Chapter Two #2
In truth, once Freya and I were married and she was mine, there was little Bj?rn could do if I decided to return them to her.
Yet I was a man of my word, so my stomach sank as that would not change even now.
Not for her or anyone else. If I agreed to this, it would be my honor at stake, and nothing was more important.
Frustratingly, it seemed that while I would have Freya in my bed, I suspected her heart might never belong to me because of this.
Yet there was no way around this. No counterargument would suffice. Bj?rn refused to entertain anything but his wishes. So, I had no choice but to relent, hoping I might find another way to win her over once we were married.
“Are you sure about this, Bj?rn?” I asked one more time, hoping I might at last appeal to him.
“I recall how happy you were when gifting them to her. I witnessed it firsthand when I was younger.” Still recalling the pleasure on his and his wife’s faces at the time, I looked from Freya back to him.
“Gifts from you and her mother, with your blessing, that she battled well with them and made you both proud.”
“Late wife, and you would do well to remember it,” Bj?rn bit out, then downed half his ale in one long swig.
“And Freya has battled well with them up until now, but no more.” He shook his head once and looked me straight in the eyes.
“Now she will hand them over and carry on our legacy with or without you, Soren. ’Tis the final time I will say it before I rescind this marriage pact. ”
Not about to let her go now that I nearly had her, there was no choice but to relent at last, despite Freya’s ever-darkening expression. No choice but to nod and agree to Bj?rn’s wishes, however foolish I thought them. “I accept your terms, Bj?rn Helvig, and will allow all to witness it this eve.”
Even though Freya muttered under her breath in dismay, she quieted at the fierce scowl Bj?rn aimed her way. Looking at me again, he raised his horn. “Then here is to a bright future full of strong sons born of the wolf and the bear.”
I raised my horn in return. “To many strong sons.”
Fully aware of Freya’s rising tension, I downed the bitter ale in one long swig and nodded once at Bj?rn, assuring him things would go as he wished from here on out.
After that, Bj?rn asked a servant to summon Knud and ordered Freya to see me to my lodgings so that I might bathe and prepare for the evening’s festivities.
While he made it sound as if he needed to discuss preparations, I suspected he’d requested Knud to help him stand, as it was clear he struggled.
While tempted to offer my assistance, I knew better.
To his way of thinking, it would only make him appear weak.
So, I followed Freya out, aware she was displeased for a couple of reasons.
Not only did things not go her way, but her father had asked her to escort me, which would have been a more appropriate task for a servant.
Or so I assumed, based on her mutterings.
She was by no means subtle in her musings while leading me and my wolf down a path cutting between cottages.
“Can you not speak to me directly, Freya?” I asked, eager to hear her lovely voice without venom on her tongue. “Were we not once friends?”
She stopped and frowned at me, her gaze fierce, only highlighted by her war paint. “Friends?”
“Ja, friends,” I reiterated, wondering at the confusion on her face. “Do we not share childhood memories and a friendship? For I thought highly of you when our fathers visited.”
“We were allies.” She shook her head. “Nothing more.” Her fiery amber eyes narrowed.
“And that will remain true going forward because you’re no true warrior, relenting to my feeble father so swiftly.
” Her gaze swept over me with disdain. “No warrior I will ever admire, given how little argument you possessed when fighting such an important battle.”
Biting back both amusement and frustration, I arched an eyebrow at Sten when she strode on without a backward glance. “Is she not just as feisty as I told you she would be, my friend?”
Sten perked his ears forward, eyed me, and trudged after her, when typically he would remain by my side, telling me he was as intrigued by her as I was.
Meanwhile, she slowed and glanced back as though curious about the way I had just spoken to my wolf.
Then she stopped at a sizeable lodge not all that far from Bj?rn’s, meant for esteemed guests.
So said the well-furnished interior when she opened the door and gestured for me to enter, where several servants awaited me.
“They will see to you,” she said bluntly, then strode away from the lodge before I could say another word.
And so, they did, and quite well, both women attractive and attentive whilst bathing me and seeing me dressed. While neither did anything of the sexual variety, I sensed they were willing by their coy, appreciative glances and caressing touches while grooming me.
Yet they were not Freya, nor did their touches feel like I imagined hers might.
Though soft, their skin didn’t feel as silky.
Though gentle, they weren’t tender. And while both of them were lovely, neither was half as beautiful as Freya, nor nearly as fierce.
Some men might prefer that, but I wasn’t one of them.
The fire in her eyes had always drawn me.
The ferociousness simmering within, that might only ever soften for me.
That might only ever allow me to see what lies beyond.
There was so much more to Freya than she showed the world, and I wanted to be part of it.
To see past her walls to the passionate woman beneath.
To know all she held close to her heart, because I sensed it was vast. She was vast in ways most could not see.
Though I was unsure of why I felt such, I did.
Eventually, I joined my men in the great lodge where celebrations were well underway.
Several fires burned in pits down the center of the building, and flames sizzled in hanging bowls as flutes played, drums beat, and people ate, drank, danced, and laughed.
The air smelled of smoke, spices, and succulent meat, and all seemed in good spirits.
Soon after I finished sharing an ale with my men, Bj?rn entered with Freya and summoned me to join them at the head table.
I found it difficult looking anywhere but at her in her finery, undoubtedly appearing the way her father might have wished it upon my arrival.
Free of its braids now, her glorious auburn locks flowed softly around her shoulders, and her war paint was gone.
Instead, she had subtly highlighted her delicate features and lined her luminous, thickly lashed, almond-shaped eyes with coal. Her heart-shaped lips were pink and plush, making me long to feel them beneath mine. To finally kiss her as I had long dreamt. At last, to pull her close and taste her.
Before sitting, Bj?rn spoke, and a hush fell over the crowd despite his weakened voice. He still had a way of commanding or, at least, a level of respect, that made his people take heed.
“’Tis our great honor to welcome the now infamous Earl Soren Dahl, ‘The Brazon’, into our tribe.” He grasped my shoulder and gestured at Freya. “Soon to be married to my daughter, Freya, at last bringing together the wolf and the bear, uniting both tribes in greatness far into the future.”
The crowd roared in approval before quieting at Bj?rn’s gesture to be silent, then seemed to wait, just as I did, with bated breath as Freya stepped forward. She gripped her weapons so tightly her knuckles whitened, and defiance flared in her gaze.
Could she ultimately do this?
Would she be able to see through her father’s wishes?
We soon found out.