Weaving Fate (The Omega Prophecy Book 2)

by Nora Ash

  “Dad!” Trud hissed. “You’re not helping!”

  It’d been a long time since I saw Thor’s daughter. When we were younger, I’d tried to fool around with her, but these days, the urge to bend her over and defile her with my Jotunn dick was gone.

  Instead I glanced at the dark-haired woman wrapped in Modi’s arms and felt a spasm in my chest at her furious expression behind his palm. She’d gone to bat for us—or had tried to. I didn’t know her well, but I knew she was strong. Fierce. And she was supposed to be mine.

  “I will allow one of you to go," Odin said. "The three others will remain here as collateral. Bring Loki to me, and your brothers will live. Break your word…”

  He didn’t need to finish the sentence. We all knew what would happen.

  “Magni will go,” Thor growled. “He and Modi will bring you the betrayer.”

  “And how do you suppose he’ll get close to our father?” Saga asked, the sardonic note clear even to me. “Who do you think’ll have more luck luring the God of Trickery, your son or his own? I will go.”

  “You will not.” Odin stared down at him, the threat of his power looming around him like a billowing cape. “You’re mated. Your familiar ties may not be as strong as they once were.”

  I snorted before I could stop myself—clearly this old prick knew nothing of the power of blood. Yeah, Annabel was Saga’s first priority now, but she was also ours. And neither of us would ever betray each other, even if it were to keep her safe. There’d always be another way.

  My snort made Odin’s single eye land on me. “You. You will go.”

  “No, I will,” Grim said, speaking for the first time since we’d been captured by the Valkyries.

  “I have made my decision,” Odin replied, his disturbing gaze unwavering. “Bjarni Lokisson, your task is to bring your father to me. Do this, and your brothers shall live. Fail, and they will pay the price of his treason. You have three weeks until the moon grows full.”

  “And my son?” Thor asked.

  “He stays here with the Jotunns he aligned himself with the moment he decided to share the omega with one of them. That is final.”

  Odin shot the redheaded god a look so loaded, the protest that had undoubtedly been about to burst out died on his lips.

  The god-king glanced at the Valkyries behind us. “Keep our guests secure, but comfortable.”

  I stared after him as he left the same way he'd entered, his two ravens squawking from their perch as the weight of the duty he’d placed on my shoulders settled. I alone was responsible for my brothers’ lives.

  Throughout the ages, it had always been the three of us, each of us protecting the others as best we could. But where I’d had more of my mother’s brawn than my brothers, they’d been gifted with more of our father’s brains. I’d relied on them to outwit our enemies when necessary and work magic I had little to no grasp of.

  Now it was all down to me, and I was pretty certain that I wouldn’t be able to just bash in some skulls to fix this.

  Hopefully our father would be able to formulate a plan—assuming I could find him.

  “Get up,” the winged bitch behind me sneered, pressing the butt of her spear against my lower back.

  I growled as I stood, but she ignored me as she sliced the ropes off my wrists. My brothers and Magni weren’t so lucky—a few other Valkyries shoved them toward the same door Odin had disappeared through, their hands still tied behind their backs.

  “Mmph!”

  The muted shriek made me look to Annabel, who’d gone wild in Modi’s arms once more. She bucked and clawed, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared after the three alphas being led away.

  “Let go of her,” I said, clasping a hand around Modi’s wrist.

  He bared his teeth at me in an instinctive reaction to an enemy alpha’s touch, but released the thrashing omega so swiftly it was obvious he was only too thrilled to let her go. It might have something to do with the blood trickling from his nostril where she’d head-butted him.

  “Come,” I said, reaching out to clasp my hand in Annabel’s when she stumbled out of Modi’s grasp. “I’ll take you to them before I leave.”

  She didn’t respond, only shot me a look so full of rage and terror it made my gut clench. She might not be my mate yet, but that expression made me want to move mountains to ensure her happiness. It wasn’t just my brothers’ lives in my hands now—it was hers as well.

