Running Ember: Wolf Shifters of Norse Lore

Chapter One

Outside of a trip toLiberty Island, Matt had never been on anything bigger than his granddad’s dingy when they went trout fishing on a lake near their cabin in the woods. He’d certainly never been trapped on a big boat for a week. At least it was big enough to run, and some of the uninjured Alpha mates had fun, chasing each other around with Sleipnir. The engines on the ferry were noisy, but outside that, Matt liked it. While still healing from the massive flank wound, caused by the V?lsung Warrior he’d gutted at Ting, Matt spent most of his trip toward Troms? in the sun on the deck, wishing both he and Hati were able to join in on the fun.

Most of the injured Alphas and V?lsung relaxed on the deck with them, and they were served meat there.

They’d left six days after Ting. Other than Matt having to heal enough to need less than six days of healing time on the ferry, they’d had so many little tasks to see to before departure.

Regional Alphas and two V?lsung had flushed out the eight humans from government positions who worked with them. Most cops had been pinpointed, too.

They’d also gone to the six green packs on Tristan’s map, and the Alphas of all had let the Regionals deal with it, making clear that they favored Tristan’s suggestion. The Pack Alphas had been demoted in their own packs, and a new Pack Alpha and Pack Alpha Bitch had been appointed to each of them. They’d assess later, giving the Alphas time to work. Each pack had also taken in mated Alphas as first line of defense, putting a Geri Freki and a Sk?ll Hati in the packs, too.

During shadings, more V?lsung had marched up from the south, and the pack had grown to almost six hundred. The many V?lsung mates had been moved to the farm that housed the V?lsung now, and eighty-two Alpha Bitches had decided to stay and back up Tanja. Forty-three V?lsung Bitches stayed, too, along with around two hundred Warriors. Patina wasn’t the only Warlord left as other female Warlords chose to stay with her. The rest of the Warlords, which was just over a hundred, followed Matt on the ferries.

It had caused some trouble with the Alphas, whose mates had been killed in the attacks on the cities. To steer their bloodlust, Matt had sent them south to give V?lsung the opportunity to walk north and join Patina, or the Alphas could...fight them. He knew they’d die if that ended up being the outcome, but they were in so much pain now that death would be a kindness. At least they seemed to know that V?lsung on their territory ran with the same embers that spoke to theirs and that the V?lsung running south were the enemy. Unless they joined.

The thought of sending Alphas to their possible deaths still hurt Matt, but after he and the V?lsung had merged and they’d seen home, it was easier to compartmentalize those emotions and see through what was needed to accomplish the mission.

And Matt’s eyes were human again. Unless in Warlord mode, as Rasmus called it. Matt could also shift his eyes at will just like Thyra and even Tristan could. It was like with Daniel, whose eyes shifted between his human green, the red-blue mesh of the Incubus, and the golden color of the Royal.

It made things easier—especially when meeting with the many Alphas.

Freki had spent a lot of time with Kresten, talking to the fifty or so humans they’d spotted working against Wolf during the shaded blackouts. Before leaving it to the Wolf Platoon, Freki had known for sure that half were onboard, the other half was trepidant, but most were capable men and women, who he’d definitely call Rigr. Kresten had been introduced to David and Kim, and Kresten was now working on making a council for himself, except he’d been inspired by the tales of King Arthur and wanted a round table of Rigr along with a council of Earls, Karls, and Thralls as they’d decided to call them.

Isbait had stomped around, calling sixty-eight Stallions to respond to his task. Those Stallions had driven their bands to Aarhus, interrupting more traffic, and they’d run in their Sleipnir form. No one doubted that there were centaurs anymore. Both Vargr and V?lsung had run with Sleipnir coming up from Germany.

Mares would run the North with them, too, but those with foals stayed at the farms. The rest were on the ferries. Elakdon had mused about having to buy another ferry, but the government had secured them one, and Rasmus had drawn more dragon heads. The paint had barely dried on the third ferry before they set out from Frederikshavn.

Geri and Freki had run the distance from Aarhus and up through Jutland to the ferries with everybody else, side by side with the ambulance bringing Matt and Hati. Their synched embers had cried out with theirs, pulling more Alphas, while Matt and Hati had struggled to lie still because they wanted to run.

Daniel and his lovers had come to Frederikshavn to wave them off, but they’d now continue the diplomatic work to prepare everything for when the Alphas, V?lsung, and Sleipnir had run down through the North and gathered as many followers as possible.

Pulling V?lsung, though? That was the one part of this trip he still felt insecure about. Not fearful—they’d just conquer them—but he hoped to do it as calmly as possible to see to the safety of the Cubi, humans, Sleipnir, and Vargr running with them.

A text rolled in, making Matt’s phone vibrate against the metal floor. He picked it up and saw that it was from Tanja. It had an image attached of Patina, looking skeptically at the camera, but six pups lay with her, suckling. Patina’s sure a Warlord isn’t that interested, but I promised her a Vargr would be. Born around 3 AM.

Matt grinned as he leaned over and showed Hati.

