Mouth agape, Sonya stared at me as the door closed. I traced a finger along her lips.
“Let us shift and go for a short jog, come back and make passionate love, then we will talk about the festival,” I said in a low voice.
She hummed against my finger, eyes fluttering closed. “I’m not about to argue with that, save maybe for the order of the events.”
My finger drew away and trailed down to tease her in other, far more sensitive areas while my lips covered hers. Though my body became lost in the sensations of enjoying her, my mind could not stop going over part of what Ayra had said. She had called us a mated pair. The implications were far deeper than I knew Sonya understood just yet. Whether she was ready to define us as such or not, others were already. I was not sure if I had properly prepared her for the implications of that, but we were about to find out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sonya
Wrapped in Ty’s arms was quite possibly the best place I could imagine ever waking up, even if it was on a bed of slightly damp grass and crushed wildflowers. Bits of frost clung to the star-shaped purple flowers, yet I didn’t feel cold in the slightest. Our love-making session—his words not mine, though I have to admit, they fit how we spent the night—lasted so long we had collapsed into sleep on the spot afterward.
The full moon festival had indeed been an aggravating political dance that we had fled from the moment we found an excuse to. Alphas had tried to entice Ayra and me into joining their packs, appease where their shortcomings were concerned, and assure us they had no knowledge of the wrongs done to us. The alphas of the Arnoddr pack—Ayra’s birth pack—had even given me a gift, offering up one of the guys who had helped abduct me and one who had torched Ty’s truck for me to punish. I gave the one guy to Ty, who after a brief fight had diplomatically sentenced him to helping restore his dad’s ’73 Shovelhead. Considering the guy was the alpha’s son, that had gone a long way to making them respect Ty a bit more since he’d been fully in his rights to beat him within an inch of his life. It had gone even further with me.
Most of the alphas treated Ty with a disdain that pissed me off, a big reason for our early departure. The only good part about the party had been that I got to meet another friend of Ty’s, Vidar Balderson—who seemed to share some steamy history with Ayra if I was picking up on their vibes correctly.
The warmth of the first rays of the sun breaking through the trees hinted at something I was supposed to be doing. Birds sang in the trees overhead, tempting to lull me back into sleep. Then it struck me. Raul’s trial was this morning.
I sat bolt upright and cursed. In a fraction of a second that made it seem as though he simply appeared, Ty sat up beside me, an arm going around me.
“What is wrong?” he asked.
“Raul’s trial.”
He cussed far more colorfully in both English and Icelandic.
Laughing, I reached for my clothes. “Don’t worry, we’ll just go straight there. Ayra said it is in the same place as the celebration was, right?”
He started pulling his clothes on so quickly I feared he may tear them. “Yes, but we have to go back to the cabin and shower first.”
Fingers on the buttons of my shirt, I paused. While he always maintained great hygiene, Ty had never struck me as the vain type before. His hair was a bit tousled giving him a wild look, but it was clean enough. And he smelled amazing… Oh. He smelled like sex, with me. We had taken a quick dip in a stream last night before collapsing, but it hadn’t been enough to get rid of the scents completely.
“You don’t want anyone to know we had sex,” I said, voice sounding far harsher than I had meant to let it.
The frantic race to dress stopped and he took my face in his hands. “Not for the reasons you are thinking. I would love for everyone to know. But they will think that we belong to each other, that we are mates, and I do not want to force you into that corner.”
I smiled, loving the feeling of how it brushed my cheeks against his hands. “Ty, that isn’t a corner, it’s a road leading somewhere amazing that I very much want to travel.”
Moisture brought a shine to his ice-blue eyes. “Really? But are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.” I breathed the last word into his mouth as he leaned in and kissed me.
Our tongues met and twisted together in a delicious push and pull that had me pressing my body to his, needing to feel more of him. His hands started to work under the edge of my shirt. Laughing, I pulled back.
“That will definitely make us late.”
