by Janie Marie
“I see a warrior. My brave girl.” He closed his eyes, kissing the worst parts before he lowered his face to kiss her thigh. His lips burned her bruised skin, and she placed her hand in his hair as he moved up from her calf, where her injury ended, back to the deepest wound on the inside of her thigh. He pressed a firmer kiss there and then rested his cheek on her leg. “I see strength I have never seen in my entire life.” He turned his face and kissed it again. “I see goodness conquering hate.”
He put his hand over hers and kissed her palm as he stood. Taking hold of her face again, he smiled. “I see my beautiful goddess as she roars in darkness.”
Still crying silently, she nodded again, understanding it didn’t matter how much she changed on the outside, he would love her and see her the same way she saw him. “I something you,” she said, her words cracking as she touched his cheek.
His gorgeous smile made her smile sadly, and he full-on grinned before giving her a kiss that stole all her breath.
David ripped her panties off, smiling as he then pulled her legs around him and lifted her into his arms. He slid his forearm under her butt, his other gliding down her back. “And I love that you do.” He carried her to the tub but didn’t lower her into the water yet. “I love you more than you will ever know, Jane. Nothing will ever change the way I see you, except awing me by the fact I somehow love you more when I didn’t believe that was possible.”
Jane wiped her tears, chuckling sadly as he licked some of them for her. “You know that wolf probably slobbered on me, right?”
He grinned and licked her again. “I would smell it. All I smell and taste is you.”
She traced her fingers over her favorite parts of his face, especially his smile, which grew so wide and beautiful she couldn’t help but kiss it. “I’m falling so in love with you, David.”
He pulled back enough to speak. “That will be the only time I let you fall, my love. Even then, I will catch you.”
Jane tightened her hold on David’s hand as they walked through the crowded halls. It was impossible for anyone to ignore David, but it was her who everyone had their attention on. Their reactions were just what she expected; they were whispering, identifying her as David’s Other, but also commenting about her injuries. Some actually expressed awe, but all she could focus on were the negative comments. They pitied David for having a disfigured Other. It was her fears coming true—she was an embarrassment for him.
She looked down when a group of maids carrying baskets of linens paused to let them pass. They bowed their heads but peeked up at David and her. Some smiled softly to her, one even shyly waved to her, but some—those with that lustful gleam in their eyes when their gazes lingered a little too long on David were the reactions that stung. While they were clearly in awe of him, they weren’t impressed by her at all. In fact, they were hiding their laughter once they saw her busted face.
David gripped her hand tighter, pulling her faster. He didn’t look ashamed; he looked pissed.
“David,” she whispered, getting his instant attention.
“Don’t listen to them,” he said, lifting her hand to kiss it.
Her eyes burned because she realized he could hear a lot more than she was able to, and he must be hearing the most dreadful things to be this angry. Her face and other injuries looked a lot better, but she still looked awful. She was bruised everywhere, and her left eye was puffy and dark purplish-blue. The cut on her cheek was the worst. The skin had sealed but it was raised and there was an angry red color where it had come together. David promised it would get smoother and lighter, but it would take time. Her head, leg, and hand were her body’s primary focus, so while these were the injuries most visible, they were superficial and her body knew that.
Jane knew David loved her; he proved it so beautifully earlier. It just made her sad he was affected. He might be proud of her, but to everyone else, she was an embarrassment to him. She didn’t want him upset over all this, so she tried to show him she wasn’t breaking down like he probably expected her to. “Um, I was wondering why it looks like we’re underground. There aren’t any windows.”
His violent look vanished, and he smiled. “We are underground. Part of the fortress goes under Mount Asgard. This is Valhalla.”
She knew that name but couldn’t put her finger on it. “Valhalla is the name of the fortress?”
“You’ve never heard of Valhalla?” He looked up, baring his fangs when a group of men stopped walking just to stare at them—well, her. “Keep moving.”
The men listened, dropping their gazes before hurrying in the other direction.
He growled as more men came into view. “If one of you so much as thinks of challenging me for her, I will slaughter this entire hall.”
She shoved him when he slowed down. “David, stop. Not all of them are looking at me.” She didn’t understand why they were, or what he was really talking about.
He glared down at her, so she pointed at a man passing. “There, he’s not looking at me.”
The man suddenly lifted his gaze, but he winked at David.
David actually didn’t look surprised, but he bared his fangs at the man. “You have one second to get out of my sight!”
Jane hid her smile as the man ran the other way. “Aw, don’t be mean. It’s hard not to look at you. Apparently for men, as well.”
He shook his head as he kept walking, and he lost some of his tense posture. “Why are you not affected when a man shows interest in me?”
She grinned up at him. “I just don’t think you swing that way. Not that I have a problem with people who are gay—you love who you love.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “Baby, I have the same interest in other women as I do men. None. Perhaps you should imagine that when you start comparing yourself to women who are interested in me.”
“Says the man who threatened to slaughter an entire hall of people because a few guys were looking at my injuries—not looking to bang me.”
“Your terms amuse me. But they were looking to bang you, my love. I could smell it.”