“Damn, they’re cute!” Hati exclaimed.

“What’s that?” Tristan asked.

“Patina gave birth.” Matt handed his phone over. “Look at the fuzz down their backs.”

Freki crouched next to Tristan and leaned in. “Wow. I’ll need ankle guards when we get home.”

They laughed.

“Are you claiming them as yours, too?” Tristan asked.

“Of course,” Matt said. “She’s my V?lsung’s mate. They’ll be strong pups.”

“We usually claim them after they’ve proven strength,” Thorleif said.

Matt chuckled. “That’s the Vargr in me being optimistic, then.” He accepted his phone back from Tristan and saved the picture to his phone, smiling at the image and especially Patina’s grumbling expression. Oddly enough, he missed her epic-level pessimism and how she could make everything sound like an insult. “When’s the Omega due?”

“Another few months,” Tristan said.

Matt hoped he’d be home for that. He texted Tanja back that Hati was in love with the fuzz, that Freki needed help shopping for ankle guards, and that he, himself, couldn’t wait to get home to see his claimed pups. Oh, and for her to send more pictures.

Someone shouted somewhere, making Matt look up, and all V?lsung turned to face the railing. Something about the waters. The ship began to roll on the waves.

“Port side!” Elakdon sprinted across the deck almost naked, sending a whiff of sex to mix with the salty air of the sea, but it didn’t linger as the wind picked up and water sprayed them. A few Alphas helped haul Matt and Hati to their feet to join the old King by the railing.

“Aren’t you glad I had Rasmus paint me pretty dragons to appease J?rmungandr now?” Elakdon asked.

Matt stared agape at the whirlpool, seeing that the other two ferries were being pulled closer to it, too. Just under the surface, something shimmered, and he could easily recognize the shape of a huge sea serpent swimming in a circle. A huge head broke the water, and they were glared at by an enormous eye.

“And the dragons will appease them?” Matt asked, shouting over the roar of the sea, while clinging onto the railing. It hurt his flank. He was not a seafaring man, and this caused fear as he was more than aware that this was not an enemy he could attack.

The V?lsung growled from the depth in him, so he relinquished his form to the Warlord.

The huge eye blinked at them once. The waters stilled, and the shiny shape of a serpent seemed to sink. The head disappeared, too, leaving the ferry on calmer waters, but all three of them were pointing in different directions.

Sk?ll heard the humans shout something near the cockpit about getting them back on course.

“Okay...” Freki clicked his tongue, still staring at the water. He looked at the old King, whose gaze was still locked on the waters, but he was smiling, and his eyes shimmered the way a Cubus’ did when moved to tears.

“Why do you cry, old King?” Sk?ll asked.

Elakdon looked at him and smiled. “Because the sight of a sibling race long feared dead brings me hope.” He looked at the waters again. “That Fenrir are alive, too.”

Sk?ll looked at the waters. The King’s words awoke hope in him, too, and the remembered sight of home stirred a deep feeling in Sk?ll. When he’d finally merged with the human in him—when the boy had declared he’d simply love the V?lsung—the sight of home had stood clear, and he yearned to walk with the V?lsung, surrounding the grand Fenrir, as they took them home to once again occupy the territory of Wolf.

“Now do you believe?” Elakdon asked Freki.

Freki snorted. “Well, seeing it with my own two eyes does seem pretty good evidence.”

Elakdon chuckled, patted Freki on the shoulder, and looked at Sk?ll. “You, dear Warlord, should be healing. We arrive in four days.”

Sk?ll agreed, so he returned to his spot, shifted to human, and curled up with Hati.

“Wow,” Matt whispered. “J?rmungandr are quite beautiful.”

“Wildly so,” Hati said. “They look nothing like I’d imagined.”

Matt merely shook his head. He hadn’t even tried to really picture one. But he shared Elakdon’s hope. If J?rmungandr had survived, hopefully Fenrir had, too.

The sea serpent was way smaller than he’d imagined from the descriptions in lore. Why was that?

––––––––

THEY’D BE ARRIVINGin Troms? around two o’clock in the afternoon, and everybody stood on the deck and watched as they turned into the fjord. Matt kept glancing at Steffen, who stood gaping and staring at the mountains, and Tristan looked goofily happy on his mate’s behalf, holding him from behind and absentmindedly rubbing his chin on top of Steffen’s head.

Matt remembered Steffen as a pretty tall man when he’d first met him, but Matt had outgrown his Pack Alpha by two inches now. It still impressed Matt just how tall his tank uncle was when he could do that, and getting hugged by Tristan could still make Matt feel like a pup being bundled up in protective arms. Steffen seemed to enjoy that same sense of security while staring at the mountains. He’d never seen mountains in real life, but he’d found his Vargr side by one as he’d suffered the pain of the Bite. He’d told Matt that once, and Matt was happy for Steffen that he finally got to see a mountain.

