by Lee Savino
I took a deep breath. “All right.” How could I argue? Each passing moment they told me something more outrageous than the last.
I’d spent the day thinking of how I could escape. The best plan I’d come up with was to bide my time and befriend them until they dropped their guard. But the full moon rose tonight. What would I do then?
Leif prowled behind me as I climbed up the hill to the keep. The hair on the back of my neck raised as if a silent predator stalked me. Which, I supposed, one did.
I sat on the broken wall while the warrior built up the fire. I shouldn’t indulge myself watching him, but I did anyway. His stunning face drew my eye. His hands made quick work of the chores, strong and sure. I couldn’t help imagining them stroking my breasts. And his every glance my way sparked fire, as quickly as the flames caught the brush he’d stacked in the center of the keep.
The moon rose slowly, along with my dread. Soon, my heat would come upon me, and I would have a new captor to resist—my own lust.
My skin prickled. Leif stood behind me, his scent wafting my way. “What are you thinking about, Willow?” His hair brushed my shoulder, his breath warming my ear.
“Nothing.” I turned my back on the setting sun. Leif stood close enough we almost touched. I put my hands behind my back so I would not yield to temptation.
He cocked his head. “You have not fought me yet.”
“Should I?”
“I expected you to refuse to become our mate. If you have doubts, I’ll do my best to convince you.” He smirked, his canines on display.
“I thought the friar planned to sell us to any man who offered a bride price great enough to tempt him to give up his source of free labor at the looms or in the apothecary.” I shrugged and worded my words so I did not lie but still made Leif think I wasn’t planning on running away. “Everything we were taught prepared us to accept our fate. This is no different.” Except my heart leaped whenever I came near him or Brokk. Energy buzzed through me as if my skin anticipated their touch. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Even the friar sometimes took what he wanted from us. He never touched me, but he told us we must submit to a man’s desires.”
Leif glared at me. “We are nothing like the friar. We will not force you, or touch you until you are ready. Your body will burn until you cry out and ask for our hands upon you.”
With a half gasp, half sob, I pulled away. How had he known my thoughts?
Leif continued in a softer voice, “You will not submit to our desires but your own.”
“It’s wrong,” I said. “You have the wrong woman. You should take me back.” Maybe I could convince them to let me go. I could find a way to survive, beg for work. I’d find a new village and become a servant to earn my keep. “You do not want me.”
Fingers curled around my arm, tugging me to face him once more. I couldn’t fight, but I refused to meet his gaze.
“Willow,” he murmured. “You do not know how much we want you. No matter. It is our delight to teach you. We’ve been searching for one such as you from the moment the witch cursed us.”
“What?”
“A part of us is tainted. We call it the beast, and it struggles to break free. When it does, it will rage upon this island. Kill every living thing and turn it into a wasteland, much like the Corpse King wishes to do. You are the only one who stands in its way. The only one who can tame our beast.”
“Me? How can I? I do not even know my own power.”
“You do not but you will learn,” he said. “It will be our honor to teach you.”
“What about my sister orphans? What will the pack…?”
Leif watched me patiently.
“No.” I backed away.
“It’s all right, Willow. They are safe. They will be mated to my friends, who will treat them with care.”
“You must let them go.” My argument would not sway him, but I had to try. Sage would not want to be a bride. She would not even want a man to touch her. I didn’t, either, but my body had a will of its own.
“They will not be harmed,” Leif soothed.
“You don’t understand. It is better for us to be secluded, away from the presence of men.”
“You do not like men?” Leif cocked his head to the side. “Then why is the air filled with your scent?”
The shadows hid my blush. “Please don’t speak of that,” I whispered.
“Are you afraid, little one?” Leif frowned.
“She’s not afraid of us,” a deep voice rang out from beyond the wall. “She’s afraid of herself.”
BROKK
I strode around the broken stones, bowed under the weight of the huge buck I’d slaughtered. The last of the dying sun’s rays followed me as I traipsed to the fire and slung my kill down.
“Any trouble on the hunt?” Leif asked.
I grunted negative. I’d spent the afternoon gutting and preparing the carcass, hanging it from a high branch to drain out while my wolf enjoyed the offal. The buck would feed us for a while. The next time I wanted to leave, I’d have to come up with a new excuse.
“We shall have a feast,” Leif announced, eyes shining.
“I’ll cut branches to make a spit,” he continued, drawing his axe and hopping over the wall nearest the lake. An ordinary man wouldn’t survive the drop, but, a moment later, his red head bobbed towards the forest.
Coward. I called after him.
It’s your turn to woo her. He’d already forgiven me for leaving him alone with the woman for so long.
Willow rushed halfway to the wall Leif had jumped over, but stopped short of passing me. “Is he all right?”
“Yes. Do not trouble yourself about him. Not much can kill a Berserker.” I’d caught some of their conversation via the bond. Leif kept his mind open to me, as if the rat knew I could not resist spying.
I went about readying the buck for the fire. Willow hung back. For a moment, I thought she might speak about the morning’s events, but she said nothing.
You can talk to her, too, you know. Leif sent.
