She didn’t respond, only shot me a look so full of rage and terror it made my gut clench. She might not be my mate yet, but that expression made me want to move mountains to ensure her happiness. It wasn’t just my brothers’ lives in my hands now—it was hers as well.
Thor, Modi, and Trud followed us as we made our way after the Valkyries through the many winding halls deep in Valhalla’s bowels. I’d never been to Valhalla before, but the carved beams, gilded artwork, and high ceilings were exactly like my father had described.
He’d often talked about the glory of Valhalla when he came to visit us as we grew up, describing its beauty and the power that lay within its walls. So far the rather unflattering descriptions of the god-king that resided within were also holding up.
The Valkyries led my brothers and Magni to the third floor of a tower and waited for everyone to enter before they locked the door behind us. A small trap door opened at the top, revealing one of the winged cunts’ faces.
“Let us know when you’re ready to leave,” she said, her eyes resting on Thor. I supposed Annabel and I barely existed, so far as the Valkyries were concerned.
Not that the omega seemed to notice—the moment I released her hand, she hurled herself forward, wrapping her arms around both her mates' necks.
Thor rumbled an annoyed agreement before turning to Magni. “It’s quite a mess you’ve gotten yourself tangled in. What were you thinking, bonding with a human? And sharing her with Loki’s offspring?”
“I was thinking of our bloodline’s survival,” Magni answered as he lifted his head from Annabel’s, though without releasing his fierce grip on her. “She is the omega in Mimir’s prophecy.”
“Which prophecy?” Thor snapped. “That bodiless crackpot spews his nonsense every other day. Tell me you didn’t mate some human whore to fulfill one of his stupid prophecies! Ragnarök is here! We’ve got better things to worry about than whatever mead-fueled fantasy he’s thought up this time!”
The snarl that ripped through the room and echoed off its rounded walls was instant and followed by the stench of mixed alpha aggressions, but Annabel stopped both her mates from barreling forward with a firm hand on their shoulders. She fixed the God of Thunder with a glare.
“I don’t know why think you can call me a whore, nor do I understand why you’re yelling at your son for trying to stop Ragnarök and save humankind. The literal end of the world’s here, and we’re trying to stop it. The prophecy is real.”
Thor looked at her for half a second before he returned his focus to Magni. “Let me be very frank: I don’t care about your so-called mate, and I don’t care about your Jotunn friends. My only concern is that Odin gives up his ridiculous notion that you’ve switched allegiance so you can come fulfill your destiny by mine and Modi’s sides as we fight the hordes of Jotunheim. That is your destiny. This human omega means nothing in the grand scheme of things. You, a god, do.
"Modi will travel with your friend here to ensure Loki is brought back to face his judgement. The end.”
“You absolute piece of—” Saga’s snarl was cut short when Thor rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. It swung open immediately, and the God of Thunder disappeared through it before my brother could finish his insult.
“—shit!” Saga roared at the once-again closed door.
Five
Modi
“Your father’s a dick,” the feral omega growled at my brother.
“I know,” he sighed, pressing his cheek against her dark hair in an achingly gentle gesture. “It doesn’t matter. My fate is to be by your side, Annabel. Always.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. They said newly mated alphas were always overemotional right after claiming an omega, and my brother sure seemed to fit that stereotype.
In all the centuries we’d known each other, Magni had been fierce, cunning—strong. But now, as he clutched the human girl to his chest, unbothered by Saga Lokisson’s presence, he looked… vulnerable. Weak.
As I watched the three of them, it was clear that this omega had changed him forever. And Saga too. Where once they’d been unyielding steel and muscle, there was now a soft spot that could end them both in the blink of an eye.
Magni was insane if he thought I’d ever join this hopeless love triangle.
“So. We need a plan,” Trud said, looking from me to Bjarni. “No offense, but you two aren’t a match for Loki, and I’m not about to lose my brother and new sister.”
“You leave our father to us. We don’t need no Asa’s help,” Bjarni growled, his tone raising my hackles. I’d always been protective of Trud, even if she rarely appreciated it.
“Sure, why don’t we let a bumbling fool with meat for brains try to out-trick the God of Mischief?” I said, narrowing my eyes at the blond giant. “Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan.”
“You’re not helping,” Trud hissed at me, as Bjarni snarled in my direction, his muscles clenching. “Neither of you are equipped for this. Not without help. Loki is too clever.”
“We won’t need wit to convince him to help us—he’s our father. All we have to do is find him,” Bjarni said. I didn’t miss his brothers exchanging a look behind his back. Interesting. What did they know that he didn’t?
“He may be your father, but he’s not going to surrender voluntarily. Plus how do you plan to find him when Odin’s been searching for him for months with no luck? You need someone with magic to assist you,” Trud said, crossing her arms over her chest in a way I knew all too well. She had a finite amount of patience for explaining concepts she found straightforward. It’d caused more than a few arguments over the centuries.
“I have plenty of magic,” I said, arching an eyebrow as I summoned a bolt of electricity to let it dance between my fingertips. “As you well know.”
My sister rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t become lodged at the back of her skull. “Yes, and while it’s great that you’re a master at blowing things up, that’s not the kind of magic we need. To find Loki and convince him to come with you, you need intuition. Guile. Stealth.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, we do, do we? And I suppose you know just the goddess to bring, huh?”
Trud shot me a bright smile. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ll be coming with you, because let’s be honest—between the two of you, you have far too much muscle and not nearly enough brains to pull something like this off.”
I growled half-heartedly at my sister’s dig. I wasn’t fond of basically being called stupid in front of a bunch of Jotunn scum, but the offended look on Bjarni’s face was almost worth it.
“No, you need to stay here.”
To my utter surprise, the words came from the omega. I blinked, surprised the puny human thought it wise to interrupt, let alone tell a goddess "no." But then again, said puny human had also headbutted me and bitten my hand. Clearly whatever wildling had birthed her hadn’t raised her to respect her gods.