Having finally figured out why Matt had woken up in a cave, he understood the significance of the vision born with them. Matt had not seen his vision until the human, Vargr, feral, and V?lsung side of him had merged, and the memory of the overgrown ruins of Fenrir’s home still brought out a strong sense of devotion toward the giant beings of old that he’d never met. And unity. Uniting Wolf. Not just Vargr. Wolf.

“What’s the name of the Pack Alpha here?” Hati asked.

“Regional Alpha Kjell and his Alpha Bitch Maja,” Tristan said. “They’ll meet us at the ferries.”

“How did they take us traveling with a bunch of V?lsung Warlords, Sleipnir, and Cubi?” Matt asked.

“I, uhm...didn’t warn him about that.”

Matt looked at his uncle. Hiding? “Why?”

“Because I didn’t think that belonged on a phone call. I asked for passage to begin the run of the Alphas of all there, and he said yes. Who we run with is irrelevant, considering they run with you.” Tristan looked at Matt. “An Alpha of all who just happens to also be a powerful Warlord.”

“And we hope you guys firing up your embers will see all Alphas follow us,” Steffen mumbled, still looking like a pup taking in new marvels of the world.

“As advised by Vargr, we will approach this with V?lsung hospitality in mind,” Thorleif said. “Sk?ll has accepted that I make the offering.”

Never come empty-handed, and never come with too little.

A few cows still hung in the biggest cooler on the ship, and Thorleif had the size to carry one to the Regional Alpha alone. It had been wrapped, and all the big tarp really needed for it to look like a gift was a bow. But V?lsung were not that poetically humorous.

“It’s so beautiful,” Steffen whispered.

“That it is, my mate,” Tristan murmured and hugged Steffen closer. “We will run some of those mountains as we move south.”

Steffen smiled broader.

“I hope we get time with the pack,” Hati said. “Pups. I hope we get to see how packs live up here.”

Matt took Hati’s hand and squeezed it. He hoped they’d be welcomed, too, even with hundreds of Warlords with them.

“Warlord, if I may...” Thorleif looked at Matt. “We should shade as soon as we make berth.”

“We should. But if we want to stay friendly with the pack, we at least have to ask.”

Thorleif grunted. “And this is due to the precarious balance for cooperation?”

“It is.”

The big V?lsung merely nodded. “We will treat it as our territory nonetheless.”

“It’s Vargr territory, so...yes.”

“Meaning?”

“Any territory of Wolf is V?lsung’s to protect. Whether they cooperate or not, that can aid us in gaining goodwill.”

“I see. That’s not how it’s usually done, but...we’re trying new approaches?”

“Yes. Unifying Wolf is how we take back our original territory.”

“I will relay that to the others.” Thorleif walked off.

Matt hoped that that purpose would keep the Warlords on their path. Also, Matt had dreamed it that night. Not directly like that, but he’d dreamed about Fenrir and that they were in the North, thus the territory of Wolf was currently Scandinavia, considering it was where the lore of them had settled in latest memory. That would mean all of Scandinavia was currently the territory of Wolf, but it wasn’t their original territory. There was something special about that territory. His V?lsung side had awoken with the purpose of gathering Fenrir and walking them home to that original territory of Wolf. Matt just didn’t know what made it so special.

He didn’t dare say anything to the Warlords as the hope and yearning in them was so strong that if they didn’t find Fenrir, they could lose hope like the delusional Warlord had. Matt feared that loss of hope would make them independent Warlords without that first prime objective as their clear goal. That they’d start fighting each other to simply cut out new territories for themselves. If that happened, Elakdon would be right in his initial notion that V?lsung would then not share. They’d slaughter everything on their new territories and take what they needed to build their own packs.

Matt desperately wanted to keep that option off the table. He desperately needed to gather all V?lsung, and those who’d lost sight of home needed to be eradicated as enemies of Fenrir. That was how he secured his mate’s vision for a future of prosperity.

In him, his V?lsung drooled to taste the blood of his own, but Matt had gained greater insight into why. It was not merely their combatant birth genes that made them fight amongst themselves. It was hope that made them turn against anything that seemed a threat to them experiencing home.

That was the goal he had to focus on so hard that he’d win the rest over. It was what he had to find a way to properly balance against the Vargr’s territorial instinct, as they didn’t remember home, and they merely needed territory and peace.

Again, Matt squeezed Hati’s hand because that was the dream his mate brought. And he once again wondered how much had been weaved into their strings of life by Urd, Vedande, and Skuld, the three Norn sisters spinning every person’s life thread before they were born.

What did the Nornir have in store for them?

––––––––

ANOTHER FEW HOURS LATER, the first ferry was about to dock on the mainland side of Troms? City. It was the ferry with Matt, Hati, Geri, Freki, Isbait, and Elakdon, and they stood below on the top car deck, ready to disembark first, waiting in their human forms. They knew that the Vargr Regional Alpha couple were coming to meet them. They half expected to slip into Troms? as undetected as possible and be led to the Vargr pack. Depending on how they’d take the meeting with V?lsung, of course. Maybe they had to start running immediately to cross the territory as they’d been promised they could.

