Origins_Shifters Forever Worlds

by Elle Thorne

  Calder snapped his head back to his brother’s face. “Her husband is not an issue. He never has been.”

  Halvar’s brow flew upward. “Until he finds out she exists?”

  Calder shrugged the question off. He didn’t tell Halvar how close they were to her father’s lands. How this could happen if she went into a town. If she were to be amongst others.

  “Why have you not taken her north? To our people? To our father?”

  Calder grimaced. “She does not have good memories of encounters with our people.”

  “Ah, pity that. Our people have a long and proud heritage.” Halvar gave his own shrug. “She is your woman. You tell her what to do. You make the decisions.”

  “That is not my way.”

  “That is the way of our people. She is merely a woman.”

  “I have to do what is right for both of us.” Not to mention Calder didn’t want to remind his brother that women were not to be underestimated. He’d witnessed that firsthand. So had Halvar. But there was no reason to rub salt into that wound.

  “Perhaps I should get to know this woman better. I may have underestimated her. I’d like to get to know my nephews as well.”

  Calder glanced back at the cabin’s open doorway where Brenna still watched them, her face expressionless. He beckoned her forward. She pushed Gunnar toward the inside of the cabin and closed the door behind her, then approached Calder and his brother, a half-smile on her face.

  By now, Calder knew that was her look of uncertainty. He didn’t fault her for that.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Brenna still harbored resentment for Halvar. She knew she shouldn’t. As she took slow, measured steps toward Calder and Halvar, she determined that she should be the better person. She should be forgiving of others.

  But by the love of all she held holy, she could not. Not easily. She took a deep breath, letting the crisp air fill her lungs. Winter was upon them. She and Calder would have to work extra hard. She didn’t want to tell him that she was with child again. Already. So soon after Torsten’s birth.

  She hoped for a girl, because one day, that meant she’d have more help of the kind she needed. They didn’t need more hunters. She needed help with a woman’s work. And though Calder often offered to help. He was all thick fingers and thumbs when it came to doing some of the tasks she wanted help with.

  She let the breath out slowly as she reached Calder and Halvar. “Greetings,” she said in the language Calder had been teaching her.

  Halvar beamed a joyous smile, looking at his brother. “You’ve been teaching her our language.”

  Calder nodded.

  “You are welcome to our abode and our fire,” Brenna told him.

  “Thank you.” Halvar cast his eyes downward, as though ashamed of…

  What, she wondered. What is he ashamed of?

  Though truthfully, she could think of many things this brutish cad of a man could be ashamed of, she doubted he had the depths and character to recognize it.

  Halvar looked up and locked gazes with her. “I have not always been a good man. And I was not fair to you.”

  She bit back a gasp. Wonders would never cease. The man did have an understanding of his wrongdoings. Unless Calder had something to do with it. She glanced sideways at Calder. But no, she didn’t think Halvar’s response was spurred on my her mate. The man had experience an awakening, it seemed.

  “I am glad to see you are well.”

  “It is no thanks to your kind,” he snapped, then clamped his lips together tightly.

  “You do not think your kind did anything to merit the actions taken against them? Killing the village’s men? Raping their women?” Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he hadn’t learned anything.

  His jaw worked, the muscles tensing then releasing before he finally replied. “I misspoke. My apologies.”

  Brenna noted the sincerity in his tone and the concern on Calder’s face. Though she did not want to relent and be forgiving, her heart told her she should be more accepting. That Calder could have insisted she be among his own kind, but he’d never pushed the matter.

  He’d never asserted that they move to the north, rather he’d been content to remain in this area and make a home with her. And by the same token, she’d never pressed him to join her people—though for her it would have been more difficult since she was legally still bound and wed to her husband.

  No, she could not harden her heart. She needed to forgive Halvar—for her husband’s sake. As well as for the sake of her children.

  Brenna took Halvar’s hand in hers. “There is nothing to forgive, brother.”

  Calder put his arm around her and drew her against his body. She knew she’d done the right thing.

  She tugged on Halvar’s hand. “Would you like to meet your nephews?”

  “Indeed, I would.”

  Brenna squeezed Calder’s hand. He gave her a look of appreciation. She nodded her acknowledgment.

  Halvar was in front of the fire, playing with Gunnar, telling him stories about bear shifters. Stories that Calder had never told the child out of respect for Brenna’s feelings on the matter.

  Halvar, who had no knowledge of this, was regaling the little boy with his tall tales.

  Brenna hadn’t put a stop to it. She believed Gunnar would forget about the stories. He was so young still. If he never heard about them after this night, once Halvar was on the road, she could make sure they were never brought to his attention again.

  Gunnar’s eyes grew droopy, his lids falling, though he fought to keep them open.

  Halvar held him out for Brenna to take. She held her little son, kissing his forehead, then looked at Halvar, who bore a tender expression on his face.

  Brenna made a snap decision. “Stay with us for as long as you want.”

  Emotions flooded Halvar’s face. “Thank you.”