Letting out a huge sigh, he drew away. Though I worked on putting on the rest of my own clothes, my eyes followed him as he stood and adjusted his erection so he could zip up his shorts. For the first time since I had been bitten, this trial wasn’t the most important thing in my world. That realization sent a thrill through me, one that would have to wait. Keeping a safe distance between us, I finished dressing as quickly as I could. I spared the little meadow with its tall green grass and purple flowers one last glance before we left.
The euphoria I’d felt upon waking slid away with each step closer we came to the hollow. For weeks I’d been eager to face Raul, to take my rage out on him at having my choice stolen. But now… I didn’t know what I felt, and I had no idea how I was going to react when I saw him. From the book I had learned trials were often by combat, a show of who was dominant, stronger, and had the right to judge. But during that early morning walk I didn’t feel dominant or strong. I just wanted this over with.
The terrain began to feel familiar and the scents of others soon drifted to me. One in particular that I was beginning to know well approached from our right. Looking like a slender ghost of pale light in the shadows of the forest, Ayra stepped out from behind a tree and nodded to us. I nodded back, as did Ty. Seconds later, Vidar stepped out and moved to her side, a stark contrast of shadow and muscle to her light and lithe form. They didn’t hold hands, or even touch, but I could feel a connection between the two of them. My mind buzzed with a million different things, but I didn’t feel much like voicing any of it. Thankfully, Ty didn’t push or question me, just held my hand as we walked, offering up his silent support.
Compared to last night, the hollow looked abandoned now, which brought me a great measure of relief. Only a few dozen people were scattered about, sleeping in the grass and beneath the trees. Most were naked. Sunlight spilled into the gorge that cut through the two hills, highlighting something I hadn’t seen last night in the dark. Far beyond where the bonfire and fighting rings were, a bridge spanned the hollow, connecting the two hills. At only fifty feet or so long, it wasn’t overly large, but because of the depth of the hollow at that point, it was a few hundred feet high. It shone in the sun like a prism. Something about that bridge pulled at me, made my feet turn toward it.
“That’s where the trial is, isn’t it?” I pointed to the bridge.
“Yes, that is Hemlock Hollow’s ode to the Bifröst,” Ty said in a hushed tone.
“The burning rainbow bridge to Valhalla,” I said.
Pale brows rising high, Ayra regarded me with the closest thing to shock I had seen on her face since the barn. “You know our eddas?”
I shrugged as if it were no big deal. “I’ve been working on reading them again.”
Reading them was one thing, understanding them was another altogether since they were in verse and ancient as dirt.
I looked to Ty. “The rainbow bridge is supposed to be a bridge between Midgard, which is this world, some think, and Asgard, the world of the Gods. Right?”
He smiled like a proud teacher and nodded. “Well, between all the worlds really.”
“It’s a metaphorical thing, right? I mean, that’s not really a bridge to another world, is it?” I asked, voice low so those scattered about wouldn’t hear.
Even if they were asleep, I didn’t want to sound like a lunatic. That said, I half expected Ty and Ayra to say yes and half expected them to laugh. I mean, reall
y, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much. A month ago I wouldn’t have believed people could turn into wolves either. Head cocking to the side, Ayra regarded me with deep interest. Vidar grinned and nodded to Ty with an impressed look.
“Metaphorical, yes, for now. Theoretically it is designed with the proper materials and positioned over a place of power so it could be activated as a bridge between worlds I guess, but someone on the other side would have to activate it as far as we know,” Ayra said.
I waited for the shock, but it never came. Not knowing what to say after that, I fell silent as the terrain grew steep. We wove through a few sleeping people, some entangled pairs that reminded me of how Ty and I had awoken.
“Looks like we missed an interesting part of the party,” I said.
One corner of Ty’s mouth quirked up. “Only if you are into the group kind of thing.”
Though his expression was all humor, I detected a bit of concern hiding in his eyes.
Making a face, I shook my head. “Definitely not.”
