CHAPTER ONE

Huncho absolutely hated the smell of cigarettes. But as the second–in–command to Astrid, the leader of the Viper Rogues, he was around her most of the time and had to endure through it. 

The woman loved a good smoke. 

His tattoo gun paused mid action as he met Astrid's gaze with a faint smirk on his lips, "You're stoned as fuck—you would most likely not feel anything even if your chest was split open." he quipped. "You might even laugh." 

She flashed a brief, amused grin. The irony in Kai's statement wasn't lost to her— especially considering the fact that she had only just slit a woman's chest open yesterday. 

And indeed, she did laugh. 

How could she not? Her sworn enemy's wife was bleeding to death in front of her. It had filled her with delight. 

Next, she was going to go for Ragnar himself. 

But her father kept telling her she wasn't ready to take on Ragnar, and then he would go on to tell her how immeasurably powerful he was and how she needed more training to defeat him. 

She wished her father would have more faith in her. Nevertheless, she enjoyed fantasizing about beheading Ragnar with her best blade. 

And she couldn't wait for it to become a reality. 

Astrid took in another drag of her joint, puffing out a steady steam of smoke that swirled around. Huncho took a whiff of it and it parched his throat, he covered his mouth as a dry fit of cough escaped his lips. 

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she rolled her eyes at the coughing man. "Why are you even here?" she questioned. "You've been standing there for ages without saying anything, and now you're coughing."

Huncho tried to suppress the cough, but it came out as a rough, hacking noise. He tried to speak amidst it, "Your…father…" he paused to steady his ragged breath, "he sent me to you…" 

Astrid's lips downturned into a frown at that. 

She wasn't in the mood to hear what her father had to say—after all, he was most likely going to scold her for what she had done to Ragnar's wife, or the gold heist she had committed on her own earlier that week. 

"Hmm." she murmured, drawing from the cigar. "What did he say then?" wisps of smoke accompanied her words as she spoke. 

Huncho cleared his throat, his voice raspy from his coughing fit. "He wanted me to make you understand the risks of what you had gotten yourself into. Going after Ragnar's wife, well, that was the sort of reckless move that could ignite a storm." 

His gaze met Astrid's, a concerned furrow appearing in–between his brows, "You know the type of man Ragnar is; he won't let his wife's death go unpunished. And he's going to hunt you down, Commander." he stated. "Your father, he's not just worried, he's certain you're not ready to face Ragnar yet." 

A cold, humourless chuckle left her—she was right after all, and this was precisely why she had been reluctant to listen to Huncho. She knew her father was going to berate and underrate her. 

Her cigarette had burned out and she dropped it down on the ashtray beside her, "Ragnar's a storm, you say?" she looked up at Huncho as she relaxed back into her chair. "Well, I've weathered storms before, haven't I?" A smirk raised the corners of her lips. 

Huncho's brows creased with worry as he opened his mouth to protest, "But Commander, I believe your father is right. Definitely, we would ensure the downfall of Ragnar. But you have to be properly prepared for that, or else—"

"Tell father not to lose sleep over it." Astrid responded. "I wasn't stupid when I broke into his private suite on the island and killed his Luna—I had planned that attack for months in secret." 

"And when Ragnar decides to come and fight me," her smirk broadened in a sinister glint. "I'll be ready to take him on.” she paused, “Or don't you think I can handle him, Huncho?" 

She had asked him a trick question, and Huncho knew better than to try and enlighten her on the reality of things. It would only make her angry and her stubbornness won't let her admit to it. 

Was she forgetting who Alpha Ragnar was? A Lycan! A Lycan King with the strength and agility of twenty alphas fused together. He was a force to reckon with. 

The worried lines on Huncho's forehead seemed to increase. Sometimes, he wondered if all the marijuana she smoked sometimes scrambled her ability to know when matters are serious. 

It always annoyed and worried him how his commander saw everything as a 'walk-over', when in fact, they were not. 

