by Elle Thorne
Brenna quickly realized there would be no help and no quarter given by these women. There would be no help for Calder. She had to extricate herself as swiftly as she could, without giving away that Calder was well and alive.
“I traveled here alone, did I not?” She raised a brow and locked gazes with Astrid, who seemed to be the leader, though Eerika could be a close second.
“What is your business with my mother,” Helga insisted.
“I was hoping for her expertise. Perhaps some training in her skills.”
Eerika folded her arms over her chest. “Why is it that your father and husband say they have not seen you? Astrid saw your father. He declared you dead. As did your husband.”
Brenna swallowed uncomfortably. “I am dead to them. How did Freyja make them obsolete? What about having children?”
Astrid and Eerika belted out bawdy laughter, looked at each other as though enjoying an inside joke.
“We find ones that can serve that purpose,” Astrid informed her.
“And the only babies we give birth to are girls.” Helga’s tone carried pride.
“If you’re traveling alone, and have no home, join us.” Astrid picked up a sword and shield from a pile of weapons and held them out to Brenna.
Brenna thought of her two sons. She had questions, but more than anything, she was anxious to be gone from this place.
The bitterness the women harbored was evident and understandable, but Brenna did not share in the sentiment. She had a good man, two wonderful sons, and a third child on the way. She had no desire to be a part of a group that so clearly had no use for men.
“I cannot. I must be on my way. I had hoped that I would see Freyja, but since she is not here…”
“My mother does not stay in any one village. She visits several. She is worshipped among our people, viewed as much more than a high witch. She’s godly born and divine fated.”
“Thank you, sisters.” With this final word, Brenna made her way from the village that so much history had been made.
She had her own history to make.
First Epilogue
Calder’s fighting sons
Years later.
Calder studied his sons. All three, now nearly men. Gunnar, Torsten, and Halvar. The last, born not long after his brother Halvar’s death.
Gunnar pulled back the string on the bow and nocked the arrow.
Careful, son, do not let the elk hear you.
But Calder did not voice the thought. He’d brought his boys up well, they were strong hunters, good men. He and Brenna had done a fine job. He cast a glance backward at the woman who’d claimed his heart.
She caught his gaze and smiled back. She’d never told him what resulted from her visit to the village all those years ago, the visit that he knew she’d hoped would set his bear free. That had never happened.
What did happen, which was the final stroke that led Calder to tell his sons about his life’s dream—he’d learned his sons had bears. And like his bear, theirs were chained to never make their presence known.
He’d learned this when Gunnar was six summers old. Gunnar had come to him, told him he could hear a roaring, but could not find the animal that caused the roar anywhere in the forest.
That was the day that broke Calder’s heart. His son’s bear was a prisoner. It was the curse that he carried and passed on to his sons.
He’d found out, as the years progressed, that the curse passed on to each of his sons.
His hatred had grown renewed for the witch Freyja who had not only killed his men and taken his bear, but also killed his sons’ animals.
The last part of the curse, well, Calder had not learned that immediately.
Oh, no. That had been revealed to him two years ago when he and his family had been set upon by vagabonds who traveled through the wilderness and made victims of all they came across.
It was when this group made the fatal mistake to attack Calder and Brenna’s family that Calder learned the nature of the final part of the curse that Freyja had visited upon them.
Oh, yes, this curse that caused him and his sons to become like beasts in battle, cutting down the men, moving with a speed and a bloodlust with vastly more ferocity than any shifter Calder had ever known.
The curse’s overpowering strength was such that Calder caught Torsten’s hands around Brenna’s neck when he pulled him off her.
The bloodlust blinded Torsten to all but the others who would berserk, killing at will.
Torsten had shed tears, putting his young head in his mother’s lap and begging her forgiveness.
And Calder’s fury and hatred for Freyja and her kind burned more fiercely than he could have thought possible. It was because of her he lost his bear, and nearly lost his mate.
After the melee, after the brigands that had set upon Calder’s family were dead, Calder took his sons out to the forest to talk to them, to explain what had happen.
He’d told them about the village. Their people. How they had once been bear shifters and now were cursed by the witch. How his boys carried the curse, and as far as he could tell, it would be transferred as such, from father to son.
He also told them about the Valkyrie, a secret he hadn’t even told Brenna about.
For Calder held a secret. On his many hunting trips, he’d not only brought back meat to sustain his family, he’d visited the village where it all began.
He’d seen the women. The Valkyrie. He’d noted the way they trained. He’d witnessed their hatred of men.