“That’s weird. I didn’t smell anything.”
He smiled down at her. “That is a sign you have no desire for another man.”
“Well, duh.” She beamed up at him when he chuckled.
“That’s my girl . . . Although, I cannot help myself. While I know you can defend yourself, my basic male instinct is to protect you. Immortal males are often destroyed for taking women by force.”
Jane shook her head, disgusted and panicked. “Let’s stop this conversation. I want to know about this place. I’m guessing I should know it because it’s a part of Norse Mythology?”
“Yes,” he said, kissing her hand. “Think about what happened when their warriors died.”
Jane thought for a moment before it finally hit her. “We died?”
“What?” He shook his head. “No, Jane.”
“But I remember now; that’s where they go when they die!” She glanced around, panicking as she tried to figure out what this meant.
“Jane, calm yourself. We are not dead, but you are remembering what mankind has translated from truth into myth. Think about it; Cursed have lost their mortal lives. Many are like Dagonet—they have no heartbeat because it stopped as they turned. They are different from the undead caused by the plague because their souls remain tied to their bodies. Immortality prevents them from rotting, but their heart cannot beat again.”
She glanced at the torches and vents along the walls and then another group of soldiers passing. This time, these men nodded without even looking at her. Still, she saw their black eyes and it suddenly all made sense. “So, it’s still a place where the dead have come.”
“Exactly,” he said, pushing open a huge wooden door that revealed a gathering of many men, including Arthur and the knights. “They have died, in a sense, but they are waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” she asked, smiling shyly at Gawain and Gareth as David led her to
the empty chairs beside them.
“Ragnarök,” said the man sitting at the head of the table. He was wearing animal furs of some kind, holding a staff in one hand as he raised a mug in greeting with the other. He had short, blond hair, a combed beard, and a patch over his right eye. “Welcome. We were beginning to wonder if you would make it, Sir David.”
David pulled out a chair, nodding for her to sit as he responded, “You know very well I was caring for my Other.”
Jane peeked over at the man who she assumed was Odin. Part of her wanted to fangirl, but he was so intimidating, she could only stare at him as he trained his good eye on David.
“Everyone is aware of your Other being injured during battle,” said Odin. “They are also aware you sought out my son to take out your frustrations.”
David sat, and after placing a hand on her injured thigh, addressed Odin. “I held your son accountable for his foolish actions, which led to our entire team falling into a trap.”
“It was a mistake!” Odin said, slamming his mug on the table.
“Then consider my fist crushing his face a mistake as well.” David glared at Odin.
Jane was in shock. She’d seen David talk back to Arthur before, but she expected him to show respect to leaders. Surely, even as a Damned, Odin was still a ruler to be respected.
“Do you realize”—Odin glanced at the bearded red-haired man sitting beside him—“how many donors nearly died to revive him?”
“Perhaps you should have left him to die.” David glanced at the red-haired man and smirked. “It looks as though he is still in need of a few donors.”
Jane’s mouth dropped open. He was not what she was expecting when she thought of Thor. Of course, she knew he’d be different from the movies, but she had already designated an attractive man with long blond hair as the god of thunder. His short red hair and beard threw her off. Plus, he looked awful. David had beat the shit out of him.
“Had I let him perish, you would be responsible for the death of the individual who saved your Other, Sir David,” Odin said, glaring at David again.
David bared his fangs as he squeezed her hand. “If I desired his death, he would be dead. I left him alive enough to recover on his own. It is not my fault he is just as brainless with his feedings as he is in battle.”
Thor opened his mouth, but Odin held up a hand and spoke instead. “And your Other, Sir David—is she just as brainless in battle? After all, she fled to save her own skin and put herself in danger when she was unable to properly defend herself.”
David stood, snarling, but she held on to his hand as Arthur stood too, holding him back. “You know damn well she was targeted thanks to your own men failing to die with honor!”
Odin laughed loudly. “Honor? What honor did she display leaving you behind to save herself? What honor have you to attack the man who kept her from meeting her end? My son may be foolish, but he did not raise a hand to defend himself when you lost all sense. He allowed you to punish him. That is honor. It seems claiming your Other has distracted you from yours.”
Jane’s heart was beating so fast. She was worried but also furious this man would speak of her this way, and as if she wasn’t even in the room.
David roared, throwing her hand from him as he prepared to lunge.
“STOP!” Jane yelled, standing up. “David, stop. Please.”
Judging by the dark look David gave her, Jane knew he wasn’t happy she stopped him. Still, he shook Arthur off before moving to her side.
Jane smiled softly at him, sighing when he kissed the top of her head and slid his fingers under her waistband, holding on to it as if he worried she might lunge.
“Ah, so she does influence your choices,” Odin said, chuckling.
David’s hand tightened around her waistband when she turned back to Odin.
“Baby,” David whispered in her ear as he gave her a slight tug.
“I’m fine,” she said, staring at Odin. “You know, when David told me we were coming here, we had just begun our relationship together after I ended my marriage with my husband. I’d just left my children for a second time, too. Saying I was emotional and not in the state to deal with everything is putting the situation mildly . . . Yet, when he told me I would be arriving in Asgard, meeting Odin and Thor, I smiled through my sorrow because I was going to meet the Norse gods I adored growing up.
