by Helen Scott
“I can’t shift,” I stated, trying not to let the shame I felt color my words.
“Not yet. You will. I’ve seen it, and you will be glorious. For now though, we still have some things to discuss, and I would rather do it while the menfolk are asleep. You know how interfering they can be.”
I nodded, because what else was I going to do?
“I made you swear on your mate’s lives yesterday, remember? Just like you, they, too, are descended from the magic of the Norse gods. Each of your mates is special, as I believe Freya showed you while you were in Folkvang, yes?”
“Yes,” I breathed as my mind filled with the images I saw when I was standing in the fire. Roman was my moon and Micah my sun, Blake scented of metal and heat, while Tate was built like a mountain. The one I was missing was as tall and sturdy as a pine tree from the vague silhouette I saw of him. After I’d seen my five mates, I saw something else. “I saw Jax as well though.”
“Of course you did, he is a potential mate for you. If you choose to go down that path, then you lose the others. Order and chaos cannot coexist. You and your mates, provided you stay on your current course, will return order to our world and bring magic back. Your union and the influx of magic will allow your people to be fertile again. Children won’t die during their first shift. Women won’t be chained because of their abilities to provide an heir or cast aside because they cannot. Everything you’ve run from since you tried to escape your pack will no longer be an issue. Of course, it won’t be instant, but nothing worthwhile ever is.”
If I could have collapsed onto the ground all over again, I would have. “You’re saying that it’s all up to me? Why? That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Who leaves the fate of thousands of people up to one person?”
“You are the first female descendent of Freya. All others have been men, have been too stubborn to even entertain the concept of multiple mates, so every time a step toward Ragnarok rolled around, the chaos got worse because order was never restored. Now—”
“But Ragnarok is the destruction of the entire cosmos, gods and all, right? How can me deciding who to mate with be equated to that?”
“Ragnarok is the destruction of everything, yes, but destroying the universe is a lot like eating an elephant. One bite, one step at a time. Do it all at once, and it might get fucked up by some mortal or god who decides to try and fight fate. Fate may be unstoppable overall, but there are still ways to mess with it, choices you can make that derail things. Like if you were to choose… What did you say his name was? Jace?”
“Jaxon Granger. He goes by Jax.”
“So if you were to choose Jax, then it would hurtle us closer to the true and final Ragnarok. He is the embodiment of chaos and destruction, he’s a descendent of Fenrir. Everything between now and then is about keeping balance. The longer we maintain the balance, the longer it is until the universe dies. It’s because of this that we call the small—well, relatively small choices Ragnarok as well. Which way your heart swings, which mates you choose, which life path you follow, all of it will impact many more lives than just yours, but you are only one piece of the puzzle that is Ragnarok.” The longer the witch—Norn—spoke, the more her eyes became that gray swirling color that I’d seen in my dreams or visions or whatever. It was almost like she was connecting more with her true self.
“Which Norn are you? There are three of you, right?” I asked, suddenly feeling curious about all of this, as though the pieces in my mind had finally clicked into place and everything was making sense, as long as I suspended my disbelief in the gods and all those stories.
She nodded, but her mood shifted and her eyes changed from the swirling gray to a dark color that I couldn’t make out through the shadows of the trees. “There are. I am future. Skuld. I haven’t been able to get back to my sisters since magic began draining from Midgard. They are safely tucked away at Yggdrasil, and I long with all my heart to be back there. I miss them so.”
“When I find my final mate, will that allow you to go back?”
“Once there is enough magic back in the world, yes. I’ll be able to call out to Heimdall and get him to open the Bifrost, but only once there is enough magic. Until then, I’m just shouting at the sky.” Her voice was so forlorn that it made my heart ache. I’d only experienced that kind of loneliness for a few years, while she’d been down here for centuries.
“If I’m a descendent of Freya and Jax is of Fenrir, who are my other mates descended from?” I asked, trying to shift the subject away from her sisters since it was making her so sad.
Howls pierced the morning air before Skuld could answer. We both pushed to our feet, and the guys came rocketing out of the cabin with concern twisting their features. Another howl sounded, but this time, I knew the wolf was just on the other side of the trees. The only question was whether or not it had the balls to attack us on Skuld’s land.
6
Nina
The howls sounded again, splitting the now silent morning air. My men and I all stood there waiting for the attack, because we wouldn’t attack first, not unless we were left with no other choice. We’d never talked about it, but I knew that they were all on the same page with me. None of us wanted to be violent, but we would if we had to be.
“Come out, come out, my little wolfies,” Skuld said.
There was a rustle in the trees, and I prepared myself for the attack, but it never came. Instead, two women walked out of the undergrowth, both fully clothed after their shift, which stirred some jealousy within me, along with the caution that came from knowing that they had to be part of the Shadow Forest pack.
The two of them were almost opposite images of one another. Where one had bright white-blonde hair and some of the lightest blue eyes I’d ever seen, the other had hair that may as well have been black and eyes to match. Their facial structures were the same though, so there was no doubt they were related. Their clothes were just as opposite as their hair and eyes, with the blonde one in pastel jeans and a T-shirt that said “Kawaii” with a cartoon cat under it. The dark haired one was in a black dress that had polka dots all over it, which if I wasn’t mistaken, were actually little skulls.