And he’d fostered his own hatred. He’d noted the Valkyrie. He’d seen an occasional visit from Freyja. And he would have attacked, if he’d thought for a moment he could be victorious. The thought that he might lose his life and leave his mate to fend for herself and their sons had stayed his hand and his temper.
It had not, however, quenched his thirst for vengeance. He would carry this desire, and he would pass it on to his sons, that was his intent.
So, he’d told his sons about the witch and the Valkyrie, their uncle Halvar. He’d told them everything, and when they grew older, he’d taken them to see the Valkyrie village. He’d taken them three years in a row, until the last time, when they’d found the village gone, all signs of where they’d gone carefully hidden.
Calder and his sons had scouted, studied the ground for any sign of which direction the women had gone. There was no hint, no clue. It was obvious there was a deliberate attempt to keep their tracks hidden.
Why? Did they know he was watching them? Did they know he targeted them? Spied on them? Was that why they’d moved?
“Where do you think they went?” Gunnar had asked him.
“I do not know, son.” But he made it his mission to find out.
And his sons had made it their missions as well. And their sons’ sons. And so on, and so forth, through the generations, the rivalry of the Valkyrie and the berserkers was born and fostered.
There would be no peace between them until the berserkers’ bears were returned to them.
Second Epilogue
Freyja’s final words
In a village far from the cave, far from the massacre that had happened so many years ago, Brenna visited a merchant.
No longer was she recognized, no longer did she fear being discovered by her father or the abusive husband she’d once had.
Still, she covered her hair, wore a scarf so it would hide part of her face, because, ultimately, she did wonder if she’d be found out. If Calder would be discovered. If the Valkyrie would wreak havoc on her life.
She ran the fabric the merchant carried between her fingertips, knowing his was not something she’d be able to afford. She’d chosen her life, and she did not regret it. Fabrics from far away were not to be a part of it.
A wonderful mate and three healthy sons were the path she’d taken.
She had no qualms regarding the choices she’d made.
“You have fine sons,” a voice said.
Brenna knew
that voice, but had not heard it in years and years. She turned slowly to face the speaker.
She stared at the woman. She knew her.
Freyja.
That Freyja knew of her family was a frightful thought. This witch was not to be trifled with. Brenna remained calm, no small task. She looked around to be sure they had no witnesses or eavesdroppers. “You know I have more than one?”
Freyja nodded. “I do. And like their father, they cannot shift.”
Brenna lowered the fabric, stepped closer to Freyja to keep their conversation even more private. “Because of you.”
Freyja’s smile was tight. “Because of the action they took against our own people. The atrocities.”
Brenna acknowledged with a nod. It was not untrue; the clansmen of Calder had not been good to Freyja’s village. “So, you know of my sons, and my mate.”
Freyja inclined her head. “I do.”
“And yet you’ve not sought to harm them. Us.”
“You spared my niece.”
Brenna cocked her head, studying the almost-unaging witch. “Eerika?”
Freyja rewarded her with a slight smile. “My youngest sister’s firstborn.”
“She saved me once, long ago,” Brenna added, and then the thought occurred to her. A thought that made her flesh crawl and her blood run through her body with the burn of ice water. “And now? Will you seek to exact revenge on my sons?”
Freyja shook her head. “I shall not, but their kind will always do battle with the women of my daughter’s descendants. They’ll be locked in an eternal struggle that can only be solved in one of two ways. The eradication of either breed, which would end all the battling, or if the berserkers learn how to turn their kind back into shifters.”
“You could put an end to this, Freyja. It is in your power.”
“It no longer is.”
“How can that be?”
“My daughter Helga and Eerika are no longer alive. Killed in battle. Astrid has moved the Valkyrie into hiding.”
“You are a powerful witch. You can find them if you wish. You can change the course of this.”
“Oh, but I cannot change the course. I cannot reverse my spell. And I cannot find the Valkyrie. They have located a council of witches whose joint power exceeds my own. Their spell keeps my seekers from finding the Valkyrie. And now that Helga is no longer with them, I have no blood connection to use to see.”
Brenna exhaled. “And so, it is to be like this? Forever more?”
Freyja shrugged. “There are ways to change the course, but those are not for me to speak.”
Brenna entered the cabin and dropped the bag of sundries she’d acquired at the traveling merchant’s.
No Calder. No sons.
She stepped outside just in time to see them entering the clearing.
Four fine figures of men. She filled with pride at the sight of them, thankful they were hale and hearty.
Her gaze centered on Calder, who still made her heart beat faster and her body course with a heat she’d never lost.
His gaze locked with hers.
He pointed to Torsten and Halvar. “The boys have done some fine hunting.”
