39. Gunnar
Chapter 39
Gunnar
I pace by the bedroom door, my heart pounding. On the next pass, I peek my head inside. Randi is on the far side of her bedroom, huddled on the floor, rearranging blankets. She keeps making these growling sounds of frustration, tearing her work apart, and starting over.
“Beautiful?” I take a tentative step inside. “Let me help you.”
She lifts her head, sees me, and hisses, sending out a tiny blast of blue fire. I jump back, plastering myself to the wall, hands fucking trembling.
Fennik trusted me to take care of her, and I’m failing miserably.
You had one job.
My wolf whines, desperate to fix it, but I have literally no idea what to do. I’m just a dumb-ass scrapper from the villages. They’re counting on me, but I’m so far out of my depth that I want to cry.
Where the fuck is Fennik anyway? I went to bed, and everything was normal. Well, the sad new normal of the last few days. But she woke me, calling out in her sleep from some kind of dream. She was having awful cramps. We cuddled by the fire, and she was a soft little ball of sadness that broke my heart.
I called Fennik, but he can’t answer because the damn thing is plugged in by the bed.
I thought I would cheer her up when I gave her the sage leaves. When we were out at the farm, I grabbed a stash of them and wrote new wishes for her about being bonded to her horde. I kept them in her bed and let all of us sleep with them. But they had the opposite effect. She freaked when I brought her to the deck so we could send them into the wind.
Randi snatched them from my hand and wouldn’t let them go. Her scent went wild—oranges and honey sprinkled with mint, so thick it felt as if I was drinking the air—and then came the scary cat. Her eyes turned the color of water mint growing by the lake, and she hissed at me until I backed away. She ran back to her nest and hasn’t let me inside since.
I’m a fighter for a living, which means I’ve seen some crazy shit. But the sight of Randi so upset is wrecking me. I just want to fix it. Heavy footsteps sound on the stairs, and I want to weep in gratitude. Fennik will make it better. He’ll know what to do.
Fennik rounds the landing, and I throw myself into his arms. “Thank gods you’re here. She won’t let me in.”
My body tenses, the sweet smell of campfire clogging my nose. Possessive jealousy and pure rage like I’ve never known surge inside me.
I push Fennik against the wall, forearm pinning him. “Why the fuck do you smell like the serpent?”
Fennik’s eyes turn the steely silver of his alpha. His lips curl, but it isn’t a smile. “I know you’re angry at me, but think carefully about what you do next, pup.”
I don’t think carefully. I can’t think at all.
I growl, my wolf asserting his dominance. I’ve never even tried to match Fennik’s wolf, but right now, I’m beyond pissed. My omega mate is hissing fire, and my alpha smells as though he’s spent the last few hours bathing in Knox instead of being with us.
“While you were with that asshole, your omega mate has been spinning out of control. She won’t let me in the nest, and you”—I push against Fennik’s chest, practically spitting my words—“weren’t here!”
Fennik surges forward, twists me in his arms, and clasps a tight grip around my hands, binding them behind my back. He walks me to the doorway of Randi’s nest, watching her for a moment before he bends me over the nearby table in the den. He keeps my hands bound with one hand, and with his other, he clears the books around us, sending them to the floor.
His heavy weight curls over my back, his warm breath skirting my ear. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me, pup. But now, you’ll get what you so loudly asked for.”
The feel of his large presence weighing me down quiets some of the roaring in my ears. Fennik yanks my pants down in harsh swipes until they’re at my knees. The first strike against my ass is sharp, cracking through all the buzzing energy in my body. He does it again, spanking my ass hard in raining blows that he alternates between each cheek.
“She’s building her nest. It’s normal,” he says. His voice is so calm and deep that it feels as if I’m floating. “When she’s ready, she’ll let us in.”
The scratch of his blunt nails over my heated flesh makes me whimper, but it isn’t because I want him to stop. I need him to keep going. My cock is hard, aching to come, but it isn’t even about that. His big paw kneads the flesh, pinching and grabbing. It hurts, but it hurts in that good way where the pain slices through all the bullshit and makes my head go quiet.
He lands another three fucking hard smacks, and I melt into the wood beneath me.
“I went to see Knox because it needed to be done. He is going to be a part of us. We’re a horde. Three mates to her.” He moves me until my hand splays against the wooden table, his fingers weaving through mine.
