Chapter 9
Sigurd
I’m as close to Valhalla as a Viking gets without dying a warrior’s death.
I’ve found my mate, and she’s currently unconscious on my cock.
“Wore her the fuck out,” I say proudly as I slip my ridged cock out of her wet pussy. “I bet she’ll be dreaming about me in no time.”
“You didn’t do it alone,” Erik chuckles. “Just a little rougher than us.”
“Sometimes, that’s what a woman needs,” I say, getting up from the bed and reaching for my loincloth instead of my pants. “Feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. I didn’t even realize how heavy it was.”
“We’ve all been carrying it,” Ivar says, putting on his pants before walking to the Provider. “Erik, are we okay to use this? It won’t arouse suspicion if we do?”
“I disconnected this room from the main grid,” Erik says. “Nothing that happens here gets detected, logged, or transmitted.”
“Then a round of ale,” Ivar says, tapping the Provider. “Ale suitable for a Viking’s wedding, since that’s what this feels like.”
“Pretty damn close,” Erik grins.
The Provider hisses, then three metal cups of ale appear.
Ivar takes his, and I walk over to grab mine.
Erik checks a few things on the panel before finally picking his up.
The three of us sit down, the looks we exchange making it clear that we’re all still buzzing with excitement from our first time with our mate.
“Can you believe it? We found a mate. A real one, just like the legends talk about,” Ivar says, a faraway look in his eyes as he drinks some ale.
“It defies everything we know,” Erik says, sipping his ale and putting his cup down.
“Women from Earth have the right genetic markers to be viable mates for us. Capable of producing offspring. But this is different. Something drew us to her, and she’s not even from Midgard, so she shouldn’t be a true mate, like the ones from our legends and myths. ”
“Nothing says our mate has to be born on our planet,” Ivar points out.
“If we believe what our ancestors wrote, the gods visited all planets. They’re the reason Cosmic Influence exists.
Since we no longer have viable mates on Midgard, maybe…
maybe our instincts tried to find one, and found something even sweeter than we expected. ”
“Perhaps,” I shrug, downing half my ale, then downing the rest and leaning toward the Provider. “Another ale.”
I’m just a warrior. A simple man, really.
As the youngest of my brothers, my future was in pillaging and plundering.
Ivar was our father’s heir. Erik was the charismatic son who was more than happy talking politics over war.
I was just a fucking brute with a bloodlust. A bloodlust that blinded me after the Intergalactic Alliance left us to die.
I never took a wife. I considered it a few times, but there were always plenty of unmarried women looking for a brute to keep their bed warm.
After the plague killed them all, I regretted never finding the kind of companionship my brothers found.
But maybe it was for the best, because all I would have done was mourn them.
“So, the plan for our escape,” Erik says. “I just checked the communication logs and they think we’re gone. The warship that was headed here has already returned back to the Intergalactic Alliance space port.”
“A shame,” I grumble. “Would have loved to kill a bunch more of those tentacle-faced freaks.”
Especially now. I’ve got more on my mind than vengeance. I’ve got a mate to protect and that means more than anything else.
“I think we did enough damage,” Ivar says. “I wish we could have gotten a mate for all four royal families, but we’ve found ours. It would be too risky to expose ourselves now.”
“Agreed,” Erik says. “We hang tight, and after the extra security measures are no longer deemed necessary, we’ll slip away.”
“In an even better ship than we came in,” Ivar adds.
“I won’t have time to remove the tracker before we leave. We need to get out of the cargo bay quickly, so I’ll have to do that once we’re ready to hit the hyperdrive,” Erik says. “That means speed is of the essence. We can’t have any delays, or they could track us right back to our planet.”
“We’ll hit a decoy jump first, just to test it,” Ivar suggests. “If nobody is following us, we’ll go home. If they do…”
“We fucking pray,” Erik chuckles. “If they get our signature, it’ll be hard to escape them without burning out the hyperdrive.”
“I wish we’d acted when we could have. Blown their fucking ship out of the sky when they were quarantining our planet. We had enough warriors then. Now, we don’t.” I down half my second ale.
“Warriors yes, but not enough firepower,” Ivar counters. “And even if we managed to take down one ship, they would have sent more. We never had a chance.”
“No, based on what I saw when I hacked them, they would have outnumbered us. The Intergalactic Alliance is a force we can’t fight,” Erik sighs. “So, we’ll escape them, with our mate, and we’ll enjoy the lives we have left.”