"Commander, I know you're very powerful but I think—"

Astrid raised her hand to halt his speech, "It was a yes or no question, Huncho." she said and looked up at him with a cold gaze, "and I know you weren't going to say 'yes'." she looked away from him, shaking her head at the thought of his words.

Huncho's shoulders slumped in resignation; there was no need for any further protests, the commander had taken her decision and he would have to stick with it. 

As her gaze shifted away from him, she suddenly flinched, her eyes shutting for a brief moment of pain as she felt a sting of pain from her arm. 

Kai noticed and paused the movement of his tattoo gun, his gloved hands freezing mid air. "Sorry about that, Commander." he apologized, but the corner of his lips were lifted in a slight smirk. He knew it was going to hurt, eventually. 

"No, no. Don't apologize." she quipped, relaxing into her chair and her eyes glinting in a spark of mischief, "Remember, I like the pain." her lips spread into a cryptic smile. 

Her tone and words held a touch of mystery that left its vague meaning open to interpretation. 

But Kai and Huncho had stopped trying to understand a woman like Astrid a long time ago. It was futile. 

And, anyone else who was trying to understand Astrid would just be wasting their time. 

"And we're done." Kai's voice cut through the low hum of the tattoo gun. He looked up from his work, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. 

The sterile scent of ink lingered in the air, mingling with the lingering smoke from Astrid's cigar. Huncho was on the verge of puking from the very nauseating smell.

However, before anyone could react to the completed tattoo, the distant but unmistakable sound of war drums echoed through the air.

Huncho and Kai’s eyes widened in horror as they shared a look. A shiver ran down their spines—they were being invaded, unexpectedly and that already meant that they were at a disadvantage. 

Astrid brows furrowed and she tossed her cigarette stick aside. Without wasting a moment, she shot up from her seat and moved swiftly, her leather boots thudding against the floor as she reached the window. 

The scene outside unfolded like a nightmare. 

Her keen eyes scanned the chaotic scene unfolding below. People were screaming, chaos ensued, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and the roars of wolves.

“Commander, what is happening? Have you received a mind-link from the troops at the front?” Kai asked as he and Huncho made their way to the windows as well.

Just as she tried to answer, the heavy wooden door of the tattoo room slammed open, creating a loud thud that reverberated through the room. All three of them immediately turned to face the door, seeing as U.T stepped in, he was the regional head of the war troupes.

"Commander Astrid," he called, "The settlement is under attack. We've been invaded. The troops have gone upfront to the heat of the battle, but we need you and Huncho there as well because he is—”

A loud and guttural growl reverberated through the air, interrupting U.T. 

It was a sound Astrid knew all too well—the unmistakable roar of a powerful lycan. 

Only one person was capable of such destruction. 

Her fists clenched at her sides, "He is here," she declared, her voice low, "Ragnar is here.”

-:-

The sound of wolf-skin being teared apart filled the air once more. 

That was it. Ragnar had killed another one.

However, he was bored. These pesky Viper rogues couldn't match him—-even a thousand of them couldn't match him. 

A low growl rumbled in his chest as he scanned the area, his senses heightened. He sought the one responsible for the unrest gnawing at him—the Commander, Astrid. The one who dared to spill the blood of his wife. 

And then, his nostrils flared as he finally caught a whiff of her scent.

He growled again, deeper. "Finally," he rumbled.

Astrid emerged, running towards him in her wolf form and she was ready to attack . 

Her gaze locked with Ragnar's as she charged towards him. Yet, as their eyes met, a profound shift occurred within Ragnar. 

He froze. 

Her scent reached him, only that this time, it was different. It now had an extra sweetness to it. It was a scent that stirred something primal within him.

His body began to tingle and he involuntarily let out a loud howl. 

It seemed as though his whole body was lit on fire, but in a good way that filled him with a desire, a yearn and the need to be close…to her.

“Mate!” his wolf, Spade cried out immediately and then, Ragnar’s eyes widened in horrifying realization.

“Fuck no.” he muttered underneath his breath as the fuzzy feeling overwhelmed his body. 

Fucking Astrid Reverra was his mate.