Page 4 of Fenrir

“Home.” Fenrir opened the door to his 1967 Mustang and slid inside, making the seat groan with his weight.

“Why don’t you come over? Val is making dinner believe it or not, and Freyette-”

“Thanks, I’m good.” Just the sound of his baby sister’s name was enough to almost make him want to go over to Loki and Val’s. Ever since Val and his dad had gotten together, his dad had seemed happy for the first time ever. And after baby Freyette was born, Fenrir started to see a side of his father that he’d never experienced himself as a child or young man. Hel, he’d never seen that side of his father ever. It made Fenrir both happy for baby Freyette but also a tad jealous at the lack of love he himself had experienced. Being around the baby sister, he’d come to love and adore was bittersweet.

Loki sighed. “You really need to get out. You need to make friends or go on a date or… something.”

Fenrir squeezed his eyes shut. Not again. Why couldn’t Loki get it through his gigantic head that Fenrir wasn’t the kind to make friends? That he didn’t date? That he was destined to be alone. Forever.

“I do go out,” Fenrir said. “I do jobs. I go to the fight club. I workout. Even the word has the wordoutin it.”

Loki chuckled, and it made Fenrir smile despite himself.

“I need a shower,” Fenrir said, trying to hint at hanging up.

Loki sighed. “The money will be in your account in an hour. Get some sleep and then… try getting a hobby or something, ok?”

“Sure.” As if that would happen.

There was a pause for a second, and Fenrir was about to hang up when he realized Loki was still on the line.

“I worry about you, son,” Loki finally said.

Son?Son. Fenrir could count on both hands the number of times he’d heard his dad call him son. The word struck a bolt straight through him.

“I want you to find someone. I want you to find happiness. I want…” Loki didn’t need to say the last words for Fenrir to know what he meant. He wanted Fenrir to let go of the past and move forward.

But how did someone move past a history of abuse, hate, and shame? Therapy? Meds? No thanks. Not his style.

“Have a good night. Tell Val I say hi and kiss Freyette for me.”

Before Loki could say anything more, Fenrir hung up. He roared his Mustang to life and listened to the engine’s rumble. He let the rumble vibrate through him and then turned on the radio. He was wound up. How could his father calling him ‘son’ and being kind get him so emotional? He had no idea. But he needed an outlet, and the fight club wasn’t going to do it for him tonight. There was only one way he could calm down enough to get any sleep that night: drive. And the only place to drive was down at the Demon Drag Races.

Fenrir’s beast’s roar mimicked that of his engine. If he couldn’t run, the drag races were his second favorite thing.

CHAPTER3

“Loki, you have to do something,”said Val.

Loki looked up from where he cradled his sleeping baby daughter to where she chopped vegetables. “What do you want me to do? I can’t force him to get a life.”

Val glared at him. “Loki.”

“That’s not what I mean, lover. I just mean… we’ve all been through stuff. There comes a point when we’ve all had to learn to try and put it behind us and move on. Fenrir doesn’t seem to want to do that.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know how. You and I have been put through a lot by your family in the past, but Fenrir? He’s still going through it. Have you seen anyone embrace him? Take him out to do something? Try to include him in anything besides doing their dirty work?”

“Val, that’s not fair-”

She held up her hand. “Family dinner night doesn’t count because it’s with all the people who caused his trauma to begin with. Think about it. He’s been beaten. Abused. Called a monster and a beast. Fearing his strength and telling him his whole life that he was evil, Odin decided to bind him to a rock. And the only person who could get close enough to Fenrir to do it was his best and only friend Tyr. His best friend even betrayed him. Then he was gagged with a sword and left there until Ragnarök when he escaped.”

Loki chuckled. “Wow. You sound like you feel bad for him.”

Val stopped chopping. “I do feel bad for him and angry for what he has endured at the hands of Odin and the rest of your family.”

Loki stared at her. “All right. What should I do?”

“I don’t know. You’re his father. You should do something to help him.”