Page 30 of Baldr's Secret Mate

But then his body began to change. Muscles rippled as Baldr arched his back, a cry echoing from his mouth that slowly turned into a howl. His body swelled, expanding in all directions. The tearing sound of fabric filled the air as Baldr grew to nearly twice his human size. Dark claws sprouted from his long fingers, massive fangs dropped into his mouth, giving him a permanent snarl. His gold eyes began to glow in the dark as fur sprouted all over his body.

It was with a sinking feeling in the gut that I realized why Baldr wanted me to run. This was his Alpha form, one he said could be unpredictable when emotions were running high. In that form, he and the wolf were one. But something about his witch powers caused the wolf to become crazed and almost mad when he let it take over. However, his Alpha form, unlike those of his brothers, could do magic too.

“Run…” he growled through heavy breaths. “RUN!”

I didn’t wait to be told again.

I took off running as fast as my legs could carry me, heading straight for the fallen pillar Baldr had indicated. Behind me, I heard a deafening roar that shook the ground beneath my feet, followed by the angry screeches of the serpents. The sounds of battle erupted - snarling, hissing, the impact of massive bodies colliding. Within seconds there was a blast of heat against my back and the ruins around me were suddenly illuminated by a bright golden light.

Every instinct screamed at me to look back, to see if Baldr was okay. But I had promised him I wouldn't stop, so I forced myself to keep my eyes forward and my legs pumping. The fallen pillar loomed ahead, a faint glimmer of moonlight reflecting off its smooth surface.

As I neared it, I realized it was even larger up close than I'd initially thought. The pillar was easily twice my height in diameter. How was I supposed to climb this thing? But I didn'thave time to worry about that. Instead, I dove into some of the brush near the base, concealing myself as best I possible. From that vantages point I could watch the battle unfold as werewolf and monstrous serpents fought to kill.

From my hiding spot, I watched in awe and terror as Baldr battled the giant serpents. His massive werewolf form moved with incredible speed and strength, dodging strikes and retaliating with vicious slashes of his claws that drew dark silvery blood from their slithering bodies. Golden magic swirled around him, occasionally bursting out in blinding flashes that seemed to sear the serpents' scales. From my perspective, it looked like he was winning this fight all too easily.

One of the creatures lunged at Baldr, its fangs gleaming in the moonlight. He caught it by the neck, muscles straining as he held it back. With a roar, he slammed it into a crumbling wall, stone cracking under the impact. The serpent screeched in pain but quickly recovered, its tail whipping around to knock Baldr off his feet. I thought he would dodge it like he had all their other attacks, but it seemed the snakes were working as a team. The second lunged, forcing him to dodge. But that spelled disaster as his feet were swept out from underneath him.

As he fell, the second serpent redirected and struck, sinking its fangs into Baldr’s thigh. The Alpha werewolf cried out in pain, his voice filling the forest for miles. The first serpent took its chance to attack as well, sinking its fangs into Baldr’s opposite shoulder. For one sinking moment, I wondered if the Nidhogg juveniles were venomous. But before I could form my panic properly, golden light began to spill from the Nidhogg’s mouths. They pulled back, but not fast enough to avoid the blast.

Magic of a previously unseen magnitude erupted from Baldr in a bright flash. The force ejected the Nidhogg venom from his body. And, just as I lifted an arm to shield my eyes, I caught a glimpse of both serpents disintegrating from the hoodup, their heads blasted clean off their bodies. By the time the forest went dark and I blinked the blindness out of my eyes, all I saw were their headless bodies slowly writhing to a stop. Silvery blood covered every inch of the clearing, the moonlight glinting all over the ruins as it caught the gore’s surface. But my eyes were fixed on Baldr.

He was not covered in blood like everything else and while the bit wounds remained on his body, I could see the venom splashed across the ground in front of him. He was bleeding freely, but he didn’t look like he was about to die or pass out for that matter. In fact, as he pulled himself back to his feet and tipped his head back toward the moon, he seemed almost invigorated.

