Far enough that no one hears me when I wake in the night snarling, claws gouging into the bedding. No one’s there to witness when I wake at night in the middle of the woods, fully shifted and with no memory of how I got there.
Day by day, the berserker grows angrier and more restless.
I know what he wants, what he needs.
Our mate.
I see him in my dreams.
Arlo.
In my dreams, I don’t let him fall from my arms. Sometimes I scoop him up and carry him to this very cabin. He gives himself to me, crying out with pleasure as I take him again and again. I wake from those dreams gasping, my undergarments soaked with my sweat, fangs sharp in my mouth and itching to bite, to claim.
I dream we’re roaming the woods together, his hand in mine. He’s smiling at me in a way I never thought I could be smiled at again. Like I’m cherished. Loved. I want to stay in that moment with him forever. But I wake alone, eyes wet and a lump in my throat. He will never look at me with such tenderness.
I will lose my mind in this cabin, alone. It’s a fate I thought I’d accepted until Arlo fell into my arms.
The seashell is smooth in my palm, smelling faintly of the sea. I set it up on my shelf, adding to the growing collection of shells. Slowly but surely the scent of the ocean fills my cabin, stronger each day with every trinket I pull from the sea. Being out on the water, surrounded by the salty smell of the sea, helps calm my berserker.
Having that scent,his scent,all around me soothes me like nothing else has.
If I close my eyes, I can imagine he’s here in my home. Mayhap cooking at the pot over the fire, or curled up in my bed, or outside feeding the goats and chickens.
I take the shell from the shelf and hold it to my nose, breathing in deep.
Gods, what’s become of me?
The bond that connects me to Wulfric lights up in my chest.“Come to the longhouse as soon as possible.”
My heart sinks like a stone flung out into the sea.
Wulfric and Kieran were at the longhouse the last I saw. Helga was with them. Anders and Jamie are in Jamie’s timeline, mingling with humans, of all things.
Lyall. Could something have happened to him? He’s been visiting Anders and Jamie more often. He’s always had a soft spot for humans, fool that he is. He went and fell for Soren, a human. Then again, we all trusted Soren. But it would be just like Lyall to go about befriending humans. What if he’s gotten himself in danger?
My berserker snarls in my soul, making my fangs and nails sharpen.
“Is everything all right?”I ask.
Surely I would have felt if any of my family were injured?
“Aye, but we need to talk,”Wulfric responds.
It’s unsettling, but better than anyone being hurt.
I throw on my furs and shift, barreling through the door and out into the cold. My farm animals don’t spare me a glance. They know I’d never harm them in this form. Once I’m in town, I shift back so none of my pack lectures me for being in my wolf form.
Inside the longhouse, Wulfric and Kieran sit at the table.
Aunt Helga sits by the fire, weaving a basket. “Good evening, lad.”
“Auntie.” I stop by the fire to give her a kiss on the cheek, then face my younger brother and Kieran. “Now, what’s all this about?”
Wulfric sighs through his nose. Kieran gives his shoulder an encouraging rub. “Lyall has been sneaking about.”
“Because you let him,” I say, sharper than I mean to. “We all know he’s soft for humans.”
Wulfric’s stare hardens. “He has approval to travel between timelines. It is not my place to stop him.”
