‟t really thought that reasoning would work, so he tried a threat instead. “This won‟t make you king. Ingrid will denounce you for daring to have your thugs lay hands on her.” “I have no interest in being king. In fact, I think we‟re better off without one. Each earl can do what he likes in his region, as it should be. I‟ll deal with Ingrid personally.” A leering grin spread over his wide face. “Your bitch, too.” He inclined his head, and the male at his side lurched toward Brand. Anger became a tight knot in Brand‟s chest as he bent to pull the sword from Ansvarr‟s gut. With a snarl, he shoved 188

the male he had been holding into the one who was closing in on him, then impaled them both through the center of mass. He tugged the blade free as he pushed them away. The one closer to him wouldn‟t be getting up, but he‟d barely poked the one behind—that one would be back to bother him later. He risked another quick look around. Ingrid lay unconscious on the ground. The male who‟d been working her over went to help the one who remained fighting Erik. Dagny had held off the male who had approached her without breaking a sweat and managed to pin him down in an armlock. One of the males in front of him lunged. He sidestepped the attack, but Björn came forward quicker than Brand had thought he could move. His line of escape was abruptly cut off, and he ran headlong into Björn with a teethjarring impact. The sledgehammer head-sized fist crashed into his face before Brand could put up a guard. Dazed, Brand crumpled to the ground. One of the males pressed a knee into Brand‟s spine and held him down with a hand on the back of his neck. The first few kicks to his sides hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut against the impacts of boots hitting him in an uneven rhythm. Brand lay on his stomach, unable to move as Björn kicked him repeatedly. He felt the breaking of his ribs in a remote way, knowing there should be pain, but feeling none. The pressure on his lungs grew steadily. He floated in a strange state somewhere between full awareness and unconsciousness where everything seemed slow and muted. Dagny‟s shriek drew his attention, but only because he felt her fury and frustration hot enough to burn him. His head turned too slowly, panning his field of vision an inch at a time until he saw her. She was beauty made flesh. She had run toward him when he fell, and two of Björn‟s cronies blocked her path. Drawing his knife from where she had hidden it behind her back, she dispatched one before he even knew he was in trouble. After a quick cut across the carotid, she shoved him to the ground, where he flailed 189

helplessly. Unfortunately, she had lost the element of surprise with the second attacker, and he was much larger. Angry though she was, she chose caution. She circled around him, lips drawn back. The attacker said something to her that Brand couldn‟t hear, and she laughed. With a feint worthy of a prizefighter, she drew him toward her and cut him across the chest. He backpedaled with an astonished expression that made Brand want to grin. She fought with the savage grace of a lioness. He knew as he watched her that his first impression of her had been correct. She was everything beautiful and right with their kind. He blinked in an attempt to stave off the relentless pull of unconsciousness so he could watch her for a few more seconds. Björn rolled him onto his back with a humorless chuckle. He pulled a knife from his belt and drove it into Brand‟s chest. Strangely, he felt no pain, only a spreading wetness that he knew to be his blood pouring out of him. Frustration boiled inside, but he had nothing left. He couldn‟t even draw another breath. He waited for death to take him and hoped that Dagny would be all right. *** Alice had never been the strongest, but she‟d always been fast. When she‟d felt Brand‟s pain, she left Gunni behind with a speedy dash. She could feel her mate coming up behind her, worried for her. They‟d parked his car on the main road and approached on foot because they hadn‟t wanted anyone to know they were there. As she‟d pulled ahead, he called to her, but she couldn‟t listen. So much pain… she knew something was wrong. She sprinted around Ingrid‟s cabin and saw Brand lying motionless with Björn looming over him. Blood soaked the ground. A knife stuck out from 190

Brand‟s chest. Though she knew he still lived because she could feel him through the brood bond, she wouldn‟t have been able to tell by looking at him. She processed all of that in the seconds it took her to cover the distance and leap on Björn‟s back. He was a huge male, and she was little more than an inconvenience for him. Twisting back and forth with freakish strength, he knocked her free. She landed on the ground with a thump that drove the air from her. He lifted her by the throat with one hand, his fingers digging into her skin. She kicked at him, but he barely seemed to notice. She clawed at his hand, but his iron grip didn‟t slip. She reached for his face to scratch at his eyes, but he held her further away. His black eyes stared into her face, and he laughed. Bountiful Wolf-Mother, she was a fool. What did she think she was going to accomplish? She struggled like a child in his grasp. Unable to help Brand at all, she was going to die inches from him. Darkness crept into her vision, and she felt herself teetering on the edge of consciousness. She still fought, though she knew it was pointless. Brand‟s heart stuttered. She felt it from her scalp to the soles of her feet. If she‟d had any air available to her, she would have let out a whimper. His life slipped away, bit by bit, as he bled out onto the cold ground. A scream ripped through the night air. Without question, she knew who the voice belonged to because she felt the enraged Call that came with it. Dagny. Alice gave in to the anguished rage of the Calling without hesitation. Her body writhed, completely out of her control. The world came into sharper focus. Her skin prickled. She felt no pain as her body began the swift transformation Dagny demanded. The hand at her throat slipped. She fell from Björn‟s grip and landed on her four paws. She launched herself at him. Her jaw clamped over his 191

