Chapter 35 | Grim

Chapter 35

Grim

I SWUNG AROUND, MERE seconds after losing my mind inside Ravinica. I didn't have time to relish the bliss or marvel at the woman who'd given it to me.

My hand instinctively moved behind me, shoving myself in front of her, to make sure she was protected.

I didn't feel abashed or vulnerable nude. I was used to it. She, on the other hand, made herself smaller behind me as she quickly pulled her clothes on.

Our tryst had been swift, smoldering, and abrasive.

I couldn't think much on it now, yet I knew I'd be reminiscing and pulling the memories from my head for days, weeks—maybe forever.

If we made it out of Delaveer Forest alive.

Half the time during our passionate embrace, I hadn't even been present, lost in heat from the full moon yanking my beast to the fore. I was glad I hadn't gone berserk. It was a curse I had no willpower over—an uncontrollable, violent, savage urge I couldn't summon, even now when we were in imminent danger.

The four wolves prowling in front of us kept their heads low, salivating from their vicious teeth. Their eyes were wilder than usual. I noticed the daze in them—the same trance I'd been feeling just minutes before.

Ravinica had put her safety on the line, going against my wishes to follow me here. She had sacrificed her sanctity to placate my urges and carnal desires. I admired her bravery, her strength, and her brass balls for confronting a massive bear five times her size.

She had shown no fear. Though I'd not told her during our nightly walks at the academy, each evening brought me closer to a realization, culminating in this moment.

I was falling hard for the young woman. This had only solidified it.

A shame that the moment was ruined by Sven Torfen and his kinsmen, who were less than twenty paces away.

I heard a faint rustling behind me and checked over my shoulder to see Ravinica lifting her spear from the ground. She had dropped it when I shoved her against the tree and claimed her.

Now she held the haft tight, staring around my side with narrowed eyes, ready for battle.

I flared my nostrils. "I won't let us die, little sneak."

"Neither will I."

A smile curled my lip. "No, I don't suppose you will."

"Think we can take them?"

"In their trance? After what we just did? I'm weakened after the Lunar Night leaves me."

"I'll take that as a no. "

We could try. They were circling, prowling, golden-red eyes never leaving us. We had our backs against a tree trunk . . . and a wide expanse of forest in every other direction.

No, I didn't think we could take Sven and his three siblings. Not like this, in this state. Not right now.

"I have a better idea," I said.

She perked up behind me.

"Ever ridden a horse before?"

She chuckled darkly. Even in danger, she had a laugh that made my pulse spike and my heart leap with joy. She brought something out of me no one ever had before.

"I'm of Viking blood, Grim. What do you think?"

Over my shoulder, I smiled. "Then get ready to hold on to your ass."

She blinked once, opening her mouth to speak—

And then my vision of her went fuzzy as I shifted. I drew upon the animal lurking in the recesses of my being, waiting to be summoned to take Ravinica all over again. The human part of me wasn't the only one happy with what we'd just done here.

Staying surprisingly calm, I stepped forward in my bear form, standing on my hind legs to swipe at the air. A roar spilled from my lips, splitting the night and shaking the trees as I stood ten feet tall.

The wolves yipped and backpedaled to keep their distance.

With a heavy thud, I landed on my front legs, my senses heightened. I could smell the grass and muddy earth beneath my paws. I could hear the grasshoppers and crickets in the rushes near me, and the speeding heartbeats of the wolves in front of us.

I scared them.

So I used that to my advantage.

With a quick shake of my head, I snarled at Ravinica over my shoulder.

Color drained from her cheeks when I nodded at her, and she said, "Fucking hells. Here goes nothing."

I lowered my body. With a leap, Ravinica hopped on top of me. She held the scruff of loose skin and fur near the nape of my neck, spinning her spear with her other hand. Her powerful thighs squeezed around my middle.

I lifted up, steady as could be, and roared at the wolves in front of us. A flicker of doubt flashed in their eyes.

