Broods Of Fenrir

chapter 6


Alice gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles hurt.

Brand growled from the backseat of Ingrid"s car. The deep bass rumble reverberated through her. She could feel the beast straining for control, driven half-mad by the pain of his healing wounds.

He"d been getting worse since entering the car. She hoped they could make it back to his house before he snapped.

She feared he couldn"t last much longer.

Next to her, Dagny peered over her shoulder at Brand when he subsided into harsh panting. The grumbling started up again almost at once. If Alice didn"t think of something soon, he would tear the car apart from the inside out, and both of them as well.

She glanced over at Dagny again. The other female was so calm, her hands folded in her lap as if she hadn"t a care in the world. Proximity to her had to be what settled Brand at the cabin. He"d latched on to her strength, using it to calm the wolf. Alice pulled the car to the side of the road. “This is probably going to sound crazy, but I think you should get in 51

back with him.”

Instead of looking at her as though she were insane, Dagny nodded. She pushed open the door without a word.

Brand tensed when she slid in next to him, then backed away from her. “Don"t. Hurt you.”

“You won"t.” She reached for his arm.

When she touched him, he collapsed against her with a barely audible groan. She put her arm around him, resting her cheek against the top of his head.

Alice felt the coiled knot of tension behind her relax.

She leaned back in the seat and exhaled hard. The strongest of their kind spent their entire lives battling between what the beast desired and what the human would allow. Brand"s situation was even more difficult because of his empathic abilities. The beast drove him to terrible acts that she feared would someday drive him mad.

She pulled back into traffic. Of course, the monster within had its upsides. The only reason she was even functioning now was because Brand had Called her to wolf form. The wolf didn"t care about the future, or relive the horrors of the past. It lived in the moment and gloried in every breath. She wished, not for the first time, that she was strong enough to transform on her own.

Half an hour later, she pulled into Brand"s underground parking garage. Erik stood near the door that led inside the house. He leaned into the driver"s window. “Come on out, Brand. We have to talk.”

Alice scrambled out of the vehicle and moved away, her hand seeking out the cool roof of one of Brand"s cars for comfort and support.

Erik backed off a few feet while Brand struggled to exit Ingrid"s car. The process was slow and difficult. Dagny came out next, adjusting the robe wrapped around her. She stayed behind Brand, but within reach. Brand"s face twisted with pain and rage, and his power charged the air around him.

Erik hunkered down against a concrete wall. “The 52

females should come with me.”

Every muscle in Brand"s body tensed until he trembled.

“F*ck you.”

Alice felt for the moon—only twelve more hours until the peak. If it came down to a fight, Erik didn"t stand a chance, even with Brand injured. Power increased as the moon filled in direct relation to strength. So near the full moon, Brand was all but unstoppable.

“You"re almost done, and you know it. The anger will only fuel you for so long. When you wake up, you"re going to be worse than this. You could hurt them.”

“Only way you leave with them is if you kill me. Good luck.” Brand bared his teeth in a snarl, impressive canines flashing.

“You"re hurt.”

Brand chuckled, low and menacing. “You"ll hold back. I won"t. I"ll tear your throat out before I let you take either of them.” Erik glared, his eyes lightening to white. “Alice is mine.

She comes with me.”

Brand started to charge forward, but Dagny moved fast, grabbing Brand around the chest and pulling him back against her. “The f*ck she is. You don"t own her,” Brand shouted.

Alice looked from Erik to Brand in quick succession.

They were about to tear each other to shreds because of her.

She wanted to intervene, but she didn"t think it would help.

Erik lowered his head. His mouth drew down into a scowl. “You Called her, you arrogant f*ck.” Brand panted, surging into Dagny"s arms. “Had to.

Protect her from Ingrid.” His degrading speech patterns marked how close to the surface the beast was.

Erik leaned back, seeming to shrink into the wall. “Are you going to give her back?”

“Can"t now. Up to her. When moon wanes.” Brand turned his head, fixing her with intense blue eyes.

A warm feeling in her chest told her that he wanted her 53

to stay, no matter what he said. She wasn"t going anywhere.

Dagny pulled Brand back. She whispered something in Brand"s ear, and he sagged against her. Tension filled her voice when she called out over his shoulder, “We"ll be fine. Go. He"s about to lose it.”

Not used to taking orders, Erik bared his teeth at Dagny, but he stepped lively nonetheless. He bolted to his vehicle, climbing inside just in time.

Brand roared. The air in the parking garage vibrated with his untempered wrath. His wolf"s power, combined with his abilities, projected his emotions.

Alice fell to her knees, a surge of terror freezing every muscle in her body. She wasn"t sure how long she cowered there, but a shout from Dagny snapped her back into reality.