  With a final glance at her mate, she nodded and took Gunnar to the cabin where baby Torsten was already fast asleep.

  The image of Calder’s appreciation for the gesture she’d made toward his brother was the image that she carried on her mind as sleep overtook her.

  That, and Halvar’s words whispered to Calder.

  “Brother, help me.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Calder frowned at Halvar. “Help you with what?”

  “My bear, it’s gone mad. It keeps trying to kill me. Are you not suffering from this?”

  Calder poked at the fire with a long stick, watching the sparks he created fly upward above from the flames. “No. My bear is chained, but he does not try to kill me.”

  “Mine is always trying to kill me or to get me killed. Always.”

  “How does he try to get you killed?”

  “He pushes me into fighting. It’s as if a madness sets in and this great rage is in control of me. I can’t seem to stop it. And before I know it, I’m usually embroiled in a fight with anyone I run into.” Halvar pushed his unkempt hair away from his face. “I no longer go around others. I stay in the woods. Killing what I need, eating from the land, occasionally stealing if I must.”

  Sadness overtook Calder. “That is no way to live, brother.”

  “I know this.”

  “Why have you not returned home? To our people? To seek help? Perhaps a cure?”

  “You think I did not?” Halvar rose and began to pace tight circles in the firelight. “I headed directly for our people. I traveled months by foot. I was but a few days away when I ran into our cousins, Bjarke and Audun.”

  Calder nodded. He knew those names. “What happened?”

  “I told them everything. They said that I was no longer one of them. That I was cursed, and cursed ones did not belong amongst our people. They tried to kill me.”

  Calder hit his forehead with his palm. Those stupid ignorant bastards.

  “I killed them,” Halvar said with a whisper. “It was not what I wanted, but I had no choice.”

  Calder did not blame his brother. He’d h
ave done the same if his cousins tried to kill him. “Understood.”

  Halvar stopped pacing to lock gazes with Calder. “I knew then I could not go back. I should not have suggested earlier that you return home. I did not understand that your bear has gone as well. Consider yourself lucky that he doesn’t try to kill you.”

  “What is it that you want my help with?” Calder wondered if his brother needed a weapon or clothing, or a place to stay.

  “I need you to help me die.”

  “Help you die?” Incredulity and horror colored Calder’s voice. “I cannot do that. You know I cannot.”

  “You must.” Halvar dropped to his knee in front of Calder, taking his hands in his. “You must release me from this hell I’m in.”

  “That is a depravity I will not commit.” Calder’s jaw muscles were taut with tension. “You cannot ask me for that.”

  Despair and hopelessness filled Halvar’s face. “I think the day has been long enough.”

  Calder rose to his feet, put a hand out to help his brother up. “Come to the cabin, sleep in comfort.”

  “I prefer the open air now. I no longer can sleep under a roof. Maybe if you have a fur or two that you can spare?”

  “Of course, but you are not leaving in the morning light, are you?”

  “That I am not.” Halvar’s smile was grim.

  Chapter Twenty

  Several cold nights later.

  Calder couldn’t have said what woke him. One moment he was asleep, an arm flung around Brenna, the next he was sitting upright, his heart pounding.

  Except, it wasn’t only his heart. It was his bear too. His bear, though silent, though chained, was in a state of panic.

  This was a new sensation for Calder. He rose to his feet, making sure Brenna was snug under the covers, and reached for his boots, then his axe.

  Slipping outside, he noted the fire was still in a roar. Halvar had never come inside to sleep, preferring to spend his nights outside under the sky, always keeping the fire going.

  But this time, his brother wasn’t laying near the fire.

  “Halvar?” Calder kept his voice low so as not to disturb his family.

  Maybe his brother had stepped away to relieve himself.

  Calder paced the fire to wait, paced because something had left him—and his bear—unsettled.

  He inhaled and tried to pick up other scents with his sensitive shifter senses. He blocked out the fire’s aroma and sought something… anything.

  Blood!

  But whose—

  That was when he heard it. The tiniest of sounds.

  He glanced about him, trying to place the noise, to locate the source. Calder stepped away from the fire and began to survey the perimeter of their camp.

  There!

  He ran toward Halvar.

  His brother was leaning against a tree, blood flowing from a slash in his throat.

  “Brother!” Calder reached to hold up the slowly falling Halvar, sliding down the tree’s rough bark.

  Placing his hands under his brother’s arms, he kept him from dropping to the ground.

  “What—” Calder noticed the bloody blade in Halvar’s hand. “No, Halvar. No!”

  “I cannot live this way.” And with that, Halvar’s eyes closed, and his heart stopped beating.

  At the same moment, Calder’s bear fell silent again, his presence once more gone.

  “Calder?”

  Brenna stood not far, silhouetted by the fire.

  Calder adjusted his body, so she couldn’t see the horror.

  “Go inside. I’ll be there in a little.” He fought to keep his voice from choking, to keep her from knowing.

  She should not have to bear this burden as well.

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Sleep,” he told her. “I may be a while.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It was near dawn when Calder joined Brenna in the bed.

