by Trina Bates
* * *
“I will never get use to that,” Hakon breathes out after throwing up all of his lunch when the ground beneath our feet finally shifts and lands us all safely at the base of Alyria’s statue.
I place my hand on the hindquarters of the giant horse and send my thanks to Alyria. I wish she would talk to me like she did once before, but she doesn't. I do, however, feel warmth, love, and elation wash over me. From wherever she is, she’s glad we’re back and watching over us, like she promised.
“Yggdrasil.” I grin and look up to the rosy pink sky that I’ve been missing so much.
“The dwelling you occupied when you first arrived is still open for you and your mates. I doubt anyone will try and take it over knowing that Grunwald and you share such a formidable bond,” Torunn says with a smile and I can’t help but return it.
“I have missed him,” I tell her honestly and look back to Blue and her men. They have had to endure Hell for how long? Seeing this has to be a shock, and from what I see on their faces, it’s a welcome sort of shock.
-Bluneth spent a little time describing this, though her memories do not give justice to the sights before us.- Vali says in my mind with wonder.
-I’m glad you’re all here. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us all. There are some rules that we will have to go over, though. Things that still throw me off sometimes.-
-The warrior and her mate alerted us with care about the ways of this realm. Enjoyment and relaxation are in desperate need. Worry for you, we have us,- Vali tells me and I can see how much he and Blue’s other men are truly in need of that. I smile up at him and nod.
-You are so damn cryptic sometimes. I think I get you, and yet, I don’t at the same time.- I send him with a laugh and grab Rhydian and Rhett’s hands, already knowing my way back to our home.
-Mira! Are you well?! It is wonderful to feel your mind back in our realm!- Grun exclaims in my mind, my smile wide and contagiously happy as I laugh and quicken my pace as much as the bump in my stomach will let me.
-I’m here Grun! We’re here to stay for a little while. I’m well. I wanted Alyria back here for her birth and after so much, we all needed the break. How have you fared while we’ve been away?!- I ask him as I let go of my mates’ hands and hold my stomach, trying to walk or rather waddle, faster.
“Slow down, Mira! We have the time,” Ebbin shouts from behind me.
He’s trying to catch up when I turn back to him, it shouldn’t be that hard in the state I’m in, but it’s all in fun. We’re all anxious and excited to be back. My mind starts to swirl with everything I want to get done before Alyria.
Gor said we might get the chance to talk to Grun together, help me learn more about who he is and how he grew into the amazing man he is today. The ocean, I want to give my thanks to the woman of the water for gifting Cynide and myself with the gifts she did. I also want to take a bit to explore the markets once more and possibly, if I can convince Torunn, to see the base camp where the true Valkyrie warriors train.
-Take your time Mira, do not overexert yourself.- Grun laughs fatherly in my mind and I shake my head with a small smile the front of the little house already in view ahead of us.
-I won't.- I laugh and give my attention back to those around me.
“Where are we going stay?” Blue asks and that one question that I should have asked has me stop in my tracks and wait for the two other women to catch up so I can hear the conversation better.
“There’s another unit on the other side of Mira’s, you are welcome to it. I will have bedding and the other essentials you may need on your visit brought to you. If you would like to explore the markets for anything further, please let Mira know. See, she’s practically salivating at the thought.” Torunn laughs, and points to my glee filled face, my smile so wide my cheeks hurt.
I roll my eyes but nod my head vigorously, they both laugh and then Torunn has to go and ruin the mood a bit. “I will have to go and check on the rest of the Valkyries; I have been away for far too long and they are no doubt enjoying the time I have been gone, shucking their duties and being lax in their training. I hope they’re ready to learn about the magic we all carry inside. It’s going to be a rough time for a bit.” She smiles mischievously and hugs us both, turning to Gor and giving him a titillating kiss, leaving them both breathless and her cheeks turn a deep crimson when the hollers and whistles from us all sound in the air.
She smiles to my brother once more and bounds off in the other direction. I’ll have to ask her later about coming with her next time. Maybe I could be of some help?
