Page 2 of The Blood Wolf

The two other shifters snarled in warning.Fucking stupid mutts.

There was the slightest rustle through the trees, and Bjorn appeared, shirtless and with a battle ax resting on one broad shoulder.

"Problem, Thor?" the bear warg asked cheerily.

The shifter snarled, "That wolf bitch is ours. She's committed crimes against our alpha, and you will give her to us."

Bjorn snorted and looked at his leader. "This scrap of a girl worth fighting over, Thor?"

Thor gave his second in command a steady look and said in Old Norse, "Blackberries."

Bjorn's eyes widened, knowing precisely what he was talking about. He had been at the party the night Thor had gone crazy trying to find the source of the scent.

"She's on the Blood Pack territory, which means she belongs to us. You know the rules," Bjorn told the wolves, waving them away. "Fuck off."

One of the wolves pounced for Thor. He moved slightly out of the way, grabbed the wolf mid-air by the ruff of its neck, and tossed it back the way it came. It crashed into a tree with a yelp.

"This isn't over, vampire," the shifter in charge snapped.

Thor looked back over his shoulder. "Get the fuck out of my territory before I skin your furs for my hall."

He cradled the half-dead woman closer to his chest and kept walking through the snow. He felt the second the wolves crossed back over his wards.

"You do know we have only just gotten over the last lot of bullshit with the wolves," Bjorn said.

Thor snarled low in his throat. "This is my land, and whatever’s on is mine.Mine."

Bjorn took a careful step away from him. "This will mean war."

"I am avikingr," Thor said with a bitter laugh. "When has the threat of war ever stopped me from taking what I want?"

3

The hall stood like a whale's back amid the tall pines, the torches outside flickering on their posts and casting light against the dark of the night. Not that Thor or his wargs needed them, but sometimes the old things comforted them most. Like the hall itself, carved with the ancient designs and motifs of their home.

There were fifteen of them, and whether Thor liked it or not, he was still their jarl. Only a handful were still in Inferno; the rest had gone home to the north to prepare for winter there.

The heavy wooden doors were opened to greet them, golden light spilling out from the hearth fire, torches, and candles.

"I thought we were done with taking in strays," Astrid said, putting down her ale mug. She lifted her nose and sniffed. "Wolf and mostly dead."

"Come with me. I need your help with her," Thor instructed, and despite her teasing, she got up to obey. Bjorn could fill the others in on what was happening.

Thor went through his quarters at the back of the hall to his large private bathroom. The outside of the hall might looktraditional, but there were luxuries in the modern world they had all been happy to adopt.

"Who is she?" Astrid asked, following him in.

"Fill the tub. I need to get some of this muck off her to see her wounds," Thor replied and cradled the wolf closer. "I don't know who she is. She asked for help, and the wolves tracked her down here. They did this to her, and I want to know why."

Astrid made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. "They usually take better care of their females, especially those of breeding age. Of all the places in Inferno, I wonder why she came here." She gave him an expectant look. She hadseidrmagic and knew there had to be more to it.

"I do, too. She is the one I smelled all those months ago at that terrible party," Thor admitted because lying to Astrid was pointless. She always knew the truth anyway.

"Blackberry girl? Yourwyrdsmust really be crossed," she replied and didn't ask any further questions.

Together, they got off the remainder of her rags and got her into the tub. Thor sucked an annoyed breath through his teeth when he saw the jagged mess of her back. He didn't know what they had used on her, but she was going to die before he found out any truth from her.

"She's going to bleed out before we get a doctor or med-mage here," Thor said, his chest tightening with long-forgotten emotion.Fear.

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