His wolf lips pulled into a toothy grin. “Yes, I will take her, attitude and all.”
I brandished my axe and shield. He would not win this if he wanted to wager my Astrid. Fenrir bared his teeth and his hackles rose.
“They’re not seriously wagering me,” Astrid said, clearly offended by this.
“Don’t worry about it,” Freyja said. “Týr won’t lose if you’re the wager. Though, even if he did, you’d be in good hands with Fen. He wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t want.”
Astrid gave an indignant snort.
“Why don’t we discuss what magic you know,” Freyja said. “Then we’ll see what I can teach you.”
I tuned the two women out to focus on Fenrir. The wolf licked his chops and paced back and forth, growling hungrily for blood. I followed his movements, patient and waiting. Fenrir always struck first; it was only a matter of time.
A shift of my weight triggered him to lunge. I slammed my shield into his muzzle and swung my axe, landing a blow. Fenrir ripped the shield from my grip and tossed it aside, then came at me again. I ducked and threw my shoulder into him, but he was ready for that. His teeth clamped down on my shoulder and I gritted my teeth, refusing to cry out in pain. I sliced my blade into his shoulder again and he yipped, releasing me in the process.
Fenrir snapped his teeth. I jumped back, but not fast enough to prevent him from ripping my axe from my grip and casting it aside. Now I was without my shield and weapon.
A low chuckle came from Fenrir, and he lunged before I could summon my sword laying in wait to be used. But mid-movement, he shifted back into a man and threw a punch. I blocked it, the impact jarring and sending painful shockwaves through me. I swung a punch of my own and he also blocked.
We were only moments into this when Baldr barreled into Fenrir. He wasn’t on my side, though. With Fenrir on the ground, he pivoted and came at me with wild, unpredictable attacks. I threw in a punch when I could, though I knew it’d do very little, given Baldr couldn’t feel pain. He was a difficult opponent to fight. But that added to the thrill.
Back and forth, the three of us exchanged blow after blow. None of us was willing to dodge or evade, only feel the rage of battle humming in our veins the longer we duked it out. This was what we lived for. This was part of what made each of us a god of war.
I sucked in a tight breath and froze when a blade suddenly appeared at my throat. Fenrir and Baldr also found themselves in similar positions. The three of us stared at each other, breaths coming hard, and I realized what kind of mess we’d made of each other.
My body ached, and blood smeared my skin and stained my clothes. Cuts and gashes knitted back together with our quickened god healing. These blades made sense. Freyja wouldn’t be stupid enough to jump between us. As a goddess of war, she’d likely be dragged into our fight. So, she separated us this way.
However, there was something different about these blades. They weren’t Freyja’s typical ones. And when I tasted the magic around us, I realized it wasn’t her doing at all. Astrid.
My gaze flicked to the two women. They both stood now, and Astrid held a hand out. But her gaze… Creation, that look. I’d never seen such a deadly expression on her face, and hel did it make me want to throw her under me.
The weapons flickered and then vanished. Astrid released a tense breath, indicating how difficult that had been for her. Freyja murmured praises.
“Does she give you that look all the time?” Baldr asked, his voice strained. “Because, hel, I don’t think I could resist her if she did.”
I suppressed a groan. “No. This is new.”
Astrid’s expression changed to one of confusion, and Freyja laughed.
“The sexual tension here is a little out of place, don’t you think?” she said, winking.
Astrid made a face. “Really? Weapons at the throat arouse you?”
“There were a lot of factors here that already got our blood hot before you and that dangerously alluring look of yours stoked the flames,” Fenrir said.
Her confusion returned. “What look?” She then shook her head. “Never mind. All three of you, come here so I can heal you.”
“We’re gods, we don’t need healing,” Fenrir said.
“Trust me, Fen, you’ll want this,” I said, not hesitating to jog over to Astrid, even with my body protesting.
She sat on the ground, and one of Freyja’s cats hopped into her lap to curl up. They seemed to like her. I’ll get her a cat of her own. They made good gifts, right?
Astrid glanced up from the cat when both felines hissed at Fenrir’s approach. They didn’t like wolves or hounds of any kind. “And, Fluffy, put on some trousers. I don’t want your small berries in my face.”
Baldr and I threw our heads back in laughter. Fenrir scoffed, “Small? You clearly haven’t gotten a good look.”
Freyja grinned and created an illusion of a bush of mistletoe with some of the smallest berries I’d ever seen in front of his cock. Fenrir glowered at her. I laughed harder. Even Astrid joined in. He stalked off to a pile of clothes, throwing on trousers, and only those. That seemed to be enough for Astrid, as she didn’t say anything more about his appearance.