“Okay, Alphas. Apparently, you’re awaited because the docks are booming with people, and a few signs are up, welcoming Sk?ll and Hati,” a voice over the loudspeakers on the car deck said.

Matt and Hati looked at each other.

“Well, there went our inconspicuous plan,” Hati said.

“Tristan, did you only tell them about Sk?ll and Hati?” Freki asked.

“Yes and no. We have no idea what things are like up here, so I didn’t want to test that over a phone, either, but I referred to you as Alphas of all, not by names.”

“You hide a lot,” Thorleif commented. Matt clearly caught the dissatisfaction in the huge Warlord’s tone. The Warlord in Matt agreed.

“I do,” Tristan acknowledged. “In this case, please trust in my knowledge of Vargr and respect that I, too, am skeptical about who I let in on our secrets before we’ve had a chance to gauge their reactions and thus possible loyalty.”

Thorleif nodded and sent him a glance with a warning burning brightly. “Never hide anything from us.”

“I won’t,” Tristan said. “You are my allies, bonded to my first bond and nephew. Keeping anything from you would be the same as saying I don’t trust him, and I do trust my nephew and the V?lsung side of him just like I trust my mother and the V?lsung in her. I expect the Regional Alpha here to have followed along on the news, though, and he’ll then have seen Sk?ll and Freki stand together on more than one occasion.”

“So, epic departure style?” Freki pulled out his phone. “Should we ask the captain to see if he can play this loudly enough for everybody on the docks to hear?” The musical soundtrack that Freki and his litter sibling Jacob had made started playing from the crappy loudspeakers in Freki’s phone, barely surviving the hum of the ferry’s engines.

Matt chuckled. “Nah.” But he could see the epic cinematic version play out before his mind’s eye. Life wasn’t cinema, though.

The ferry docked and rocked, making them stumble a bit, and a few horses neighed and stepped around.

“With a welcome committee, you decided upon epic departure, correct?” Elakdon asked, sauntering over with Randr and a bunch of Guards.

“We did,” Geri said.

Isbait tossed his head yes.

“Shall we, my dear allies?” Elakdon cozied in between Hati and Freki and draped his arms over their shoulders.

“We shall,” Freki said. But he didn’t pull out his phone again.

“I’ll get the cow and get people lined up.” Thorleif sauntered off.

“Thank you, Warlord,” Matt said.

Steffen’s many what-ifs had been fun playing with as they lay together on the deck and healed. Their many possible plans to hide V?lsung the likes of Thorleif, who didn’t hold human form, and the many horses and Cubi had been fun, but knowing it was the full departure of epic creatures of lore made Matt nervously excited.

“The news is here with lots of cameras,” the captain said over the loudspeakers.

Elakdon grumbled and pulled out a pair of shades. “We are not revealed yet.”

“Will you be?” Hati asked. “I mean, is there a way around that now?”

“No, but we wait as long as we can to give the Royals time to negotiate with their nations,” Elakdon said. “Unlike Vargr, we’ve lived secluded and dependent upon treaties, and what Nol-Beaudon is setting up isn’t ready yet. Our reveal would mean we have to mingle and find new ways of hunting. The world isn’t ready for us, and the moment we’re no longer a hidden people, new treaties will need drafting since the current ones are predicated on us staying hidden.”

Allies of Wolf who can see behind our shade will not stand alone,the V?lsung in Matt growled.

Matt smiled. “You stand shoulder to shoulder with us in supporting Wolf in obtaining our objective.” Matt looked at Elakdon. “You will not stand alone when facing what will come Cubi’s way.”

Elakdon returned the smile. “I never doubted the loyalty of Vargr. But I’ll not be the cause for you to fight two battles and see my own dedication to you falter if it can be avoided. As a Royal, I would have to tend to my own people first.”

“We understand,” Geri said.

“The High Mother of this area has been told of our trip here, and her House is open to us. It’s our first stop.” Elakdon looked at Freki, grinning. “Many a Succubi would love to learn of the stamina of Freki, I’m sure.”

Freki smothered a grin. “And knots in general, I’m sure.”

“Oh, they know. Up here, Vargr sometimes stop by when running. But yes.” Elakdon grinned. “Knots are an intense delicacy.”

The nose of the ship started opening, so Matt and the other three slowly walked forward but stayed where the ferry worker told them to wait. The fresh air hit them, carrying new scents of nature that they didn’t know from home, and Matt closed his eyes and took a deep whiff, savoring the freshness after almost a week of having been surrounded only by the saltiness of the sea.

Finally, the many waiting people came into view, and as they were allowed to step forward, the mass thickened, revealing hundreds of people waiting. Humans and shifted Vargr stood shoulder to shoulder, and two in Vargr form stood on the road leading from the ferry. But they stood with a human man and woman. None of the Vargr wore clothes or even the tatters of them as if they’d just shifted there.

“Guess we shift.” Freki pulled off his shirt.

Matt, Hati, and Geri followed suit, and they shifted to their iconic forms.

Murmurs ran rampant among the many waiting people.

