Page 52 of Baldr's Secret Mate

After a moment, Mist slowly withdrew from me. Every part of my body was overstimulated and I let out a sharp gasp as he finally came free. I missed the feeling of having him inside me, that closeness that we couldn’t get any other way. But I also knew we needed to get some sleep. If we were going home to face Tyr tomorrow, we’d need all the energy we could get.

We laid there together for a long time in a peaceful silence. Mist wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against his body as his little spoon. Every now and then he’d plant soft little kisses on my neck of my shoulder, his fingers absentmindedly stroking my chest. However, after a while, I started feeling him shiver against me.

“Are you cold?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder at him.

“Y-Yeah,” he muttered. “But I want to stay here with you.”

“I’ve got an idea.”

Pulling myself out of Mist’s arms, I crawled over and grabbed the blanket I’d been wearing instead of clothes. I spread it out and threw it over him to keep him warm before adding what wood we had left to the fire. Then, glancing up at the moon, I closed my eyes and called up the wolf inside me. My body began to shift and in a few seconds I found myself sitting back on my haunches and shaking out my fur.

Mist stared up at me, smiling as he reached a hand out and running his fingers through the fur on the top of my head. Igave him a soft growl of approval before I crawled my way under the blanket and curled up with him.

“You’re so warm,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me once more.

I snuggled in as close as I could, keeping my mate safe from the cold of a seaside night.

“I love you, Baldr,” he said, barely audible over the crashing waves.

I turned back, licking his nose. And through our strengthened bond I answered him.

I love you too.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Baldr

The next day consisted of mostly walking and peaceful silence. Mist held my hand the entire way until we reached the base of the mountain around noon. The river and the golden thread had led us to the bottom of a giant waterfall that filled a deep pool that fed the river. To our surprise, we found an old switchback path that began at its edge, leading upward toward the teeth of the cavern opening. The closer we got, the more I realized that either the old legends were true and the mountain was actually Fenrir chained down until Ragnarok. Or because of the mountain’s shape, it had been named after Fenrir. Either way, it was of little importance. As long as there was a portal home inside, that was all that mattered.

Mist held tight to my hand as we started to climb the rocky switchback path. At first he seemed fine, but the higher we went, the more I noticed him trembling. Then, when the path finally became too narrow, and he had to let go of me, his pace became agonizingly slow. I did my best to project feelings of safety and support through our bond, but his mind was so fullof fear that he could hardly think. I couldn’t blame him either. The path was thin, the drop was deadly, and the mist from the waterfall made everything slick with algae and moss.

“It's okay, Mist,” I called back to him, my voice barely audible over the roar of the waterfall. It was much bigger up close and much more dangerous. “We're almost there. Just a little further.”

He nodded, his eyes fixed on the path beneath his feet. I could see his knuckles turning white as he gripped the rock face beside him. The wind whipped around us, tugging at our clothes and threatening to throw us off balance. Even I was starting to get a little worried that we wouldn’t make it.

As we rounded another switchback, I caught sight of the cavern entrance looming above us. It did indeed look like the gaping maw of a monstrous wolf, jagged stone teeth framing the dark opening. A shiver ran down my spine, but I pushed the feeling aside. We had come too far to turn back now. Besides, it was our only way home.

Suddenly, Mist's foot slipped on a patch of slick moss. He let out a cry of terror as he teetered on the edge, his arms windmilling to keep him in place.

Without thinking, I lunged backward, my hand shooting out to grasp Mist's forearm. The sudden movement nearly threw me off balance as well, but I managed to brace myself against the rock face with my other hand, my fingertips tearing as I gripped the stone. For a heart-stopping moment, we both teetered on the edge, the roar of the waterfall drowning out our panicked gasps. Through it all I could catch the scent of my own blood mixing with the mist.

“I've got you,” I shouted, my voice strained with effort as I called on the wolf inside me. Muscles bulged and tightened as I held onto my mate, willing to do anything to stop him from going over the edge. “Don't let go!”

Mist's eyes were wide with terror, his entire body shaking as he clung to my arm. Slowly, carefully, I pulled him back onto the path, my muscles straining with the effort. He was heavier than he looked. As soon as he was on solid ground, Mist collapsed against me, his breath coming in ragged sobs.

“It's okay,” I murmured, holding him close. “You're safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

We stayed there for a moment, clinging to each other as our hearts raced. The wind howled around us, a chilling reminder of how close we had come to disaster. I could feel Mist's body trembling against mine, his fear palpable through our bond. I held him tight, whispering reassuring words to him over and over again as the water soaked us through.

“We can't stay here,” I said softly, stroking his hair. “We need to keep moving.”

Mist nodded weakly, his face pale and drawn. “I don't know if I can,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the roar of the waterfall.

I looked up at the cavern entrance, so close yet still so far. We had come too far to give up now, but there was still a sheer climb before we reached the ledge.

“You can,” I said firmly, cupping his face in my hands as I forced him to meet my gaze. “I believe in you, Mist. We'll do this together.”

“What if I don’t want to?” he said, his voice choked with emotion. “If you let me fall then at least… at least I won’t have to watch you die!”

His outburst caught me off guard, but it really shouldn’t have. Mist was doing everything he could to keep those emotions at bay. I could feel him fighting them back for two days now, our bond being constantly shielded over and over to keep them from slipping through. But they did anyway. And even if they didn’t, I was no fool. I knew exactly how he was feeling because I wasfeeling it too. It was so unfair that we should be with one another now only for our relationship to have a short shelf life with a definite expiration date. It was going to end all too soon, and I hated it just as much as he did.

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