Running Ember: Wolf Shifters of Norse Lore

Chapter Four

Finally, all the hellosand eating and phone calls were over, and the Alphas of all could retire to enjoy the aftermath of the run with all the other Alphas and a worn-out Beta. Everything back home was going well, the Cubi Royals were working hard, and the newspapers were buzzing with all everybody thought they knew about the sudden supernatural races living among human beings. A lot of those were scholars in Norse Mythology and cryptozoologists, trying to figure out where hints of their existence had been ignored, overlooked, or tried to be explained away by rational means.

Then there were the doomsday sayers who didn’t like all this new stuff, and government officials and military personnel stating they’d always known. There were lots of interviews with regular people with no connection to any of them, like the ones suddenly rescued during the V?lsung attack. There were interviews with people, who found out they’d known Vargr for years without knowing it, like Sk?ll’s classmates at college. And there were interviews with all of those who suddenly had to work closely with the Vargr.

One who saw a lot of screentime was Kresten, and he was apparently followed around by a camera except when he used the bathroom. The son of Rigr was not happy about that, but he saw the advantage, too, as he worked with Vargr and V?lsung and the human military to find more Rigr.

That task had given him a way clearer view of what he was looking for, yet it had been the many hours chatting, while the Alphas healed enough for the run, that had helped the soldier look inward for the answer needed to look outward for the same. In particular, it had been conversations with Isbait, who, as a stubborn Sleipnir, had to search for his work and why the ancestor J?tun Stallion would gift him with such power. Why was Kresten handed power he hadn’t even recognized he had? And why was it so hidden to him compared to wolves with so significantly obvious features as colors and embers or a Sleipnir who could fire up his body and more than triple his physical power when doing so.

Sk?ll figured he’d had a way easier time with it, and he’d offered the tidbit that it wasn’t just about searching for answers inside but looking at what they were to use said power for that had helped reveal the purpose of power given. His ember’s power was to be guided and used for the betterment of his pack. What did their people need from them?

Also, all Alphas who’d arrived worked for that, even without special markings or weirdly colored fur or the ability to kick the ground hard enough to cause mini earthquakes. Kresten didn’t need to stand out. Only his voice and determination because ideas were one of the values he brought. That, and the determination to stand for what he believed in.

Sk?ll’s problem had been to balance his human, Vargr, and V?lsung side to be there for all three. Mates and Wolf alike. Kresten’s was to figure out how to unite humanity. Since no one had ever managed, Sk?ll could understand why the human seemed a bit stressed. He had far greater divisions to work with on so many different levels of societies, cultures, religions, and...Sk?ll got a headache just thinking about it.

And what platform did he have to kick it off? The Theory of the Children of Heimdal. The Earl, the Karl, and the Thrall. In contemporary words, Kings, Commoners, and Bottom feeders. Who the hell wanted to even look closer at something that sounded so elitist? Either way, they’d decided to keep those terms when speaking about the problems at hand in the circles who already knew the terms because everything else was based on the same lore and word usage from the old times. Like stepsiblings under the gods of old. They weren’t stepsiblings. They just weren’t human. And none of them believed the gods of old were actual gods anywhere, wielding hammers who could cause thunder and lightning and all that—not even the old Viking King.

Then again, Sk?ll now counted a horse, who could make the earth tremble and the sky rumble, as a dear friend.

A sudden commotion brought Sk?ll to his feet to run toward the big House of High Mother Aradin. There was no scent of blood in the air as he and Hati closed in on the hall where most Cubi were assembled due to their King’s visit.

“What’s going on?” Sk?ll asked, pushing in while being mindful of the many upset Cubi. A foul scent satiated the air, and the stench of vomit made him breathe only through his mouth as he made his way inside. Guards had formed a ring and stood facing away from the center, and worry for Elakdon tore through Sk?ll as he hurried there.

“Ela? What’s wrong?”

“This is a Cubi matter,” a Guard said. “Please leave this to our King.”

Sk?ll had never seen this Guard before, and his attire indicated he belonged to the House. “Outside being my ally, Ela’s one of my best friends! My question stands!”

“Sk?ll!” That was Tristan’s voice, but Sk?ll had asked a Guard a question, so he didn’t look away from him. “I’ll explain,” Tristan said as he made it to them.

“Sk?ll.”

