Chapter Sixteen
Finally, they’d cometo the hard run south through Sweden, and Steffen felt homesick for Denmark and nature he knew. But the run across Zealand and Fyn would not end in him turning right to run north to his pack and home. No, they’d turn left and run down through Germany.
It was like they’d just started the third stage of their run. Out of five. Well, six if counting the trip on the ferry as a stage, in which case they’d just begun stage four.
And something had changed.
After the Draugr incident, Steffen could run harder. His ember fired up faster, and it joined with the Alphas of all much quicker. Also, he found it easier to sense Rigr. Even now, while sprinting south with the huge running bond, he could feel the remaining risen Rigr with them. He could pinpoint where, in relation to his own position, they were.
He could no longer feel Nissen, who’d left with Rasmus and the V?lve three days earlier, but he swore he could feel him for hours. The fallen Rigr among them? He could feel him, too, and the very presence of Aksel made his muscles stay warm as if always being ready for a fight. He wondered if that was how V?lsung felt, considering they were always ready.
After the conversation with the V?lve and learning that even Tristan found it fair and necessary that the Rigr at home went to find a Draugr grave, Steffen wondered if any of the Rigr they’d found already had an eagle circling them in the sky.
They each had one, and they could see their own. Hear it. Was it trying to tell them something when it cried out? A warning, maybe?
Steffen remembered they’d all heard their eagle, and even Randr had joined them then. That had been when the fallen Rigr joined them, and Marisol had said his eagle lay dead in the fire—burned like the fungus was supposed to be in the dreams. Just thinking about it caused anger to rise in Steffen, and he easily funneled it into his ember to run harder. Tristan’s ember rose with his, urging pacing and fairness. It steadied Steffen’s pace, but he was done not taking action when knowing what to take action against.
Right now, the only action they could take was to run as hard as they could, pulling more Alphas, V?lsung, and Sleipnir to see a future of peace and prosperity for all their peoples in unison.
That single goal became the one focal point for Steffen every day as they ran, and in the evenings, when they lounged, he spoke with Tanja and as many Pack Alphas as he could to learn of new ways to raise prosperity in the new City of Unity. He also wanted to teach what had helped raise his pack to the top of that list while making sure they knew the City would be open for them to stop by. And stay at Unity Inn.
He still couldn’t wait to gift it to Jeanette. If circumstances and the shaping of the City hadn’t forced Tanja to reveal it before he got back, of course. He hoped they could do it together because Steffen was the one who’d killed her mate, and he wanted to be the Pack Alpha showing her he cared.
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FINALLY, FIVE DAYSlater, the run took them over the bridge from Malm? and into Denmark. The run would end in the courtyard of Amalienborg, the human royal residence, as they would host their sleeping over. On cobblestone. Steffen wished for a forest, but he could do with mattresses.
All of downtown Copenhagen had been closed off, and police guided them on a route since they exited the bridge to cross Christiansborg Castle Plaza. The whole government stood outside and waved as they ran across it. Just down the road, the queen’s home waited, and the iconic royal guard with their tall bearskin hats waited on each side of the road, presenting arms.
Man, there had to be a lot of Rigr among those.
As they made it through Copenhagen, Elakdon, Randr, and a bunch of Guards made their way to the front to ride with the Alphas of all, along with Thorleif, Thyra, Isbait, and Visnar.
They were the ones meeting with the royal family as allies of the kingdom of Denmark—Elakdon in particular. The PM, as Head of State, was there with the queen to greet them, but so was Kresten. Good. Hopefully, the risen Rigr could spread the news of the fungus to him and hopefully learn what had stirred in Denmark since the run had begun.
As hoped, mattresses and blankets had been secured along with a lot of firepans, and soldiers helped out, situating the thousands of Alphas and guests, while V?lsung found their optimal positions, some even on the walls, to stand guard. A few found their position next to the royal guards where they stood in the iconic little red, pointy towers.