Sk?ll stepped forward, and the others followed. Close behind came Tristan and Steffen, while the other Alphas stayed on board. Once they stepped off the ramp and onto the asphalt, Isbait shifted to his Sleipnir form, fired up his body, and reared to hammer his hooves onto the ground.

Sk?ll felt the shockwave ripple through the soil, and the V?lsung in him heard a whisper in the air rapidly grow fainter. He couldn’t make it out, though. It was not for his ears to hear.

* * *

THE SCENT OF THEIRprey kept them at the hunt, and the world narrowed to the scent of the trail and the sensation of vegetation whipping past them as they pursued their prey.

The sound of many hooves in a thunderous run in the distance pulled at their attention, and Bragr broke off, leaving the hunt for the rest of the Vargr, even though a few followed.

Up on a cliff, they stopped and watched.

The air whispered, and the trees revealed that Sleipnir were running hard south and had for a week now. They were gathering for a major piece of work—one Bragr hadn’t heard of.

“Continue the hunt. I will have to return and inform about this.”

A shockwave raced over the landscape from the north, making the huge band stop.

Work, work to be done. Join Chaos as I plow and prepare the foundation for Change.

Bragr gasped as the band stopped and set route north, but what excited him greatly was the one turning to run through the band and take up the lead.

The Matriarch was going to her Stallion.

“We need the V?lves together for this. Why haven’t we heard whispers of this yet?”

“That’s a good question.” Bragr shifted and set off toward the village.

* * *

SK?LL CONTINUED FORWARDwith Hati to meet up with the two Alphas and humans waiting about fifty yards from the ferry. “Regional Alpha Kjell? Mother Maja?”

“Yes. Welcome Alphas Sk?ll and Hati.” Kjell leaned to the side enough to peer around Sk?ll. “With Alphas Geri and Freki?”

The Scandinavian sibling language wasn’t one Sk?ll easily understood.

“I’m sorry. I grew up in the States. I have a difficult time understanding Norwegian.”

“We usually speak English, then,” Hati said.

“Oh.” Maja nodded. “We can do that,” she said in English. “We saw you run together in Denmark.” Maja motioned between Sk?ll, Hati, Geri, and Freki.

“We did.” Sk?ll turned his head, and Freki came over, while Geri stayed with Isbait. “Alpha Freki rose from my pack. My pup bond.”

“Regional Alpha. Regional Alpha Bitch.” Freki held out his paw for a friendly slap.

“And...Sleipnir?” Kjell asked.

“The Chaos Stallion, Isbait, best childhood friend of my mate, Alpha Geri,” Freki said. “The gods saw us united at very early ages to strengthen the bonds needed for what calls all Alphas to run with us.”

“And the V?lsung running in Denmark?”

Sk?ll smiled. “Run with us.”

“Not here,” Maja said.

“Just over one hundred Warlords await on that ferry.” Sk?ll pointed behind him.

Maja’s eyes went wide, and she glanced at her mate.

Fear rose from the humans yet to be introduced, and Sk?ll looked at them.

“Sorry,” Regional Alpha Kjell said. “Mayor Teodor and his wife Greta.”

“How do you do?” Sk?ll held out his paw, and the mayor shook it awkwardly.

“Your ember pulls for me to secure your prosperity, Pack Mother,” Hati said. “That’s why we run with them. To secure you that.”

“Regional Alpha Tristan.” Tristan stepped up and slapped Pack Alpha Kjell and Maja’s paws. “You’re already enlightened through TV of much of what’s been going on,” Tristan said. “Does that include Sk?ll’s rise?”

“That he killed a Warlord?” Kjell asked. “Yes.”

“My Biting Warlord,” Sk?ll corrected. “I hold the V?lsung form. I’m the Warlord of the pack that runs with us now. To secure Vargr.” Sk?ll half-turned and signaled Thorleif. The sound of a tarp rasping against the gangway and then asphalt was drowned out by the ferry engines, but they watched as the huge being, carrying a full cow over his shoulders, slowly advanced. It was kept in place by his teeth’s grip to where the tarp had been gathered around the dead animal at one end.

Maja stepped back, and Hati stepped closer to her, raising his ember.

Thorleif stopped next to Sk?ll and shook the cow off his shoulders to land on the ground between him and the Pack Alpha couple. “V?lsung’s way of seeking hospitality is to never come empty-handed. And never with too little.” He poked the cow. “We have more.”

“Warlord Thorleif,” Sk?ll introduced.

Thorleif looked at Sk?ll. “Is introduction expected before an offering?”

“Offerings aren’t expected.”

“I see...” Thorleif looked at the wide-eyed Alphas. “Warlord Thorleif under Warlord Sk?ll.”

“Regional Alpha Kjell, my Alpha Bitch, Maja.”

Thorleif looked at Sk?ll.

“Pleased to meet you,” Sk?ll whispered.

“Pleased to meet you,” Thorleif managed.

Freki smothered a snicker.

“Uhm, what else is expected when housing V?lsung?” Maja asked.

