Hold my Reins (Monster Match season two)

Chapter 25

twenty-five

H e was free.

The weight of Rox on his back and the pressure of his arms around his neck were nothing compared to the silent demand of the bridle and the reminder that he wasn’t free while wearing the silver chain.

And now it was broken.

And he had Rox.

And Rox had him.

He resisted the urge to prance through the woods in delight, as that might jostle Rox, and he’d fall off. He was far too tense, squeezing with his thighs and arms as though he expected to slide off. Rox needed more practice before they could race along the lake’s edge or swim in the lake.

In the clearing where he’d met Bothvar lay the body of a frost giant. His arm cleaved from his body, blood seeping into the ground while his eyes stared up at the sky without seeing.

Lynck didn’t need to get close to know it wasn’t Bothvar.

He stepped past the body. Ears pricked forward, listening for the telltale signs of battle. Heavy footsteps, metal on metal, harsh breaths and shouts. If they’d gone through the portal, they’d have to follow to save Thursten. He couldn’t let his friend keep fighting when he was free.

Lynck let out a whinny, hoping Bothvar would call for him.

“What is it?” Rox whispered against his neck.

“To me, kelpie,” Bothvar shouted.

Lynck quickened his pace. He paused as he approached the grunting fighters, giving Rox a moment to slither off his back. He used his nose to nudge him into the shadow of a tree and hoped Rox stayed there. Rox nodded and brushed his nose against Lynck’s.

No words needed to be spoken.

The simple nose touch made Lynck’s heart swell with love. His nose tingled, and he bumped Rox again. This time to nudge him closer to the tree so he was well out of sight. Then he turned his attention to the fight. Bothvar and his friend were both fighting Thursten and a leshy, and they were all injured.

Lynck reared back with a whinny, drawing attention to him.

Bothvar ran toward him, not realizing the bridle was gone. “Kill the troll!”

Thursten and the leshy continued to fight the other frost giant , metal clashing.

Lynck walked forward as if to obey, then as he passed Bothvar, he lashed out with his hind legs, kicking him in the chest and sending him tumbling back. Bothvar dropped his sword and clutched at his chest. Lynck kicked again, and Bothvar sprawled on the ground, blood trickling from his lips.

Bothvar stared up at him. “You’re free.”

Lynck stood over him, remembering all the deaths he’d caused while compelled. This was the only one that mattered. He lifted one front leg and stomped on Bothvar’s skull. Bone cracked, and brains splattered like he’d stepped on an overripe melon. Bothvar would never give another kelpie orders. In the monster realm, every kelpie he’d bridled would also be freed.

He shifted. Bothvar’s blood remained on his hand and caught around his fingernails. He considered it for a second, then smeared it over the fresh scar on his nose and cheeks, preparing for battle. He picked up Bothvar’s sword, not caring that he was naked, and stalked toward the frost giant. “Your boss is dead.”

It was enough to make the man falter. Thursten slammed the butt of his ax into the man’s arm. He cried out and dropped his sword, and the leshy kicked it away.

“Kneel,” Thursten ordered.

The frost giant dropped to his knees, swallowing rapidly as if he didn’t know what to say.

Lynck didn’t want to hear him say anything. He leveled the sword at the frost giant’s throat. “Your kind has terrorized mine for too long. Their bridles will be broken, and there was no time to hand over control of the magic to another. They are free, and I hope they slaughter everyone who worked for Bothvar on their way back to their herds. Let the blood of the frost giants flood the lakes and rivers on our day of freedom.

“I have the scent of your blood, and I will patrol these woods, hunting frost giants. I will warn the human soldiers, and all of your kind who attempt to cross will be denied passage. The same way you have denied passage through the mountains, though I will accept no coin. I do it gladly. Now fuck off and do not return.”

“You heard him.” Thursten dragged the frost giant up as if unbothered by his cold skin and larger size.

The leshy propelled the frost giant toward the portal, shoving him through with no regard for what was on the other side. “Be glad you still live.”

Bothvar and his toadies had been trying to return to the monster realm and would have no doubt returned with an army to slaughter anyone they thought standing in their way.

Thursten turned and stared at him. “Where is Rox?”

“Alive.”

Thursten sighed and dropped his ax. He stepped in and embraced Lynck. “Next time, do not be so stubborn and accept help.”

