Page 4 of Loki's Enemy Mate

“Good. We don’t want anyone finding it before we’re ready. It’ll be the one thing that Thor will never see coming. I doubt even that half-witch brother of his will know about it. We’ve done too good of a job keeping it hidden.”

I nodded in agreement. “When will that time come?”

“Soon,” he said, looking back out the window. “Very soon. And when we march on the Hati, you will be at my side. Together, we’ll reunite the packs once more and drive the humans out of these hills. Then,finally, we can have some hard-earned peace.” He looked up at me, a grin spreading over his face. “Who knows? Maybe your mate will be a Hati woman.”

I grimaced, screwing up my face in disgust. “I hope not.”

“We’re all one family. Once we prove that to them and unite the packs, you might find a few of them agreeable to our cause. We just need to remind them that they still have wolves inside them and notdogs.”

“Of course, father.” I pushed myself up from the table, giving him a small bow. “Please eat your stew. You’ll need it to regain your strength.”

I was halfway to the door when his voice stopped me again.

“Are you going on patrol tomorrow night?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

He nodded. “I’ll be coming with you. I want to see your hard work keeping our borders safe myself. And I want to bathe in the light of the full moon. That and the fresh air will help my wound heal faster.”

“As you wish.”

I left the house, a sense of excitement and anxiety twisting at my stomach. If my father wanted to see my work, then I had to make sure it was impeccable. I’d proved my loyalty to him long ago, but I still had yet to prove I was an Alpha worthy of leading the Skoll pack. This was my chance to do that.

So, with pride flowing through my veins, I set about making sure everything was in perfect order for our patrol the following night. The Skoll pack had to be ready to go to war the moment he decided it was time. Our security was the first piece of that plan. And the second was something we’d been working on in secret for years. Both were my responsibility and both would be perfect, no matter what.

I would not let my father down.

Chapter Three: Loki

The night after Baldr teleported away in a flurry of magic was a cold one. Autumn had fully arrived in the mountains and all around me the leaves were turning gold. There were moments here and there where I reveled in the changing of the seasons. Sunrise and sunset were by far the most beautiful times of day, and being out in the wilderness meant I was always there to behold them.

But I missed the comforts of home. Running water was something I had definitely taken for granted. And having the hot springs nearby was a luxury I yearned for once again. Ever since we were kids, my brothers and I would go to the springs in the middle of the night when the weather began to change and skinny dip in the steaming water. It was a tradition we’d kept up until our father died. That day ruined just about everything I’d once known.

I pulled away from my fond memories tainted by grief as I walked through the forest, the sun long set over the western mountain. Thinking about home only made things harder. I wasn’t going back. Neither memories nor Baldr’s warning couldconvince me of that. Not when there was so much at stake. I had a vision for our people, and I wasn’t about to abandon it for comfort.

Tonight, the next stage of my plan was beginning. I was going to sneak into the Skoll village and see what I could find out about thesesecretsBaldr had mentioned in his vision. If Tyr and his people were hiding something from the rest of the world, I might be able to use it to my advantage should I get the upper hand. I didn’t know if it was a weapon, information, or some sort of damning secret. Either way, I had to know. And knowing what I did about Tyr, he wouldn’t let that secret far from his sight.

It had to be in the village, so that’s where I needed to go. My wandering the mountain woods for weeks had done nothing but make me hungry and sore and dirty. But tonight, I’d do something worthwhile. Tonight, I would move all the werewolves in this valley toward a lasting and proud peace where we could be both wolf and prosperous. As soon as I could find what Tyr was up to, I knew I could find a way to either use it against him or to my advantage.

I just had to get inside their territory first.

Merely walking through the boundary was probably a bad idea. No matter what form I took, my scent would be left everywhere. Unfortunately, I did not have wings, so flying in wasn’t an option. But that gave me an idea. There was a patch of forest on the northern side of their territory that was extremely dense. If I could get up in the trees and climb branch to branch across their border, maybe I could get closer to the village without being traced. From what I’d seen, wolves patrolled the border,notthe interior. If I could get far enough in, I’d buy myself quite a bit of time. After that, my method of retreat wouldn’t matter. I’d have what I came to get.

So, I’d spent the entire day giving the mountain a wide berth as I worked my way to the northern side. Thankfully, thatmeant I could pass into Fenris proper and get myself a decent meal before I went on my quest. I’d been damn near starving for the past few days and, as much as I hated humans, they did make good food. Besides, being distracted by my belly wouldn’t help my cause. Better to be full, energized, and prepared for any event. I may not have gotten the strength that Thor inherited, but even a small Alpha wolf was a force to be reckoned with.

Once I reached the far side of the mountain, I waited for the sun to set and the cold of night to settle in. The chill would help dampen my scent even more. When the full moon rose, I spread myself wide over the grass, drinking in its power. Then, with one last glance up at that bright silver orb, I headed into the forest and began to climb.

Finding a tree dense enough to climb wasn’t an issue. The pines that clung to the rocks there were so full of branches that just getting to the trunk was more of an obstacle than actually climbing them. But, once I was ten feet off the ground, the branches thinned out a bit. It took a little doing to find my rhythm, hopping tree to tree. Werewolves, unsurprisingly, werenotmonkeys. Climbing wasn’t exactly in our genes. But I made do nonetheless. And within a half hour or so, I was making good progress.

But that was before I heard approaching footsteps.

I stopped on the branch I was on, halfway between one tree and the next. My keen wolf senses perked up, my head turning in the direction of the noise. I couldn’t make them out through the dense needle-laden branches, but it was easy to tell they were bipedal footsteps. Considering my location, they could only belong to the patrollers of the Skoll pack.

Willing my breath to steady, I hunkered down on the branch, holding the one above with one hand for balance. Narrowing my gaze, I searched the forest floor for the werewolves, hoping they were too drunk with full moon light tonotice my scent drifting down upon them. The branch creaked under my weight as I leaned forward, catching sight of them at last. They were some twenty feet away and looked like they wouldnotbe passing directly under me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I continued to watch them as they got closer. At first, I assumed they were just nobodies in the pack, submissive wolves who wanted to be subservient to Tyr. However, as they got closer, I realized the pair of them were talking. The one sounded younger and ambitious, like he was trying to impress his companion. But when his friend finally spoke, that deep voice sent a wave of fury flowing through my body, my lips curling back into a snarl almost instantly.

It was Tyr.

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