Chapter One Baldr

The Day Before the Attack

I stepped into the familiar forest on the north side of the Skoll mountain. Tyr’s village wasn’t far off, but that didn’t scare me. He’d learned the hard way not to attack me the last time we’d met. Considering he’s nearly gotten himself blown up, I didn’t think he’d be coming after me anytime soon. My mother’s magic, despite her departure from the mortal plane, was still intact. His promise held true, and despite his resentment and anger, it would not budge.

So I didn’t fret as I stepped into their territory. No one could harm me there. Besides, I was good at staying out of sight. Maybe they couldn’t physically hurt me, but they could still make my life a living hell. Staying out of the Skoll pack’s way was the best course of action if I wanted to avoid that. Most of them were blind to my scent, anyway, considering I walked all over the mountains all the time. Even if the trail was fresh, they ignored it. That, combined with a little bit of magic on my part, made sure that nobody, not even Tyr or my own family, knew what I was up to when I went to the enemy’s mountain.

I had a friend there that I liked to visit and as far as I knew, nobody realized we’d ever met. After all, he had been trapped in a giant magical bubble for the past few years. Getting close to it was easy for me. I could basically wrap myself in an enchantment to remain invisible to passersby. Then, with a simple spell, I could connect with him so we could telepathically communicate. However, no matter how many times I tried to free him from it, I couldn’t get him out. The power that held him there was stronger and older than mine, tied to the land in a way that I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around. And honestly, I was too scared to try to get in, afraid that once I did, getting back out would be impossible.

But that didn’t stop me from visiting. It might seem a bit odd to an outsider, but I liked him. We were similar in more ways than one. Both of us were alone most of the time, though his solitude wasn’t by choice. We understood what it was like to be the outsider of the pack. And we both knew how awful Tyr could be, both through personal experience.

There was more to it than that, though. There was the fact that we were both witches. Of course, I was half werewolf, and he was all witch, but that didn't stop us from bonding. His magic was much different than mine, though. I had almost complete control over mine, and while I was powerful, I was nothing compared to him. Through our telepathic conversations, I could feel the enormity of his power burbling deep down inside him. Try as he might though, he couldn’t access it at will. And when he touched that power by accident, the results were almost always catastrophic. That’s what made me think the bubble wasn’t merely to keep him in, but to protect the people of Fenris from his power as well.

However, I kept those details to myself. Tyr already made him feel terrible about his power constantly and I didn’t want to add to that burden. He was already berated by Tyr incessantly and forced to parrot Tyr’s hatred back at him to stay in his good graces. As far as I could tell, Tyr was attempting to train him for some great purpose, although I wasn’t really sure what it could be. He was the only one that could get in or out of the shield and he never let my friend go with him. He was up to something… I just couldn’t figure it out.

Not that I had time for such wonderings lately. After Thor found his human mate and Loki ran off into the wilderness, things had been a fucking mess in the Hati pack. It was one of the reasons I found myself wandering through the woods more often now. I was avoiding the crushing weight of my responsibility as long as I could. But with every day that passed, I knew I couldn’t wait much longer. Still, that didn't stop me from visiting the bubble.

I stepped into a familiar clearing, a thin layer of snow crunching under my boots. Snowflakes danced around me, drifting lazily to the ground. If I squinted and turned my head, I could just make out a small ping of energy the moment the flakes hit the invisible dome and passed through. Any other time of the year I wouldn’t be able to see it, but the snow gave it away if I looked at it just right.

Closing my eyes, I drew up the runes in my mind for sight of the unseen. They came to me naturally, filling my mind as my intention took shape. With a few muttered words under my breath, there was a flash of purple light behind my eyelids. Opening them once more, I saw the world around me had changed. The colors were different, shifted into a brighter, more vibrant range. And there, not twenty feet in front of me, was the edge of the dome that stretched on for at least a quarter of a mile. It glowed a translucent green, the edge of it anchored to the land every few feet. I walked up to it, reaching my hand out and laying it against the smooth surface. It felt almost like glass, but it buzzed against my skin almost painfully at times, like a dull electric shock.