“I’m glad you didn’t listen.” He gripped Thursten tighter for a heartbeat, not sure how he’d gotten lucky enough to have a friend and a mate willing to fight frost giants for him before releasing him. “And you made another friend.”

He nodded at the leshy. He wasn’t one of the ones who lived in town. “I will help Irina.”

“Who is that?” Lynck asked.

“The leader of my tribe. We came to warn the humans about Bothvar.”

His ears twitched at the sound of Rox approaching, and he turned to his mate. Rox stopped several feet away. His gaze skimmed over him, landing on the bloody hand and sword before finally lifting to his face. “Um…you have a little blood…”

Thursten laughed. “I do not think your mate has seen a kelpie fight before.”

“I hope you never need to see it again.” He didn’t want to be this person again. Being free meant choosing who he was, and this had never been him. It was who he’d been forced to be by the bridle.

“You needed to finish this.”

“And it is finished. He won’t hurt anyone else.” All he’d wanted was his own freedom until Bothvar had threatened Rox.

Rox glanced at the portal, then back at Lynck. “You’re free to go home.”

Lynck dropped the sword and walked toward him, relieved that Rox didn’t back away from his bloodied body. He took Rox’s hands as Rox stared up at him. The blood was tacky between their palms. “You don’t need to bind me with a bridle or hold my reins to control me. My heart belongs here, with you. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Rox exhaled. “We need to clean up or call the military or cops or something because we can’t leave bodies in the woods. If they are found, it won’t take the cops long to figure out it was you.”

“We can take them through the portal,” Thursten said.

“Is that safe?” Rox squeezed Lynck’s hands as if worried about losing him.

“Leave them here,” a woman said as she walked toward the shimmering portal followed by the other leshy.

Lynck suppressed a shudder, not wanting to be rude even though her skull face was terrifying. Rox pressed a little closer to him, and Lynck tightened his grip. “That does not seem like the smart thing to do.”

He agreed with Rox. Throwing the bodies through the portal or dropping them to the bottom of the lake was the best way to make the fight disappear.

She tilted her head. “They killed the human who should be guarding the portal, and we were too late to stop them. We were coming to warn the humans after they passed our village.”

“Why didn’t you stop them?” Thursten asked.

“Do you think there was only these three? If you had not been here and willing to fight, we would not have stepped in. Now we have, and you were never here. Leshys took care of the frost giants; we prevented the raid that would have allowed them to set up a base of operations. I will speak with Bo and Jason, and they will sort this out.”

Lynck glanced at Thursten to see if he was okay with the plan.

Thursten shrugged. “If we were never here, then we shouldn’t be here.”

“But we were.” Rox said slowly. “And the cover up is where people come unstuck in crime shows. My truck is parked up on the verge. We might have been seen.”

“We went for a night swim,” Lynck said. He’d gone swimming at night many times. “And a swim would wash off the blood.”

Irina clapped her hands. “We are decided. Enjoy your swim.”

“Thank you for your assistance.” Thursten shouldered his ax. “We’ll let you deal with portal security.”

Lynck looked at the bodies, then at Thursten, and finally the two leshys. He didn’t want to argue with them when they were prepared to claim responsibility for stopping the frost giant threat. “Thank you.”

“That’s it?” Rox whispered. “We’re leaving?”

Lynck pulled him away from the portal. “We’re leaving.”

“What if?—”

Lynck kissed him. “It will be taken care of. Now we need to clean up.”

Rox pulled off his hoodie. “Do you want to put something on so you’re not running around naked and bloody, which isn’t suspicious at all?”

Lynck glanced down, realizing he was naked. He hadn’t worried about it while fighting. It was normal for a kelpie as it made shifting between forms easy without needing to strip off a loin cloth and keep track of where it had fallen. “I will wash in the lake first.” He tilted his head at the portal. “Do you want to have a peek?”

Rox licked his lip. “Why don’t we take a week off and have a holiday? That way, you can see your herd?”

Lynck shook his head. “I can’t go back. I killed one of my own. To them, I died the day I was bridled, and in part, that is true even though I was no longer in control. But I am happy to take you on a holiday and spend some time in a monster town.”

“I’d like that.”

Thursten grunted. “And I’d like a bath. So let’s move this along.”

Lynck put his arm around Rox’s shoulders. “Will you swim with me?”

Rox smiled. “Someone needs to make sure you wash all the blood off your face.”