by Lee Savino
I didn’t know was so cold. Too cold for late summer.
Daegan sniffed. “Ye may take a chill.”
“You should not have sent her,” Samuel rasped between sips of mead.
“Ye think I can stop her?” Daegan winked at me. “She worried and fretted, not even I could comfort her. As soon as Muriel and Fergus took the boys she was off like a shot.”
“Where are my sons?”
Close, I answered, carrying the plate to him. Eat, and I will bring them to you.
Samuel took the food and grabbed my wrist. “No. Stay here. Stay warm.”
“I’ll get the boys,” Daegan said, disappearing into the hall.
I settled myself at my mate’s feet, leaning against his powerful leg. Samuel’s face looked leaner, haggard from fighting, but he was still strong in body. It was not the strength of his body that earned him a place as Alpha, but the strength of his mind. Only Daegan and I knew how fragile he was. He would bear the entire pack’s burdens until he shattered.
You take too many risks, I said.
Is it your place to question your Alpha?
I met his gaze. Yes.
His eyes smiled at me over the cup.
You need to share your burdens.
The Corpse King’s spells attack the mind. I leaned against Samuel as he explained slowly. He sent me many visions. Horrible things. I did not want to carry them back here. He gestured to the warm room, the dais piled high with pelts, my nursing couch and the two wooden cradles. Sabine and Muriel wove both my boys blankets of dyed wool, one a fair blue, the other a rich red.
But this is what reminds you of what is real, and what is worth fighting for.
Shouts and cries heralded our sons. I rose but stayed at Samuel’s side. His hand caught mine and squeezed. His expression was pained, his breath came faster as images flitted over his mind. Empty cradles, a shredded red blanket. The visions of what would happen if the Corpse King were to overtake the mountain.
Quickly I seated myself beside Samuel and slung an arm around him. Come back to us, I begged, holding him until he blinked at me. This is real.
Daegan set Jacob down in the door and bounced Euan on his hip. The blond babe crawled to Samuel and I, babbling the whole way.
I lifted him with a grunt—already, he was a heavy boy—and sat him on Samuel’s lap. Already the cloud in Samuel’s mind was lifting.
Your son. I stepped away, blinking back tears as Samuel ran a rough hand over his Jacob’s head.
Jacob kept up his monologue, meeting his father’s gaze fearlessly and tugging on the pelt on Samuel’s shoulders. Tension leaked out of the big Alpha’s face.
“He looks so big,” Samuel rasped in an unused voice.
“It’s been days.” Daegan murmured, playing with Euan on the floor. “They grow quickly. You cannot keep away too long.”
“It is necessary.”
“It is necessary for the pack to fight, Samuel. Us. Not just you.”
He wants to stand, I interjected before my mates start fighting. Samuel offered his fingers for Jacob to grasp in his pudgy fists. The babe came to his feet, crowing.
He’s so strong, Samuel admired.
“He is,” Daegan said, ignoring my warning look. “But he also knows there’s no shame in asking for help.”
Samuel grunted.
Maddox poked his head in. “Sabine is ready to call the witch. It’s time.”
Sabine
As the Alphas gathered on the ledge outside the mouth of the main cave, I knelt in the circle of stones to finish the summoning spell. The witch spent much of the summer teaching me, and I’d spent many hours practicing the craft. When I used flint to light the fire for the final step, the wind buffeted the tiny flame, but it did not go out. Within seconds, Yseult appeared.
“Alphas,” she nodded to the leaders.
Samuel sat on his throne, Daegan standing nearby. Brenna had her own stone seat between them. With a thick fur robe draped over her shoulders, she looked like a queen. And she was—the Berserker Queen.
My own mates were on either side of me, Ragnvald stood facing the wind, Maddox crouched close. One of Muriel’s mates, Wulfgar, completed the circle.
“Well met, Ysuelt,” Samuel’s voice fought the wind. “It is a dangerous time to travel. We are glad you have come.”