The Guards moved aside at Elakdon calling out, revealing the King lying on the floor, naked and halfway up Randr, who held him close.

Sk?ll and Hati moved into the circle and knelt. The vomit had been cleaned up, it seemed, but a bit still dried on Elakdon’s chest, and his breath smelled of vomit and a sweet dose. “We’re here, Ela. What’s wrong?”

“I’d like to debate something with the Alphas of all. Outside. Alone. Our goal of unity is to move forward together, and we’re evolving with the times that see us rise out of hiding with our stepsiblings. Our usual ways might not survive, and I need advice before I act now. Before I call the other Royals.”

“Is the run postponed?”

“No. You must run no matter what. My Guards will ride with you even if I’m prevented due to my duties to my people here. I’ll catch up as soon as I can, but you must run tomorrow.”

Sk?ll nodded, not feeling any smarter regarding what had left a King lying naked on the floor with vomit down his chest. “Okay. Let’s get you outside for some fresh air. Can you walk?”

“Yes, yes, I’m not hurt. Only my heart hurts.” Elakdon got to his feet, assisted by Randr, who didn’t let go and looked more than ever the fierce lover and guardian of his King’s wellbeing.

They made it outside, still with the ring of Guards around them, but the House Mother was brought, too. The Guards stayed around them all the way back to the fire where Geri, Freki, and Isbait still sat along with Klaes, Silas, Torben, Rasmus, Vivi, Finn, Lukas, and four of the new Alphas, two being the newly mated Geri Freki from Norway who really wanted to know what was going on.

Freki got to his feet, looking worried. “What’s up, Ela?”

“We need to have an intimate conversation here!” Tristan said loudly. “Please don’t listen in!”

“Alpha!” everybody within hearing range answered.

“Sorry, guys, we need a moment,” Sk?ll told the others.

Rasmus pointed to himself and Torben.

“Stay, friends.” Elakdon plopped down on the ground and slumped. He looked dreadful and weighed down, so Sk?ll sat next to him and scooted closer while the new Alphas left them, leaving only those from the pack there. Sk?ll, Hati, Tristan, and Steffen piled with Elakdon and Randr, ready to support their friend. It made the old King smile.

“So, what happened?” Sk?ll asked.

Elakdon looked around. “Wait, I think we should have General Madsen here. I kinda need a human’s insight, too.”

“Nol.” A Guard left them.

“And I need a drink. I can still taste it.” Elakdon shuddered and pulled a face.

“I have just the thing.” House Mother Aradin left just as General Madsen joined them. The soldier had either been told to expect a serious conversation, or he was really good at reading a room because he didn’t ask any questions as he took a seat between Rasmus and Freki.

They all remained quiet, leaving Elakdon to stare into the flames with a mournful expression. No one spoke before High Mother Aradin returned with a bottle and a small tower of glasses, but only three accepted a drink.

“Did you confirm, Paddy?” Elakdon asked.

“Yes,” Tristan said. “He was surprised.”

“But he didn’t seem completely unknowing about it,” Steffen said.

Elakdon looked at him, and his eyes glistened from tears. “He knew?”

“Suspected, I think. He seemed mostly surprised at having something confirmed. How can it be both?”

Elakdon sighed and stared into the flames again. “All who can feed on human paraphilia are tested by Royals as soon as we learn, and it’s usually found out soon after they’re Empowered because our taste or attraction grows to fit what feeds us optimally. He can have attractions to a specific paraphilia that lies in that end but not found any humans who fit it and thus not pursued it.” Elakdon groaned and pressed the root of his hands against his eyes. “By the gods, I hope that’s why.”

“Because if not?” Sk?ll asked, hoping to soon figure out what exactly had happened, yet he didn’t want to outright ask the upset King.

Elakdon let his arms fall. “If not, then he suspects from having caused sour energy and liked it, but the human might not have put up too much of a struggle due to the screwed power dynamics they’ve had to live under as part of the treaty that pushed us into hiding.”

“The Guard we left him with is gathering a list of names of as many humans he can remember having fed on,” Tristan said. “And she’s being given help by a V?lsung who finds him attractive, so he was given a not-so-subtle warning against using dose against him to try to escape.”

Elakdon gaped at Tristan. “That would work!”

“I was asked here to participate in a conversation, but I feel ill-equipped,” General Madsen said.

