Mastered by the Berserkers (Berserker Brides #8) - Lee Savino Page 0,13

to protect it from the draft. His hands and face glowed like a demon’s.

“Yes,” I said, but my tone was unsure.

He looked up at me then. “Always?”

I raised my chin. “That was what I was taught.”

Slowly he rose, unfolding to his great height, towering over me. “And everything you were taught is true?”

With that troubling question, he left the lodge and I was alone. The fire crackled at my feet. Soon Jarl and Fenrir would return with kindling for it, but right now I could sneak out. This might be my only chance.

I ran to the back of the lodge. It was sturdily constructed, the boards so new, the wood hadn’t faded. It was bright and sawdust colored, with a few beads of sap dried mid-drip on the light surface.

There had to be a way out. There—in the corner. A narrow entrance that could easily be covered by a tapestry. A second exit along the back of the lodge.

I raced and would’ve stepped out, but before I could dart through it, a shadow moved in the darkness beyond. I shrank back, hand on my heart. Was it a wild animal moving outside the lodge?

Then the dark shape bent to duck inside the door. When it straightened, I recognized Fenrir. He’d caught me.

Silently, Fenrir moved inside the lodge, crowding me back toward the fire. There was a bundle of kindling under his arm.

I stared at the center of his bare chest. His skin was darker than mine and even Jarl’s, and not only from the sun. He was smooth, too, his muscles sleek without the mat of hair most men had.

I swallowed.

His finger came to my jaw. He traced up, a light touch, but enough to set my nerves simmering. “Do not leave,” he spoke in his deep voice. “It’s not safe, little mother.”

I frowned, still staring at the center of his chest. “Why do you call me that?”

“Little mother? Because you are little.”

“I’m not a mother.”

“Aren’t you?”

“No. I have remained chaste. I haven’t borne a child.”

“Tell that to the younglings in the spaewife lodge. You mother them all.” He moved past me, and knelt to feed the sticks he’d brought to the fire.

I inched away toward the back of the lodge again. I’d missed this chance to escape, but maybe another would come.

Then the front door blasted open and Jarl came in stamping. “Getting colder. Too cold for spring. Another blizzard’s coming. The Corpse King wreaking his will on the weather.”

I tried not to shiver. And failed because Jarl immediately looked to me.

“Come near the fire, Juliet.”

I shook my head, wrapping my arms more tightly around me.

“Do not make me fetch you,” Jarl said. Fenrir’s head dropped to his chest, but he didn’t quite hide his grin.

I shifted on either foot. Jarl dropped the logs he carried and started in my direction, and I scurried to the other side of the fire, hating myself for giving in.

I bared my teeth at Jarl like I was a wolf.

“Is this the way it will be? Do you have to lord your will over me every moment?”

He set his jaw. “I told you I would not let you suffer.”

“I suffer in your presence,” I shot back.

“As long as you are not cold.” He smirked and went back to tending the fire. Soon the flames were higher than my head.

I hovered at the side of the lodge, gritting my teeth against the drafts that went up my dress. The lodge was well-built, but along the wall there were cracks that let in some cold. Nothing a good blaze couldn’t drive out.

I tried to stay away but the warmth and light beckoned me closer. Much as I hated it, Jarl was right. My legs were numb. I could not stay away from their fire forever.

I sat on a fur covered rock set close to the fire. It was strange to sit and rest while there was work to be done, but I was a captive here. I would not stir myself to help lest these warriors think I was content in my captivity.

Fenrir and Jarl moved with purpose, and for the first time I let myself watch them. They both were huge but light on their feet, their movements fluid and graceful as a pair of deer. Or more accurately, a pair of wolves. Jarl spoke the most and I thought of him as their leader, but when they were silent and moving in unspoken concert, they were equal. Fenrir was slightly taller with long