Shaking off the thoughts of Valkyries, I pull Blue with me and show her into the small home she will be staying in next door, and leave the house after my goodbyes to her and her men, to a waiting Rhett. Taking his hand in mine, we walk silently and slowly back to our home and he takes me directly to Grun.
Rhett:
Her small warm hand comforts my weary mind and confused heart. I hate the strange in between place we seem to be in with each other. I know after what I had done, the way my powers changed me and made me do and say things I normally never would have, she needs time. We may have talked a little after, but feeling so far from her, it’s starting to wear on me. I need her, and I want her so bad I can barely breathe.
Her amazing eyes, those red orbs filled with power that rivals mine, watch me like a hawk. she can sense something is off, though the need to relax and be happy pushes me to fake a smile and push her towards Grun. Any day now and our lives are going to change, more so than what I think any of us are expecting. I can’t wait.
“Come on! You know he likes you, just don’t let Merrick near Birchwood or he might be tempted to trap him again.” Her laugh is infectious and remembering that debacle, I laugh loud and send him an image in my mind of it, only to get his middle finger in the air, aimed at my back.
The sky high tree with limbs so wide I can’t wrap my arms around and touch. The tufts of fluffy white, this is my Grunwald my ever protective Spriggan. They’re all magnificent creatures, but Grun holds a place in all of our hearts, not only for his relationship with Mira, and how he healed her, but how much he has helped us all. He’s connected, rooted into us from his gift of knowledge, his unwavering devotion, and his personality. He’s a trickster and when we first arrived, the games he played and the joy he brought to my girl will never be lost on me, any of us.
Mira lets go of my hand and puts her arms as far around his trunk as she can, hugging him tight and his limbs and branches move, embracing her back. I can’t hear the conversation they have unless they clue me in, and so far they haven’t. I sit quietly at his base and enjoy the comfort from his closeness, closing my eyes and enjoying the fresh air, calm, and peace that I always feel when we come here.
It’s been a hard, but rewarding journey thus far, and thinking back on that fateful night that lead us all together, I can’t help but smile at the memories. Think back, and remember every little detail, that got us to this point in our lives.
“Damn Merrick, she has more tattoos than you do!” I exclaimed, enjoying the view of the blonde bombshell leaned over the bar.
I could feel my dick already hard, yearning for her. There was something about the way she carried herself. She didn’t take any shit from patrons that tried to cop a feel, instead, she smiles sweetly, leaned over and whispered something in their ear. The woman would look to the Blood Witch at the bar with a proud smirk and the patron would pale when they looked over. The quintessential fear, peaking my interests even more. I couldn’t sense any power from the blonde, but as small as she was compared to me, she was still bigger than the rest of the Hollows making me wonder if she truly was, a Hollow, or an Other, like us.
“That she does. Look at her fucking eyes, I can see the ocean in them. The deep blue is unlike I’ve seen before.” Rhydian’s reverent tone made both Merrick and I turn with knowing smirks and we shook our heads at him.
“Such the fucking romantic,”
Merrick said rolling his eyes and gazed back at the woman. “I just want to fuck her once, but brutally, since she’s not taken our fucking orders yet,” Merrick growled.
His hands were fisted at his sides and the vein in his head, it started to pulse. He was getting antsy, and for the girl’s sake, I hope she hurried her sweet round ass over here. I growled my own annoyance and decided enough was enough. I walked up to the bar and tapped the blonde on the shoulder. When she turned, her eyes dilated, her chest started to rise and fall heavier than before, and that’s when I knew, I had an effect on her, like she had over the three of us.
Her heart-shaped face, full lips and tits that were about to make me beg, drew me in and I was lost for words.
“Can I help you?” Her honied voice asked, she stood tall and planted a hand on her hip.
“Uh, ahem, yeah, my brothers and I have been waiting for a bit. Any way we can get some drinks?” I finally stumbled out.
My hands were shaking, and to cover it up, I clumsily thrusted them into my pockets, and shrugged my shoulders.