“This mountain is well protected,” Yseult’s eyes were shiny black, an alien obsidian that told me she was handling heavy magic.
“The safeguards are holding, for now.” Samuel sounded so tired. My sister leaned into him, placing a hand on his leg as if seeking comfort. The head Alpha didn’t move, but I sensed he drew strength from his mate’s touch, rather than the other way around.
“Then I bring good news,” Yseult said. “His assault will stop with the first snows. My sisters and I have Seen it.”
“That is good news,” Daegan observed.
“He is weakened.” The wind kicked up at the witch’s words.
“This is weak?” Ragnvald raised a brow. The cold wind brought a smattering of snowflakes. A few white sprinkles dotted the ground.
“Since the raid on the abbey he has loosed all his powers to recapture the spaewives. You must hold out for a few more days.”
“Should we attack?” Maddox asked.
“Your first task is to protect the spaewives. He can use them to increase his power.”
“We have missing warriors. Several of them, along with the women they rescued. We fear his forces have captured them.”
“Then a fight is inevitable. But take care. You must keep the spaewives from the Corpse King, at all costs. They are the main source of his power.”
“Then it is decided,” Samuel said. “We will send a group of warriors to find the lost and aid them. One of us should lead.”
“I’ll do it,” Daegan and Wulfgar spoke at once.
“With respect,” Ragnvald said. “You two are the most familiar with the mountain pack. You are needed here.”
“I’ll go,” Maddox volunteered. “I can take a contingent from our pack, as well as volunteers from here.” My two mates led a separate pack. Over the past few moons both were merging slowly, but there was still rivalry among some of the warriors.
“We also should take shifts searching via the pack bonds, rotating so we are not too tired,” Ragnvald continued. “I can take a shift.”
“So can I,” Daegan nodded at the wisdom of this. “That way it will not all fall to Samuel.”
“Is there another strong warrior who can help?” Ragnvald asked. “One of the pack?”
“There is one who can easily reach the entire pack,” Wulfgar said. “An old warrior named Odin.”
“Odin?” Maddox half chuckled.
“Yes, they call him that because he has but one eye.”
“He did not go to carry off a mate?” Daegan asked.
Wulfgar shook his head.
“If his mind is strong, he can help. Send him to the summit when I am there,” Samuel said.
“Then it is decided.” Maddox struck his leg. “Samuel and Ragnvald will continue monitoring for missing Berserkers. Daegan and Odin will help and take shifts. Wulfgar will manage the pack and patrols, along with Knut and Thorbjorn. And I will lead a fresh band of warriors to retrieve the lost.”
“We are grateful for your aid, Yseult,” Samuel addressed the witch. “You and I must confer to keep this mountain safe. I know you’ve been searching for a way to stop this ancient mage. With the winter reprieve, we could be ready to fight in the spring. If you will help us.”
Yseult nodded. Over the past few minutes, her pupils had shrunk, her eyes becoming more human.
“Well?” Maddox rose and crossed his arms over his chest. “How do we defeat him?”
Yseult licked her lips. For some reason, she looked at me. I sensed a hint of sadness before she turned to Samuel.
“I will tell you.” The witch threw up her hands, casting a spell before our eyes. Figures appeared before us, li
ght reflecting on all our faces from a shared vision. Yseult’s voice spoke over it.
A young spaewife was taken as bride to the mage who would become the Corpse King. A necromancer, he took many wives, and committed abominations to increase his power, birthing strong children and consuming their flesh to become near immortal. When she found out his plans, she prayed to the goddess for a way to defeat him. She was given a spell, and the children born to her were more powerful than ever. Together they defeated the mage. They couldn’t kill him, but they could lock him in a tomb for a thousand years.
The Corpse King’s wife sacrificed her life to seal the tomb, and her sons were all slain. She was the mother of the Berserkers.
I blinked as the vision faded. Brenna looked pale, and the warrior’s expressions ranged from fierce, to worried, to thoughtful.