“I didn’t understand David’s attitude when he saw how excited I was over meeting you, but now I see he knew I was expecting to find my silly fantasies when, really, it’s just a man who can’t control his son.
“Now I will not attack Thor because he has not explained himself here, but I will express my disappointment in you, sir. You know very well your son made a mistake—I heard you tell him so when I was dying. But now that we’re in front of everyone, you’re insulting us and goading David so he will seem like the bad guy when it was really just a mistake that led to tragedy.
“I will only say this once: do not disrespect me or David in my presence or his again. He may have the restraint to leave you alive, but I have not mastered that type of control. And I promise you, you won’t like me when I’m angry.” Jane smiled at her hidden superhero joke when Arthur chuckled.
Odin laughed, a loud, hearty laugh as he punched his son on the shoulder, hard. “Did I not tell you she would be as fierce as David?” He laughed again and smacked Thor on the back of his head. “Leave it to David’s mate to be the one to stand her ground against us.”
“Was this necessary, Odin?” Arthur asked, shaking his head as he gestured for David to sit. “You know he is stressed, and she is healing. Do not amuse yourself at their expense.” He glanced at Jane, smiling. “And you can calm down, Bruce. No need to get angry.”
Jane blushed as David grunted and sat back down. This time, though, he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her to him.
“Nonsense,” Odin said, still laughing. “She is a fine warrior in mind, body, and spirit. David, my boy, it is good to see she has only brought more fire to your heart. Well done, lad. She is a fine Other indeed.”
Jane blinked a few times before she glanced around the table. Each of the knights and Hades looked at Odin disapprovingly, but the others she did not recognize were chuckling along with him.
Odin glanced at her. “Jane, it brings me great pleasure to meet you and see you mending. You must forgive an old man like myself; I have not seen these boys in quite a many years. It is a grand day when Sir David knocks some sense into my reckless oaf of a son.”
Thor rubbed his swollen cheek, and Jane realized David had definitely taken time to inflict what he probably felt was equal to the pain she suffered. “Father, must you praise him for attacking me?”
“I must,” Odin said, lifting a mug to his lips. He took a loud sip before banging it on the table again. “You have the entire fortress treating you like a babe in need of his mother’s attention. David was in his right to punish you. Now, make your amends so we can get on with business. A feast is being prepared in their honor, and I will not miss it because you upset our guests.”
David growled when Thor looked at them.
There was a clear sign of regret in Thor’s soft look when he met her stare, but she could see he was still angry by the tight set in his jaw and his clenched fist. “David, Jane, I hope you accept my sincerest apologies. It was unwise of me to engage Fenrir on my own. I am relieved you are safe, and happily welcome you to Valhalla.”
“Thank you,” Jane said at the same time David spoke.
“You put my woman in danger for a fight you cannot win?”
It was quiet. So quiet.
“And you think you can defeat Fenrir by yourself?” Thor asked, his fist clenching on the table.
“I know I can,” David said, his muscles flexing around her as his body temperature skyrocketed.
A scary smirk formed on Thor’s busted lips. “And if he got his hands on her before you could defeat him? Would you feel so confident, then?”
“Leave Jane out of this,” David said, his fangs revealing themselves again. “I would not fail her as you failed Sif. I would never put her in the danger you placed your own wife in.”
A furious roar tore from Thor’s mouth as he stood, lifting a huge hammer off the floor. “Do not speak her name! You know nothing about the night Sif perished, you spoiled prince!”
David lifted her off his lap so fast, she almost fell on her ass, but Gawain caught her as David stood, grabbing the table as if he was considering tossing it out of his way. “I know what everyone does—you promised to protect her, and you used her as bait to seek the glory foretold about you. You killed your wife, and it was your same foolish quest that nearly cost the life of the woman I love!”
“I DID NOT KILL MY WIFE!” Thor threw the enormous hammer right at David.
Jane screamed as she leapt out of Gawain’s hold and jumped in front of David, roaring as he tried to pull her out of the way.
The hammer came to an abrupt halt an inch from her face and hovered there as she used all her rage to hold it with her mind. The table had cleared. Some were backing up while the knights were unsheathing their swords, ready to fight.
“Sorcery!” Thor bellowed, watching his hammer stay afloat. “Control your wench, David.”
David began to move her out of the path of the hammer, but she let out a cry and raised one hand, sending a burst of energy right at Thor’s chest. The god of thunder flew back, crashing into the stone wall, and his hammer flew right back at him.
She yelled, holding her other hand as if guiding the hammer, moving it a few inches to the right as it struck the wall. Right next to Thor’s enraged face.
“Jane,” David said, holding her up when her legs buckled a little.
She refused to show weakness and stood as tall as she could. “I’m fine.”
Thor slowly crawled out of the rubble, snarling as he pulled his hammer free.
Jane bared her fangs and held out her hand again. “Throw it again and see if I spare you.”