Chapter Thirty-One Baldr

“W hat do you mean he’s gone?!” I cried, grabbing Flynn by the shoulders and shaking him. “You just let Mist leave on his own? What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“He said he wanted a chance to see if he could defeat Tyr alone,” Flynn replied, pulling himself away from me. “And I thought he deserved that much. Besides, I only gave him a small head start.”

“He can’t face Tyr alone!” I snapped. “That’s not how the vision goes!”

“Then maybe your vision was wrong,” Flynn snapped right back at me. “Ever since I met you, you’ve been enslaving yourself to these visions! You tell everyone they’re always right and you’ve been right enough times to convince them.” He paused, pointing a threatening finger in my face. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe it’s you that’s making them come true?!”

“Do you think I want them to be true?!” I cried, throwing my arms wide. “Do you think I wanted to see my own death, over and over and over again for the past decade? Or watch my father be killed by Tyr every night in my sleep without knowing when or where it would happen? I’d do anything to make just one of these visions false! I don’t want them to be true anymore than you or Thor do!”

Thor’s hand came to rest on my shoulder. “You… You saw your own death?” There was a tone of concern in his voice and accusation. “If you were seeing all of this… why didn’t you tell me about it? Maybe I could’ve helped.”

I pulled away from him, still too mad to speak sensibly. “Yeah, well, it’s way too late for that.”

I turned away from them both, stomping toward the door. However, as I pulled it open I stopped, turning back to look at Thor, Flynn, and Nana standing in the small living room, illuminated by the firelight. It was probably the last time I was going to see them.

“I love you all,” I said, letting out a long sigh. “And I’m sorry for what’s about to happen. Just know, it’s not your fault.”

“Baldr, wait—”

But Thor’s voice was cut off as I burst out of the house, leaping off the front porch and tearing across the farmyard toward the Skoll mountain in the distance. I lifted my nose to the wind, catching the scent of Mist on the icy breeze. He wasn’t too far ahead of me and I knew I could catch up quickly. Letting my Alpha form seep out, my muscles swelled against my clothing and my speed doubled. Saving Mist was all that mattered. It was my destiny. Out of every vision I’ve ever had, nothing was more clear than that. And even when I fell, Thor would be right behind me to save the rest of them. Of that, I was sure and confident.

The wind whipped through my hair as I raced across the frozen landscape, my enhanced senses picking up every detail around me. The crunch of snow beneath my feet, the distant howl of wolves, the scent of pine and frost in the air. But I focused solely on Mist's trail, pushing myself harder with each stride. I could catch his scent here and there and I knew he couldn’t have gotten far. But I had to stop him before he found Tyr. Whatever he was planning to do, it was damn foolish and it wouldn’t work. Of that I was sure.

My mind raced as fast as my feet. How could Flynn let him go? How could Mist think he stood a chance against Tyr alone? The visions flashed through my mind again - Mist face full of fear, Tyr's maniacal laughter, my own final moments. I shook my head, trying to dispel the images. No, it wouldn't end like that. Not if I could help it. I’d rather lay down my life than have Mist’s taken away from him prematurely. He already never got to have a life of his own and I wouldn’t let him not have one on my account now.

As I crested a hill, I caught sight of the abandoned factory outside of town. The buildings were dark, but in the center of what was once the employee parking lot was a single sodium lamp still glowing brightly. Under the yellow light stood two figures. I didn’t have to look twice to know that one of them was Mist. But as the second reached out toward him, holding something aloft, my heightened wolf vision focused in on the stranger.

It was Tyr.

Crying out, I let the Alpha wolf take over as I bounded through the snow at lightning speed. But before I could get there, another two figures had stepped into the light. However, I was moving too quickly to make out their features, and it wasn’t until I came skidding to a halt at the edge of the light that I realized it was Loki and Heimdall.

But I was too late. Just as I came to a stop, a bright red power built around Tyr. His eyes flashed and he raised his hand, aiming the killing magic toward Mist. I dug my claws into the snow, knowing my vision was finally about to come true. It was my destiny to save Mist from Tyr’s malice and I was more than happy to do it. I leaped forward, throwing myself in front of the spell.

Just before it collided with me I had a chance to look back at Mist, forcing all the love and affection I could across our bond. However, instead of Mist’s face, I saw Loki’s. His hand was outstretched, pushing Mist back into the snow. My eyes went wide as I realized my brother, the one that nearly everyone thought was too selfish to do a good deed for anyone, had stepped between Tyr and my mate in an attempt to save him, to trade his life instead. I had just enough time to give him a soft smile before the spell struck me full in the chest.

The magic threw me to the ground, coursing through my veins like fire. All at once I was morbidly aware that my heart had stopped beating. Everything inside me ceased to move. My lungs wouldn’t draw air, my blood wouldn’t flow, and my arms and legs refused to move. And just before my head hit the snow, I had a moment to glance up at Mist and send him a message through our bond.

“I… I love you…” I whispered. “And I’ll always… watch over… you…”

And then my world went dark.