“I love you, Gunnar.”
I turn to press a kiss to his lips. “And I you.”
Bjorn squawks between us, making us laugh.
“Yes, little one, we love you very much, too!” Leif says, kissing our son’s head.
I cannot wait to see the kind of man our son grows up to be. Surely he will be as strong and just as my Leif, and I will ensure he grows into a worthy hunter.
I have truly been blessed by the gods themselves.
“Gunnar, Gunnar, wake up!”
Leif’s panicked voice wakes me sometime in the night. “What? The baby?” I’ve already got a foot out of bed, ready to rush to Bjorn’s crib.
Leif grabs my shoulders. “Wait. Listen!”
I stand still, listening. Beyond the walls of our cabin, owls call out, and the wind whistles around the edges of our home. Then the howling of wolves shatters the stillness of the night.
The pack bonds in my chest flood with panic, confusion, and pain, making me double over with a gasp.
“Help. Help us, please!”Lyall’s terrified voice fills my mind.
“They’re in the village!”Helga cries.
“Has anyone seen Anders?”Wulfric asks.
“To arms, all of you! Hunters!”Father roars.
“Hunters?” Leif gasps, his face going milk-white. “But how could they have found our village?”
I know without a second thought. Missionaries had come to our shores, offering chests of gold if we forsook Fenrir and worshipped their Christian God. Father had refused, and they’d gone away without any trouble. But one of them, their leader Thorald, had made my skin crawl. For a peaceful man of the cloth, it had seemed unusual for him to bear such a hideous scar on his face.
It’s him, it has to be. They were no men of God at all, but hunters.
Why would they attack us? We’ve always kept to ourselves, never troubling the human settlements nearby.
I’ve got to find my family and make sure they’re safe. Lurching out of bed, I grab my axe and shield.
“Gunnar, please!” Leif grabs my arm, his hand shaking. “Bjorn needs you!”
My throat tightens. “Should anything happen to me, my family will help care for him.”
Leif chokes out a sob. “I wish I could go with you.”
Turning, I grip his shoulders. “Stay. Protect our son. I will come back for you.” I pull him in, claiming his trembling lips, then press a quick kiss to Bjorn’s forehead. I throw on my chain mail and a helmet. Fighting while shifted is too risky. It will be safer to block their silver arrows with my shield.
I throw open the door just as a whistling sound cuts through the air and an arrow slams into the doorframe. I duck backinside. The stink of silver makes my nose burn. Shouts fill the woods around our home, boots crash through the undergrowth, and dark shapes materialize through the trees. Gods, how many are there?
I slam the door and bolt it. “Barricade the door. Stay away from the windows!”
These bastards would turn our sanctuary into a prison! Should they dare enter, I will rip the flesh from their bones.
Before I can reach for a chair, something smashes into the door. Bjorn cries in terror, and I push Leif behind me as I hold my shield up. Leif hides Bjorn beneath the bed and grabs his sword. There’s no way out. Our only choice is to fight or die.
“I’m with you,” Leif says and takes my hand. His eyes are bright with fear, but he holds on tight. “For better or for worse, just like we promised.”
I lean down and claim his lips, savoring his sweet taste and the warmth of his body. “Leif, I—”
