by Lee Savino
“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 warrior 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?”
6
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, l
ittle witch,” he came forward. “I must be ready to fill you.”
I rolled my eyes, but my nipples were hard as I grasped him with both hands, working the oil up and down his great shaft.
Ragnvald pressed himself to my back, his long fingers dipped between my legs. “She’s ready.”
“She’s always ready for us.” Maddox held my eyes.
Ragnvald turned me and propped my leg on a stone. He and Maddox sandwiched me between them, both steadying and undoing me with clever touches.
“Wait,” I gasped as my two mates pressed kisses to my back and chest, “don’t you want to speak of what the witch told us?”
Ragnvald tugged my hair from its braid, spreading it over my shoulder. He kissed me deeper, growling a little, and I knew then this was how he dealt with the heavy news Yseult had brought.
My mates needed me.
I spread my legs a little, leaning into Ragnvald. “Claim me.”
“I will, little witch.” Ragnvald hitched me closer, set my hips against him. ”We are going into battle. Maddox will lead the charge. I will attack on a different front. It is dangerous, and we do not know the risks.”
“You will win,” I whispered. “You always win.”
“Perhaps.” He grasped his own cock, rubbing it against my slick entrance. “But first we will conquer our beautiful woman.”
Maddox stood at my back, his cock slid between my legs, finding my back hole. Ready.
Fisting my hair, Ragnvald tugged my head to the side, “You fight us.” His lips pressed up the line of my throat. “You are so strong. But in the end you will yield.”
His hips surged forward, stroking inside me, at the same time Maddox pressed against my back hole,
I cry out, quivering between them, a fragile flame buffeted on all sides by the wind.
“Surrender,” Ragnvald ordered before his fangs pierced my skin. Pain whipped through me, pleasure on a razor’s edge.
My mates sawed in and out of me, stimulating my tender flesh until I was beyond thought, beyond longing. Hands gripped me, kneaded my flesh, lips sucking and teeth nipping as if my mates would consume me.
Surrender, they commanded again, and I cried out, thrust into ecstasy, my body no longer my own but one with theirs.
We lay on the furs afterwards, my men on either side with me tucked between them. I rolled to face Ragnvald and seed trickled from between my thighs.
I inhaled sharply.
“What’s wrong?” Maddox pressed closer me. “Sabine?”
And just like that, I was crying. I dashed at my cheeks as Ragnvald’s face blurred. His expression held pity, and he stroked my hair back with gentle hands.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said. “Something I should’ve told you from the start. The magic I’ve been doing, the spells Yseult has been teaching me…there is a cost.” I bit my lip, looking away to collect myself.
“There is a chance…a good chance, that the magic will change me forever.”
“What do you mean?” Maddox asked.
“I may become barren,” I whispered.
Ragnvald moved first, pulling me close.
“It’s all right,” he told me. I buried my face against his chest, needing the shelter of his arms, needing to hide. “There is always a price to magic. We knew this.”
“Are you angry with me?” I asked.
“No, little volva.” His lips found my brow. “We knew what you were when we took you. A volva. A witch. Even now, your powers are growing.”
“I could’ve stopped it.” How many hours had I spent working my craft, studying with Yseult? Walking the line between spaewife and true magic, despite the cost of power. I’d known the truth, but hadn’t wanted to face it.
“You cannot change your destiny.”
“Even if one day the magic changes me forever? Even if I cannot bear children?”
“We do not know that for sure,” Maddox said.
“But to defeat the Corpse King…”
“We all have a part to play in this battle,” Ragnvald said, echoing Yseult’s last words to us.
“One of us might have to die,” I quavered. “One strong enough to work the spell.” And it might be me.
“No,” Ragnvald and Maddox said in unison. No.
“We will find another way,” Maddox insisted. “The witch and her sisters will do all they can to find a way to bind the Corpse King and destroy him forever.”
“We all must fight,” Ragnvald said. “All of us. We all will play our part. Oh, Sabine,” he cupped the back of my neck to draw me to him, and kissed me when my lip would quiver. “Even if the magic consumes you, even if we fall in this fight, I will not regret claiming you.”
“Never,” Maddox said.
“We were destined to possess you,” Ragnvald’s hand slid around my throat, collaring me until the tight knot around my heart melted. “There’s no escaping us. In this life, or the one beyond.”
7
Brenna
The link between my mind and my mates lay quiet as we reeled from the witch’s news. As soon as Yseult left, Daegan and Samuel headed to their posts—to debrief the pack and establish watch again on the heights. I retired to our chamber and waited until Muriel and Fergus brought my sons in to nurse. Euan busied himself at my breast immediately, while my sister and her red-haired mate distracted Jacob. Muriel’s eyes were reddened a little, but she turned away before I could ask her if she was all right.
