by Amy Sumida
I heard a few coughs and choking sounds coming from behind me but other than that, everyone was silent as they waited for Fenrir’s response.
“Not usually, no,” he planted his huge fists on his hips to mimic me, “and especially not women.”
“Well that just sucks, big guy. Maybe you should try smiling at them first,” I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side so I could properly consider his dilemma. “Some women are scared of scars but I think they add character. Thor could use a couple.”
“I’ve always thought that as well,” he crossed his arms too and nodded. “I could give him some if you'd like.”
“That’s mighty kind of you,” I smiled like he’d just offered me a cup of tea. “I think it would have to be up to him though. It might fall under that getting your girlfriend’s name tattooed on you curse.”
“Girlfriend's name curse?” Fenrir frowned like I'd started speaking another language.
“You know, they get your name tattooed on their butt and then bada-bing, bada-boom, they’re telling you to kiss it and hit the road.” I shrugged. “Besides, if he's going to get any scars, I think I'd like to be the one doing the scarring.”
Fenrir’s jaw dropped again before his entire face lit up and he roared with laughter. “Who are you, little Frami?”
“Father,” Trevor stepped forward proudly. “This is my mate, Vervain Lavine.”
“This little woman with such a big mouth?” He smiled lopsidedly, just like Trevor, and it finally became apparent that Trevor did actually inherit his good looks from his father. Fenrir just hid them well.
Trevor nodded and took one of my hands. I let the other one fall to the side since I could never manage the one arm crossing the waist thing. It always ended up making me look like I had a stomach ache. Fenrir came closer and leaned his face into my neck. He inhaled long and deep, then kept sniffing me down the line of my body. Boy was I glad I’d showered.
“You may not have made such a bad choice after all, Son,” Fenrir regarded me solemnly, staring straight into my eyes. “I still don’t approve of a human though. She’ll drag you down to the grave with her.”
“I totally agree,” I nodded and his eyes got wide as his head reared back.
“You allowed the bonding,” Fenrir narrowed his gaze then. “Why allow it, if you disapprove?”
“I’m an ignorant human. What can I say?” I shrugged. “I thought I was doing your son a favor by letting him out of any obligation to me. I had no idea I was accomplishing the exact opposite.”
Fenrir looked at Trevor and Trevor held out his hand, palm up. “I told you she didn’t understand.”
“That’s no excuse,” Fenrir frowned and chewed his lip.
“Yeah, yeah. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. I've been pulled over before,” I jumped down. “Well, let’s get this party started then.”
“You’re going to consummate the match?” Fenrir’s eyes started to glow and I backed up.
“Father,” Trevor stepped in front of me. “I told you it was consummated.”
“Stop lying to me. Neither of you have scented the other intimately. Do it now or we go to the arena.”
“I’m not here to have sex with your son,” I pushed the chair away. “We consummated it without getting undressed but it was done. I felt it.”
“That’s not a proper mating,” Fenrir frowned. “Either you’re joined or you’re not. Our magic would not have settled for less.”
“This isn't a proper mating but I can assure you, it was consummated. I don’t think it’ll make a difference to you though,” I patted the short sword at my hip. “So just show me the damn arena.”
Fenrir’s eyes glowed brighter and he smiled in anticipation. “So you really are the Hunter?”
“Yep, that’s me,” I sighed. “I know, you thought I'd be taller.”
“No. I thought you'd be a man,” Fenrir snorted. “But this shall be a pleasure. No matter what sex you are.”
“Oh gee,” I rolled my eyes, “an equal opportunity killer, thanks.”
Fenrir laughed as he opened a door at his end of the room and I suddenly felt like Alice. Nobody ever thinks about how dangerous Wonderland was, about how many times Alice could’ve died horribly. Hell, one misplaced foot and she would’ve been stepped on while she was talking to those bitchy flowers. Not a way I’d like to go. Now here I was, walking through the small door that led into the garden, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear a few shouts of Off with her head when it closed behind me.
