Tales of the Valkyries

by Asa Maria Bradley, Gina Conkle, Lisa Hendrix, Anna Markland, Emma Prince, Harper St. George

  She cursed under her breath when the engine hiccupped again. Her waitress paycheck wasn’t big enough to cover a car payment so the truck would just have to suck it up and not break down. She barely had enough money left over for groceries once her regular bills were paid off each month.

  She shouldn’t really complain. At least she had a place to live and a job. That was more than some folks. Plus, with only a high school diploma, higher paying positions were hard to come by. That’s what happened when your career plan was to become the high school star quarterback’s trophy wife when he turned professional. Unfortunately, her ex had decided to trade up from his hometown sweetheart once the pro offer arrived. Something about “image” and “branding” that her humble background didn’t live up to. Heartbroken and humiliated, Cassie had moved back in with her grandmother.

  A pothole Cassie hadn’t seen because she’d been too busy thinking about Jerkface rattled the truck so hard she bit her tongue. She added the injury to the long list of atrocities committed by her ex, but then she sighed. To be honest, she’d never really been in love with him. She’d been dazzled by the attention she’d gotten in high school as the star athlete’s girlfriend. Without that status, she would have been just an awkward kid from the wrong side of town with a weird grandmother who insisted she could cure any ailment with the contents of her herb garden.

  The relationship wouldn’t have lasted much longer even if her ex hadn’t broken up with her. The thing she regretted most was not taking college classes when she’d had the chance. But that was about to change. In another two weeks, she was heading for University of Colorado on a full scholarship thanks to a foundation who gave rural women a chance at college.

  Cassie cranked the steering wheel to take the last of the windy road’s turns before her driveway. The high beams of the truck swiped over a large black obstacle and she instinctively broke hard. She stopped only a few feet behind a large SVU with Washington State plates.

  Cassie stuck her head out the window, but still couldn’t see much more than the wide backside of the vehicle in front of her. “Hello,” she called out.

  The Swedish guy from earlier appeared from around the SVU with a tire iron in his hand. “Hey,” he said cautiously and shielded his eyes with his hand. The guy was massive. A few inches over six feet and carrying an impressive amount of muscle, he looked like a modern day Viking. Cassie flipped of her high beams and the guy blinked a few times. “It’s you.” He smiled, making him look younger than the twenty-five year she’d guessed as his age. A few years older than her self.

  “It’s me,” Cassie agreed and silently berated herself for the lame answer. But just like in the diner, her tongue got all thick and uncooperative as she took in the sheer bulk and hotness of the guy. She’d had to work hard not to stare at him while he ate his pie. The guy made clearing a spoon a work of art—pornographic art.

  In the restaurant he’d worn an unbuttoned denim long-sleeved shirt over a white tee. Now, only the t-shirt remained and its pristine white was a distant memory. Dirt and oil streaked the front and sweat had it clinging to some very impressive abs. Cassie swallowed.

  The guy raised the tire iron in a greeting and walked toward her. She kept a wary eye on the hand gripping the iron and tried very hard not to be distracted by his square beard-covered jaw or smoky grey eyes. Something in her eyes must have alerted him. He frowned and followed her gaze to his hand. “Sorry,” he said and put the tool on the ground.

  He reached her truck and put a deliciously ripped arm on the window seal. A tattoo encircled his left bicep. It looked like a snake of some sort. “I got a flat tire and the spare is flat too. There’s no cell phone signal out here.”

  She nodded and cleared her throat, forcing herself to look away from his arm. “We’re too far away from a cell tower.” She met his gaze and the air between them crackled with electricity. Was she the only one who noticed?

  He frowned. “I’m basically screwed.”

  “Probably should have had the spare repaired before heading out here.” She smiled to take the sting out of her comment.

  He shook his head. “I share this car with roommates. Some of them are not very organized.” He straightened up and took a step back. “But you’re right, I should have checked before starting the trip.”

