The Berserker Brides Saga

by Lee Savino

  “Come,” Vik whispered, herding me towards the door.

  “Keep your mate safe,” Ragnvald called after us. “We will need her to fight with us when we face the enemy.”

  Sorrel

  We stood on the boundary, facing the enemies’ ranks. Rows and rows of draugr, pressing their slavering faces against the magical boundary.

  Vik pressed a rune stone in my hand. The rest went into a pouch, ready for me to reload. He and Thorsteinn took their places beside me, axes and shields at the ready, their own packs strapped to their back. The Alphas had loaded us up with supplies to last us until we reached the first patrol station where Thorsteinn and Vik kept stores. The way would be hard and long, but with my mates at my side I would be safe. “An adventure,” Vik called it. “A life in the wilderness, just as you wanted.” Thorsteinn had ruffled my hair.

  “Ready?” Thorsteinn asked. He and Vik flanked me.

  “Ready,” I shouted, and ran with my warriors into the wild.

  Epilogue

  Rosalind

  “Rosalind.” A cool breeze wafted over my face. I opened my eyes, squinting against the pounding in my head.

  “I’m awake,” I croaked. My visitor was a tall blonde woman wearing a white shift that left her arms bare. Her features were too strong to be counted beautiful, but once I met her eyes, I couldn’t look away. “Why are you here?”

  The past few days had been filled with visitors. My sister Aspen was the only one I’d welcomed. The rest seemed determined to ask me questions. I’d answered best I could despite the blinding pain, but I wasn’t much help. Other than a few shadowy nightmares, my memory was gone.

  “Can you sit up?” the woman asked. “Do you wish for water?”

  I opened my mouth to tell her to leave me alone, when she waved a hand over my forehead. Instantly, the pain eased.

  “Do that again,” I gasped.

  A smile lightened the woman’s features. “Most wouldn’t survive such an injury. You have a hard head. Or a strong will to live.”

  My life was one determined fight to survive. I didn’t remember much, but I knew that.

  “I am Yseult,” said the woman, seating herself on the side of my pallet. “I am a witch.”

  “What do you want?”

  In answer, she fished in the front of her shift, and drew out a shimmering stone on a silver chain.

  My eyes widened as bright light bathed my face. “Get that away from me.”

  “You remember this?” Yseult cupped her hand around the large stone, hiding some of its brilliance. “You seem to have forgotten everything else.”

  “I remember the stone. I had to find it. I don’t know why.”

  “The Alphas think you were bespelled by the Corpse King and tricked into finding it for him.”

  I lay back on my pallet. “I know. I’d be named a traitor, if I were well.”

  “They will not judge a spaewife so harshly,” Ysuelt waved her free hand. The stone in her other hand flashed and I looked away, my stomach lurching. “I am more interested in how you knew where to find the stone.”

  “Couldn’t the Corpse King lead me to it?”

  “Perhaps. But the stone has its own protections. Which is why the enemy needed you to fetch it for him.” She opened her hand and frowned at the stone, her face bathed in milky light.

  I shut my eyes before my headache returned.

  “I had dreams,” I admitted. “Visions. I knew where the stone would be. But the voice calling me from the mountain—that was all the Corpse King.”

  “Not only him. If you had been fully under his influence, you would never had found the stone.” Yseult shifted closer. “No, Rosalind. The affinity you have for this talisman is the key we have been searching for.”

  I ran a hand over my face. I was so tired. “What do you mean?”

  “I too have had visions. My witch sisters and I have Seen the way to defeat the Corpse King, but in every vision, you are there.”

  Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. I felt like I was viewing this conversation from afar, a bird circling overhead, a seer looking into a scrying pool at myself. Another vision. I was so tired of visions.

  I licked my lips. “It doesn’t matter what you saw. I am here. I am hurt.”

  “The Alphas will pass judgement on you soon. They will give you to a pair of warriors as a mate.”