Fenrir ushered me into a long stone passage, echoing with shouts from an impatient crowd. I knew no one else would follow me. No one else could. My heart sped up a little. I admit I'd gotten used to having back-up and walking through the dark, to an unknown fight, all by myself, was bringing back memories of taking on gods alone. How had I done it? How had I found the courage to trace into god territory and kill them, all by myself? Simply navigating the Aether had been ballsy. If I had done it wrong, mispronounced a tracing chant or misdirected my energy, I could have wound up stuck in the Aether, my body nothing more than a thought amidst thoughts, for all time.
In the dark tunnel, with the Wolf God at my back, and the sound of his bloodthirsty children urging me forward, I couldn't imagine it. In fact, all I could think was, I'd been a complete idiot. Now, I was about to face three werewolves to win the honor of a bond I didn't want. Maybe I should have left the gods alone.
I heard Fenrir close the door behind me with a thud and then the unmistakable sound of a bolt sliding home. My breathing seemed fast and harsh in the stone confines of the tunnel, so I took a second to slow it down. I may have been an idiot but somehow I'd been good enough to survive and now I had even more of an arsenal. With Aphrodite's magic, I had a much better chance at coming through this alive. I just had to keep my cool and remember that.
Darkness gave way to smoky torchlight as I stepped out into a pit. I’d like to say it was a gladiatorial arena or something equally dramatic but it wasn’t. It was a pit. A large pit but a pit nonetheless. Carved from rock, it was rutted with claw marks everywhere. Which was kind of a good thing because it gave the ground more traction. There were dark stains here and there too, just adding to the overall ambiance of despair. I stared up at the high walls enclosing me and the faces that peered down eagerly, then nodded as I crossed my arms. Yep, this was what I expected a werewolf fighting pit to look like.
The wolves in the seats above me didn’t taunt or jeer, they growled and howled. I kind of liked the atmosphere. Insults could get distracting, growling just kind of blended into the sounds of a fight. In fact, it was appealing to the more primitive part of me, the genetic memory of not only hiding in caves from the beasts but of finally getting the nerve to go out into the dark and confront them. My blood was racing with the thrill of the hunt, not for food but for survival. The wolves were at my door and this time I wasn't going to hide.
At the opposite end of the pit was another tunnel and above it, high on the wall, Fenrir appeared. I saw the God Squad gathered behind him. Trevor stood off to the side, looking tense but calm. Thor had a carefully neutral expression on and most of the squad was following his lead but Persephone looked like she was on the verge of tears. I quickly focused back on Fenrir.
“Vervain Lavine,” Fenrir shouted and the wolves quieted immediately. “You’ve claimed my son as bonded mate but you are not Froekn. Will you prove your worth by claw and tooth? Will you fight to become one of us?”
I almost shook my head. I just couldn’t believe I was here because I spared Trevor’s life. No good deed and all that. I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes.
“I will!” I shouted and the wolves howled, in approval or rage, I had no idea. I didn't speak wolf yet.
“So be it!” Fenrir shouted back. “TryggulfR!”
I looked at Trevor and he smiled at me but I caught the slight shakiness of it. That name was pretty similar to his given name of VéulfR. I hoped it wasn’t his brother.
I mean, they’re all related to him in a way but I hoped this wasn’t one of his litter-mates or whatever werewolves call them. Oh well, nothing to do about it. I threw my hands down and the metal claws sprang out of the fingerless gloves I wore. They were my favorite weapon and they'd originally belonged to a god, so they had a nice magic kick to them. I turned them out, the four blades that protruded over the tops of my fingers, catching the light. The wolves howled more and I was pretty sure it was in approval this time. See, I’m a fast learner.
“Where can I get me some of those?” I looked up and saw one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen some heartbreakers recently, but this guy… whooee, he could make you faint with desire just by looking at you. I was half surprised he didn’t have a bunch of groupies gathered around him.
“Maybe if you’re a real good boy, Santa will bring you a pair for Christmas,” I yelled up at him.
The crowd, as they say, went wild. Everyone laughed and howled, including Mr. Drop Dead Gorgeous. He leaned on the edge of the wall with golden arms of steel and smiled luscious lips at me before he winked a deep amethyst eye. His dirty blonde hair fell around him, begging to be touched.