face. His right eye ruptured under her sharp canine, and he screamed. Blood poured into her mouth. Her muscles shook with the infusion of power beyond anything she‟d ever felt. He pushed at her, but she tightened her bite. Björn screamed in pain and frustration. He flailed and punched, but he couldn‟t dislodge her. Her lips pulled back into a satisfied grin. The male had spawned the demon who‟d given her two hundred years of nightmares. She would kill him. She bit down harder and felt the bones of his cheek and nose give way. Disorientation jolted her as he fell backward. When he landed, the impact jarred every bone in her skull, but still she kept her bite locked. So enthralled with the feeling of victory that overcame her, she ignored Gunni‟s shouts. She‟d felt him approaching and was happy that he‟d seen her fell the giant of a male alone. After a few seconds, she realized that something was wrong because he felt very afraid. She rolled her eyes toward where Gunni stood and a bright sense of happiness filled her. The thrill was short-lived, because terror twisted his face. Björn shifted under her and pain punched through the adrenaline rush as something sliced into her belly. She struggled to maintain her grip and an agonized howl ripped from her throat as he continued to rend her flesh. Björn drew his last breath, shuddering as he exhaled. He went motionless beneath her as Gunni knelt next to them. She released her bite and allowed Gunni to pull her into his lap with hands that shook. The pain had faded quickly, but she felt cold. Her medical training told her neither was a good sign. Gunni examined her wounds, but soon abandoned that in favor of embracing her. He buried his face in her neck, sobbing into her fur. She whined softly. She wasn‟t as scared as she thought she would be with her death looming over her. With Gunni‟s strong arms around her, she felt loved and content as never before in her life. 192

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she only wished she could tell him how much she loved him. Face pressed to her ear, he said, “I know, Baby. I love you, too.” The pain in his voice broke her heart. Inhaling one last time, she howled. She sang of love and friendship with thoughts of Gunni and Brand. Gunni joined an instant later, his deep tones beautiful in the darkening night. The echoes of his howls chased her as she ran to the moon with joy in her heart.

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Chapter 20 As soon as Brand awoke, before he‟d even opened his eyes, he knew Alice was gone. Where she‟d been, a gaping, terrible hole remained, as if someone had torn her away, out of the fabric of his brood. He supposed that wasn‟t far from the truth. He relished the pain that lanced through his chest and hoped it would banish the urge to give in to the grief. The exhalation that followed was more a sob than a breath. His ribs ached as he shook with sorrow. How long had it been since he‟d cried? He thought it might have been his mother‟s death, now five hundred years gone. The weight of Gunni in wolf form compressed the bed next to him. The furry muzzle burrowed under the hand that rested on his chest. With tears streaming from his eyes, Brand patted the warm head. When he could finally speak, he said, “I‟m sorry, my friend.” It hurt to talk, and his voice came out as a rasp. Gunni moved his head to lick Brand‟s hand. He knew how much the loss of Alice hurt the younger male. The wrenching pain of it broke Brand‟s heart. Still, Gunni sought to 195

help him through his grief. Brand understood now why Alice had fallen for him so easily. Gunni lifted his muzzle to cover Brand‟s hand with a short whine. The door creaked open, and Brand looked toward the sound, though he knew who it was. Dagny‟s face peered into the dark room, light from behind her illuminating the walls and floor. He hadn‟t realized until then that he was in one of the guest rooms at his lodge. The sight of her filled him with so much joy that he tried to get up, heedless of his injuries. The pain that burned through his belly froze him in place. “Gods, Brand, don‟t move,” Dagny said in a strained voice. She hurried over to him and pressed him back onto the bed with a hand on his shoulder. With her other hand, she turned on the bedside lamp and examined him. Her worried expression hurt him, and he cursed himself for causing it. Though he wanted nothing more than to jump up and embrace her, he relaxed against the bed. Her breath hitched. With a delicate touch, she wiped his tears away. “I‟m so sorry about Alice.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers. The taste of her skin was intoxicating, and he suddenly needed her closer so he could smell her. “If you don‟t come down here right now, I‟m going to move again.” With a glare warning him that he shouldn‟t budge if he knew what was good for him, she leaned forward and nuzzled her face against his neck. He inhaled the snowy pine forest smell of her until his lungs ached. The scent of her soothed him as nothing else could. She sat up a bit, careful of his wounds. “What‟s the last thing you remember?” He leaned back against the bed and smiled. “You, moving like some kind of jungle cat and schooling a huge male in the art of knife fighting. Fenrir save me, I‟ve never seen anything like it.” A gorgeous pink blush crept up her neck to color her cheeks. If he could move, he‟d be all over her. He shifted, and 196

