Her Alpha Viking

by Sheryl Nantus

  “Be careful out there.” He glanced back at Brenna. “We’ll do our best by her.”

  “Thanks.”

  He gave Erik’s hand an extra squeeze. “You helped me. Now I’m going to help you.” Mark pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and held it up before digging a small disposable phone out of the other. “Paid up for fifty bucks and already put my number in there. That way you’ll always have a way to get hold of us. You can check on her and we can check on you.” A soft smile appeared. “And if you want to talk to her, you can. Call me first and I’ll be a buffer zone if you need it.”

  Erik hesitated before taking it. “Thanks.”

  Mark nodded. “Just be careful out there.”

  Lucy advanced on Erik, replacing Mark. She locked eyes with him as she shook his hand. “You did what you thought would help her. I understand. But don’t believe for one second this is going to be the answer.”

  She stepped away before he could speak.

  It took a long minute for Brenna to move up. She handed him a plastic bag.

  A dark blue woolen knit scarf lay inside.

  “For Canada,” she said in a soft whisper.

  “Thanks.” He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “Watch your back.”

  “Always.” Her smile was forced. “Fly straight, and I’ll see you at Ragnarok.”

  He struggled with the urge to wrap his arms around her, pull her close, and never let her go. But it’d be a death sentence for them both, and he couldn’t do that to her.

  It took all he had to turn, shoulder his duffel bag, and walk away.

  …

  She didn’t have the heart to look back as they headed for the highway.

  “He’ll be fine.” Jake reached over and patted her knee. “You, too. We’ll arrive at Washington soon enough, and after that you can come on back West with me until you figure out what you want to do.”

  Helen leaned forward and placed her hand on Brenna’s shoulder. “He’ll be fine. Man’s a good fighter—she won’t be able to put a finger on him.”

  No, Brenna wanted to yell. She will kill him.

  She smiled and reached back to squeeze Helen’s hand.

  The next few days were spent heading through Pennsylvania, stopping below Pittsburgh at a university and a series of small towns.

  They were all a tangled blur in her mind, the daily routine of packing and unpacking the tents occupying her thoughts.

  The tone of the group had changed with Erik’s leaving. There were still the jokes and teasing, but now it all seemed forced, aimed at keeping her occupied and without any mention of Erik or the events of the past month.

  One morning she rose and ventured out of the women’s tent to find Mark nodding off by the fire. She patted his shoulder, getting a weary smile.

  “I’ll start the coffee.” She went to the back of the van where they kept the food supplies.

  Brenna studied the wooden staff, still lashed with the other luggage. She hadn’t touched it since the fight with Erik, letting her training slide.

  She reached out and stroked it, feeling the smooth wood fit into her hand.

  I will not go down without a fight.

  Mark smiled as she returned to the campsite, staff in hand. “I was kinda wondering when you would start up again.” He levered himself out of the chair. “How ’bout we warm up with a little hand-to-hand before you go all medieval on a tree with that?”

  Brenna grinned. “Let me make the coffee first.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The schedule today consisted of an afternoon presentation and discussion with dinner afterwards. They’d arrived at the campground in the morning and set up their tents before the event, leaving Lucy behind after lunch to babysit. She was okay with the change in routine, noting it’d give her time to re-organize and inventory the cooking supplies.

  “Figure out why we have so little toilet paper and so much hot sauce,” she’d said to Brenna with a wink. “And I can do it without anyone butting in to sample the wares.” She wagged a finger. “Just bring me a box dinner. By the time I finish clearing all this up, I won’t feel like heating up an MRE.”

  “You got it.” Jake nodded. “But we won’t be leaving until Mark finishes up, so don’t starve waiting for us.”

  “Do you want company?” Brenna offered. She looked at the campsite. “I don’t like the idea of you being here alone.”

  “Thanks for the thought, but I’m good.” She pointed at Jake’s folding chair, already set up. “I’ve got protection.”

