29 - A Union to Celebrate

Vidar's arms surrounded my exhausted body as I sat curled up in his lap to listen to him and Calder speaking in hushed voices. I wasn't that interested in pack politics, so I closed my eyes and rested my cheek comfortably against his broad chest drifting in and out of sleep. It had been a long evening of celebrations and I had been drinking too much mead.

"You two seem closer than ever," Calder pointed out as he nodded towards me.

"Yes," Vidar agreed, "a lot has happened since they called for me."

"Care to elaborate?"

Vidar's fingers moved through my short hair, creating pleasant shivers through my body as he seemed to ponder how much he should tell the lower ranked wolf. "The man you know as Tyr Starke had become Jarl of a small village on the coast called Skal."

"Freke's human friend?" Calder asked curiously and leaned into the conversation, it seemed this had peaked his interest. "Don't tell me you killed him," he chuckled.

"I see no reason to kill the man, do you?" Vidar asked as the corner of his mouth travelled into half a smile.

"I can't believe you agree to sharing your maður with a human," Calder muttered, "tainting my sibling's mind with his human ways. That's a good enough reason."

Vidar rolled his eyes at this and decided to change the subject. "The reason they needed my help was a powerful magic wielder who harassed them. He uses destructive forces, calling upon death and pain to gain his powers."

"Sounds ominous," Calder muttered, without his usual sarcasm.

"He managed to disappear," Vidar growled, "and I'm afraid he'll come back."

"And why is this our concern?" he asked and threw a new log in the fire, creating a wave of heat that hit my skin so hard I started to stir and open my eyes.

"Because we care?" I yawned.

"Maybe you do Freke, but why should we?"

"Because Bjarke almost destroyed my maður with his magic, and I need to kill him for that," Vidar spoke coldly. "And I made a promise to Tyr, that I would help him and protect his village."

"He almost killed Freke?" Calder gasped and stared at us both. "How powerful is this man? And Alpha, why would you make a promise like that?"

"It's a long story," Vidar said, avoiding the real reason, but Calder was no idiot and he knew we were leaving something out.

"I have time," he insisted and furrowed his brow. "If this Bjarke might be looking for you two, I need to know. The whole pack should be warned if he's this powerful."

I noticed how Vidar looked around and made sure there were no others around to hear what he had to say next. "I agree," my lover said and I could feel his body tense up, probably knowing Calder wouldn't like what he was about to say, "but we have already made preparations, we are planning a merge between our pack and the human clan."

As expected, Calder instantly rose to his feet and I decided to sit up straight and prepare for the storm. I wasn't sure why Vidar was telling him this already. To be honest, I was too tired to fight my brother. But I trusted Vidar with my life, so I grabbed his hand to show my support and spoke up, "Tyr is our maður now, so we will do anything to protect him and his family. It is our way."

"What?" Calder roared and took a step forward. "You can't be serious! He's human!"

After that, things erupted so fast I barely had time to react. A big hand surrounded my brother's neck and within seconds his body fell to the ground and Vidar was pressing his weight down upon him. "Do you question the will of the Great-Wolf?" he hissed between his growing fangs, "because our union was blessed by her presence."

I could see my brother's eyes widen as he struggled for air, and as predicted, he did not fight back. Calder had a big mouth but nothing to back it up with.

Seconds passed until he finally shook his head and Vidar loosened his grip to let him breathe and cough. "N-no, Alpha, I would never question her," he mumbled when Vidar let go of him and turned to me instead.

"But you question your Alpha," I shouted at him. "How is that any better? You stupid, annoying, childish pup!"

Vidar glanced at me, clearly amused by my outburst, then turned his back to Calder. "Accept it, and move on," he said over his shoulder, before he grabbed my hand, walked us back to my mother's old hut and left Calder speechless by the fire.

"I'm not sure that was the best way to tell him," I sighed and squeezed his hand.

"He hates me even more now," Vidar said with a chuckle, "but there is no good or bad way, Love. He needed to know."

"Knowing my brother, he won't make this easy for us," I sulked as we entered the sparse room and sat down on the bed we were going to share.

Vidar's shoulders relaxed when he walked to the table and poured himself some cold herbal brew that was left from this morning's breakfast. "Probably not, and I'm sure there will be consequences to deal with."

"Will they all react like him?"

"If they do, I'll deal with it."

"What if they want Calder as their Alpha because of it?" I asked nervously and pulled my legs up on the mattress.

"Then I hope he will serve them well," he said simply with a smile on his lips.

I peered at him thoughtfully. He was always so confident, like nothing ever bothered him. "Vidar, do you really love Tyr, or is he a means to an end for you?"

My maður furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "Do you really think I would hurt you both like that?" he asked, clearly offended by my question, and his reaction surprised me. As we looked at each other, the expression on his face softened and he continued, "I admit things happened quickly between him and me, but I let it because it felt right."

My forehead wrinkled as I peered up at him. "And?"

"And the spirits might have urged me in that direction, because we needed this union to be strong enough to deal with Bjarke." He walked up to the bed and squatted down in front of me, taking my hands in his, "but yes, I love him."

I released a sigh of relief. "That's all I needed to know. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"You have your reasons, Love, I understand."

I leaned forward to give his lips a quick peck. "I miss him."

His hand caressed my cheek. "I miss him too, but that's not important right now. Freke, I need to know if you feel better, or is the effect of his magic still lingering in your body?"

I shook my head. "I feel much better."

Vidar bit his lips then cursed, "Tyr needs to leave that village. It's not safe. Bjarke must have done something to it," he concluded. "I'll send word to him first thing in the morning."

I felt a burst of joy as I studied my tall and handsome Alpha, walking back and forth in our home, thoughts of worry filling his mind. He was worried for a human life, fearing losing the man I had loved most of mine. It was hard to believe we had come to this, and even harder to accept that this was reality and not one of my fantasies. "You really do love him," I whispered low and couldn't stop smiling.