his ribs reminded him of why that was a bad idea. “I took him down eventually, but not quickly enough.” Her forehead creased, and she swallowed before she continued. “Alice showed up out of nowhere. She jumped on Björn.” “She what?” He hadn‟t meant to shout, but afterward he realized that he had. Although he knew she‟d died in the fight somehow, he hadn‟t expected to hear that she‟d attacked the single largest male to be born in the last thousand years. “What in Helheim did she do that for?” “He‟d just knifed you and was about to finish you off.” She reached a hand for Gunni‟s head. His eyes rolled toward her, and his ears dropped. When Dagny found her voice again, she spoke swiftly, as if trying to get the whole story out before her emotions overwhelmed her. “She didn‟t stand a chance against him. He was choking the life out of her, and I couldn‟t do anything about it. Gunni hadn‟t arrived yet, and you were dying of blood loss. I Called every wolf around me. Most of the males were strong enough to resist it, but I got two of them.” Brand stared at her. “How many did you transform then? Three, including Alice? All at once?” She nodded. “Another one went down trying to fight the change. The rest were too strong.” “That‟s amazing. I don‟t think anyone has tried a Calling like that, at least not in my lifetime.” “I really didn‟t know what I was doing,” she said with an embarrassed smile. He chuckled, making his ribs hurt anew, and waited for her to continue. She placed her hand over his and squeezed. “Alice shifted, and that got her out of his grip. I‟d been hoping she would run away from him and possibly draw his attention away from you, but she didn‟t. She pounced on Björn and bit him in the face. He flung her around with all his strength, and she never let go. Next time I looked, she had him on his back, and he was dying.” 197

Gunni whined. Brand stroked the wolf‟s head, feeling the ache of Gunni‟s loss with every touch. His own pain grew until he thought it would choke him. “Björn managed to get to one of his knives.” Dagny swallowed. “He gutted her before Gunni could get to her. More than half a dozen wounds. She lost too much blood.” She paused to wipe tears from her face. Brand waited, his hand resting on her leg, rubbing until she calmed. Gunni sat up to put his head on her shoulder. She hugged the wolf and sighed. She took Brand‟s hand and tried to put on a smile. “She was so brave. She never let go, not even when he‟d cut her. When Björn finally died, Gunni managed to pull her off of him, but he couldn‟t do anything. He held her as she ran to the moon. I think she knew she‟d saved you as she went. She howled the whole way, the happiest song I‟ve ever heard.” Tears stung the back of Brand‟s throat, and he didn‟t try to restrain them. His sweet Alice was gone, and she‟d died to save him. Somehow, he‟d known from the first day he saw her that he would lose her. Gunni crept up beside him on the bed and rested his muzzle next to Brand‟s face. The warm presence comforted him. Though it was painful, he shifted so he could put one arm around the wolf and hug the furry body. When the last of the tears had fallen, he released his tight hold on the wolf and patted him a few times. “I know she wouldn‟t have wanted it any other way. Doesn‟t stop it from hurting though, does it?” Gunni grunted and settled his head in the crook of Brand‟s shoulder. Brand had felt the moon as soon as he‟d regained consciousness; today marked the half. “I‟ve been out four days?” Dagny nodded. She bit at the inside of her cheek when she did it, so he knew there was something she didn‟t want to tell him. 198

He reached for her hand. “You might as well tell me. I know you‟re hiding something.” “Hildibjörn is here. He flew in from Toronto the day after Björn‟s death.” “Hildi is his oldest son. He‟d have control of the brood now. What does he want?” She shrugged. “He won‟t talk to me. I don‟t think he‟s here to start trouble. I wouldn‟t let him inside, though.” “Smart girl.” He smiled and let his thumb rub absently over the side of her hand. “He‟s the most levelheaded of Björn‟s offspring, next to Bera.” “She vouched for him, that‟s the only reason I didn‟t make him leave altogether.” “You can trust her when it comes to her family. Why don‟t you let him in?” She frowned and her eyes scanned every inch of him. “You‟re still not well.” “I have complete confidence that you and Gunni can take care of him.” He ruffled the wolf‟s neck and grinned at her. The wolf jumped out of bed and stretched. She shook her head. “He shouldn‟t see you so weak.” “And he won‟t, if you‟ll help me into the chair out in the living room.” “You shouldn‟t move,” she said in a shrill tone, when he started to get up. He gritted his teeth through the pain and pushed himself up to sitting. “I need to find out what he wants. If you aren‟t going to help, get out of the way.” She glared at him for a few seconds before she bent to help him stand. He was grateful for her assistance because spikes of pain tore through his chest as he tried to straighten to an upright position. If the moon had been waxing instead of waning, he might have healed most of the wounds already. As it was, he wondered if perhaps Dagny was right after all. His injuries were 199