  Cassie opened the door and jumped down. “Maybe my spare will fit?”

  The guy glanced at the wheels of her truck and then shook his head, causing a few dark blonde strands of his hair to escape the confines of his low pony tail. “They’re not the same size.” He lifted the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face and Cassie sucked in a harsh breath as she took in the bare skin on display.

  To cover up her reaction she walked around the SUV. He’d taken the flat off and propped it up next to another tire, also flat, against the side of the car. Cassie hesitated and looked him over one more time, her gaze lingering a moment on the now covered abs. A real shame to hide all that deliciousness.

  She didn’t get any homicidal maniac vibes from him. “You can use my house phone to call a tow truck.” She swallowed again, hoping she hadn’t made a big mistake. “The repair place in town won’t be open until tomorrow but you can leave the car in their parking lot and get a room at the motel for the night.”

  “I appreciate the help.” He held out his hand. “My name is Sten.”

  “Cassie.” She returned the hand shake and sparks erupted up along her arm. Heat rushed through her body, settling between her legs.

  His eyebrows shot up, either because of the blush she could feel in her cheeks that were probably beet read now or because he too had just been electrocuted.

  4

  Sten studied the small living room of Cassie’s house. The furniture seemed old and worn, but everything was neat and clean. She stood on the other side and watched him warily. Maybe because she too was a little freaked out over the strange sizzling caused by their simple handshake, or maybe because she’d just invited a stranger into her home. He smiled his most non-threatening smile, but that only deepened the frown marring her brow.

  She gestured toward one of the small tables next to the couch. “The phone is right there, I’ll get you a phone book.” She dipped into the kitchen and returned with a thick yellow book. “As you know, cell phones don’t work out here. I also don’t have internet access. I use the library in town for that. So, you’re going to have to go old school to look up the numbers.”

  “Thanks.” He made sure their hands didn’t touch when he took it from her. The way she snatched her hand back made it clear she too had felt the electricity crackling between them. What in Odin’s name was that? The contact had frayed the nerves all up his arm as warmth flooded his body. Maybe he was just tired from the fight and wrestling with the flat tire. He needed to get out of this little town before more wolverines showed up, but it was hard to hit the road without a functioning vehicle. He inwardly cursed whoever of his fellow warrior had left the flat spare in the car.

  She took a few steps away from him. “I’m going to change into clothes that don’t smell like cooking grease.” With a quick smile, she disappeared up some stairs in the corner of the room.

  Sten sat down on the coach and reached for the phone.

  Twenty minutes later, he banged down the receiver after yet another frustrating call.

  “Whoa,” Cassie said as she returned from upstairs. “What did my poor phone do to you?” She’d changed into another pair of stretchy pants, these were grey, covered by a pink oversized t-shirt. Her hair was wet and her face scrubbed clean.

  “There’s been an accident on the highway and all the tow trucks are busy. I can’t get one until early tomorrow morning.”

  She leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. The shirt’s fabric stretched across her chest and he tried not to be obvious about checking her out. “I heard about the pileup on the radio upstairs.”

  “I’ve got more bad news. The motel is full. There’s some kind of sewing
conference going on.”

  Cassie walked to the chair on the other side of the coffee table from the sofa and sunk into it. “The quilting retreat.”

  “Is this a regular thing?”

  She nodded. “Once a year quilters from all over eastern Montana comes into town. I’d forgotten it was this weekend.” She studied him for a few heartbeats and then squared her shoulders. “You’re not an axe-murderer are you?”

  The unexpected question made him chuckle. “Not last time I checked.”

  She stood. “Follow me.” He trailed behind her to a small room in the back of the house. A full-sized bed and a chest of drawers took up all the space. Cassie opened one of the drawers and took out a pile of sheets. “This used to be my room when my grand-mother was alive.” She put the linens on the bed and faced him. Only a few inches separated them.