“Oracle,” the dark-haired woman said as she dipped her head, her silky ebony locks falling forward over her shoulders. Whatever her haircare routine was, I apparently needed it, because damn, I just wanted to run my fingers through her hair, and that wasn’t exactly a thought I’d had before about anyone other than my mates.
“We’re here with a warning,” the blonde woman said, dipping her head as well, showing Skuld the respect she deserved.
“Oh?” Skuld asked, her eyebrows raising almost to her hairline. Her fingers flexed on the side closest to me, and I found myself curious about what would happen if she didn’t like the warning they imparted. My mates and I were somewhat used to getting shitty warnings and demands, but I doubted Skuld was.
“The troublesome pack has decided to venture into the woods, but they eschew the old ways and are fighting with weapons.” My hand went to my mouth in shock as the blonde let those words sink in. Fighting with weapons was reserved for humans or for us fighting humans since we couldn’t shift. We never fought each other with weapons. “They have killed some of our pack mates already.”
“They want her and her companions.” The dark-haired one pointed at me. “Claimed they would kill anyone who got in the way, even the oracle. We came to make sure they leave so you aren’t hurt.”
“I can handle myself, child. How do you think I’ve survived this long? It certainly wasn’t because I let some alpha male with a bee in his bonnet bully me. Let them come.”
“They have guns, Oracle,” the blonde said, her voice pleading for Skuld to see reason.
“Well, fuck.” Skuld paced away from me, her hands on her hips as she clearly tried to come up with another solution. “You and I still have so much to discuss, but I’m afraid it will have to wait for another time. Unfortunately, as powerful as I ma
y be, guns are still a threat.”
“I understand. We’ll leave right away,” I said, feeling hesitant as I looked at the two women. They clearly weren’t the only wolves around, since we’d heard more howls than that. “Would your people be willing to let us leave without attacking us?”
The blonde narrowed her eyes at me, as though she wasn’t sure why she should let someone who had led a threat to their land walk away, but the dark-haired one said, “Yes. You have our guarantee that we won’t attack you, lest we anger the oracle. If you would like, I’d be willing to lead you from the forest as quickly as possible. We have a couple pack vehicles for emergencies, so you could borrow one to get to your own and return ours later.”
The blonde’s head whipped toward her sister. “You have no authority to offer that.”
“We are allowed to do whatever it takes to get her away from our land and people as fast as possible. What’s faster than a car?” the brunette demanded.
The blonde huffed, clearly displeased, and I marveled that siblings still had the same kinds of interactions I’d had with Sam when he was alive, even as adults.
“That’s settled then,” Skuld said, looking pleased. “Before you go, I must tell you, finding your fifth mate is of the utmost importance. You need him to complete your bonds. Without him, there will always be a crack in your armor, a break in the chain, whatever metaphor you want to use is fine, but you need him. Only once you are fully mated do you stand a chance against Fenrir. Complete the bond.” Skuld walked over to me and took my hands as she was speaking, and I could feel the desperation pouring off her in waves.
“Where is he? Do you know?” I asked, hoping she had an answer for me.
“The only time I’ve seen him recently, he’s been a wolf running through the forest, which isn’t helpful. Let me look for him now, but then you need to go.” She stepped away from me and sat down cross-legged on the ground, right where she’d just been standing. The two women who had come to warn us sat as well, almost kneeling in front of her, a look of awe on their faces as Skuld’s eyes went all gray and swirly. I followed suit and sat as well, as did my mates.
Her head moved one way, then another, kind of like she was twitching, but it seemed more like she was searching. I got a little creeped out when I noticed that her eyes were moving under her eyelids like she was in REM and dreaming. Her fingers jerked as her hands rested on her knees in a meditation pose, though it didn’t look particularly peaceful.
She was frowning as she looked around, and I wished I could ask what she was seeing but I didn’t want to interrupt her. We all sat there for a while, each of us glued to Skuld and her movements, wondering what was happening and what she was seeing.
Eventually, she opened her eyes and said, “The only thing I can tell you is that he’s in a bar. I can’t tell which one, those human places all look the same to me. He’s in pain and is trying to cope with it by drinking and fighting. He could sense me somehow and was not thrilled at the prospect of me hunting him down.”
“He could sense you?” I asked, surprised that anyone would be able to do such a thing.
“Just like you could at the hospital and the gas station. I can project sometimes, but only if the person is open to it. He is definitely not open to it. As soon as he sensed my presence, he shut down. Now if you’ll excuse me, that kind of thing is exhausting in this world.” She began to push to her feet, but the blonde woman was there before any of us had a chance to move.
“Let me help you, Oracle.” She gripped Skuld’s hand and helped her to her feet.
“We’ll see each other again before this is all over, even if it’s just in your dreams,” Skuld said to me before the blonde woman escorted her inside.
We were all left standing there with confusion settling on our shoulders. He was in a bar. That didn’t exactly narrow things down. There had to be hundreds of bars in the city. There was nothing to do but hope that fate would guide us to him before Jax and his pack found us.