“But when I’m bad, I’m better,” he called down.
“If you know what’s good for you,” I saw Thor saunter closer. “You’ll stay away from my woman, Loki.”
Oh shit, that was Loki? The trickster god was hot! That probably worked out well for him. I had to tear my gaze away though because I heard the pounding of feet coming down the tunnel across from me. From the sound of it, I’d be facing a full wolf. I was glad. Full wolves seemed to be easier for me than when the Froekn took werewolf form. I just had to get over the injuring an animal part. I started a mantra in my head: It's not a real wolf. It's not a real wolf.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just any wolf that came running out into the pit of despair. It was a really, really big wolf… two reallys. It was also really fast. Only one really though, so I was able to duck and roll out of the way before it hit me. I could’ve pulled my sword but I knew the claws impressed the wolves. It was like I was fighting on their terms, and I didn’t want to actually kill anyone. So I swung to my feet and fell into a fighting stance.
Some part of my magic rose with my adrenaline and started to thrum in delight. My body felt energized, my blood surged with power, and my eyes saw every nuance of muscles under the thick black coat of the wolf I fought. Aphrodite’s war magic had awoken. Along with it came the small part of Trevor that he'd given me in the Binding, like the magic had woke up the beast. Come out and play, little wolf.
Without thought, I sank lower to the ground and let out a vicious sounding growl that quieted the crowd to an unnatural stillness. Surprisingly, the sound hadn't come from the little part of Trevor inside of me, it had come from my Nahual, my animal twin who basically was my magic embodied. I'd been meditating with her for awhile, developing my powers to fight Blue, but she'd never come out unbidden before.
I saw her clearly in my head, a gleaming white jaguar with golden-brown markings and dark eyes. She wasn't about to let me have all the fun, especially not with wolves. Another growl rose out of my throat, a very un-wolf-like sound, a sort of rumbling vibration that rose to a sharp snarling peak. It was a bit frightening, even to my ears. To the Froekn, who had no idea a human could hold animal magic, it must have been terrifying.
Sure enough, my jaguar sensed the fear on the air and delighted in it. Her joy was of course my own. It lifted me up and I laughed low in my throat. A few whimpers crept through the otherwise silent crowd, wolves drawing back a little. A quick glance at my friends showed me they were a little shocked as well. I laughed again, that was going to be an interesting conversation.
The wolf across from me twisted his head back and forth, peering at me uncertainly. I just waited and watched. I wanted an opportunity to disable this wolf with the least amount of bloodshed. Finally, TryggufR just decided to leap at me and give it the old college try. I flattened myself to the ground at the last second and he flew right into the wall behind me.
I rolled up and swiped at the middle of his hind legs, to try and disable him. He howled and twisted around to face me again, this time with a heavy limp. My gaze zipped over him, noting all possible weaknesses and points of attack. The war magic was incredible, giving me a strategic edge I hadn't counted on. The victory magic was tingling through my veins too, making me feel a little lightheaded. I thought I heard the roar of the crowd but it was just the rush of blood through my ears, they were actually watching in complete silence. In fact, it began to get a little eerie.
I backed up a space and crouched again. TryggulfR took another leap at my neck but his leg threw him off balance and he fell toward my shoulder instead. I punched his mouth away, hot blood spraying across my face. I swiped quickly at it with my palms to try and clear my vision but TryggulfR was a seasoned killer and he knew an opportunity when he saw one. He came at me fast and I had to rely on my hearing alone.
In the silence, it wasn’t too difficult to hear the clicking of claws on the stone floor and the rapid breathing of my opponent. I flung out an arm and caught his leg but it was a foreleg and he was able to twist down and latch onto my arm. When I screamed, there was an answering boom of thunder above me. Thor was about to lose it, which wouldn’t be at all helpful. I needed to end it fast before the fighting spread from the pit to the seats above.