“That we’re respected for lending our strength to protect this territory,” Thorleif said.

“Against what?” Maja asked Hati.

“V?lsung who have not yet responded to assist me in our cause,” Sk?ll said.

“And, how’s that done?” Kjell asked.

“The V?lsung claim this territory as theirs to protect, meaning we shade it,” Sk?ll explained. “What we shade, we protect. What V?lsung is on it...will be mine to command or be taken down.”

“And on what’s ours...prosperity will be secured,” Thorleif said. He managed way better than Patina when saying the word prosperity.

“Okay,” Kjell said.

“How many are with you now for the run?” Maja asked. “How many tummies to fill?”

“Six thousand or so Vargr Pack Alphas and Alphas, a handful of Betas, five hundred horses, many being Sleipnir, and...” Sk?ll looked behind him to where Elakdon waited with Isbait and Randr. “Three hundred humans.” Sk?ll expected the question to be regarding food and how she was to feed them all, so he didn’t count the Cubi—only those who still ate and humans that the Cubi had brought to feed upon.

“I’ll get more meat.” Thorleif trudged off back to the ferry.

“We appreciate your hospitality, Mother,” Tristan said. “We’re asking for passage, so we’re not expecting such generous hospitality without bringing something, too. We are many, after all.”

“And we hope to run soon,” Freki said. “We’ve been cooped up on a ferry for a week.”

Kjell grinned. “Oh, we’ll run. Our pack is half an hour’s run that way.” He pointed toward the mountains.

“Would...the Geri Freki pack on your territory be welcomed to join the feast?” Freki asked.

Kjell thought for a moment, nodding slowly. “I’ll go with you to invite them yourselves because we don’t have a good relationship.”

“Our goal is that you do before we leave,” Freki stated, then looked at the mayor. “I see you live in good relationship with your human neighbors, though.”

“We do. Most packs live openly with humans this far north.” Again, Kjell looked around them toward Elakdon and Isbait. “And with beautiful people.”

Tristan looked at the mayor, who merely nodded, so Tristan turned and walked off.

“May we shade now?” Sk?ll asked. “With the power the Chaos Stallion showed upon stepping onto land, V?lsung will have heard him. Shading territory is needed to secure the North.”

“Yes,” Maja said quickly.

“Warn your citizens before all internet and wireless communication goes down,” Sk?ll said. The mayor quickly pulled out his phone and made a call. Phones started buzzing everywhere. Shifting his hearing, Sk?ll heard more and more radios tune into the same message.

“Six minutes,” the mayor said.

Sk?ll turned to look at the ferry that many of the Alphas had begun leaving along with Thorleif, carrying another cow. “Warlords! We shade in six minutes!”

The V?lsung began leaving the ferry along with the rest of the Alphas, some carrying more cows. All were in V?lsung form, and most Alphas took Vargr form as they accompanied the big beings, horses, and Sleipnir off the ship.

“Oh, gods,” Maja whispered.

While waiting, Elakdon came over and dipped his glasses to look at the mayor.

“Your majesty?”

“Nol, please.” Elakdon shook their hands. “I know High Mother here speaks well of you, but I don’t know how many of your citizens know of us.”

“Very few, I suspect.”

“We’ll stay hidden, then.”

As the V?lsung spread out and encircled them, Sk?ll shifted to his V?lsung form, and shade started to build around him and the other Warlords. It slowly billowed together, and when the mayor nodded sharply, it exploded from the center of the circle, and Sk?ll’s wolf ran ahead to see where it hit another shade. The first massive V?lsung territory deflected them around a hundred miles away.

Power.

“Stomp with us.” Sk?ll began stomping, and his Vargr ember rose hard, followed immediately by the other three Alphas of all, then the running bond. “Stomp with unity to secure this territory and all on it.”

All began stomping, including Sleipnir and Cubi, while the ferry got ready for departure to allow the next to dock.

“Humans, stomp with us,” Freki told the mayor. “You’ll be protected by the Warlords present, too.”

The two humans joined in, and with their leaders stomping, the humans who’d come to welcome them joined in. Slowly, the sound of feet stomping on cement grew to heavy thuds, powering the shade to hide the sun and leave the city increasingly darker.

Sk?ll only heard it as his wolf ran around the shaded bubble in the distance to see if his new territory would be provoked. The edges darkened as unity of stomping fueled the power he commanded to secure his territory, and if V?lsung broke that border, they would know the power of the Warlord bordering them.

“That’s my mother’s territory,” Thorleif said.

“Sleipnir run on what’s ours,” another Warlord said. Isbait shook the ground, sending a ripple through the darkness, but his power was with Sk?ll’s, sending a wave of thick shade to ripple across the land and make Thorleif’s mother’s territorial bubble shudder. But Sk?ll didn’t push at it. Not yet. “Sleipnir run south,” the Warlord said. “In fear?”

“No,” Isbait said. “Work will call them. They run toward work.”

“Keep the shade up and protect all that it covers,” Sk?ll said. “No provoking that border.”

“Warlord!” the hundred exclaimed.

