Chapter 3

3

T he hall stood like a whale's back amid the tall pines, the torches outside flickering on their posts and casting light against the dark of the night. Not that Thor or his wargs needed them, but sometimes the old things comforted them most. Like the hall itself, carved with the ancient designs and motifs of their home.

There were fifteen of them, and whether Thor liked it or not, he was still their jarl. Only a handful were still in Inferno; the rest had gone home to the north to prepare for winter there.

The heavy wooden doors were opened to greet them, golden light spilling out from the hearth fire, torches, and candles.

"I thought we were done with taking in strays," Astrid said, putting down her ale mug. She lifted her nose and sniffed. "Wolf and mostly dead."

"Come with me. I need your help with her," Thor instructed, and despite her teasing, she got up to obey. Bjorn could fill the others in on what was happening.

Thor went through his quarters at the back of the hall to his large private bathroom. The outside of the hall might look traditional, but there were luxuries in the modern world they had all been happy to adopt.

"Who is she?" Astrid asked, following him in.

"Fill the tub. I need to get some of this muck off her to see her wounds," Thor replied and cradled the wolf closer. "I don't know who she is. She asked for help, and the wolves tracked her down here. They did this to her, and I want to know why."

Astrid made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. "They usually take better care of their females, especially those of breeding age. Of all the places in Inferno, I wonder why she came here." She gave him an expectant look. She had seidr magic and knew there had to be more to it.

"I do, too. She is the one I smelled all those months ago at that terrible party," Thor admitted because lying to Astrid was pointless. She always knew the truth anyway.

"Blackberry girl? Your wyrds must really be crossed," she replied and didn't ask any further questions.

Together, they got off the remainder of her rags and got her into the tub. Thor sucked an annoyed breath through his teeth when he saw the jagged mess of her back. He didn't know what they had used on her, but she was going to die before he found out any truth from her.

"She's going to bleed out before we get a doctor or med-mage here," Thor said, his chest tightening with long-forgotten emotion. Fear.

Astrid continued to wipe at the woman's arms and took a better look at her mangled hand. "If you are thinking about what I think you are, I'm going to leave the room. I want plausible deniability."

"Then go because I can't lose her. I need to know the truth."

Thor didn't specify what truth—the mystery of the lure of her scent or the fact she had said that there was a direct threat to him. Astrid didn't argue or hesitate. She left the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

"You might hate me for this, little wolf, but I can't find it in my shriveled old heart to care," he said and bit into his own wrist. He had healed his wargs on the battlefield in such a way many times, and he knew there was no other way to keep them alive without the power of his blood. He pulled her close and tipped her head back over one arm and put his bloody wrist to her mouth. Scarlet dripped down her chin and neck, but she didn't wake.

"Swallow, damn you," Thor growled, throwing the power of the alpha into the command. The wolf inside of her must still have been awake because she swallowed a mouthful and then another.

Thor pulled his wrist from her mouth. It had never taken more than a single mouthful of his potent blood to heal anyone. There was a sickening cracking sound as her broken wrist and fingers straightened and healed.

Thor tipped her forward, and the jagged gouges on her back closed, leaving only fresh pink scars. The tightening in his chest eased, leaving behind a bond he already suspected was there. Not now. It can't be.

Thor pushed aside the sudden panic and called Astrid back in. He gave her orders and got to uneasy feet. His little wolf would need a lot of fresh meat when she woke, and then, after she had regained some strength, he would get all the answers he needed out of her, one way or another.

Right now, he needed to get back out into the cold snow and forest to calm the roaring in his blood.

The little wolf that the others wanted to kill was his mate, and any hopes of diplomacy he may have been convinced to have were gone. He would sharpen his ax and prepare for war because not even Odin himself would be able to convince him to give her up.

The only person who would be able to stop him now was the little wolf herself. Would she be able to accept all of him? He was an abomination to both vampires and wolves. He was a warg, an unnatural thing that had been turned by a vampire when no laws existed to prevent such a thing. He and his pack had fought for their survival every step of the way, and it was only fear and their hostility toward each other that kept both the vampires and wolves from joining together to wipe Thor and his kind out.

Could he subject a mate to that kind of danger? Or would she run in the opposite direction when she saw what really lingered under his skin?

Thor was still out in the forest, brooding, when his sensitive hearing caught Bjorn shouting his name from afar. He bolted towards it and found the bear shifter near the hall.

"Has the pack decided to attack already?" Thor demanded.

Bjorn looked nervous as he mumbled. "Not exactly. It's your wolf girl. She shifted while Astrid was watching over her. She bit her and jumped out of the window."

"She's probably disorientated and frightened. I will find her. You tend to Astrid," Thor instructed, trying not to grin. She would have to be very fast to get the jump on Astrid like that.

Bjorn grunted. "You trying to get me bitten too? You know what she's like when she's hurt."

Thor ignored his grumbling and lifted his nose to the air. The scent of blackberries and musky woman reached his nose, and he sprinted towards it. Her path was a zig-zag of footprints in the snow. She wasn't sure where she was or what she was doing. A stab of pity went through him. What had the pack done to that poor woman?

Thor found the wolf in a small clearing of pine and birch trees. She was a brilliant gold, the kind of coloring he had never seen in a wolf before. His eyes drifted to her paws, and his heart tripped. Her front right foot was black. His front left foot was also black, but he was silver when he shifted. The deep feeling of rightness went through him.

There she is after all this time. Impossible.

"Easy, little one," he said softly. She bared her teeth at him but didn't try to run. "I know you're frightened, but you came to me, remember?"

Thor let his alpha power fill the glade, and she stopped snarling. She cocked her head curiously at him and sniffed the air. Thor wasn't sure if her wolf could sense the mating bond hanging between them, ready to be joined. He crouched down into the snow, and the wolf circled him, dancing on her feet closer and closer. He let her sniff him, and he tried his best not to reach for her.

"You know I'm not going to hurt you, little wolf. I will protect you and your human side if you let me. You know I can," Thor said, keeping his voice calm and confident. She moved closer, avoiding eye contact, and gently pressed into his side. Wolves were affectionate creatures, and this one had been badly wounded. Thor ran his hand through the soft fur over her back. He could feel her ribs, but at least she had stopped bleeding.

"There we are. Good girl. I have you now," he whispered.

The wolf sniffed at his neck, and he allowed it when he would allow no other that close. She rested her golden head on his shoulder, and he was forced to swallow a lump in his throat. Would the woman be as trusting as her wolf? He had to hope.

"Come home, little wolf. You need food and rest. No one will hurt you there," Thor said into the soft ruff of her neck. "No one is going to hurt you ever again."