The Alpha God’s Luna by Marissa Gilbert
Chapter 71. Out Of Time
Vidar stormed out of the hall and froze at the tall gates, his loyal men following his every step, ready to kill for him if necessary.
An intense heat struck the God of Vengeance’s face, making it difficult to breathe. His lungs felt like they were melting, and he found the reason for it instantly—a giant fire wolf glared at him from above.
“Impossible!” Vidar exclaimed, realising his worst nightmare was unfolding before him. “He was banned from Asgard forever! He can’t just waltz in here and—”
His train of thought was broken when he saw a Valkyrie flying high in the sky. Her golden wings reflected the sun, causing him to blink.
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Realising how his adversity had infiltrated his domain, Vidar swore under his breath at the inescapable loophole. If only there were any other surviving Valkyries able to seal the entrance to this realm for him, he could have prevented this. Sadly, none of them wanted to join him, so he killed them one by one. Some were even killed before Ragnarok started. A pang of regret struck him as he acknowledged that he should have dealt with Kara the same way. He should have eliminated her just like her sisters, but after finding out she was helping the rebels, he wanted to punish her. He found a twisted pleasure in witnessing his enemies suffering, firmly believing that Kara would eventually return, begging for his mercy. That was when he would kill her. Or make her his slave. It would have depended on his mood that day.
Yet she chose to oppose him and dared to bring that mutt into his home.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
“Is that Fenrir?”
“And a Valkyrie? What is happening?”
“I thought all the Valkyries were already dead!”
“This must be an illusion! Who is this?”
Fenrir lifted his head up to the Asgardian sky and let out a roar that shook the ground under everyone’s feet. They had heard a similar roar before, and just the memory of what followed made everyone shiver.
They feared him. ft was a primal, bone-chilling fear that made Gods tremble in his presence.
“Shoot the Valkyrie!” Vidar ordered, annoyed by her presence, a reminder of his one and only weakness—the desire for revenge. His warriors hesitated, still paralysed with shock.
Flames flared up and covered the giant wolf as if devouring him whole, but the next moment, they dissipated, leaving a tall, dark figure of a man. “There is no place like home!” Fenrir smirked at them, tilting his head. “I haven’t seen you all in ages!”
A portal opened, and three men walked out of it, taking their places at Fenrir’s side as Kara descended from the sky.
“Traitor!” Vidar threw at her, but she ignored him, spreading her wings wider, each golden feather as sharp as a dagger.
“That’s a compliment, considering who is talking.” Devoss brushed non-existent dust off the golden chains on his bright red leather jacket. “But there is no need for honeyed words. We will drink mead after we win.”
“Win?” Vidar’s jaw ticked. He couldn’t believe the audacity of these people. “You must be kidding!”
“Jokes aside,” Bash arched a brow, “this wedding looks dull. Feels like something important is missing. The bride, maybe?”
The silence in the square became deadly as a smile curled onto Fenrir’s lips. His girl was on her way to the Source, just as they planned. He trusted her to reach it, and he would take care of everything else in the meantime. “The last remaining son of Odin, I challenge you to combat! At this point only Death can settle our score!” Fenrir’s words reverberated through the air as a wave.
“It’s beneath me to fight you!” Vidar seethed, gaining the support of his closest warriors, who chuckled in response.
“My liege, allow me to deal with this abomination,” one of them offered, stepping forward and materialising a large axe in his arms, but the next moment, something shining and powerful swept through the air, landing in Fenrir’s hand.
A veil of dark clouds covered the sky, and lightning struck right between them as everyone gasped, seeing Odin’s spear for the first time in millennia.
“You have no right to wield Gungnir!” Vidar bellowed.
“Why not?” Fenrir spun the weapon between his fingers. “I killed Odin in a fair fight. It’s rightfully mine. Same as Asgard. You grabbed your father’s helmet while his body wasn’t even cold and ignored your siblings’ battles to declare yourself the ruler, but guess what? That doesn’t make you one.”
“You count on usurping my throne?” Vidar grated out.
“Out of the two of us, you are the usurper! I did not want this place; 1 did not need it. I had only one wish, one desire, but you couldn’t leave me and Astrea alone. Whatever happens here today is on you!”
“Astraea is mine!” The God of Vengeance seethed. “She was given to me! She, and everything she has, belongs to me!”
“She is not a thing to be given to anyone! She is a person, and she made her choice a long time ago. Refusing to listen to it doesn’t make it any less true.”
“Vidar will crush you!” Magnus interjected, walking through the milling crowd. “No Asgardian God would decline a challenge, and you are talking with the son of Odin!”
“I am counting on it,” Fenrir sneered, happy for the sudden intervention. “After all, we don’t need to repeat the past. How about we let the loss of one life decide the fate of the realm? Vidar’s or mine. Only one of us will walk out of here alive, and that person will have everything.”
“You have no chance!” Magnus commented and then made a gesture to his warriors. “Form a circle!”