  Sten couldn’t believe her generosity. “I can sleep in the car.”

  Cassie interrupted. “Grannie would have insisted on it. She was big on kindness toward strangers. She’d be proud of me for helping a new friend in need.” Cassie worried her bottom lip with her teeth and broke eye contact, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

  The air between them felt loaded, as if any small spark could set off an explosion. As a guest in her house, he shouldn’t try to seduce her. “Thank you,” he said, his voice hoarser than he’d intended.

  She looked up. Her eyes widened and focused on his lips. They felt dry under her gaze and he licked them. Cassie drew in a breath, her chest rising.

  Screw good intentions and honor. Sten reached out and trailed the edge or her jaw with is fingertips. “So soft,” he mumbled. Holding her gaze, he traced a path down the smooth skin of her neck and along the edge of the fabric of her t-shirt. “I wanted you the moment I first saw you.”

  Heat blazed in her eyes and her nipples strained against the fabric of her shirt.

  He leaned in, nipping her lip with his teeth before stroking his tongue over the same spot.

  She moaned in the back of her throat, the tiny sound stoking the embers that had burned inside him since he’d ordered the brambleberry pie. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth. She met him stroke for stroke.

  He caressed her shoulders and then slipped his hands around to her lower back and ass, pushing her against his rock hard ridge.

  Cassie groaned and gripped his shoulders, pressing herself closer. Her curves fit perfectly against his body, felt as if it belonged there.

  He trailed one hand up her back, tracing the ridge of her spine through the t-shirt. Threading his fingers through her glorious hair, he palmed the back of her neck and tilted her head back so he could have better access as he devoured her luscious mouth.

  5

  Heat flooded Cassie’s body. Fire danced along her skin and her insides were liquefying.

  Sten gripped her ass, pushing his erection against her. His tongue delved deeper into her mouth, matching the rhythm of his hips.

  This was crazy. She didn’t even know his last name and yet all she could think about was tearing off his clothes so he could thrust inside her. She wanted him inside her. Needed him inside her. Now.

  She slipped her hands underneath his shirt and traced the ridges of his abs. Sweet goodness, he was ripped. She moved her hands further up his torso. His chest felt like warm velvet covered marble. This guy was like a live version of the statue of David. When she reached his ribs, he inhaled sharply and pulled away.

  “Shit, did I hurt you?” Cassie reached for the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it up. Three angry red gashes slashed across his ribs. “What happened?”

  Sten pulled his shirt down. “I scratched myself when I got the tire off the car.”

  The scratches looked partially healed, as if they’d happened a few days ago. Cassie opened her mouth to ask for more details, but stopped when a screeching sound from the window made her turn her head. She gasped at the face peering in from other side of the glass. Obsidian eyes that were nothing but black shiny orbs stared into hers. The screeching came from the creature dragging Freddy Krueger-like claws across the window.

  “What the fuck is that?” Cassie was proud over how strong her voice came across, because on the inside she was shaking from fear.

  Sten cursed in what most have been Swedish. Cassie didn’t recognize the words. He pulled her behind him. “I’ll take care of it.” He bent down and unsnapped a hunting knife from an ankle holster. Striding to the door, he half turned toward Cassie. “Stay in the house.” His grey eyes were dark and forbidding. He disappeared out the door before Cassie could protest.

  The creature on the other side of the window grinned at her and tapped his claws on the window. She forced herself to not look away and flipped him her middle finger, but the freak was already gone. Probably charging Sten as the fool walked straight into danger.

  Stay in the house? Who did he think he was talking to? Some damsel in distress? She shoved her feet into the trainers she kept by the door and opened the closet to retrieve her pump action shotgun. Being a single woman living out in the country, she always kept ready to go.

  Cassie herself was not as ready to go as the gun. That freak outside was scary, but Sten was out there by himself. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and opened the door.

