Kira laughed. Her friend could do that, make her smile despite her troubles. At the front of the cabin again, she halted as the fine hairs on her nape rose. A sense of unease trickled through her…as if a malevolent presence stalked them.
Hurriedly, she tugged Echo into the shadows behind the steps leading up to the cabin. Snarls suddenly ripped the quiet. Out of thin air, two figures hurtled into the snow like meteorites crashing, gouging the earth for several feet. At the pale hair gleaming in the moonlight, fear strangled Kira’s vocals. Týr!
He and a dark-haired man fought almost too fast for the eyes to track. Fists flew, and grunts and roars ricocheted around them.
* * *
“Stay the fuck away from her!” Týr snarled, anger scalding him. The bastard would threaten his mate? He slammed an uppercut into Narfi’s jaw, sending him sprawling into the snow.
“I don’t care about your whore. It’s you I want bleeding.” Narfi bounded up and circled Týr, a blade glinting in his hand. “Too bad for you, you couldn’t die then. This time, I made certain I have all the bases covered. When Hel’s your kin, opening a portal even to difficult realms, is easy. Except, the bitch demanded blood payment. But killingyouwill be worth the pain of being sliced and drained.”
Týr spat the coppery taste filling his mouth, his focus fixed on Narfi. He no longer recognized his childhood friend, not with the madness shining in Narfi’s blue eyes and the hate twisting his haggard features.
“Hel’s so warped in the head, I doubt she knew I was even after you. If she did, she would have undoubtedly stopped me from coming after her preciousson!” Narfi sneered the word, swiping at the blood dripping from his nose. “Especially since she made sure yourbest friendgot sentenced to Reapers Hell—another of her little playgrounds—for what he did to you. But, while ripping you open and watching you die was fun, you resurrected every damn time…”
Týr countered Narfi’s moves, only wanting him gone from this realm. Then the bastard’s words struck him with the force of a sword to the heart. “You…?” he rasped. “It was you.”
“Yes, it was me in Tartarus,” Narfi jeered. The ominously recognizable sound had bile rushing up Týr’s throat. “I am a little disappointed you failed to see through my disguise back then—oh, wait, you were stripped of all your abilities.”
“Why come after me now when you had millennia to do so?” Týr croaked.
“Believe me, I would have done so the very first day you set foot on this realm! But that bitch,myaunt, found out what I did to you in Tartarus. She had me trapped in Niflheim with the damn dead until I escaped to Lyngve. No matter, this time, you will not arise again—”
“No!”
The furious, feminine yell broke through Narfi’s hold on him. Týr wheeled around, his heart thundering in his ears. What the hell was she doing here? “Kira, get outta here!” he roared.
“I’m not going to let you hurt him again, you son of a bitch!” she snarled at Narfi.
“How quaint, your whore protecting you.” Narfi flashed, grabbing Kira by her throat, dragging her in front of him like a fucking shield. She tugged at his arm, but he seemed to have it glued around her. “Don’t move!” he spat at Echo. “And don’t call those Guardians, or she dies.” Narfi’s smirking grin flashed back to Týr. “Is she truly yours, old friend?”
Týr clenched his fists, wanting to tear him apart, limb by limb. If he told the truth, the bastard would kill her, especially with his twisted sense of justice. “This is between us—”
“And her.” Narfi pressed his blade to her trachea as if to drive home his point. A crimson droplet seeped down Kira’s neck.
The helpless rage churning through Tyr stuttered at the glimmer of red forming in Kira’s fingertips. He had no idea what she did, but the next second, Narfi flew back in a powerful blast of iridescent red streams.
Týr dove for him. “I’m gonna make you pay for that!”
“You didn’t before, you can’t now.” Narfi shoved him off with a psychic thrust. Týr stumbled back as Narfi blurred to the opposite side of the clearing, a sizzling blue bolt forming in his palm. “Fen, now!”
A thunderous growl reverberated across the forest. The trees shuddered and snow fell from the branches. A shape larger than a bus hurtled toward them…a huge motherfucking wolf!
“Kira, get the hell out!Dematerialize!” Týr roared and flashed, but the power-bolt slammed into his side and sent him crashing to the ground as Fenrir leaped through the air…
* * *
Kira tripped back in horror at the huge, monstrous wolf coming at her, landing on her hands and bottom on the mushy surface. Only the wolf skidded to a halt at the last second, sending snow spraying everywhere, even into her face. Her heart in her throat, Kira swiped away the ice bits and stared into eyes glowing like amber orbs. The beast’s maw opened, revealing fangs longer than a sabretooth tiger’s. The wolf prowled closer.
“Fen, don’t!” Týr bellowed from behind her, the sounds of grunts and snarls escalating.
Kira swallowed hard. “Fen…” She reached out a hand, praying the wolf wouldn’t rip it off. “You were Týr’s best friend once. He loved you, he still does—”
Hot breath blasted across her face. Oh, God!
“Fenrir, destroy the bitch!” Narfi screeched. “What the hell are you waiting for, you dumb idiot?”
A growl, louder than crashing thunder, deafened her. Kira slapped her palms over her ears, eyes shut, unable to watch the wolf tear off her head. More snow sprayed, bits stinging her face.