  I raised a hand and slapped it down. “They’ll do what they will. That’s why they brought us here—to be mates.”

  “You do not want to be mated?”

  “No. I will never…” I fisted my hands in the pelts. “I will never belong to any man. Ever. This I vow.”

  “You want to have a choice.”

  “Yes,” I fell back against my bed. “But I have no power.”

  Yseult leaned closer. “You do not think you can decide your own destiny?”

  My body stiffened. “All my life I have been a pawn. Even when I fought for freedom, I was being manipulated by the Corpse King. He promised me protection,” my voice cracked as I confessed what I’d told no one. “For me and my sister. We would be safe. We would escape the Berserkers, and live free.”

  “What if it were possible? You could bind the Corpse King and end his reign? The Berserkers would give you anything you ask for then. Even your freedom.”

  “It is not possible. Even if I wanted to, how can I face the Corpse King? The greatest enemy the world has ever known?”

  “There is a way, Rosalind. I fear it is the only way.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. The ache in my head was gone as if it’d never been. In its place was a hollow fear. If the Corpse King took over, my sister’s and my life would be over. If I stayed here, we would be given to Berserkers as brides. There was no good choice for us. For women, there rarely was.

  “What would I need to do?”

  “My sister witches and I have a plan…”

  Sorrel

  “Come on,” Vik shouted. I raced up the hill behind him, heart pounding, legs aching. Behind us, Thorsteinn paused long enough to throw a rune stone at the draugr chasing us. The blast made me stagger. A cloud of dirt and smoke enveloped me. Thorsteinn hauled me up and propelled me up the ridge. I rubbed my eyes, coughing a little.

  “Thanks,” I croaked.

  “You’re all right,” he tousled my hair, and guarded my back as I took off after Vik.

  “We’re close,” Vik said. “Just over the ridge.”

  “Hurry,” I said. My throat screamed for water and fresh air, but I couldn’t help my grin. We’d spent days trekking the wilderness towards the Corpse King’s lair, dodging hosts of draugr, sleeping under the stars. Vik and Thorsteinn told me of their patrol station, a hidden place protected with ward runes right in the heart of enemy territory. We were almost there when we ran into the final contingent of draugr.

  “How many rune stones do we have left?” Thorsteinn asked as we rested behind a crop of boulders.

  “Just one,” I answered grimly.

  “We’ll get more soon. For now, one’s enough.” He showed me his three and jerked a thumb behind him, a signal of where to throw. A grunting sound behind us told me the draugr were right on our heels.

  “On my count,” he ordered. “One, two, three—”

  Rising up together, we threw the stones into the grotesque ranks of the enemy’s servants. Balefire flashed. I ducked back behind the rock, only to be pulled along by Vik.

  “Run,” he said, and we made our final dash.

  “Vik,” I panted, my legs pumping to keep up. We were running straight for a huge tree. “What—”

  “Up,” he said, and raced the final steps ahead of me to the massive trunk. “Now.” He dropped to his knees and laced his fingers. I sprinted and leapt, my foot landing in his cupped hands. He launched me in the air, and I grabbed the branch, swinging up as quickly as possible.

  “Climb,” he called and, checking his weapons, started to do the same. I launched myself from branch to branch, sparing glan
ces to make sure Thorsteinn was coming too. Above my head, a floor board peeked out from the foliage.

  “A tree lodge,” I whispered.

  “Yes,” Vik grunted, grinning.

  “Where’s Thorsteinn?”

  A roar shook the forest. Thorsteinn tore out of the trees, a flash of black fur with teeth. Monstrous claws sank into the tree bark as he climbed.

  Vik was suddenly above me, pulling me onto a wooden platform. A few boards were hammered into the tree trunk, leading to a final large enclosure nestled in the huge canopy. My feet thumped the sturdy wooden floor as Vik went straight to a hidden store and struck a flintstone to light a small brazier.

  “This is it?” I asked, turning in a circle. “It’s just like Yggdrasil.”