  The motion detection flood lights illuminated her front yard where Sten was surrounded by three of the freaky creatures. They looked like clones of each other and there was something off about their movements. She thought the thing in the window had been someone wearing a mask, but now realized these creatures were not human. They looked like they could be, but every hair on her body stood straight up and she just knew their DNA was very different from hers. The insight made her shocked brain seize up.

  One of the creatures charged Sten with its claws raised. He side stepped and the monster’s down swipe hit nothing but air. Cassie realized how Sten had gotten the wounds along his ribs. She bet the pattern perfectly matched the distance between these creatures’ talons.

  Cassie forced herself to take a step forward. Her shoes scuffed the wooden boards of the wraparound porch. One of the monsters turned around, those black orbs of eyes filled with malice. It moved toward her and she instinctually pumped the handgrip of the gun and chambered a slug. She placed the stock against her shoulder and stared down the sight at the creature. “Get the hell off my property.”

  “Pretty woman,” the freak hissed and kept coming. It moved quicker than anything Cassie had ever seen.

  She didn’t think, on instinct she pressed the bolt lock button and then fired.

  The shot propelled the creature several feet away from the house and left a big gaping hole in its chest. She’d gone for center of body mass, just like her grandmother had taught her.

  The other two creatures and Sten stared at her. She pumped the gun again. “Anyone else want to play?”

  Sten shook himself out of whatever stupor he’d entered and buried his knife in the neck of the creature closest to him. The other freak screamed in high-pitched rage and shredded the back of Sten’s shirt with its claws. It wrapped an arm around Sten’s neck and lifted the other to skewer the Swede.

  Cassie couldn’t get a clean shot, so she ran down the stairs and rammed the butt of the gun into the temple of the creature. It loosened its grip and instead turned on her.

  Shit, she was too close. There wasn’t any room to maneuver the gun.

  Sten pulled his knife out of the neck of the creature he’d killed. The wet sucking noise made Cassie want to retch. Before she’d even started the first gag reflex, Sten had buried the knife in the other freak’s neck. It sunk to the ground and Sten bent over its body and sawed a huge gap in the front of its neck.

  He turned and did the same to the one he’d first stabbed and then walked over and repeated the action on the creature Cassie had shot. He stood, holding the knife by his side as blood dripped from its blade. “We need to talk,” he said, his eyes flat.

>   “No shit.” Cassie turned and walked back into the house. She kept the gun with her as she poured herself a tall glass of her grandmother’s medicinal brandy. She knocked back a large mouthful and then coughed as the amber liquid burned its way down her throat.

  Sten closed the door behind him but remained in the entryway as he watched her. “Will your neighbors have called the cops when they heard the gun shot?”

  “The closest house is far enough away that they probably didn’t hear it. And if they did, they’d assume I was shooting raccoons or coyotes.” She held up the brandy glass. “Want some.”

  “I’m good.” He walked closer and reached out his hand as if to touch her, but let it drop back down again. “I brought danger to your door. For that I am very sorry.”

  Cassie stared at him. “Those creatures followed you here?”

  He nodded and then grimaced and rolled a shoulder, which made him wince.

  She put down her glass. “I need to clean your wounds.” She retrieved her first aid kit from the kitchen. Insisting he’d sit down, she bullied Sten into taking his shirt off. He had three long furrows down his back. She slathered them in antibacterial gel and then leaned in for a closer look. They were already way on their way to heal. What the fuck was going on? Cassie took a step back and grabbed her gun.

  Sten turned around, a puzzled look on his face and then his gaze landed on the gun. “I would never hurt you.” He sounded disappointed in her.

  “You’re not human either.”

  He sighed. “I am very much human. Just not mortal.”

  What the fuck? “You’re going to have to explain that one.” Cassie sunk down on the coach. Sten sat down next to her and she scooted away from him.

  Hurt briefly flashed in his eyes. “I died almost a thousand years ago and was sent to Valhalla—a kind of heaven.”