Chapter Seventeen Loki

I woke to the clang of stone against stone. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but the sound grew to a level where it was making my head hurt and that's when I came to. I sat up, immediately aware of how cold I was and the throbbing pain on the left side of my head. Reaching up, I found my hair was matted with blood, although it seemed the bleeding had stopped. However, no matter how much I tried to push the pain away, the clanging wouldn't stop.

That's when I finally opened my eyes and saw him standing in the middle of the river, beating the cavern wall with a rock. To my surprise, it wasn't his nudity, the flexing of his muscles, or the way his cock swung back and forth that caught my attention first. It wasn't even that he was in his Alpha form, claws, fur, and fangs gleaming. Instead, it was the fact that there was a beam of light shining on his face from the wall in front of him. Every time he struck the cavern wall, it was cut off for a moment. Then, as he pulled back, it seemed slightly bigger. I had to shift to the side before I fully comprehended what he'd done.

He was breaking his way out of the cave.

"H-Heimdall?" I croaked, my throat drier than I thought possible.

The clanging stopped instantly as he turned to look at me, his body drenched in sweat. For a moment I could see the fierce determination on his face, that he was going to get us out no matter what it took. And then, as soon as his gaze met mine, it melted into relief. Without a word, he ran through the water toward me, tossed his rock to the floor beside me, and scooped me up in his arms.

"You're okay," he whispered, holding me tightly. His skin was hot and sweaty, his scent stronger than I thought possible. "God I was so worried…"

Everything was still a bit hazy, but I found the strength to hold him back. However, I made no attempt to hide my body's reaction to him. Between the sweat, his musk, and his arms around me, I was aroused before I knew it was even happening. Somehow, even after everything I'd been through and a head injury, my dick still had a mind of its own.

"W-What happened?" I managed to ask, still holding tight to him.

"You fell," he replied simply, his voice shaking. "There was a hole, and you fell." He buried his face in my neck, the sob in the back of his throat all too clear. "I… I thought you were dead. And then… I wasn't sure you'd wake up."

I felt that strong man quaking against me, and he held tight. He'd truly been scared. Even though this wasn't the first time I'd seen him break down, it still surprised me. I always thought Alphas were supposed to be nothing but stoicism and bravery. It was why I detested Thor and his weakness when it came to Flynn. But now that I was experiencing it myself, I was starting to realize how wrong I'd been. How cruel I'd been.

"I'm okay," I whispered into Heimdall's ear. "I'm right here."

Heimdall's body seemed to shrink in my grasp, his Alpha form fading back to human as he held me. And then, just as quickly as he seemed to diminish, he suddenly toppled to the side. I managed to catch enough of him to stop his head from hitting the floor. For a moment, panic rose up in my chest, gripping me at the throat. But as I laid him down gently and saw the soft rise and fall of his chest, I realized he was just exhausted.

"You spent everything you had trying to save me, didn't you?" I whispered, brushing the sweat soaked hair out of his face.

I pulled myself over to the water's edge just long enough to get a drink before I returned to his side. Curling up against him, I let our bodies lend each other warmth to fight away the cold of the cave around us. I was still feeling dizzy and both of us needed time to recover.

So, with a whispered promise to myself to figure out how to keep him once we woke up, I allowed myself to slip back into a peaceful slumber at my mate's side.

◆◆◆

When I woke, it was darker than before, the light from the hole in the cavern wall all but gone. However, I didn't feel panicked about that. With a big pair of muscular arms wrapped around my chest, I wasn't afraid of anything. Heimdall's chest was pressed against my back as he pulled me tight against him, like a giant teddy bear to keep me company through the night.

However, this teddy bear was packing a bit more than most. It didn't escape my attention that his massive erection was pressed firmly against my ass. Every now and then it would twitch, his hips grinding against me as he searched for friction.

"Heimdall?" I asked, checking to see if he was awake.

No answer.