She quirked an eyebrow at me and lifted up on her tiptoes, looked over my shoulder and her eyebrows shot through the roof when she laid her gaze on Merrick and Rhydian. I turned back to them and winked, Rhydian's gaze was filled with unrequited heat, Merrick, broody as ever, stared at her with his arms still crossed, but there was no denying the hunger that laid beneath the stare he had set on her.
“Uhm, yeah, yeah, sorry. I’ll be right over.” Her voice was an octave higher than what it was before, and I when I inhaled deeply, I could feel her need pushing through her, the faint scent of her arousal was heavy in the air too.
“Thanks,” I drawled out sweetly, and took my hands out of my pockets, and walked back to where my brothers were, by the pool tables, readying their ques for a game.
“I can fucking smell her from over here,” Rhydian nearly whined, and when I peered down, his massive hard on was on full display in his tight suit pants.
-Fuck, do I know the feeling,- I thought to him and winked again, it made him roll his eyes, but he quickly looked down and when he saw what I was meaning, her cursed under his breath and turned his body away from any prying eyes.
“So sorry guys, what can I get for you?” That sweet voice sounds to my right and when I turned, she was standing with both hands on her hips, no paper and pen in hand to take our order, which I knew was going to rile Merrick since he hated when his shit was ever wrong. Chancing a glance, I turned my head to him and sure enough, he was scowling harder, if that was even possible.
I nudged his arm and without looking at me, he dropped his shoulders and, tried, to act like a normal Other for once.
“Rum and coke,” Rhydian quipped quickly, his body turned away from us all still. She cocked a brow to him, and then seemed to get what was going on after she looked down and started to bite her bottom lip.
“Scotch, straight, quad,” Merrick nearly growled and to my amazement, she fucking laughed.
“Ease up big guy, the night’s young, and chill the fuck out.”
I couldn’t help the snort that left me, I tried to cover it with fake clearing of my throat, but of course, it did shit. Merrick glared so hard at me, I thought for sure his fist was going to go through my head.
“Hey, pretty boy, with the long white hair, you got me over here, your turn.” The woman said and I nearly choked on my own saliva at her term for me.
“Pretty boy sounds about right, fucking little man-whore,” Rhydian jokes. I flipped him off and turned my attention back to the blonde.
“Sex on the beach, and your name.” Saccharine and to the point. I just hoped she caved and gave me her name, more so than the too sweet drink there was no way in hell I would even take a sip from. I only wanted to say the name of it, and learn her name at the same time. I would get the right drink the next round.
“Well, I have a name tag, read it.” I quirked a brow at her after I roamed her body searching for one and when she turned around with a smile, and sashayed her hips, my eyes fell on the side of her hip right before the tag was out of view. Mira.
“She’s spunky, and doesn’t seem to be scared of us like the rest of the fucks in here,” Rhydian said, his gaze landing on everyone in the room, each person it touched, looked quickly away, not wanting to meet the eyes of the big bad Others. Fucking pricks.
“I’m still shielding myself,” Merrick self-assuredly states and turns his head to Rhydian and me in turn, seeing if we were too. We were, but our size, and my hair, screams Other. We aren’t built small like Hollows, and my hair screams Witch.
“Who’s ass am I kicking first?” I laughed out, ready to have some fucking fun.
“In your dreams… Pretty boy,” Merrick’s high pitch tone made me cringe and I flipped him off, and threw the cue chalk at him, wishing like hell it would hit him in the middle of his too big fucking head.
He caught it mid air and blew a kiss at me, setting the balls in the rack, and waited for me to break.
“Uh oh,” Merrick starts in a singsong voice with an undertone of annoyance. Right as I was taking my shot, the stick in my hands skimmed off the top of the ball and I scratched, essentially losing the game. I looked to where the other two had their gazes set and inwardly cringed.
A guy with short, military style hair, clean shaved face and not bad on the eyes, his own a deep green that would easily draw any woman in, had his arms wrapped around the blonde, Mira, in a closer embrace than I would have liked. Taken, of course she is.
“Fuckers, if we would have moved here sooner, we could have gotten someone like her,” Rhydian ground out. His hands tight on the pool stick in his hands, the wood bending at a slight angle from his strength.
