Vengeance of a Viking (The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin Book 2)

by Sky Purington

  Her lips flattened, and her pupils flared. There was an alarming spark in her eyes. “I think I finally do, Bjorn. So now there’s only one way to handle things.”

  “And how is that?” He edged closer, not liking the threat in her voice. What was she up to?

  “Well, I’ve been mulling things over for a while now. Hours in fact.” She considered him. “To my way of thinking, if I managed to get inside your head, maybe I could get inside another mind too.” Samantha tapped her finger against her temple. “Not Cybil or Heidrek’s because they need to stay at the Fortress.”

  “Everyone should stay at the Fortress considering the threat,” he growled.

  “I know, right?” she agreed. “But guess what, Bjorn? You kidnapped me, and now I’m officially scared out of my wits.”

  “What does that mean?” he said, his voice low.

  “That means that I’m afraid for my life.” Her eyes narrowed. “So I called the only guy I know who can shift to come save me.”

  “You put one of my kin’s life at risk?” he said softly, dangerously, knowing full well whose.

  A strange look glazed Samantha’s eyes before she turned, ran, and dove straight off a nearby cliff. Bjorn rushed to the edge of the cave only to see a large, black dragon sweep beneath her and take flight.

  “Tait, you fool!” he roared telepathically. “She is not in her right mind!”

  Tait, naturally, didn’t listen. His dragon had been lured, and he was reveling in the fact he got the woman. But he hadn’t. Not really. Because the woman wasn’t herself right now. No, she was being influenced by the tattoo.

  By Gungnir.

  Loki’s balls. Nothing ever went smoothly.

  Especially not when a woman like Samantha was involved.

  “Do not look her in the eyes when she finds it, Cousin,” he said into Tait’s mind.

  “Finds what?” He felt unease mix with Tait’s reveling.

  “I cannot tell you. Just trust me.”

  “Why should I trust you when you abandoned us?” Tait said. “Your father? Heidrek, your new king?”

  He knew better than to push his cousin too much. Tait could be impetuous and think unclearly when it came to women. “You’re right. You have no reason to trust me yet I hope you will, Dragon. I hope that you will remember I am your brethren and would do anything to protect my people.” Bjorn used his repressed dragon to push the last words into Tait’s mind. “Anything at all.”

  Bjorn started down through the caves quickly, knowing full well where Tait would take her. Where her tattoo would lead them. He climbed longer than he would have liked but finally found them at the heart of the mountain.

  Tait had shifted to a human and stood behind Samantha, perplexed as she knelt and stared at the jagged edged blade on the cave floor. It was no bigger than a small dagger. When his cousin’s eyes met his, Bjorn put a finger to his lips and shook his head. “Let me handle this and keep your eyes averted at all costs.”

  “Why, Cousin?” Tait shook his head, concerned. “You cannot even embrace your dragon.”

  Bjorn kept a finger to his lips and crouched, watching Samantha’s every move. Soon, very soon, she would make her move.

  And he had to be there.

  Right there.

  With a sudden wail, Samantha gripped her tattoo and grabbed the blade. Hand shaking, she stared at it. Tears poured down her face as she lifted her shirt, peeled down the top of her pants and pressed the blunt edge of the blade against her tattoo.

  Though he had prepared himself for this since he first learned she bore the mark of Gungnir, Bjorn was thrown by what he felt when agony ravaged her features. Terrified, barely able to think, he lunged, knelt in front of her and grabbed her arms, forcing her to look at him.

  When her eyes met his, he ground his teeth against the pain that washed over him.

  Like her, he was feeling the blade of Gungnir.

  Steel forged by the god, Loki.

  A gift made especially for the All-Father, Odin. A brother he would always be envious of.

  A blade of trickery unless well-controlled.

  And Bjorn intended to do just that. Control it. As their eyes locked, he murmured words that would keep his family safe from Loki’s games.

  “You will only obey the King’s firstborn son,” Bjorn said. “You will follow his will and his will only.”

