by Lee Savino
She calms the beast, I said, shocked.
Leif gave a sharp nod. At a great price. The Corpse King will sacrifice anything and anyone to retrieve his intended brides. The woman’s sniffling had subsided, but Leif kept his hand on her head. “You’re safe now,” he said out loud, and to me—Let us go before more Grey Men come.
Following my warrior brother, I stepped from the stream. We melted into the woods.
Leif
I do not like how pale our little captive looks.
We’d spent the night crossing hard terrain, heading north and east, away from the pack and home. I carried Willow, cradling her to my chest when she fell into a doze. Within me, the beast also slept, content. Willow had stilled it with her scent and trusting touch.
She leaned against my shoulder as Brokk and I ran together under the silent moon.
She’s not afraid of us. She sleeps, Brokk observed.
She is exhausted. And once we find safety, there is much to tell her. Other than her pallor, she seemed healthy, if a little thin. Her arms and legs bore muscles made sturdy from work.
Let’s get a good meal into her, Brokk agreed. I know a place to take shelter. It’s quiet and out-of-the-way. We will stay there until we can reach the Alphas.
They will expect us back at the mountain.
They will know something is wrong. The Corpse King’s forces have us scattered. They did a good job of isolating us, the better to pick us off and take the mage’s brides back, one by one.
They will not take her, I growled and clutched my fragrant-smelling bundle close.
They will not take her, Brokk echoed. In this, my warrior brother and I shared one mind. He’d always been more wary and slower to trust, but he had seen how the beast responded to her presence.
My little miracle. She had a few freckles on her face. I wanted to kiss each one. There would be time for that, once we had her safe. I just had to convince Brokk to accept her.
When we came to a river, I paused on the bank. Here. You are taller. Why don’t you carry her over?
Brokk snorted. He stood taller by a hairsbreadth; we joked of it often.
But you are stronger and uglier. More suited to being a beast of burden.
Suit yourself. I waded in, holding the woman high. I will be first in everything. First to find her. First to carry her. First to fuck her.
Brokk grimaced at me, showing his fangs.
We must seduce her first, he said, and I sobered.
Do you think she suffered ill-use, like the woman Rolf and Thorbjorn wish to claim?
Even if she escaped the friar’s attentions, she still suffered under their threat, Brokk pointed out and I agreed.
He’s dead now?
Good and dead. Thorbjorn told me the moment it happened. He struck the friar down before the Grey Men swarmed the place.
We crossed the river and continued to make haste. No sense lingering, even if the Grey Men couldn’t follow. The Corpse King had other weapons.
We must charm her, I said, after a few minutes’ silence. Put her at ease.
You’re better at wooing women, Brokk said. Did he realize his scowl held a measure of pain?
If I can control the beast. I tried to joke, but no Berserker would laugh at such a serious subject. We’d all seen comrades die when the beasts ate their minds and filled them with endless rage. If a wolf lost control, the pack must put him down.
In my arms, Willow let out a little sigh. The weather had turned cold, too cold for late summer.
I shifted her in my arms. Let’s get out of this wind.
We are close to shelter. Brokk led the way, winding uphill until we came to a grassy knoll, high above the trees. The forest had been cleared to make way for a castle fort, now abandoned and in ruins.
The king of this land misjudged his power. His enemy overtook him before he finished building his fortress, and the mercenaries knocked most of it down. Brokk’s mouth curved in a grim smile.
“When did this happen?” I said aloud, keeping my voice low so as not to wake her. Brokk and I could link mind to mind, able to share thoughts, images and impressions, but he liked his privacy. We tended to use the bond only in the direst need. Except for today, when we used it for Willow’s comfort.
“A few decades ago. I went with Knut, Rolf, and Thorbjorn. The opposing king hired us.” He shrugged. “A day’s entertainment to take the fort and slaughter every man inside. Well worth the purse of gold.” We climbed the hill and stepped out onto the ledge overlooking a vast, still lake. The wind ruffled the blue-black water. “We spent some time standing here, throwing stones into the lake.” Brokk pointed.