Steffen smiled at the many happy Alphas from Zealand being visited by their packs. It would boost morale. He didn’t expect to be visited the next day when they stayed at Elakdon’s house, and that would be their last day in Denmark as the next stop would be in Germany.
Tomorrow’s run would be short because they needed time to figure stuff out at Elakdon’s place. They needed to imprison Aksel and have a chat with the disgraced Regional Alpha Erik. Steffen focused on that.
Tristan suddenly felt excited. First bond had come to see him. They’d picked up Thyra’s brother and sister, who was Jari’s mom, as they’d joined them on the run with a few of their Alpha pups, so they had more first bond around them now. But Tristan’s Regional Alpha Bitch mate Agnes had arrived with their pups and a few grandkids. With them stood all of Steffen’s pups and a bunch of grandkids, and his heart swelled and relished hugging first bond.
Okay, so the castle stay was going to be awesome.
Still, Steffen’s ember continued to stay glowingly hot and ready for action, even as he lounged with them and enjoyed the hospitality of the royal family. They joined with big grills and chefs preparing meat, seasoned and all, compared to what they’d had for most of the run.
Delicious.
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THE NEXT DAY, KRESTENrode with them on horseback to Elakdon’s House. He hadn’t fought the blue dream—Steffen could feel it. Knowing there were plans to lead him to a Draugr’s grave to suffer the fever and fight, Steffen almost felt sorry for him, but it was needed. And Steffen wanted to be there to tend to the guy as he battled his worst self.
The risen Rigr had talked about it, agreeing that they’d take point on it. They’d debated whether to tell the men and women about the dreams prior to it but decided against it. The fight had to show them what was in their hearts, and they didn’t want to influence it one way or another. As Rigr rose or fell, they’d trust those who rose to keep the secret because...that honor was then to be found in their hearts. But the fallen Rigr would be led away and detained because they were dangerous. None of the risen Rigr knew why, but they could say so for sure. Just not how they knew.
Of course, detaining that many people without having actually done anything wouldn’t be possible, so how they were to be detained had been handed off to General Madsen to contemplate. Which was a problem, considering he wasn’t a risen Rigr, yet it all went through Randr.
Finally, a stretch of road seemed familiar. They’d run it when the Alphas of all first gathered Alphas, yet it had then been under the guise of a Feral Vargr run on Fyn. Now everybody knew, and every time they ran through a small town or city, flags were up, kids jumped and waved, and cars were parked on the shoulders of the roads while some sat on the roofs of their cars to watch and wave.
And there was the estate—the castle once gifted to the old King for his assistance in securing the human nation.
Steffen could smell the lush nature, the cattle, sheep, and horses, bonfires, sizzling and raw meat, and a lot of arousal. It all smelled exactly like last time, and Steffen felt a bit at home, happy to be in familiar surroundings again after so long away. But he knew it was only briefly because tomorrow they’d continue onto Germany.
And he had a lot to see to that day. He was eager to get to it, too.
First, he had to assist Tristan in getting the Feral Vargr to accept the presence of V?lsung, considering they’d been bred and trained to protect the grounds against them. He remembered where the entry to the dungeon was, and he stayed close to it instead of finding a spot by the big bonfires around back. This time, a field had been converted, too, or there wouldn’t be room for the many Alphas and V?lsung, so Steffen stayed around there to be close to the door.
Something kept tugging at his attention, though. Missing first bond. He’d spent so many hours the evening before with his kids and triplet granddaughters, and he wondered whether he just needed way more of that after so long away from home. But the feeling tugged harder at his wolf side, which he mainly experienced with his feral pups with Oddrun.
They were there? Excitement coursed through Steffen, and he looked around, frantically. They certainly could be, considering this was the pack Oddrun had grown up in, and it would be no feat for her to get there, considering the Cubi that were in Wolf Park.
And there they were. Steffen’s pups stood with Oddrun at a distance, apparently just waiting for him to notice them because they set into a full sprint his way the moment he saw them, while Oddrun slogged along after them.