  Thor, Modi, and Trud followed us as we made our way after the Valkyries through the many winding halls deep in Valhalla’s bowels. I’d never been to Valhalla before, but the carved beams, gilded artwork, and high ceilings were exactly like my father had described.

  He’d often talked about the glory of Valhalla when he came to visit us as we grew up, describing its beauty and the power that lay within its walls. So far the rather unflattering descriptions of the god-king that resided within were also holding up.

  The Valkyries led my brothers and Magni to the third floor of a tower and waited for everyone to enter before they locked the door behind us. A small trap door opened at the top, revealing one of the winged cunts’ faces.

  “Let us know when you’re ready to leave,” she said, her eyes resting on Thor. I supposed Annabel and I barely existed, so far as the Valkyries were concerned.

  Not that the omega seemed to notice—the moment I released her hand, she hurled herself forward, wrapping her arms around both her mates' necks.

  Thor rumbled an annoyed agreement before turning to Magni. “It’s quite a mess you’ve gotten yourself tangled in. What were you thinking, bonding with a human? And sharing her with Loki’s offspring?”

  “I was thinking of our bloodline’s survival,” Magni answered as he lifted his head from Annabel’s, though without releasing his fierce grip on her. “She is the omega in Mimir’s prophecy.”

  “Which prophecy?” Thor snapped. “That bodiless crackpot spews his nonsense every other day. Tell me you didn’t mate some human whore to fulfill one of his stupid prophecies! Ragnarök is here! We’ve got better things to worry about than whatever mead-fueled fantasy he’s thought up this time!”

  The snarl that ripped through the room and echoed off its rounded walls was instant and followed by the stench of mixed alpha aggressions, but Annabel stopped both her mates from barreling forward with a firm hand on their shoulders. She fixed the God of Thunder with a glare.

  “I don’t know why think you can call me a whore, nor do I understand why you’re yelling at your son for trying to stop Ragnarök and save humankind. The literal end of the world’s here, and we’re trying to stop it. The prophecy is real.”

  Thor looked at her for half a second before he returned his focus to Magni. “Let me be very frank: I don’t care about your so-called mate, and I don’t care about your Jotunn friends. My only concern is that Odin gives up his ridiculous notion that you’ve switched allegiance so you can come fulfill your destiny by mine and Modi’s sides as we fight the hordes of Jotunheim. That is your destiny. This human omega means nothing in the grand scheme of things. You, a god, do.

  "Modi will travel with your friend here to ensure Loki is brought back to face his judgement. The end.”

  “You absolute piece of—” Saga’s snarl was cut short when Thor rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. It swung open immediately, and the God of Thunder disappeared through it before my brother could finish his insult.

  “—shit!” Saga roared at the once-again closed door.

  Five

  Modi

  “Your father’s a dick,” the feral omega growled at my brother.

  “I know,” he sighed, pressing his cheek against her dark hair in an achingly gentle gesture. “It doesn’t matter. My fate is to be by your side, Annabel. Always.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. They said newly mated alphas were always overemotional right after claiming an omega, and my brother sure seemed to fit that stereotype.

  In all the centuries we�
�d known each other, Magni had been fierce, cunning—strong. But now, as he clutched the human girl to his chest, unbothered by Saga Lokisson’s presence, he looked… vulnerable. Weak.

  As I watched the three of them, it was clear that this omega had changed him forever. And Saga too. Where once they’d been unyielding steel and muscle, there was now a soft spot that could end them both in the blink of an eye.

  Magni was insane if he thought I’d ever join this hopeless love triangle.

  “So. We need a plan,” Trud said, looking from me to Bjarni. “No offense, but you two aren’t a match for Loki, and I’m not about to lose my brother and new sister.”

  “You leave our father to us. We don’t need no Asa’s help,” Bjarni growled, his tone raising my hackles. I’d always been protective of Trud, even if she rarely appreciated it.

  “Sure, why don’t we let a bumbling fool with meat for brains try to out-trick the God of Mischief?” I said, narrowing my eyes at the blond giant. “Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan.”

