Page 14 of Valkyrie Confused

I shove my thoughts away from him, and to the Valkyrie I’m after. Ungrateful female, like the others of her kind. They were made by Odin, to serve him. They belong to him. And yet they dare defy The AllFather.

My blood thrums, as my beast crawls closer to the surface, suffusing me with power and amplifying my instincts. In this state, I feel no pain. I can tear through walls. Nothing can stand in my way.

I stomp the rest of the way up. The scents of Pan and the bread and the Valkyrie are coming from the hotel straight ahead. I have enough presence of mind to pause and listen for heartbeats. Four in total. No, three.

I take another step, and the heartbeats are four again, one coming from right in front of me.

“Don’t even think about dragging those dirty boots in here,” Pan says, inches from my face. “I just washed the yard.” He’s shirtless, his tan skin glistening in the morning sun and stretching over well-honed muscles. His hair is shorter and tidier than last time I saw him. I liked it better when it reached past his shoulders. Loved fisting my hands in his curls when I kissed him. When he stretched his mouth around my girth.

My beast roars, but it’s not rearing for an attack. It seeks to claim. Mark. Rut.

The man will have to do the dirty work, then. “Hand the woman over, and I’ll be out of your way,” I say.

He nods slowly, before pinning me with that gold-eyed gaze that’s never once failed to make me hard, even when I want to punch his lights out. “Or…”

I don’t have time to ask, “Or what?” before I find myself sinking inside the dirt road. I forgot he had the power to make objects change shape. Forgot it because he never used said power against me till now.

Do I get to feel betrayed at this point?

“What do you want with her?” he asks. He licks his lips, and I hate that I still remember what they taste like.

I scowl and focus on his question. If he knows what she is, he should know why I’m here. But if he knows what she is, why protect her? He wanted out. “Why do you care?”

His shrug isn’t as carefree as he wants it to look. “She’s my boss. I work for her.”

“And I work forherboss,” I say. Will he put two and two together?

He works his jaw. “Odin? I thought he was gone.”

“He’s not.” It’s not common knowledge, and I’d like to keep it that way, but Pan has been out of touch with our world for a while, so his knowing won’t make much of a difference.

“Should have known he’s too stubborn to stay dead.” Pan scrunches his nose. “Wait. She’s a fucking Valkyrie?”

Of course he figured it out. He’s fucking brilliant. And funny. And sexy. And stubborn as all Hel, which fucks up all the rest of it.

“She is. Now step aside.” I try to pull one leg out of the quicksand that’s sucked me in to above the ankle, but it turns to cement, locking me in place.

Pan folds his arms over his chest. “No. I’m supposed to protect her.”

Supposed to?“Since when do you do what you’re supposed to?” I spit out. “Wasn’t the whole issue“—that tore us apart—“that you didn’t wanna be burdened by duty?”

His expression is a mix of annoyance and pity. “I didn’t want to be burdened byyourduty. Because Odin has always been a self-righteous prick, and I wouldn’t stick around to watch you become a mindless automaton in his service.”

The heat in his voice gives me an odd sense of satisfaction. Whatever we may be now, he’s as affected by me as I am by him. He leans closer, and without thought, I reach out and grab his wrist. Pull him to me. And when he stumbles, I press my lips to his. That’s always shut him up in the past.

I break the kiss, but Pan has me in a headlock in an instant. “You owe me,” he whispers. “I will accept payment now. Give me one month before you take her.”

I tilt my forehead and lean it against Pan’s. I hate that he’d call up my debt, but I won’t back down on my word. I can spare a month. But— “You’ll run.”

“I swear I won’t.” He steps back, and my feet are freed.

The lack of support makes me waver, before I find my footing. Disgraceful. Berserkers don’t waver. “Then you have a month,” I say.

Someone clears their throat to my right. Way too close for me not to have noticed them approach.

Then again, Pan has always had this uncanny ability to make the rest of the world melt away.

“Is this a standard greeting for new guests?” a melodic voice asks.

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