Finaan
Chapter twenty-eight
Fickle Bitches
“Ugh, no,” I mutter as I push Wregen away and wipe the bloody, slimy mess from my lips, stifling the gag that’s squeezing my throat. Garmr tastes even worse than he smells, which shouldn’t be possible. Because he smells horrible, death warmed over a dozen times and plopped down on a plate.
“Fuck me,” Wregen responds with a laugh, dark eyes bright as he reaches a hand toward my lips.
“Don’t you dare,” I warn him, gaze focused on the flecks of blood and skin and mucus and whatever else erupted from that disgusting beast that coats his fingers.
He responds with a slow, easy smile and I feel it in my bones. And then he winks, and something in my core explodes, shards of pure, unadulterated lust rippling through me. “Soon,” he murmurs, gaze focused on my lips.
Our bond is very happy to have him so close, and it’s getting harder and harder to stop myself from falling for the mate who’s consistently chosen Hel over me.
Except he didn’t this time. He fought with us, crippling Hel’s hound.
“What happened, Wregen? Why did you attack Garmr?”
His grin drops away as he turns to look at the dog.
“I had no choice,” he tells me with a shrug.
Pushing to his feet, he reaches out a hand and then pulls me up to stand beside him.
“Let’s do what we can to trap him and get away from here.
If he wakes up, we’re fucked. We need to get to the dragons before Hel sends someone after me. ”
“And she will send someone after you.” It’s not a question, although I wish it was.
“Make no mistake, my skjaldmaer,” he rumbles as he reaches out a finger to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I belong to Hel. She’ll never let me go.”
“And there’s nothing we can do, no way to break her hold on you?”
“I knew you’d come to crave me,” he responds as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck, gripping me tight enough to send flames spiraling down my spine. “But no,” he adds with a gentle squeeze, “Hel’s hold on my soul will live as long as I do. I’m hers, whether I want it or not.”
“What will she do to you when she gets you back?” I ask, lifting a hand to wrap it around his wrist, wishing I’d taken the kiss he offered me a few minutes ago.
“You know I like pain,” he mutters, “and I’ll deserve every bit of it she gives me.”
“Because you chose to protect us?” My heart is a bird, fluttering in my chest as if it’ll never rest again.
“That?” he scoffs, thumb caressing the spot in my throat that’s beating for him. “That’s why she’ll punish me, but it’s not why I deserve it.”
“Then why, Wregen? Why do you deserve her punishment?” The bird in my chest flaps its wings and then stills.
I’m not sure what exactly I’m asking, but I know in my soul, deep in that place where my connection to Wregen lives, that the answer matters, perhaps more than anything else that’s happened between us.
“Let me hold on to those secrets for a few days longer,” he urges, brows drawing together as he grips my neck a bit tighter.
“I’ll tell you. You need to know. Just …
give me this time without that between us.
When we find the dragons, I’ll give you everything you need to understand this male the fates stuck you with. ”
“Before or after I suck your cock?” I demand, one eyebrow quirking up as his demand bubbles into my thoughts.
“Before, my skjaldmaer,” he tells me, one side of his lips lifting to reveal the dimple that always appears when I least expect it. “I suspect you won’t be sucking my cock after that, and I won’t blame you. I’m a despicable male, after all. I’d have to be, to serve Hel so long and faithfully.”
“We should go,” Svend mutters from our side, dragging my gaze away from Wregen. He’s focused on Garmr, and I can’t blame him.
Whatever’s going on between my mate and me can wait. We need to trap the monster Hel sent to babysit Wregen and get away from here.
And we have something that might work.
Glow didn’t want to leave behind the chains, so we bundled them onto Ruxi’s back.
It took a while, but once Glow was loose and we could attack the chains without hurting her even more, we were able to wrest them free of the ring still bolted into the rock.
I’m not sure if she anticipated using them or wanted to take control over restraints that controlled her for too long.
Whatever the reason, I’m thanking the fates, those fickle bitches, that we brought them along.
I turn toward the wyrm. “Are you okay with using your chains on Garmr?” I ask, trying to keep the hope out of my voice. We don’t really have another choice, but they’re hers and if she wants to keep them—if she needs to keep them—we’ll figure it out.
“Finaan spoke of Hel,” she says, turning toward Wregen. “This beast belongs to the chaos god’s daughter?”
