Page 25 of Heart of the Wolf
“Nothing more than usual,” he murmured. “One of the outlying clans hasn’t responded to a formal summons. I must remind them of their place. I will be home before it gets dark.”
Once, before she properly knew him, she had assumed he had died. And while the pain had been manageable, it had never really left her. For years, she couldn’t understand why she grieved for someone she never knew. Now she knew him, but only just.
A knot coiled in the pit of her stomach, snaking its way around her heart and squeezing. She tried to inhale, but it did nothing to help her catch her breath. Instead, it came out in short, stuttered pants. One hand slid up the column of her spine until he palmed the back of her head, urging her more firmly into his body.
Finally, her chest fully expanded, the pain of earlier dissipating.
“Steady. I promise I’ll return before you have time to miss me. There is nothing to fret, hjartað mitt. If this is allI have to deal with as Konungr, I will have a boring life. I will send Astrid to keep you company.”
Nodding along, she stared at nothing while Leif brought her back to his home. She couldn’t shake the memories of his face visiting her dreams. She whispered prayers to his gods to keep him safe. Odin. Freyja. Whoever would listen. Not wanting to see his ghost instead of him the next time she opened her eyes.
She didn’t think she could bear it a second time. They had only just found each other.
Chapter seven
Leif
Little pieces of his chest splintered like worn wood when Brielle looked at him like that. He hated leaving her. But duty demanded it. Now that he had her, being away from her left a hollow chill in the spot where his heart was.
When he left her with Astrid, he made it only a few steps before Amund had to stop him from returning to her. He despised being the one to cause her pain, even if it was unavoidable. As Konungr, he had a duty to protect his people and maintain the tentative harmony among the clans.
Power was claimed through blood.
And peace was maintained much the same way.
As much as it hurt him to see that pinched look on her face, his firebird was strong. Soon, she would trust that he would always return to her. Now that he had found her, he was never letting her go. Nothing could stop him from finding his way back to her.
Nearly a decade ago, he had served as his father’s jarl. An honor he wore proudly. One of his duties was to collect the yearly cache of supplies from the Christian village at the heart of the forest. It was a mundane task, but a necessary one.
One, a younger Leif despised.
During his last visit, his eyes met the doe-eyed gaze of a girl a few years younger than him. His heart froze in his chest, turning the air in his lungs to ice.
From that moment on, he knew there was something special about her. About them. Something inside urged him to steal her away from that dreadful place.
She didn’t belong there.
She belonged with him.
Yet, he resisted, lamenting the decision when he became Konungr and no longer looked upon her face once a year.
Still, at night, when he was alone, he saw visions of her. Visions of the woman she had grown into. Visions of a beautiful, wild girl laughing as she lured him into the woods, only to vanish when he found her.
Deep down, he believed the gods would reunite them if fate willed it. A delicate tendril of hope warmed him in the lonely years that followed.
Despite being surrounded by those he trusted, he never felt more alone. His father had warned him of the burdens he would face as Konungr.
And after Odin blessed him, the distance between him and others only grew.
An ache persisted in his chest, his heart yearning for the one it beat for.
For his pretty, wild girl.
Then, that day in the forest, Leif had been hunting when he heard it. The high-pitched scream of a woman. He prowled through the trees, watching as two men cornered the girl. Based on their torn leathers and rusted weapons, they were outcasts.
Dishonored among clan and kin.
A basket of herbs lay discarded by her feet. That was when he recognized her, almost dropping to his knees with relief. Those unforgettable almond eyes flecked with gold. Those freckles dusting her tanned cheeks like twinkling constellations.
