Broods Of Fenrir - By Coral Moore Page 0,53

her heart to him, told him everything, and he rejected her, she"d be crushed. And wouldn"t she deserve exactly that because it was what she"d done to him?

Gods, but she was a fool. She"d trusted a plan spawned from her mother"s deranged mind rather than what she"d felt.

She climbed a small rise and examined the surrounding terrain. The trees were close together, but the sparse underbrush made traversing the woods easier. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with icy air. Her heart rate climbed when she caught his scent. She set off down the hill in the direction her nose dictated.

Twenty minutes later, she found him sitting with his back against a tree, arms draped over his upraised knees. The snow had drifted around him in piles that covered his feet.

He lifted his head, tension obvious in the lines of his face. His blue eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the night.

“I"m surprised you"re back. I would have thought you"d be in Vancouver by now.”

Her throat suddenly dry, Dagny swallowed. “Alice came to talk to me. She"s worried about you.” He curled the fingers of one hand and then the other, moving them stiffly. “She"s always worried. There"s nothing she needs to concern herself about.”

“I"m worried, too, Brand.”

His chuckle was humorless. “Are you? I wonder why. If you cared anything about me why would you force me to let you go back to him?”

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She couldn"t think of a response, so she didn"t say anything. She moved closer, clearing a patch of snow away with her feet before she knelt nearby.

Brand shook his head. “Can"t you just leave me alone?

It"s not enough that you left me so that you could go back to my fucking brother, you have to come here to torture me?” His voice cracked as his volume rose toward the end. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

Seeing him so forlorn, so beaten, hurt. She wanted to crawl away and cry. “I came here to tell you the truth—” He interrupted her with a snide chuckle. “No thanks.

You already told me you want nothing to do with me. That"s all the truth I can handle from you.”

“I was never going to go back to Ansvarr.” He turned his face toward her, the back of his head still against the tree.

When he didn"t speak, she continued, “I was going to wait at Mother"s until I was sure that I carried your offspring.

Then, she was going to take some of my blood and convince you that Ansvarr had killed me.”

His jaw tightened. “What the fuck are you talking about?” “The plan my mother devised to make you kill Ansvarr and force you to take over as king.”

“You"re serious.” He grimaced and passed a hand over his face. “That makes me feel much better. Thanks for sharing.” He started to rise, but he"d obviously been seated there for a long time. He stumbled and had to hold on to the tree to remain standing.

She rose, taking his arm to hold him up.

He glared down at her. “I really don"t need more of your fucking help.” He yanked his arm out of her grip.

“Brand, please.” She reached to grab his hand. When she touched his icy fingers, he reeled so badly she was sure he would fall over, but somehow he maintained his feet.

He tugged his hand away and braced his head against 150

the tree. “Loki wept. How the fuck do you scramble my circuits like that?”

“I don"t know what you mean.” She wanted to reach out and hold him, but didn"t think she should.

He closed his eyes. “When you touch me, even now that I know it"s all an act, I feel warmth. So much that I want to bask in it.”

She inhaled before she answered. “That"s what I came here to tell you. My mother"s plan set this all into motion, but I do care about you.”

He turned his face toward her. A frown twisted his mouth. “If that"s true, why did you leave?”

“I"ve spent my entire life being lied to and manipulated.

I didn"t trust you.” She took his hand again and held it.

He didn"t take his hand back, but he didn"t tighten his grip either. “You betrayed me. Not only that, but you just about destroyed me. The idea that you were going back to him to be abused again almost killed me.” She squeezed his fingers. “I know. I owe you a debt so huge I"ll never be able to repay it.” He