soon. We best be gone.
“Come, little mother.” I caught her up in my arms, and strode away from the lodge. Fenrir followed.
Juliet’s breathing grew sharp. I splayed a hand on her back to calm her, and picked up my speed. We flew into the forest. I cradled her close as I pushed through the thicket of hemlock branches. Juliet hid her face against my shoulder. Poor little spaewife.
“What about the girls?” she muttered.
“They will be safe,” Fenrir promised. “The spaewives will watch over them.”
“But—”
“Hush,” I murmured. “You think always of others, never of yourself.”
Juliet tried to wrench herself away from me. When I would not let her, she pressed her lips together and glared up at me. If her gaze was an axe, it’d separate me from my head.
I grinned. “No matter, little mother. We will take care of you.”
When I broke from the trees, I linked to Fenrir, speaking mind to mind. She’s cold.
Fenrir shrugged out of the fur robe he wore. It left his chest bare, but he was a Berserker. The magic that made us allowed us to ignore the cold.
When Fenrir approached to drape the fur on Juliet, she roused.
“No.” Juliet’s teeth chattered as she tried to talk. “You’ll freeze.”
“Hush, little mother,” I cupped the back of her head, trying to ease her back against my chest.
“I won’t freeze,” Fenrir told her. “I’m a Berserker.”
Her brow creased, but she stopped fighting. We bundled her into the fur. She’d need it, as we crossed to the north side of the mountain. Branches and frosted grass crunched underfoot. Fenrir moved silently beside me. I could glide quietly as a wolf, but we wanted to leave a trail.
When we came to a stream, we waded right in. I gritted my teeth against the numbing cold. An ordinary man would freeze, but the magic that healed us would stop any frostbite. Fenrir and I agreed to walk the stream to throw off our scent. It would not stop the Alphas from tracking us, but it would delay them a little.
After a mile walking in the water, we came to the cliff where we’d built our lodge. The moonlight shone down on the lodge roof in silent blessing. We were on the other side of the mountain. Most Berserkers would not bring their mates so far from the safety of the pack, but we had no choice. Not if we were to claim her.
Juliet was quiet, her breathing even. For a moment I thought she’d fallen asleep. Perhaps this would be easier than I thought.
Then she raised her head.
She was still shuddering, her small frame wracked with cold.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“To our home.” I couldn’t keep the pride from my voice. We’d built this place for our mate, and now we were bringing her home.
She sucked in a breath and blew it out in a frosty cloud. “This is a mistake. You shouldn’t have taken me.”
There were a few large boulders in our path. I maneuvered around them and picked up my pace, climbing up the rise toward the lodge. “Why didn’t you scream for help?”
“I didn’t want to disturb the girls. They’ve been through so much.”
“They are safe now.”
She snorted. “Safe,” she sneered.
“They are safe,” I repeated.
“They are my responsibility,” she said. “I don’t trust the Berserkers.”
“We protect them. They are spaewives.”
“Until they are of age to be brides?” she asked sharply. I loved that I held her in my arms and yet she wanted to argue with me.
“They are spaewives.” I adjusted her closer. “Do you want them to suffer the fever, as you have?”
“No.” She bit her lip and looked tormented. Another shiver ran through her.
Fenrir eased into a stride beside me. He reached over to adjust the fur to cover Juliet more fully, then took her hand. “Do not worry for them. They have their own path. You have yours.”
“And my path leads straight to your lodge?” She glowered at Fenrir, but I noticed she did not pull her hand away.
I hitched her higher in my arms and their handhold broke. Maybe I did it on purpose, maybe it was a mistake.
The path curved around another crop of boulders. Instead of following it, I leapt up, holding her tight in my arms. She gasped and clung to me.
“Look down there,” I ordered. She did and squinted into the dark. I paced a little closer to the edge of the lichen covered rock.
Jarl, Fenrir said my name in warning, speaking into my mind.
It’s safe. She