I was actually glad that I could not cry in that moment, because if I could have, I would have been a blubbering baby. He didn’t talk much, but he was one of the most caring of the pack. When I was sick last year, he had brought me soup to work. He didn’t say a word, just dropped the soup on my desk and went to the back of the office.
Immense power unlike any I had felt before suddenly appeared. It wasn’t evil, but it also wasn’t pure. The presence made me want to cower, but being frozen meant I could do nothing. The presence moved closer and Lucas crouched in front of me with claws instead of fingertips.
“Easy,” Tysen ordered him.
A man with black hair and strange leather clothes squatted at my feet and peered at me with squinted green eyes. His eyes roved up my body and rested on my eyes. A smile splayed across his face and it was reassuring and sexy at the same time. “Hello, beautiful. Got a bit of a cold going on?”
“Can you cure her?” Tysen asked, his eyes lit with hope.
The smile melted away and the man, no God, shook his head.
Who was he? Why hadn’t they introduced him to me?
“Please, Loki,” Tysen begged, “I’ll do almost anything.”
“Careful,” Loki, Trickster and God, warned him. “You need to be very careful what you say to Demons and even, no, especially Gods.”
“Can you help us defeat the Demon? He’s too strong for us to defeat by fighting. That’s how we got into this predicament in the first place,” Marco explained.
“Tell me what happened,” Loki ordered them.
“We were camping in the mountains and exploring one of the caves,” Tysen began. “While in there we ran into the Demon, Beleneth, and with all of us there, he defeated us easily. We didn’t stand a chance. It wasn’t until he came to collect her that we found out she had bargained for our lives by selling her soul and suffering to him for five years.”
Loki laughed and then looked down at me. “That’s quite a woman you have.”
“I know,” Tysen agreed.
“I’m sorry that I cannot cure her, but there may be something I can do,” Loki said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
“That’s not ominous sounding at all,” Lucas whispered.
“Come, let’s go talk outside,” Loki ordered Tysen.
“Lucas, stay with…”
“On it,” Lucas replied before Tysen could finish the order. He sat down next to me and smoothed my hair down around my head.
Loki looked at us a moment and then spun on his heel and headed out the back door.
“I hope he has something that will work. As soon as you are back and moving, I’m going to give you the biggest hug you’ve ever had,” he informed me with a smirk.
Lucas began to sing softly in a language I had never heard before as he braided my hair. What was it? I wished I knew what the words meant, but it sounded like a lullaby. Did Lucas have a family? Or had he? There was so much I didn’t know about the boys. I would find out everything about each of them when I was free. I would be free. Tysen would save me. Somehow.
Lucas stopped singing and then the back door opened. Tysen sat down next to me with a wide smile. “We’ve got it.”
“Got what?” Lucas asked.
“The thing we need to save her. Loki is a trickster, true to his name, and he’s going to help us trick Beleneth.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Lucas asked. “If it backfires, he could take her from us permanently or…”
“This will work. I know it will,” Tysen said with a quick nod of his head.
“You’re exhausted,” Lucas whispered. “Lay down and take a nap. I’ll guard the house.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need…”
“Tysen, you may be Alpha, but we aren’t stupid or blind. Lay down with her and go to sleep. I’ll keep the house safe while you’re sleeping.”
Lucas stood and walked away, whispering to the other guys who then moved away from us as well.
“He’s talked more this week than in the past two years,” Tysen whispered as he lay down beside me, his head resting on my chest. “I’ve always said that you were good for this pack. Now I know it.”
Chapter Six
“Beleneth, I summon thee,” Tysen growled while standing over my body.
“Will this work?” Marco whispered.
“It’s better than staring at her motionless body all day,” Lucas growled.
All of them looked drained and exhausted. Was my connection to them and the issue with my soul causing them pain?
“Although I normally wouldn’t allow myself to be summoned in such a crude manner, it is a much more filling meal when I’m close to you and your despair,” Beleneth said with a smirk as he appeared next to me.
It was too bad that my hands and fingers wouldn’t work so that I could flip him off.
“I want to make a deal with you,” Tysen said.
No! Tysen, don’t do it!
“Oh?” Beleneth asked with raised eyebrows. “I’m listening.”
“I will get you the Sword of Trine, if you release your spell and void the contract,” Tysen said and folded his arms across his chest.
“The Sword of Trine? The one Loki has possession of?” Beleneth asked.
“Yes.”
“How do you expect to pull that off?” Beleneth asked with a scoff and folded his arms across his chest.
“Is it a deal or not?” Tysen demanded instead of answering his question.