  Brenna spied the dark metal barrel poking out from under the blanket.

  Lucy smiled. “Go, be sociable. Not too friendly, but you need to meet other people.” She held up a hand, anticipating Brenna’s reply. “Not to date or anything like that—just be polite and nice and relax. I’ll be here when you get back, ready to hear all about it.” She pointed at the waiting van. “See you in a few hours.”

  They drove off, leaving Lucy behind. Brenna turned and watched the campsite disappear around a corner, the tall trees on each side swallowing it up until there was no sign there was anything down at the end of the road.

  “She’ll be fine,” Helen offered. “Don’t worry.”

  Brenna nodded and looked ahead as Jake navigated his way out of the campground.

  A few hours later, she sat in a folding chair, relaxing as she watched the audience mill around the veterans. Tonight had been Mark’s time to talk.

  He seemed to be doing better as of late, despite his failed marriage. He joked and smiled, spent time with Lucy although she vowed the relationship was purely platonic.

  “I don’t do rebound romance,” she said a few nights ago as they sat in the tent, winding down for the night. “He’s not looking for that. Whatever else I can do for him, I will.”

  Helen had chuckled while winding some wool into a tight ball. “Smart plan.” She wagged a finger at Lucy. “Just be careful. Don’t want to spend our last few weeks together with you all mopey and miserable.”

  Brenna frowned as she curled up in the corner of the tent. “I haven’t been like that.” She looked from one woman to the other. “Have I?”

  “Not much,” Helen said. “That’s a good thing.”

  “I just don’t…” She licked her lips, trying to find the right words. “He’s right and he’s wrong about leaving. As am I. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes and no.” Lucy crawled over to take her hand. “He’s doing what he thinks is right to save you. Same with you—you’re trying to save him from himself.” She playfully rapped her knuckles against her head, making a popping sound. “Which is why women and men always fight.”

  Brenna laughed, but she knew the truth in her words.

  Win the battle, lose the war.

  She shook her head, coming back to the present and the crowded auditorium. Finally, Mark broke away from the women gathered around him and came toward her, grinning widely.

  “Looks like you’re the popular one tonight,” Brenna said.

  “Can’t complain. Gives Jake a break. Although there’s still some women who can’t turn down the silver fox.”

  “Helen has a few admirers as well,” Brenna pointed out. “Not all one-sided.”

  “Yeah. Well, unless they get a better offer for where to sleep tonight, we’re off to the campground within the hour.” He covered his mouth as a yawn escaped. “Glad we set up camp early. All this excellent food in me, all I want to do is sit and nap.”

  “I’ll stay awake tonight if you want,” she offered.

  “Nah. I’m fine. Thanks for the offer.”

  Jake waved a hand at the two of them, gesturing at the door. He held a large disposable container—Lucy’s belated dinner.

  “Shit,” Mark said.

  “What?” Brenna asked.

  Mark turned back toward the community center. “Some asshole got my cell phone. Was right here in my back pocket during the presentation and it’s gone now.”

 
“Tomorrow morning, we can hit a store and pick you up a new phone,” Helen said. “Should we call and cancel the service?”

  “It’s one of those pay-as-you-go phones. Let’s get going. Lucy’s waiting for her dinner, and I don’t want her getting it cold.” Mark scowled as he opened the van door.

  …

  Erik had been miserable before. Basic training, his first firefight. In the hospital recovering from his injuries and dealing with the overwhelming guilt for having survived.

  Nothing matched the pain tearing him apart since Columbus.

  He stared at the bus station wall, studying the schedules. The small white letters and numbers were pushed on tiny pins into the blackboard, some barely hanging on for dear life.

  It’d been three weeks since leaving Brenna, hopping around Pennsylvania and landing in Philadelphia where he’d gathered the courage to call Steve and ask about getting back in the game.

  “Fuck, yeah.” His manager let out a curse. “But going to have to start almost from scratch here. You owe me for that disappearing act.”