severe. Inviting another male whose father had died because of him, if not by his hand, seemed a bad idea. Gunni came up next to him and brushed against his leg. The wolf looked up at him with intense blue eyes. Though he couldn‟t say how he was aware of it, he knew Gunni would protect both of them to his last breath. He nodded to the wolf in acknowledgement and leaned on Dagny, letting her help him into the living room. When he was settled in, after what seemed entirely too much effort, he told Dagny to get their guest. Gunni sat next to his chair, eyes on the door. Hildibjörn entered a few minutes later behind Dagny. If Björn had accomplished anything in his long life, he‟d stamped his offspring with authority. Hildi, red-haired and ruddyskinned, looked like a slightly less brawny version of his father. He glanced around the room, taking in Brand and the wolf beside him with a quirk of his mouth. Hildi stepped toward Brand and sunk to one knee in front of him, head bent and fist pressed to the floor. “Hail, Black Sword, King of the Broods of Fenrir.” He spoke in flawless Norse with not a hint of condescension in his tone. Brand stared at the top of Hildi‟s head with no idea what to do. His mind whirled with possible responses. Wary of hesitating too long, he chose one that seemed the least likely to cause trouble. “What has brought the Earl of the Toronto Brood here? I‟m sure you are aware your sire died attempting to kill me.” Hildi didn‟t look up from the floor. “Yes, my king. I would apologize on his behalf, if you would allow me.” That was a bold offer on Hildi‟s part. A crueler male might decide he should apologize with his life. Brand discarded that option out of hand. “I don‟t hold you responsible for your sire‟s actions.” “For that, I am grateful.” Hildi cleared his throat. “I‟ve come to offer you the Toronto Brood. By rights, it belongs to you, as you defeated my sire.” 200

Brand tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. He should take credit for the death of Björn and use it to his advantage. It was the smart thing to do. Much as he realized that, he knew he couldn‟t. “Your sire did not die by my hand.” Hildi‟s head dropped an inch. Clearly, he hadn‟t expected that response. “Which great warrior bested him? I will offer the brood to him.” A smile came to Brand‟s face. He reached for Gunni‟s head, patting him a few times. “Perhaps you remember the female I stole from Arn a century ago? Alice was the one who killed your sire.” He said it as casually as he could manage, though the pain in his chest was swiftly becoming unmanageable. That brought Hildi‟s head up with a snap. “My king, you can‟t expect me to pass the brood to a female?” His face twisted with shock and disbelief. “She‟s dead. Your father slew her, even as she killed him.” He allowed his anger over her death touch his voice. Gunni growled. Hildi‟s mouth worked a few times, and then he swallowed. “What is it my king wishes me to do?” “I wish you to return to Toronto and be a better leader than your sire was. You shouldn‟t find that too difficult.” When Hildi opened his mouth to protest, Brand cut him off. “I already have one brood I don‟t want, courtesy of my brother. I have no interest in stripping you of your rights because your sire was a bastard.” Hildi‟s eyes widened. “Thank you, my king.” “I want every slave freed, and females are to have rights equal to males, starting today. I am going to send your sister to Toronto in a few months. I expect to hear from her that the brood has flourished in your care.” He bowed his head. “As my king commands.” “You‟re dismissed.” When the door closed behind Hildi, Brand sagged in his chair. The effort required to appear as though he weren‟t 201

injured made him ache all over. Each breath was agony. He took a few seconds to recover, but he felt Dagny‟s eyes on him. He met her gaze with a tired smile. “Yes, my queen?” Her expression flickered through a handful of emotions before she settled on amused. “What exactly was all that about? You don‟t want to be king.” “Two of the strongest and most aggressive earls are dead. That might be enough to keep the rest in line. I have to try after what happened to Alice. I owe her that much.” Gunni rested his muzzle on Brand‟s knee and let out a satisfied sigh. “And you, my young scamp. How long are you planning to stay in wolf form?” Staying in wolf form eased the constant heartache of Gunni‟s loss but, in the long run, evading his feelings wasn‟t the best course. That road led to the madness of the wolf overtaking him. Gunni tilted his muzzle and flattened his ears. Brand scratched the wolf‟s head and let the subject drop. He looked up at Dagny. “We need to head to Vancouver before too long.” The fear showed on her face for a brief instant before she mastered it. He stretched his neck, letting his head fall onto the back of the chair. “The brood‟s mine now, Dagny. I can feel them all. They‟re in chaos. I‟ve got to go fix it. I can go alone, but I don‟t know how long I‟ll be.” “I‟m not afraid of them anymore.” The lie hung in the air like the smell of something spoiled. He lifted his head back up to regard her. “You are, but you shouldn‟t be. They‟ll grovel at your feet now.” She‟d been wavering between fear and irritation, but her eyes soon narrowed with anger. “Now, they will grovel for fear of you where they spat for fear of Ansvarr. How is that better?” “I thought that‟s what you wanted, for me to force them to treat you with respect.” “I want them to realize this isn‟t prehistoric Scandinavia and that violence might not be the only answer.” 202