“Fine. I will return here in two days and if you have the sword, I will release her from my spell as well as void the contract and never see you again.”
Tysen held out his hand and Beleneth shook it. Beleneth laughed maniacally and then disappeared.
“Two days?” Lucas growled.
“It makes it less suspicious to agree to that timeframe than to say give me ten minutes,” Tysen explained. “He would know something was up if we wanted to do it now.”
Lucas growled again and went out into the backyard. I wanted to go talk to him. I was really tired of being frozen. What if it didn’t work? What if they couldn’t convince him to free me? He was a demon after all. He could just kill me at any moment.
“Jess?” Tysen asked and turned back to me with furrowed brows.
“What’s going on?” Marco asked.
“Her heart rate increased,” Tysen explained. He knelt down, his jaw covered in hair since he had not been shaving, and rested his hand on the center of my chest.
Worrying about the outcome had made my heart race. With Tysen touching me, I was able to calm down and soon my heart was beating at the appropriate rhythm. Tysen exhaled and placed a light kiss on my forehead.
“You’re bad for my heart,” Tysen whispered in my ear with a smirk.
If I got out of this, I would do whatever he asked. If he wanted me to quit my job and stay home, I would. I just wanted to cuddle with him and play with the pack again.
“Did he take the bait?” Loki asked, appearing beside us.
“Yes. He said he would be back in two days,” Tysen explained.
“She’s doing worse,” Loki commented.
“What?” Tysen asked.
Loki squatted down and reached towards me. Tysen growled at him, but Loki ignored him and touched my forehead. “Calm down, Jess,” Loki ordered me. “You’re stressing yourself out and it’s making your body react. I promised your mate that I would help and I swear to you that I will do all that I can to help you return to your normal self. Okay? So, relax and stop thinking about the worst outcomes.”
His words were reassuring and he was a God, so I obeyed him.
“Good girl,” he praised and stood back up.
“Is she okay?” Ben asked. He had decided to stay here for a few weeks and once he saw what had happened to me, he decided to stay at the house to help protect me.
“Yes, for now,” Loki replied.
“The sword, did you bring it?” Marco asked.
Loki set a long i
tem wrapped in a burgundy cloth on the coffee table. “As promised. Please, remember not to touch it.”
“What happens if we touch it?” Ben asked.
Loki smirked. “I will leave that surprise for when the Demon takes it.”
None of this sounded like a good idea. There was so much that could go wrong. I was helpless to do anything. I couldn’t even give them my advice.
“How do we contact you once he takes the sword?” Tysen asked Loki.
“You won’t need to contact me. I will know as soon as he touches it and come to collect it.” Loki turned to me and said, “It’s been awhile since a human has caused so much trouble for a werewolf pack. I can tell that you all care for her though.”
“We do,” Ben agreed.
Loki nodded his head and sat next to me.
“What are you doing?” Tysen asked, his lip slightly curled at the edge in an snarl.
“I swear I won’t harm her. I just want to check on something.” Loki placed his fingers on my temples and warmth spread from them into my head.
“Can you speak?” Loki asked.
Not out loud.
“I see. So, you are able to see everything that is going on, but can’t move?”
Yes. It is incredibly annoying and frustrating to have to just lie here awake for a week. I thought I might be able to communicate through the mate bond, but it does not seem to be working.
“Is she in pain?” Tysen asked and squatted by me.
Loki looked at me and waited for my response.
No.
“No,” he said to Tysen, relaying my reply.
Can you tell Tysen, um, I love him and to be careful.
“Tysen, she wants you to be careful and wanted me to remind you that she loves you.”
Thank you.
“You are quite welcome. I also have a present for you.” Loki cupped his hands together, green light filled them, and then when he pulled them apart, he held a small necklace with a green gem. He tied it around my neck. “This will provide you protection from a myriad of things. I’d recommend not taking it off. As a human mated to a werewolf, there will be a few people who try to come after you. Especially since you have discovered that you are an Omega.”
“That’s really generous,” Tysen thanked him.
“How do you know about Omegas? What do you know about Omegas?” Lucas asked.
“Omegas used to be very common,” Loki informed everyone. “They were hunted down by the packs with more malicious intents to keep from being calmed down by them. I would keep a very close eye on her once she returns to being fully functional.”
“Just because they can calm others down, they killed them?” Kevin asked softly in disbelief.
“Omegas don’t just calm them down, they remove the malicious intent from them. Yes, they can get the intent back quickly, but it greatly hinders their attacking power. I once witnessed an entire pack killed by an Omega’s mate since his intent was not murderous, but to protect the mate he loved.”