“Thorleif, command the scouts.”

“Yes, Warlord.” Thorleif walked off and barked some orders.

Sk?ll slowly reeled in his wolf, noticing that shadow wolves ran with him. They weren’t V?lsung—that much was evident. They looked like real wolves, but they were bigger, and their eyes shone through the foggy landscape. But they didn’t attack. They circled, seeming...curious.

Sk?ll snapped back to the moment on the pier and looked at the fearful Alphas, appreciating the stubbornness he felt in them—especially in the Bitch. “Let’s move to make room for the rest as the ferries arrive.”

“This way.” The mayor pulled his wife closer, and they led the way through the darkened roads where streetlamps had turned on to cast a little light in the powerful shade.

People remained on the streets, watching and murmuring. The Vargr had all been around the ferries to welcome the Alphas of all, and they followed their Regional Alpha and Alpha Bitch as they led the way. Many asked the Alphas questions, and a pup cried at not liking the darkness.

A little human girl around age seven ran to them, but she had her eye on Isbait. She stopped and stared up at him with unmasked curiosity. Then she proudly held up a little bag and said something Sk?ll didn’t catch.

Isbait took the bag, smiling. “Thank you.”

The girl said something else, but since Sk?ll couldn’t understand her, he focused on his surroundings and the humans watching them. It was no problem pegging the parents to the child as they looked like they wanted to attack Sk?ll for standing too close to their offspring—especially the father.

“Freki, maybe check for Rigr up here?”

“That’s what the Wolf Platoon is here for,” Freki said. “General Madsen is on that. Once his ferry docks.” The girl skipped off again, and the mother stepped out onto the street to pull her daughter close, while the dad all but squared off as he hid his family behind him. But he smiled. A strained smile full of faux civility, and his gaze was trained on Sk?ll’s superior form. “I see what you mean,” Freki said.

“What’s that?” Sk?ll asked, nodding to the bag.

“She decided to share her lunch with me.” Isbait fished out an apple. “An apple and a carrot.” He looked off in the distance. “A big tree root has foiled her father’s plans to expand the house since she will soon be a big sister.”

“How sweet.”

“I will go there before we run and help them out.”

Sk?ll merely nodded. It was their way, and Isbait was building the foundation for unity through human cooperation. He liked that humans in the north remembered the tales of old enough for a little girl to take such initiative. Humans could help, which Daniel was working on, but it was also up to V?lsung to earn similar goodwill. How? He’d have to figure that out. Not eating or kidnapping people to be slaves on their territory would be a step in that direction.

“We knew many Vargr came here,” the mayor said as they made their way through the streets with humans watching from the sidewalks and no cars driving around. “We figured a run this big would be cause for celebration.”

“That’s our hope,” Hati said.

Never bet on hope, Vargr.

“You’re more than we expected, and we’re unfortunately not equipped to see to Sleipnir. We had no idea.” The mayor looked at Isbait. “I’ll see to your needs, too, but I’m not sure how.”

“I’ll help your wife see to it,” Regional Alpha Bitch Maja said. She motioned for the mayor’s wife to follow her.

“I hope you’ll share your plans?” The mayor looked at Sk?ll. “We know less than we’d hoped.”

“That’s my doing,” Tristan said. “We’ve found enemies within our own ranks, which makes us careful. Forgive me for that.”

“Of course.” But the mayor’s gaze didn’t leave Sk?ll.

“Alpha of all Geri and myself are the warriors running point, aided now by Cubi, human military, and Sleipnir. The Chaos Stallion, Isbait, is to Sleipnir lore what we are to Vargr.”

“And we look for Rigr among humans,” Geri added. “Those who will pick up arms and run at an enemy because it feels right, not letting fear stand in their way.”

“We have those,” the mayor said with a hint of pride in his tone.

“Let them ride with us,” Freki said. “I test those ranks.”

“And you?” The mayor looked at Hati, who smiled.

“I remind them why they fight. So humans, Cubi, Vargr, and Sleipnir can feel safe at the end to prosper. I remind them to play, too.”

The mayor smiled. “I’m happy to hear that because we hoped you’d have time to.” He motioned ahead, and they continued to where a scent of roasting meat wafted around a building. The hum of voices grew louder, and Hati’s excitement grew, pulling at Sk?ll’s ember to secure the perimeter for the festivities planned.

“Warlords!” Sk?ll shouted. “Secure the perimeters for the party. Guard our allies well!”

“Warlord!”

“We have meat for them, too,” the mayor said.

“Raw and served on shift,” Sk?ll said. “V?lsung are Warriors with a purpose. It does not entail partying.”

“Of course...” The mayor seemed as ignorant as he sounded, but that was just that. Sk?ll didn’t hold it against the human.

They rounded the last bend to a grand plaza with tents, table benches, food stands, a market, a bouncy castle, and so much more.

Hati seemed ready to bounce. “Once we drop shade, I hope the kids will start playing.”

Looking for that detail, yeah, the plaza sounded too quiet for a party. “If not, I’m sure you have ideas to change that.”