“We are what we are, Dagny. Would you remove everything that makes us unique?” “Is every female living in fear necessary for what we are? Maybe we should have let the humans overrun us, if that‟s the case.” “I intend to try, but there may be no way to fix our culture and maintain who we are.” He paused, taking a breath deep enough to ignite the ache in his ribs. “I want you to be prepared.” She walked to the window and looked out, her hands braced against the sill. “Do you want me to tell you I want you to run away with me and to Helheim with them all?” He stared at her profile, wishing she would say just that, but knowing she wouldn‟t. “Only if it would be true.” Gunni‟s ears flickered back and forth several times where he sat at Brand‟s knee. Seconds later, Brand heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Dagny‟s face drew tight. Her frown deepened before she turned back to Brand. “It‟s Erik.” “I suppose I have to talk to him sooner or later.” He sighed, wincing at the pain his inhalation caused. “Was he hurt at all?” She swiveled her gaze back outside the window. “Very little. I forced one of the ones fighting him to transform. He took care of the other one himself.” She paused, folding her arms across her chest. “When he was helping me to move you, he kept going on about how, if he‟d known Alice was in trouble, he could have saved her.” Wondering if Erik was right, Brand looked down at the floor. Gods knew, Brand had been little enough help in the fight, and Alice had died saving him. If he‟d left well enough alone, would she still be alive? Gunni put his chin on Brand‟s knee and stared up into his face with sad blue eyes. He absently scratched the wolf behind the left ear. Erik entered and dropped to one knee in front of 203

Brand, fist pressed to the ground scant inches in front of Brand‟s foot. “My king.” Brand grunted and lifted his eyes to examine his friend. Erik‟s head was bent and his eyes downcast, the very picture of a dutiful subject; only something simmered under the poise. “I see you‟ve been spending too much time with Ingrid while I was out.” Erik‟s eyes didn‟t even flicker upward. “You claimed your throne when you accepted the challenge, my king. I haven‟t spoken to Ingrid since I helped carry you here from her cabin.” He gritted his teeth against the anger. “If you call me „my king‟ one more time, I‟m going to crawl out of this chair and beat you senseless.” “I‟d like to see that.” A tremor of laughter shook Erik‟s shoulders, and his head slowly lifted. “I wasn‟t sure if you were going to insist on formality. This is new territory for you and me both.” “Consider yourself excused from any and all formality.” Even so, Erik remained kneeling as he spoke, staring Brand in the eyes. “Fine, I‟ll get to the point. I want Gunni back.” Gunni growled, flashing his impressive teeth in his coal black muzzle. Brand lifted a hand to pat the wolf‟s head until he calmed. “I think you have your answer to that request.” Erik began to speak, but Brand lifted his hand to stop him. “If he wanted to go I‟d hand him over, but he doesn‟t want that.” Erik‟s face flushed red, and his eyes faded to arctic white. He dropped his head, and muttered, “Of course, my king.” “You know what? Fuck you.” Brand stood up as swiftly as his injuries would allow and started to pace. “Letting Gunni choose is part of what I want for all of us.” Erik looked up at him, clearly confused. “Not everyone can be given a choice. Sometimes they don‟t know what‟s best 204

for them.” “Like who? The females only or the weak males, too? Gunni is neither of those, and you‟re willing to ignore what he wants in favor of what you think best for him.” He panted with the effort of speaking so forcefully and lifted a hand to his chest to massage away some of the soreness that had crept in behind his sternum. Erik‟s mouth worked as he contemplated. “I guess I never thought of it that way. It‟s what I do as leader. I make decisions about what‟s best for everyone. I thought they wanted it that way.” “For big, brood-wide decisions that‟s fine. You‟re a great leader. That‟s why I brought Alice to you.” He paused, reminded of the first smile he‟d ever seen on her face. It had taken months, but when Erik had accepted her into his brood, she had beamed. He still had trouble with the fact that he‟d never see her again. Gods, it hurt. “The personal choices, they need to have that, without any pressure or dominance bullshit.” Erik nodded slowly. “I‟ll try.” He bent, despite the pain it caused, and put a hand on his friend‟s shoulder. “Thank you. Now, what are you going to do about Rivera?” At the mention of the man who‟d been responsible for Lucas‟s death, Erik shook with anger. He regained control of himself soon enough, but his voice came out rough when he spoke. “I‟ve had some of the brood following his movements for the past few days. He has a lot of security around him most of the time. He‟ll be hard to get to.” Brand straightened, feeling his back tense from the constant struggle to bear the weight his stomach and chest muscles generally supported. “You‟re going to question him about who else knows? We can‟t afford to let anyone escape who could expose us.” With a clenched jaw, Erik nodded. “I want to do it before the new moon.” “I‟ll come with you; just let me know when.” 205