I punched TryggulfR in the face again, the claws sinking in deep, and he let go with a shrill whimper. It gave me enough time to wipe the blood away, so I was able to watch as he limped back and circled the end of the pit like he wanted out. His face was a torn mess and his hind leg buckled every other step. He was beat. I just had to wait for him to admit it.
“TryggulfR,” I called to him. “I don’t want your death. It was an honor to fight you. Heal yourself, I'll stand down.”
TryggulfR gave a sharp yip, then lay down and changed into a dark-haired man very similar in looks to Trevor, except his face was a little wider and his eyes were blue. He stood up and walked proudly forward with total disregard for his impressive nudity. I enjoyed the show, of course. I'm only human.
He stopped in front of me and smiled as he met my eyes. “Welcome, Sister,” his voice rang out and the wolves howled. Then he took my arms and leaned forward to lightly rub cheeks with me. “Good luck,” he whispered, then turned and left to loud applause.
I used the time to catch my breath and adjust my glove to cover part of my wound. It hurt, a deep aching pain, but I was able to ignore it with the help of my magic. It was a good thing too cause I didn’t have long before Fenrir appeared again. His face looked a little tense and his voice was definitely louder when he spoke to me.
“Huntress, you’ve just bested my third son,” he snarled at the clapping wolves and they quieted. “Now you meet my second. UnnúlfR!”
Oh, we were starting with the easy and working our way up. Well I guess that was normal. I shook out my shoulders and concentrated on the tunnel. I couldn’t look up and see Thor. If he gave me scared eyes, I’d get distracted.
“Beautiful job, Godhunter,” Loki called. “Beautiful. You’re not just winning the fight, you’re winning the Froekn.”
I ignored him. Mainly because I didn't have a comeback but also because there was shuffling and scratching noises coming from the tunnel and I was betting the new guy wasn’t taking me on in full wolf form.
Sure enough, a huge werewolf came striding out of the dark, graceful for such a big guy. He had a pale yellow pelt and his eyes were oddly human, an icy blue, so light he almost looked blind. I was reminded of a husky I once saw, so strangely beautiful. This werewolf was just as striking but I had no desire to pet him as I had the dog.
I stilled as he approached. My arm had stopped bleeding and had begun to throb but I tried to concentrate instead on the sleek wolfman stalking me. He got within five feet and began to circle. Instead of following him, I closed my eyes
and waited. I heard a few murmurs but, just as I expected, the crowd went silent again. They were probably wondering what the hell I was up to.
Very simply, an opponent circles you and you run the risk of losing your footing while you keep shuffling to keep him in sight. If you close your eyes, you’ll hear his feet and know exactly where he is… and you’ll be prepared for his attack from behind because where else is he going to attack you from, given the opportunity?
So I listened, waited, and sure enough, when he reached my back, he sprung. I twisted and spun downward, doing a spiraling slice while I leaned a leg out to steady me. Catching him across the thighs, I went deep and had to fling blood and bits of gore off the blades while he landed in a heap. There were a few gasps and a few howls but it quieted again quickly. This was not the entertainment they'd been expecting.
UnnúlfR sprang up but gave me a wary look. “Nice move, human.”
I bowed and he leapt at me, just like I figured he would. Turning the bow into a tumble, I kicked my legs out once I was beneath him. His high pitched whine told me I’d hit something tender. When I got to my feet, I looked back and saw that I’d actually torn stripes up his stomach with my boot hooks. He was mad about that. Snarling, frothing mad.
I settled down into my crouch and snarled back at him. The war magic within me itched to pull my kodachi but the jaguar rejected the weapon, feeling more at home with my bladed gloves. The claws were my favorite weapon anyway and they seemed to be a crowd pleaser, I decided I'd go with them as long as I could.
“Maybe I’ll lay you down and fuck you after I beat you, since my brother hasn’t had the balls to do it yet.”
“After this is through, you'll answer to me for that, UnnúlfR,” Trevor shouted above the boom of rolling thunder that shook the hall.
“Come and pull me off her, if you dare,” the pale wolf taunted back. He trailed a hand over his groin and there were a few howls of encouragement from the watching wolves.