I woke as the sun was rising and readied for my day; I walked out of my tent; my team was gathered eating breakfast. “Good Morning, Nerine.” Thana smiled as she hands me a cup of the herb tea and a bowl of porridge. “Thanks.” “Can’t have that bond screwing stuff up while we are heading into the mountains.” “Yeah, that would be inconvenient.” “When will we be leaving?” Sáta asked, walking over to us. “As soon as everyone has finished eating.” I replied, after taking a sip of the tea. Valkyries didn’t really need to eat human food, but when we did, we found it doubled our strength and helped speed up our healing. In times where food was unavailable, we could siphon energy from the souls we collected for Odin, or from the adrenaline of battle. Once everyone was ready, we gathered our weapons and headed out. “Bride, where are you going?” Prince Dagon asked in my head. I rolled my eyes and headed towards the trial we would take until we were far enough from the pack and village t
I looked at my team and addressed them, “it is rare for us to have free time, we will use it to our advantage.” “You mean you needed to get away from camp and the bond that our target formed with you?” Reva accused as she walked over, her blonde hair braided haphazardly and green eyes staring daggers at me. She was a smaller build and shorter than the others in our group, which was surprising because we were all considered short, among the other Valkyries. “And where were you when we captured the target, Reva?” I retorted, annoyed. “Waiting like you told us.” “No, you were supposed to come with me into that club but when we were surrounded by the vampires people you fled and come to think of it you didn’t return with us either. So where were you.” I asked her as I walked closer to her. “I would never run from a battle.” “If I didn’t have to go into the damn club alone, things would be different.” “You did run, I saw you from our ambush spot.” Thana retorted boredly as she cleane
I waited for an attack, but nothing happened, I watched as the eyes continued to stare, watching me. “Come out, I know you're there.” I told the creature. A large grey wolf walked out of the bushes and towards me. His amber eyes stayed on me as he moved closer. I sighed and put my weapon away, “Let me guess. You are one of the pack members?” The wolf nodded. “Why are you so far from the pack?” I asked curious, it would have taken a wolf a couple hours to get this far. The wolf walked into the forest and came out a few minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Alpha Rawlins stood before me, “Why didn’t you come back with the others?” he asked, sitting down next to me. Being half naked didn’t even seem to phase the guy. “Wanted to be alone.” I lied. He looked at me, his eyes switching from green to amber. “Don’t lie Nerine. I saw your team come back without you and thought something had happened to you.” “The vampire bound himself to me, everything the interrog
“You are not my superior; General Nerine and I will do as I please.” General Abtez informed me.“And I am your equal. You will do well to remember that.” I retorted.“I might have a soft spot for you, Nerine, but I will not be taking orders from you.” He told me his voice was a hoarse whisper, so the others wouldn’t hear his words.“It's General Nerine and if you think you can intimidate me, you are mistaken.” I scolded him as I walked over to Thana, who handed me a horn of mead. “I have dealt with worse than you.”He looked at me confused, “head back to camp.” He told his men, and they left.“You will not share who is worse than me, are you?” He asked as he studied my face.“What concern is it of yours?” I retorted, as a memory flashed through my mind. I cringed at the image. He went to move toward me; I glared at him, and he hesitated before turning to follow his men away from the camp.Once they were out of sight, I downed the mead and breathed a sigh of relief.I joined the other
“What?” I asked, looking up at her.“You zoned out, we were asking if you wanted to come to town with us.”“How?” I laughed, gesturing to my eyes.”Sáta smiled, “I found these.” And threw a pair of sunglasses at me.“Come on, even you need to have some fun once in a while.” Thana smiled.“Very well.” I smiled back. “Let me change, though.”“Here, put this on.” Sáta smiled, throwing me some clothes. I looked at them, then at her.“What we should dress like they do to blend in, our normal stuff, is what we wore back when Vikings were still raiding and pillaging.“Where did you get this?” I asked her.“We went shopping the other day, before we went to the bar.”I shook my head and got up, heading to my tent; I washed the blood off. They must’ve removed whatever it was from the vampire, because I was finally healing.I removed my normal gear and put on the clothes Sáta had given me if you could call it that, the black skirt barely covered my ass, and the shirt was no better a blood red ha
My clothes were bloodied, and my arm broken from the recent battle. I stumbled into the nearest night club I could find. After studying the target, I knew he had gone into one of these clubs. I looked down the street. Now to figure out which one. I scanned the room, my arm hanging at an impossible angle when I zeroed in on him. I smiled, seemed luck was with me the first club I tried and here he was. I heard Thana, my second in command’s voice, came over the radio, “General Nerine, did you find him?” I grabbed the walkie talkie and hissed, “Yes, first club on the right, he's not exactly a runner. Cocky bastard.” “Everything is ready on our end.” “Good, see you soon.” I walked to the bar and sat down as I waited for the bartender, keeping an eye on my target. Reva was supposed to help lead the target from here, but the coward ran off when we were fighting Prince Dagon’s men. I will have to deal with her later. “You need me to call an ambulance?” The bartender asked, walking over