Elakdon nodded. “Only a Royal can smell and taste the genetics of our people. It’s part of what makes us special. If a Cubus falls sick, and it’s suspected to be hormonal, we’re called in to smell or sometimes taste a dose because we can pinpoint it. We can also detect genetic mutations, and I found one today. It tastes bad. The worse it tastes, the worse it is, and this one made me throw up so violently I think I pulled an abdominal muscle.” Elakdon massaged his right flank. “Our laws on the matter are clear. If a Cubus can feed on sour energy, meaning feed on rape, then they’re killed, and their parents, siblings, and children are sent to the Royal immediately to be tested, and unempowered are to be Empowered by that Royal to see if our dose can heal that flaw in their gene. Unless they’re Changelings, of course.”

“Wow...” General Madsen looked surprised that the Royal held such importance to the Cubi health as a people.

“What do you need from us then?” Hati asked.

“Brainstorm this situation with me so I have multiple perspectives to take to the Royals. As Nol-Beaudon rose in the west, an astute human scientist came to stay with him. She’s an overlooked Changeling, actually. She started working in the labs and brought back a finding that none of us wanted. The first Royal’s gift to her people was the aphrodisiac qualities to a Cubus’ bodily fluids. Until then, it was only to nourish lower energies to rise, and the dose, as it’s known today, was only produced by the highest levels for our people. Cubi have always emitted pheromones that humans find arousing, and it targets those the Cubus can feed on. But then times changed, and sex with us became a...sin. The third Royal from Nil-Kardin gave the gift of the dose to all with green and purple eyes, but...it evolved to become an antidote to sour energy along with a very powerful agent to raise lust that only we can satiate.”

Sk?ll hadn’t thought too much about it, but it would make sense, considering a human who needed the dose in order to sleep with a Cubus would be an unwilling participant if not for the insane need that the dose awoke in them. Now he understood Daniel’s and especially his lovers’ fixation on chasing pure energy.

“Having learned that now, when we’re being revealed...so much has to change, and some of our ways are brutal in human eyes.” Elakdon looked at General Madsen. “You put rapists in jail for a few years, and that’s it. We kill them, be they human or Cubi.”

“And you want my take on it?”

“Yes, please.”

General Madsen drank from his spicy liquor and stared into the flames in thought. Unpleasant memories flickered behind his eyes, and he was given time. “Just after I enlisted, my sister’s ex decided to relive their glory days. That wasn’t why she’d gone to his place. She just wanted her belongings and to leave him in the past. I, of course, wanted to kill him.” He looked directly at Elakdon. “Back then, I would have agreed wholeheartedly with your ways.”

“But not now?” Elakdon asked.

“First off, let’s make it clear that I’m talking about humans in our society, not your genetics. The two can’t really be compared, as far as I understand it.”

“Well, that’s part of the problem,” Vivi said. “To move forward together, we have to examine common ground.”

“Which is why I haven’t killed him yet,” Elakdon said.

“I wanted to kill the bastard,” General Madsen continued. “A CO sat me down and talked it through with me when I asked for leave, and he’d seen war. Real war. I was a snot-nosed rookie who figured I had it in me to actually do it. Now? I know better, and I can look back at his points. I didn’t look for justice. I looked for revenge. That would then have escalated as his brother and father would want revenge. If they carried it out, my family would want revenge, and it would spiral like that. That’s why the western justice system was made. To take that out of people’s hands and put in a placeholder for our emotions in the form of a sense of justice served and thus reduce the risk of spiraling revenge between families.”

“I don’t know if this is true,” Sk?ll said, “but I heard that the Australian aboriginals would line the family of the wronged person up and arm them with spears, and the culprit would walk that line and get his legs skewered by them. If he made it to the other end, he got to live. If not, well, he died, but then it was over.” Sk?ll looked at Elakdon. “Like the shame march.”

Elakdon nodded. “We didn’t invent that.”

“It’s still a system for punishment set up to reduce the risk of revenge running rampant,” General Madsen said.

“Punishment, yes,” Sk?ll said. “In high school, we had to write a report and do a presentation on different aspects of the criminal law system in the US. I got punishment, and there are five aspects to it. Retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. Precedence cases and specifics are what help put the case in a specific box so that no one is judged unfairly. That’s the aim, at least, but add humans, and you have a flawed system no matter what.”