“Where was I?” I asked, even though I could guess.
Brokk unslung the pack and went to the tallest wall still standing. He shook out a bedroll and wolf skin, making a soft nest for the woman. “You had sought solitude…to control your beast.”
I laid our little captive down on the makeshift bed. She let out a soft sigh, burrowing into the fur, and slept on. The events of the night—her fighting, terror, and tears—left her worn out. Her small fingers gripped the fur.
I nudged Brokk. “Perhaps she would be more comfortable with the wolf.”
Brokk pressed his lips together. “She needs to learn to trust us as mates.”
My head snapped up. “You accept her, then?”
Brokk grunted. I stood guard over the woman while he made camp and built up a fire. He kept his distance and did not glance our way, but once the blaze took hold, he stripped off his clothes, folded them in the pack, and Changed. A giant black wolf with brown markings trotted over to settle near the sleeping woman. His bulk and the wall shielded her from the wind.
Chuckling, I rose to tend the fire.
Brokk
Our little woman slept with her soft cheek cradled in her hands. I napped nearby as a wolf naps, in fits and starts, rising often to turn and resettle in my bed. Leif left to hunt, and I kept my eyes open, wary lest she come awake and think her fine redheaded suitor had abandoned her to a feral wolf.
Dawn came creeping over the hills, and the birds rejoiced. Hundreds of white-wings gathered by the lakeshore, a long jump and short run away from the ruined fort. If I were not guarding my new mate, I’d go and frighten them, barking at their beating wings, trying to catch one for my breakfast. A fine pastime for a morning.
Beside me, the little female slept on, face twisted in a worried expression. I laid my head on my paws and sighed.
Leif returned with a pair of rabbits, already skinned. He had them cooking by the time the woman stirred. With a glance at me, he came to take my place while I went behind the low wall. I couldn’t keep from peeking over it to watch her chest rise and fall in sleep.
When Willow cried out and woke with a start, Leif crouched close to comfort her.
“It’s all right.” He held his hands out. “Hush, lass. You’re safe now.”
She licked her lips. “Where am I?”
“A temporary camp. We’ll stay a few nights, until we’re sure it’s safe. Then it’s back to our home, where you’ll be reunited with your friends. Come,” he beckoned. “Come sit by the fire. There’s nothing here for you to fear.”
Just as he’d convinced her to rise and follow him, a bird cried out. She jerked around, and her gaze fell on me.
“Calm, Willow,” Leif crooned, but his soothing murmur didn’t stop her from scrabbling backwards until her back hit the broken wall. She pressed against the grey-green stones, trembling.
“There’s a wolf,” she whispered.
“I know. He’s a friend. Here.” He nodded to me, and I poked my head around the edge of the stones.
Mate, the wolf hummed when it caught her scent. I almost gave her a wide, toothy grin before I remembered myself. The sloping wall didn’t quite hide my large form, even crouching. When I stood tall, I’d be able to lick her chin without much strain.
“Where did it come from?”
Leif paused, debating how mu
ch to tell her. “He’s been with us all along. Don’t worry. He’s well tamed.”
He winked at me, and I glared at him. Grinning, the warrior went back to making our meal. Willow stayed crouched against the wall, though she picked up the wolf pelt and put it around her shoulders. I crept from the wall, taking my place at the warrior’s side.
You’re cooking them too much, I told him, as the rabbit’s flesh turned an unappetizing brown.
“Weren’t you going to go chase birds on the beach?” Leif asked me out loud. The wolf had let the bond drift open between us. The wolf part of us desired connection over privacy.
Besides, I found it harder to keep the bond closed when I felt happy or content—or maybe I preferred it open, as if sharing with my warrior brother made my joy complete.
“Chase birds?” Willow asked.
“Just talking to wolfie here.” He gestured and I let out a low growl.
Wolfie?
Better than ugly. Leif continued, “He wanted to go down to the lake earlier. Perhaps you could go fetch water with him.”