Truth be told, I also felt like crying. The tale Yseult told us was fantastic and tragic. She and her witch sisters still sought a final answer, a spell that could bind the mage for at least another thousand years.
We could defeat the Corpse King. But at what cost?
Euan cooed, reminding me of sweet, simple things. Good food, warm rooms, healthy children. Jacob took his brother’s place, and ate ravenously, kicking his feet and squeezing my flesh until I scolded him. Muriel handed me a blanket and I wrapped him tight, and watched his little face grow lax as the warmth and full belly put him to sleep. I passed Jacob back to Fergus and took Euan again, cuddling him until his eyelids fell.
Where is Wulfgar? I signed to Muriel, but she just stared at me.
Fergus answered for her. “He’s gone to patrol. He’ll talk to a few of the unmated warriors, and choose a few for the rescue.”
I nodded. Daegan entered, cheeks red from the wind. Fergus greeted him, but Muriel barely stirred.
“There are already several volunteers,” Daegan reported. “Maddox will be able to leave with a war band soon, once he and Ragnvald finish saying their goodbyes.”
Muriel glanced up at that, and she looked so sorrowful, I wanted to go to her. Fergus also had his eyes on his mate.
I was about to tell them to leave the boys with me, when Daegan lifted my son from my arms and gave him to Muriel. Bereft of my warmth, Euan jerked away with a cry.
“He’ll sleep if you walk him,” Daegan told my sister. She nodded and scuttled away. Fergus followed with Jacob, a frown on his face that mirrored mine.
Something was wrong with my sister.
Perhaps I should—
“No.” Daegan pulled me to my feet and kissed me soundly. His arms locked around my body, holding me until I melted into him. When his lips left mine, I was breathless. “We have another to care for,” he told me, drawing me to a small chamber adjoining our larger one.
Samuel sat there at a desk, studying a scroll before him. A map of the island. We entered, but he didn’t look up until Daegan lifted the scroll and set it aside.
“I need your help,” he said. “Our mate has been naughty.”
Samuel raised a brow.
Daegan tipped me forward so I leaned over Samuel. I grasped the armrests on either side to keep my balance as Daegan flipped up my skirts, baring my bottom.
“She has forgotten who she is and what she means to us. So have you. But you’ll remember, when you punish her.”
My breath quickened as Daegan loose
ned my gown. Samuel’s gaze skated over me. My milk-heavy breasts hang in front of his face, fruit ready for plucking.
“Keep still, Brenna,” Daegan ordered, and plunged his fingers into my sopping cunny.
I pushed forward, going onto tiptoe. Daegan rewarded my disobedience with a strong smack, then went back to fingering me. It would be rough if I were not so aroused, leaning over my handsome mate while the other played with my nethers.
Daegan’s skilled fingers knew just where to press and stroke. My eyes widened, my breath coming faster. Gold leapt into Samuel’s eyes. His smile hovered at the corner of his mouth as he freed my breasts from the clutches of my gown.
“Be still,” he reminded me, and fondled my breasts. Bent over, sandwiched between them, I was helpless. Each twitch earned me a harder smack from Daegan. My lips parted as my bottom grew hot, and Samuel’s smile grew.
As Daegan probed my cunny, Samuel leaned forward and claimed my lips. I yield to his brutal kiss, reaching for him with my mind, a tender, inviting touch. To my delight, he didn’t pull away.
Then, wetness trickled down my buttocks. Daegan’s fingers delve into the cleft, finding my tender hole and rimming it before dipping inside.
I moaned into Samuel’s mouth, coming up onto tip toe.
“It’s been too long,” Daegan’s voice was rough. “We need to claim ye properly.”
His fingers stretched me. “Part your legs. Wider.”
I rocked into position, still hovering over Samuel with my breasts swinging. Samuel kissed down my sensitive neck and took one nipple in his hot mouth. His beard scraped my sensitive skin.
Daegan’s hand smacked the underside of my bottom.
“Up,” he ordered. I arched my back, pushing my breasts into Samuel’s hungry mouth, propping up my backside for Daegan’s penetration. More oil poured onto my back, down the valley of my buttocks. Then he set the plug at my tight hole and pressed in.
“Breath, love,” he stroked my back as he seats the plug in my asshole. My chest heaved, my legs trembled, arousal slickened my cunny and slide down my legs at my discipline and invasion.