“Alice, open that door!”

Horrified, Alice looked up. Erik was gone, and Brand had broken free of Dagny"s arms. If he managed to escape the parking garage into the streets of Denver, it would be a disaster.

Alice jumped to her feet and ran to the heavy steel door that led into his house. Brand had once explained the biometric locking system to her, but she"d never used it. She put the wrong hand into the scanner the first time, and the angry beep the machine emitted let her know. She cursed and replaced her left hand with her right. After a delay that seemed too long, the machine chimed, and the door unbolted.

She glanced over her shoulder and yelled, “It"s done.” Brand crouched, fingers of his left hand splayed on the ground; his stare fixed on Dagny, who was working her way around him in a wide arc. In a calm voice, Dagny said, “Get inside. Move slowly and hide in a room with a lock.” Panic surged through her, but she held onto her wits.

“What are you going to do?”

A grin twitched the corners of Dagny"s mouth. “I"m going to turn my back and run.”

Alice stammered for several seconds before she could voice her concerns. “You can"t… he"ll…” 54

Dagny nodded, her grin widening to show her teeth.

“Chase me. That"s the idea.” She sounded thrilled at the prospect. “Go.”

The bite of the command spurred Alice into motion.

She stumbled her way to one of the guest bedrooms and pushed the heavy door shut, then threw the bolt. Every door in Brand"s house had been built to contain him at his worst, so she knew it would hold. Shivering, she collapsed onto the bed.

Dagny gave Alice a count of ten that she tried not to hurry. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. Sweet Nótt, he was magnificent—muscles coiled, ready to pounce, blue eyes glowing so bright she almost couldn"t look into them, lips pulled back into a leering grin, showing his dangerous teeth.

His eyes made a slow sweep of her body. She pivoted until she faced the door, then turned to look over her shoulder.

A nearly inaudible rumble vibrated through her.

She dashed through the door. Not knowing the layout inside, she tried to buy herself some time by closing the door partway. Behind her, Brand slammed into the metal and threw it open with a bellow. She only made it to the end of the hallway before he caught her.

One hand tangled in her hair and pulled her back into him. The impact drove the air from her lungs. He grabbed her about the waist and held her against him. He leaned down and smelled her, pressing her into the wall of the narrow hallway with his massive body.

He trembled, then made a noise in the back of his throat reminiscent of a large cat. His cheek pressed into her neck and slid up until his lips were at her ear. His voice was a rasping whisper. “I"m not exactly certain how you got in this position, but I like it.”

Apparently, he"d somehow won the battle with the beast once again. Not sure if she was more relieved or 55

disappointed, she struggled to calm herself.

He turned her around fast, pushing her back. His thigh came up between her legs and pinned her against the wall. “I trust Erik got away safely?”

She nodded because she couldn"t form words to answer. “And here you are almost naked in my living room… at my mercy.” His voice was ominously low.

The feeling of his chest against her torso drove her to distraction. She couldn"t even manage to nod.

“Dagny, I don"t have much in the way of mercy.” He chuckled in response to the tensing of her muscles and eased his leg away from her. His hands traveled down, opening her robe as they went. Wherever he touched, her skin heated to an almost uncomfortable level. He stroked his fingers over her breasts before continuing down her belly.

When his hands reached the level of her hips, he suddenly backed away. Terror made her gut clench, as she knew without a doubt what he felt. The shame overwhelmed her. He lowered his head.

She glanced down, dreading what she would see and knowing that he would tell her to leave. If she saw pity in his strong face, she thought she might die.

With his head tilted down, she couldn"t see his expression, only the top of his dark head. His fingers caressed the edges of the burns that marked her from one hip to the other below her navel.

“Who in the f*ck burned you with runic warnings?” He looked up, his face carved with fury.

She sagged with relief and almost fell, but he managed to catch her and ease her to the ground.

“Dagny, answer me, who did that to you?” Rage shook his voice.

If he didn"t want her anymore, that was all right, but she couldn"t take the pity, not from him. Her hands trembled as she tried to close the robe again. “It"s not important. It was a long 56

time ago.”

He gripped her chin hard, forcing her to look at him.

His blue eyes bored into hers. “Unless the pig is already dead, I want to know who did that to you.”

“I really don"t want to talk about that right now.” She tried to look away, but he held her face toward him.

He pushed forward. The anger radiating from him was so intense she couldn"t breathe. “Let me make this absolutely clear. I"m going to kill whoever did that to you.” His voice took on a dangerous purr. The lines of his face were stark, taut with barely controlled wrath.

She swallowed twice before she could speak. “Why would you do that?”

