Page 52 of Fenrir

“This is permanent. So, you don’t get to just pull away and run from it. That may be how you are used to doing things, but you can’t run from this. I am freaking the hell out right now, wanting to bite you back. You don’t get to run and hide the feelings and urges running through me, do you understand? We need to talk about this.”

Fenrir’s eyes went dark and then back to its normal color. Too many emotions to process flashed across his features, and after what seemed like an hour, he blew out a breath and nodded.

“Okay,” he finally said. “You’re right. But you need to understand. For a thousand years, I’ve done everything wrong. And those wrongs have been followed by pain, physical and emotional. Running is all I know.”

Grace’s chest squeezed. “I don’t want to hurt you, Fen. I want to love you. To erase all the bad you’ve been put through and start a future with you that makes you forget those things ever happened. Promise me. Promise you won’t run from me. You won’t run from us. Because I know we haven’t known each other long, and I can’t explain why but from the moment I saw you, I knew I belonged to you, and you belonged to me. And if you left now…”

“It would be worse than being chained to a rock for hundreds of years.”

Grace paused. “Uh, I was going to say it would be worse than death. But yes, that is pretty accurate.”

She kissed him, and for a second, he didn’t respond, but then he cupped her cheek, and his lips crushed against hers. A minute passed before they both came up for air.

“Promise,” she whispered.

Fenrir stroked her cheek. “I promise.”

She looked at him seriously. “So, did you mean it when you bit me? Is this what you want? For me to be your mate? It’s okay if it was just the heat of passion, not that we can change it, but I need to know whether you meant it or if it was an accident. Because that will determine what I do next.”

He pushed the hair gently from her face. “I meant it. I want you to be mine because I became yours the moment I first saw you.”

She smiled and touched his cheek. It was all she needed to know. She kissed him softly and then licked his sinewy neck. “And I was yours from the moment I was born.”

Her fangs descended, and Grace bit into the side of his neck. Fenrir wrapped her in his arms and moaned. The minute his blood hit her tongue, Grace was bombarded with images.His birth, his childhood, Tyr, Loki, Hel, Odin, Vidar, all of them were there. The shunnings, the tauntings, the whippings and abuse, the betrayal, the chaining, Ragnarök.It was all there. Every last memory. The pain, the loneliness, the thoughts of suicide. Tears dripped from Grace’s eyes. She retracted her fangs and gulped down a huge breath, Fenrir continued to hold her close, and neither of them moved as his memories continued to swirl in her brain. How could he have endured that much? How had he survived all these centuries?

When Grace finally looked at him, his eyes pleaded with her not to reject him. He wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I am so sorry,” she croaked.

He smiled at her. “Don’t be. The past is the past. I have everything I’ve ever wanted and dreamed of with you right here.”

She swooped in and kissed him. He returned her kiss. She needed him. Needed to show him that he was no longer alone.

This. This was what she’d been waiting for. What she’d been searching for her entire life.

Him.

Fenrir. Norse god of wolves.

Her mate.

There was only one thing left for them to do. The thing that Grace feared more than anything she’d ever dealt with before. She and Fenrir needed to go on a run together. A run where his wolf would either accept or reject her spirit self. Potentially shattering her heart forever.

CHAPTER15

Fenrir and Gracestayed wrapped up together for most of the remainder of the weekend. The following morning he said he had to leave to take care of something, and when she pressed him for details, he told her he had a wolf named Layla.

“You have a wolf? As a pet?”

“I rescued her from some demon scum who slaughtered her pack for fun.”

Grace watched him for a moment. “Did you slaughter them back?”

He nodded and pulled on a shirt. “We did it together.” He grabbed his keys and kissed her on the head. “I won’t be long. And I’ll bring food when I come back.”

“Why don’t you bring Layla with you?” she asked.

He stopped. “Are you serious?”

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