Story Overview
Two men tore Erica’s world apart in another life. One was the man she loved and the other the enemy. Now both are back, and it’s up to her to make sure an ancient blood feud doesn’t destroy everyone she cares about. That means steering clear of her dragon mate. But sometimes memories are too strong and the past too powerful. Or so it seems when she slips back in time and ends up on an unexpected journey with a man she was determined to forget.
Having confronted who he once was and what he did in a previous life, Kodran Sigdir sets out to seek answers. He needs to better understand his part in an age old war and to keep his distance from Erica. They should remain apart. Yet destiny seems to be drawing him back to her. How he once felt. All he gave up. Could things go differently this time? Or will the risk to their people be too great? Find out as Erica, Kodran and their kin go up against the enemy one last time in Pride of a Viking, the epic conclusion of Viking Ancestors’ Kin.
Contents
Series Overview
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Coming Soon
Previous Releases
About the Author
Series Overview
Long ago, a new tribe was born onto Midgard, or Middle Earth, via one of the Nine Worlds, Múspellsheimr, a place of fire and lava. They were a clan of Vikings who were half man, half creature. A species called dragon that was more powerful than any other. Three dragon lineages were born of the first family. Two warred with each other. One remained neutral. All except the Sigdir clan were eventually assumed extinct until a tenth-century Viking determined to keep his MacLomain descendants safe angered the gods. When that happened, old enemies surfaced and unknowing allies from the twenty-first century were forced into the open. Now war will wage as three families born of another world are submerged in an age-old blood feud.
Best Reading Order
Rise of a Viking- Book 1
Vengeance of a Viking- Book 2
A Viking Holiday- Book 2.5
Soul of a Viking- Book 3
Fury of a Viking- Book 4
Her Wounded Dragon- Book 4.5
Pride of a Viking- Book 5
Rise of a Viking will be available exclusively in multi-author boxed set Warriors of Odin from July 1st to October 1st of 2017.
Pride of a Viking
The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors’ Kin
Book Five
By
Sky Purington
COPYRIGHT © 2017
Pride of a Viking
Sky Purington
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Edited by Cathy McElhaney
Cover Art by Tamra Westberry
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
This is for Michelle, the newest edition to my beta reader team. You fought cancer and won. May the strength of positive thinking always heal and keep you strong.
It’s wonderful to have you on board, my fan turned good friend.
God Bless.
xo
Chapter One
Winter Harbor, Maine
July 2017
ERICA SAT IN her car at Raven’s Nest and stared out over the Atlantic. It was almost time. She eyed the jagged-edged blade in her hand. There was nothing quite like being reconnected with this. More so, the memories it invoked.
Memories tens of thousands of years old.
“Damn it, Erica,” she whispered to herself as emotions bubbled up. “There’s no time for this. Pull yourself together.”
Had he been here, Anthony would have said, “What are you talking about? You’ve always got it together,” then dished out one of those charming smiles he had perfected.
But he wasn’t here anymore, and she barely felt pulled together. It had been a long couple of years trying to come to terms with everything she had learned about not only herself but also her family. What they were. The connection they shared with Viking dragons of the past. Most specifically, the Sigdirs. Then there was the one Sigdir. Kodran. A man connected to her across time. Not just in this life but one they had lived long before that.
He was her dragon mate.
Yet their souls were connected much differently than most dragon mates. It was a strange, almost taboo connection that could cause a great deal of trouble for them and their people. Which is why it was best to stay away from one another.
Her eyes dropped to the blade again, and she shook her head. As she discovered on her recent trip back in time, this dagger was at the heart of everything and determined to bring them back together. She never should have touched it when Kodran held it out. She knew better. Yet part of her wanted him to remember. To recall what she started remembering years ago.
Now he had.
The second they touched the blade at the same time.
She sighed and pushed that moment to the back of her mind. The look in his eyes. Happiness that quickly turned to disappointment. Then sadness and anger.
All that aside, it was time to get moving. So she tucked the blade in her briefcase, pulled out of her parking space and headed north. Her GPS took her to a sprawling chalet on Frenchman Bay. A place she owned but had only ever visited in spirit form. After she parked, she continued to sit there. Was she really ready to do this? Was she truly prepared?
“You have to be, Erica,” her father would have said. “Everyone’s depending on you now.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. How was she going to do this without Anthony’s strength? Without dad’s? Did she really have it in her?
Her eyes shot open when a tap resounded on the driver’s side window. Her sister Lauren stood outside giving her a there-you-are-at-last look. Her mate, Tait stood beside her.
No more hiding. It was time to face things. Because one way or another, the blade had set things in motion and now that she had come here, there was no turning back. The enemy would soon follow.