  If this went as folklore foretold, then she would have no choice but to listen to him. And he would order her to do everything in her power to keep his people safe. Her people safe. Then he would send her back to the twenty-first century to live out her life there. As far away from him as possible.

  The dragon flared in Samantha’s eyes. “I will follow his will.”

  “My will.”

  “Your will,” she agreed.

  He put his hand over hers and the dagger, effectively sealing the deal before she slumped to the ground and passed out. Tait swept her up and frowned at Bjorn. “What purpose did that serve? Your father is no longer the king.”

  “No, but he was when she got the mark.” Bjorn pocketed the Gungnir blade. “That is what matters.”

  “I do not understand.” Tait shook his head. “Any of this.”

  So Bjorn enlightened him.

  Tait sighed and followed Bjorn deeper into the cave. “So she wasn’t calling me here because she realized how much she wanted me? How she knew I was meant to claim her from the moment we met?”

  “No,” Bjorn said. “You will leave her here and fly home immediately. It is far too dangerous. You were foolish leaving the Fortress at all.”

  “Ah.” Tait snorted. “Meanwhile, you will not force Samantha to your will but take her again and again because she has no choice but to obey.”

  Bjorn shot him a sour look as he settled on a small, dismal chamber in the cave to rest. “I do not want the woman. All I want is my tribe’s safety.” He made a loose gesture. “Lay her there.”

  Tait frowned at the slab of rock. “She is human and dragon and deserves better.”

  “She is influenced by Loki’s blade,” Bjorn said. “That means she is under the influence of trickery. The rock is of Midgard and will keep her grounded.”

  “How did you know to bring her to this mountain, to begin with?” Relief flashed in Tait’s eyes when Bjorn laid a fur on the rock first. “How did you know she would end up with that blade in front of her?”

  Bjorn thought of the moment at Galdhøpiggen’s peak when she curled her shorts down to show everyone the symbol that she’d been dreaming about. He remembered feeling both lust and horrible trepidation. As if he had lived that moment time and time again.

  He had wanted to stop her and make it unreal…part of a dream.

  Yet it wasn’t.

  She had been touched by Loki, and he had to save her—he shook his head, baffled—not her but his family. Maybe even her family too.

  “Cousin?” Tait said. “How did you know?”

  Bjorn shook his head, unwilling to taint his cousin with anything Loki-affiliated. “It does not matter.” He handed Tait a skin of mead. “Sit. Drink. You have my thanks for listening to me. Trusting me. It will not soon be forgotten.”

  Tait drank then eyed Bjorn. “It has been half a fortnight since you left the Fortress. You are missed.”

  “I do not have to tell you,” Tait continued before Bjorn cut him off.

  “No, you do not have to tell me that my father still lies on the brink of death,” Bjorn said. “Or that my little sister and mother remain lost to the future.”

  “Well, somebody does,” Samantha whispered, her eyes still closed. “Or else we might think you’re oblivious.”

  Tait smiled and sat by her side. “Are you awake then, beautiful?”

  “If you want me to be, brown eyes,” she murmured, smiling before her eyes opened.

  “Tait will be leaving soon,” Bjorn said and set to the menial task of gathering wood for a fire rather than using magic. “And you will be fine with h
im leaving.”

  “Right, I will,” she said automatically before her eyes met Tait’s. “Or not.” She tried to sit up, but it clearly didn’t go well because she murmured, “Whoa, thanks,” and leaned against his cousin for support.

  Bjorn ground his jaw in aggravation but said nothing. It made sense that it would take time for a woman like her to adjust to magic. To adjust to a direct order from her new master.

  As if she heard his every thought and wanted to test him, Samantha repositioned herself until her head was laying comfortably on Tait’s lap. With a wide smile and an errant wink at Bjorn, she batted her lashes and gazed almost lovingly at Tait. “Thanks for coming to my rescue, sweetie.” She toyed with the edge of his tunic and nodded at the cave. “But this isn’t exactly what I meant when I asked you to save me from you-know-who.”