“He does,” Wregen responds with a sharp dip of his chin. “Garmr is Hel’s enforcer. She used gifts she may never be able to reclaim when she turned him into this.”
Glow turns to me, eyes crinkling as her lips lift at the sides. “We should bind this beast with the chains his grandsire used to trap me.”
That’s what we do. We can’t figure out a way to embed the chains into the rock, so we do the next best thing.
Praying to all the gods except Loki and his spawn, we roll Garmr’s decrepit, lifeless body back and forth while we wrap him as tightly as we can.
Ruxi and Glow help, holding the ends to create tension so there’s no slack in the spirals.
The chain is long enough to create a tight coil, plastering his legs to his body, and light enough to tie in knots at his neck.
And we tie a lot of knots, although we all know it probably won’t be enough.
When we’re done, everyone stands back and stares.
I’m so fucking gross, it feels like I’ll never be clean again.
I already had some of the mongrel’s filth on me from our fight and Wregen’s kiss, but after rolling that beast around, I’m coated.
My hands have a layer of slime so thick and dense, it’s a wonder I can move them.
My clothes may never be clean again. And I’m dying to wipe the gunk from my face, but I don’t think there’s a single clean thing I can use to help.
“He’s never looked better,” Wregen mutters, kicking Garmr in the stomach before turning to smile at me. He’s covered in gore but still the most stunning male I’ve ever seen.
I drag my gaze away, desperate to ignore the chaotic mix of emotions he stirs inside me.
“Any idea where we can find some water?” I ask, turning to Ruxi.
They followed some sixth sense to get to the pond that healed them after the elf attack, and I’m desperately hoping they can do the same thing now.
They’re not as dirty as Wregen, Svend, and me, but they’ve got a lot of shit on them.
Turning away from us, they shake their snout vigorously, sending splatters onto the surrounding stone, then walk toward the closest wall and rub their face in the corner where it meets the floor.
After a minute or so, they’ve dragged as much off their snout as they can without water.
Ruxi glances at me and then starts striding around the cave, pausing at every tunnel to inhale deeply. When they’ve gone nearly the whole way around, they still and walk deeper into the cavern, inhaling as they go.
“All right, all right,” Wregen grumps when they turn around to look at him.
“This way,” he says, extending an arm in invitation, “in case you can’t tell.
” He glares at his dragon. “Stop talking to me,” he adds in a voice that’s not quite as pissy as it used to be when he talked to them.
“Wrath may be buried deep, but he’s watching, and he’ll be bitter about it when he rises. ”
Ruxi flicks their tail, gives him a haughty shake of their head, and traipses off with Glow following on their heels.
I don’t know what happened, but I suspect the dragon won in that power struggle.
We trudge in silence. I’m not sure why Svend and Rata are so quiet—they’re normally more talkative than I’d like—but I don’t have the energy to ask. I’m physically exhausted, but more than that, my emotions feel raw and exposed, a broken body trapped outside in a storm.
Wregen’s keeping secrets from me, and I need to remember that whenever my body betrays me, as it does too often around him.
His decision to join us in fighting Garmr shattered a barrier I’ve been building since I learned we’re mates.
He’s been wearing it away, but he broke it wide open when he stood with us against Hel.
I want to hate him. I can’t, though. The heartbreak I felt when I thought he joined the dog against us—a blade that pierced that spot where my bond lives—and then my elation when I realized he hadn’t, keep echoing through my mind.
I shouldn’t care if he stands with Hel against us, but I do.
My body is heavy and light at the same time, as if I’ve been carrying a massive load, and realized I’m strong enough. I’m starting to see a life with Wregen, if we can find a way to end Hel’s hold on him.
And it terrifies me.
Sooner than I’d expected, Ruxi leads us into a cavern with a pool big enough for all of us.
They don’t pause, extending their wings to throw themself into the water with a splash.
Wregen’s laugh bursts out, and the air around me feels softer.
I turn, hoping to catch a hint of his dimple, and can’t hold back my own smile when I do.
This is the male the fates intended for me, not the asshole Hel created.
He doesn’t slow down either, not even bothering to peel off his boots before diving into the water. I can’t blame him. They’re covered with Garmr’s waste and need a bath as badly as everything else.
I kick off my shoes and follow him in, submerging myself fully as I scrub off scraps of dog. When I can stand myself again, I float, my head alone above the water. It feels alive, as if it wants to heal our injuries, clear our heads, take our pain.