His lips parted and a long, high-pitched howl filled the air. Even before he stopped, I could hear it echoing through the trees, down the valley, and through the mountains. Everyone in that world knew a werewolf was on the loose now, I was sure of it. I stood up, pushing the branches aside so I could see him better. As soon as he turned back, he was going to need my help. He was so weak… he hadn’t eaten nearly enough to recover just yet. But that’s when one of the small branches snapped in my hand, the sound cutting him off mid-howl.

My heart pounded in my chest as Baldr's glowing golden eyes locked onto me. There was no trace of recognition in them - only a primal, predatory hunger that sent chills down my spine. This was exactly what he had warned me about, why he had told me to run and not look back. In his Alpha form, consumed by the magic and adrenaline of battle, Baldr wasn't fully in control. He’d gotten a taste for blood with the serpents, but the look in his eyes told me he needed more.

I held perfectly still, barely daring to breathe as the massive werewolf stalked toward me. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, exposing long, razor-sharp fangs. Blood - both his ownand the silvery blood of the Nidhoggs - matted his light fur. He moved with an eerie grace despite his injuries, muscles rippling beneath his skin with each step. Cold fear filled my chest as I realized there was no escaping this monster. But… he wasn’t just a monster, right? Baldr had to still be in there somewhere.

“Baldr,” I said softly, my voice shaking. “It's me. It's Mist. You know me.”

A low growl rumbled from his chest as he took a step toward me. His claws flexed, still dripping with silvery Nidhogg blood.

“Please,” I whispered. “Come back to me. I know you're in there somewhere. And I know you don’t want to hurt me. That’s not who you are.

He stalked closer, a snarl still curled over his face. I stood up fully, knowing there was no way to outrun him. Instead, I backed up against the base of the broken pillar. My back pressed against the stone as I tried to find my footing in the loose gravel and dry leaves all around me. I felt stone under my fingers, searching for something, anything to defend myself with until Baldr came to his senses. His adrenaline fueled rage couldn’t last forever, right?

“Baldr,” I said again, sliding my back against the stone as I inched to the right. “I know you can hear me. You saved us both from those serpents. You can let go of the wolf now.”

There was a strange glint in his eye, like the wolf lost control for a split second. I couldn’t help but feel a sudden surge of hope. I was getting through to him! If I just kept talking, maybe he would come back to me.

“That’s right,” I said softly, holding out a hand. “You did it. You saved us. Everything is okay now. Why don’t you just take my hand and we can curl up together for the night side by side?”

He shook his head again, the affectionate words clearly sinking in. Maybe that was it. Maybe I had to appeal to hisemotions to get the wolf to back down. Hopefully it didn’t make things worse. Either way, I was willing to give it a try.

“Wouldn’t that be nice? Me spending all night wrapped in your arms? Honestly… I’ve been dreaming about it for a long time.”

The wolf seemed to shrink slightly, the muscles a little less tense and full of rage than before. His snarl faded and a look of curiosity took its place. I was getting somewhere.

“I know this probably isn’t the right time to say it, but I’ve always had a crush on you. And now that I’m free… I don’t know… I guess I wanna know what it feels like to be kissed, you know?” I looked up into those big golden puppy eyes of his. “To be kissed by you.”

Baldr took another step forward, his feet crunching in the leaves. However, there was a strange clicking noise as he full weight leaned onto the ball of his foot. Baldr’s head swiveled as if he was listening for something. Then, without warning, a loud crack split the air.

Suddenly, the earth dropped out from under me. My stomach was in my throat as I fell into darkness, hands flailing but finding nothing. However, I’d only dropped a handful of feet before I saw the massive Alpha werewolf form of Baldr hurtling toward me. His body collided with mine, he wrapped me up tightly in his arms, and we plummeted into the darkness together not knowing when the final blow would rip our lives away in the blink of an eye.

Chapter Seventeen: Mist

Ididn’t remember the impact of hitting the ground. All I knew when I came to consciousness was that we were no longer falling. That and the fact that I was surrounded by a gently moving, furry warmth.

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