Page 34 of Odin

"But she was never truly my wife. She never shared her body with me again after that one night, and she made no secret of the fact that she preferred it was I was away from home, whether raiding or trading, as long as I was bringing things home to make our village more prosperous. She was our chieftain, more than I was, but because she was my wife, and she was good at it, no one every stopped to question it, least of all me. I was grateful for the good care she took of our sons, and our village.

"So when the attack came, none of us expected it. Most of our best warriors, myself included, were away, and Frigg was left to fight Erik's men off alone. Or Erik's draugr, as I learned later. Too late, as fate would have it, but that part of my tale comes later. Erik's army slaughtered everyone. My family. Thor's family. Everyone who was left behind. Yet they did not behave like normal raiders, taking our stores and valuables, for even Frigg's body still bore her brooch, stained with her lifeblood.

"Some years before, the same had happened to Loki's village, and he'd come to us for help, making him the sole survivor of the attack. It had made no sense to me at the time, but now I know it was draugr, commanded to kill so that Erik could take our lands for his own, I begin to understand. Too late.

"Our remaining men vowed revenge, and I could not deny them. Frigg and my sons deserved vengeance as much as anyone. So we repaired the village as best we could, and mourned our dead, all the while, planning how we might attack Erik, and see that he paid for his crimes against us.

"With Loki's help, for he is an expert scout without peer, I began to build a picture of Erik's tactics. His draugr attacked from the sea, walking out of the water with little warning, so if we had any change of defeating him, we needed to do so in a place where he did not have draugr nearby. The only place where this was possible was a summer pasture camp in the Jotunheimen Mountains, where Erik had been born and raised. This village was called Utgard, and while he did not return there every year, a raid there would be a strike to his heart, so we waited until we knew he would be there, and we sneaked in through the mountain pass.

"When we came close, I sent Loki out scouting. He went, but he did not return. I knew this could mean one of two things. Either Erik's men had captured him, or they had not, but they were too close to our encampment for him to return without giving away our position. Either way, we had lost the element of surprise. Erik knew we were coming, and our only hope was to kill him and as many of his men as we could, before we joined our families in Valhalla. I knew when we left the pass, that I was leading my men to their death, but I also knew that if I gave them the choice, they would decide to die gloriously in battle, as they would have died defending their families. Thor, warrior at heart though he was, offered to lead the charge, in honour of his sister. How could I refuse?

"I saw my men cut down. Even Thor, who battled like a berserker, was overwhelmed. When there was nothing left but dead and dying men on the field, Erik had his men haul me to his village, where he put his torturer to work on me. But what is pain when you have lost everything, and all you want to do is die? When the man plucked out my eye, I begged him to take the other, too, so that I would no longer have to look upon my failure.

"It was Erik who stopped him. Erik, who showed mercy. He said not all of my men were dead, and if I was the leader he'd heard I was, he needed me to command his army, and if I agreed to serve him, he would allow my remaining men to live."

Odin let out a bitter laugh. "A braver man would have spat in Erik's face, and demanded death. But I had lived with Frigg, who spoke of self-sacrifice, as she had done for our sons. For my men who remained...I chose slavery, so that they might live. I did not believe Erik would hold to our bargain, for I knew the man who had murdered my children could have no honour to speak of, but if he broke his word, then I would not need to hold to mine. And if but one of my men lived – stubborn Thor, or wily Loki – then perhaps vengeance would still be served. Not at my hand, but no less deserved.

"And so I allowed his healer to dress my wounds, and as she was also his witch, I allowed her to cast her spell over me. Only when it was done did I discover that she intended to curse Thor and Loki, too, and Erik would force me to watch, taunting me that he would kill them anyway, and that there was nothing I could do, for the curse already bound me to him.

"I dare not tell Loki or Thor about the bargain I made, or ask for their forgiveness. We all deserved to die that day, and it was my cowardice that cursed us all. Worse, is that I do not regret it, for when I awoke, instead of commanding armies in Erik's name, my first task was to save you, before taking you to bed.

"The moment I saw your face, I knew I was in love, and when your body joined with mine...neither Valhalla nor Frigg's Heaven could compare to the joy I felt. It was the best night of my life, only surpassed by the other nights I have spent in your embrace since."

Odin took a deep breath. "I am a fool and a failure, as selfish as the man who drove you away from your home to here. If not for the curse, I would have been nothing more than a corpse in your cold storage chamber, something for your science to find answers from. Now, because of me, you may face justice for a crime you never committed. I cannot even begin to think how to compensate you for what I have done to you, and yet when I think of you, it is not guilt that overwhelms me, but love, and how grateful I am for the days I have spent with you. I am sorry, Freyja, for having wronged you."

Without waiting for a response, he rose and turned, as if to walk out of her room, as easily as he'd stepped into it.

Her mind whirling, Freyja didn't know what to think. "Wait," she said.

Actually, she didn't want to think at all. So she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him instead.

THIRTY-NINE

Odin could scarcely believe Freyja had touched him, let alone kissed him, but her lips were still soft against his, as undeniably real as everything else he'd told her. How could she touch him, knowing the truth about him?

"I'm a monster," he tried to remind her, summoning the horns and wings so that she would see him again and remember. "A selfish monster responsible for getting everyone around him killed. I've ruined your life just by being near you. I will..."

"Shut up and kiss me. Better yet, fuck me. I've spent the last week trying to resist you because you're my employee, and then I thought you were dead, and now you've just told me the most tragic, fucked up story I can barely even imagine, where a hug and a bit of sympathy are just not going to cut it, and THEN you tell me our first night together was the best night of your life? And the ones after that, too? Because they were mine, too, and I've just spent the last hour trying to come to terms with the fact that not only am I in love with an undead monster, but every time I see you, I want to rip your clothes off and have you. Repeatedly. Even as you're telling me every chapter of your tragic tale, half my mind is fantasising about how much I want you to fuck me, like your fool of a wife never did." She stripped off her clothes, leaving them in a puddle on the floor, and wrapped her legs around his hips. "We're both failures, and everything falls apart around us. But right now, it's just the two of us here, and no one else matters. I want to feel your monster cock deep inside me, Odin. What do you want?"

The desire in her gaze burned him to his very bones. He couldn't refuse her, even if he wanted to.

So he slowly peeled off Olaf's clothing, until he stood as naked as his beloved. Beautiful, soft Freyja, the woman he didn't deserve. "I want to hear you scream. I want to hear you scream my name, as you take my cock."

He lifted her up, pinning her to the wall, before he impaled her.

"Oh, Odin. More, please!" she begged. Her legs tightened around his hips, urging him deeper.

Gods, she felt good. So tight around him, clenching down hard like she never wanted to let go. Then she grabbed his horns in her hands, and guided his mouth to her breast.

Sweetness and softness and...yes, she was screaming, screaming his name in absolute ecstasy, but he couldn't stop.

FORTY

By the time they were done, Freyja could barely walk, so Odin carried her to bed, and tucked her beneath the blankets.

"More, please, Odin. Make love to me some more," she mumbled, wrapping her hand around his cock.

Odin laughed softly and leaned forward to kiss her. "Later, beloved. When you have rested. It is late, and humans need sleep. When you wake, I will be ready for you. I will always be ready for you. I am your monster."

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