Broods Of Fenrir - By Coral Moore Page 0,73

amused. “What exactly was all that about?

You don"t want to be king.”

“Two of the strongest and most aggressive earls are dead. That might be enough to keep the rest in line. I have to try after what happened to Alice. I owe her that much.” Gunni rested his muzzle on Brand"s knee and let out a satisfied sigh.

“And you, my young scamp. How long are you planning to stay in wolf form?” Staying in wolf form eased the constant heartache of Gunni"s loss but, in the long run, evading his feelings wasn"t the best course. That road led to the madness of the wolf overtaking him. Gunni tilted his muzzle and flattened his ears. Brand scratched the wolf"s head and let the subject drop. He looked up at Dagny. “We need to head to Vancouver before too long.”

The fear showed on her face for a brief instant before she mastered it.

He stretched his neck, letting his head fall onto the back of the chair. “The brood"s mine now, Dagny. I can feel them all. They"re in chaos. I"ve got to go fix it. I can go alone, but I don"t know how long I"ll be.”

“I"m not afraid of them anymore.” The lie hung in the air like the smell of something spoiled.

He lifted his head back up to regard her. “You are, but you shouldn"t be. They"ll grovel at your feet now.” She"d been wavering between fear and irritation, but her eyes soon narrowed with anger. “Now, they will grovel for fear of you where they spat for fear of Ansvarr. How is that better?”

“I thought that"s what you wanted, for me to force them to treat you with respect.”

“I want them to realize this isn"t prehistoric Scandinavia and that violence might not be the only answer.” 202

“We are what we are, Dagny. Would you remove everything that makes us unique?”

“Is every female living in fear necessary for what we are? Maybe we should have let the humans overrun us, if that"s the case.”

“I intend to try, but there may be no way to fix our culture and maintain who we are.” He paused, taking a breath deep enough to ignite the ache in his ribs. “I want you to be prepared.”

She walked to the window and looked out, her hands braced against the sill. “Do you want me to tell you I want you to run away with me and to Helheim with them all?” He stared at her profile, wishing she would say just that, but knowing she wouldn"t. “Only if it would be true.” Gunni"s ears flickered back and forth several times where he sat at Brand"s knee. Seconds later, Brand heard the crunch of tires on gravel.

Dagny"s face drew tight. Her frown deepened before she turned back to Brand. “It"s Erik.”

“I suppose I have to talk to him sooner or later.” He sighed, wincing at the pain his inhalation caused. “Was he hurt at all?” She swiveled her gaze back outside the window. “Very little. I forced one of the ones fighting him to transform. He took care of the other one himself.” She paused, folding her arms across her chest. “When he was helping me to move you, he kept going on about how, if he"d known Alice was in trouble, he could have saved her.”

Wondering if Erik was right, Brand looked down at the floor. Gods knew, Brand had been little enough help in the fight, and Alice had died saving him. If he"d left well enough alone, would she still be alive?

Gunni put his chin on Brand"s knee and stared up into his face with sad blue eyes. He absently scratched the wolf behind the left ear.

Erik entered and dropped to one knee in front of 203

Brand, fist pressed to the ground scant inches in front of Brand"s foot. “My king.”

Brand grunted and lifted his eyes to examine his friend.

Erik"s head was bent and his eyes downcast, the very picture of a dutiful subject; only something simmered under the poise. “I see you"ve been spending too much time with Ingrid while I was out.”

Erik"s eyes didn"t even flicker upward. “You claimed your throne when you accepted the challenge, my king. I haven"t spoken to Ingrid since I helped carry you here from her cabin.”

He gritted his teeth against the anger. “If you call me

„my king" one more time, I"m going to crawl out of this chair and beat you senseless.”

“I"d like to see that.” A tremor of laughter shook Erik"s shoulders, and his