“What was Nol-Beaudon’s topic?” Elakdon asked. “Just curious.”

To be fair, Sk?ll had spent the majority of that presentation openly gawking at the beautiful young man he’d been so in love with since he’d had the opportunity, so he had to think about that for a moment. “The death penalty.”

Elakdon nodded to himself, slowly, thinking.

“You can’t rehabilitate a genetic flaw,” Freki pointed out.

“No, but you can incapacitate,” Vivi said.

“Death does that very effectively,” Sk?ll noted, earning himself a glare from Vivi, but she sighed and nodded.

“There’s no need for a deterrence against a genetic flaw, either,” Freki said.

“Well, people rape for other reasons than it being genetic,” Vivi said. “I mean, pedophilia is currently speculated as being a genetic paraphilia and thus a mental disorder, but that doesn’t make them guilty, just prone to transgress. Only twenty percent of the people caught in child trafficking and abuse cases are diagnosed with this paraphilia, so it’s obviously not the prevalent denominator for doing shit like that.”

“Why do you know that?” Freki asked, disgusted, then looked as if he knew the answer. “Oh, yeah, psychology student.”

“Actually, I looked into that because my Alpha trainee partner keeps bugging me about getting a motorcycle license, too, so that we can join B.A.C.A. together.”

Sk?ll grinned, hoping he was getting through to her. By the sound of it, he was. He needed it to keep the V?lsung in him satiated after they’d completed this mission, and it spoke to his mate’s ember, too.

“Who we are without our problems is an important answer to find in order to know ourselves,” Elakdon mumbled.

“How so?” Freki asked.

“If he merely knows and never sought to satiate this particular paraphilia, then he knows his problem and has decided that he isn’t the kind of person that hurts humans he feeds on. But the law is to make sure they can’t pass that on and...become the dark elves.”

Sk?ll perked up. “From lore?”

“Yes. We were the elves. And, yes, back in time we just exiled them to faraway places to not sully our feeding opportunities in an area. They found each other and banded together because we’re drawn to our own. It’s the Cu’Boka gene. Once, we also kicked out the Halflings, whose energy fell so low that they didn’t need the Empowerment, and that resulted in the Washed. Which kicked off the rise of Nol-Beaudon. We can’t take the chance of the dark elves rising again because the last time we went to war and killed them all. We think. And that’s when the law was made that we’d never let them survive. It was to make sure they couldn’t procreate and pass it on.”

“But now times are changing again,” Vivi said, pinpointing the problem Nol-Elakdon was facing and his reason for seeking advice.

Nol-Elakdon nodded. “No matter what, I’ll take this to the Royals and have them vote, but I’m hoping for your different opinions and thoughts on the matter from a unity perspective to take to them, too, as we try to navigate this.”

Use him as a tool in unity.

Sk?ll sighed. “He can be used as a deterrence in law.”

Elakdon turned his head slowly to gape at Sk?ll. “No!”

“V?lsung commentary here.” Sk?ll pointed to his chest. “Humans rape Cubi to hurt you. If they do, you currently do what?”

“Kill them.”

“Yes. How does that work in the North where the death penalty isn’t allowed? Do you think humans will say sure, we’ll keep the treaty that extradites humans to be executed for a crime that gets them a year or two behind bars in the human justice system? I don’t see that happening on our way to unity, but deterrence in the form of retribution would be to let such a human feed such a Cubus as the punishment for their crime.”

“If they rape a Cubus, the Cubus can die from it,” Elakdon said. “Except a Cubus like him because he’s actually immune to it, too.”

“So for normal Cubi, yes, it can kill, but it would be punished as physical torture or attempted murder, not merely rape, in the case of regular Cubi. Either way, no death, and the punishment fits the crime.” Sk?ll held up his paw. “Not my opinion, just V?lsung commentary, and they’re very practical.”

Elakdon groaned and hid his head in his hands. “We’re going to have to make up entirely new laws as a merged society.”

“Yeah,” Freki said. “No one promised this would be easy.”

“And it’s why we make so many different councils,” Geri added.

Elakdon sucked his teeth, staring into his glass. “I’ll call the Royals tomorrow morning,” he finally said.

“And my Guards will work through the night, talking to the humans he’s bedded,” Aradin said.

