Chapter Nineteen Thor

T he moment I opened the door, Loki started in on me.

"What the FUCK, Thor?! What the hell is wrong with you?! You missed the pack meeting and now I find you here like THIS ?!"

My eyes shifted back to their Alpha gold in an instant. "Sit down, Loki," I growled, leaving no room for argument.

"And you!" Loki barked, pointing at Baldr. "Why aren't you upset about this?!"

"Because he already knew," I replied before Baldr could. "But I swore him to secrecy."

"This is outrageous! What is going on here?!"

"LOKI!" I snapped, grabbing him by the shirt collar. "Sit down!"

With hardly any effort, I tossed him into a chair, the wood crunching, but holding its shape. He looked up at me with fury and fear in his eyes. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

"Stop screaming," I said, forcing myself to be calm. "And let me explain."

Loki didn't retort or try to argue, but he did cross his arms over his chest which was pretty much the same thing. He had that look of betrayal already and I knew he wasn't going to be easy to convince. Baldr was already on my side at least a little bit. But I didn't know if he was ready to break our most cardinal rule just so I could continue my little fling.

"Flynn," I said, beckoning him over to me. "Come meet my brothers."

He was slow to come out of the room and once he was, he practically ran to my side. Flynn wrapped his arms around mine, using my body as a partial shield. Clearly, he was just as nervous as I was. And after all of Loki's bellowing, he was probably even more scared.

"This is Baldr," I said, gesturing over to him. "He was the one that healed your leg. His magic reset the bone and stitched it shut."

"Oh." Flynn gave him a small wave. "Uh, nice to meet you. And thank you."

"No problem," Baldr replied with a nod. "I'm happy to see you're feeling much better."

"And the loud one," I added, pointing to Loki. "Is my other brother, Loki. You've seen him before, but I don't think you were introduced."

"It's good to meet you," Flynn said, trying to smile.

"I can't say the same," Loki hissed back, his blue eyes cold. "What's with all this pleasantry? You said he was just a guest!"

"He is a guest," I nodded. "And… well…" I glanced down at Baldr, then to Flynn, trying to gather up my courage. "And he's my… my mate ."

The room went so deadly silent I thought I'd gone deaf. But the tension in the air was palpable. Loki gripped the arms of his chair, the fabric squeaking under the strain.

"He's… your… what ?"

"My mate."

"That's not possible."

"I didn't think it was at first either… but he is. I… I've already tested it."

" Tested it?" Loki's eyes were boring holes into me. "How?"

"I removed myself from him and he sought me out," I said. "His scent drives me wild, I can't think when he's around, and I gave him a couple drops of my blood to heal his leg the rest of the way."

"You did what?!"

"And it became an aphrodisiac to him," I continued, ignoring his protest. "It… It lasted all night. That alone proves that he's my mate. If he were anyone else, he would've just healed, nothing more."

"You're really sure about this, Thor?" Baldr asked.

I nodded. "I am."

"It doesn't matter how sure you are," Loki interjected. "It's against pack law to mate with a human. And it's even more against the law to tell him what you really are." He glared at Flynn, his discerning eyes trying to pinpoint any area of weakness. "Humans cannot be trusted with our secret. That's how the wolf hunters find us."

"First of all," I said. "Nobody has seen a wolf hunter in nearly a century." I held up a hand as he began to retort, silencing him. "And secondly, I have Flynn's word that he'll keep things quiet. I trust him and he trusts me." I looked down at Flynn. "Right?"

He nodded. "Absolutely. I would never tell anyone. Not even my Nana even though she was right about wolves being on this mountain."

"SEE?!" Loki cried, jumping to his feet. "Our secret is already spreading! If the locals know we're up here, how long until the entire world knows, Thor? See what you've done! You'll ruin us all!"

"My Nana has been saying that for years," Flynn shot back before I could reply. "Thor had nothing to do with it! And I didn't believe her, anyway! Nobody in the family does! They all think she's crazy!" He pointed a threatening finger at Loki. "Someone else let your secret out a long time ago, so don't blame Thor!"

Baldr was the next to speak. "Did your grandmother tell you how she came to that conclusion?"

Flynn shook his head. "I don't know. I never asked. It was one of those things I tried not to talk about because I didn't want people to send her to an old folk's home."

"Maybe you should reach out to her and ask while we talk," Baldr offered. "I would be curious to know who is to blame for the locals knowing about us."

"Is that okay, Thor?" he asked, looking up at me.

"Yeah." I burned a dirty look at Loki. "But I need my brothers to swear to me that they won't harm you. No matter what they feel."

"I swear," Baldr said easily.

"Loki?"

He scoffed. "Fine. I swear. But I won't go out of my way to defend him. If someone else wants to kill him, so be it."

I nodded, knowing that was the best I was going to get. "I accept your terms." I glanced back at Flynn. "Go on and call your grandmother. I'll come get you when we're done."

Flynn gave me a nod. "It was nice to meet you both."

And then he disappeared into the bedroom once more, the door shutting behind him.

