Page 58 of Loki's Enemy Mate

“One last time,” Loki said, lying naked next to me with his body pressed against mine. “We lead Heimdall to the laundry room that I was breaking into and take him to the heart of the resort where all the utilities are located. There shouldn’t be anyone in that part of the resort, even at night. Any explosions there will cripple the building, but not hurt anyone. And Thor will be forced to refund all the guests and send them home, getting them out of the way.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “That all sounds good. But what if Tyr insists on attacking Thor?”

“We’ll set off the explosives early and sound the alarm. With such a small group, he won’t want to face down the entire pack when they all come running. It’ll force him to flee.”

“Do you think he’ll suspect us?”

“It’s going to go down too fast for him to have any idea. Besides, I have a plan for that.”

“You seem confident.”

“I know we can do this. And once the war is in motion and Thor can no longer ignore the Skoll pack, then we’ll finally have our opportunity to bring it to an end forever.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

It was the one piece of the plan that Loki had been avoiding all morning. We’d been talking ever since we woke up that morning, still wrapped in one another’s arms. And while we had a good plan that I was confident would work, there were still pieces missing. How was Loki going to set off the explosives without Tyr finding out? How did us starting a full-on war help us get closer to our goal of saving both packs? And what could we do from this side without rousing suspicion from Tyr?

“Heimdall,” Loki said, taking a deep breath. There was hesitation from his end of the bond that made me worry. “I need you to trust me on this. You’re my mate, I love you more than anything. But if I get caught, youcan’tknow what my plans are. I won’t let Tyr take you down with me.” He looked up at me, those brown eyes full of love and worry. “I have to keep you safe.”

“What if I want to keepyousafe?” I retorted. “What then?”

“Then you are allowed to have your own plans you don’t tell me about.”

“Loki…” I sighed. “How are we supposed to work together to achieve all this if we don’t tell each other what we’re doing?”

He reached up, grabbing my face with both hands. “I know. And I will be right here for anything you want to do. But this piece I have to do by myself. It’s something only I can do.”

I narrowed my eyes, searching his gaze for any hint of what he was up to. “This has to do with your family, doesn’t it?”

“Keeping them alive is my first priority. And I’ll do everything I can to keep your father alive too. I know how badly you want to save him.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be able to reach him at all. Even if all the conflict was gone, what would he do with himself?He thrives in chaos. He might just go insane if this war were to dissolve in front of him.”

“We’ll deal with that when it comes,” Loki said, his thumb rubbing my cheek. “But I can promise you this, I willnotbe the one to deal the final blow to him if that’s what it comes down to. You have my word as your mate. And I will stop my family if they try. If anyone is going to end Tyr’s life, it will be your decision or his own doing.”

“Do you think he’d really kill himself?” The thought had never struck me before. “I guess if he didn’t have any cause to live for…”

“I don’t think he’ll kill himself,” Loki corrected. “But I think he could get himself killed if he’s not very careful. Dealing with witches and powerful magic and trapped mages… it sounds like a recipe for disaster. One day all that dabbling in magic is going to come back to bite him in the ass. If he lives long enough, anyway. Maybe he’ll see how outnumbered he is against Thor and give up.”

I sighed. “We can only hope.”

“Come on,” he said, kissing me softly. “We’ve talked about this enough. Let’s eat and rest before the raid tonight. We’ll need our strength if we’re both going to make it out of there before the bombs go off.”

“You’re sure this is going to work?”

“Trust me,” he replied, a sad look in his eyes. “After tonight, everyone in my pack will hate me. And I need them to if Tyr is ever going to let me stay with you.”

“I’m sorry–”

“Stop,” Loki said, cutting me off. “I love you, Hamball. I’d do anything for you. And if we want to be together, this is what has to happen. My family needs to see me as a traitor so we can bring this to an end once and for all.”

The determination in his eyes was infectious. I leaned in close, kissing him once more before I pulled him into my arms.

I was incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful mate, one who would do anything for me. And I promised myself, then and there, that I would make it up to him no matter what it took.

???

Darkness arrived sooner than I would’ve liked. The skies were full of thick clouds and snow had already been drifting down on the mountains for an hour or two. Snow gathered on the ground, dampening all the noise of the world around us. It was opportune weather. Not only would the snow conceal us as we snuck in, but it would also make us damn near silent. The Hati pack would never see us coming.

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