  “This is one of many Yggdrasils,” Vik told me, grinning at my delight. He went around the perimeter, lighting the rest of the braziers. The place was well stocked with waterskins, weapons, and baskets with stored food. “We build these as hiding places when we are on long patrols. Here,” he tossed me his waterskin. “Drink up. There’s a stream nearby. This tree and the waters close to it are protected by wards the witches gave us.”

  Water splashed down my throat, washing the last of the smoke and grit away. “Thank you,” I held the skin out to him. He grabbed it, finished the water, and tossed it aside.

  “Sorrel,” his teeth flashed and I recognized the wicked light in his eye a moment before he pounced. His hand fisted in my hair, his mouth meeting mine hungrily.

  “Vik—” I laughed against his lips. With a growl, he tugged my hair and continued his savage kiss. His cock poked my belly as he propelled me backwards. Before I could ask where we were going, he hooked my foot out from under me. We fell onto a pile of pelts.

  “Vik,” I tried again as he pinned my arms above my head, his beard scratching down my throat as he ravaged me. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you think I’m doing?” His left hand kept hold of my wrists, freeing his right hand to grip my breast.

  “No?”

  “I am tired and so dirty—”

  “Not so dirty,” he hitched my leg over his back and ground down. “Are you so very tired?”

  “Not too tired—” I whispered, pulling his full weight against me. A growl behind us told me Thorsteinn had arrived. Vik and I paused as he shrank from his monstrous form into a warrior’s. He stalked towards us, eyes bright.

  “Getting started without me?” he rasped.

  Vik sat back and let me up. Thorsteinn plucked me off the pelts and hauled me against him. My legs hooked around his hips as he claimed my mouth. When he broke the kiss, his voice was more normal.

  “You did well, little shield maiden.” He pressed his forehead against mine.

  “Do you think so?” I whispered back, joy shooting through my body.

  “Oh yes.” He set me down and two pairs of hands pawed at my body, quickly divesting me of my clothes. “And now we celebrate.”

  “I’d like that,” I gasped as Vik dropped to his knees before me. He propped my leg over his shoulder and nuzzled between my thighs. Thorsteinn clamped an arm around my waist, his mouth biting and sucking the tender junction of my neck.

  “Here,” he said, probing a finger between my ass cheeks.

  “What? No—” I yelped as Vik bit the inside of my leg.

  “Be good, or we’ll build another cage...” His wicked grin sent a surge of arousal through me.

  “I’ll cage you,” I threatened, and fought the men holding me. We wrestled together, playful and savage, until they ended it, pinning me down. Thorsteinn fed me his cock while Vik plundered between my legs.

  “How did you know,” I murmured later, much later, after they had washed me and fed me bits of meat and held me down and taken me again.

  “What, sweet one?” Thorsteinn murmured, toying with the ends of my hair.

  I yawned. “How did you know I could go on patrol with you?”

  “You were born for this. We knew it from the first, when you shot at us in the abbey. You come alive when you are in danger. We will just be careful to keep you safe...”

  I made a face at him and he kissed it away.

  “I thought you would be worried,” I admitted when I could speak again. “The mist warped my mind before.”

  “We’re bonded now. The bond will protect you, just as it calms the beast. You have nothing to fear. No harm will come to you... unless we decide to hurt you.” He set his teeth gently at my neck.

  “And even then, you will like it,” Vik promised, coming to lie beside me opposite his warrior brother. “You were born to wear our mark. Just as we were born to love you...”

  My heart swelled with happiness, I climbed on top of him to give him a reward. Outside the mist swirled around the base of the tree and the draugr roamed, guarding the Corpse King’s territory. In the morning, we would face the enemy and gather any knowledge we could to aid the pack. It would be dangerous, but I did not fear. I did not fear anything—as long as I had my warriors.

