Filed to story: Luna Riannon and Alpha Brayden Novel
“We can save her but-” Freyja stumbled on her words. “But not her divine power. Just her soul.”
Selene looked at the other woman in horror, but Freyja went on.
“I am sorry. I cannot think of anything better, but the gift I gave her protects her soul and connects her to the human realm-“
“No!” Selene protested, “It’s the same as losing her if not worse!”
“Is it, though? The Asgardian goddess took her hand and squeezed it lightly. “This is a way to keep her. She can live a thousand lives with that dragonfly mark. You can give her one of your wolves to protect her and-“
“How long will something like this last?” Selene knitted her brows together.
“Hopefully, long enough for us to find a solution on how to bring her back,” Freyja turned to look at the starry goddess still in Fenrir’s embrace. “After all, we all need Astraea-“
“You will not touch her again!” Fennir growled as they neared them.
“It’s not for you to decide!” Vidar spoke, words laced with venom. “She is my-“
Just then, Fenrir felt tingling on his fingertips and noticed Astraea’s skin glowing. Little glimmering specs were forming on her skin and floating into the air.
“No,” he whispered, clenching her tighter. “Don’t go!”
Tiny partials of brilliance slipped through his fingers until she turned into a cascade of shimmering stardust that danced, flying into the sky and leaving him alone.
He thought he was alone for so long. Gods, he had no idea what real loneliness was until this moment.
His body and soul were aching. Everything around turned into a blur.
Fenir woke up when it was dark, and only a few glittering specs on his hands were a reminder of what had happened here today.
That and the bracelet in his hand. The bracelet that still had her blood on it.
Fenrir looked at it, sensing something he didn’t expect. A new bead.
One of the empty ones was glowing as if it had a star concealed inside.
Astraea’s power.
Anguish consumed him. They destroyed him. Killed her.
And now they all were probably feasting together in the Golden Halls: He couldn’t bear the thought of any of them getting away with their sins. He wanted to take just as much from them as they have taken from him.
Not thinking twice, Fenir crushed the glowing bead between his fingers along with the rest of them, summoning all the powers he had been carefully collecting over centuries.
One after one, his bones were breaking as he chose to shift into the form that was now closer to his heart. They wanted a monster? He would give them the worst monster they had ever seen.
Gleipnir tried to sustain him, but the bigger he got, the thinner the chain became. And when hell flames kindled all over his fur, the binding fell to his feet.
The exit of the cave was too small for him, so he broke it, finally getting the freedom he wanted so much just a day ago. Now he wanted other things. Things he wouldn’t get.
“Brother!” Joran greeted him at the foot of the mountain, with his father walking out of the darkness. “We’ve been waiting for you!”
“I am so sorry for what happened to you, son,” Loki was about to touch his firefur, but withdrew his hand at the last moment. “We tried to get to you’so many times. Luckily, you got out. Now- the time has come to start Ragnarok.”
SOLACE
Astrea took her time on the way to her Teacher, and he also waited patiently for her to arrive.
She stopped just a few feet away from him, expecting an instruction on what to do next.
Joran quickly closed the distance between them, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Dragonfly,” he smiled, and for a moment, she thought it was genuine.
“I couldn’t kill him,” she admitted bluntly and he clenched his lips. It wasn’t that he expected her to, but this wasn’t the first words he wanted to hear from her after so long.
“That’s okay. We talked about this before. You know what it means.”
She nodded because, of course, she knew. She did not fulfil her end of the deal, and now she had to stay with him for as long as he wished.
Astrea lowered her eyes, trying to hide her disappointment and anger. That man played her as if she was a child.
“Don’t get sad,” Joran chuckled. “It wouldn’t be so bad. We are going home now.”
He leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead, taking her hand and leading her away to his car.
“The city-” She wanted to tell him the lie she prepared, but he gestured for her to stop
“Retract!” Joran ordered the warriors and then informed her cheerfully, “Nikki will be happy to see you. She misses you every day.”
Astrea tried to smile, but it was so hard to fake it.
“We are leaving?” she asked.
“I don’t know about you, but t don’t find deserts amusing.
That’s not my kind of thing.”
They were already in the car when his phone rang, and he answered.
“Forrest,” Jor greeted his colleague from the Southern Lycan Republic. Then after about a minute of listening, he added, “Fine. Sure. We’ll pop by. Prepare my wings.”
The car drove off, and Astrea couldn’t help looking at all that sand in the window with a sense of longing she had never experienced before.
“What was that about?” she asked apathetically.
“Something came up in the Republic,” her Teacher confessed.
“So, are you going there?”
“No, Astrea, we are going there. From now on, you will stay by my side at all times.” Joran broke the news, and her heart sank.
That was new.
Astrea had been to the South a few times. In fact, this was where most of her past missions took place.
Joran was a member of the Alpha Convocation in the Southern Republic, and he didn’t exactly get there by playing nice. Quite a few people had to disappear or be threatened for the Serpent to gain access to such a high position.
As a result, she didn’t have any good memories of this place. This dirty job was never to her taste, even though she was considered one of the best in the field.
Joran watched her all the way to the southern capital, New Verum, feeling more and more frustrated every minute.
She did not look at him once. Didn’t even engage when he mentioned Nikki. It was as if he was giving a ride to a statue of his Dragonfly and not the real person.
Astrea did not say a word when they switched to a helicopter; just a tiny tear blinked in her eye when she saw the remnants of Raja, the city he destroyed for her.
They were supposed to land soon, but he still couldn’t get a word out of her pretty mouth. He had never been disrespected this much. Not since his Asgardian days.
“There will be some changes now,” he informed her, making the snake on her neck tighten its grip. That made her touch the tattoo he gave her. At least they had some kind of contact now.
“Fine,” she said quietly. “Whatever”
“I don’t need you as an assassin anymore,” he said, and she turned away to look at the window, not acknowledging his words. “You will live with me. I will take care of you.”
She visibly shivered, but of course, it was new for her. This was officially unchartered territory for the two of them.
Ever since that day years ago when he found her terrified, alone in the woods and crying, he knew she would give him everything he ever desired. Now, he was starting to think that she could give him even more than that. Now, he began to want things he never considered before.