So she grabbed her briefcase, pasted the calm and collected expression she had worn in numerous courtrooms on her face, and got out.
“Erica, where have you been?” Lauren took in her attire with barely masked disappointment. “You look different than when I last saw you.”
In spirit form, she had been dressed casually. That was what her sister was hoping for now. No such luck. This time she was wearing an expensive designer business suit. A look that had been hers for years. Right now she needed it. In a way, it was like wearing armor into battle.
“Technically, I look the same.” Her eyes swept over Tait before she closed the car door and breezed past t
hem. He looked too damn much like his brother. She continued to address her sister over her shoulder. “The last time you saw me in person, that is, Lauren.”
“Erica,” Lauren exclaimed. “Stop right there.”
She bit back a smile at the confident yet stern tone of Lauren’s voice. Her sister had come a long way. Instead of letting people walk all over her, she was finally taking charge.
“Yes?” Erica spun on her heel and perked a brow. “What is it?”
“What is it?” Lauren shook her head. “Are you kidding me? You just stroll in here as if you did not haunt us and as if you did not now...”
Lauren continued talking, but her voice was drowned out by a motorcycle pulling into the driveway. Ah, the perfect escape. Erica shook her head and mouthed, “Sorry, I can’t hear you,” before she headed for the house again.
“Stop, Erica,” Lauren shouted before the motorcycle turned off. “And explain how you knew we had a brother but never told us!”
Erica sighed and again spun on her heel as one of many secrets she had kept over the years swung off his bike. “Hello, Kage.”
“So formal.” He grinned as he eyed her outfit then looked between her and Lauren. “Trying to imitate the uptight sister then?” Though Lauren’s eyes rounded at him, they softened as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and winked. “Uptight in a good way.” He grinned at Tait. “Keeps us all entertained, eh?”
Though she had known about their long lost brother for a while now, everyone else only knew he existed as of a few weeks ago when he showed up with his mate, Vivienne. Viv, as they all called her, was part of a tribe of Sigdir dragons that until recently no one knew existed. An ancient tribe that had traveled forward through time from when dragons were new on Earth. Now they remained hidden here in the twenty-first century until the time was right.
“And did you know Kage was Mema Angie’s long lost son?” Lauren kept rambling primly as Erica rolled her eyes and headed inside. Tait had loosened her sister up a lot, but she still had a ways to go.
“Lauren,” Erica called out before she shut the door. “Please come inside. We need to talk business.”
As soon as she entered the house, she slowed and swallowed hard. The last time she was here, dad had been with her. Things were still under control. Now? She pressed her lips together and fought a wave of nausea. Now things might be so out of control she wouldn’t be able to make them right again.
“You can do this, Sis,” Kage murmured into her mind. “By the way, good to see you alive and well. You had me worried.”
“Sorry,” she replied. “I just didn’t want you involved any more than you needed to be.”
“Well, I hope we’re past that now,” he said. “Because you shouldn’t be handling this on your own anymore.”
She had known about Kage because her dad had told her. Then, as it turned out, he fell into her circle. A circle that had put them both through hell. Now they were free of it, and she and her sisters had their brother at last. One who had been secretly watching over and protecting them.
Suffice it to say, he had been doing it at the expense of his own safety as he pretended to be the right-hand-man of their archenemy, Hallstein. A man who she had also involved herself with to see through her own agenda. A few weeks before Kage finally arrived in Winter Harbor, she had been staying at her brother’s place. It was there that things with Hallstein hit a new level that might very well end in a whole world of shit.
“Breathe, Erica,” she muttered. “You can do this.”
That’s why she dressed like she had today. The way she used to when going into courtrooms and fighting for all her client was worth. Because it was empowering. It gave her confidence. She might prefer the more casual clothing she had worn during her ethereal visit, but right now she needed something more.
First and foremost, to sell this house.
“I wondered when you would finally show up, dear,” came a soft voice from behind her. “Would you like something to drink?”
Would she ever but she needed to keep a level head.
“No, thank you,” she said as an attractive older woman walked into the kitchen. “It’s good to finally meet you when I’m not a ghost of sorts, Angie.”
“Please, call me Mema Angie.” Her regard was warm and welcoming. “It’s good to finally meet you too, Erica.” Her eyes lit up as the others joined them. Most specifically Kage. Yet they didn’t linger on her son long before they went to the briefcase Erica had set on the counter. “I take it the documents in there are for me?”
Lauren frowned as she looked between them. “Why? What are they in regards to?” Then her eyes locked on Erica. “And are you finally going to talk to me like a normal human being? You had no problem doing so the last time you were here.”
“I’m sorry, Lauren.” Erica did her best to soften her expression. “I have to conduct some business with Mema Angie first and need you to witness it.”
“What kind of business could you possibly be conducting?” Lauren asked.
