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ChapterTwenty-Eight
ALEK
Sweat dripped down my face and spine as I pushed my body to its breaking point. I slammed a massive log onto the chopping block before bringing my ax down and splitting the piece with such force each half was launched across the small clearing I’d made my own. I’d been at it for hours, giving up on the gym after I broke three of the machines. They didn’t provide enough of a challenge, and the forest was better suited to me anyway.
The music I’d selected matched my mood. Frustrated. Tense. Driving me on and fueling my workout until I was a man possessed. The speaker blared, volume as high as it would go without rendering the device useless. I wanted nothing more than to take my mind off everything going wrong in my world.
Usually, an hour or two of pushing my body this hard would clear my mind. Help me find my balance, but today nothing was working, and I was running out of wood to split.
‘You need to get as far away from that girl as possible. You need to come home. Right now.’
My aunt’s words ran through my mind on an endless loop. Not what I wanted to think about, but still, they persisted almost a full day later. Leave Sunday? Abandon her? I couldn’t. I was hers in more ways than one. Her protector, her guardian, her lover... her mate. But was I?
I gritted my teeth as more sweat trailed down my face. That was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? Sunday already had two mates, both with tangible proof of their claim. I wasn’t sure why that fact bothered me so much. Okay, that was a lie. I knew exactly why. I felt every bit as connected to her as they did, but I didn’t get the benefit of a physical mark. I wanted my mark on her. I wanted everyone to know she belonged to me every bit as much as I belonged to her.
Possessive? Fuck yes. I didn’t care.
Thoughts of my conversation with Aunt Quinn intruded on my wallow, setting my nerves on edge. I’d left the table, given myself privacy because of the look in Sunny’s eyes when she overheard Quinn’s order for me to return to Novasgard. Hurt. Fear. Sadness. I never wanted to be the cause of those emotions in her.
‘She is going to bring your death if you stay,’Quinn had said.
Whether that was true or not, only the gods could say. As for my thoughts on the matter? So what if she did. Because the thought of returning to a realm without her felt like its own kind of death sentence. Valhalla was waiting for me, no matter what. I’d rather go because I lived out my days with Sunday than after a life spent hiding behind Novasgard’s walls.
I flung my ax away, needing to change to something more... physical. But the gods’ cursed blade connected with my speaker, pulverizing the thing in one blow.
“Odin’s sweaty sack,” I yelled as I picked up the last log I had and ripped it in two with my hands, letting out a growl of savage frustration as I did.
“Oh.” The little whispered word stopped me in my tracks, sending a thrill through me.
I spun around, spotting Sunday at the edge of the clearing, her eyes wide and her lips parted in awe.
“Did I just witness a Viking temper tantrum?” she teased, though the playful words were belied by the flare of hunger in her gaze as it traveled down my body.
Using my forearm, I wiped the sweat from my brow. “Vikings don’t have temper tantrums. We have manly rages.”
“Uh huh. And what else do they do during thesemanly ragesbesides making firewood with their bare hands?”
I glanced down at my already large pile of logs. It would see a family through the entire winter. Feeling embarrassed and not knowing what to say, I shrugged, tugging my hair down from the knot I’d twisted it up into. The golden strands fell down past my shoulders, obscuring my face.
Sunday sucked in a breath. “You really do look like a god with all that hair and those glistening muscles.”
I peeked up at her, giving her a wicked grin. “A god of what?”
“Sex.”
“Oh, really?”
She slid her fingers over my arm, then up until she trailed her fingertips along my neck. “Really. I wonder what it would look like, having you over me with your hair hanging down, brushing my body.”
“Why wonder? Let’s find out right now.”
Her pupils flared, but she pressed a palm to my chest. “Actually, before we distract ourselves with mind-blowing sex—”
“That’s my favorite tactic.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
“It’s very effective.”