“You never saw signs?” Elakdon asked her. “Heard anything?”

She shook her head and sniffled, then looked up at him with glistening eyes. “No. But he can be quite picky, though, and he...” She looked off as something apparently dawned on her. “He chases pure with the human women he’s an active feeder of.”

Elakdon blinked. “I’ll wait until tomorrow morning before doing anything.” Elakdon snuggled into Randr’s embrace, getting bundled up in his arms.

Sk?ll knew it wasn’t cowardice that made the old King postpone a difficult decision. He’d seen the footage of the man performing blood eagles on the two human officers who’d set off the attacks on the House his sister had built in the States, so he was more than capable. This wasn’t because it was his people—it was because he cared.

Sk?ll also easily noticed that half those thoughts were of the V?lsung side finding reasons to admire Elakdon for his ability to step up to the plate and take the swing when it counted, and it was the Vargr and human sides that found his care for his people and his dedication to try to merge them with the other races and humans so admirable.

Whatever lay ahead for the young Incubus with the nasty-smelling dose, hate wouldn’t be what sealed his fate.

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SK?LL HAD STIRRED EARLYthe next morning when Elakdon had been woken up by Guards, but he’d gone back to sleep once Elakdon and Randr had tiptoed off toward the House. They’d slept with Steffen and Tristan, considering Elakdon had needed their closeness, and Sk?ll, Hati, and Rasmus had piled close by.

As soon as they’d risen from their sleep around the bonfires, Tristan had gone to see how far Elakdon had gotten with the call so that they could plan their departure. He brought back news that Elakdon had to stay but that he felt he needed to be there once they reached Thorleif’s mom’s pack. It would take three days to run there but having to catch up meant Elakdon feared not making it there in time. If all else failed, he’d take the Incubus with him for the rest of their run, and the Incubus would then have to live on doses from the Guard Ladies for that time. Or the verse energy of the Warlord who wanted to fuck him.

Rasmus leaned in and licked Sk?ll’s ear, breaking his thoughts.

Sk?ll smiled and leaned into him. “How did you sleep?”

“Like I’ve run for eight hours with Alphas and Sleipnir.”

Sk?ll chuckled. “Ready for today?”

“Yes. I’m sure there’s a hurdle to get over.”

“There is. It’s mainly mental, though, and Alphas have an ember.”

“Dad says Betas have one, too. It just doesn’t talk to us.”

“It drives you, yeah. Like something drives Kresten.” Sk?ll kept trying to wrap his mind around that part. How humans could be so very different, yet, there were way less differences in the sibling races. Was it because there were so many more humans? And cultures? He remembered from social studies in school that there were six characteristics to a culture, and they were learned, shared, symbolic, integrated, adaptive, and dynamic.

And there it was. In the sibling races, there were four because their cultures weren’t learned, they were instinctual, and they weren’t very adaptive—especially V?lsung.

Humanity’s strong diversity on a species level was what allowed for diverse cultures and Sk?ll’s poor ability to pinpoint what puzzle pieces were missing. Yet, the Vargr were close enough to humans for him to spot that something was off about the bigger equation.

The different cultures of humans and the sibling races were like people playing different games on the same field, pretending to play together. A lack of shared values led to war, and here they were. Even the differences between humans led to that, but was that because they didn’t see their differences as strengths? It couldn’t merely be about learned culture, considering people fit perfectly with people from different cultures while not fitting in with people from their own. The same was relevant across races.

Did that make races within the human race a social construct? Especially considering time-old tales of when a Roman soldier, though sharing the skin color with people from other regions, wouldn’t be caught dead being linked with them on the basis of something like that. They’d had their pride as tribes, regions, or nations and didn’t only look at skin color. But what made the differences if social classes and cast systems weren’t what could define the differences in humans in a culture or society? What aligned them so differently, and what were their commonalities outside being human?

No wonder the world was a mess when so many different groups were boxed inside the same borders while a few people with shared values at a different social level tried to make laws for the many so that all would be satisfied. It helped breed distrust from Rigr and Karls who felt powerless under a rule that superficially tried to weave a fabric of laws and culture for all to share. Yet, diversity meant no one had room to evolve into what made them so wonderfully different.