Group sex, or sex among a group, hit far too close to casual sex to appeal to me. Hemlock Hollow was looking more and more like a place I couldn’t wait to leave. The hill became more of a hike than a climb as we neared the bridge. The bridge looked like it was made mostly of steel that had been treated to create a rainbow, anodized effect that was really stunning. At the bottom of the hollow, several hundred feet down from the center of the bridge, a stream cut through a bed of jagged rocks.
Looking at the full expanse of that bridge, I wondered, “Could our kind survive a fall from there?”
Ayra nodded. “Some of the more powerful could, alphas, us. But most, no.”
“Aren’t they worried about being seen by satellites?” I asked.
“Einstein,” Vidar said, which answered nothing.
Eyebrows raised, I looked to Ty.
“He is a member of the Reinhard pack. Einir is his real name, but a lot of people call him Einstein because he is one of the most brilliant people of our time. He invented a device that blocks satellites much like blocking a radio wave,” he said.
“Why don’t we have this everywhere?” I asked.
“Because no one knows about it but our kind. If the government got a hold of such technology, well, you can imagine what they would do with it, and Einir. They will invent it on their own in time, but for now, it keeps us safe in Hemlock Hollow and that is enough.”
I had a feeling that was part of why this ‘trial’ was being held there. That and it would create a fantastic spectacle for those watching. As far away as it was from the place the bonfire had been held, varúlfur hearing would ensure those gathered heard everything. Long before we reached the top of the hill—which at this point had really become more of a cliff side—I heard the voices of the alphas. Like a switch being flipped, the feeling of euphoria I had awoken with disappeared, replaced by tension that stirred my power awake. Upon cresting the cliff side and reaching level ground, Ty took my hand in his and gave it a good squeeze. Letting out a long breath, I squeezed back and did my best to relax. He tried to let go as we moved through the trees toward the group of people waiting at the start of the bridge, but I wouldn’t let him.
Only Isak and Iona, Ayra’s old alphas, and Vidar’s, I assumed, waited beneath the hemlock trees framing the entrance to the bridge. Out in the middle of the bridge four more waited, Ander and Gyda, alphas of the Reinhard pack, my would-have-been in-laws, along with two who weren’t alphas. It surprised me that Bain and Morene—alphas of the Draupnir pack—hadn’t shown, but it definitely didn’t disappoint me.
Three people approached from the opposite end of the bridge. Bain’s acrid scent—similar to that of freshly turned dirt—mingled with Morene’s rosewater smell told me who the two figures on the outside were. I didn’t need to smell the leather and pine, or see the confident swagger of the middle figure to know who it was. Had my five senses been blocked, I would had known him by the feel of his power alone. It was a power too similar to my own to mistake—not in strength, but in origin. Strong, yes, he was that too, possibly even alpha strong, but not leitar strong.
Breath coming in ragged gasps that I sucked through gritted fangs, I stormed into the circle and forced myself to stop and wait. I wanted him to come to me. As they reached Isak, Bain gave Raul a good shove. At the same time, Raul took what looked like a stumbling step forward, he kicked back at Bain, connecting hard. The smaller man doubled over, gasping for air. When he found it, he bared his fangs and started to move in on Raul.
Ayra was suddenly between them, one hand on each man’s bare chest, a low growl rumbling from her small body, fangs flashing behind all the white-blond hair. Though Vidar tensed, massive biceps flexing as his fists closed, he didn’t move. The potential for this to go really south thickened the air like smoke.
“He is not yours to judge or punish,” she warned.
Hands held up, Bain took several steps back and flung the long braid of his dark blond hair over his shoulder. The shaved sides of his head revealed rune tattoos along what would have been his hairline. Despite being sinewy and thin, an air of menace and danger surrounded him that made the hair on my arms stand up.
Morene’s glaring countenance made me think she might challenge Ayra, but she only took hold of Bain’s arm and pulled him back another step. He shrugged her off and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to pretend he wasn’t still struggling for breath. The hate-filled look he stabbed Raul’s way made me think the man might actually detest Raul as much as I did. Everyone else faded away into an angry haze as Raul’s attention shifted to me and he started to approach.