The feel of his clothes against my ass burns, the fabric chafing. That flash of pain sends a wave of pleasure through my body, making me shiver. The scent of forest swells around me, frosted pine and sweet amber, but the lingering smoke still makes me grit my teeth.
I want the world for Randi, but I don’t want Knox. At first, I was trying to be neutral and let her decide what she needed, but the way she screamed and raged at him set off all my protective instincts. He’s hurt her. Really hurt her. And yet he was the one who held her while she cried. I hate it.
Fennik’s words soften, his purr thrumming against my back. “I’m not saying forgive him. I’m not saying touch him.”
His fingers drag up my arm, over my shoulder, and down. He grabs my cock, squeezing the base. It’s a grip of ownership—of possession.
“But we will do what’s best for her, and it isn’t adding our opinions about him to her already clouded head.” The hand still clasped with mine squeezes. “I love you, pup. Randi does too. I promise Knox won’t change that.”
I didn’t know I needed to hear that, but I did. His words land, and the seal breaks, sobs choking out of me.
We end up on the floor. Fennik braces himself against the table as I cling to his chest as if it will keep me from floating away. “I can’t lose this too. I can’t?—”
“You won’t, pup.” He kisses my hair, and I cling harder, digging my fingers into his shirt. “You won’t.”
He tugs on my beard, and I meet his eyes, but all I see is love and understanding. His lips are soft, coaxing me to open and give him everything. His hand cups my jaw, deepening the kiss and making me feel it down to my soul.
My wolf settles, my ass stings, and I’m twisted up in my pants, but right this moment, it’s perfect. He holds me, his purr rumbling, until the world feels less out of control.
When I’m ready, he helps me up, rights my pants, and kisses my neck. “Come on. Let’s go see our dragon. I have some things I think will help.”
Fennik peeks into the nest, arms full of Knox’s things. I crowd behind him.
Randi is in the center of a mound of nesting items, looking unsatisfied. I know the moment she sniffs us out. She turns up her nose, and her eyes go wide.
“Little dove, I brought you some things for your nest,” Fennik says softly. He takes a tentative step inside, then another and another.
I hang back because I’m a chickenshit and Randi hissing fire scares me.
She crawls to the edge of her nest and holds out her hand, big eyes staring up at him. Her eyes are a beautiful mixture of lilac and icy-blue crystals—the new color is a mindfuck.
Fennik tries to cup her cheek, but she hisses, snatching the clothes from him and letting off a steaming burst in warning. My alpha mate has balls of steel because he doesn’t retreat. He sits outside the nest boundary, marked by a steep mound of blankets, and purrs for her.
For long minutes, she ignores his presence, staring blankly at her nest. Eventually, Randi adds the things Fennik brought from Knox to her collection. At first, I think this will be it. She’ll settle. But then she bursts into tears, rocking back and forth on her knees.
I join Fennik at the edge of her nest, unable to keep away. She looks so lost. She’s in layers of our clothes, surrounded by the scent of us, but she’s never looked more alone.
“What do you need, baby girl? Whatever it is, I’ll get it,” Fennik says in a deep voice full of anguish.
She shakes her head, white hair a storm around her. “It’s wrong.”
I can’t take it, and I move to crawl to her, but Fennik holds me back. “No. She has to invite you in. Until then, we wait.”
We stare and watch.
When I’m convinced I should just go in there, omega etiquette be damned, her eyes meet ours. “I can’t do this without Knox. He’s a part of me, and I want him here.” She fiddles with the edges of the blanket, eyes downcast, then crawls to Fennik and sits in his lap.
“Tell us what you need, little dove,” Fennik says softly.
I shift so that I’m on the floor, head in her lap. Even though I’m in my human form, she scratches my head, idly running her fingers through my hair.
Her voice is soft and hesitant when she answers Fennik’s question. “We should move to my dragon’s nest and bring supplies. It needs to be there. The lair isn’t right.”
“Done,” he says.
She clears her throat and fidgets in Fennik’s lap.“I’m ready for Knox to join us at the nest. I think waiting until the full moon is our best bet to ensure the bonds take. We need the power boost to counteract the waning magic, and that’s when the Moon Circle will peak. That gives us a few days to acclimate and talk as a horde before the Thunder starts and my heat takes over, but I can’t promise this will work.”