The three distinct differences that in lore had been saved as the three children of Heimdal made Sk?ll think about the elves and how the Cubi had, at a time, split into two distinct people, also remembered by lore as the white and dark elves. He’d even learned that what was now translated into white had nothing to do with the color but a concept more or less lost to time, yet it was often translated as fair, beautiful, and even just. Wolf turned out to be three kinds with different needs and instincts. At least he expected Fenrir to be driven by something different than Vargr and V?lsung.

Could the same be the case for humans? Was that what lore had tried to convey in the tale of Heimdal’s children?

It was a genetic trait with the stepsiblings under the old gods. What was it with humans? And did it explain why some felt like they’d returned home when visiting another country than the one they originally came from? He’d heard a few of the exchange students mention that on the going-home weekend with AFS. Some felt they were now leaving home.

It irritated him that something teased his mind just out of reach. Like he knew there was something important to figure out there, but he didn’t hold the pieces of the puzzle to even guess at what the image was supposed to represent. So he opted to leave it alone and enjoy the morning with Rasmus as they made bonfire coffee and listened to the many Alphas rise from their slumber.

The many questions were irrelevant for now, anyway. They had a run to focus on and Alphas to call to the cause of unity.

You can’t have unity in a divided world.

Sk?ll grumbled at the sense the V?lsung side was making, but he had to leave that puzzle for now. Maybe showing the way would help? If stepsiblings so different in their very biology could learn to live together, maybe it could show the way for the three biologically similar children of Heimdal to focus on their strengths in diversity?

Never bet on hope.

Again, the V?lsung side made sense. Maybe it wasn’t even for Sk?ll to help with.

A smile grew as he’d finally figured that part out. It wasn’t for him. It was for Rigr, and all he had to do was support Rigr.

On the other hand, he was too curious, so he figured he’d ask the V?lve, Marisol, at some point. Considering she was so close to humans that she could be mistaken for one, maybe it was the same for Rigr? Was the seer magic hereditary? She probably didn’t know, considering she didn’t even know who her parents were. Did Elakdon know whether it was hereditary?

Now was not the time to ask the old King, though, because he had enough on his mind with having found a genetic mutation in an Incubus. Sk?ll had no idea where the V?lve was at the moment so that would have to wait, too. She was probably with the King and would remain with him while he worked on the problem with the sour-feeding Incubus.

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THE RUN HAD STARTEDaround ten as scheduled, yet they’d taken off with more mind on tempo than they’d been able to the day before. Starting in Troms?, they’d all been so fired up, and the Alphas of all had felt too invigorated from the war bond being overly excited about the run.

Today, even Rasmus didn’t have major troubles the first four hours, after which everybody but the strongest Alphas and Warlords needed a break.

All the while, at least one helicopter sailed around in the sky, filming.

The only thing they wouldn’t catch was Elakdon, since the King had been forced to stay behind and tend to his people.

The nature up there was beautiful, and Sk?ll relished it. His bond to Hati let him feel his mate’s reactions to it, too, and he felt free and blissful as they’d settled into a pace they could keep going in for hours on end.

Rasmus couldn’t, though, and it irritated the Beta, but he matched the horses just fine. That was why the regular horses, Cubi, and humans would soon go across on shorter routes, while the Vargr and V?lsung trail was mapped to get them close enough to pack territories to pull Alphas.

Sk?ll felt somewhere between shitty and appeased that Rasmus would run with the horses and Cubi and not the Alphas, V?lsung, and Sleipnir. Shitty because he felt like he thought too little of Rasmus, and appeased because then Rasmus wouldn’t feel shitty for being a hard-pressed Beta among Alphas, Warlords, and creatures made to work that hard.

Having Rasmus with him during the night felt important. Sk?ll needed him to help keep his focus on why his ember fought. In reality, it was Hati’s dream that balanced the ember, but Sk?ll figured he needed more when also having to balance a V?lsung. Who was also mated to Hati, so...in reality, it was just the human side wanting to share the run with his lover.

He wished he could soon figure out how to get over the fear of...hygiene problems regarding sex, but—

Run and focus on the ember! We’re closing in on packs.

Sk?ll got his mind back on the run and raised his ember to put out calls. With the raising of embers, the Alphas ran harder.

