Page 48 of Heart of the Wolf
Leif hunted, stuffing their chests to the brim with meat, and she spent time with Astrid and Liv. Andri had learned a few of her words, their conversation meager but growing with each interaction. He was funny and enamored with his wife, not at all intimidated by her strength in body and spirit.
Brielle quickly developed a fondness for the fiery redhead, impressed by her fortitude and skill with a spear.
When Leif became Konungr, she requested to fight, knowing she was not meant for a quiet life.
Without hesitation, Leif added her to the war party. She and another warrior Brielle had yet to meet, were the first women in the clan to be granted such an honor. Liv considered it her duty to the gods, to fight and bring glory to her kin. She had six older brothers, all scatteredthroughout the village. Much to her mother’s dismay, only one of her brothers had married.
According to Liv, the matriarch regularly spoke to the young girls, trying to secure matches for her sons. Unfortunately, her brothers were hopeless. Liv’s mother kept bringing Brielle loaves of fresh bread, complaining that she was too skinny to carry the Konungr’s sons.
All the color drained from her face, finding the woman impossible to argue with. She knew children were expected, but hearing it spoken out loud made her stomach flip. How her sons had avoided her attempts to wed them baffled her. Brielle couldn’t tell the woman no to anything.
It may have been blunt and a bit invasive, but it made Brielle feel welcomed and loved among the clan. A group of people whom she now considered family—kin.
While Styrr’s transgression unsettled her, the feeling was fleeting. The more time she spent among what everyone reminded her were her people, the more evident it was that he was in the minority. Most were thrilled that Leif was to be wed. It was as Liv had said.
A happy Konungr boded well for everyone.
***
“Morning, my beautiful kona.”
The deep voice rumbled along her spine, cutting through the fog of her dreams. Brielle stirred, mapping the lines of muscles through Leif’s sheer tunic.
“My wolf,” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
Strong hands gripped her hips, guiding her until she straddled his waist. Her linen dress rode up, exposing the creamy expanse of her smooth thighs. Another, more feral-sounding growl shook his chest. The points of his teeth dug into his lip, his gaze raking over her.
“Tonight. You will come so hard for me that the moon and stars will hear you.”
A shiver danced over her arms, making her nipples pebble under her shift. His scarred hands bounced along her legs, his thumbs tracing the curve of her waist, when a grating voice cut through their reverie.
“Apologies,” Amund huffed, arching a brow at their compromising positions. “Tradition dictates that I take our Konungr to prepare for the hand binding. My moon will come to help you get ready.”
As if summoned by his words alone, bright blonde hair blew into the space. Astrid ignored how Brielle sat astride Leif, hauling pails of steaming water and pouring them into the basin. Sighing, Leif lifted her off him.
A blur of leathers flew by her face as Amund tossed clothes in Leif’s general direction.
Another voice carried in through the entrance, Liv’s broad shoulders nudging Amund. Long braids swayed behind her, glittering like wildfire.
“The next time I see you, you will be mine completely,” Leif said.
With a final kiss to her cheek, Leif left with Amund.
Astrid returned from filling the basin, her lips spreading in a wide smile that unsettled Brielle. Her soon-to-be sister shared a look with Liv. Before Brielle could comment, Liv yanked off Brielle’s underdress, leaving her bare. The cold air stung her nipples, making them tighten.
She wasn’t as embarrassed as she’d been the first time she stripped in front of Astrid, but she was cold. She covered her arms over her chest, and Astrid shook her head.
“Enough. Come,” she said, curling her small hand around Brielle’s wrist and pulling.
A resigned sigh puffed out her cheeks as Brielle rolled her eyes, unable to do anything but follow the tiny terror who was now her family. Even though a sliver of frustration ticked in her chest, she couldn’t stop her smile.
A sister.
Family and kin who loved her.
After helping her into the bath, Liv and Astrid washed her hair, tossing in sprigs of lavender and holly. They took their time, running soft cloths over her arms and legs. An unfamiliar emotion burned in her throat. Brielle wiped away the tear tracks from under her eyes before the other women noticed.
Piece by piece, they were healing her just as Leif did.