  “Halvar?” Was her only whispered word.

  “Yes.”

  A single tear made its way down her face. For this, he was thankful. This woman of his, she’d forgiven his brother and he’d had peace for a few days, enjoying his nephews, laughing once more.

  Calder sent a word of thanks to his own bear for not turning on him this way. And it was then that Calder swore to himself that he would not let Halvar’s death go unavenged.

  He might not personally seek vengeance himself, as that would break Brenna’s heart, but Calder would make sure his sons knew of this tragedy. Of the stories of the Valkyrie and how they’d been created and the way their witch had destroyed his tribe and their bears. And Halvar. And Calder’s bear.

  A fury burned in Calder, and if he did not have his woman and children to consider, he’d have sought revenge.

  Brenna’s eyes were on his face, and he wondered how much of his emotions he’d allowed to show.

  “I wonder if your bear would do that to you.”

  He took her face in her hands, gently, pulling her lips close to his. “Never.”

  “How can you know?”

  “I do. I simply do.” He studied her face. “I need to send Halvar off properly.”

  She waited, letting him speak his piece.

  “I have to take him to the ocean. Build him a raft. Set him to sea in a pyre.”

  “I am not familiar with your ways…”

  “It is not something I need help with,” he assured her.

  “But I will not let you go alone. Gunnar and Torsten and I will go with you.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not right to make you three go out in the cold.”

  She took his face in her hands, mirroring what he had done, only her grip was much fierce. “I will not take no for an answer. I must be with you. Must make sure your bear is true to you. That he does not betray you as Halvar’s betrayed him.”

  Calder knew there was no way to argue with this woman. He could tell her mind was set. “We shall leave tomorrow morning, then.”

  “The children and I will be ready to go.”

  He kissed her lips. “You do not need to. I assure you.” Still hoping to change her mind.

  “I know.” Her expression turned serious, pensive. “We will not be far from the village, true?”

  She didn’t have to say what village. The village of the damned incident where he lost his men and his bear.

  “True.”

  “I would like to leave the children with you and go talk to Freyja.”

  He contained a snarl. The witch that caused all this.

  “Why would you want to do that?” He wondered if he really needed to ask that question, but he needed to be sure.

  “To beg her to return your bear. To find a way not to let what happened to Halvar happen to you.”

  He exhaled in frustration. Why didn’t she believe that his bear—his relationship with his bear—was different than Halvar’s situation.

  She took his hand in hers. “Please.”

  He studied their hands, hers so small next to his own. How could this woman, smaller than he, less powerful than he, hope to protect him? He realized this was important to her. How could he deny her? And then a thought occurred to him.

  “What if they decide you’re the enemy, since you now consort with the enemy?”

  “Do you not trust me to speak carefully?”

  He let the matter drop.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Brenna walked toward the village slowly, reflecting on the day’s events.

  After a beautiful ceremony, attended by the tiny family of four, Calder had set the torch to the raft with Halvar’s body and set his brother adrift to return to whatever gods their people prayed to. She’d left their sons with Calder in the cave where they’d once sought refuge, and made her way to the village.

  Nearing the village, Brenna picked up the scent of smoke from the fires, of cooking, of enjoyment. She heard the voices of merriment and happiness. She also picked up the sounds of weapons clashing, met
al clanging, the grunting of effort during battle.

  What was this?

  Why did she hear the noise of battle coupled with the laughter of delight?

  She stepped into the clearing and found herself faced with a spectacle she could not have imagined.

  Eerika and Astrid, dressed in armor, bearing shields and axes, swords as well, were sparring.

  Surrounding the two were an assortment of women, also attired the same way, also sporting weapons of war.

  Brenna froze. She studied the visage before her.

  What was missing?

  Men.

  There were no men.

  Then she noticed the sounds had stopped, and all the women had turned to look at her.

  “Brenna?” Astrid strode toward her followed by Eerika.

  “Is it really you?” Eerika frowned. “Can it be?”

  “It is I.” Brenna didn’t step forward, still caught off guard by the spectacle. “What are you doing?”

  “Training,” Eerika proclaimed, striking her shield with her sword proudly.

  “Training for what?” Brenna frowned. “Where are the men?” Surely the village had some men? It had been several years. Had they not found new husbands? Had other family members not joined the women? “Won’t they protect you?”

  “Men?” a woman behind Astrid scoffed. “My mother has made men obsolete and unnecessary to our world.”

  Brenna looked hard at the woman. “Helga?”

  “Indeed. Proud daughter of Freyja.” The woman then mimicked Eerika’s motion and struck her shield with her axe.

  Freyja! The very woman who could help Brenna. “Where is your mother now?”

  “She is not here.” Helga’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”

  “I seek her assistance.”

  Astrid and Eerika stepped forward, pulling Brenna away and out of earshot of the group. Helga followed, staying slightly away, but still close enough to hear.

  “What happened to the man you forsook us for?” Eerika hissed.

  “Where is he? Did he perish?” Astrid’s expression was hopeful.