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EIGHTEEN MORE ALPHAShad joined them during that run, plus a pack of wild wolves, which Tristan, in his feral form, and the Feral Vargr were mingling with to get to know. His double pulses had been felt clearly by Sk?ll because they were first bond. He’d learned that Vargr who didn’t have a first bond to the Feral-born Alpha or with Feral Vargr couldn’t feel it. Except Alphas of all. They felt everything as the Feral Vargr were theirs to pull, too.

They’d finally made it to their planned campsite, and the helicopters roamed around to get their footage.

Hati came over and bumped shoulders with him. “Want to hunt?”

“Of course I do, but we have to be on the call.”

Hati huffed. “Yeah...” He perked up. “Do you think we get to see the new fuzzpups today?”

Sk?ll grinned, appreciating his mate’s enthusiasm. “Let’s ask.” Sk?ll walked to where the Cubi Guards were setting up the computer and satellite connection, while Alphas and V?lsung Warlords ran off to secure their dinner.

Steffen joined them, and before the connection had been made, Geri, Freki, and Isbait were there, too, along with General Madsen.

“Our King contacted us,” a Guard Lord said, while fitting a mic around Hati’s neck. “They’re going to bring the mutated Incubus for the rest of the run. He asked that you don’t mention him to Nol-Beaudon during this conversation because he learned something that needs further investigation before he lays it out to the other Royals.”

“Yes, Guard Lord,” they responded.

Sk?ll wondered what that could be. He didn’t get time to contemplate it further, though, because the call connected, and the bunch of windows with faces popped up.

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ON THE SECOND DAY SINCEElakdon had been forced to stay behind, the sun had begun its descent toward the horizon by the time the running bond and Sleipnir met up with Rasmus, the Cubi, and the soldiers who’d cut across the trail. Some had ridden with them, while a few V?lsung had run with the Guards, soldiers, and Rasmus.

Cubi Lords and Ladies were shacking up with soldiers and Vargr for the night. They couldn’t have big bonfires while out in raw nature, so the fires were mainly to make dinner, and warmth would be provided by the many Alphas’ body heat during the night.

The Alphas of all spent time mingling while eating, which was done pretty much like wolves, tearing at what had been hunted. A news chopper got that footage, yet it left not long after as the sound of another closed in. To refuel? Or was Elakdon finally joining them?

They’d reach Thorleif’s mom’s pack the next day, so Sk?ll hoped it was the old King arriving.

The chopper went lower as it passed over them, and Sk?ll could see the King’s crest on the side as it banked to where the pilot had apparently found a spot to touch down.

Alpha Stallion Bjark came up to them. “I shall go pick them up. Would you like to accompany me?”

“Yes,” Hati said.

Sk?ll followed, and they were joined by a few Guards and four horses soon after.

The Warlord, who’d volunteered to guard the poisonous Incubus, followed the Guards, so they’d apparently been informed about their arrival.

The chopper had landed, unloaded Elakdon, Randr, Marisol, and the red-eyed Incubus by the time they made it there. The Incubus eyed the Warlord and looked a bit trapped, but he didn’t really have anywhere to run to out in the middle of Norway’s wilderness, surrounded by predators. Also, fighting two as strong as the King and his lover would be out of the question.

“Welcome back to the run,” Sk?ll said.

“Thank you,” they said. All but the red-eye.

“We’re joined by Sir Navidon.” Elakdon held out his hand to introduce the red-eye, who merely nodded at them, looking guarded. “Anything exciting happen while we were gone?” The King’s tone indicated they needed to skate quite lightly over the fact that they’d been joined by a sick Cubus.

“Nope, just lots of lovely scenery, but you know it already,” Hati said.

“That we do,” Randr said.

“Any food left?” Elakdon asked. “We left early, and Marisol’s stomach has been growling enough to be heard over the rotors.”

“It has not.” She slapped Elakdon’s arm.

Sk?ll grinned. “Probably. Or we’ll find something.”

“Are you hungry?” Elakdon asked the red-eye.

“No, thank you, Nol.”

But the way he unconsciously scratched his arm, then pocketed his hands, he was, just not for meat.

“I still offer to guard this one.” The Warlord looked over the Incubus, who looked uncomfortable and stepped somewhat behind Elakdon.

The old King slumped a bit but nodded. “For the safety of him and everybody. The purpose here is to find out how we proceed. For that, I need to tell you guys what we learned because we learned something interesting, and I need your fantastic noses.”