“This one woman had a spell to contain the mage?” Samuel asked.
“My witch sisters and I are still searching for the spell.”
“But if you find it,” I spoke up, “it might require great cost.”
Yseult pressed her lips together and nodded. “To bind the mage, one or more spaewives may have to die.”
Muriel
I held little Euan in my lap and cooed to him. Beside me, a red wolf sat patiently as a baby grasped his fur with chubby fists. With a chorus of babbling, the baby pulled himself up and started to walk, holding tightly to the red pelt.
I laughed softly at Fergus’ long-suffering expression. Do you want me to distract him?
Nay. This is how the bairn’s learn. When he’s older, I’ll teach him to mind his uncle Fergus. The wolf stuck his wet nose on the back of the baby’s knee, and Jacob lost his footing.
“Yoohoo,” someone called. I tensed, peering through the bushes. We’d carried the babies through a secret hall to a hidden cave lower down the mountain. The day was fine, and though there was a chill in the summer air, the wind wasn’t as bad as it was further up the mountain. We were safe. Still, we stayed in the patch of sun at the cave mouth.
“Who’s there?” I asked with a glance at the wolf, who hadn’t risen.
Tis your sister, Fergus told me just as Fleur poked her head around the bushes.
“Hello. I brought some honey cakes.”
Fergus barked.
“Not for you. For my sister and the guards.”
“Fergus is our guard,” I told her.
“Not the only one.” Fleur smiled as two giant black wolves rose from the brush behind her and stalked forward. One had a white splash on his face.
Gunnr and Erik, Fergus greeted two of my sister’s mates.
“The Alphas asked us to help.” Fleur came to sit on my blanket. I scooted to make room for her, and handed her Euan in exchange for a honey cake. “They’re almost done with consulting with the witch, but we’re to watch the babes until evening.”
I linked to Fergus so he could explain.
The Alphas have decided on a course of action. But first, they wish to enjoy their mates.
What about Wulfgar? I asked, and startled when my name was called.
“Muriel.” Wulfgar stood in the shadow of the cave, beckoning to me.
Go on, lass. Fergus stayed where he was. Jacob had a handful of his fur and Gunnr’s, and was hanging on as he took toddling steps between them.
When I approached my giant husband, he drew me further back into the cave. “I must leave for patrol.”
I nodded, searching his face.
“Maddox is leading a band of warriors to search for the missing. So I will not be going far. I will return soon.”
“Be safe.”
He hesitated, as if he would say more, but then kissed my brow, as if I was a child. Not a wife. My face flushed, I could no longer hold my tongue.
“My lord,” I called before he disappeared around the bend in the hall.
He turned.
“I wish to ask you something.” I kept my chin up but knotted my hands in my skirts. My head tilted up as Wulfgar came back to stand before me. He was so large, so powerful. My heart beat faster facing him, as it did from the moment we met.
“So formal, little one?” His voice held a touch of warmth. “After all these moons?”
“I-” my voice stuttered as he laid a hand on my belly, just under my breast. My blush flared again. Under my modest gown I wore three piercings, each nipple and one at my most secret place. Sometimes my mates connected each with a chain, and the merest brush of their hand leaves me wanting. My breasts and lower lips were always sensitive. Lately, too sensitive. A sennight ago Fergus removed the chain but not the piercings.
Wulfgar’s touch reminded me of all the good between us. But when I laid my hand over his, his face grew shadowed. Cold swept over me again as I felt him withdraw.
“Please,” I blurted before I lost my nerve. “You have been so distant these past few days. I have wondered…” I swallowed. “Do I no longer please you?”
His head jerked back, his eyes widening in almost alarm.
My heart sank. How did I become repulsive to him?
“I know I have been ill.” A few moons ago, I had a lingering stomach sickness. I was weak and barely able to move or eat without vomiting.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it? I am the same. Fergus is the same. I thought we all had grown closer, but you—”
“You are not the same,” Wulfgar said roughly.