The soldiers obeyed, pressing the crowd to make space and only letting Fenrir’s people stay as close as them to be fair.
“I still haven’t heard your leader accept my challenge,”
Vidar scanned the space around him, swearing inwardly as he saw so many faces expecting him to do the honourable thing. He was in the prime of his power and trained at the same level as Fenrir was, if not better, but… he did not like to take risks. Fighting Fenrir was an enormous risk.
However, if he came up with an excuse now, it could min his reputation once and for all. Magnus cleared his throat as if to hint him it was time to respond and only now Vidar realised his nephew was not guarding the fake Source.
He had questions, but they would have to wait. Life in the mortal realm had to weaken Fenrir at least a little. Gods needed to be present here, close to the Source, to replenish their divine powers.
Vidar made his decision.
“I accept your challenge!” He raised his hand, summoning flames that ran through his skin and materialised in his fire sword. “After all, how can I deny your request to have your soul utterly destroyed? This time, there will be no banishment!”
“You are right,” Fenrir agreed. “Only one of us walks out of here. Or neither of us. 1 am fine with both outcomes.”
Vidar did not like this turn of events. He would have preferred to have more options.
“No one helps either of them!” Magnus announced loudly, rendering any alternative to a one-on-one battle implausible.
“Thank you, nephew,” he locked his eyes with the God of Strength, “your help today will not be forgotten.”
“Of course. Uncle.” Magnus bowed his head respectfully. “I ought to have your back just as you did for my father and grandfather.”
The words made a mocking snort escape Fenrir, and Vidar charged at him in a fit of raw anger. Minutes ago, he was at the top of the world, and now this mutt was in his way again.
The blade missed just two inches from the Wolf God’s throat as he dodged the attack, not putting too much effort into this. The air between them crackled with tension as Vidar wielded the fire sword, trying to s*’*h his rival in his vital points. One agile assault after another, he tried to gain superiority in the fight while Fenrir, with the spear in one hand and the other held behind his back as if to demonstrate that he did not need both hands, countered each blow with deft parries and expertly timed lashes.
Another sharp lunge, and all Vidar managed to cut was a strand of Fenrir’s hair.
Anger simmered in his veins, and he couldn’t control it anymore, the fire slowly taking control of him.
This wasn’t right! From the very beginning, Fenrir wanted what he shouldn’t have desired — a place in his home and possession of his woman! When Vidar won the first time, it felt so right, but he spent all those years alone in Asgard, not able to enjoy his mate.
This wasn’t right! He was entitled to his revenge! He earned it! And they earned what he gave them! He couldn’t lose this stupid fight! Not now! Not ever!
***
Joran shifted mid-flight on his way out of the window, taking a bunch of winged dark creatures along with him. Flames erupted from the dragon’s mouth, followed by the smell of burnt flesh as he went through rows and rows of demons.
Bjorn managed to spread his wings before the shards of glass reached Niki, covering Riannon and Fenrir’s body as well. In the meantime, Gideon, already in his enhanced royal form, caught two demons and ripped their heads off, throwing their bodies outside to clear the space.
“Strawberry, can you hide?” Bjorn asked, knowing they had mere seconds until the next wave.
“I can fight!” she retorted, slightly offended by the suggestion, and although this was not what he wanted to hear, he respected her choice. “Stay safe!” He pulled her for a quick, sloppy kiss. “Please.”
“Darius—” She wanted to tell him so much, but he had to retract his wings to be able to leave the room, and he couldn’t hear her. Just like the Serpent, who was slaughtering big groups of ugly creatures in the sky, Bjorn fully shifted into his new form as he leapt out of the shattered penthouse.
Niki ran to her hidden stash of weapons and got her knives out, throwing one of them instantly at a demon who had reached the broken window, attempting to get inside. Another followed, and then one more. She was running out of knives quickly, and, to her astonishment, the three creatures she hit were not dead.
“Aim for the head!” Riannon told her, trying to detect any kind of rhythm in Fenrir’s chest.
“Gotcha,” Niki nodded and evaded a s*“h of sharp claws, getting her blade out of the demon in the meantime and piercing its temple with it swiftly, enjoying how the sharp silver-coated steel went through his skull. Just like a knife through butter.
Another two were standing up.
“If you see the future and know a trick for us to get out of this mess, this would be a great time to share!” she said to Riannon, who crushed a healing bead over Fenrir’s body and started applying compressions to his chest, praying to whatever Gods were listening for their plan to work.
There weren’t too many reliable gods left, though.
Fenrir was not a mortal, so there was a chance that luck would be on their side. Mortal rules did not apply to him, and this was what they counted on. However, this chance was slim. Their time was almost up.
“I am afraid it doesn’t work like that,” Ria sighed, wishing she was able to fight instead of watching the man her sister loved lingering between life and death.
“I figured it was a longshot,” Niki threw her last dagger, getting it right between a demon’s eyes this time and watching him fall breathless. “Do you at least know what these are? Where do they come from?”