Wow. It almost made me sound like I might be a bad ass.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about Omegas? Or about her being a human and an Omega?” Lucas asked.
Loki shook his head. “She’s the first human Omega I have ever encountered or heard of.”
“Thank you,” Tysen said with a furrowed brow as he took in everything that Loki had said.
“I need to go now. I’ll return once he takes the sword,” Loki informed us and then disappeared.
“You think it is a good idea to accept gifts from the Trickster?” Ben asked.
Tysen sighed. “No idea, but we will just keep an eye on her.”
“Not like we already aren’t,” Marco said with a soft laugh.
* * *
Two days passed by slower than molasses defrosting in the middle of winter. Being frozen was beyond boring and not being able to communicate with Tysen or the rest of the pack made it worse. If I could have just talked to Tysen while frozen, it would have made the days go by so much easier.
Finally, Beleneth showed up. He was in his demon form and looked as terrifying as I remembered him being from the cave. “So, where is it?” he asked as he looked around at the pack with smoldering red eyes that looked to be made from Hellfire.
The entire pack had shown up to provide support and back up if needed. They were stationed around me in the living room so that they could leap in at any moment to protect me.
Tysen was tired and could barely move around. He drew on the energy from his pack to appear fully functional as he faced Beleneth. “Right here,” he said and indicated the wrapped sword, which was still sitting on the coffee table.
Beleneth unwrapped it and chuckled. “I don’t know how you did it, but this just made my decade.”
“Release Jess,” Tysen ordered him.
Beleneth snapped his fingers and warmth filled my core. Slowly feeling came back to my body and I was able to sit up. Tysen rushed to me and hugged me tightly.
“Is she released from the contract?” Lucas asked.
Beleneth nodded. “Yes.” He picked up the sword by the hilt and laughed maniacally while holding it up in the air. “With this, I will be able to destroy all of the other demon rulers and…”
His body froze mid-sentence.
“What?” I asked.
“No!” Beleneth screamed as the sword spread a white mist from the blade down around his hand, arm, and the rest of his body. His scream turned into one of pain as the mist began to burn him alive. Hissing, popping, and bubbling became the only sounds until Beleneth disappeared and the sword fell to the ground with a loud clang.
“Do not touch the sword!” Tysen ordered the pack.
“Like we would after seeing that!” Ben scoffed.
“Seems that our plan worked,” Loki commented and picked up the sword. He tilted it and smiled as he looked at the blade.
“Yes, thank you.”
“What happened to him?” I asked Loki.
Loki turned and smiled at me. “It’s nice to see you alive and moving, Jess. To answer your question, he is now stored within the blade. Every being that is sucked up into the blade gives it more power. I have collected over a thousand beings, but it has been a long time since I was able to find a demon to add to the collection.”
“Wow,” I whispered. No wonder he had agreed to help us. Not only did he help us, but we helped him become more powerful. I hoped that was something we would not regret later.
“Thank you, again, for your help, Loki. We wouldn’t have been able to get her without you,” Tysen whispered.
“I may be the Trickster, but I am married and understand loving your mate,” he replied. “Take care of this pack, Jess. They will need your help in the years to come.”
“I will try to keep them in line,” I promised and hugged Tysen.
Loki disappeared and the entire pack rushed to me. Tysen let them all take turns hugging me and then stole me back to give me a long kiss. He smoothed my hair back and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Next time you want to save us, try to avoid making deals with demons,” Ben said with a smirk.
Everyone laughed and I smiled wide as I replied, “I’ll keep that in mind.” I looked around the room at the group of men I considered my family and knew this was where I belonged.
“You know what this night needs?” Tysen asked.
“Pizza!” everyone yelled in unison.
The pack gathered around and squished me into a group hug. The love they all felt for me filtered through the mate bond and I knew in that instant what it meant to be loved. I smiled wide and said, “It’s good to be home.”
About the Author
Catherine Banks is a USA Today Bestselling fantasy author who writes in several fantasy subgenres under two pseudonyms. She began writing fiction at only four years old and finished her first full-length novel at the age of fifteen. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery
, who she has two amazing children with. After her full time job, she reads books, plays video games, and watches anime shows and movies with her family to relax. Although she has lived in Northern California her entire life, she dreams of traveling around the world. Catherine is also C.E.O. of Turbo Kitten Industries™, a company with many hats including being a book publisher and Etsy store full of nerdy fun.
Where to Find More of Catherine Banks
http://www.CatherineBanks.com
http://www.Facebook.com/CatherineBanksAuthor
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/catherine-banks-eb3fe1ef-b74d-452c-b1bf-a037f1500a37
Frozen Soul Page 8