“That part has already been decided,” Fennik promises.
I’m not worried like she is that the bond between the three of us will fail. My wolf is sure we’re meant to be together. What scares me is how Knox will fit into this equation or change the magic.
This part is harder for me than for Fennik. He’s all cool daddy wolf, but I’ve got no chill when it comes to Knox. I’m sure most of it is for the obvious reasons. As her mate, Knox isn’t someone I would have chosen for her.
But that shit is also an excuse. Underneath all my protective instincts regarding Randi, I’m scared shitless by the connection the two of them share. It’s fucking powerful.
I give her another reminder that if she wants to, we’ll find another way. “You don’t have to mate him.”
Randi hesitates before she answers, and it feels as if each word zaps her strength. “We’ve both punished ourselves long enough. I’ve forgiven him and want a true bond. I’m ready,” she whispers.
My stomach twists in knots.
Fennik folds her into his chest and kisses the top of her head. I can’t take it and climb into their pile, toppling us all over. They laugh as I get settled in the snuggle pile, my body shifting to my wolf without thought. We hold each other, but I can’t help but keep worrying about what our new future looks like.
The fucking irony that I have to deliver Knox to Randi is not lost on me. I slam the SUV door, surprised when the serpent doesn’t meet me at the wards.I do what Randi said, removing the green crystal from the spell circle so I can get Knox out of the wards, then I go in search of the serpent.
I peek inside the cabin, but he’s not there. The sun is rising, making the morning mist thick on the lake. It’s eerie, and the world is still. My hackles rise as I head down to the dock, a horrible sinking in my gut. It’s no better seeing the nest up close. The tent is singed, a few places burned from her fire.
“Knox, man, where are you?” I ask. The uneasy feeling in my gut grows stronger the longer he remains hidden. I hop onto the float, my wolf on high alert. “This shit isn’t funny. You already know I can beat your ass. Stop hiding.”
I peel back the skewed tent flap, bracing myself for an attack. What I find is worse. Inside the tent looks like a fox got into a chicken coop, with feathers and shredded shit everywhere. That doesn’t even come close to the mess of a man lying in the wreckage.
The serpent looks as if he’s been attacked by zombies. Deep black veins cover his whole body, and under his eyes are huge dark bruises. What the fuck happened to make him look like this? There’s no way Fennik left him in this condition.
My hands shake as I try to wake him, but he doesn’t respond. I don’t think. I just pick him up. He weighs nothing. I awkwardly grab one of the least damaged quilts and wrap him in it. Knox stays silent and unmoving while I carry him to the SUV. He’s breathing but barely. I get him in the back, cursing the whole time.
Randi’s nest doesn’t have a fucking driveway—it requires a tracking stone for fuck’s sake. It’s a secret spot tucked into the mountain on the far side of the lake. I park on the mountain road, debating whether I should take him to town.
Vandera or Randi?
My wolf pleads with me to deliver the serpent to Randi.
Decision made, I pull the serpent into my arms and hoof it through the forest, the glowing stone leading the way.
Fennik tried to tell me. He did. But I couldn’t see it. I was blinded by my fear and rage. Knox hurt her, and I wanted him to suffer. Stupid, selfish prick . I should have wanted her to heal.
We should have insisted… I don’t even know what. But something. I know she’s a master at pushing her emotions away until she can’t help but face them.I was glad she was pushing him away. But damn, I can’t be glad for the state he’s in.
By the time I get us through the entrance to her cave and up the smooth stairs, I’m freaking the fuck out, but my heart leaps from my chest, pounding furiously when I get the first whiff of smoke. I stumble into the nest and freeze at the sight.
My dragon is behind a ring of dancing blue fire surrounding her nest. My very not human dragon. Her eyes zero in on the limp figure in my arms. Her dragon’s voice is a shrill hiss, barely recognizable. I feel the words more than I hear them.
“All awaken or none do. Three contenders. One horde. Cross the line before the full moon rises. Hurry. The serpent is running out of time.”
My head jerks toward Fennik, where he’s sitting near the fiery circle, burned arm held against his chest. “What happened?”
“It’s time,” he says, voice eerily calm.