Antiope

The Butcher. Now it all makes sense. Why people fear him. Why they avoid his glance. I was right the first time I saw him at the Mating Hunt. A ruthless Alpha. A hard male. A ferocious wolf. A Viking warrior that brings death and destruction.

That seems so long ago as if it was in another lifetime. How many times my life was turned upside down since the day I received the Royal Invite to the Hunt? And through all these twists and turns, I ended up right where I was meant to be in the first place. I was a fool to doubt the Moon Goddess.

I never would have thought I would be mated with a male like him. That I would see his hard side and push through to see the real him. To listen to the reason why he became that vicious wolf everyone fears. Why no one dares to cross him or his territory. Until now. At the thought, I frown. Why now?

Magnus groans pitifully and ends my wonderings. I pierce through the bond and his ache hits me hard. He truly believes I will leave him. Why now and why me? My mind strays once more.

"My offer stands. The plane can take you back. I, Alpha Magnus Ulfisson, relieve you of-"

"Shut up, Magnus, I am thinking."

His eyes go wide and his jaw drops. But I am too worked up. Why did those three wolves dare cross the border? At the very same place his sister was killed?

"The bodies," I inquire.

"We..." his voice is strained. "We left them to rot. I had to take Lars back. To be buried with-"

"Not those bodies."

I shiver. I know at some point I have to acknowledge what he has confided in me but right now my mind won't let me deal with that. Perhaps it's looking for a distraction.

"I meant the wolves I killed."

Magnus loses his sad face and this time his eyes pierce mine as if I am going crazy.

"Torhild brought them back to see if we can identify them."

"Did you?"

"No."

"Rogues?"

"What else? Antiope, what's going on?"

Something is off.

"The report."

"Antiope?"

Now he was looking at me as if I were crazy.

"The report on that cousin of yours or whatever," I say and jump out of bed.

Magnus says nothing. And by the dark look in his eyes, he is slowly getting on board.

"You think the attack on you both was connected?"

He too stands up from the bed and we both get dressed.

"Could it be Gunnar?"

"No," he says as he throws a tee over his body. "We would have identified the bodies."

I start getting dressed too. This is not the way I imagined us spending our first post-sex time but my instincts are going crazy. Something is seriously wrong.

"I will call a meeting," Magnus says and I sense the mindlink vibrate. "Breakfast first."

"Seriously?"

"It's part of the deal," he smiles at me.

Damn those smiles. We may or may not be facing grave danger and I am looking at him like a schoolgirl looks at her crush.

"Bacon and eggs, little girl?"

I squint my eyes at him. I hate that I don't hate him calling me that. Not anymore. And I am not sure I ever did.

"Nah," I drop what I am doing and walk to him. "Maybe I should try those Swedish things."

Without a warning he grabs me, lifts my knees around his waist and I am pinned to the wall, his hard erection rubbing against my core that goes wet instantly.

"Try Swedish things, huh?"

"That's more like it," Max says.

"Magnus we have to..."

"Oh, we sure do," he gyrates his hips and I can't help but moan.

"I agree with our mate."

"Shut up, Max," I shout in my head and then turn to Magnus.

I shouldn't have done that. The fire in his eyes,the possessiveness, the scorching passion floor me.

"We need to-" I try again.

"What I need," Magnus growls as he pulls my shirt up, "is to be inside you."

Well, I can't argue with that. Purely because the same need comes over me tenfold. We go for each other's jeans with urgency. Seconds or a lifetime after we are naked. Magnus pins me to the wall again and I wrap my legs around his waist. And with one fluid move he is buried inside me to the hilt.

"Ah!" I yell in pleasure.

"That's it, little girl," Magnus pants. "Take me all, all for you."

It doesn't take long. We are too drunk from the bond, the mating, the marking. It's too much. I feel my orgasm building but his as well. I feel my love for him fired up by the passion of his love for me.

"Magnus!" I say between gasps.

He comes closer, his lips hovering over mine. He takes my lips and we lock in a whirlwind of a kiss till my body gives out and I throw my head back as I let go.

"You fit me so well, mate. Made just for me," he growls.

And then his words turn into a howl, the veins on his neck straining and I feel his cock twitch inside me and his warm seed spill in me.

Our foreheads meet as we catch our breath and a smile blooms on my lip.

"Now, I really need to take a shower," I say.

"You will not," he orders. "I want everyone to know we are fully mates."

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. I too want to carry his scent on me, to show the world I am his and he is mine fully. No shame.

So I get dressed and I follow him out to his office. Minutes after Egil comes in half asleep but wakes up and smiles as soon as he smells the air in Magnus's office.

"Congratulations!" He says in his hoarse voice.

"That's why you woke me up? To smell... this?"

"Shut up!" Both Magnus and I say at the same time.

"Great. Now there's two of you," Egil shakes his head and his long hair move with it.

Not long after everyone is in. Egil is asked to bring the report while everyone is on edge.

"Torhild, what did you get from my kills?" I ask the Sentinel.

"Nothing. No marks, no tatts, no distinctive smell. They are not of a pack that we know."

"Rogues?"

"Too strong to be rogues. And they sure as hell don't smell as rogues."

I turn to Magnus. His look is dark. His confession to me combined with this is revving him up. Someone is trying to mess with what is his and that someone will regret kicking that hornet's nest.

"Egil?"

"The report on Alexander's death says pretty much what we are up against as well. No signs of a known pack, no rogues either."

Magnus gets up and grabs his phone. He talks in Swedish but from his tone, I can tell that he is demanding something and the one at the other end of the line is obliging him.

"This is bad," Magnus says as soon as the phone call is over.

"What is going on?"

"How did this fly under the Royal Guard's attention?" Magnus frowns.

"Magnus!" I demand his attention.

"On the other hand, the line to the Royal Throne was never something that anyone worried about. In all of the history, there has never been an incident..."

"Alexander was not the only one," I know instantly.

Magnus looks up to me and he is genuinely worried. His eyes roam over me with possessiveness and protection. I want to go to him and hold him and promise him that nothing will happen to me, that he won't lose me now that he found me.

"Call Thane," he throws at Torhild. "He has no time to decide. He is still the Luna Champion and he is reporting to her now."

"But he..." Torhild looks at me. "He failed."

"That's why I know he won't do it again," Magnus's voice turns darker than the look on his face.

"Magnus, tell me what's going on."

"It's only the two of us now. Sig and I. I am the last to the Throne."