Awe filled his wide eyes as he gazed at me, that and something close to worship. It was completely unexpected and I hated it. I wanted remorse, fear, not this. Anger choked my words so that the only thing I could get out was a growl. But it was enough when it melted that look off his face and sadness filled those amber eyes. He stopped less than five feet from me. One lunge and I could have his throat in my hands. I started to shake, not from the desire to shift—though that boiled within as well—but from fighting back the urge to hurt him. Power crackled out from me, making Raul flinch as it passed over him.
“You took my choice from me,” I finally managed to say.
“I never meant to do that. I’m so sorry, I was desperate—”
“Not to have to marry another?” I cut him off.
He shook his head and cast his eyes to the ground.
I advanced on him, letting my power roll over him, shoving him to his knees with an ease that would have shocked me if I hadn’t been so pissed. Part of it was the fact that he didn’t resist, only looked up at me with a reverence that made me want to strike him.
“Why then?” I demanded.
Mouth opening, his gaze flicked into the crowd. His eyes settled on Morene. His mouth closed, he swallowed, and opened it again. “With the uppskera coming from Arnoddr, they would have had enough power to swallow the Reinhard pack whole. It wouldn’t have been an alliance, it would have been an annihilation. I couldn’t let that happen to my pack, to my alphas. I wanted to ask you, but I was running out of time with Tyler on my tail.” A sinking suspicion tugged at my stomach. That hadn’t been what he was going to say before he looked at Morene.
A glance at Ander and Gyda revealed wide-eyed looks of shock that looked genuine. One hand covering her gaping mouth, Gyda turned a tear-filled look full of tenderness to Raul.
“You knew the uppskera was in Arnoddr, but others didn’t,” I said to Raul.
He nodded. “She was good at keeping her unwanted mark covered. I think the only people that new about it were her parents, Calder, James, and me.”
“So you were in on this with Calder and James?” My voice grew gravelly as I had to force it out between my fangs.
Suddenly I was standing over him, claws brandished, not recalling the steps I had taken to get there.
Eyebrows rising into his dark, brownish-black hair, he look
ed the picture of innocence. “No, never. Ayra and I made out once, when we were younger, I saw it then. Ever since, I’ve been searching for you, knowing you were the only way to keep my pack from being absorbed into Arnoddr.”
I wanted badly to disbelieve his innocence, but I could feel it in his power, smell it in his scent. He’d never meant to hurt me, to take away my choice. It pained him, deeply. But there were volumes he wasn’t telling me. Which led my mind down another path.
“In a world of millions, how did you find me?” I asked.
His eyes darted about, then he leaned close and whispered, “The leitar and uppskera are always of the same blood line. I found your bloodline, and it led me to you.”
“How did you know the leitar would be awakened? It has been hundreds of years since the last one.”
Pink tongue darting out to wet his lips, he looked past me. “Because I suspected Calder was biting people in against their will, trying to force the awakening of the next leitar and uppskera.”
Prickles of anger worked beneath my skin. “Why the hell would he do that?”
“Because the uppskera is from his bloodline.”
I fought the urge to glance back at Ayra, back to where Raul was looking. “He wanted to be the next uppskera, but it fell to his sister instead.”
Raul’s gaze returned to me. “Yes.”
The pieces clicked together. Many of the names of leitars in the book that had surnames were the same. Most of them didn’t have surnames listed, so I hadn’t made the connection before. I was destined to be this. If Raul hadn’t been the one to change me, it could have been Calder, and that would have been so much worse.
I pulled my power back from Raul. He breathed easier but didn’t rise to his feet. Having him kneeling before me, willingly, should have felt better than this.
Behind him Ander and Gyda stiffened, their hands intertwining, as if they knew I had reached a decision about their son. Not wanting to draw out their pain any longer, I straightened and took a deep breath.
Bitten & Beholden (Children of Fenrir Book 2) Page 28