I let out a sigh, smiling to myself. I would have to be careful around this one. Sleeping naked with him might mean getting fucked in the middle of the night. Not that I minded. The mere thought of it would've had me rock hard and leaking if I hadn't been already. But as much as I wanted to suck him off right then and there, I forced myself to push it from my mind.

The wall still had to be broken, and it would take a lot of effort. Both of us needed to conserve our energy if we were going to get out of this cave alive. Neither of us had eaten in over two days now and I wasn't sure about Heimdall, but I was starting to feel it. My muscles never stopped being sore, my stomach was constantly growling, and even my healing had slowed down. I was running on fumes, and it wouldn't be much longer before I was too weak to do most anything.

We had to make it out while we still had some juice left. And that meant, much to my chagrin, that I needed to keep my dick and my mouth to myself. However, the moment we were out and got some food, I promised myself I'd give Heimdall the ride of his fucking life.

With a level of self-control I didn't know I had, I extracted myself from his arms and stood up, stretching away some of the sleepiness. I was still sore and my head throbbed, but I didn't feel dizzy anymore. That meant I could at least be useful while he slept.

Picking up the stone he'd been using, I stepped into the river, hissing through my teeth as the cold swallowed everything from the calf down. I gritted my teeth and headed for the spot where he'd been working. It was a little harder to find in the dim light, but the moonlight shining through helped me locate it at last. Recalling his methods, I reached deep inside myself, coaxing the exhausted wolf inside me to the surface. With a deep breath, I let my Alpha form take hold, the fangs filling my mouth as my body swelled.

A rush of energy filled my veins, but I knew it wasn't going to last forever. There was no time to waste. Reeling my arm back, I screwed my eyes shut and slammed the stone into the wall as hard as I could, keeping my fingers clear. There was a resounding crack, and several shards fell into the water around my feet. To my surprise, I found the hole a little larger when I opened my eyes. A few more stars peeked through, lighting the darkness beyond. Smiling to myself, I reeled back again and struck the wall, determined to open it further before Heimdall woke up.

For the next hour, I worked myself until my arm was numb from the constant impact. I forced myself to take a break, happy with the progress I'd made. The hole was no longer tiny, but actually big enough to get my entire head through. I was still a long way off, but the rock I'd been using to chip my way out had all but disintegrated.

I pulled myself out of the river and back to Heimdall's side. Leaning my back against his chest. He was still passed out, clearly undisturbed by the constant ear-splitting echo of stone against stone. He must've used a lot more energy than I anticipated. However, I was happy to let him sleep. After everything he'd done for me, he deserved it.

The break gave me some time to think, anyway. I'd been avoiding it for the past hour because, to put it simply, I just didn't have an answer yet. But after everything that had happened and our multiple brushes with death, I was determined to make a fresh start for myself once I was free of that cave.

The one thing I was most certain about was that I wanted to be with Heimdall. We'd known each other for less than three days and already I knew, deep down in my heart of hearts, that he was my future. Any plans that didn't include him were pointless. If he wasn't at my side, I'd spend the rest of my life wandering the edges of our packs, just hoping for a glimpse of him. I was hopelessly and utterly smitten and there was nothing I could do to change that. Three days ago, I would've killed him if I'd been given half the chance. But now, I'd lay my life down to keep him safe.

Logically, it was a leap and a stupid one at that. Every part of my brain was screaming at me that I was being childish and whimsical, that it would lead me to my doom. But despite all that, I was a werewolf, and a mate bond was something that couldn't be ignored. Despite our differences and the fact that our packs were at war, I was going to be at his side. And maybe one day I'd even learn to love him.

If I didn't already.

And that thought, more than anything else, scared the ever-living shit out of me.

I still didn't know what I was going to do about Tyr or avenging my father. But I did know that I wanted to go back to Thor and apologize to him when the time was right. And to Baldr. They deserved better than the way I'd been treating them these past few months. Our pack deserved a better leader than what I'd been as well. And as for Flynn… well… I still didn't like the idea of having a human around, but I couldn't deny Thor his mate. Still, I planned on interrogating the shit out of him and his grandma. I wasn't buying that Little Red Riding Hood bullshit they were doing. Wolf hunters were no joke, and I wanted to make sure that those traditions truly hadn't been thrust upon him.