  “I do,” Erik said, reminded of the charade he’d pulled Steve into, laying a false trail for Kara. He had no idea if she’d taken the bait or not. “Sorry ’bout that.”

  “No problem. Figured you were having a moment when you disappeared, something to do with your time overseas. I understand. But next time you get an urge to go underground, talk to me about it, ’kay? Don’t just vanish off the face of the earth. Believe it or not, I actually give a shit about you.” Steve paused. “I got an undercard spot opening up in Erie soon. How much time do you need to get ready?”

  “I’m there.”

  Now he sat in a bus station, studying the schedule. It felt right, preparing to fight again. He was done hiding and putting other people in danger.

  If Kara found him, well…he was ready to end this game.

  He rubbed his chin, feeling the bare skin again. The beard came off in the bathroom at Columbus while waiting for the first bus out of town. The haircut had been second, courtesy of a small shop in Canton who did a fine job of delivering a buzzcut. Now he looked as he had when this entire crazy thing had started.

  Except he was bone-dead tired. Some nights he stayed in a cheap hotel, others sleeping in the park or hitting the local homeless shelters for a bed to save cash.

  He never slept. Or slept well, to be accurate. All Erik saw when he closed his eyes was Kara ripping through a group of innocent people to kill him, that lethal spear impaling anyone in her way.

  He hated to admit it, but he missed Jake and the others. He’d gotten used to them being there, sharing the responsibility for keeping everyone safe.

  It’d been the right decision. It’d been to keep Brenna safe.

  He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out the short photo strip from the carnival. The last two squares showed Brenna laughing as she tried to prepare for the photographs.

  His heart ached as he remembered that night and their narrow escape.

  Brenna had fallen during their sprint to the parking lot and told him to go on, leave her behind.

  It’d never crossed his mind to do so, let Kara have her in an attempt to delay his own fate. But if the Valkyrie hadn’t been swept up in the distraction and confronted them…

  He would have stayed with Brenna and fought to the bitter end.

  And they both would have died.

  Erik tucked the photograph back into his pocket and scanned the schedule again. The next bus to Erie was in two hours, leaving him plenty of time to sit and enjoy the news on the wide-screen television. As he settled into one of the orange plastic chairs, he wondered what Brenna was up to.

  He’d been doing a lot of that lately. It was easy to bring up the map in his mind, follow along where Jake’s route would have taken them.

  As long as it was far away from where he was.

  He found himself digging in his duffel bag, finally wrapping his hand around the cool plastic case. Erik pulled out the disposable cell phone Mark had given him, the simple cheap electronic device his only remaining link to Brenna.

  He turned the small phone over and over in his hand while watching the news drone on about some political shenanigans in Washington.

  I can’t go at Kara if you’re going to be in the way.

  It was the harsh truth. His love for her was a handicap he couldn’t spy a way around. He’d be fighting Kara with one eye on Brenna, worrying she’d be unable to deliver the lethal strike at the right moment or, worse, open herself up to a counter attack by the mad Valkyrie who would take advantage of Erik’s love to cripple his attacks.

  He put the phone back in the bag and walked over to the vending machines, eyeing the chocolate bars.

  A bus pulled in, the passengers flowing into the terminal. The taxi stand out on the street got busy as well, the yellow cabs rushing in and out as they loaded up on fares.

  Erik sat at the end of a row of seats and studied the faces. Young, old—the traveling poor who counted their pennies at the vending machines. The not-so-poor who rushed to the restricted area to chain smoke as many cigarettes as they could before getting back on the bus.

  A young man wearing military khakis trotted on by, carrying a duffel bag not unlike his own. He stopped in the center of the room and looked around.

  A woman burst through the doors and charged at him, letting out a happy scream as she threw herself into his arms. He spun her around before planting a long, deep kiss on her that had the nearby women swooning with envy.

  That could have been me, Erik mused. A hundred years ago and in a different world.

