Page 60 of Baldr's Secret Mate

As I crested a hill, I caught sight of the abandoned factory outside of town. The buildings were dark, but in the center of what was once the employee parking lot was a single sodium lamp still glowing brightly. Under the yellow light stood two figures. I didn’t have to look twice to know that one of them was Mist. But as the second reached out toward him, holding something aloft, my heightened wolf vision focused in on the stranger.

It was Tyr.

Crying out, I let the Alpha wolf take over as I bounded through the snow at lightning speed. But before I could get there, another two figures had stepped into the light. However, I was moving too quickly to make out their features, and it wasn’t until I came skidding to a halt at the edge of the light that I realized it was Loki and Heimdall.

But I was too late. Just as I came to a stop, a bright red power built around Tyr. His eyes flashed and he raised his hand, aiming the killing magic toward Mist. I dug my claws into the snow, knowing my vision was finally about to come true. It wasmy destiny to save Mist from Tyr’s malice and I was more than happy to do it. I leaped forward, throwing myself in front of the spell.

Just before it collided with me I had a chance to look back at Mist, forcing all the love and affection I could across our bond. However, instead of Mist’s face, I saw Loki’s. His hand was outstretched, pushing Mist back into the snow. My eyes went wide as I realized my brother, the one that nearly everyone thought was too selfish to do a good deed for anyone, had stepped between Tyr and my mate in an attempt to save him, to trade his life instead. I had just enough time to give him a soft smile before the spell struck me full in the chest.

The magic threw me to the ground, coursing through my veins like fire. All at once I was morbidly aware that my heart had stopped beating. Everything inside me ceased to move. My lungs wouldn’t draw air, my blood wouldn’t flow, and my arms and legs refused to move. And just before my head hit the snow, I had a moment to glance up at Mist and send him a message through our bond.

“I… I love you…” I whispered. “And I’ll always… watch over… you…”

And then my world went dark.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Mist

“BALDR!” I cried, crawling through the snow on my hands and knees until I was at my mate’s side. “Baldr! Please! Say something!”

I grabbed his hand, patted his cheek, anything I could think of to get him to wake. But he didn’t respond. I tried reaching out with my mind, attempting to connect with him through our bond. Instead, I found it dark and cold, like there was nothing there at all.

“No…” I whispered, my hand on his cheek. “No, no, no! Baldr!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, shaking his shoulders to try to get him to wake up. “Baldr! You can’t do this to me! I need you!” I collapsed forward onto his unmoving chest. “I… I love you…”

I laid there sobbing, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably. My gut twisted into hard knots, trying to tear itself to pieces with grief. Blood pounded in my ears and I found myself hoping my heart would give out just so I didn’t have to live another moment with the love of my life. However, it waslaughter that finally pulled me out of my insurmountable panic. Laughter that was cold and cruel.

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Tyr grinned, dropping his hand back to his side. “He just came out of nowhere, didn’t he?”

I whirled around, my grief instantly morphing into rage. “You,” I snarled, baring my teeth at the Alpha wolf who stood before me without fear. “What have you done?!”

Tyr's grin only widened, his eyes glinting with malicious amusement. “Oh, I merely removed an obstacle. You see, my dear witch, Baldr was in the way of my plans. And now...” He gestured to the lifeless form of my beloved. “He's not. Let’s call it a happy accident, shall we?”

I rose to my feet, my body trembling with fury. The snow around me began to melt as heat and magic radiated from my skin. “You will pay for this,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “You will pay for this!”

Tyr laughed again, the sound grating against my ears. “And who will make me pay? You? A pathetic orphan that can’t even control his power?” He took a step closer, his massive frame towering over me. “You are nothing to me.”

“Orphan?” I asked, caught off guard by his words. “I thought you said my parents were still looking for me?”

A cruel grin curled over his fangs. “Oops.”

“You… bastard…”

“I couldn’t very well have them come looking for you, could I? Not when you and I had so much work to do.”

“You fucking BASTARD!”

“Mist!” Loki called behind me. “Don’t give into him!”

But his warning came too late. The deep well of magic inside me that I’d been damming up for all those years burst in and instant, pierced by the harsh grief that threatened to consume me. Dark blue crackling power filled the air around me, the snow melting instantly. I spread my arms wide as themagic gathered around my limbs. My eyes burned as I stared at Tyr, tears like fire running down my cheeks. But it wasn’t until I saw my reflection in his fearful eyes that I realized my eyes were no longer green, but bright white like lightning. Slowly I felt my body become weightless, and I lifted off the ground. Bolts of magic shot off me like electricity, striking everything nearby including Tyr, Loki, Heimdall, and the sodium lamp that exploded in a burst of sparks.

I heard everyone cry out, but their pain didn’t register. My grief was too much to bear. I’d lost my childhood, my memories, a family I didn’t even know, and now my mate who I’d loved for nearly a decade. There was nothing left in the world I cared about. And as the magic threatened to consume me, I gave into it. I was going to join Baldr, and I was taking Tyr with me, no matter the cost.

The magic surged through me, a torrent of raw power that threatened to tear me apart. I could feel it pulsing beneath my skin, crackling in the air around me. My vision blurred, the world becoming a haze of blue light and swirling snow. Tyr's eyes widened in fear as he realized the magnitude of what he had unleashed.

“Mistilteinn, stop!” Loki's voice barely penetrated the roar in my ears. “You'll destroy everything!”

But I didn't care. Let it all burn. Let the world crumble to ashes. Nothing mattered anymore.

I focused my gaze on Tyr, who had stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear. Good. Let him be afraid. Let him feel a fraction of the pain he'd caused me. He held up the remaining piece of Baldr’s spellbook as if to shield himself, but I just laughed. There was nothing he could do to stop me. For all those years he’d wanted me to lose control and now that I had, he found himself the target of my fury. I was a tempest of raw power and anguish, and the ire of the storm was focused on him.

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