Sk?ll nodded. “Okay.”

“We need a few more present.” Elakdon motioned toward the assembled running bond, then helped Marisol onto a horse.

They made it back to the others, and Elakdon gathered those he apparently thought needed to hear about the newest developments in the poisonous Incubus matter. Finally, they stood gathered in a circle with enough light left for all to see without the need for torches.

“Sorry, because I already know this will stink up the place.” Elakdon handed a vial to the sour-feeding Incubus standing next to him. Navidon took it and released a dose into it. He then passed it on to the nearest Vargr, which was Sk?ll, and the V?lsung in him wanted to kill something without really offering up more than that emotion as an answer to why. Sk?ll certainly didn’t like the smell, either, finding it rancid, and it provoked a need to be combative and stand up for someone. To protect. But who? Especially considering the V?lsung side of him also felt protective toward the poisonous Incubus. So contradictory.

Hati’s emotions were way easier to differentiate than that of the V?lsung. Through their mate bond, Sk?ll felt that Hati agreed more with the V?lsung’s need to attack something, yet all Hati did was wrinkle his nose. He wouldn’t even touch the vial as Sk?ll passed it on, instead stepping around Sk?ll to stand between him and the Incubus. Something made him feel threatened and protective of Sk?ll, so he put an arm out behind himself to keep Hati there. There was no need to kill anyone right now. Sk?ll handed the vial to Vivi instead.

Vivi smelled the dose but didn’t wrinkle her nose that much. “Odd. I kinda like it, but there’s also something that makes me protective of my mate.” She looked at Finn, whose nose wrinkled as he stared at the vial.

“I think it’s rancid.” Finn stepped back. “And it makes me protective of him.” He grabbed Lukas’ arm and pulled him back, too.

“Need a few more Alpha Bitches, please!” Elakdon called out.

Thyra and Belinda came over and took the vial, smelling it.

“I like it,” Belinda declared with a little smile. One she turned on the red-eye, who returned it more flirtatiously. Belinda bit her lip and handed the vial to Thyra, and the poisonous Incubus seemed to remember where he was and with who.

“Me, too,” Thyra said. “But the V?lsung in me grows fiercely protective of my sons in particular. It carries a threat to my sons that I wish to take out. But none to me or my daughters.”

“And that’s the weird part we learned about.” Elakdon waved for the vial and corked it. A breeze took away the last stink that had lingered around the open vial. “Navidon has never fed on sour energy he produced, but he survived getting raped by a human man during a feeding and hunting trip as a Mingler.” Elakdon looked at Navidon. “He’s a full red-eye, meaning that the rape was more than fifty years ago. Will you lay it out for them?”

“Yes, Nol.” The Incubus didn’t smell too calm, even though he looked it. “Sour energy spreads in our veins, not on our skin like feeding energy. It gave feeble energy, but that was it. Back then, I thought he’d probably liked it enough to not become fully poisonous and that I’d simply been given a scare of how potent the real thing would be. I didn’t think at the time that it was because I carry a mutation. Since then, I’ve had weird dreams of...revenge, I think. Men, especially big and strong and bullies, make me...hungry, but it’s not felt on my skin but in my veins. Most instances have been in wet dreams and a few daydreams. But never women, and I’m an active feeder of female pleasure.”

“Which is why Bitches like the scent, but not big and strong Alphas,” Elakdon said.

“I find the thought of raping a woman revolting,” Navidon said. “But not a big and strong man, which the guy raping me was.”

“Well, it makes sense that you have an aversion for Alphas, then,” Sk?ll said.

“It’s not all men I want to take. I don’t know why.”

“And this is why I need him close to me before we meet up with the Royals in Brussels,” Elakdon said. “This is a side of the dark feeding patterns that I’ve never encountered before, and we’re in a time where we all need to know as much as possible about all our peoples. Royals being ignorant about our own is not acceptable.”

Sk?ll nodded and looked around for the Warlord who’d said he’d guard the poisonous Incubus, and he stood not far from the circle with his dusty eyes trained on Navidon. His gaze shot to Sk?ll, and he nodded once in confirmation. He’d continue watching the Incubus.

“Welcome to the run, Navidon,” Sk?ll said.

A tense smile stretched the Incubus’ lips. “Thank you.”