Closing my eyes once more, I reached out with my consciousness, searching for my friend. Considering he was the only living thing besides plants inside the dome, it was easy to find him. Familiar runes raced through my mind as I made the connection between us and felt that comforting warmth of his mind on the other side.

“Hey Mist,” I said, calling out to him. “I’m here.”

“Baldr,” he replied, the smile easy to hear in his voice. “North side?”

“Yeah.”

“On my way.”

It took only a minute or so before I could see the hazy figure appear in the distance. The dome’s magic made it impossible to make out any details, but as Mist got closer, I could see a few familiar features. He was tall, with broad shoulders and pale skin. His hair was long and unkempt, but I couldn’t tell what color it was through the dome, just that it was darker than my own bright silver hair. And even though I didn’t know the color of his eyes, the shape of his nose, or the plumpness of his lips, I still thought he was handsome.

He stepped up to the edge of the dome, placing his hand just on the other side of mine. Although I couldn’t feel his skin or the warmth of his hand, the dome’s buzzing changed between our fingers, giving me the sensation that we were actually touching. It always made me smile.

“Did Tyr bring you some warmer clothing?” I asked, feeling the snow begin to collect on my shoulders. “That cold snap came on fast.”

“Yeah. I’m alright.” I could tell he wasn’t being entirely truthful, but he didn’t like to make me worry. “I’ve got a fire going back at the shelter.”

I’d never seen the shelter Mist had built for himself. He’d tried to project me images, but all I ever got were memories of building forts in the woods with my brothers when we were young. Then again, considering Mist didn't have a hardware store in there, that might not have been very far off. I just hoped it was warm enough. After all these years, he was used to living out in the weather, but I still worried about him. And I felt guilty. Living in a cushy hotel was quite the luxury while my best friend was huddled up in a stick fort out in the woods.

“The connection will hold if you want to go back and stay warm,” I offered. “There’s no reason for us both to freeze.”

“No,” he replied. “It’s nice to see someone besides Tyr. He’s been… visiting a lot lately.”

I furrowed my brows, letting the emotion flow across the connection. Tyr had been pretty quiet lately, from what I knew. Thor was managing the majority of the security for our pack, but so far, things had been fairly calm. After he’d taken Tyr’s hand off, we expected a counterattack almost immediately. But it seemed for the time being that Tyr was biding his time. Whether to recover or gather his strength, we didn’t know.

“Is his hand still healing?” I asked, not knowing how much Mist would actually know.

“It’s bandaged,” he replied. “But he doesn’t seem to care about it honestly. His thoughts are turned toward war. He keeps trying to get me to use my magic, but I told him… I don’t know how.”

I could feel the anxiety through our telepathic bond. Mist’s power had always been Tyr’s focus. I didn’t know where Mist had come from or how Tyr had managed to trap him in that magical dome, but I did know that if Mist were to ever unleash his abilities, he could level all of Fenris in a single explosion. He had that much power. Even though I could feel it inside him and I probably could’ve helped him harness it, the last thing I wanted was for Tyr to have access to him. After all, if Tyr could find a way to erect the dome and keep this witch hostage, there was a possibility that he could exert control over him through some other means as well.

But why hadn’t he done it yet?

“Someone’s coming,” Mist said, his voice suddenly fearful. “Quick! Hide!”

Pulling my hand away from the dome, I dashed back to the trees, tucking myself behind a large trunk. As soon as I was still, I heard the crunching of shoes through the snow. I glanced around the tree and saw Mist standing there just beyond the shield, watching as two figures approached. One was bulky and tall. I recognized him immediately as Tyr’s son, Heimdall. And next to him was a smaller man with long, dark hair. Shock jolted through my system as I realized it was Loki. But what the fuck was he doing with the Skoll heir?

“Here it is,” Heimdall said, stopping in his tracks.

“Uh… where?” Loki asked, looking side to side.

“Give me your hand.”

Loki raised his hand willingly, and Heimdall took it softly. His fingers laced through Loki’s from the back, maneuvering his palm until it was resting against the dome. The gesture was soft and intimate, much more than I would expect between two sworn enemies. Something had happened and I didn’t quite understand what just yet.

