Page 49 of Baldr's Secret Mate

“It could have swallowed me whole!” Baldr laughed, his eyes glimmering in the sunlight. “Dad told that story every chance he got. He was so proud of me.”

“What about your mother?” I asked, grinning beside him. “Any good memories with her?”

Baldr nodded, his smile not losing its brightness for even a moment. “Yeah. When I first started having my visions… they came as nightmares. And she used to sit up and read me stories until I calmed down and went back to sleep. But when theybegan to grow stronger, we started meeting in the garden for witch lessons.”

“Witch lessons?” I laughed, raising my eyebrows. “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

He nodded. “Of course there are! Mom had this beautiful garden tucked away behind the resort with a tiny gazebo in the center where she would read with her afternoon tea. I can’t tell you how many times I ended up right there beside her, playing in the grass or amongst the flowers.”

His gaze was far off, as if he were reliving those days in his mind. Through our bond I caught glimpses of happy summer days spent in the sun and a woman with bright silver hair like his staring down at him.

“And that’s where we had our lessons,” he continued. “Sometimes it was tarot, sometimes it was a crystal ball, and every now and then we’d do some magic spell together out of her book.” He reached out, caressing the golden thread that led us. “My brothers were always jealous of my power. They thought one day I might try to take over the pack because of it. But I didn’t practice to make myself powerful. I practiced because I loved spending time with her.” He pulled his hand away from the golden thread. “I didn’t know how precious those moments were until she was gone.”

I could hear the loss in his voice and feel it through our bond. It seemed a small part of him was missing, ripped away well before its time. The same feeling rose up whenever he talked about his father too. I couldn’t remember my parents, so I didn’t feel like I’d really lost anything. But Baldr had grown up with them, been raised by them, and formed an unshakeable bond with them. And now they were gone. It was cruel considering he was the youngest in his family. He’d gotten to spend the least amount of time with them and it seemed like he still needed them most.

“Remember when we first met?” Baldr asked, a mischievous glint in his eye as he changed the subject. “You were so flustered, you could barely string two words together.”

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. “You were the first person beside Tyr that I’d met! And you weren't exactly Mr. Smooth yourself. I seem to recall you tripping over your own feet despite us standing still.”

He chuckled, squeezing my hand. “Fair point. But look at us now.”

The bittersweet irony of his words wasn't lost on me, but I pushed the sadness away. Instead, I focused on the warmth of his hand in mine, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. We walked in comfortable silence for a while, the golden thread guiding our way as the river flowed beside us.

As the day wore on, the landscape began to change. The lush forests gave way to rolling hills dotted with wildflowers. The air grew warmer, and I could smell the faint scent of salt on the breeze. When I asked him what it meant, he said we must’ve been nearing the coast. But try as I might, all I could see was tall green grass, the river, and the mountains growing ever closer.

“Look,” Baldr said suddenly, pointing ahead. “Do you see that?”

I squinted, following his gaze. In the distance, I could make out the jagged rock formation jutting out of the side of the mountain. But then I saw a bright gold shimmer. My heart skipped a beat. Was that where we were meant to go? Sure enough, as I took a harder look at the golden thread leading us on, I realized it was slowly tilting upward in that direction. The mountain was still a ways away, but no more than a day or two, which meant we were that much closer to returning home... and to Baldr's fate.

“Yeah,” I said, stamping down the fear inside of me. “That must be the way home, right?”

He nodded. “I think so. But it looks like we have a little time before then.”

“Right…”

We walked in tense silence for a while, the golden thread guiding our path. The river beside us burbled gently, its waters catching the sunlight in a dazzling display. I found myself ignoring the beauty around us, as if my senses had stopped working completely. The only thing I could focus on was Baldr.

“I never thought I'd find my mate,” I admitted suddenly, desperate for conversation to steady my mind. “Let alone someone as amazing as you.”

Baldr's smile softened, his eyes filled with tenderness as he glanced over at me. “I feel the same way about you, Mist. You're everything I never knew I needed.” He paused for a moment, lifting his nose to the air and breathing deeply. “You’ve never seen the ocean, have you?”

I shook my head. Of course I hadn’t. I’d been imprisoned for most of my life. It had made an appearance in several stories Baldr read to me, but I never understood what the big deal was. A big patch of water seemed like a silly thing to get awestruck about.

“Do you want to?”

“I guess,” I said tenuously. I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew is that we seemed to be in a never ending sea of grass. How we were supposed to find the ocean was beyond me. “What’s it look like?”

He pulled me up the rise to our left. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

As we crested the hill, my breath caught in my throat. Stretching out before us as far as the eye could see was an expanse of shimmering blue, meeting the sky at a distant horizon. The sinking sun glinted off the water's surface, creating a dazzling display of light that almost hurt to look at directly.I raised a hand to shield my eyes, but didn’t take them off the endless blue in front of me.

“Oh… It’s… really big,” I whispered, unable to find any other words.

Baldr squeezed my hand, a smile playing on his lips as he watched my reaction. “Beautiful, isn't it?”

I nodded, still speechless. The sheer vastness of it was overwhelming. I'd never seen anything so immense, so powerful yet serene at the same time. The gentle lapping of waves against the golden shore reached my ears, a soothing rhythm that seemed to calm my racing thoughts. For the first time that day, I felt some modicum of peace.

“Want to get closer?” Baldr asked, already tugging me towards the water.

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