Page 138 of Valkyrie Renewed

Mom frowned. She sat in front of me, and to my right, Astrid’s friend, Bjarke, watched with almost intimidating intensity. He was a little taller than average height, but it was his bulk that adding to his grizzly visage.

Dahlia and Zeke were both busy and couldn’t get away, preventing any sort of reunion or additional dragon assistance, so Astrid thought Bjarke would be a good stand-in, since he was a born Berserker, rather than made by Odin. That made some sort of difference, though I still wasn’t clued in as to how.

Bjarke had yet to give any help, but that was more because Mom hadn’t been too pleased by the intrusion. Of course, Bjarke was more afraid of Astrid than he was of my mom—not that I blamed him—so she couldn’t quite scare him off.

“This shouldn’t be so difficult for you,” Mom said. “You’ve already touched your dragon. You should be able to touch it easier now. Dahlia and Zeke didn’t have these connection issues, according to Artura.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, fighting the urge to be ashamed. Even though I knew she wasn’t chastising me, after two hours of struggling with no progress to show for it, it made me feel like I was being reprimanded. “I don’t know. I really can’t feel anything. It’s just the same old powerless me in there.”

I wanted to feel something—desperately. I wanted to be able to protect Astrid. I wanted to be able to do all the cool shit Mom showed off that she could do, and then more that she hadn’t yet.

“I suspect it’s because of the different life he’s lived compared to them,” Bjarke said. “Diego has lived a fairly normal human life. My understanding of Dahlia is that she was raised a soldier.”

“Astrid’s description of Zeke and his mom being doomsday preppers wasn’t that far off, I think,” I said.

He nodded. “Then I’d say I’m not far from the mark. They lived a life that was more in line to accept their true nature. You’re going to struggle doing the same.”

“But I do accept it.”

“Your dragon disagrees.” Bjarke shook his head. “My bear accepts me and I accept him, but it wasn’t always that way. I was fourteen when my bear decided I was worthy to know he was there, but I still had to prove myself. Your dragon is making you work.”

I didn’t quite understand why this was a test. “But it came out the other day. Why would it hide again?”

“It didn’t come out for you. It came out to protect your mate.”

I threw my hands up. “Why is everyone calling Astrid my mate?”

Bjarke smirked. “Because I know if I tease you or Astrid, I’ll get a reaction, with how new your romantic relationship is.”

I scowled. “No wonder you’re her friend. You both enjoy being a pain in the ass.”

He laughed. “Life is more fun that way.”

I regarded him for a moment. “You’re not uncomfortable with that term, are you?”

He shook his head. “I call Alecia my mate, because it makes my bear happy. And I’m pretty sure dragons use the term, too.”

I turned to Mom, who was quiet. “You did think Astrid was my mate because her scent was strong on me, most likely because we’d just been intimate prior to you showing up. What’s that about?”

She worked her jaw, her eyes flicking cautiously at Bjarke. “Well, since this one here accepts his bear’s desires, I suppose I can talk about it. We dragons are capable of creating a strong bond with our partners that we call a mate-bond. It has a powerful smell, even long after we create the initial bond, so I misinterpreted your recent intimacy as that bond.”

“What does this bond feel like?” If I was going to be able to make it, I should know the signs and what to expect.

“It’s a sensation I’m not sure I’m capable of describing, but it’s a consuming need, such that if we give into it, it creates an intense and unbreakable bond. Nothing can tear it apart.”

My pulse fluttered.A consuming need? Is that similar to the pull I feel with Astrid?I thought it’d go away after we agreed to make our relationship official. But these last few days, I swore it was getting more intense. Had this dragon part of me made that decision already and expected me to give in at some point?

Mom’s expression dropped. “Except for death. And the loss of a mate-bond is an indescribable pain. It’s why we’re thankful the urge to do so doesn’t hit us often when we take longer-term partners.”

My gut twisted, a visceral reaction, as if the very thought of losing such a bond pained my dragon. “Did you make this bond with Pá?”

The two of them hadn’t talked since he found out she was alive. He always went somewhere else when she was going to be stopping by—even talking about her shut him down. It’d put a bit of a strain on his and my relationship, since I wanted to rebuild something with Mom.

She shook her head. “No. I felt the pull to, and had been tempted, but I resisted. I didn’t… think I could handle it. And then when I received my vision, I used that as self-justification to bury the guilt and any more urges that reared up.”

I smiled. Mom really loved him. I could see on her face that resisting wasn’t something she really wanted to do. And I could also understand her not wanting to experience that excruciating pain. Losing him to age would have been hard enough without an added, intense bond on top.

Bjarke ran his fingers through his hair. “Damn, my bear is grumpy we don’t get that.”

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