  “You’re not helping,” Trud hissed at me, as Bjarni snarled in my direction, his muscles clenching. “Neither of you are equipped for this. Not without help. Loki is too clever.”

  “We won’t need wit to convince him to help us—he’s our father. All we have to do is find him,” Bjarni said. I didn’t miss his brothers exchanging a look behind his back. Interesting. What did they know that he didn’t?

  “He may be your father, but he’s not going to surrender voluntarily. Plus how do you plan to find him when Odin’s been searching for him for months with no luck? You need someone with magic to assist you,” Trud said, crossing her arms over her chest in a way I knew all too well. She had a finite amount of patience for explaining concepts she found straightforward. It’d caused more than a few arguments over the centuries.

  “I have plenty of magic,” I said, arching an eyebrow as I summoned a bolt of electricity to let it dance between my fingertips. “As you well know.”

  My sister rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t become lodged at the back of her skull. “Yes, and while it’s great that you’re a master at blowing things up, that’s not the kind of magic we need. To find Loki and convince him to come with you, you need intuition. Guile. Stealth.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, we do, do we? And I suppose you know just the goddess to bring, huh?”

  Trud shot me a bright smile. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ll be coming with you, because let’s be honest—between the two of you, you have far too much muscle and not nearly enough brains to pull something like this off.”

  I growled half-heartedly at my sister’s dig. I wasn’t fond of basically being called stupid in front of a bunch of Jotunn scum, but the offended look on Bjarni’s face was almost worth it.

  “No, you need to stay here.”

  To my utter surprise, the words came from the omega. I blinked, surprised the puny human thought it wise to interrupt, let alone tell a goddess "no." But then again, said puny human had also headbutted me and bitten my hand. Clearly whatever wildling had birthed her hadn’t raised her to respect her gods.

  “I do?” Even Trud, who’d been way too excited since Magni declared the little thing his "mate," sounded startled.

  “I…” Annabel frowned, her brown gaze seemingly locked on the wooden door. “I think I have to go. You need to stay here. You need to help Saga, Grim, and Magni figure out who’s behind this.”

  “Did you have another vision, sweetling?” Saga asked.

  “A vision?” I didn’t realize I’d voiced my contemptuous thought out loud until I noticed Bjarni’s glare. “She is just a human—”

  “A human with power,” Trud interrupted me, her blue eyes focusing on Annabel. “What did you see, my sister?”

  “It… It wasn’t a vision, I don’t think… It was more of a… feeling.” The omega looked up at Trud, capturing her gaze with an intensity that surprised me. “It has to be me. But they need you here. Asgard needs you.”

  “No.” This time, the denial came from Magni, his voice so dark it took me a second to recognize it. “You’re going nowhere, Annabel. You’re never leaving my side again.”

  “Magni, I have to. To save you,” she whispered, raising her hand to his bearded cheek. After how feral she’d seemed so far, it surprised me to see such tenderness, and it warmed my disposition toward her… a little.

  “You don’t. I won’t let you. Trud is a very capable sorceress and much more experienced than you. Your place is here, with me.”

  “And me,” Saga said, but even though his tone was salty, there was no hiding the jealousy in his eyes as he stared at the two. It dawned on me that this fucked-up union of theirs probably wasn’t entirely peaceful.

  Annabel tipped her head to lean against her Jotunn mate’s shoulder without releasing Magni’s face. “I don’t want to leave either of you, but this is something I have to do. It has to be me.”

  “Why?” Saga demanded. “Why does it have to be you? The Asa can defend herself. You are ours to protect, Annabel.”

  “I don’t know why,” she said, furrowing her brow. “Why did it have to be me you mated? Why did the Norn weave my thread into this mess? I don’t know—and neither do you. But I feel it in my bones, Saga. I have to go. If I don’t…”

  She shuddered. “Verdandi showed me what will happen if I don’t follow my fate, and I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let everyone die—least of all you two. We’ll find Loki. You will have to search for Mimir here while we’re away.”

  “Wait… Mimir?” I interrupted. “Why are you looking for Mimir here?”