  Tait being Tait was sucked right into her womanly web. “Where else would you like to be, Samantha because I can think of—”

  “My cousin will be leaving soon,” Bjorn reiterated.

  “Right, right, that.” Samantha nuzzled a little closer to Tait and kept with that irritating way of feeling his tunic before she pulled his head down and whispered in his ear.

  Bjorn’s eyes narrowed.

  Tait’s did too.

  “All right,” Tait murmured and brushed his lips against her temple. “Then sleep it is.” His eyes met hers. “Are you sure?”

  “I am.” Her eyes went to Bjorn then back to Tait’s. “For all of us.”

  Well, that was more than he expected.

  But good.

  Bjorn ignored the odd sense of victory he felt as Tait found another place to sleep and Samantha settled back, her eyes solely on Bjorn. His cousin eyed him with challenge but knew better than to interfere. They had far bigger things to worry about than a female.

  Yet both were young.

  And both were still adjusting to having a female dragon around.

  A beautiful one at that.

  While he meant to teach her a lesson for calling Tait here to begin with and trying to get away, Bjorn was no monster. Far from it. So when she fell asleep, he covered her with a blanket, stayed beside her and spoke to his cousin. Tait might have thought he was settling in to rest but never was he more wrong. “Time for you to go now.”

  “I will rest then I’ll travel,” Tait mumbled.

  “The last we knew, the enemy preferred to hunt during daylight which is almost here,” Bjorn said. “So you need to get back before the sun comes up.”

  “The enemy’s dead,” Tait muttered and stretched. “Or I would have surely seen him.”

  “Do not act naïve,” Bjorn said. “As our new king wishes, we will assume he is alive until we have confirmed he’s dead.”

  Before Tait could respond, Bjorn continued. “And even if the enemy is dead, remember he was likely not acting alone.” His eyes narrowed on his cousin. “Remember that we face a threat unlike any other. Demi-gods and a dragon lineage we had no idea existed. One that does not like our people and means to see us ended.”

  “I do not think it’s a good idea to leave you two alone.” Tait frowned and eyed Samantha. “How will you protect her, Cousin? How will you protect yourself when you cannot even shift?” His eyes returned to Bjorn. “Come back to the Fortress. Come help defend your kin.”

  “I am,” Bjorn said. “By keeping Samantha away.”

  “This is foolish.” Tait shook his head. “I am staying. I will protect you both.”

  Bjorn growled in frustration and headed Tait’s way. “You will listen to me, Dragon.”

  Tait stood as well, and his dragon eyes flared. “Do not push me, Cousin.”

  There was nothing more infuriating than being trapped in his human form. How helpless he felt. All he could do now was try to reason with his stubborn brethren. “Who is left at the Fortress to help Heidrek? One demi-god and a dragon that, like me, cannot even shift. You are being selfish, Tait.”

  Yet he knew his cousin was acting out not only because of the threat against the Fortress but the Dragon Lair. After all, his parents and three siblings were there.

  “Your count is off,” Tait said. “Three demi-gods and two dragon shifters are at the Fortress. Heidrek and Cybil are very powerful.”

  “And both are new to their dragons,” Bjorn reminded, ready to strangle his cousin. “Go back, Tait.”

  Tait was about to respond when Samantha groaned and gripped her tattoo. Suddenly, she sat up and stared at them. “I heard them. They just spoke to me.”

  “Who?” Bjorn headed her way, more out of instinct to protect than anything else. Certainly not to comfort her.

  “Your family at the big caves,” she murmured, staring blindly before she whispered, “One is mine now.”

  Was she referring to the Dragon Lair? More concerned by the moment, he sat beside her, gripped her arms and narrowed his eyes. “Who is yours now?”

  Samantha’s voice changed, deepened, became possessed. Her eyes turned blood red as they met his. “Come find out, Dragon King’s son. Or else one more life is forfeited.”

  Chapter Four

  SAMANTHA GASPED FOR air as feeling returned so sharply to her body that it felt like her extremities were going up in flames. One second she had been sleeping, the next a puppet on a string. That’s all she could compare it to. She could hear the words coming out of her mouth but couldn’t control them. Worse than that?