"Loki?" a whispered voice said from beside me.

"Hey," I replied softly, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." He sat up on one elbow, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Fuck I'm sore…"

"I can imagine."

"You been awake long?"

"An hour or so. I opened the hole up wider while you were resting." I lifted a hand, showing him the crumbled remains of his stone. "But I need a new rock."

His face dropped. "That was the last one," he sighed. "I broke all the stalagmites I could find. There aren't any more."

"It's a cave," I shrugged. "There's gotta be more rocks somewhere." I glanced back the way we'd come down the river. "I don't really want to go back into the dark though and chance getting lost."

"The only place I haven't checked was the pit you fell into." He shook his head. "I wouldn't be able to get back out by myself. It's a stupid idea, anyway."

"Actually… it might not be. What if you lowered me back in and I looked around?"

"You won't be able to see anything!" he snapped, suddenly wide awake and alert. "And what if you take another bad step and fall somewhere I can't reach you? I barely got you out last time!"

" Hamball ," I said, stroking his cheek. He visibly relaxed, my touch seeming to have the calming effect I'd intended. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? But we can't just give up when we're so close to being free of this place."

"I don't want you going down there," he reiterated, not budging an inch. "Besides, what's out there?" He gestured toward the hole in the wall, a tone of despair in his voice. "How would we ever make it work?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly, leaning down to kiss him once more. I remained close, my forehead pressed against his. "But if we don't try, we'll never know." I held him there for a long moment, my voice barely above a whisper. "You're my mate and no matter what, I'm not going to let you go. I can't. I feel too much for you already. And I know it's stupid to get so attached so quickly and let my emotions run away with me but… well… I can't help it Heimdall. You're the only one for me. Three days ago, I would never have believed it but today I know it's the truth. It might be the only truth I've ever known."

There was a long silence.

"Do you really mean that?"

"I do. I'm fucking stupid for saying it, but I really do. You are everything to me."

Heimdall pulled me in, his lips pressing against mine. All his passion and heat was transferred through his kiss, his tongue dancing against my own. I lost all sense of space and time as he held me, exploring my mouth with a kind of fervor that I'd never experienced before. His rough hands ran over my body, tracing every curve and edge he could find. The air filled with pheromones and the scent of lust. It was only when he pulled back to breathe that I finally found the will to stop him.

"Help me," I said, holding his hand to my chest. "Let's get out of here together. Then we can do anything and everything we want."

There was a mischievous glimmer in his eye. "Anything?"

"Yes," I nodded, completely serious. "Anything and then some." I reached out, brushing the hair from his face. "Just lower me into that hole."

He lifted an eyebrow, a grin filling his face. "Are you using sex as a treat to get me to do what you want, Dinky?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Yeah."

"Then, yes I am." I leaned down, kissing him again.

He let out a long sigh. "Fine. But stay close, alright?"

"I will never go far from you, Hamball," I replied. "I promise you that."

"Good."

We exchanged a few more kisses before we finally got to our feet. Heimdall held out his hand. Without hesitation, I gave him mine, ready to follow him anywhere.

"I'll put you down this hole on one condition," he said as we stepped up to the edge of the river.

"What's that?"

"I get to play with your hole afterward."

I couldn't help but grin at his stupid joke. But I decided to turn it around on him.

"I was going to be very upset if you didn't . I don't know why, but I've been wanting you to fuck me since we met."

Even in the dark, I could see Heimdall turn bright red. A quick glance down showed his Alpha cock, at attention and leaking a long shimmering string of pre-cum. Teasing him was quickly becoming one of my favorite things and if he was this easy to fluster, I was going to have a really good time with him.

"Come on," I said, pulling him into the water behind me. "Let's get out of here."