Broods Of Fenrir - By Coral Moore Page 0,50

the situation only seemed to worsen. “What will happen?”

Erik folded his arms across his chest. “I don"t suspect Brand will answer the summons, so Björn will make his case, and Ingrid will have no choice but to cede to him. Björn and a half-dozen of his sons will hunt Brand down when he doesn"t show.” “Can he handle that many?”

Erik shrugged. “He might be able to on his best day, but I don"t imagine tomorrow will be one of those.” The fear tightened her throat. She had to swallow so 139

she could speak. “Why would he do this?” Erik fixed her with his intense blue eyes. “I imagine because he"s tired of fighting the wolf. He"s been on the hard side of that battle for a while now. This just accelerated the process.”

She"d thought the heartbreak she felt from Brand would shatter her. Her vision blurred. “Why won"t he let me help him?” Gunni wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her against his side. He leaned to kiss the top of her head. “If he longs for the end, you can"t help him.” Erik spoke in a gentle voice, trying to comfort her.

“He"s protecting you. If you were linked with him, the pain would be unbearable. There"s nothing to be done.” The anger she"d previously felt at being coddled returned in full force. She wouldn"t let Brand go; she simply couldn"t. “If you think to protect me by trying to stop me from going after him, I"m going to bite you.” Erik"s warm expression turned brittle, his gaze becoming icy in a heartbeat.

Gunni"s hand tightened on her waist, and he pulled her behind him. “She didn"t mean that.”

She shrugged out from under Gunni"s arm and turned to face him. “I did! And how dare you apologize for me?” Gunni opened his mouth to respond, but Erik held up a hand to quiet him. Erik"s eyes glittered ice-white. “I"ve given you a lot of leash in the past, Alice, but don"t assume my leniency is limitless.”

A menacing growl rumbled from Gunni as he came between them, blocking her once again with his body.

Erik swiveled his stare to Gunni. “Back. Off. Now.” Gunni lowered his eyes, but didn"t move from his protective stance. “I mean no disrespect, but I won"t let you touch her.” His voice was low and dangerous.

Erik glared. “I wouldn"t hurt her. You, I will pummel.” Gunni stepped forward, but Alice stopped him with a 140

hand on his arm. “There won"t be any pummeling.” She pulled Gunni back before turning to face Erik. “Brand is your friend. I know you don"t want anything to happen to him.” Erik tilted his head to look at her. “Of course not. What do you suggest?”

She swallowed and tried to fill her voice with a confidence she didn"t quite feel. “I want to go talk to Dagny.” Erik frowned. “She made her stance quite clear. If you"re counting on her to talk him back, I don"t believe she"ll be inclined to help.”

“She didn"t want to leave him. I felt how much it hurt her.” His eyebrows drew down. “Then, why did she?”

“That"s what I intend to find out.”

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Chapter 16

Dagny stared out the filthy windows of her mother"s cabin. The three days since she"d left Brand had passed slowly.

Her head still hurt, but most of the pain associated with the abrupt removal from his brood was gone.

Ingrid"s annoyed voice interrupted her thoughts. “This was all part of the plan.”

She didn"t bother to look up when she responded. “I know, Mother.”

“Then, why are you still sulking?”

“I"m not sulking.”

Ingrid snorted. “This is the best way to get what we want, dear.”

“So you"ve said. Repeatedly.”

“Well, I want to be certain you remember, since you fucked up the plan so badly.”

Gods, not this again. “I had to let him bring me into his brood. It was the only way to gain his trust.” That was only partially true. She could have gained his trust other ways, but she"d wanted to believe him. Gods, she was so stupid. Males couldn"t be trusted; that was one thing her 143

crazy mother was right about. In the end, he"d let her go back to Ansvarr, despite saying he"d protect her.

At once, she realized that wasn"t fair. She"d made him do it by throwing his promises back in his face and telling him if he didn"t let her go, he was just like all the others. She"d been repeating the scene over in her head since she"d left him. Each time she