Steffen shifted to his feral form and let the pups overrun him. The scent of them filled his nose, and he relished it. Oddrun made it there and snuggled in, pressing her face against his. He shifted to Vargr form. “Thank you for coming.”
Not just for Father. Not just for pups. Feral need Alphas now. Meeting V?lsung.
Steffen pulled back and smiled at her. That could definitely help him gain respect from the Feral because Oddrun was an Alpha Bitch of the Feral Vargr there, and she and the pups already knew V?lsung and Thorleif from Wolf Park. “Another reason I’m so happy you’re here. But also to spend time with you.”
Pups miss Father.
“And I miss them.” Steffen petted her and stroked her ear, while hugging the pups that pressed against his side. “I hope that when I come home, the world is safe for pups to run everywhere. With their mother, too. But first...” Steffen sat back and stood. “Let’s help put the Feral at ease. Pups! Come on, let’s go mingle.”
The pups stopped brawling and came over, so Steffen led them all to the Warlords.
Thorleif and Bothild were eating a hindleg from a cow, so Steffen went there. Just as they got there, Thorleif managed to tear a big chunk of muscle from it, and Astera initiated the battle for his hunk of meat. In fact, she flew in his face, grabbed a hold of the hunk of muscle, and tossed herself wildly to tear it from him.
Bothild looked on with a skeptical expression as Thorleif set in on growling and tugging at the meat. Had he meant business, little Astera would have flown halfway across Fyn from the power his neck could put into a single tug.
Oddrun plopped down with the pups to watch, a few going for the big piece to more V?lsung Warlord Bitch scowling, while Feral Vargr stalked around, watching closely. Steffen couldn’t hear any of them since he didn’t have a bond to them the way he did Oddrun. Still, he felt their confusion and anger simmer down as the huge Warlord had fun with Astera for five minutes, then relinquished the hunk to the pup, who proudly ran off to share with her siblings.
“That little one takes after her Alpha parents,” Thorleif said.
Best friend. Signy.
Steffen looked at Oddrun and smiled. Sk?ll and Freki had decided upon that project, and Steffen had, as a dad and new to V?lsung, felt reluctant. Not anymore. But more pups had been suggested for that friendship. “How’s the bigger friendship project going?”
Ingeborg and Esdin, too. Wanted to come. But stayed with Signy. Big sister with little pups.
“Is Esdin showing more Alpha tendencies?” Thorleif asked Oddrun.
Steffen felt a thud of surprise, and Oddrun stared at Thorleif. “You can hear the Feral Vargr?”
“They are of Wolf, trusted by Wolf, so yes.”
“Oh...” That was why they’d helped when going in to save Matt from Warlord Villum. Their senses weren’t hindered by shading like that of Vargr. Anyone who could see in shading was trusted by Wolf, meaning Fenrir. It kinda hurt that Vargr weren’t. Until they’d proven what was in their heart like Steffen now had. That at least made him feel proud and determined to live up to it, and his ember rose to a blazing but comfortable heat.
Esdin fights many. Esdin wins many.
“And that little one?” Thorleif pointed to Astera.
Fights many, too. Wins many.
Thorleif merely nodded, plopped down by his mother again, and dragged the hind leg with two pups attached closer. Again, he growled. One ran off, while the other lunged at him and snapped at his nose. That pup got to stay. In fact, he decided to, snarling and feasting. He was only the size of Thorleif’s head.
Steffen chuckled. “We call him Esben. Named after Freki’s human name.”
“I can see why.”
Steffen kept glancing at the door to the House of Elakdon that hid the stairs to the basement. He had something to see to before he could go home and witness his daughter, Ingeborg, and Esdin grow into fierce little Alphas with the help of Signy.
“What angers you in there?” Thorleif asked.
“A traitor I need your nose to help me with.”
“Ahh. And the dream urges you to take action.” Thorleif stood and walked off. “I can respect that.”
Steffen followed, stroking Oddrun as he did. “I’ll find you soon.”
“We shade!” Warlord Sk?ll shouted from somewhere.
