Tyr let go of me, letting me drop to my knees on the hard wooden floor. “You see?” he grinned. “Your Nana isn’t so innocent after all. And now you can thank her for your fate. Once I’m done with you, I’ll kill her. And then, if I’m feeling frisky, I’ll wander over to the city and take care of your mother as well.” He crouched down beside me, lifting my chin with his finger. “And here I was thinking you were sleeping with Thor just to get close so you could kill him.”

My eyes widened and I felt a tinge of embarrassment. It seemed stupid considering the situation.

“Oh yes,” Tyr smiled. “I can smell him and the stink of sex on you. I’m surprised he let you get so close. Then again, his father was a fool as well. It only stands to reason that he’d let a simple human worm his way into his pack. That’s breaking the cardinal rule of all werewolves.” Tyr pulled himself to his full height. “So, when I’m done with you, I’ll kill him too for putting our kind in danger.” He winked at me. “Thanks for making it so easy.”

“Leave… him… alone,” I growled, my voice trembling.

“Oh hush,” he said, putting a foot on my shoulder and kicking me to the ground hard. “I’m doing you a favor. Once he’s dead you two can spend the afterlife together. Although, I’m not sure if werewolves and humans go to the same place.” He tapped a finger on his chin. “I don’t really care either way because neither of you can be allowed to live.”

He stood there for a moment, his hands on his hips as he looked awfully pleased with himself.

“Don’t you touch… him,” I managed to say, lifting myself from the floor.

Tyr pushed me down again with his foot, laughing.

“When are you going to learn that I’m always right? I told you that your grandmother was a murderer, and I was right. I told you that you couldn’t save her, and I was right. I even told you that you couldn’t shoot me, and I was right again.” He crouched down close to me, his voice gravelly and cruel. “So believe me when I say that your Thor isn’t going to survive the night. And neither are you.”

“But you’re wrong about one thing, Tyr,” Nana said, her gaze lifting to him. “It wasn’t my husband that killed your mother or your older siblings.”

His brows furrowed.

“It was me.”

He stared at her open-mouthed.

“In fact, I’m the reason you’re still alive,” she continued. “Your mother begged me to spare you, her youngest pup. And being a mother myself, I gave in. I see now that I made a mistake. I should’ve slaughtered you both then and there in that pool of your family’s blood!”

With a roar of rage, Tyr lunged and kicked Nana’s chair over. I tried to stop her from falling, but I was yanked back at the last moment. Her bound body hit the floor hard with a crunch and she was still. Tears filled my eyes as I was dragged backward, a cruel deep laughter filling the cabin.

“One down,” Tyr snarled, grabbing me by the neck and lifting me high into the air.

I kicked and sputtered, trying and failing to take a breath. His grip tightened and I felt my airway collapse. I wasn’t sure if he’d suffocate me or break my neck first. But as he raised a clawed hand, his eyes shifting to gold, he paused for just a moment. His grip relaxed and I breathed, albeit shallowly, as he pulled me close. He took a few deep whiffs of me then grabbed my shirt and wrenched it aside, revealing the bite wound Thor had left on my shoulder.

“You little whore,” he spat, tightening his grip again. “You let that Alpha breed you…” He raised his clawed hand again. “Too bad the bond is weak with humans,” he snarled. “I’m sure he’s on his way to save you, but it’s too late. You’ll be dead long before he gets here.”

The claws extended, Tyr’s eyes flared bright, and his arm swung toward my face. I clenched my eyes shut, preparing for the pain that would end my life. With the last of my energy, I sent a single message mentally toward Thor, wherever he might be.

I love you. I’m sorry.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Thor

When I heard Flynn in my head the first time early that afternoon, I pushed it away. He was just testing the bond I told myself. But I couldn’t deal with it at that moment. I had to focus on getting the will finished before I had to go meet Tyr in the valley. I’d already sent a challenge ahead of time, directing Tyr to the exact time and place where we would fight to the death. In fact, I’d already gotten confirmation that he would be there.

I brushed the feeling away and redoubled my focus with Baldr at my side. We’d gone through everything I could think of. He was to inherit my title and take over the pack, any money would be split equally between him and Loki, and Loki was going to remain Beta of the pack as well. He’d be pissed about it of course, but that’s the way I knew it needed to be done. Baldr would keep the pack safe while Loki would lead them directly into battle. Even if I couldn’t stop them from attacking the Skoll pack themselves, I wouldn’t leave them in the hands of a leader that would use that anger for his own vengeance.

I did my best not to get too bogged down by my own feelings as we worked. Obviously, I was going to do everything I could to come back home after my altercation. I wanted Tyr dead just as badly as everyone else and I was happy to take him down. But I also knew that he and the rest of the Skoll pack, while small, were much more rugged and feral than anyone in the Hati pack, including myself. We were the equivalent of wolves raised in captivity compared to them. They’d scrimped and scrounged to stay alive on the outskirts of society while we spent our days in relative luxury and swimming in hot springs.

Tyr would have the upper hand. But I wasn’t about to give up just yet. Not when I had so much to live for now.

Three months ago, I might’ve walked into battle with no intention of coming back. But with Flynn now mated to me, I would do anything to walk back through the doors of the lobby and scoop him up into my arms. I didn’t care what the pack thought. I didn’t even give a fuck about werewolf laws. All that mattered was him and those beautiful green eyes of his. I wanted to get lost in him for the rest of my life and that gave me more will to fight than I’d ever had.

“That should just about do it,” Baldr said, drawing me from my thoughts. “All you have to do is sign.”

I pulled the paper across the desk and grabbed a pen. With a heavy sigh, I put it to the paper and began to draw my name. I only made it about halfway before the pen suddenly fell to the floor.

HELP!

It was Flynn’s voice, clear as day inside my head.