Page 33 of Savage King

“You felt the pressure to take that on.” It was a statement, one that sounded just as tight as his mention of fathers. She knew there was a story there, one she really shouldn’t care about, but she couldn’t deny that she was interested. Despite wanting to push the man away, to keep her distance, to remain safe and untouched by him or his presence, she couldn’t deny that everything about him appealed to her.

Except all the biker women.Yeah…there was that.

“Not pressure really…more like purpose. No, I wasn’t his son, but I was still in his blood. I could still be the next Odinsdottir to serve Denmark, but I was determined to do it my way. I wasn’t content to just enlist and provide auxiliary support like most of the females who enlist do. I wanted to do more, be more.”

“Fuck yeah, and you did, baby. Jaegerkorpset is no joke.”

She offered a coy smile, both elated and slightly embarrassed by his praise. She knew who and what she was, that she was one of the most elite of the elite, but she was still a woman, lying beside a man, wanting him towanther.

“So, you enlist at seventeen, but when did earn your hunting bugle?”

The curled hunting bugle was the symbol of the Hunter Corp—the Jaegerkorpset.

“I was twenty-two when I entered training and twenty-three when I was handed my beret.”

“That’s awesome shit, baby. It takes one tough motherfucker to even pass half of the physical exams I know you have to take to even be considered. I know men I’ve trained with, fought with, nearly died with who wouldn’t have made the cut. That is fucking impressive, Goddess. I bet your dad was proud.”

A ghost of a smile softened her face. “He was. He died when I was twenty-four.”

“When did Aaron the Asshole come around?” he asked, making Skathi tense. She knew it was coming; Odin wouldn’t let something like that go, especially not after that scene at the gym.

Odin brushed a soft kiss on her forehead, pulling her deeper into his embrace and holding her there. Holding her down when she felt like running. Holding her up when she felt like falling. Holding her together when she felt everything was crumbling to pieces.

“Talk to me, Goddess. Talk to me. I need to take this on for you…” he murmured, sliding his nose down her neck to press a kiss into flesh. Gentle…soft…two words she never would have associated with the giant warrior. Odin was big all over and yet he moved with an elegance, touched with a decided delicateness that made him all the more perplexing. Intriguing.

Heaving a sigh, Skathi turned over to face him and snuggled into his chest, laying her cheek against his hard, massive pecs, his chest hair tickling her face, his heartbeat strong and steady. Reassuring.

“I met Aaron Mason when his SEAL Team was assigned to our six-man unit for wilderness survival training in Mongolia. Their team was dropped with ours, and our objective was to undergo survival tactics training for two weeks with only what we could carry in our combat loadout. Our exfil was one hundred miles east near the Russian border with China, and as you would expect, we were treading in choppy waters, hoping not to get attacked by sharks on either side.

Aaron was handsome, charming, and, unlike my Jaeger brothers and all the other men I’d trained with, he didn’t seem to care that I was big and more masculine than even some of his SEAL brothers. He told me he appreciated a woman who could handle herself, and that my size was a bonus because he wouldn’t ever have to treat me like a doll. During that two weeks, he charmed me, made me feel beautiful—even when the snow started falling and the food got scarce, I didn’t care because I knew what the hell I was doing…with the training, that is. With him, with Aaron, I was a babe in the dark, dangerous woods, and he could smell my weakness. Once we’d been evacced and taken back to Frederikshavn Naval Base, Aaron pursued me hard. Three months later, we were married. He was my first…everything, since there wasn’t much time for dating and sex once I’d enlisted at seventeen.”

“So, he took advantage of you,” Odin stated. “But why? Guys like that are always looking’ for an angle, something they can take for themselves without caring about who it hurts. So what did he take from you, Goddess? What did Aaron want so badly be was willing to tear out your heart for it?”

Sighing and hating the prickling of hot tears behind her eyes, she admitted, “He wanted the secret to Jaegerkorpset hand-to-hand training.”

“He didn’t have to marry you for that! There’re plenty of former military who could have trained him. Hell, I’m wondering why he didn’t know that shit from his own training.”

“The Hunter Corp training is more intense, more on par with the Israeli Sayeret than what the US military uses, and Aaron wanted a big advantage to use for his MMA aspirations.”

“The asshole manipulated you, married you, and then used your training…just so he could win some fucking MMA fights? That’s some motherfucking bullshit, Skathi. There has to be more to it than that.”

She nodded, her heart wrenching in her chest even as a sour, bitter acid boiled over in her gut.

“There was more to it than that,” she a replied, sitting up to face Odin straight on. She was done hiding her humiliation. Odin wanted all the bad? Well, she’d give it to him. “Aaron wanted the prestige of being able to tell people he’d been trained by a Jaeger. Even in MMA circles, Jaegers are elite of the elite, and Aaron wanted to be able to slap the name on everything, hype himself to sponsors, fight organizers, opponents—you name it, he wanted to flash the fact that he was trained by a Jaeger to whomever would give him his fifteen minutes of fame.”

“But Jaegers are anonymous for the most part.”

“Yes, that’s why we cover our faces while we’re active duty. Our identities are a closely guarded secret to the outside world. Few of us even have social media accounts. Our families know, but they are sworn to secrecy as well. Aaron knew because he trained with us, but once the training was done, he couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Until you were discharged…as his wife.”

“Once discharged, we’re free to share limited information, though we’re still pretty tight-lipped about it. Part of being a Jaeger is knowing most people will never know, and being proud of that. Hells, the only reason you know is because you recognized the symbol tattooed on my arm. Not many would. Once Aaron and I got married, he wanted to move to Vegas and start training for MMA fights. I loved him, so I wanted to be the supportive wife, offering my training services to him. I trained him, he won small bouts here and there, and started making a name for himself. But that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted the Jaeger.”

His gaze caught and held hers, understanding filling his ice blue eyes with warmth.

“But you didn’t want to give it to him.”

“No. Our motto is ‘better to see than to be seen’—and that means something to us, even if we no longer serve Denmark. I refused to sign any paperwork that permitted use of my military career as a promotional tool. Aaron didn’t like that, started ranting about how he was my husband and I should be loyal to him, that I should be willing to ‘get off my high horse’ and be of use to him—like a good wife. I refused. I didn’t take long after that for our marriage to fall apart.”

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