I inched away toward the back of the lodge again. I’d missed this chance to escape, but maybe another would come.
Then the front door blasted open and Jarl came in stamping. “Getting colder. Too cold for spring. Another blizzard’s coming. The Corpse King wreaking his will on the weather.”
I tried not to shiver. And failed because Jarl immediately looked to me.
“Come near the fire, Juliet.”
I shook my head, wrapping my arms more tightly around me.
“Do not make me fetch you,” Jarl said. Fenrir’s head dropped to his chest, but he didn’t quite hide his grin.
I shifted on either foot. Jarl dropped the logs he carried and started in my direction, and I scurried to the other side of the fire, hating myself for giving in.
I bared my teeth at Jarl like I was a wolf.
“Is this the way it will be? Do you have to lord your will over me every moment?”
He set his jaw. “I told you I would not let you suffer.”
“I suffer in your presence,” I shot back.
“As long as you are not cold.” He smirked and went back to tending the fire. Soon the flames were higher than my head.
I hovered at the side of the lodge, gritting my teeth against the drafts that went up my dress. The lodge was well-built, but along the wall there were cracks that let in some cold. Nothing a good blaze couldn’t drive out.
I tried to stay away but the warmth and light beckoned me closer. Much as I hated it, Jarl was right. My legs were numb. I could not stay away from their fire forever.
I sat on a fur covered rock set close to the fire. It was strange to sit and rest while there was work to be done, but I was a captive here. I would not stir myself to help lest these warriors think I was content in my captivity.
Fenrir and Jarl moved with purpose, and for the first time I let myself watch them. They both were huge but light on their feet, their movements fluid and graceful as a pair of deer. Or more accurately, a pair of wolves. Jarl spoke the most and I thought of him as their leader, but when they were silent and moving in unspoken concert, they were equal. Fenrir was slightly taller with long dark hair flowing down his back. If he were one of the young women in my charge, I’d make him sit so I could braid it. He was more beautiful, with a narrow face and long dark eye lashes.
Jarl was stockier and broad in the shoulder, though he was tall enough, certainly taller than me. His face was broad, and he’d be handsome if he wasn’t always smirking at me.
Among all the Berserkers, I’d always noticed them. What was amazing was that they’d noticed me.
“Juliet.” Jarl was standing beyond the fire. My gaze snapped to his, and I blushed. He’d caught me looking. No wonder he was smirking.
Maybe all the times I’d snuck a look, I hadn’t hidden it as well as I’d thought.
I wrapped my arms around my legs.
“What is this place?”
“This is the place we built for you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because you’re our mate.”
“I am no one’s mate.”
“Because of your vows?”
My brow prickled with sweat and I wiped it away. The walk had cooled me, but now the fire made me hot again. Or maybe I was still feverish.
“You can’t eat, you can’t sleep. We’ve watched you suffer all these moons—”
“And what, you thought you’d steal me away and I would fall into your bed and it would all be fine?” I glared and he grinned. The angrier I got, the more I amused him and the more amused he became, the angrier I got.
“You will let us care for you.” Fenrir settled next to me.
“I will?” I turned my glare to him but he remained calm.
“You will,” he stated quietly, and offered me a water skin. I was thirsty, so I let him raise it to my lips and nodded when I’d had enough to drink. Then he opened a pack and handed me a strip of dried meat. I ate and when he leaned closer to me, I didn’t stiffen and pull away. Fenrir’s calm assurance had always steadied me. I didn’t mind that he softened me. I preferred his company to Jarl’s anyway.
“You have no choice,” Jarl said from his place across the fire. Light and shadow played over his face as he watched us.
I stiffened and Fenrir sighed. He offered me more meat and I refused this time. But when I tried to turn away, he surprised me by pulling me into his lap.
“Calm yourself, little mother. Rest against me.”
“I do not want this,” I muttered. I was a grown woman sitting on a man’s lap.
“Really? Then why does your body call to mine?” He reached around to lay a hand at my throat. His fingers half circled my neck and his palm rested over my breastbone. I wriggled and he pressed down lightly. I stop fidgeting. I couldn’t escape, and it felt nice. “You’re fighting it, little one.” His deep voice caressed me. “There is no need.”
Under his palm, my heartbeat fluttered and fought. His scent surrounded me, wild and rich, pine and wood smoke. I relaxed in his lap.
“We’ve never meant you any harm. We would do anything for you,” he whispered into my ear.
“I only wish you to leave me alone,” I said loud enough for Jarl to hear.
Fenrir’s chuckle shook my whole body. “That is not true.”
“It is true,” I protested. His fingers tipped my head to the side and his beard brushed my neck. My body, caged and cradled by his, rose and fell as he breathed in my scent.
“You’ve been in heat all this time. Do not deny it.”
Across the fire, Jarl watched, his eyes dark pits with the occasional flare of gold flame.
My own eyes grew heavy and my body relaxed, lulled by the warmth and comfort of the fire and Fenrir’s lap. It was so nice to rest, cradled in a strong warrior’s arms. Nothing in the world could hurt me here. Nothing.
His hand moved down, his fingertips brushing the tops of my breasts. My heart thudded loud enough to shake the lodge. Fenrir’s lips were at my ear, and I strained to listen, but he said nothing. He nibbled along the outer edge and nipped the lobe. My body responded, tightening muscles deep in my core. I was a bud, tightly furled. A clenched fist, shaking with effort to remain closed.
His tongue touched the sensitive spot behind my ear, and a rush of golden feeling flooded me, rolling up from my core and spreading outwards in waves of tingling pleasure. It did not relieve the ache between my legs, but it edged the pain with sweetness, a promise of what was to come. All I had to do was let my legs fall open and accept what pleasure would come.
Fenrir’s tongue traced along the edge of my ear, teasing each ridge. Each stroke of his tongue reverberated through my body, the golden waves growing in size and intensity.
Then he thrust his tongue into my ear.
I gasped and the sound seemed to echo through the lodge. Across the fire pit, Jarl leaned forward, almost into a crouch. His firelit form was as monstrous as the shadows he cast. Flame and shadow turned him into a demon ready to drag me to the pit of hell.
Fenrir’s beard scraped my neck and ear. “Shhhh, little one.” His large hand reaffirmed its gentle grip on my throat.
And then I realized what I’d been chanting, over and over. Kyrie eleison, Christos eleison. My chest was tight as if a boulder rested on it. Without my bidding, my lips moved to form the well-worn prayer.