“You talk to him?” Willow’s eyes widened until they seemed to take up half her face, but she’d stepped away from the wall. Her black hair blew in the wind. I wanted to go curl up at her feet.
“Of course. He and I have long been companions, right, wolfie?”
I let out a high-pitched bark, as close to a dog’s as I could make it.
Willow took another step closer, and glanced around the keep. “Is Brokk here?”
“He’ll be back, soon enough,” Leif smirked.
This is ridiculous, Leif. Just tell her it’s me.
Not until you’ve earned her trust as a great furry beast. Did I ever tell you you’re much nicer as a wolf?
I raised a lip, showing my teeth in a silent half snarl.
Certainly better looking. Smirking, Leif pulled my share of the meat from the flame—still half-raw—and tossed it to me. I caught it in my mouth and ambled away to take my meal overlooking the lake and the birds. Willow didn’t need to see me tear apart flesh and bone.
I ducked my head to keep from smelling the roasted rabbit. The wolf preferred raw, but the scent seemed to draw Willow away from the wall. My ears pricked up as she ventured near the fire, sitting on a stone near Leif. He waited until she’d settled before slicing off bits of the meat.
“Here.” He sat, too. “Taste this.”
He held it up, tsking when she tried to take it with her fingers. She blushed as he bade her open her mouth and eat from his hand like a little bird, but her stomach growled and overruled her embarrassment. A tender smile played over Leif’s lips as he fed her.
See, Brokk? She will become used to us. And then… Then we would seduce her, eventually stripping away all her defenses and claiming her. A mating bond would form between the three of us, two monsters in man-form and the lithe and lovely woman with the power to break our curse. It seemed almost too easy.
Too easy? We’ve waited over a century for her, battling the beast.
I did not respond.
“How did you become friends with a wolf?” Willow asked.
“He saved my life, I saved his.” Leif kept up the ruse. He liked this game. Then again, telling lies in the middle of truth was a particular gift of my silver-tongued friend.
Leif frowned when he caught the echo of my thought.
It will not be like before, Brokk. You must believe me.
I rose and carried my meat bones around the wall so I could crunch them with animal savagery.
Willow watched me go.
By midafternoon, I itched to run in the forest, but the wolf wanted to remain close to his mate. She sat nearby, and, when I stayed very still, she relaxed. Her curiosity outweighed her fear.
“You can touch him,” Leif invited. “He’s harmless. See.” He rose and came to my side. “He will let me pet him.”
If I bite off your hand, it will not grow back.
You won’t bite me. Leif ran his hand down my back. Not while she’s watching.
I endured the petting. My warrior brother kept it blessedly brief.
“Now your turn, Willow,” Leif coaxed her over.
I held my breath as she approached. I saw the moment she decided to be brave. She paused as if weighing her fears then went ahead anyway, with the same determination Leif had noticed when we first met her. No hesitation.
She stroked my back with small white fingers. Relaxed under her touch, I felt a quiver deep within, my beast stirring as it recognized my greatest longing would soon be satisfied. I laid my head on my paws, eyes closing in pleasure as she played with my ears.
“See?” Leif said. “He likes it.”
Willow kept petting me. She relaxed, but her hands felt cold. When I Changed back into a man, the magic might leave me with a pelt about my shoulders. I would give her each fur and shift as often as I could until I could build her a bed piled with wolf skins. My mate would sleep in comfort she’d never known before.
The wolf let out a satisfied growl, muted so as not to scare our timid prey. It liked the idea of Willow surrounded by my scent.
By midday, she sat right next to me and didn’t smell nervous at all.
Leif fed her, and she once went behind a wall to relieve herself, but when she returned, she curled up again by my side. She seemed to draw comfort from me, a wonder I scarce believed.
I told you. Leif sounded smug.
“Are my friends all right?” she asked, twisting her fingers together. With a small whine, I nudged her, and she stroked my nose instead.