Hati grinned at Sk?ll. “Oh, I do!”

“No problem then.” Sk?ll sent his wolf out to scout the perimeters of what he shaded, running straight past a doe lying low with her offspring, hiding. But he found no threats against the city of Troms?, so he reeled the wolf back in, finding V?lsung getting into position to guard their territory and allies.

The mayor looked into the mucky-colored sky. “How long will you be shading?”

“I’ll let it drop soon, and merely pulse at odd times for us to ensure no one’s on their way here to attack us,” Sk?ll said. “You can see when we’ll shade because I’ll take this form. When not shading, I will be in Vargr form.”

“Because that’s the winning personality form,” Freki said. “Trust me. He’s way more approachable then.”

In the distance, Sk?ll heard the other ferry dock and hooves hit the ground as Alphas, Cubi, and humans disembarked with their horses. General Madsen was on that ferry. “Alpha runner!”

“Warlord?” Alexander and his Alpha mate, Ulff, stepped forward.

“Guide General Madsen and the Wolf Platoon here.”

“Please,” Hati added.

Sk?ll sighed and flashed a dutiful smile.

Alexander grinned. “Warlord.” He and his mate set off running back to the harbor.

“Don’t worry, Sk?ll.” Steffen patted Sk?ll’s back. “He doesn’t take it personally that you forget courtesy in that form.”

“Good. Because that would be a waste of time.”

Hati rolled his eyes, grinning.

“Alpha Freki, when do you want the Geri Freki pack to join?” Regional Alpha Kjell asked.

“As soon as possible. In fact, I’ll run there now if we can.”

“Thomas!” Kjell called out. “I’ll have my first Alpha run with you to make the invite.”

Freki nodded. “Geri?”

“We’ll come.”

“How big is that pack?” Sk?ll asked.

“Eighteen Vargr plus five mates,” Kjell said.

“Warlords!” Sk?ll called out. “Five run with them. Alpha mates. Five pairs run with them. Bring three from the Wolf Platoon on horseback and bring horses for mates and pups who want to join the party. Nothing is hidden, and none are left out of unity.”

“Warlord!”

“Let me send two Guards with them, then,” Elakdon said.

“And Sleipnir,” Isbait said.

“I will run with them,” a Stallion said. “I will take a Guard on my back. Bareback.”

“We will drop shade at some point,” Sk?ll said. “Warlords, let me know if that needs to change.”

“Warlord!” Henning said. “I’ll take point on this.”

Geri and Freki ran off with the others.

“I’ll go mingle.” Hati scratched Sk?ll’s ear and walked off. He stopped not twenty meters later. “Oh look! Finn! A stage!”

“Now we’re talking!” Finn, Vivi, and Lukas dashed by Sk?ll a moment later to join Hati, who could, unlike them, see clearly in shade due to his mate bond with Sk?ll, now that all his sides had merged.

“I should go tell Bavadin.” Elakdon raised his hand and made a fist, was surrounded by Guards, and walked off.

In Sk?ll, the human and Vargr bounced in excitement, and the need for first bond grew stronger, so Sk?ll pulled them by the ember he currently controlled. Life had gotten easier after the final merge.

Klaes, his mate Silas, Torben, and Rasmus came over. The one thing that hadn’t become easier was to have Rasmus close when Sk?ll was in his superior form. But he was a Beta. Fear was apparently okay.

“Look.” Sk?ll pointed. “Shooting tents.”

Rasmus smiled while Torben snorted.

“I won’t carry your teddy bears on the run,” Torben declared.

“Me, neither,” Klaes said.

Rasmus chuckled. “I’ll give them to the little ones. Maybe at the Cubi House we’ll visit?”

“That’s so sweet. I’ll help,” Klaes said.

“So will I,” Bjark said.

Rasmus smiled up at the Alpha Stallion. “Thank you.”

“Drop shade!” Sk?ll said.

The power display dropped, and the sun momentarily blinded him. Sk?ll sank into himself to let the Vargr surface and join the others to work on what only he could.

Sk?ll stood up on his hindlegs and looked around, smiling at the party that awaited them. They’d not expected this, and he felt grateful that the Vargr up here lived close enough with humans for the mayor to be involved.

“Mayor Teodor, I’m quite the history geek, and I was wondering if you’d tell me about the history of this area. Namely, what has kept humans and Vargr so close up here?”

The mayor grinned. “They weren’t kidding when saying the Vargr is the winning personality, huh?”

Sk?ll chuckled. “No.”

“Let me show you something cool.” The mayor held out his hand for Sk?ll to follow, so he did, glancing at where Hati talked with a bunch of kids, Rasmus and Torben shot darts at balloons, and Finn, Vivi, and Lukas were chatting up the band in front of the stage, while Elakdon made his way to them with the V?lve and the rock-loving Succubus, Bavadin.

Yeah, they’d set this run off with a bang. And the many cameras around meant everybody would see it. Good. Now he just hoped the V?lsung pack south of them wouldn’t try anything.