“I still don’t like it,” I grunt. “They believe everyone on our planet died in the plague. They may not notice us now, but what happens in a few generations? They could return, wondering how we’ve risen from the dead.”
“We run the risk of that anywhere we go,” Ivar says. “But like you said, it’ll take generations. We’ll prepare them. Maybe our children will build homes on entirely new worlds. Start over fresh, and actually colonize other planets, like we used to talk about.”
“Seems almost necessary,” Erik says. “We know why the Intergalactic Alliance rejected us. If we pass Fenrir’s Mark on to our children, they will need to be prepared. We never know when another catastrophe could threaten our world, and the Intergalactic Alliance will not intervene to help.”
“No, they’ll just leave them to fucking die,” I say bitterly, finishing my ale and leaning back.
“None of our women had Fenrir’s Mark. None of the children did, except those from the royal families.
The Intergalactic Alliance could have helped, even if they left us behind.
I would have gladly stayed behind and considered it an honorable death if our future was secure. ”
“But would it have truly been secure?” Ivar questions, sipping his ale. “Those with Fenrir’s Mark have been our fiercest warriors throughout history. We’ve seen how Vikings on other worlds have simply vanished over time. Either absorbed into the annals of history, or nothing but legend and myth.”
“Maybe that’s the natural evolution of things,” Erik sighs. “Cosmic Influence. The will of the gods. They’re not around for us to ask them for answers, and prayers… well, prayers don’t always get answered, either.”
“No, they don’t,” I agree, getting another ale from the Provider. “But we said one before this mission, and we’ve found our mate, so this time, we’ve been blessed.”
“Erik, what else do you know about her planet?” Ivar asks, gesturing toward the bed where our mate is sleeping. “Do you think she will like living on our world?”
“It’ll be an adjustment for her, but the world she knows is gone. You never cared about that when I told you humans were compatible mates,” Erik replies.
“No, but now that I’ve been around her, I’m feeling the bond.
The natural need to protect and take care of our mate,” Ivar says.
“It’s a lot different with her. Stronger, like it’s an instinct I didn’t even know I had.
We’ll need to ensure she’s happy. Until we find mates for the other royal bloodlines, the entire future of our kind rests with her. ”
“Which means the sooner she’s carrying our child, the better,” I throw in, drinking some of my ale. “She might already be pregnant, considering how hard I fucked her.”
“Soon it will be a guarantee,” Ivar says. “Once we make our escape, we’ll return to our world triumphant.”
“But we’ve still got to keep our promise to the other royal families,” Erik insists. “That means another mission. As many as it takes until we ensure they will all survive.”
“Yes, but there will be time for planning that later,” Ivar murmurs. He raises his cup and downs his ale. “We should get some rest, like our mate is currently doing. Otherwise, we may not be ready for her when she wakes up.”
“I will be,” Erik smirks. “We should still keep watch, even though they shouldn’t find us here.”
“I got first watch,” I say. “I’m still enjoying the scent of her sweet honey too much to sleep.”
“Wake me when you’re ready,” Erik says, finishing his ale and standing.
Ivar and Erik walk over to the bed and find a spot on either side of our mate to sleep on.
I get another ale and a hot meal from the Provider.
It’s a wonderful piece of technology, but far too advanced for our world.
Unfortunately, based on what Erik has told us in the past, we can’t just rip it out of the floor and take it with us. It won’t work if we do that.
I stare at the door while I drink my ale and eat my food.
Once my brothers are snoring, I get up and look around the room.
I was too unhinged earlier to really appreciate the detail.
The rooms utilize the same technology as the Provider, creating things out of thin air, utilizing memories as a guide.
“Whoever this memory is from led an interesting life,” I smile as I open a drawer and see several sex toys. “A very interesting life.”
We make toys like this on our world. Well, we used to, before the plague wiped everyone out except the adults with Fenrir’s Mark. We were pretty advanced, as far as technology goes, but centuries away from the Intergalactic Alliance. Possibly more.
Doesn’t mean we can’t fight them. Like our ancestors, we’re good at adapting when our blood is on the line. Sure, we’d be no match for one of their ships, but I would love nothing more than to have an army of those tentacle-faced freaks to bash.
Maybe there would even be enough of them for me to let my wolf run free. Then they’d certainly be fucked. But I often overestimate my own strength. That’s why I usually let Erik and Ivar make the plans. Even after all this time, I’m still a warrior at heart.
Now I’m just a warrior with a mate. One I’d fight anyone to keep.
Even the entire Intergalactic Alliance.