Steffen looked down himself to see if he could see the shading spill from his own body. He saw something shimmering. Like the asphalt could seem alive on a hot summer day. But that was it. Instead, he looked up, and above him soared an eagle. As he studied the sky, which wasn’t hidden to him anymore even as the shading took over, he thought he saw shadows here and there. Something flying around up there. Other eagles?
But he could feel power somewhere. Something that agreed with his ember. Could he feel Nissen? Was it Rigr he felt in shading?
“Push south!” Sk?ll demanded.
The shading felt different. More intense. It urged Steffen’s body to run hotter, and his ember pulsated to rise. Embers clashed hard.
“What do you see now that you’ve won the dream?” Thorleif asked.
“I see everything in shade. And my eagle soars up there.” Steffen pointed.
“What use is it?”
“I have no idea.”
Thorleif straightened. “Oh, wow. The V?lsung pack just grew. The bond grew.”
“By how much?”
“Thousands upon thousands of both Vargr and V?lsung. The forests are hiding them. Sleipnir, too, but they are hiding from Wolf.”
Bothild came over, her expression eager. “So much power,” she whispered. “How can so much be gathered by a bitten Warlord?”
Steffen chuckled. “And the son of a risen Omega.” The huge Warlord Bitch snapped her head around to gape at Steffen. “And that’s how he does it. He strives harder than anyone else to be more than anyone else just so they don’t have to suffer what he did. His striving is selfless. It makes us feel empowered by him. That’s why we all join him and give him power. Because he uses it to help us be more.” Steffen turned his head to look at the door. “And those who don’t will end up in there. As thieves of other people’s dreams and sense of self-empowerment. It’s what the blue thing steals, too.”
“You will find no rest until I have helped confirm or disprove what boggles your mind, will you?” Thorleif asked.
Steffen’s ember burned to take action. “Nope.”
“Then let’s go find someone with a key.” Thorleif walked off.
It took another half an hour before Steffen and Thorleif had located everybody, and Elakdon, Randr, the four Alphas of all, Tristan, Kresten, the risen Rigr Vestergaard and Kasper, the fallen Rigr Aksel, Navidon, Warlord Magnus, and a bunch of Guards gathered around the gates to the throne room—the only one that would allow Thorleif entry.
From there, they entered a broad hallway behind the throne that sloped into the sublevels of the castle, and the hallways were broad enough to have been built for armies to easily move in and out.
“The cells where he’s held are further down because they were built to keep a Guard Lord in,” Elakdon said. “It can even keep me in for a while. Testing that was quite the workout.”
“A workout?” Kasper asked.
“That’s how the imperfections were found. I busted out. Last attempt took three days! I was sore all over.”
“Why you?”
“I’m one of the strongest beings alive. I know, I know...” Elakdon held up his hands. “My athletic frame and perky ass distract from the fact.”
“I’m a pup around the guy,” Thorleif growled, which made some brows shoot up. Steffen grinned at the comment, but he didn’t like the look in Aksel’s eyes. He did notice that Magnus pushed in to rearrange their places in the group as they walked. Navidon smelled increasingly fearful as they went.
“Down here.” Elakdon descended a spiral staircase. All it needed was torches to look like a medieval dungeon. It had lamps, though. Regular, practical lamps.
“Does he ever see sunlight?” Tristan asked.
“Son!” Elakdon sent him a disgruntled look. “He’s outside every day and gets to run, too. He’s watched by all the Feral then and accompanied by Guards on horseback.”
“Just making sure everybody knows, Father.”
“Ah, well, yeah. The only thing he’s been deprived of is first and second bond.”
“Ouch,” Steffen mumbled.
The sound and scent of everything changed as they descended, making Steffen feel like he first had in shade. His senses seemed limited. “Are we in a cement box or something?”
“Steel reinforced, yes,” Elakdon said. “This place puts a bomb shelter to shame.”