And then I charged at them headlong. My rumbling gait shook the earth, swinging Ravinica on me like she was riding a bull.

She let out a cry of anguish, shock, or excitement—perhaps a combination of the three. The wolves tried to make a wall in front of us . . . I kept barreling toward them . . .

At the last second, they broke, not wanting anything to do with my claws or Ravinica's spear as she rode atop my back.

Having Ravinica riding bear-back was something I'd never done with another person. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and she navigated the tense situation with aplomb.

I rampaged through the trees toward the mountain that would lead us up to the academy. There, we would be safe.

As we took to the thicker trees, she let out a cry: "They're all over us, Grim!"

I didn't need to be told. I could feel the presence of the wolves to my right and left, flitting by, maneuvering over and around the trees much swifter and quicker than I could.

I was a lumbering giant. My legs moved me at a fast speed, yet the Torfen pack was agile, lithe, and trained for the hunt. Their pack tactics were second to none.

As we sped away from the clearing, Ravinica jabbed her spear left and right, keeping the hounds at bay.

The wolves snarled and barked at her, scenting their prey, knowing they only needed one well-executed, coordinated strike to bring me down.

I would do everything to make sure it didn't happen—everything to make sure Ravinica was safe.

I had a purpose at Vikingrune for perhaps the first time. Protect her at all costs. Keep her, save her, and adore her.

Ravinica's weight on top of me was nothing. She was light, and got more comfortable the longer I barreled through the woods. She managed to lean into the rocking and shaking caused by my burly galloping.

In her element, Ravinica shouted like a valkyrie to the heavens, thrusting her spear like a jouster. She nearly lanced one of the gray wolves and sent it scurrying off.

Another wolf took its place, this one darker.

Sven, I thought, knowing he was not the largest but certainly the most intelligent and dangerous of the Torfen cubs.

The wolf shifter barreled into my side, dipping under Ravinica's spear. He raked his claws across my belly and I growled, slowed, and swung an arm out aimlessly.

Sven pulled back, adjusting the trajectory of his charge to curve around a tree trunk that split between us.

I angled away from the trunk, so once we were on the other side of it Sven was further away.

I nearly charged straight into one of his kinsmen, who leapt into the air out of the shadows.

Ravinica thrust her spear and caught the wolf in the leg, sending it spiraling in the air before it skittered on its side and yelped in pain.

The other three wolves kept their pace, eager to bring me down. They made mistakes because they were so thirsty for violence and mating. The Torfens didn't move how I knew they were capable of moving. They stumbled over each other, each one trying to be the hero to topple the bear and his rider.

Minutes passed as we careened through the forest. I moved at a breakneck speed for a bear, and we were getting close to the mountains.

Passing Isleton to my left, I heard shouts and gasps from people on the outskirts. It wasn't every day a full-grown bear paraded past their town with a bevy of wolves giving chase.

Snarling, howling, and roaring filled the night.

I caught sight of two other wolf shifters far to the right—no association to the Torfens. They shagged under the canopy of a tree, much like Ravinica and I had. They watched us go curiously, and I assumed continued their gallivanting once we were past. Lucky them.

I vaguely wondered if the fornicating wolves knew each other, or if they were simply giving in to their base instincts and urges.

Finally, we burst through the trees. Sven and his ilk charged out a few seconds later, two to my right, one to my left.

I gained the steps, the path, the rocks, and they slowed as they hopped from spot to spot. I climbed the road better than they could, going in a straight line up the hillside. The wolves had to traverse around boulders too high, inclines too steep. They had to use intelligence to continue chasing me, while I could use brute force.

They were losing ground.

Within minutes, when I checked over my shoulder, I saw they had given up.

Sven howled at the full moon one last time—his grievance to the gods for letting us get away.

Then he and his ilk padded away, defeated, distraught, and likely eager to find another morsel to hunt down.

We were halfway up the path when I set myself onto my belly and Ravinica climbed off. She half-rolled, half-jumped, and landed awkwardly.

I shifted, staying on my hands and knees.