“The dome is nearly a quarter mile wide,” Heimdall continued. “It takes up most of the forest on the northern side of the village. Everyone knows it here because they’ve run into it at one point or another, but they don’t know what it’s for. Tyr just tells them it’s a secret and they believe him.”

“You called him by his first name,” Loki said, looking up at Heimdall with a smile. “You haven’t done that before.”

Heimdall sighed, shaking his head. “It’s hard to call someone my father when I’m no longer a son in his eyes.”

My curiosity was piqued. I leaned forward, trying to get a little closer to hear every word they were saying. Not only had Loki joined the enemy, but it seemed the enemy wasn’t feeling very good about the situation with Tyr either. As I leaned around the tree, I caught Loki’s scent on the breeze and my heart skipped a beat. It was his, but different than I remembered. It was intertwined with Heimdall’s scent in a way that could only mean one thing.

They were a mated pair.

What the fuck was Loki doing?

Just as I was about to take a step forward, the wind shifted, carrying my scent toward them. A second later, Loki’s head snapped up, his gaze sweeping toward me. I managed to duck out of the way just in time to avoid being seen.

“What is it?” Heimdall asked.

“It… It’s nothing,” Loki replied. But his tone suggested otherwise. “I thought I smelled something, but I think it’s a deer.” He paused for a long moment. “We should head back. We need rest and time to plan.”

“Right. There’s an empty house at the edge of the village. We can take that so we don’t have to be near him.”

Loki grabbed his hand. “Lead on.”

I watched the pair of them trudge away through the snow, heading back to the village, my brows furrowed in thought. What were they planning? Why was Heimdall being shunned by his father? And why the fuck had Loki mated with him? As far as I knew, Loki wasn’t into guys at all. Then again, neither was Thor until Flynn came along.

“Any idea what they’re talking about?” I asked Mist through the bond.

“Tyr was very excited this morning when he came to see me,” Mist replied, his voice barely above a whisper. I could hear the pain behind his words, and I already knew what he was about to say. “He… He burned me again to try to get me to lash out.”

Immediately my attention was drawn away from Loki completely and fury filled my chest. “Are you alright?! What happened? Do you need help?!”

“I’m fine–”

“Fuck, I want to kill that guy,” I spat, venom filling me from head to toe. “I really want to ring his fucking neck but…”

“Your visions,” Mist said knowingly, his head nodding on the other side of the shield. “It’s not your destiny.”

“No,” I conceded, hating how helpless it made me feel. “My visions are never wrong… so I know I won’t succeed if I try to kill him. I just wish I knew who would.” I walked back up to the edge of the dome, placing my hand on it. A complicated tempest of emotions filled my mind, the strongest of which was sorrow. “I’m so sorry you have to endure all this. I wish… I wish I could break this spell and get you out of there.”

“I wish you could too,” he replied softly. “And I know you would if you could. I… I know you’re my only friend in this whole world.”

“Don’t hate me, alright?” I added, my voice barely above a whisper. “My mother left me all this power and I can’t even help a person I… that I care about.”

I had to stop myself from saying the words I wanted to say. Even though there had been a shield separating us for all these years, I could still feel the spark of something between us. It had been there since the beginning, an invisible pull that I could never quite escape, always bringing me back to the heart of enemy territory just for a few exchanged words and a smile that I couldn’t even see. I’d known since the beginning that Mist was my mate. But I’d never told him. And I was glad I didn’t because my visions showed me a dark future and I couldn’t inflict that kind of pain upon him when the time came.

No. We would have to remain friends with this wall between us. It was for his sake, anyway. And, since my visions were always correct, I knew there wasn’t a way out of it. It was just the way things had to be. Besides, even if I wanted to be his mate, how would we ever be together? He was trapped, and I was too weak to help him.

“I don’t hate you,” Mist replied, his voice soft and affectionate. “You’re my best friend.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again, trying not to show how much I loved hearing those words from him.

“I’m okay, Baldr. Promise.”

“Do you want me to read to you?”

I could almost hear him smile. “Yes please.”