Page 11 of The Blood Wolf

"Really? Because he had plans to take out the whole council. And don't try to say the dragons would stop it. Unless it really caused some kind of threat to them, they would let the wolves and vampires fight amongst themselves. They won't care unless the rest of the city is threatened."

Thor rubbed at his beard. He couldn't argue with that. It was hard to tell what would rouse the dragons enough to intervene. The wolves and vampires had been founders of the city too, but if they kept the warring in their own territories, then the other people and creatures would leave them be.

"I don't know how he could take out the whole council at once," Thor said eventually. "If a single Blood Lord died, the news would spread rapidly."

"I found plans of the vampire council building. I think they were going to take them out while they were locked in a session. I can't let them get away with it. They are extremists, and starting a war with vampires is insane. It will end up getting more innocents killed. The vampires used to keep wolves as pets and servants. We fought hard for independence, and these dumb fucks are going to give the vampires an excuse to bring us under their heels once more. I won't let my people get enslaved, not again," Nicola all but shouted, her passion rising hot. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but the whole thing makes me so mad."

"You don't need to apologize. I understand your feelings deeper than you know. My family and I were slaves and experiments to vampires," Thor said, and the fire in her expression softened.

"I heard rumors," she replied. "I didn't know if there was any truth in them. Everything seems to be a rumor when it comes to you and your wargs."

"A lot of it is true. We just rarely specify which parts. Fear has always been a useful weapon to get people to leave us be," Thor admitted. He would get to him and the wargs. Right now, there was bigger issues. "I take it you have proof of these claims you are making? Because unless we have some real evidence, I don't know how we can act on it. It will be your word against Kaleb’s."

Nicola's smile turned smug. "Of course I have evidence. I'm not a complete idiot. I was trying to get to you the night of the party to tell you what Kaleb was planning. It was the closest I would ever get to a Blood Lord. He grabbed me before I could get it to you and give you the USB I had made. That wasn't the only copy I had, and it wasn't all the information I had on them."

Thor grinned. His mate was clever as well as beautiful. "Tell me where the other copy is, and I will have one of my people retrieve it."

"Yeah, that's going to be a problem," she said, shaking her head. "The place where I stored the files is locked with a ward."

"Astrid can break just about any security ward," Thor began.

"Not one that's keyed to my blood and was made by Galen Murphey."

"Dark gods, please tell me you don't owe that sorcerer any debts," Thor growled.

"Me? Not an idiot," Nicola said slowly, enunciating every word. "I paid him with some antiques he wanted that belonged to my father. The information is in one of his safes at his club,and only I can open it. The problem is, as soon as I leave your territory, Kaleb will try and take me again."

"He can try," Thor said, the thrill of the fight burning in his veins. He couldn't try for it tonight, though. He had other business to attend to. "I have to go to a council meeting in an hour. I'll mention Kaleb's plans to Claudius so he can at least tighten security on the building. We will get your information from the sorcerer tomorrow night."

Nicola nodded."You think Claudius will believe you?"

"He's paranoid like all old vampires. He will check into the claims. If nothing else, he will be furious that someone leaked the building plans to Kaleb in the first place."

Nicola looked up at him from under thick black lashes, and his dick throbbed. Gods, he would do so many fucked up things for a woman like her. Thor hadn't wanted someone so badly for centuries.

"Does that mean you have time to tell me about you and the wargs? I really do only have rumors in my head, and I know they have to be bullshit because you have all been so kind to me," she said, and Thor couldn't hold back his laugh.

"I don't think we have ever been accused of kindness before. You are my mate. Which means you are the warg's queen. They will treat you the way they treat me. Their loyalty to me demands it," Thor replied.

He owed her explanations, though. He barely knew her, but he liked what he saw. She was intelligent, strong, and beautiful. Everything his queen should be. He wanted her to accept him, and there was only one way to get that, and it was honesty. He filled his mead once more.

"Ask your questions, little wolf, and I will answer them."

9

Nicola didn`t know where to begin. Her head was bursting with questions, and she was overcome by a sudden shyness that wasn't like her. The Viking across the table from her was patient and magnetic. She didn't know if it was the fact he was a true Alpha or that he was her mate. How could he possibly be? How could the Fates think that this was a good match? Thor Halfdansson was a legend in every meaning of the word. She was just...Nicola.

"How about the obvious? How did you become a warg, or a vampire, for that matter? It seems a volatile mix," she said and took a mouthful of her sweet mead. She had been drinking water, but now she needed the liquid courage.

Thor watched her calmly, the question seeming to please him. "My men and I are from a small village that no longer exists. At the time, we dreamed of glory and riches, and we had heard of others who had traveled to Miklagard—Constantinople—to work for rich Christian lords. The Byzantines had money to burn, and we wanted more." Thor let out a tired sigh, and Nicola worried he wouldn't continue. "There is much to this tale, and we don't have the time tonight. The short version of events isthat we made it to Kyiv, it was on the way, and we were hired by a rich lord who was traveling to Constantinople and wanted a bodyguard. We thought he was a strange Christian eccentric who only wanted to travel at night."

"He was a vampire?" Nicola guessed, leaning closer as the tale drew her in. Thor had a deep voice that was good for storytelling, and his Scandinavian accent was like a purr in her ears.

"He was a vampire, and worse, he had mages who were interested in experiments. We stopped our travels in an estate outside of the great city, and our host showed us right into the cages that we were to live in for years."

Nicola's chest hurt. "Gods, Thor. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, little one. This was the ninth century. A very long time ago."