Page 17 of Berserker Devotion
If her magic had not rendered him immobile, he would have shuddered from repulsion. How the fuck did she know about the Norse warrior bands when he’d never heard of Odin’s wolves or dark magic witches?
She grabbed his right hand and held it up. “Yes, I’ve read about this,” she cackled. “Look,” she said to Nora. “His berserker has claimed you too.”
His fireling glared at the other woman, a question in her gaze as she focused on him.
“Oh,” Inessa said with false cheerfulness. “You didn’t know what the serpent’s tail meant.” She tutted. “Aw. That’s so said. You’ve both found your soulmate right before you die.”
“Leave him alone,” Nora gritted out through clenched teeth. “The deal was you would get me in exchange for my uncle.”
“Yes, but then you brought this delicious morsel to me. How can I ever resist this temptation?” Inessa winked at Ulf. She leaned in and licked his cheek. Her saliva traced an aching cold path on his skin.
He felt like throwing up.
“He’s here to help my uncle, in case you’d injured him.” Nora breathed out. “There’s no need to kill him. This is between you and me, witch.”
“Oh, but you see, I don’t even have to kill him,” Inessa said. “If you are his true mate, he’ll die once I kill you. Just like he would if the two of you didn’t complete the bond.” Nora frowned up at Ulf, but the witch didn’t notice as she continued. “He’d probably die a slow and agonizing death and I’ll harness all that delicious pain and suffering into power.” She smiled.
Ulf thought that sounded like a horrible plan.
Plus, since he and Nora had slept together, technically they had completed the bond. Hadn’t they? He’d reason that out another time, though, because right now, he needed to kill this evil witch. He could feel Nora’s pain and it needed to stop.
His berserker howled its agreement.
Inessa to snapped her gaze back to Ulf.
Nora frowned as if she’d also heard his inner warrior.
Ulf eased off the mental restraints that kept the berserker from taking control over his body. The warrior spirit shrieked a battle cry and fought the restraints the magic had on their body. Ulf managed a small step toward Inessa.
The witch cocked her head and raised the remaining glowing ball, ready to hurl it at him.
“No,” Nora screamed, reaching out toward them both. She grabbed Ulf’s leg, using it for support as she struggled to rise from the floor.
Her touch flooded his body with strength and suddenly, a rust-colored wolf joined his berserker inside Ulf’s mind. This inner warrior spirit and the wild animal studied each other for half a beat, and then the wolf grinned.
Both beasts threw back their heads and howled.
The sound of glass shattering reverberated in Ulf’s ears and the magical bonds broke.
Swiftly pulling the ceramic knife out of his pocket, he lunged toward the witch, blade high, ready to be buried in her neck.
She screamed, but before he reached her, she vanished. The echo of her frustrated cry slowly dying.
“What the fuck?” he asked the space where she’d just been.
“I hate when she does that,” Nora said, struggling to breathe. “She’s a fucking coward and jumps locations whenever she’s about to lose a fight.”
He rushed to her side and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Every muscle in my body hurts like hell, but the pain is ebbing. I think her magic dissipated when she vanished.” She looked over at the cage with her uncle.
The brown wolf paced a few turns inside its prison. The shape of it turned blurry for a few seconds and in its place stood a naked dark-haired man. “Why would you come here?” he yelled at Nora. “Why would you put yourself in danger like that?”
His fireling limped over to the hydraulic controls and pushed the button that lowered the cage. “You would have done the same for me,” she snarled back.
“No, I wouldn’t,” the man huffed, crossing his arms as he crouched in the cage. “Why would I sacrifice myself so a which could harvest my life force to fuel dark magic? That’s absolutely bonkers.”
Nora just smiled as she opened the cage door.