Page 45 of Loki's Enemy Mate

The Hati pack was on the defensive. As far as they knew, Tyr hadn’t made a move against them, but they were biding their time. There was talk of heightened security as winter came and more patrols, but no outward violence from either side. For the moment, things seemed peaceful.

Heimdall wasn’t exactly happy about my stealing the cash out of the wallet I found. But when I went into town and bought him more greasy bar food, he quickly forgave me. In fact, we were perched up on the rocky outcropping overlooking the Skoll village eating french fries as we watched. It was the same placeI’d used to watch the pack before I’d met him. However, the village was a lot more active than it had been back then.

Wolves moved in and out of town quickly. Some of them came back with boxes, some with bags, and some came racing through in wolf form as if the devil himself was nipping at their heels. But all of them, without fail, went into the house that I knew belonged to Tyr. It was easy to see they were preparing for something, and I had a sinking feeling that it was all out war.

“I wish I knew what they were bringing in,” Heimdall sighed as he continued to stress eat french fries at an alarming rate. “I’m worried it might be silver.”

“Would he really do that?” I asked. “It’s pretty dangerous stuff.”

“Did you know he sent out a team to search the tunnels below that old werewolf hunter’s house? He wanted their weapons.”

“Christ…” I sighed, a sinking feeling deep in my gut. Fighting Tyr was one thing. But fighting him when he was armed with silver… that could mean a lot more death than I’d expected. “Is this silver the secret weapon he was talking about?” I asked. “I overheard you two talking the night we fell into the cavern.”

Heimdall shook his head. “No.”

“He has somethingworsethan a bunch of silver?”

He was quiet for a long moment, and he wasn’t eating anymore. “I… I’m not sure.”

“Okay…” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You want to give me a hint as to what it is?”

“Not what,” Heimdall said. “Who.”

“His secret weapon is a person? Another wolf?”

“Not a wolf. A witch.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But I’m not sure how useful he is.”

“I don’t follow you.”

Another sigh. “It’s sort of a long story.”

“We’re literally perched on a rock in the middle of the woods, Hamball. I’ve got the time.”

“The thing is, I don’t know all the details. My father was always very secretive about it. But he seemed to think that this witch was the key to his success.”

“What would give him that idea?”

“Another witch,” he said, looking up at me.

I just furrowed my brows, keeping my gaze fixed on those moss-green eyes. Eventually Heimdall realized I wasn’t going to give up on this train of thought. Ineededto know what this was all about. As much as I’d promised him I wouldn’t kill Tyr, I also couldn’t let my brothers be killed by some magical force that nobody knew about.

Heimdall took a deep breath, put down his fries, and started to tell his story.

“Tyr didn’t start really leaning into all these…ideasof taking over and setting the packs straight until I was a teenager. They were always there, but it quickly became the only thing he thought about as I got older. It was around that time that he started to disappear for days at a time. And when he returned, he seemed more crazed than before.”

“I thought he’d always been like this…”

“No. He wasn’t good, but he wasn’t as hellbent as he is now.”

I found it hard to believe the Tyr was once more tolerable, but I kept that thought to myself. Heimdall was still struggling with the fact that his father, the only family he had, was a monster. He’d made a lot of progress, but there was still a lot of hesitation in his voice as he spoke. As much as I wanted to shake him and tell him to open his eyes and see the truth, I held back. He’d arrive at the truth in his own time.

“So, you followed him I take it?”

Heimdall nodded. “One night he tried to sneak out and I woke up as he passed by my bedroom. By that time I was curious what he was up to, so I shifted and followed him.” He looked back out over the village, glancing to the south. “He walked for a full day through the mountains. More than once I thought about going back, terrified he’d discover me along the way. But he had a single-minded determination about him that blocked out all else. And finally, just when I was about to give up, we came upon a clearing with a single house in the center next to a small pool. The house was all wood, covered in moss, and looked like it had been there since the dawn of time. But even so, there was an orange glow from the windows and smoke rising from the chimney.”

“Did the house have legs?”

Heimdall stopped and stared at me, crinkling up his nose. “Why the hell would a house have legs?”

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