Page 47 of Baldr's Secret Mate

Mist’s hand stilled on my shoulder. For a moment, silence hung between us, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant chirp of birds. Then he shifted closer, his warmth grounding me in a way I didn’t know I needed.

“Baldr,” he said, his voice low and steady, “good or not… visions come for a reason. Maybe we can figure out what it means together.”

I wanted to argue, to brush it off as something meaningless or fleeting, but the weight of the vision still smoldered inside me like embers that refused to die out. That persistent ache in my chest wasn’t just from Tyr’s spell—it was from what I had seen. What I had felt so many times before.

For all this time I’d been holding back this knowledge, hoping I never had to tell Mist about it until the very end. Unfortunately, I could feel that end quickly approaching. I knew we wouldn’t get another moment of peace like this again. And, atthe very least, if Mist knew what was coming, he could prepare himself for it.

“I saw them again,” I finally admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “Thor. Loki.” The names felt heavy on my tongue, each syllable laced with grief that threatened to choke me. “I saw their bodies… dead in the snow.”

Mist’s sharp intake of breath told me that was the last thing he expected me to say. Too bad it was only going to get worse from there.

“The future I keep seeing is fuzzy,” I added. “But I know that Tyr is the one driving it forward. If we don’t find a way to stop him soon, he’s going to kill every single wolf in Fenris. He talks about joining the packs together and leading us all into a better future, but that’s not what he wants. Not what he will eventually want.” I glanced up at Mist, seeing the fear in his eyes. “I’m not sure exactly when, but soon he will want to wash Fenris clean of its werewolves. The ones he’s deemed disloyal. From there he hopes to lead the birth of a new pack that will take what it wants from the humans and return to a world of fear and violence.”

“But… he must know that would never work,” Mist said, the hint of a plea in his voice. “If any of the humans caught wind of what he was doing… wouldn’t they stop him?”

I nodded. “Of course. But not before he destroys us all in the process. Tyr thinks he’s invincible, which will be his downfall.”

“Did you see his end?”

“No,” I replied. “Thor and Loki’s deaths are fuzzy too. That tells me that portion of the vision can still be changed. It’s when things are crystal clear that I know they are set in stone.”

Mist stared for a long moment before his lips finally began to work again. “I’m… I’m afraid to ask…”

Taking a deep breath, I prepared for the most painful moments of my life to unfold. I reached out with my mind, laid a hand on the barrier I’d constructed between our minds, and in one fell swoop brought it crashing down. Emotions welled up through our bond, spilling over into Mist’s mind. I allowed the vision to replay in my head, letting him see every last moment of it. He gasped, his hand going to his lips as he saw Thor and Loki lying on the ground. However, as we neared the end of the vision and he saw my sacrifice, he just went silent. When I looked up again, I saw the tears running down his face.

“You… You’ve seen this before?” he croaked.

I nodded. “Ever since I met you.”

“Why… Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, a tone of accusation in his voice.

I knew he would be angry of course, that was expected. I’d been hiding my vision from him for a long time.

“The first few times I had it there was still a fuzziness around the edges that gave me hope,” I explained. “So I didn’t want to bring it up and make you worry needlessly. But as time went on, it got clearer and clearer. In fact, every time I spent time with you, it seemed to crystalize further. The way I go changes from time to time, I’ve seen at least a dozen different possibilities. But the end is always the clearest part.”

“Why didn’t you stay away from me then? If I’m the one making you have these awful nightmares!”

All I could do was shrug. “Because I love you. I’ve always loved you and I knew I couldn’t just leave you behind. Besides, abandoning you doesn’t change the end of my story, only the middle. So I chose to be happy instead.”

“Are your visions ever wrong?”

I shook my head. “Not ones like this.”

“What if I stay in Asgard then?” he said, his face lighting up like he’d just cracked the code. “It can’t take place if I’m not there!”

“One way or another, you’ll be there.” My voice was soft and low as I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. “And I’m sorry you’ll have to see me die. But I need you to know it’s not your fault.”

“Not my fault? Not my fault?!” Mist cried. “It’s completely my fault! If I wasn’t here… if you hadn’t rescued me… then you… you…”

“If I hadn’t rescued you,” I said, forcing him to look me in the eye. “Then Tyr would’ve broken you and used your power to kill me instead.” His eyes widened in fear as I nodded. “That was the original vision. And the closer I got to you, the more it changed to what you see now.” I ran my thumb over his cheek pulling his forehead against mine. “I would rather die to save you then have you strike me down by accident and blame yourself for the rest of your life. This is the choice I made.”

“But you didn’t tell me…” he sobbed, his arms around my neck as he collapsed against me. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I’m sorry, baby,” I said softly, holding him at the sobs wracked his body. “I wanted you to have good memories untainted by that knowledge, ones you could look back on and maybe smile someday. I tried to spare you as long as I could.”

“As long as you could?” he sputtered. He looked up at me, his eyes growing wide once more as the realization set in. “H-How long?”

“I don’t know. But we’re close to the end now. I have a feeling once we go back home, it won’t take long.”

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