“I have tried to be a good wife to you.”
“You are. But things will change between us.”
“Why?”
“Because you are with child.”
For a moment, I didn’t think I heard him correctly. “What?”
“You did not know?”
Turning away, I put my hand to my belly. I had been sick, and when I could eat again, my appetite returned in force. I’d grown rounder, but I’d not thought it was because of a babe. “I had no reason to think…” With the pack growing larger, the attacks of the Corpse King and Brenna’s boys, I’d been distracted.
“I thought you knew and weren’t telling us,” he muttered
“Of course I didn’t know. If you’d remain in my mind you would understand that I did not realize.”
“I thought perhaps your sisters would’ve told you.”
“They are busy.” Sabine studying her magic. Brenna with the twins. Fleur with her three mates.
I whirled to face him. “And what about you? You are supposed to be my mate. You have not even come to me in these past few months. Are you—” I put my hand over my mouth. Wulfgar moved, a shadow in my mind, an authoritative presence. I didn’t dare accuse him of what I thought. Not out loud. Do you not want the child?
He caught the echo of my thought before I banished it.
Large hands, battle rough, closed on my arms. “Of course I want the babe. Of course.”
“Then what is wrong?”
His hands fall away. He shook his head, and stepped back.
Wulfgar?
Be well, Muriel. Just like that, he is gone.
Babies’ laughter wafted from the outside, a reminder of the sunshine and happiness only a few feet away. But I was grateful for the darkness inside the cave as I wrapped my arms around my shaking body.
Fergus caught me as I doubled over. “Easy, lass, shhh.” He pulled me into his rough embrace. His bristly beard scratched my cheek, and I realized I was crying.
“He said—”
“I heard.” Fergus cradled my head against him as I wept.
“What’s wrong? What did I do?”
“Hush, Muriel, ye did nothing wrong. It’s all right.”
“He was so sad. He didn’t want to touch me.”
“He wants ye all right. He burns for ye. It kills him to stay away.”
“It hurts me too.” I wiped my cheeks, angry with myself for crying. I should be happy. I’ve always wanted a child.
“He’s afraid.”
I stare at Fergus. Wulfgar is the most powerful w
arrior in the pack. He could be an Alpha. “Of me?”
“Of happiness. Since I’ve known him, he’s wanted this. A lovely wife. A family. He’s wished so long for one. And now that it’s here, he’s facing the greatest enemy he’s ever known. Wulfgar is a warrior. And one misstep, one second of faltering in this fight, and he could lose it all. Wouldn’t you be afraid, too?”
Sabine
“Come, little witch,” Maddox took my arm as I rose from finishing the summoning spell. Yseult had left, and the warriors had mostly dispersed. After Yseult had given her news on how to defeat the Corpse King, none of us felt like lingering.
“Where are we going?” I rubbed my face to rid myself of a slight headache—an effect of the concentration required to make magic.
Maddox steadied me as I followed him down the long stone hall. “I am to leave soon. But first I have something to show you.”
My head had cleared by the time we entered the sleeping chamber. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized Ragnvald was there, waiting. My second mate was tall, one of the tallest of Berserkers. The low light shaped his regal profile
“Ragnvald?”
He turned and beckoned to me. “We do not have much time.”
I go to him slowly.
“What—?” he cut my question off with a kiss. His hands played over my body, long elegant fingers searched for something. When they found the ties of my gown and tugged, he smiled against my mouth.
I tried to catch the garment but it fell to the floor, and Ragnvald wrapped his arms around me to deter me from grabbing it.
“Maddox—” I appealed to my other mate, but he was already naked, tattooed muscles on display as he poured oil from a jar into his hand. He let the golden liquid fall, dripping down the hard V leading to his groin. He took his long cock in hand, slickening it.
“This is what you had to show me?” I freed myself from Ragnvald long enough to cross my arms over my chest.
Maddox’s fangs glinted at me. “Help me, little witch,” he came forward. “I must be ready to fill you.”