“Odin’s beard, will you never be quiet?”
“What?” Willow asked.
“Nothing.” Better I stay silent, lest I frighten our captive and send her running to cry in Leif’s arms again. The memory made my motions savage. I tore the buck’s legs off before I realized an ordinary man would never be able to do such a thing.
Willow’s face paled under her few freckles, but she hadn’t yet fled.
“Sorry,” I muttered and moved to block her view of my work.
She paced closer. Back and forth, back and forth, and the dying bonfire crackled to life. Once Willow had finished feeding it, she dusted off her hands, standing closer to me than I expected.
I hated how excited she made me feel.
“You left for a long time,” she said.
I grunted.
“This is a large buck,” she added after a few minutes. “Are we to stay here long?”
“Long enough. We can kill the Grey Men, but there are many of them, and we will not risk your safety. Leif told you the truth. We have searched many years to find women who could break our curse. We will not risk you. This is the first time we found so many Grey Men in one place.”
“The Corpse King.” Leif returned, carrying a sapling stripped clean. “He likes to collect spaewives.”
“Collect us?”
“Yes.” I fixed her with a stern look. “He hunts you still, so it is important you stay close and heed every word we say.”
She swallowed and hovered near as we spitted the buck.
“Why would he want us?”
“He feeds his magic with the blood of spaewives,” I said.
Brokk, Leif cautioned. “You have magic, Willow. You are of a special race.”
“You don’t believe us?” I asked.
Willow shook her head. “You are the first to tell me of this.”
“It’s true, Willow,” Leif said. “You came to the abbey as a babe—”
“Because my mother gave me up—”
“She did not give you up,” I snapped. “I wager the Grey Men sensed her magical blood, took her, and left you in the abbey to grow up.”
I knew I’d said the wrong thing when Willow turned whiter.
“My mother,” she whispered.
I remembered too late what she had seen in the village. Her face screwed up, and she turned away.
Why did you say such a thing? Leif asked, rushing to her side.
I scowled.
“Come here, lass. It’s all right. You’re all right.”
“No.” She wiped her eyes. “You’re lying to me. I won’t listen to you.” She ran from the keep.
“Go to her.” Leif clenched his fists at his side, dark fur rippling down his arms. His eyes glowed. His beast lurked too close for him to chase her.
Still, I balked. “Me? What can I do?”
“Use your words. Calm her.”
I shook my head. I did not know how to be sweet and caring. I was a warrior. I knew nothing of wooing a woman. But I’d do anything to stop her weeping.
Willow sat on a low wall on the edge of the keep, facing the lake. She still wore the pelt about her shoulders, clutching it close. The gesture gave me hope.
I sat down on the wall, some distance from her.
“I apologize. I often say or do the wrong thing. They call me Stone Face,” I admitted. “I am like a rock in battle, but I have a clumsy tongue.”
She smiled a little but without joy.
“It’s all so much.” She wiped her eyes.
I heaved a sigh.
Go to her, Leif said. Put your arm around her.
Get out of my head, I told him, but without malice.
“Come to me,” I ordered, and held out a hand to her. She shied at first. I watched her gnaw her lip then decide. Picking up her skirts, she did as I bid.
I did not wait for her to protest. I folded her into my arms, holding her head to my chest. She quivered and stilled. With a little sigh, Willow relaxed her soft body against me. I waited a blissful minute, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. Our hearts thumped as one.
“I am not a kind man,” I told her. “My words are a dull knife. I am not clever like Leif. But I will tell you this, Willow.” Shifting, I gathered her hair back so my hand could cradle her throat. “If I had known the day the Grey Men came to take you from your mother, I would’ve watched over you then. From this day forward, your enemies are my enemies, and nothing can stand against a Berserker.”
LEIF
The giant deer roasting for our supper did much to lift our moods. Willow stayed quiet, threading her fingers together or plucking at the pelt she wore around her shoulders. Yet, after all she’d been through, she appeared to accept her captivity.
When she picked at her food, Brokk shook his head.
“You will eat more,” he commanded, spearing another portion and hovering over her, arms crossed over his chest, until she gulped it down. I hid my grin. The two of them were growing closer. It didn’t matter if Brokk acted gruff and overbearing. Willow had begun to trust.
“Have an onion.” I speared one and handed it to her, still on the knife. We’d found a few wild ones and roasted them in the embers.
“I’m full,” she muttered, but when I shook the root at her, she took it and chewed without further argument.
“Good, lass. We’ll fatten you up in no time.”
She rolled her eyes, but as Brokk and I kept devouring the meat, she stretched out on the pelts, hand on her stomach, and sighed, a happy sound. My wolf felt satisfied; our mate seemed content.
“Full moon tonight,” Brokk remarked.
Willow jerked and shot to her feet. Alarmed, Brokk and I half rose as well, alert for danger.
“What is it, lass?”
“The m-moon,” she stammered. “I must…you must stay away.”
I frowned. “Why? What is happening?”
“The fever…it takes me. I do not know what it is,” she admitted. “I have prayed many times for release.”