"I can't believe you're doing this to us," Loki said the moment the door closed. "How could you be so fucking selfish?"

"Selfish?! How have I been selfish, Loki?" I growled. "Ever since Dad died this entire pack and its future has rested on my shoulders. I took over without a complaint, without missing a beat, and without ever asking you or Baldr to do anything. I've been trained my whole life for this position, and I never held it against anyone. I always knew it was my duty to be the leader of this pack. And for that you call me selfish ?!"

"I… I would've taken the position if you hated it that much!"

"I don't hate it, Loki," I sighed. "I just think I deserve a little bit of happiness, don't you think? It's unfair to ask me to give up my entire life to this pack and not even let me have some modicum of joy in the tiny amount of free time I get." I paused for a moment. "And I know you wanted to lead. While you make a great Beta, I can't let you take over this pack." I braced myself for what was about to come. "You're too hot-headed."

"I'm not–"

"Yes, you are," Baldr interrupted. "You've wanted to start a war since Dad died. If it were up to you, the entire Skoll pack would be dead and half our pack along with them. Thor is the only one that has stopped that carnage from happening. You're too emotional."

"Do neither of you care about the pain and injustice Tyr has inflicted upon us?"

"Of course we do," Baldr said. "I want him dead just as bad as you do. Believe me. But I can't sacrifice good wolves to feed my own need for vengeance. If we retaliate against Tyr, you know his son and his pack will rise up against us and take more lives."

"Whatever," Loki scoffed, crossing his arms again. "But that doesn't excuse Thor taking a human mate!"

"I've decided it's not up for negotiation," I replied, clenching my teeth. "There is no reason that Flynn and I can't be together. We can't produce pups, so you can't argue that it'll weaken the bloodline. Not only that, but he's sworn himself to secrecy."

"I don't trust him…"

"Then I'll bond with him," I replied. "Today if you want me to. With the connection forged between us, it'll be impossible for him to lie to me. Will that make you happy?"

Loki was silent.

I let out a long side. "Look Loki, I know you're not happy with me. You haven't been since Dad died. I know his death hit you the hardest. But no matter how much Baldr and I try to be there for you, you just push us away. We're all trying to get through this and there's no reason you should have to grieve alone." I reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This world is changing. We're not just a bunch of wolves living in the woods anymore. We have to get along with the humans and there may even come a day when we have to join them as equals if we want to keep surviving. We can't stay secluded forever."

I gave him a moment to think.

"Please brother. I want you on my side. We need to lead this pack together, all three of us."

Silence.

"Thor," he sighed, reaching up and pushing my hand away. "I cannot stand by you in this decision."

I opened my mouth to reply, but he held up his hand to silence me.

"You are my brother and I love you, but I can't stand by and watch you destroy our pack just for your own happiness. I will keep your secret, if only because your life would be in danger if this were to get out. But when the day comes that you announce your new mate to the pack, that's the day I will leave."

"Loki… You can't be serious–"

"Yes, I am," he snapped, pushing himself up out of the chair. "I will not be part of this. So, when you finally make up your mind about what you want out of this life, just remember that you'll have to make a choice. It's either your human mate or your brother. What's more important to you? Blood or sex?"

He didn't let me get another word out as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Well," Baldr sighed. "That went about as well as I expected."

I let out a long sigh. "What am I going to do about him?"

"I don't know. But I don't think that was an empty threat." Baldr paused, giving me a good long look. "You know how he is. If he's given you an ultimatum, he'll follow through on it if only to prove you wrong for thinking otherwise."

I flopped into a chair beside him. "Do you think I should give up Flynn?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Baldr leaned forward, his elbow on the edge of the chair. "I think you should do whatever makes you happy because the war with the Skoll clan will be waiting for you either way. And, while I don't think you're doomed for the grave anytime soon, I'd rather see you get the happiness you can while you're still able."

"That's… bleak."

"Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow," Baldr said honestly. "That much is certain. Even with my visions, I can't see what's going to happen from moment to moment. A vision might be correct one day and the next it's worthless. The future is always changing."

I glanced back at the closed door where I could hear Flynn's voice emanating from. "I really do like him," I said. "I feel like bonding with him is jumping the gun, but I have a feeling it's going to happen either way. But is he ready for such a thing and all that entails? Is he ready to deal with the pack's prejudice? And he's so young…"

"He's of age, even by our terms. Give him the choice and respect his wishes. That's all you can do for anyone, human or otherwise."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right."

Baldr patted me on the shoulder and stood up. "You missed the meeting last night," he said. There was no accusation in his voice, but he was still scolding me. "Our pack is going to lose faith in you if you do that again. So, make sure it doesn't happen, okay?"

"Right. I will."

"We'll call another tonight."

"I'll be there."

"Get some rest."

With that, Baldr left the suite. I sat there alone in my chair, listening to Flynn on the other side of the door. Leaning back, I closed my eyes, the exhaustion washing over me from spending the entire night awake and fucking like animals.

This was so much more than I bargained for when I met Flynn. But I couldn't give him up. I was going to make it work no matter what.

We'd figure it out together.

Somehow.