They finally emerged into a broad corridor of nothing but granite-stoned walls, lamps, and no windows, at the end of which stood a single Guard in front of a big iron door.
“Nol!” the Guard said, but he didn’t move.
“Guard Lord.” They switched to Cubi and spoke for a few minutes. Steffen understood about ten words in all, and none of them really helped him. They checked a monitor, then opened the thick iron door. Bomb shelter, yeah. Or vault.
They entered into a triangular room that barely fit half of them, but it held two doors with a window in each, revealing that one cell was empty.
Erik got to his feet behind the other one and came to them, stopping shy of the door as the Guard Lord unlocked it and opened it wide.
“Come on out for a chat,” Elakdon said.
Erik did, so they stepped back to give him room. Steffen’s place let him see that the cell wasn’t really what he’d expected from the name. It was more like an average college bedroom with a kitchenette and privacy screen to what he imagined was a toilet.
Erik moved hesitantly and stopped once he’d passed enough to see Thorleif. The Guard guided him all the way into the outer corridor with a gentle hand on the back. “Alphas,” Erik finally acknowledged.
“Hungry?” Elakdon asked Navidon, but in Cubi.
He acknowledged, his gaze never leaving Erik, and the sneer that tugged on the red-eye’s face indicated that it was the burning kind of hunger that rose. That and the fact that Magnus stepped closer behind Navidon.
Elakdon looked at Steffen, who studied Erik. He felt like he did around Aksel.
“You fought the blue dream,” Steffen whispered.
Erik looked at him, surprised. “What have you heard about it?”
“I had the blue dream.”
“And he smells of it,” Thorleif came closer. Close enough for Erik to back up into the Guard who didn’t move, so he had to stop while Thorleif smelled him. “I’m certain.”
“Smell of what?” Erik asked.
“The blue,” Steffen said.
“Then why is he being detained?” Aksel asked.
“Because, like you, he didn’t burn it.”
Aksel apparently hadn’t expected that answer, and insecurity rose in him.
“Regroup,” Sk?ll said.
Steffen and Freki moved to stand in Aksel’s way.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Aksel turned to face them. “What are you getting at here?”
“The two of you lost to the fungus and became its servants.”
“It’s too precious to be destroyed from fear of its utilities!” Aksel stepped up and sneered in Steffen’s face. “You’re just too weak to see the potential power in it.”
“You’re too blind to see how it corrupts,” Steffen shot back.
“You will be detained with Erik,” Freki announced.
That put some fight into Aksel, and he ran at Freki, but Steffen stepped in front of the Alpha of all and caught the soldier, feeling it his responsibility to tend to the problems with the fallen Rigr. Aksel grabbed him back, and Steffen was momentarily taken aback by the physical strength he met as he wrestled the human into the opening to the other cell and pushed him in for a Guard to close and lock it. All the while, Aksel kept shouting and hitting and kicking the door.
“Natural tools are there for the taking by those strong enough to see it through and creative enough to see the use of them. It’s only selfish if it’s not shared. And, of course, people need to be compensated for their time and work and what value they can add to others. That’s the free market. Some people need to be ruled for the good of everybody. Some people are too weak to go through life on their own or are just not equipped to live in society without help or guidance. It’s not compassion to leave those fuckups to take it out on others because then your passiveness is what harms others! You’re the fucking hypocrites!”
What followed was drowned out as they left again because Freki closed the thick heavy iron door to the triangular room. It gave them some peace for the conversation with Erik as only muffled shouting made it through the crack.
Steffen felt the need to take charge of the problem with Erik, too. Not that Regional Alpha business had anything to do with a Pack Alpha, but his ember was having none of that! They shared the blue dream, and his ember insisted that that was more important than any hierarchy. This was where he needed to take action. As his ember rose to face the Regional Alpha, Tristan’s rose to urge fairness and calmness.
“The blue dream,” Steffen said.
“The blue dream?” Erik asked.
