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He was here, but not here. I could hear the rattling chains that bound him. They were broken and dragging through the worlds as he tore through in his celebration. If only I could see him. It was like he was too large to fit in my kitchen, so it somehow made him invisible, like I’d clipped through his model in a video game.
I did the only thing I could think of. I rushed forward and wiped away a portion of the summoning circle. Just like that, Fenrir’s laughter vanished. The connection between us ceased. I dropped to my hands and knees and prayed that meant he’d been sent back to his prison.
After that, I couldn’t stand being alone in here. I stood and backed away from the ruined summoning circle. The chalk lines I’d drawn had become chain links, circling in on one another. That was Fenrir’s mark, I realized.
I didn’t have the patience to wipe it away. Instead, I grabbed a sweater and bolted for the door. I cared little for Hel’s ward. She couldn’t catch up to me if I stayed on the move. I threw myself into the car and raced out of the city.
There was no way I’d released Fenrir. It couldn’t be that easy. Since Hel wasn’t in the car, screaming at me, I figured she was likely checking on Fenrir. He would still be chained in her domain. Hehadto be.
Maddox wasn’t where I needed him to be. I raced through his house but couldn’t feel his presence. He was somewhere beyond the house, in the woods. I threw open the back door and stumbled outside. Maddox charged out of the woods, his fur like smoke pouring off his muscular wolf body.
Halfway to me, the change rippled over his body. He bounded to me on two feet and wrapped human arms around me. When he pulled me close and covered me with his own body, I finally broke.
“I don’t know what I did…” I broke into a terrified sob. “I didn’t mean to…I don’t think I did anything…I mean, he can’t escape! He’s chained!”
Maddox stiffened slightly, but he didn’t yell. When he spoke, his tone was soft. “Slow down. You don’t have to tell me everything at once. How about we start at the beginning?”
It took me several breaths to get myself together. Sobs made my breath ragged. My chest heaved irregularly until I closed my eyes and forced my body to comply. Little by little, I explained what happened.
The whole time, Maddox remained calm. He nodded at the right points. He agreed with my motives. Not once did he yell at me. I don’t know why I expected him to be mad. He wasn’t my father or my stepmother. I hadn’t hurt anyone, and this wasn’t the end of the world…I didn’t think it was, at least.
Maddox ran his hand over my hair and whispered that everything would be all right. I tilted my head back to look up at him.
“You promise?” I asked.
For once, there were no hollows in Maddox’s face. He looked almost the same as the day I’d met him. The only difference was the light of his beast, watching me with open concern from his eyes.
I cupped his cheek as I peered into his bright eyes. He gave me a soft smile.
“How’s it going in there? Are you getting along with your beast now?” I didn’t mean to change the subject; I just wanted to know.
Maddox trailed a rough fingertip along the line of my jaw as his eyes dropped to my lips. My heart thumped in wild expectation. It wouldn’t be our first kiss, but that didn’t make it any less exciting. It didn’t matter how many times we crashed together. I was always left craving more.
His chest rumbled with a growl that vibrated through me. It warmed places that had long been cold. My eyes drifted closed as I savored the sensation. It was then that I felt Maddox’s warm breath wash over my lips. I tensed, ready for what was to come next.
“Adeline! What have you done?” Hel’s voice cracked along the skies like roaring thunder.
The world shook beneath me. The force of it threw Maddox and me apart. I fell back onto the grass. The impact rattled my teeth and made the world blur for a moment. A dark form filled my vision.
Hel bent, putting her pale visage in my face. I recoiled at the garish sight of the skeletal half of her face. I should have been used to it by now, but I was shaken from the day’s events.
Beneath me, the world shook. At first, I thought it was from the force of Hel’s wrath. But even her expression faltered when it happened again. She wavered, nearly losing her balance before looking to the skies like she expected them to break open.
Everything paused. No one dared breathe.
Then…the moment passed. Nothing happened. I lowered my glare to Hel and opened my mouth to yell at her for scaring me.
Before I could say anything, the sky split open. A portal carved a jagged tear in the gray expanse. A dark form fell out of it and landed on all fours. When he rose, he was larger than any building around us. He was larger than the trees, even. He shook himself and stalked towards us with a toothy smile on his wolfish maw.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I managed to say.
The massive wolf shrunk with each step until he vanished behind the trees. A man stepped out. He was naked and unashamed. That big grin was still plastered on his cruel face. He stalked past Hel and offered a hand down to me.
Maddox snarled and shoved himself between us. He and Fenrir were two sides of the same coin. They were about the same size and had a similar build. Even their eyes burned with the same unearthly light. Where Maddox had pale, ghostly hair, Fenrir’s was dark and curled in messy waves around his face.
Fenrir held up his hands in peace—though no one here believed the gesture. “I just wanted to give thanks for my newfound freedom.”
He walked right in front of Hel like she couldn’t throw his ass back into her domain…I glanced to Hel expectantly. Her face had drained of all color. If I thought she was pale before, the goddess had turned pure white in Fenrir’s presence.