"Thank the gods," my little sneak said, breathing heavily. She put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right, Grim?"

I nodded, trying to catch my breath. Sweat poured down my chin, my forehead, my arms. I was naked and filthy, bleeding lightly from my side.

I could still taste Ravinica's essence on my tongue. That was all that mattered anymore. Her.

"How fucking exhilarating!" she cried out, pumping her fist. "Riding a bear? That wasn't on my bingo card."

I let out a snort and faced her as she helped me up from my knees. "How about riding a bear twice in one night?"

She blushed, recognizing my innuendo. "Yes . . . about that."

I put a hand to her chin, lifting it so she wouldn't look at the ground in shame. "We don't have to ever speak on it again, if you don't want, Ravinica."

It pained me to say. But I would do it for her—forget it ever happened.

We started walking up the mountainside path. She was quiet for a long while, while my heart rampaged in my chest. It was less about the adrenaline of our chase that worried me, more about how Ravinica would react after what we'd done.

"Never speak on it again?" she said at last. "That sounds like a dismal way to celebrate one of the most rewarding moments I've had at Vikingrune Academy."

My head spun, eyes bulging. She grinned, eyes alight with mischief.

I couldn't help but grin also, learning how she truly felt. "But, Ravinica . . ."

Her face grew stern. "You didn't force yourself on me, Grim, if that's what you're wondering. I made that choice on my own. And by Freya am I glad I did. It . . . was everything I've been feeling over the past few weeks with you but couldn't explain."

"The feeling is mutual." My grin remained. It was rare I smiled so much, and so long. I never had much of a reason to. With Ravinica in my presence, looping her arm around mine . . . how could I not love it?

"You didn't go berserk, either," she said. "I'm proud of you for that. It would have spelled bad news for me."

We were nearing the top, the academy. I still had so much to say to her. "You were able to calm me, somehow. You hold a power over me no one else ever has, sneak. I don't know how, but I can't deny it."

Her beautiful face brightened, rosiness coming to her cheeks. "I'm glad for it."

I had this woman. This light, who could be the single shining thing to guide me through the depths and darkness of my past.

"I never finished my story before the full moon hit me," I drawled as we leveled out on flat ground, with the gates ahead of us.

Huscarl Grant, overhead, yelled out, "They're back! Grim's naked as a newborn and the girl is okay! Not limping or anything!"

The other guards laughed at his crude joke.

Ravinica rolled her eyes. "Fucking boys," she muttered, making me laugh. She wrapped an arm around my waist. "Truth be told, I am a bit sore. You're . . . something else, Grim Kollbjorn. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

We passed under the gate. My heartbeat flared. With her arm wrapped around me, my cock also flared, swinging and stiffening between my legs. It would take everything inside me to give her any semblance of peace and quiet for the rest of the evening.

I tamped down my arousal, squeezing every ounce of willpower out of me. I said, "You deserve to know, and come to your own conclusions and decisions. I never want to deceive you or make you feel unsafe."

She furrowed her brow. "What could make me feel unsafe around you, Grim?"

"Me."

She wrinkled her nose. "I thought we just went through this—how I managed to calm your temper."

"It may not always be that easy. Next time, please , for the love of all that's sacred, listen to me and let me go out on my own."

She didn't ask why. She didn't say no. She simply watched me curiously, eyebrow perching on her forehead as she bit the corner of her lip.

I stopped us before we could reach any students ahead—students who I knew would make a big scene given my state of disarray and nudity.

"When I told the story of the raiders coming to slaughter my fathers in the forest, I lied. I did not flee them. I watched. That traumatic event, I believe, was what triggered my first berserk experience. The blind rage, pure hate, and unmitigated violence of it."

She held her breath, nodding slowly. "O-Okay. What happened, Grim?"

I sighed and stared down into her alarmed eyes. "After the raiders killed my fathers, I went into a battle-lust, tore through the woods, and massacred them all." My shoulders sank. "Including my biological parents."