Racing towards my teams trap I didn’t notice when he appeared Infront of me, skidding to a stop I dropped down and narrowly avoided his clutches, I rolled to the side jumped up and got close enough to my team to know that he was surrounded. Our target Prince Dagon was a ruthless killer and thousands of years old, not that he showed it. I braced myself for his attack, but he paused and looked at me, confused. “Why do you run from me? You are my Bride.” "Like I would be with vermin like you," I hissed, crouching low to the ground, getting ready to attack. I pulled my Sais from my thigh holsters. My blades sharpened to perfection, having been used to kill hundreds of vampires in my five hundred years with the order, were thirsty for another kill. “Those pointy things won’t stop me.” He laughed as he lunged for me, I pivoted and dodged his attack, slicing his arm. “Would you stop and just talk to me?” he asked, annoyed as his wounds quickly healed. “Unless you are going to give me th
Of course, they had to send Abtez’s team, why would they punish me sending me away and then sending the reason I was being punished here as well? Is it to test me? “Isn’t he the Berserker that got you in trouble to begin with?” Bryia asked. “It’s not a secret.” I mumbled grumpily. “Sorry.” She laughed, “I just can’t believe you of all people got in trouble with the order. You are our general and the leader of our team and respected by the higher ups.” “Don’t remind me. I fucked up, and it won't happen again.” I retorted, pulling out my dagger and pulling out my sharpening stone, spitting on it before sharpening my blade on it. It was a little difficult to do with one hand, but I wanted to distract myself as we continued through the city. I glanced out of the window every once in a while, watching the buildings going by and people going about their business, completely unaware of the creatures that threatened their very existence. We headed out of the city and drove deep into the
“What?” I asked, looking up at her.“You zoned out, we were asking if you wanted to come to town with us.”“How?” I laughed, gesturing to my eyes.”Sáta smiled, “I found these.” And threw a pair of sunglasses at me.“Come on, even you need to have some fun once in a while.” Thana smiled.“Very well.” I smiled back. “Let me change, though.”“Here, put this on.” Sáta smiled, throwing me some clothes. I looked at them, then at her.“What we should dress like they do to blend in, our normal stuff, is what we wore back when Vikings were still raiding and pillaging.“Where did you get this?” I asked her.“We went shopping the other day, before we went to the bar.”I shook my head and got up, heading to my tent; I washed the blood off. They must’ve removed whatever it was from the vampire, because I was finally healing.I removed my normal gear and put on the clothes Sáta had given me if you could call it that, the black skirt barely covered my ass, and the shirt was no better a blood red ha
“You are not my superior; General Nerine and I will do as I please.” General Abtez informed me.“And I am your equal. You will do well to remember that.” I retorted.“I might have a soft spot for you, Nerine, but I will not be taking orders from you.” He told me his voice was a hoarse whisper, so the others wouldn’t hear his words.“It's General Nerine and if you think you can intimidate me, you are mistaken.” I scolded him as I walked over to Thana, who handed me a horn of mead. “I have dealt with worse than you.”He looked at me confused, “head back to camp.” He told his men, and they left.“You will not share who is worse than me, are you?” He asked as he studied my face.“What concern is it of yours?” I retorted, as a memory flashed through my mind. I cringed at the image. He went to move toward me; I glared at him, and he hesitated before turning to follow his men away from the camp.Once they were out of sight, I downed the mead and breathed a sigh of relief.I joined the other
I waited for an attack, but nothing happened, I watched as the eyes continued to stare, watching me. “Come out, I know you're there.” I told the creature. A large grey wolf walked out of the bushes and towards me. His amber eyes stayed on me as he moved closer. I sighed and put my weapon away, “Let me guess. You are one of the pack members?” The wolf nodded. “Why are you so far from the pack?” I asked curious, it would have taken a wolf a couple hours to get this far. The wolf walked into the forest and came out a few minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Alpha Rawlins stood before me, “Why didn’t you come back with the others?” he asked, sitting down next to me. Being half naked didn’t even seem to phase the guy. “Wanted to be alone.” I lied. He looked at me, his eyes switching from green to amber. “Don’t lie Nerine. I saw your team come back without you and thought something had happened to you.” “The vampire bound himself to me, everything the interrog