Erik met his eyes again and swallowed once. “I‟m sorry about Alice. I know how much you loved her.” Brand let himself fall back in the chair with a muffled grunt. “For what it‟s worth, I think you‟re right.” “About what?” “If I hadn‟t taken her into my brood, she‟d still be alive.” Gunni started to whine. “I know,” he said to the wolf, before he returned his attention to Erik. “It was one of those personal choices, and I let her make it. I regret what happened, but I don‟t regret giving her the choice. I can‟t.” “I understand.” “You don‟t, not yet, but I think you will.” He settled back against the chair, trying to stretch his back. “I have to go to Vancouver soon and take care of Ansvarr‟s mess. Can you ask Bera to check in on the Toronto brood for me every couple of weeks? I told Hildi he has to free the slaves, and I think there‟s going to be trouble up there over that.” Erik shook his head slowly. “That‟s going to be a tough situation for him. Some of the males in that brood are old enough to remember when our sires were born. I‟m sure Bera will be eager to help. She‟s had a mind to fix things up there for years.” He recalled his conversation with Bera; she‟d told Brand he would be king one day. “You can tell her that she was right after all, and I‟ll expect her compliance.” Erik squinted. “What‟s that about?” Brand chuckled, regretting his humor when the pain spread around his chest in a tight band. “She‟ll know what I mean.”

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Chapter 21 Dagny‟s fingers drumming against the steering wheel threatened to drive Brand insane. He reached to cover her hands with one of his. “I‟ll be fine. I‟m not even going in for the grab.” Her irritation prickled in his gut. With an annoyed grumble rising from her throat, she shook off his hand. “Your healing isn‟t going well, and the moon is four days from new. You should be in bed.” She discussed his weakness so casually, but it didn‟t bother Brand at all, quite the contrary. He smiled and took her hand again. “Erik needs someone in there that can read Rivera to see if he‟s telling the truth, and I‟m the only one who can.” He left the absence of Alice unspoken, but Dagny‟s softening expression indicated she‟d picked up on his sadness. She exhaled hard, her nostrils flaring. “Mother could do it.” He tried to calm her mounting aggravation by stroking her hand from palm to fingertips. “Even assuming she agreed to it, Ingrid isn‟t an empath. What she does is read body language and brood power. Helpful certainly, but her tricks don‟t work as well on humans.” She curled her fingers around his hand in a tight grip. “If you let yourself get hurt, I won‟t forgive you.” 207

He leaned across to her, ignoring the twinge of pain it caused in his side, and nuzzled her neck. “Oh, I think you will.” The surge of blood under her skin tempted him. His phone, resting on the console between them, filled the car with the thoroughly obnoxious noise of vibrating plastic. He cursed while bringing it up to his ear. “Yes?” “We‟ve got him.” Erik sounded angry, but not out of control. Brand snapped the phone shut. “Come on.” A shy smile curled the corners of her lips. “Really?” “Why not? You‟re going to ask me. I‟m going to struggle to say no while you stare at me with those gorgeous eyes. You‟re going to do something really cute, and I‟m going to give in. This just saves time.” She blinked, but her smile deepened. “Call me cute again, and I‟m going to punch you.” He growled, and his mouth lifted into a grin. Her audacity never failed to excite him. “Can we save the foreplay until I‟m all the way healed? I think in this state you might break me.” She scoffed while opening her door. “Not likely.” The furry shape of Gunni in wolf form greeted them at the edge of Rivera‟s property. The security gate was open, and the three of them walked through. Brand scanned the dark wooded yard as they followed the path toward the huge house. “Hey, Gun.” Brand paused to pat the wolf on the head. “Watch my girl, okay?” Gunni trotted away from him and took up a position closer to Dagny. She glared at Brand. “You‟re the one who repeatedly gets into trouble. He should watch you.” He chuckled. “He‟s more likely to watch your tail than mine.” She grumbled, but didn‟t argue further. One of Erik‟s brood opened the door for them when they approached. Brand nodded to him when he dropped to one knee. “Which way?” 208