I know what he means, Others that have already been here, settled, anywhere really, always get the good ones. There’s no mistaking him, he’s almost as tall as me and closer in build to Rhydian. Merrick being the biggest of us all.
Mira turned around and when she saw us all staring, a knowing smirk played on her lips, her eyes twinkled in the dim light. She knew we wanted her, but she teased us anyway. Good way to get tips I suppose. I thought and plastered on a fake smile as her and her man got closer.
“Quad scotch, straight,” she said handing a surprised Merrick his drink.
“Rum and coke for the cute one,” she quipped aweing us all at her blatant flirty way in front of her man.
“I didn’t figure you much for a, sex on the beach, so I got you my favorite. An adios mother fucker.” She clicked her tongue at me, took the money that Merrick gave her with a shocked and grim expression, and then she fake tipped a hat to us and walked away.
I stood stalk still, unable to move my lips and Merrick had to snap his fingers in front of my face before the fog lifted from the strangeness that just happened.
The loud hoots and hollers of the others in the bar started to get to the point the three of us could barely hear one another. Drunks started fluttering around, bumping into each other. One came too close to me while I was taking a shot, and Merrick the stoic protector, shoved him away. If the noise that came out from deep within his throat wasn’t enough of an indication to, back the fuck off, the dark glare that he gave was. The drunk man threw up his hands in defense, mumbled an apology with fear filled eyes and quickly scuttled away.
“Such a brute,” The voice I wanted to never be away from said behind me. I turned and quickly hid the smile that I had when I saw Mira was here, but so was her man. Not a good thing for any of us. We might share with each other, but never with a formed couple. He could be her fucking mate for all I knew and those are toes you ever step on. Hollow or not.
“Mind if we join you?” she asked Merrick, already able to discern who the leader of us was.
Turning my head to him, I waited for his answer. I doubted he would be rude enough to say no, but even he could see that she was clearly dating the man that was with her.
“If you can beat me in one game of pool, drink
s are on me for the rest of the night,” Merrick baited her, not saying no, but knowing full well there was no way it would happen. He played too much pool and with his ways, he could easily bend the metal of the legs under the table to get his shots made, or tip the scales, making his opponent lose their own shot.
“Deal,” Mira replied haughty. She thrust out her hand to Rhydian and he smirked, giving her the cue with a look that said, your loss.
“I’ll rack since it’s your table,” she said already bending down and setting the new set of balls in place, two in each hand, and then racked them so tight, even I was unsure if the break Merrick shot would be enough to sink a single ball in.
Sure enough, nothing went in and Mira winked at Merrick readying her shot. She sunk three solids before the balls on the table blocked another shot, but also blocked and that Merrick could take unless he really tried, which I knew he would. Taking my mind off the game, I turned my attention to her man.
“I'm Rhett, that’s Rhydian, and the dick playing your woman is Merrick.” I told him, holding my hand out. I didn’t have any true wants to get to know this guy, but rather than be a dick, if, on the off chance she did win, I didn’t want things to be awkward either.
“Hey, Ebbin. You all new around here?” he asked shaking my hand and then Rhydian's.
“We are but Merrick still has some business elsewhere. He’ll be moving with us soon though,” Rhydian told him, and I wonder why he gave up so much information. A simple yes or no would have sufficed.
“Nice, what do y’all do?” Ebbin asked and from that point on, it was easy banter, our minds off of the game, and then on getting to know a complete stranger that actually turned out to be a really chill, sincere guy. We learned a bit about him and Mira, they were both Hollows, and when we could sense nothing from him, we all had to agree.
Mira ended up winning the game fair and square with Merrick that took the loss amazingly well. After that, he payed for the drinks, but only a few rounds before Mira and her man started to get them for us. They’re easily a couple of people I could see myself getting to be friends with, their humor, so much like ours, and their personalities were great. We weren't going to let on about what we truly were, that could come later if we saw them again, so the conversations were just about life here in the city and we learned she’d been living here all her life, Ebbin too and he was a fucking guard for the Conclave. He protected the Others, recent transfers from different cities until they settled and no disputes in the territory ensued while they were here.