“A blue fungus that tries to make you use it for selfish reasons,” Steffen explained, wondering if all dreamed about the fungus. Or whether all dreamed at all? Or did the dream only occur if running straight at a Draugr’s grave, which was then a condensed shot of the pollen? Could it be spread in other ways?
“I used it for my pack!”
“And Aksel used it for his family.” Steffen pointed to the door.
“What’s the problem with that? He’s right!”
“It needs to be destroyed! Burned!”
Erik snorted. “Maybe by those who don’t understand it. A mere disgruntled Beta who got lucky enough in a fight to become an Alpha certainly won’t because you were not born for power.”
Tristan growled.
Steffen stepped up in Erik’s face, and his ember blazed hard. The old Regional Alpha’s face twitched in discomfort. “With an ember that burns...to kill the blue!”
Considering the physical strength he’d just experienced rise in Aksel, Steffen wondered. That had been more than even a strong human. When had Erik risen to Regional?
“When did you experience it?” Erik asked.
“Almost two weeks ago.”
“And I’ve known for almost a hundred years. I understand it way better.”
“What were you when you first met the blue? Alpha? Pack Alpha?”
Erik sneered. “First Alpha.”
“Who are we?” Steffen asked. “You and Oscar and Ulrik?”
Another eye-twitch.
“Did your mates get sick, too?” Tristan asked.
Not Ulrik’s—Steffen felt pretty sure about that. She’d already been dead for a few years when Ulrik changed, and he’d often thought the Pack Alpha simply lost his way because he no longer had that strong tough-loving Bitch by his side.
Erik sneered, and Steffen’s ember rose harder. It pulsated to pull, and he finally figured out that it was trying to pull Erik. Out of the blue? Was his ember trying to ignite Erik’s to burn the pollen in him? Considering that thought made his ember shift to burn purer with purpose, Steffen understood his role better. He’d have to have a chat with the Alphas of all about that—Sk?ll, in particular.
“What did you do with it?” Steffen asked. “In the dream?”
“Why does it matter?” Erik spat, but he clearly wasn’t interested in the answer. He sounded too dismissive for that. The arrogance on Erik’s face wasn’t new. The way he looked at Steffen was, though, because it held insecurity as they stared each other down. Steffen was not going to ask again. Or any other question for that matter. Erik had to get it through his thick skull that they hadn’t all stopped by for tea.
“Better tell us, or we’ll just put you back to rot,” Elakdon said after a few minutes of the silent staring contest. “Now we know of this enemy, and we don’t have time for internal battles. Aid us or be deemed useless.”
“And then we’ll go ask the other Alphas we suspect were there,” Tristan added.
Erik grumbled. “It was at a big Regional Ting on Fyn just prior to the outbreak of World War Two. All Pack and First Alphas were there, too, because we knew something was brewing. Wanna know what’s going wrong with the world?” Erik looked directly at the humans there. “Look at what the humans focus on.”
Kasper leaned forward just a smidgeon to glare at Erik, then demonstratively shoved his fuck-finger up his own nose to flip Erik off with...something disgusting on top.
“That’s half true,” Kresten said.
“But said by someone who can now only see the color blue,” Vestergaard added. “It becomes unnuanced and worthless babble.”
“Back to that Ting,” Steffen said.
Erik turned his hateful gaze back on Steffen. “After Ting, we divided up into groups and ran to find spots for Vargr as best lines of defense and where to hide pups. We were about twenty-five in my bond, and we ran to North Fyn.”
“Head of Fyn?” Elakdon asked.
Erik looked at him for a second, then nodded. “Yes.” He looked at Steffen. “Something was terribly off up there, and we feared the war we predicted had already started. So we spread out and stayed the night. By the time we woke up, days had passed.”
“Did everybody fall sick there?”
“Every Alpha present, yes. Including Ulrik.”
“What packs?” Steffen prodded. “How many were you?”
“Make us a list,” Elakdon said. “I know for a fact you have paper and pens in there.”
“And in return?”
“You wanna come sit around the bonfires and look at the night sky with eight thousand Alphas whose embers hate yours and one and a half thousand V?lsung?” Freki asked.