“What are the symptoms of this fever?” Brokk asked. He and I shared the same thought.
“Please don’t make me tell you.”
I let out a low growl, not directed at her. My wolf grew agitated, scenting her fear, and it roused the beast.
Stay calm, brother, Brokk opened his mind to me, sharing his control. Out loud he said, “Tell us, Willow.”
We waited, and when the woman said nothing, he continued, “Tell us of this heat that comes over you. Do you feel it in your breast and in your cunny?”
I did not need full light to see the flush creep across her face.
She nodded.
“It’s not sickness. There is nothing wrong with you, or any other woman who suffers from it. The heat is one of the reasons you are fit to be a Berserker bride. Your scent calls to us,” Brokk said. “It both arouses and soothes the beast. Submit to us, and you will be well.”
Her head jerked no.
“Yes.” Brokk stalked behind her, blocking her escape in case she darted out of the keep and ran. “We can heal your fever.”
“How?”
“We will fuck you until you cannot walk.”
Willow went rigid.
I glared at Brokk. Didn’t we decide I would be the one to explain things?
I speak the truth.
The truth comes better from a silver tongue.
I cleared my throat. “Don’t fear, lass. We took an oath not to touch you before your time.” One we will uphold.
Brokk nodded.
“What Brokk tried to tell you, lass, is whatever you need, we’ll give to you. How do you wish us to help? We will do what we can to ease your suffering. We are your mates. We will see to your every need.” See, Brokk? Gentle words. Sweet tone.
“I don’t need anything from you,” she said, with a spark of the fierceness I’d first noticed in her. She kept it buried, beaten-down, but it was there. She glanced behind her at Brokk cutting off her escape, and despair rose in her scent.
“No? What about the Corpse King? Do you think he would be able to resist the scent of your sweet cunt? Your heat calls to him, as it does to us.”
“I’d give him a week to find you,” Brokk growled.
Willow’s features twisted in pain. I longed to comfort her, but we had to make her understand. “We will not let him take you. You are ours, and ours alone. But the day will come when your heat will be too much, and then you will beg us to ease it. You must.”
She shook her head, her hands clenched into fists. “I hate this,” she whispered, too low for us to hear. “I hate it. I hate myself.”
“Come here, Willow,” Brokk ordered. To my surprise, she went to him. He caught her chin between two fingers. “You’re our mate. I know you do not believe it, but soon you will know it, deep down. And we will care for you.” Each word came out a command, and Willow relaxed further, her eyes growing hooded. “Tell me you understand.”
“I understand,” she breathed. Her body, her submissive nature responded to Brokk’s orders, even if her mind struggled. His hand slid to the back of her neck, collaring the fragile stem. Her shoulder relaxed, and her breathing calmed.
My cock throbbed in my breeches. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with her delicious scent.
“Good,” Brokk almost purred. “When the heat comes on you, you will be safe. We will watch over you and make sure nothing happens.”
“But—” she blurted, and stopped.
“What is it?”
She hung her head. “What I do…the way I act…it is unseemly.”
Again, he tipped up her chin. “We are your mates. With us, you need not hide.”
WILLOW
I sat on the wall, my arms wrapped around my knees, facing the moon. The comforting weight of the wolf pelt rested on my shoulders. Behind me, the two men sat by the fire, talking. They spoke of hunting and laying traps, and of the many birds nesting near the
lake. Every once in a while, they’d pause, and my back would prickle as I felt them watching me. Grateful they kept their distance, I didn’t need them to come close to make me aware of their presence. My thoughts revolved around them in endless circles.
What could I do? My body ached, wet and ready. Soon the moon would pull me into her embrace. I’d come into heat and lose all good sense.
I had to slip away. Not far. I wasn’t unwise enough to try to escape and risk falling into the hands of the Grey Men. But I had to hide away for the night.
I rose and announced, “I am ready for bed.”
The warriors watched me head to the pelts. Either the light played tricks, or their eyes really did glow in the moonlight.
I lay down, body throbbing. Soon my heat would take me, and I would long to fling the pelt from me and strip off my shift. I braided and rebraided a length of my hair until footsteps crunched near my head, and I forced myself to lay still.
A part of me hoped they would shift into wolves. Even though I’d been afraid of Brokk’s transformation, I couldn’t deny I felt more at ease around him in his canine shape. The magic had been…startling. I’d seen so many awful and shocking things since leaving the abbey, the warriors’ power seemed almost comforting. They said they’d protect me, and, for some reason, I believed them.
Besides, Brokk smiled more as a wolf.
A large body lay down next to me. I fought not to stiffen. Another settled on the other side of me. They had me trapped.
The thought made me tense and excited at the same time.
“Calm, lass,” Leif murmured. “We’ll protect you this night.”
Neither of the warriors touched me. Nor did they speak again. I kept my eyes closed, and after a time, their breathing evened.
It would be wise for me to wait, so I stayed as long as I dared. Lying there, curled up between them like a seed in a pod, I felt warm, safe. At home. But the moon rose higher with every passing second. My flesh tuned to the light, trembling with wanton energy.