  She felt him inside her.

  The enemy’s evil, slimy soul.

  As he slipped free, she gasped for air. Bjorn held her arms tightly, fear and confusion in his eyes, while Tait patted his sides until he found what he was looking for.

  “Here.” He unscrewed a vial and held it to her lips. “Drink this, it might help.”

  “Is that what I think it is?” Bjorn started, but it was too late. The liquid was already trickling down her throat.

  Samantha swallowed and cringed at the bitter taste.

  “Can’t you feel what she was going through?” Tait murmured. “She was touched by another dragon…the dragon.”

  “So you gave her the sweat of an impassioned dragon?” Bjorn said, incredulous.

  “Yes,” Tait said. “It seemed to make sense.”

  Samantha blinked as the pain lessened and another feeling entirely started to spread through her.

  “See.” Tait grinned and sat down on the other side of her as her skin heated. “It’s working.”

  Bjorn muttered something under his breath and loosened his grip as his eyes met hers. “How are you feeling now, Samantha? Is the pain lessening?”

  “It is,” she managed. Whatever was happening to her now made her mouth water. She leaned closer to him and inhaled deeply. There was that sweet smell again. That Bjorn scent that got her going.

  “Samantha, you are under the influence of a drug right now.” He tried to keep her at arm’s length as she sniffed and struggled to get closer. “What you’re feeling isn’t real.”

  “Another drug?” she murmured, more and more aroused by the second, her throat thickening and hoarse. “You’re a bad boy, aren’t you Bjorn?”

  “I did not give you the drug this time.” Bjorn frowned at his own admission. He eyed her cautiously, clearly waiting for her anger. But it wasn’t coming.

  Not yet.

  Right now she had other things on her mind.

  Tait half chuckled, half growled and tried to move into her line of vision. “I’m a bad boy too, Samantha.”

  “Call me Sam,” she murmured, never taking her eyes off of Bjorn.

  “Loki’s cock,” Bjorn said as she wiggled her way onto his lap and caressed as much of his strong thigh as she could manage.

  “Mmm-mm,” she hummed, licking her lips as she shifted her backside back and forth over his rigid arousal. “I don’t know about Loki’s cock but yours feels pretty damn—”

  “Enough.” Bjorn came to his feet so quickly that she nearly lost her footing. Not surprisingly, Tait was there and brought h
er back against his front, murmuring in her ear, “There are other cocks to be had, woman.”

  Whatever she drank was wearing off quickly, but she decided it might not hurt to start playing her new role of obeying Bjorn. Oh yes, she had heard it all after she snapped out of the strange place she’d been in earlier. Though she didn’t know precisely what had happened, she knew it had to do with her tattoo and that Bjorn evidently thought she was under a spell that allowed him to control her. At first, she was tempted to tell him she wasn’t, that it hadn’t worked, but thought better of it.

  Why? Because an opportunity had been presented.

  What better way to learn more about a person than letting them think you were under their spell? Or at least that’s how she looked at it. Because based on her experience, when somebody trusted you, they let you in. And whether or not he knew it now, having her obey him would feel like they were growing closer. That she was doing so willingly. Things would get turned around in his mind. It was just how the subconscious worked. That, in itself, gave her a unique way to get closer to him. More so, to understand him. Because for some reason, she needed to. She was positive that once she did, she would be able to set aside this odd thing happening between them. This bizarre makes-no-sense attraction she felt.

  So she decided to start here and now.

  She didn’t respond to Tait’s invitation as he pressed against her back but lowered her eyes and kept her tone submissive. “Tell me what you want me to do, Bjorn. Should I go with Tait?” She kept her face expressionless though she was tempted to smirk. “Should I enjoy his cock?”

  Tait chuckled again and pulled her even closer. “I say yes.”

  “No.” Bjorn’s eyes narrowed. “How are you feeling now, Samantha?”

  Sam stepped away from Tait. “Better.” Her eyes met his. “My extremities aren’t killing me anymore.”