“Up the stairs and to the left, my king.” The male remained kneeling until they turned away. The title still sounded strange to Brand, and he wondered if he would ever get used to it. By the time they reached the top of the stairs, his chest ached from the effort of the climb. He stopped, and Dagny rushed to his side. He pulled her close against him and lowered his head to her shoulder. “Stay outside the room. I don‟t want him to see you.” She tensed. “He‟s never leaving that room alive. You and I both know it.” “If he‟s not ultimately the one in charge, we might have to let him go to catch whoever‟s above him. If that happens, I‟ll feel better if he doesn‟t know what you look like.” Glaring at him from under her furrowed brow, she nodded slowly. She moved away, crouched against the wall, and pulled Gunni into a one-armed hug when he sat beside her. Brand smelled the blood before he opened the door. Including Erik, half a dozen brood males occupied the room where Javier Rivera sat bound to an expensive-looking ladderback chair. Bruises already darkened his face. Blood from his nose and split lip soaked the front of his tailored dress shirt. His eyes were sharp as they focused on Brand. “Are you the big, bad wolf-in-charge, then?” “You might say that.” Brand pulled another chair in front of Rivera and sat down. Rivera drew a labored breath. Apparently, they‟d been at work on his chest as well. “You can have them beat me up all you want. I‟m not saying anything.” “What makes you believe I have any interest in what you have to say?” Brand fixed him with a searing glare. “You took one of ours and flayed him alive. I‟m inclined to let them do the same to you.” He made a vague gesture encompassing the others in the room. Fear tumbled out of Rivera in waves, but to his credit, he kept it from showing on his face. His eyes darted to 209

something across the room. “I would do it again.” Erik launched himself at Rivera, unable to hold his temper in check any longer. Brand intercepted Erik before he got in range to tear the man apart with his hands. “Easy. We aren‟t done here, yet.” Erik struggled in his grip and snapped his teeth, but eventually backed off. He settled for stalking back and forth across the room and glaring at Rivera with every third or fourth stride. Anger rolled in Brand‟s chest and he took several seconds to calm himself. He wanted nothing more than to help Erik rip the man open. The image of Lucas, tied up and helpless as they experimented on him, was difficult to push away. He sat across from Rivera once he‟d calmed. “We‟ve never done anything to you. Why would you attack us?” Rivera met his eyes with a strength Brand admired, considering the situation. “I did not attack you, or your… people, with malicious intent.” Erik started for Rivera again, but Brand stopped him with a raised hand. The man honestly believed what he said, and Brand needed to know why before he could let them kill him. “Explain yourself.” Face clouded in thought, Rivera hesitated for several seconds before he inclined his head toward a table near the window. Brand rose and crossed the room. A dozen pictures covered the table, and the subject of every one of them was the same young boy at different ages. Brand picked up the photo nearest him. The boy had a playful grin and his father‟s earnest face. Rivera spoke from behind him. “Albert was ten when he was diagnosed with leukemia. A few months ago, the doctors told me to take him home and make him comfortable.” His voice halted abruptly. The anguish twisted Brand‟s stomach as Rivera relived the horror of those memories. Rivera struggled to regain his composure. “I needed to 210

find a way to help him. One of my labs noticed something strange in a sample of blood that had been mislabeled. The researcher thought what he found there could eventually be used to treat some cancers, but he needed more to work with. We tracked down the source of the sample and tried to buy the lab.” He turned to look at Erik. “He wouldn‟t sell. That intrigued me and made me angry. I hired someone to steal the lab‟s files. I think you can figure out what happened from there.” Brand put down the photo and walked back to Rivera. “Did it work?” His eyes glassy, Rivera stared up at him with an expression of confusion. “What?” “Did you figure out a way to save your son?” Tears ran down Rivera‟s face as he shook his head. “He died a week ago.” Rivera‟s sorrow wrenched Brand‟s heart. The pain tore at him like a dull knife sawing at his chest. He staggered, and only Erik moving fast to catch him stopped him from hitting the ground. Erik helped him into the chair and rounded on Rivera. “Do you think hardship excuses what you did? Lucas was like a son to me.” His pain was every bit as vivid as Rivera‟s. Brand had difficulty thinking with so much agony around him. Rivera lifted his head, his gaunt face fixed in a stricken expression. “It never occurred to me that you would feel the same way about each other that we do.” Erik growled. A hungry beast lurked behind his swiftly lightening eyes. “Yes, we‟re no better than animals. Primitive. Barbaric.” His anger was a caustic, dangerous weapon. The other males grew more restless with each passing second. Brand recognized the situation was spiraling out of control. Any moment, the tightly held temper of any one of them might snap. Dagny knelt next to Brand and took hold of his hand. He‟d been so distracted he hadn‟t even felt her enter the room. 211

