Page 25 of Elf Shot

"Because we weren't going to risk anyone going near that cursed place without speaking as a council first," Brök replied.

"That Varg guy said that Vili would have his boy back. It's obvious they were working for him or are planning on taking Arne to him for some kind of reward. We need to go after them before the trail is completely gone!"

"Layla, calm yourself," Torsten said, his voice dropping to a soft growl.

"I will not be calm! Arne is gone! He's one of the best warriors I've ever seen, and he was taken…" Layla's heart was beating too fast, panic starting to overwhelm her. She started to sway, black tunnelling her vision. Strong hands steadied her, and Torsten lifted her up into his arms.

"I have you, hunter. You'll be alright," he grumbled in her ear.

"Tor? Please take Layla upstairs. We will let you know our verdict on a hunt shortly," Alruna said.

"My queen," Tor replied and carried Layla out before she could fight him.

Hot tears filled her eyes, and she palmed them away, smearing her mascara to hell.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, horrified that she couldn't control her emotions. She always cried after getting angry because it happened so rarely.

"I do. That fucking elf marked you before he was taken, and it's fucking with you," Torsten replied, setting her down so he could open the hotel door.

"Arne did what? What are you talking about?" Layla stammered. She sat down on the bed and kicked off her boots.

Torsten ran his hands through his hair, unraveling his braid. "Arne marked you, like…put a claim on you. It's a way for elves to prove that they are…spoken for?"

"He only kissed me! I didn't give him permission to mark me!" Layla exclaimed.

"He might not have meant to do it, but because of the mating thing perhaps it happened… Oh fuck." Torsten went white. "Shit. Layla, I…"

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" she demanded, her whole body vibrating with emotion.

Torsten looked at his feet and shifted his weight. "So, um, funny thing about Arne. He could be your…mate?"

Layla's eyes narrowed. "Could be?"

"Well. More like, is your mate. But still also it's a 'could be' because you both have a choice on whether to act on it?" Torsten stammered.

"I am going to get Arne back, and then I am going to murder that elf," Layla snarled before storming into the bathroom and slamming the door.

She tore off her clothes and sat on the floor of the shower, hot water pouring over her. She tried to breathe and shove all her emotions back into her body.

She needed to get help, and if the elves were going to argue over the merits of a rescue party, Layla would go elsewhere. She thought about the file of information that she had gathered on her laptop but quickly shook her head. No, that was going too far, too quick.

She would call Ciara and have her meet her in Oslo at Freya's place. They all had a key to her apartment so they could use it if Freya was in Scotland. She would get her brothers to help her with a portal to Svartalfheim.

My mate, my mate, my mate… a voice chanted underneath her desperate planning. She couldn't think about all the problems with that. She needed to focus on one thing at a time.

Layla dragged her ass out of the shower and dried off, wiping the last of the night’s makeup off her face. She packed up all of her cosmetics and went back into her room to find clothes.

Torsten was still standing by the glass wall, nursing a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. "Are you…okay?"

"No. I'm leaving," she said, tossing the cosmetics into her suitcase and finding some clean clothes. "Turn around."

Torsten didn't argue, just faced the other way as she dropped her robe and got dressed.

"The elves will still hold this summit. It's more important than ever. You should remain here and do your job," he said.

"They can get Kian to come like they should have done to begin with. I'm not sitting around here while Arne is fuck knows where." Layla pulled on boots and laced them up. "Did you check his room for any nasty surprises?"

"No. They took him. That's the nasty surprise," Torsten replied.

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