I looked at my team and addressed them, “it is rare for us to have free time, we will use it to our advantage.” “You mean you needed to get away from camp and the bond that our target formed with you?” Reva accused as she walked over, her blonde hair braided haphazardly and green eyes staring daggers at me. She was a smaller build and shorter than the others in our group, which was surprising because we were all considered short, among the other Valkyries. “And where were you when we captured the target, Reva?” I retorted, annoyed. “Waiting like you told us.” “No, you were supposed to come with me into that club but when we were surrounded by the vampires people you fled and come to think of it you didn’t return with us either. So where were you.” I asked her as I walked closer to her. “I would never run from a battle.” “If I didn’t have to go into the damn club alone, things would be different.” “You did run, I saw you from our ambush spot.” Thana retorted boredly as she cleane
I woke as the sun was rising and readied for my day; I walked out of my tent; my team was gathered eating breakfast. “Good Morning, Nerine.” Thana smiled as she hands me a cup of the herb tea and a bowl of porridge. “Thanks.” “Can’t have that bond screwing stuff up while we are heading into the mountains.” “Yeah, that would be inconvenient.” “When will we be leaving?” Sáta asked, walking over to us. “As soon as everyone has finished eating.” I replied, after taking a sip of the tea. Valkyries didn’t really need to eat human food, but when we did, we found it doubled our strength and helped speed up our healing. In times where food was unavailable, we could siphon energy from the souls we collected for Odin, or from the adrenaline of battle. Once everyone was ready, we gathered our weapons and headed out. “Bride, where are you going?” Prince Dagon asked in my head. I rolled my eyes and headed towards the trial we would take until we were far enough from the pack and village t
“What did she do exactly?” I asked, now worried, if she gave away any of our secrets, our whole team would be put on trial and judged. “I don’t know if she broke any laws per se, she disappeared for a while last night and didn’t tell anyone where she went to.” “So, she did what you guys did to us?” I asked, breathing a sign of relief. “Yeah, but when she returned, she was acting differently.” “Differently how?” “More reserved and less like herself, it was as if someone else had taken over her body.” “Keep an eye on her and tell me if you notice anything else, okay?” Hetha nodded and headed back to her tent. “Great, now we have to worry about what she is up to; she was difficult to deal with before.” Thana fumed. “Hopefully, it is nothing we have to worry about.” I put in. Reva was the newest to our squad, having been with us for only about fifty years. Reva and I butted heads a lot, she had challenged me more than once to be the leader of our squad, every time I had won and a
When I awoke, it was dark outside, and I could hear people talking. “You should’ve stopped the interrogation; you could’ve killed her.” Sáta yelled at someone. “She told me not to, she knows how important our mission is.” General Abtez retorted. I sat up, looking at my blankets. Blood was everywhere, groaning I stood and headed outside. “Why is there a Berserker in my camp?” I asked Thana as Sáta and General Abtez jumped, turning to look at me. “You look like shit.” Thana stated. “You are too kind.” I smirked. “Are you okay?” General Abtez asked concerned. “Right as rain. Did he tell you anything useful?” He shook his head. “No, he is adamant that he has stolen nothing.” I frowned, “They are positive he took it, so just keep at it.” “But…” “Just find out where he hid it, okay?” I turned away from them and headed to the nearby river. I stripped and washed the dried blood off my clothes with a piece of damp cloth before wading into the river and washing the blood from my hair
I left his office, my head going in circles, what the hell was happening to me? First, my target recognized me as his bride and now a werewolf as his mate, not to mention the stuff with General Abtez. This must be some kind of sick joke. Why would they recognize me a Valkyrie as theirs when I am not even capable of having a destined mate? I headed towards the pack prison, annoyed with myself for getting into this situation to begin with. “Nerine.” Dagon boomed in my head so loud it felt like my skull split. “Quit ignoring me, you are in as much danger as I am.” I guess the Berserkers have started their work. I doubled over as the pain in my head increased. “Hey are you okay?” A man I hadn’t met asked me. I forced myself to stand upright. “Yes, sorry.” I smiled. As I picked up my pace heading to the prison. As I reached the door to the prison, I heard Dagon yell, “I stole nothing, you idiots have the wrong person.” Before he yelled. “You are not just hurting me.” I felt as if s
“Nerine, wake up?” I opened my eyes, seeing Thana looking down at me. “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up and facing her. “General Abtez wants you to go with him to meet Alpha Rawlins.” “Really? You woke me up cause the big scary Berserker needs me to hold his hand?” I laughed. “Pretty much.” Thana laughed. “Very well, I’ll be out in a minute.” “I’ll let General Abtez know.” She shared before leaving my tent. I looked at the cast on my arm; I knew it was healed already, so used my claws to slice through it and remove the plaster. “I stretched out my arm.” Good as new. I smiled. I loved being immortal. I quickly dressed, putting on my leather skirt and breast plate. I pulled on my boots and laced them, grabbing my Sais and sword before heading out of the tent. I pulled my long brown hair into a ponytail as I headed outside of camp where General Abtez was waiting. “Morning General Nerine.” General Abtez smiled at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, "I told you to stay away from m