“They all are protected,” Leif answered, with a glance at me. We hadn’t been able to reach the pack via the bond. Too many leagues and too much dark magic disrupting even the Alphas’ power. “Not all of them are out of danger. We know the Grey Men attacked.”
“What are the Grey Men?” she asked.
“Servants of the Corpse King, an evil mage who wishes the world to be under his rule. He draws power by wedding and bedding your kind.”
“My kind?”
“Aye. You have magic in your blood. You’re a special race of women, with power that allows you to…” he hesitated, but Willow’s eyes were focused on the lake beyond Leif.
“Magic,” she breathed. “How can that be?”
“We think the magic remains latent until you are wed.” Leif, ever the charmer, phrased things in a way she might understand.
My wolf snorted. Wolves did not wed, they mated, and for life. A Berserker bond ran deeper than a human vow. Once Willow linked to us, mind to mind, we would be as one.
The brother bond Leif and I used to share power allowed us to share a woman as well. If we had not bonded, sharing a woman would be impossible. We would fight to the death, and succumb to the beast, our salvation just out of reach.
“I don’t believe in magic.” Willow wrapped her arms around her small body.
“What of your gods? You lived in a holy place, among the devout. Have you never seen their power?”
“No.” She drew her legs up to her chest, shrinking in on herself. “I pray and pray, but no one answers,” she mumbled, almost to herself.
“What about witches and seers?”
“The friar speaks out against them.”
“Some men hate what they do not understand. Or what they cannot control,” Leif said, and for once I felt grateful for his silver tongue. “There is evil, but there is also good.”
The woman raised her head. I butted her hand until she petted me again.
“The magic you possess is a subtle thing. It manifests in an affinity for herbs and healing. Surely you have that gift.”
“If there is magic like that in the world, I do not have any,” she said. “I have suffered a sickness all my life.”
“What is the nature of the sickness?” Leif asked.
After glancing at the horizon, where the moon would soon rise, she shook her head.
“What if I could prove to you there is magic?” Leif said.
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Careful. I stiffened. This is not a game.
She is strong. Let us give her the truth. We owe it to her.
Let it be on your head, then. My words tasted bitter. His folly would not rest on his head, but on mine. Always on mine.
Willow sat still and trusting as I padded to the center of empty keep. The sun shone high above us. I could see every freckle, every dark eyelash on Willow’s cheek as she blinked.
I hope this is the right choice.
Leif stayed silent. He and I tread on new hunting ground. We’d never lured a mate before, but we always got our prey.
I raised my wolf head and Changed. The magic crept from tailbone to nape and back again. Sometimes it hurt, but this time it didn’t. A soft wind blew through the keep as I stretched and rose out of the wolf form.
By the time I stood as a man, naked but for the loincloth at my hips and pelt around my shoulders, the woman had crawled back against the wall and huddled there. She trembled, biting her lip, blinking back tears.
“It’s all right,” I rasped, my voice hoarse as my throat struggled to remember how to form human words.
Her distress called to the darker part of me. Not wolf, not man, but the deep hunger of the beast. It wanted to destroy her enemies then lay her down and claim her, make her know she would always be ours.
“Brokk,” Leif snapped, and I stopped moving towards the fragile female. In the end, he went to her and comforted her, while I slipped away. I would Change back into a wolf and go on the hunt. I’d rather chase down prey than to stare into a frightened woman’s eyes.
Leif
“Willow, be calm. All is well. There is magic in us, but it will not harm you.” At least, it would not if we mated soon enough to keep the beast quiet.
She shook her head and stayed tucked against the wall, her arms around her legs. I hated the raw sorrow on her face. She’d begun to give us her trust, and I had broken it.
I let her be for the rest of the afternoon. She stayed stiff and silent. When she shivered, she would not even let me come close to tuck a fur around her. I dropped the wolf pelt nearby, but once I turned my back, she picked it up and flung it away. I bit back a grin when she glared. I much preferred her anger to her sadness. When she finished sulking, I would find a new way to woo her.
