Page 2 of Luna Cursed

The wolf inside Tor roared in fury. "He bit you? Ciara, you need—"

"Shhhh, not the important bit."

"The fuck it isn't," he snarled. The infection would already be in her bloodstream. The touch of her hand over his mouth made him go still. Her eyes were sliding out of focus.

"Tor…I found your sister," she whispered. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and Tor caught her before she face-planted the carpet. He pushed down the fear and panic that suddenly roared through him. He pulled her jacket off and laid her down. She was passed out, not dead, but if he didn't help her, she would wish that she was. Tor grabbed a medical kit from his bathroom and crouched beside her.

"Sorry about this," he murmured.

Gripping the collar of her T-shirt, he tore it to expose her neck and shoulder. A low growl emanated from him as he pulled off the sodden fabric she had over the weeping wounds. He could see the pattern of the teeth that had tried to tear through her. He was going to kill so many people for this.

"The fuck you were doing hunting Varg on your own?" he muttered.

He washed the wounds out with saline and put fresh bandages over them. He only needed to slow the bleeding until he could get her the help she needed. He fished his phone out of his pocket and rang Alruna.

"Tor, darling, did you get to—" she began.

"Auntie, I need you to make a portal to my apartment right now."

Alruna didn't hesitate. The air burned with magic, and she stepped from her kitchen and beside Tor. Her eyes went wide at the blood all over his hands and the broken woman on his couch.

"Varg bit her. We need to get her to Gudrun before the infection takes hold," Tor said, picking Ciara up in his arms.

"Tor, she is the Wolf Slayer," Alruna said softly. "You know that Gudrun might not want to help her."

"Ciara is Layla's family. Layla is now Odin's family. CiaraisOdin's family. Gudrun will help," Tor replied, his mouth filling with fangs.

"I hope you know what you are doing."

Alruna opened a portal, and a hut appeared in front of them. Tor held Ciara tighter to him, and she whimpered softly.

"I got you, little one. It's going to be okay now," he promised her. He just hoped that the Völva was in a good mood.

2

There had been a Völva in Ulfheim since they had been a village. She lived in a wooden hut outside the main village with a forest and a stream nearby. No matter how many times the wolves offered electricity to the hut, the Völva refused. The old one chose one of the pack's women with the seeing gift and trained them to take the helm. It had been the way for hundreds of years, a piece of tradition that couldn't be altered.

The current Völva was Gudrun, a sharp-eyed, sharper-tongued wolf with brilliant red hair. She opened the door to her wooden hut as soon as Alruna's magic had stirred the air.

"And what brings you to my hut tonight, little alpha? And with the queen of the elves no less," she demanded.

"Please, Gudrun, she's been bit by Varg," Tor said, carrying Ciara up the steps to the Völva.

She shrugged. "So she becomes a wolf on the next full moon."

"She is Ciara Ironwood," Alruna replied. "Help her, and I will owe you a favor."

"A favor from the elf queen. How delicious." Gudrun looked down at Ciara's face. "I thought the Wolf Slayer would be bigger. Bring her inside before someone sees and decides to cut her throat instead."

Tor's eyes whipped around the night-time forest around them, a low, threatening growl rising in his chest. No one would touch Ciara.

"Like that, is it?" Gudrun huffed to Alruna.

Alruna smiled. "Come on, Tor, get her inside. There's no one here but us."

Inside was hot with a fire burning even in summer. Gudrun gestured them to a bare wooden table, and Tor placed Ciara down. Her skin was clammy with sweat, and the color had leeched out of her lips until they were gray.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Gudrun said. She placed a hand on Ciara's brow and closed her eyes. She whispered under her breath, and Tor's nose tingled with the earthy scent of her magic. "Her soul is drifting. She's going to need an anchor and power to heal her."

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