“Let’s grab our packs and get out of here,” I said to the guys as I headed toward the cabin.
We stopped just inside the entryway, loading up with our stuff and pulling our jackets and shoes on.
“East. Go east. Small bar. Margarita specials,” Skuld called out from the cabin proper.
I stuck my head through the opening into the cabin and saw that it looked more like the cabin from my dreams. Had she been magically hiding some of it the whole time? Why? I certainly didn’t have the answer and I wasn’t going to disturb her to ask, but I couldn’t help staring in awe at the carved wood and intricate decorations that were very clearly Norse in origin, or at least style. Just the imagery that was used called to something deep within me, an ancient part of my soul, the part that was descended from Freya.
As strange as Skuld’s tale had been, I did believe her, especially now. Could all the twitching have been a show? Sure. But why would generations of alphas trek up the mountain to see her and talk to her about the health of their packs? Why would the two women who approached her treat her like the most revered member of their own pack, even though she wasn’t a member? They almost treated her like a holy person, which I supposed in a way she was.
The fates were, in some ways, more powerful than the gods, since even gods and goddesses had to bend to their whims. I thought of Odin and Freya and how much trouble both of them would have bowing to someone else. They both liked control and power, so to have some of that taken away from them by three sisters who spent most of their time with a tree seemed like it would be a hard pill for them to swallow.
Swallow it they did though.
Sam had taught me all about the Norse gods since they were often what our people believed in, which made sense now, after my conversation with Skuld. I’d always wondered why Norse and not Greek, Roman, or Egyptian gods, but then I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard as many tales of wolves with the other gods.
“Thank you, Oracle,” I called through the cabin.
“My pleasure, Nina. Just remember my warnings.” Her voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, as though she were speaking directly into my mind.
I didn’t want to put her into any further danger though, so I grabbed my pack and headed out. The guys were waiting for me outside, and so was the dark-haired woman. She watched me warily as I gave her an awkward smile. “Ready?” I asked.
She nodded, as did the guys, but unlike us, she shifted into a wolf as dark as midnight on a new moon with eyes like coal. She gave a yip and headed into the trees.
We had no choice but to follow, at least not if we wanted to keep Skuld safe, and I definitely did. The last thing I wanted was to be responsible for the death of one of the fates. What would that even do to the world?
That was one question I did not want the answer to.
I could feel the guys watching me occasionally as we followed our wolf guide. Each of them took turns walking next to me, though none of us spoke. I wasn’t sure whether they were giving me support or hoping I’d open up about whatever happened between Skuld and me that morning. The prospect of breaking it to them that the woman we’d thought was a simple witch was actually one of the Norns and that all the Norse gods and goddesses were real made me slightly nauseous. Would they think I was completely insane? Or would they see the truth to my words like I’d seen the truth in Skuld’s?
7
Nina
The wolf had led us to a car and found the keys for us, which were apparently hidden in a nearby tree stump. That didn’t seem particularly safe to me, but who was I to judge? All I knew was that it got me out of there and farther away from Jax’s wolves, faster than my own two feet could, so I wasn’t going to complain.
We’d been on the road heading east for a little while when Tate asked, “So do you want to tell us what you and the oracle talked about this morning?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I decided to be honest. “I’m worried if I tell you what she said that you’ll thin
k we’re both crackers and that nothing she said is true.”
Blake turned from the front passenger seat to face me. “If it’s something that you believe is true, then I think we at least deserve to hear it, don’t you? If you don’t trust us enough to tell us, then I think there’s a bigger problem here.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just… It’s a lot, like, a lot a lot. I don’t want you to think differently of me because of this.”
“Okay, beautiful, now you just have to tell us, whether we think differently of you or not, because otherwise, my mind is going to spin out into some crazy assumption,” Micah said from next to me as he squeezed my knee.
“We trust you with this whole fifth mate business, I think we deserve the same trust,” Roman said from the driver’s seat, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. His dark, blue-gray eyes seemed to pierce right into me, and I felt a wave of comfort hit me through the bond. He knew how skittish I could be and was doing his best to counteract that. The others didn’t really know, since I’d always been with Roman when I met one of my other mates, but he had been the one to put in the work and get me to accept the mate bond.
“Okay. You’re right. Please just let me get it all out before you interrupt though, yeah?”
Nods and murmurs of agreement came from the guys, and I knew that they would try their best, though I wasn’t sure they would succeed. I was fairly sure that if the positions were reversed, I’d be interrupting because I couldn’t help it. Still, I had to at least try.
I summoned all my courage and said, “The woman in the forest wasn’t just an oracle, she is one of the Nornir. She and her sisters are the fates. This morning, she was telling me why I have multiple mates, why we’re all together. Basically, the reason we are together is designed by the gods and the fates as a test as to whether or not the world, well, universe, is inching closer to Ragnarok.”
The car swerved, and I shut up as Roman pulled off to the side of the road and hit the button to turn the hazard lights on. “I can’t concentrate on driving and what you’re saying at the same time, since it seems much more complex than I initially thought. Please, continue.”