And then I lean forward, and I kiss her.
Chapter twenty-eight
Finaan
Fickle Bitches
“Ugh,no,”Imutteras I push Wregen away and wipe the bloody, slimy mess from my lips, stifling the gag that’s squeezing my throat. Garmr tastes even worse than he smells, which shouldn’t be possible. Because he smellshorrible, death warmed over a dozen times and plopped down on a plate.
“Fuck me,” Wregen responds with a laugh, dark eyes bright as he reaches a hand toward my lips.
“Don’t you dare,” I warn him, gaze focused on the flecks of blood and skin and mucus and whatever else erupted from that disgusting beast that coats his fingers.
He responds with a slow, easy smile and I feel it in my bones. And then he winks, and something in my core explodes, shards of pure, unadulterated lust rippling through me. “Soon,” he murmurs, gaze focused on my lips.
Our bond is very happy to have him so close, and it’s getting harder and harder to stop myself from falling for the mate who’s consistently chosen Hel over me.
Except he didn’t this time. He fought with us, crippling Hel’s hound.
“What happened, Wregen? Why did you attack Garmr?”
His grin drops away as he turns to look at the dog. “I had no choice,” he tells me with a shrug. Pushing to his feet, he reaches out a hand and then pulls me up to stand beside him. “Let’s do what we can to trap him and get away from here. If he wakes up, we’re fucked. We need to get to the dragons before Hel sends someone after me.”
“And she will send someone after you.” It’s not a question, although I wish it was.
“Make no mistake, my skjaldmær,” he rumbles as he reaches out a finger to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I belong to Hel. She’ll never let me go.”
“And there’s nothing we can do, no way to break her hold on you?”
“I knew you’d come to crave me,” he responds as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck, gripping me tight enough to send flames spiraling down my spine. “But no,” he adds with a gentle squeeze, “Hel’s hold on my soul will live as long as I do. I’m hers, whether I want it or not.”
“What will she do to you when she gets you back?” I ask, lifting a hand to wrap it around his wrist, wishing I’d taken the kiss he offered me a few minutes ago.
“You know I like pain,” he mutters, “and I’ll deserve every bit of it she gives me.”
“Because you chose to protect us?” My heart is a bird, fluttering in my chest as if it’ll never rest again.
“That?” he scoffs, thumb caressing the spot in my throat that’s beating for him. “That’s why she’ll punish me, but it’s not why I deserve it.”
“Then why, Wregen? Why do you deserve her punishment?” The bird in my chest flaps its wings and then stills. I’m not sure what exactly I’m asking, but I know in my soul, deep in that place where my connection to Wregen lives, that the answer matters, perhaps more than anything else that’s happened between us.
“Let me hold on to those secrets for a few days longer,” he urges, brows drawing together as he grips my neck a bit tighter. “I’ll tell you. You need to know. Just … give me this time without that between us. When we find the dragons, I’ll give you everything you need to understand this male the fates stuck you with.”
“Before or after I suck your cock?” I demand, one eyebrow quirking up as his demand bubbles into my thoughts.
“Before, my skjaldmær,” he tells me, one side of his lips lifting to reveal the dimple that always appears when I least expect it. “I suspect you won’t be sucking my cock after that, and I won’t blame you. I’m a despicable male, after all. I’d have to be, to serve Hel so long and faithfully.”
“We should go,” Svend mutters from our side, dragging my gaze away from Wregen. He’s focused on Garmr, and I can’t blame him.
Whatever’s going on between my mate and me can wait. We need to trap the monster Hel sent to babysit Wregen and get away from here.
And we have something that might work.
Glow didn’t want to leave behind the chains, so we bundled them onto Ruxi’s back. It took a while, but once Glow was loose and we could attack the chains without hurting her even more, we were able to wrest them free of the ring still bolted into the rock. I’m not sure if she anticipated using them or wanted to take control over restraints that controlled her for too long. Whatever the reason, I’m thanking the fates, those fickle bitches, that we brought them along.
I turn toward the wyrm. “Are you okay with using your chains on Garmr?” I ask, trying to keep the hope out of my voice. We don’t really have another choice, but they’re hers and if she wants to keep them—if she needs to keep them—we’ll figure it out.
“Finaan spoke of Hel,” she says, turning toward Wregen. “This beast belongs to the chaos god’s daughter?”
