Weaving Fate - Nora Ash Page 0,21

awe. Worship.

In another life, if he’d been just a man, I could imagine falling in love with him. He was everything a woman could want from her mate: strong, gentle, loyal. Beautiful as fuck. A generous lover.

And all I could feel now as I lay tied to him, his seed still slicking my inner walls… was emptiness.

Despite how fully he stretched me, how his presence inside me anchored me to him more intimately than I could put into words, I only longed for the two men who’d claimed me already.

I didn’t love Bjarni. I couldn’t. There wasn’t room inside of me for any more of that anguished, burning, all-consuming thing filling my chest.

I hadn’t realized before—hadn’t had time to think, to process everything that’d happened to me since that cave back in Iceland—but a human omega was not built to withstand more than one claim. I’d always thought it wasn’t done because alphas were jealous, possessive creatures who’d never dream of sharing unless the literal end of the world was here. But now? Now I understood.

Fate might have five mates in store for me, but I was barely holding on with two. I wasn’t me anymore; I was one being split in two, in danger of coming apart at the seams. The only thing that kept me together was knowing that if I didn’t complete my mission, Magni and Saga would die, and I’d cease to exist.

I hadn’t fully understood it before, but as I lay in silence and listened to the alpha’s soothing purr, I finally found the quietude I needed to grasp my future.

If I were to take more mates—if I were to care this much for three more men—there would be nothing left of me. No lungs to breathe, no heart to beat; just shredded tissue and a broken mind.

Which meant that while I’d have to accept their claims to stop Ragnarök, I could never love Bjarni. Nor Modi. Nor Grim.

“Are you done with this lewd ritual? Can we get on with saving our brothers?”

Modi’s voice broke through the great room, shocking me out of the daze Bjarni’s purr had eventually lulled me into despite my morose thoughts.

The alpha underneath me tensed, his purr halting. “Odin’s tits, let a man’s knot go down before you barge in demanding results, hmm? We’re still tied.”

I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Modi roll his eyes and level us with a disgusted look. “And your dick’s a magic-blocker? Evening’s almost upon us. Find me Loki.”

It was almost refreshing, the way Modi could make me feel like a straight-up harlot. Being around the Lokissons and Magni, I’d pretty much gotten the impression that nothing could be considered depraved in the eyes of the Norse gods. Case in point: the last time we’d visited Folkvangr.

However, Modi’s obvious disgust with how I’d gone about replenishing my power was palpable, and it went a long way to push my sadness to the backburner, making room for mortification instead.

Awesome.

I tried a little wiggle, wincing when Bjarni’s knot held tight, keeping me locked securely in place.

Bjarni grunted and slid his hand to my ass to hold me still. “Settle down, sweetie. You’ll hurt yourself.”

His easy composure only made my humiliation at being observed in such an intimate situation deepen, but he was right—I wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much I wanted to regain just a smidgen of dignity. And pants.

Instead I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, sinking inward.

It was surprisingly easy this time, the golden light rising to greet me within just a few breaths. It felt different than when Modi had guided me. Clearer. Stronger.

Freya’s advice had shown true, just like when she’d told me how to heal Magni.

Show me Loki.

It was a silent command, and I half-expected nothing to happen, but then the world tilted, the golden light opening like a vortex underneath me—and I fell.

Or I would have, if a harsh tug between my legs didn’t yank me back.

I whimpered and flailed, looking for purchase, but strong bands of iron seemed to close around my torso, taking the pressure off and holding me up, and a soothing rumble vibrated from all sides.

Below me the vortex still yawned, spreading ever wider, and I squinted as something blue and green appeared in the opening.

Was that… Earth?

It zoomed in closer, giving me a nauseating sense of vertigo as we seemed to barrel toward the North American continent. Specks of lights grew larger into cities, the vortex taking us west over