“Who like the taste of those who didn’t burn the blue in them,” Thorleif added. “It changes the taste of your meat.”
Steffen noticed that Elakdon glanced at Navidon, but Steffen didn’t have to. He could smell arousal mixed with aggression and anger, but he still shot a glance that way, finding the sneer on the red-eyes’ face. But being told he tasted good was not the news Erik had hoped for, and it was evident on his face the second look Steffen got before Erik turned on his heels and went to the big door.
As soon as the Guard Lord pulled it open, Aksel started up again, telling them they’d turn the world into a feeble mass of weakling zombies, all striving for too little, instead of using the blue medicine to let the strong and capable excel in life.
“You know, he sounds very V?lsung,” Freki commented.
“Yeah,” Thorleif said. “But we were bred for that, and we focused only on our own. Warriors for a single cause. This is where the nuanced ways of our Warlord Sk?ll come in. To leave room for more ways than ours while preserving room for our ways in regards to us. I understand Aksel’s mind. I don’t understand my Warlord’s. But I trust in my Warlord’s vision because of the unbridled power given to him by so many.”
Sk?ll straightened, and his ember soared so high and pure, taking all embers there with it.
Steffen’s changed direction to pull at Erik’s, and Sk?ll and Freki’s immediately backed it up. Steffen felt better from it. More determined. In fact, he’d make sure to come sit with Erik regularly until he understood how to make fallen Alpha embers burn the poison in them.
“Their mates,” Steffen said. “No male Alpha in that position would have survived power in his own pack if the Mother didn’t agree. She’d have torn him to shreds.”
“Meaning?” Elakdon asked.
“Meaning we might need different accommodations for the ones on that list along with their mates and agreeing Alpha embers in their packs. And we need them guarded well.”
“Luckily, you know someone capable who can’t be swayed,” Thorleif said.
“I’ll make preparations,” Elakdon said. “Maybe we can borrow an old barracks or prison or something. Or a small island.”
“Or a ferry,” Freki suggested.
“Either way, it’ll give them some first and second bond,” Hati said. “Running with the Feral is good, but...let’s not become the monsters.”
“Agreed,” the other Alphas of all and Tristan said.
Erik returned, eying them all skeptically. He’d no doubt heard the conversation as the thick vault door hadn’t been closed all the way. He held the note out for Steffen. “I don’t remember all the names, and I left out those who’re dead.”
“Don’t do that.”
Erik sighed and let his arm drop. “Fine!” He turned and walked back into his cell.
Sk?ll came to Steffen’s side and put an arm around his shoulder. “Need a chat, Pack Alpha? Or Stef?”
Steffen chuckled. “Yeah, pup, I’d love a chat. Bonfire coffee and stuff.”
Sk?ll grinned, nodding. “Okay. Let’s lounge with our pack afterward.”
Steffen spun to face him. “Our pack? Who came? Other than Oddrun and my pups.”
“My parents, Lillian and Michael, Freki’s siblings and parents, Ole, Lars, and Flemming.”
“And Jan,” Freki added. “Patrick brought Finn a guitar and Hati a drum.”
“Really?” Hati lit up.
“A few more are here, too,” Sk?ll added.
Ole, Lars, and Flemming. Steffen had been impressed by those pups since they’d flocked to the newly arrived Matt and had been drawn to his ember since. Were they Alphas? No. Beta protectors? Definitely. But Rigr among Vargr? There was something he had to look into, yet what they’d talked about regarding Sk?ll’s eye color being that of the fungus, Steffen still wondered what was up with that, and something didn’t sit right with him there. The ember knew something that it couldn’t communicate, only confirm by burning pure at his discovery, or deny by burning him. And he had no theory to toss at it to be any wiser.
Finally, Erik emerged with the list and handed it to Steffen.
“Thank you.”
Erik sent him a skeptical look, then turned and walked away.
Steffen looked over the names, recognizing only three. He hoped Tristan had more insight.