She smiled at her sons. “I see it was a good trip for you.”
“And yours?” he asked.
She’d keep her secret, she decided. “It was a good trip as well. The merchant had much to choose from.”
He stepped closer, kissing her lips, the amber flame of his bear flickered in the depths of his eyes.
She savored the taste of his lips, wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I am happy you are home,” she whispered. “Finally.”
“Always.”
Afterword
I hope you enjoyed Origins!
I can’t wait for you to read the next story!
Another hot wolf shifter. Another sassy, bootylicious woman. Another sexy story!
Check out www.ellethorne.com for more of the Shifters Forever Worlds! There are more than forty shifter stories with their wonderful happily ever afters! And wait until you meet the witches of New Orleans, and the elementals of Colorado, not to mention the polar bears of New York and Russia. So many shifters! So many love stories! Enjoy!
The Shifters Forever Worlds
SHIFTERS FOREVER SERIES
Are you ready for it?
I have a whole world full of shifters to share with you. I’m listing them here, in the suggested reading order, though I’ve tried to make it so that you can pick up anywhere in the series as we all have probably done that at one point or another.
Many of these are organized in box sets for savings. Be sure to visit www.ellethorne.com to see which box sets are out!
Where’s the best place to start? Well, probably with Shifters Forever.
SHIFTERS FOREVER starts the series off with grizzly bear shifters and their mates that steam up the pages in these swoon-worthy paranormal romances. From trespassers with hidden agendas to curvaceous women who are ready to take a chance, the stories in this collection will capture your heart.
•Protection
•Seduction
•Persuasion
•Invitation
•Temptation
•Attraction
ALWAYS AFTER DARK is a spinoff with the white tiger from Shifters Forever: Vax, born Vittorio Tiero. He’s the one that helped Kane out during a shifter battle. Follow the Tiero family, a group of white tiger shifters, as they head to America to find love... and heart-stopping danger. Full of romance, suspense, and gritty drama, this red-hot collection is sure to entertain!
•Controversy
•Territory
•Adversary
•Sanctuary
NEVER AFTER DARK is another spinoff that takes place in Europe. Here we visit cities along the Mediterranean and meet the old school Tiero white tiger shifters who are resistant to change.
•Forbidden
•Forsaken
•Forgotten
•Foreplay
ONLY AFTER DARK takes place in New Orleans. The Arceneaux shifters, led by Lézare, Vax’s white tiger cousin—on his mother’s side. The Arceneaux are the black sheep of the family. Lézare doesn’t cave to public opinion. He dictates policy in the area he rules and he shuns old school European rules and regimes.
•Desirable
•Insatiable
•Combustible
•Undeniable
MORE ONLY AFTER DARK takes place in New Orleans. The Arceneaux shifters and the Matthieu witches wreak havoc and find love within this city set on the steamy Louisiana coastline.
•Inevitable
•Inescapable
BITTER FALLS FOREVER features Mae Forester’s nephew Dane Forester, a freewheeling, sexy, successful, movie star who uses every role and every woman to escape and forget the heartbreak he left in Bitter Falls.
•Unbound
BARELY AFTER DARK features more of Mae Forester’s nephews! Grizzly bear shifters steam up the pages in these swoon-worthy paranormal romances. From trespassers with hidden agendas to curvaceous women who are ready to take a chance, the stories in this collection will capture your heart.
•Cross
•Lance
•Judge
Ever After Dark introduces us to the white tigers you learned to love in Always After Dark, Never After Dark, and Only After Dark. See their heritage. Visit Giovanni Tiero and his brothers Federico and Tito. Get reacquainted with Isabel Tiero and meet her sister Capriana Valenti.
•Stonebound
•Formidable
Shifters Forever After follows a group of polar bears in New York. Russian and rumored to be mobbed up, they are a powerhouse of shifters, determining the fate of many on the East Coast. Mikhail Romanoff, Layla’s father, runs this outfit with an iron fist. Layla’s sexy cousin Malachi features prominently in this series.
•Complication
•Fascination
•Motivation
&
nbsp; •Captivation
•Flirtation
•Infatuation
Forever After Dark takes place in Denver, Colorado. Enter a world of secrets and forbidden love. Panther shifters who who share their worlds with elementals must decide who they can trust—and who they can’t live without.
•Notorious
•Scandalous
•Delicious
•Perilous
UPCOMING SERIES:
Shifters Forever More
Finally After Dark
I do hope you’ll be able to join me on this wonderful journey with our Shifters Forever Worlds Shifters and their mates!
Hugs, Elle!
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