Chapter 8
Ragnar
"I am a beast," I said to Erik, my clansman whom I had brought with me from the North. It was the middle of the night, and the moon was shining bright. Every full moon, I would black out and wake up later in the day covered in furs, my mouth dripping with blood. Then realization would hit me as I stared at the corpses I had murdered in cold blood. This was the effect the curse had on my pack. Though it was different for other packs, some members would black out almost every day and kill. It was some times like that for my pack.
"We are beasts," Erik said.
I took a sip from the ale before turning to Erik. He was tall, with a long beard and long brown hair that was twisted.
"Tell me something," Erik muttered. I looked over at him as he took a sip from the ale in his hand. "What is going on with you?"
"What?"
"Never have I seen you interested in a woman as you are in your niece."
"She's different," I told him. "And I can't pull myself away from her. There's this bond I feel with her, as if my wolf wants her."
"Ragnar, I'm surprised to see you like this," he said.
"So am I," I said. "Aye, I'm not meant to lie with my niece—my brother would have my head chopped off. Yet I can't seem to stop my wolf from looking her way every time she passes."
"Mayhap her scent draws your wolf. You bed anything that walks. But you must have bounds—she's your niece."
"Funny, you, Erik," I said, drinking from the ale. I shook the horn; there was little left inside. "Would it be that simple? Nay, she is fair. Young, full, and fair. The scent of her..."
I closed my eyes. The way she smelled when she walked into the library... I had had different thoughts about her. I had wanted to pull her into a corner and sink my fangs into her flesh, leaving my mark on her.
"You've been seeking to turn a new leaf lately. And mayhap you know you would lose control around her. Be careful."
He doesn't need to advise me.
"I am careful, Erik," I muttered. "Though the urge to pin her down and take her is stronger than my control."
I want to chase her around Fellur and do very bad things to her.
"How old is she?"
"Twenty-one summers," I said. "When I stare into her eyes, it feels like I'm staring into an old deity."
"Mayhap the witch is right?"
"That she'll help us lift the curse?" I asked.
Erik nodded.
"Aye," I said. "I see her in my dreams, and I believe she is the one to save us."
"And you would kill your niece for the curse?"
My jaw clenched at the reminder. Without saying a word, I raised the horn to my mouth and gulped everything down.
"Want more?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nay. I need a clear head to think tonight."
...
The night rolled away quickly. I was glad it did, for the next morning, as soon as the cock crowed, I was back in the training hall. I would see Freyja today.
During our fight, we talked for a moment, and I asked how her weekend had been. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was down, and her scent was intense.
After training, I left for the dining hall, where Harald and his wife sat for breakfast.
Lagertha, the Queen of Fellur, cast me a glare before lowering her gaze to her food. Her distaste for me was no secret and had started long before Harald made her his wife. Ever since I returned from the North, she had been watching me.
"You came early for breakfast today," Harald said, and I turned to him.
"Aye, training went well," I said. "Freyja is strong."
Just as I spoke about her, the door opened, and she walked in.
"Too strong to be wasting her time fighting with you," Lagertha said.
"She is strong but also needs to protect herself more."
"She doesn't need to be training," Lagertha snapped, looking up at me. "What she needs is a husband. A husband to stay at her side once she becomes Queen."
The rest of the meal was awkward.
Later that evening, I felt the aggression of my wolf rising, and I stepped out to let him run free in the wild. But just as I walked through the woods, I caught her scent and followed it to find Freyja sitting near the stream.
She turned before I could speak.
"Ragnar."
"You shouldn't be out here alone," I said, clenching my fists as I fought hard to calm my wolf. "It's not safe."
"And neither are you."
Just then, I felt myself blacking out and took a step backward, my fangs grazing my tongue.
"Are you alright?" she stood up.
"Stay back."
"You don't look alright," she said, walking closer. But once she was near, I turned around and sped away. I continued to run until I let my wolf out, and he ran wild. From there, I didn't know what happened next.