  ***

  Coming soon in the Berserker series… Mastered by the Berserkers

  In the meantime, read the standalone novellas starring individual Berserker Warriors:

  Berserker Warriors

  Ægir (formerly titled The Sea Wolf)

  Siebold - coming summer 2020

  Read on for an excerpt from Ægir…

  Ægir: A Berserker Warrior Romance

  by Lee Savino

  The only daughter of an Irish chieftain has one purpose and one alone: marry well. But on the eve of my wedding, I’m stolen away on a ghostly ship by a warrior trapped in time.

  Legend tells of a Sea Wolf who must sail the northern seas until he finds the woman who can break his curse and lead him home.

  The legend is real. The Sea Wolf has come for me.

  Ægir (a Berserker novella) is a standalone fantasy romance novella starring a huge dominant warrior and the woman he will claim as his own. It was formerly titled The Sea Wolf and published in a pirate’s boxset.

  Muireann

  The wind whipped between the rocks, howling like a wolf. I stood on the edge of the cliff staring at the frothing water far below my feet. A fierce gust could pull me off balance or the ground could crumble under me and I’d fall to my death.

  Or I could leap, arms outstretched to embrace the air.

  It would be so easy. Just a single step—

  “Muireann!” Nanny’s voice broke the fog before I saw her stooped form and beaked nose. She toddled up the old, perilous path, her round body threatening to pitch over into the water. I stepped back from the ledge, ready to keep her from falling.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” she shouted over the wind. My braid was long undone, wild tendrils whipped my face.

  “Oh,” Nanny scolded. “your hair.”

  I’d been standing in the wind so long my lips were numb. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It will to your bridegroom.” Nanny tugged and tsked. “Fey locks, like your mother. I’ll have to comb it out before the crossing. Unless you were thinking of leaving now?” Nanny’s voice was mild, but her dark eyes were sharp as a raven’s. She already knew why I’d climbed the cliff this morn.

  If Nanny had not come, I would’ve found it in me to take that final step. People would say I’d fallen to my death and the sea cheated the son of the Uí Néill chieftain of his chosen bride.

  Nanny’s breath came in harsh puffs, misting the air. But she swallowed whatever she was about to say and raised a brow instead. “Is that the way you wish to go, then?” Nanny casually craned her neck to look down at the rocks. “I’ll tell them all you died.”

  “It won’t deter Dòmhnall.” My bridegroom had promised he’d take this island one way or another. Marriage was our best option, he’d explained, but he wouldn’t mind shedding blood.

  Marrying was the only way to prevent war. So, I must give up my life for my loved ones.

  “It’s not too late,
” Nanny said gently. She wouldn’t blame me if I tried to escape this marriage one way or another.

  “No, Nanny. I’ll do my duty.” But I cast one longing look at the sea then followed my ancient nurse down the cliff and back towards home.

  “So much fog this morning.” Nanny chattered as I helped her over the slippery rocks. “Twill make it hard for your bridegroom to fetch you.”

  “It will break by midday,” I murmured. Would that the fog would shroud this island and hide it forever.

  “Not this fog. Thick as a witch’s brew.”

  I raised a brow at her. I was not the only woman the villagers called ‘witch.’

  “Oh, I didn’t stir it up,” Nanny waved a hand as if she was talking of making stew, not controlling the weather. “Your mother knew how to call a storm, but she never taught me.”

  “Nor I.”

  “Pity.”

  “We could not hide forever,” I murmured.

  “We could, but your father would not like it. Your mother had a place she kept hidden away. A cabin on a tiny island. It’s still hidden by her spells, but a woman in need could find it.” Nanny’s eyes were black as a raven’s, staring into mine.

  I shook my head. “I promised. Even if I run and hide, Dòmhnall will still come. And father would be in trouble.”

  “Your father should’ve never promised you to him.”

  “He had no choice,” I whispered. We’d reached the edge of the village and anyone might overhear us. I quickened my steps, linking my arm with Nanny’s to urge her along.

  “What is the world coming to, that women are pawns in the hands of men? If your mother was alive—”