“They are—” Riannon was afraid to look at her pocket watch. “Wild vampires, I think. The lowest of their kind.”
“Damn!” Nikiah whistled. “And I always thought vampires were hot. We had a couple on the Firstborn Island. 1 wonder if they survived the sweep… Never mind, I am clearly dying today anyway, so who cares?”
“You are going to survive,” Riannon muttered, blowing off a strand of hair that stuck to her forehead that covered with crystals of sweat. They were almost out of time. “You will live a very long life. 1 saw glimpses of it.”
“Really?” Niki grinned at her, and Ria realised she shouldn’t have said that. “Thanks for letting me know! That unties my hands right now!”
“No!” Riannon wanted to grab the girl’s hand and warn her not to do anything stupid, but the Firstborn had already shifted into her wolf form and lunged at the new creature who got through their defenders.
“Come on, come on, come on!” Ria whispered, biting her lip nervously. She knew the outcome of today and that this burden would stay with her forever. Sometimes, her gift felt like a curse, but she already knew by trial and error that letting the knowledge she had out into the world was only making things worse.
The Queen of the West looked around. Niki’s wolf sank her teeth into a demon’s neck, decapitating it almost instantly. Gideon was holding three vampires back at the other end of the room, not letting those get to her. Outside, Bjorn and Joran were working in perfect sync. It all was going well.
Except for the fact that their time was running out, and Fenrir wasn’t waking up.
“Come on!” she whispered. “You can wake up and then go back again. I am sure we can work something out!”
Something tall and weighty thudded before her, prompting Ria to lift her gaze to the repulsive creature towering over her. Its grey, wrinkled skin resembled that of a decaying corpse. Draped in torn rags that hung loosely from his muscular body, which still resembled a skeleton in some places, the monster bared his sharp, jagged teeth at her as his bat-like wings spread, preparing for an attack. They did not look like the majestic wings of a creature of the night. Instead, they were tattered and worn, with gaping holes scattered across them. His eyes gleamed red with bloodlust, convinced that he had, at long last, discovered his elusive prey.
Once upon a time, Riannon thought that wild vampires were a myth. Vampires, in general, were considered to be demons, and wild vampires were the ones who were lost to the curse of bloodlust. Not being able to control themselves in their beast form, they stayed in it forever, decaying and only living to hunt for blood. Similar to Lycans, who couldn’t typically use their third form without going mad.
But she had never seen a wild vampire before, never heard of anyone actually seeing one.
This right now… was as unreal as it gets.
He was about to pounce at her, and Ria was still performing CPR on Fenrir. She had to keep going. She could swear she still heard a weak irregular rhythm inside as the power of the bead he used was wearing off.
Riannon heard Gideon’s possessive growl as he noticed his wife in danger, yet the determined woman crushed another bead between her fingers and stretched her hand, emitting lightning and frying the vampire on the spot.
She was watching his still-convulsing body fall to the ground when the alarm clock on her watch rang, letting her know Fenrir had no more time to spare.
Not thinking twice, Riannon placed her hand on his chest… and charged it, hoping to hear anything resembling a strong heartbeat again.
Nothing.
“What’s going on?” Joran shifted effortlessly, stepping into the room straight from the sky. Worry washed over his face despite him trying to hide it. There were hardly any demons left, and Bjorn was dealing with those. “I have no time to speak,” Ria brushed him off and sent another charge to the Wolf God’s chest. “1 am saving your brother. You will help if you deal with the demons.”
Joran watched her with distrust. It all seemed surreal. How could his own brother trust these people instead of him?
The thought came and left. He knew how that happened…
Niki stood near a shattered window and watched Darius battling the beasts all by himself. There were four of them now, and in all honesty, Joran had left him too early, it was evident that the dragon bear hadn’t yet mastered the art of using his wings effectively, unlike his adversaries, who faced no such challenge. Helplessly, she witnessed their relentless assaults, aware that she couldn’t help him from her current vantage point.
Niki shifted back to her human form and pulled on an oversized shirt she found on the floor among shards of glass, not caring who it belonged to. She began scouring for her knives, discovering two embedded in the vampire corpses. With precision, she extracted them both and returned to the window.
“Here!” She shouted, trying to attract their attention. “Bring them here!”
Bjorn looked at her just for a second, and her heart clenched painfully. He would do no such thing.
“Stupid bear!” she muttered.
A demon landed on Bjorn’s back, digging his claws into his flesh and ripping into one of his wings in the process, causing the bear to roar from the pain and lose balance. A second more, and the vampires would kill him.
Niki threw one of her daggers at the attacker and got him straight into the temple, making him fall off of her Darius.
She turned to the next one, aiming with precision, and killed off one more, allowing the dragon bear to grow his talons and s***h at one, decapitating the third demon.
Only now Niki realised they had lost the fourth demon. Where was it?
Her eyes locked on Bjorn right when she heard Riannon screaming, “Niki, dodge!”