“The kind that gives her ownership of this house.”
Lauren’s brows shot up. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s talking about selling this property to Mema Angie before the last of you travel back in time,” Megan said softly as she joined them. “Just like this house was sold to Sean when my sisters and I vanished back in time.”
Megan looked better than Erica expected. The last she heard she was back in the hospital after what had already been a year long battle with cancer.
“Oh,” Lauren whispered as she glanced from Kage to Mema Angie. “I guess selling the house makes sense, doesn’t it.” A frown settled on her face. “I suppose I just always thought you would join us in Scandinavia after this was all over.” It was clear she was fighting emotions. “I think it is safe to say you have become like a mother to many of us.”
Especially Lauren, Erica would think, given that she was trapped in this house for several months.
“What a nice thing to say but no, sweetheart, I won’t be joining you in the end.” Angie poured a few glasses of white wine and handed one to Lauren. The other she slid Erica’s way. “Someone needs to stay here and keep an eye out for any time travelers that might happen through.”
While Lauren dealt with that news by sinking down on an island stool, Kage opted for a beer. As if she sensed the distress he didn’t show, Vivienne joined them a few seconds later.
“Erica,” Viv exclaimed and hugged her. “I’m so damn glad to see you’re all right.” She pulled back and eyed her over, worried. “You are, aren’t you?” Then she cocked her head, confused. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Ah, so that is no longer your normal look,” Lauren murmured. “What a relief.”
Erica made no comment. She understood that despite her fairly good ethereal visit before, there was still a lot of tension between her and her sisters. Mainly Cybil. But she couldn’t focus on that right now.
First, Mema Angie.
She opened her briefcase, removed the blade then the paperwork.
“Loki’s cock.” Tait’s eyes widened on the knife. “The Gungnir blade.” His eyes went to Erica. “We assumed you had it but weren’t sure until now.”
Erica remained focused on Angie. “I have the power to magically sign on behalf of my sisters and me.” She set a pen down on the papers. “Are you ready to accept?”
They could have done it electronically but with something of this nature—a property such as this one—it was best to seal the deal in ink. Better yet, on paper she had specially made from the bark of an ash tree.
“I’m ready to accept,” Mema Angie confirmed. Yet when she went for the pen, Megan put her hand over it first and shook her head.
“No.” Megan’s eyes met Mema Angie’s. “You’ve spent far too many years away from your son.” Her eyes flickered from Kage back to Angie. “Both of you have done so much for all of us. That means this doesn’t end with you two being separat
ed again.”
“But someone has to stay,” Angie said softly. Her eyes narrowed slightly on Megan. “Don’t even think about it, my friend. You’ve come too far, and you will see your Viking King again.”
“I know.” Megan’s voice was whisper soft. “Until then, I’ll hold down the fort here.”
Erica clenched her teeth and kept her face emotion-free. This wasn’t easy to watch, but it was not her place to offer an opinion.
Not when Megan clearly planned to die here and then see her husband in the afterlife.
Tait rested his hands on Lauren’s shoulders in comfort when a slight tremble went through her. Erica remained detached. It wasn’t that she was cold-hearted. Not at all. She just needed to maintain her role as a lawyer right now. She needed to let Fate take care of this.
“Please don’t make this difficult, Angie,” Megan murmured as their eyes held. “I need to do this. I want to.”
Angie’s eyes grew moist as their eyes held but in the end, she was gracious enough not to put up a fight. “Okay, dear,” she whispered and nodded. “Do what you must.”
Megan looked at Erica. “I take it you can adjust these documents easily enough to my name?”
“Of course.” Erica touched it, murmured a chant and everything was taken care of. “It’s all set.”
Megan’s eyes stayed on hers for a brief flicker. Enough to tell Erica that she had been impressed by her quick use of dragon magic.
“Thank you,” Megan said as she focused on the paperwork.
After that, silence settled over the room as Megan signed everything and officially bought back the house she had once owned. Later that evening, after Erica made sure everything was processed online, the I’s were dotted and T’s crossed, she finally changed into some comfortable slacks and a tasteful sleeveless shirt. It was nice to find a happy medium with clothing. To finally shed the business suit armor and at the same time take a break from the get-up she’d been wearing around Hallstein. Tight skinny jeans, spiked heels, and skimpy shirts got old real quick.
She inhaled deeply and stared at herself in the mirror. It had been an especially rough few months chumming around with the enemy, and it was taking a toll on her looks. Her usually warm, smooth skin struck her as drawn and her dark auburn hair with lighter shades of red, whitish blond, gold, and even cedar brown, seemed lackluster. On top of that, her thickly lashed deep green eyes that could turn a few heads on a good day seemed to lack their usual vibrancy.
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