  “He wasn’t in his well. Some dark creature was,” Magni said, finally releasing his grip on the omega to rub his arm. “The Norn told us to find him.”

  “Verdandi?” I opened my mouth to suggest my brother needed to stop listening to hermits with too much free time on their hands, but Trud cut me off with another look.

  “If Mimir’s not in his well, he should be somewhere here in Valhalla,” she said, before taking in a deep breath as she refocused on the omega. “I’ve seen you, sister—you are touched by Fate, and if Fate now calls for you to follow my brother and the Jotunn in search of Loki, then that’s what has to happen. I will stay here and help them search for Mimir.”

  “Thank you,” the omega said. She reached out for Trud, but Saga instantly wrapped himself around her tighter, constricting both her arms against her body.

  “Annabel, no. Please, no.”

  The desperate plea in his voice shocked me to the core. He sounded so… vulnerable. The idea that one of Loki’s sons would allow himself to be seen like this by me, an enemy, made just an inkling of pity worm its way into my chest.

  “Saga,” she whispered, pressing her forehead to his chest. She didn’t say anything else, but the emotions playing across the Jotunn alpha’s face spoke louder than words could have: fear, sorrow… and finally, acceptance.

  “Damn that fucking Norn!” he hissed as he nuzzled against the top of her head.

  “If it wasn’t for her, we’d never have met,” the omega reminded him. “Wouldn’t that be worse?”

  “Yes,” he sighed. “It would. There’s nothing without you, sweetling. I wouldn’t care if the world burns. I… love you.”

  I cleared my throat and looked away, embarrassed for the once-fierce alpha who’d clearly suffered a lobotomy along with his mating. The dark-haired Jotunn with the mismatched eyes looked just as uncomfortable as I felt and was also doing his best to pretend like he wasn’t there—but Bjarni stared at the omega, longing and envy plain on his big, stupid face.

  Gods, that idiot wanted to be part of their sick little love triangle? Well, he had all days been the dumb one of the bunch. Even the Fenris wolf was smarter than him.

  “Well, if we’re gonna find that slimy father of yours, we best get going,” I said before the omega could respond to Saga’s declaration. If she was going to answer. The w
ay she’d lowered those long, dark lashes to avoid looking at his face suggested she wasn’t too sure.

  Which was apparently fortunate, because Magni looked like he’d just swallowed a spider, the way he stared at her and Saga. I guessed he hadn’t shared any tender words of love with his omega yet. Good on him.

  “Trud, let’s go home and pack. And I suppose we’ll have to find something for the Jotunn as well. He might not be the sharpest arrow in Loki’s quiver, but with a bit of luck, the old fox will be more willing to come out of hiding if we’re dragging one of his sons along."

  I turned to face Magni. “Fear not, brother mine. We will bring Loki back and set you free.”

  A moment’s silence followed my words. Then the little omega huffed and straightened from the cocoon between her two alphas. “Excuse me? Didn’t you hear me? I’m going. Not Trud—she needs to stay here.”

  I smothered an eye-roll and leveled her with a stare. It seemed I’d have to train this female since my brother and Saga hadn’t gotten around to yet.

  “No, you won’t. Touched by Fate or not, you are a human. This is a matter for gods. You will be staying here where your mates can take care of you. I’m not dragging an omega into the wilderness to search for the God of Mischief, nor am I going to cater to your whims and fancies like my dear brother has seemingly gotten you accustomed to.”

  Six

  Annabel

  The only silver lining about leaving my mates was knowing that the grumpy redheaded god stomping ahead of me was possibly as miserable as I was, though for vastly different reasons.

  Modi was a huge dick, end of discussion. He was your typical alpha, convinced he alone knew how to save the day, and with very set opinions on what an omega’s role was. Especially a human omega, it seemed.

  I guessed it would be hard not to develop a superiority complex when you were a literal god, but good gravy, did I want to smack his stupid face whenever he emphasized the word "human" while listing all the reasons why I needed to stay home and let him and his sister take care of this mess.