  He scratched the back of his neck as the couple swept out of the terminal.

  True love.

  The cell phone rang.

  He grabbed it and studied the small screen. Mark’s number.

  A fist gripped his heart, squeezed the breath from his lungs.

  Was Brenna okay? Had Kara found her first? Was someone else ill or hurt?

  There was only one way to find out.

  After a second, he stabbed the receive button.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Erik.”

  A chill ran through his veins as he recognized the feminine voice.

  “Kara.”

  He looked around the bus station, scanning the crowd. It was hard not to leap to his feet, ready himself for an attack. But it’d attract attention, and he couldn’t do that, couldn’t start a panic.

  “Yes. Don’t worry, I’m not there with you. I could be—you’ve left a long, glowing trail behind you, like a slug. But I’m miles away.”

  “Shouldn’t you have one hell of a headache the further you get from me? I’d think you’d be on the edge of passing out by now.” He slowly stood up. It was almost painful to keep his movements casual and loose as he searched for her familiar face.

  “No—I can sense where you are, but without the pain. Brenna’s was a punishment; mine is an asset. Another example where I proved to be the better woman. Freyja chose wisely when she put me on your trail.”

  He gritted his teeth. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to come to me.”

  Erik let out a sharp laugh. “Why would I do that?”

  “First, because you want to go to Valhalla. Second, because if you don’t, I’ll kill Mark and the rest of your friends, leaving Brenna to the very end.”

  “What?” His own voice sounded hollow to him as the noises of the bus station faded away.

  “How do you think I got this number?” She laughed, a high-pitched giggle grating on his ears. “I walked up to Mark and asked to use his phone? No, no—I have your friend here, and I’m going to kill him and all of his crew if you’re not here in the next four hours. Grab a plane to Baltimore and come to the Happy Trails Campground, about a half hour’s drive out of town.”

  “It’s not enough time,” he said automatically. “You don’t know where I am.”

  “I have a good idea. You’re in Pennsylvania somewhere
, close enough to make it within the time limit.” The low chuckle made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “You’re a man who can do whatever he puts his mind to. Beg, borrow, or steal a car—I don’t care. Be in time or people are going to die, and their blood will be on your hands.”

  “Why? Why would you do this?” he growled. “Your fight is with me, with Brenna.”

  “It’s with both of you,” she said. “I want her to see your face one last time before I kill you and send her to oblivion. The two of you had to run, had to hide. You made this hard, so much harder than it needed to be. She’s going to suffer for eternity, but I want to pay her back for betraying us in the first place.”

  “Isn’t this against your Valkyrie code or something, threatening to kill innocents?” Erik replied, scrambling for something to say. “What would Freyja do?”

  “Our Lady would be upset at me for taking so long. Hooking up with the vets was a sharp move. It took me the better part of a month to figure out what the hell was going on. I was always a few days behind you, trailing along.” Her tone shifted, surprising him. “Found some entertainment, had some fun before deciding to finish this. I was so close to catching you at that damned fair…”

  “But you didn’t.” He taunted her, hoping to draw her away from the troupe and come after him directly. “Couldn’t close the deal. Doesn’t say much for your skills.” He put as much punch into the low chuckle as he dared. “And then hiding behind helpless humans? Hardly what I’d expect for a Valkyrie.”

  “Nice try.” The smoothness of her words slid over him like a snake wrapping him in her coils. “But I’m not leaving them to come to you.” She lowered her voice. “Time to take your rightful place in Valhalla.”

  “What if I don’t show?” Erik snapped. “What if I don’t play your game? Are you really prepared to kill them all?”

  “Yes.” The single word chilled his soul. “I’ll leave Brenna to the last, make her watch her companions die before sending her to Helheim. Then I’ll hunt you down and make you pay for all the trouble you’ve put me through before sending you skyward. If you come to me willingly, I’ll only take yours and Brenna’s souls, I promise.”