An expression of shock crossed his face, followed soon after by the small curve of a smile touching his lips. “Anyone who hurts you has me to contend with.” His hand slid down, pulling her robe open when he reached the marks across her lower belly. She didn"t try to stop him, but her stomach muscles clenched.

Repressed memories came back in a rush. The terror and pain flooded her. She felt the ropes that tied her down, heard the screams torn from her throat as the heated iron seared her skin over and over again. Blinking several times, she swallowed past the rising fear.

Brand backed away, eyes closing slightly. “So much agony.” She should have been insulted that he read her without permission, but the roughness of his voice spoke of outrage as much as compassion. The light touch of his hand on her skin soothed her.

He brushed his fingers across her belly until he reached the left-most mark, and then traced the raised scar from bottom to top with one slow stroke. He proceeded to the next rune and gave it the same treatment.

The sensation was strangely erotic. She found herself struggling not to squirm to meet his touch. The marks were 57

shameful, yet he treated them with a bizarre reverence. The fourth rune was directly under her navel. After he traced that one, he kept moving up until his finger circled her belly button.

He reached the end of the row in the same manner.

He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, a serious expression on his face. His fingers moved over the skin of her belly with a light, idle touch. “Dagny,” he spoke slowly, each syllable flowing to the next. “May I bite you?” Lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes as a slow smile spread over his face.

A tremor coursed through her and, before she could consider the wisdom of the action, she nodded.

Brand couldn"t believe the beast wasn"t struggling for control. A nearly naked female rested in his arms, and what he wanted most was to protect her. The desperate need to taste her was almost as powerful and had his mouth watering. He had no idea why he"d asked, aside from that it felt like the right thing to do, and she"d shocked him by agreeing.

His throat tightened as her head fell back to bare her throat. Such an effortless movement, and yet the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He watched her for several seconds, enjoying the soft expression on her face.

He pressed his lips where her pulse beat strongest, feeling the blood flow under her skin. She shivered. He whispered against her throat, “I appreciate the offer, but not here.” To gain her trust, he needed to prove to her that the marks on her torso didn"t disgust him.

Shifting her in his arms, he laid her on the plush rug closer to the center of the room. When he pulled the edge of her robe open to expose her right hip further, she tensed. He traced the rune furthest to the right with a delicate touch. The harsh angular scar looked out of place burned into her smooth skin. Leaving a mark that scarred brood flesh was no simple matter; it took persistence and a great deal of time. He trailed his fingers over her skin to the curve of her right hip, and the 58

hesitation in her melted away.

He moved slowly until his lips brushed the soft skin of her hip. She smelled like a pine forest under new-fallen snow, fresh and fragrant. He paused to drag his tongue over the spot he intended to bite. She gasped the instant before his teeth touched her.

His canines sinking into her succulent skin was thrilling beyond anything he could remember. The flood of blood over his tongue made him moan. A sense of peace spread through his ravaged body as her power flowed into him. He drew more into his mouth, the taste of her cascading down his throat. Her hand reached down to the back of his head and tangled in his hair.

He reveled in the feel of her as she trembled beneath him. Originally intending to only to take a taste, he soon found he didn"t want to let go. The urge to mark her nearly overwhelmed him. He tightened his bite a fraction. She groaned, her fingers twisting in his hair.

His lips tingled. With a start, he withdrew his teeth before the mark took hold. A long, shuddering sigh escaped her. He swiped his tongue over the wounds to stem the bleeding. She shifted under him.

He looked up into her flushed face. His position gave him a lovely view of her breasts heaving with each breath. The taste of her lingered on his lips. Her blood rushed through him, making his entire body ache.

He realized, to his shock, that he wanted more from her than a moment between two strangers on his floor. His hand slid over her belly to touch the scars marring her perfect skin. It offended him that someone had hurt her and still lived. “Tell me who did this to you.”

She opened her eyes to watch his fingers play over the scars. When she hesitated, he thought she still wouldn"t name him. Then she spoke. “Ansvarr.”

Of all the names he thought might cross her lips, the name of his half-brother was not among them. He tried to hide 59

his surprise, unsure if he succeeded. “You were in Vancouver?” She withdrew her hand from his hair. Her jaw set, hardening her features in an instant. He wondered if he should reveal his relation to Ansvarr, but he didn"t want her to be upset, so he decided to wait.

He tried to get to his feet, but dizziness overtook him.

With her blood strengthening him, he had all but forgotten how bad his injuries were. With less than a dozen hours to the peak, and thirty-six before he could sleep naturally, he wasn"t going to make it.

Dagny gasped when he almost fell and hurried to her feet. “Let me help you into bed.”

Brand couldn"t help smiling as he took her offered hand. “With an offer like that, how can I refuse?” 60