Her power pulsed through him, and the touch of it soothed him. His barriers slammed back into place, isolating him from the swirl of emotions. Brand concentrated on the calm Dagny created in him whenever she was near. He projected that feeling, filling the room with a sense of ease. The grumbles around him stopped. Erik turned to face him. His eyes no longer bore the wolfish glow. “What in Loki‟s name was that?” Brand‟s hand tightened around Dagny‟s. She‟d saved him again. “I don‟t want you to do something in a haze of rage that you‟ll regret later.” “There will be no regret. He killed one of ours. He owes us blood.” Rivera sat with his head down. He didn‟t deny anything, didn‟t bargain for his life. “I‟m sorry. I truly am,” he said in a halting whisper. Regret more powerful than Brand had ever felt poured from the man. Erik leveled a disapproving glare at Rivera. “We can‟t leave him alive. He knows too much.” “Killing him isn‟t going to solve our problem or make you feel any better.” Brand stood and stared down at Rivera. “We‟re not human. That doesn‟t mean we don‟t feel as keenly as you. I‟m sorry your son died. I‟m not sorry you didn‟t find the secret to saving him inside of us.” At that, Rivera‟s head snapped up, and his lips drew into a scowl. “I‟m not sorry, because if we could somehow heal your sick, how long do you think it would be before you hunted every one of us into the ground? Would you kill us at once or let us linger on as you did Lucas? Do you have any idea the agony he felt? I do, Mr. Rivera. I felt it. You can‟t drug what‟s inside of us. The wolf feels everything. You tortured him for weeks.” Anger made his voice shake. “I‟m a monster.” Rivera sobbed. Brand appraised the grieving man. “You‟re a father.” He said to Erik, “And soon enough, you will be too. Tell me 212

you wouldn‟t kill for your offspring if you thought doing so might save them, and I‟ll call you a liar.” Erik folded his arms moodily and turned away without replying. Brand raised his voice. “Outside, everyone but Erik.” The room cleared in the space of an indrawn breath. Dagny exited last and pulled the door closed behind her. “Mr. Rivera, I came here to watch you die. I don‟t want that anymore. I won‟t say I understand what you did, but I understand why. I would ask that you destroy anything that might confirm we exist. Convince the people in your employ who know about us that it was a hoax. Pay them off, threaten them, I don‟t care. Just make this go away.” Brand stepped closer. “Promise me you can do that, and we walk away.” Tears still streaming down his face, Rivera gazed up at Brand. “I promise. No one will ever find out about you from me.” Brand turned to Erik. “Are we good here?” Erik gave a hesitant nod. Brand pulled a knife from his belt and cut Rivera loose. As Rivera got to his feet, Erik closed the distance between them. “If anyone goes missing, I‟m coming to your door first, and I‟d best not find anything to make me wonder if your word is good.” “Understood,” Rivera said, not meeting his eyes. “I hope someday you can forgive me.” Erik stomped out of the room without offering an answer. Rivera stared after him. “Tell him again how sorry I am.” “He‟s quick to anger and slow to forgive, but he‟s my oldest friend,” Brand said with a tight smile. “If you hurt him again, I‟ll tear you apart.” Brand walked out of the room and into Dagny‟s waiting embrace.

THE END 213

About the Author Coral Moore has always been the kind of girl who makes up stories. Fortunately, she never quite grew out of that. She writes because she loves to invent characters and the desire to find out what happens to her creations drives the tales she tells. Prompted by a general interest in how life works, her undergraduate schooling was in biology. She follows science news and enjoys conversations about genetics and microbiology as much as those about vampires and werewolves. Coral writes speculative fiction and is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Albertus Magnus College. She currently lives in Connecticut with the love of her life who offers both encouragement and kicks in the tail when necessary. Also in residence are two mammals of the families Canidae and Felidae.

Connect with Coral Online Website: http://www.chaosandinsanity.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/coralm

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Acknowledgements Thank you to my wonderful husband Ryan, who believed in me when it mattered most. I love you. *** Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey at Razzle Dazzle Design

http://razzdazzdesign.com/

Editing by Lynn O'Dell at Red Adept Reviews

http://redadeptreviews.com/editing-services/

Formatting by Alan Schneider at Indie Book Lounge http://www.indiebooklounge.com/ebook-formatting-service/

*** My deepest thanks go out to the members of Critique Circle who helped this book along its way, when I wasn't even sure it was worth writing. I encourage you to check out their websites because if you liked this book, I'm sure you'll like their stories too! Katie Salidas - http://www.katiesalidas.com/ Emily Ward - http://www.emilyannward.com/ CD Meetens - http://www.onelittlespark.net/ Shannon O'farrell - http://shannonofarrell.blogspot.com/ Kirstenb - http://ascenicroute.wordpress.com/ S.C. Wade - http://scwade.wordpress.com/ Rhindra Vekrah - http://rhindra.livejournal.com/ *** Thank you also to my awesome beta reader Mindy, who helped me so much more than by just reading. 215

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