Page 8 of The Blood Wolf

7

Nicola tried not to gape like a fool at the large hall she found herself in. If she hadn't known she was in Inferno, she would have thought she had woken up in Scandinavia. The hall was made of wood with high, heavily carved beams and a roof that curved like she was in the upturned hull of a ship. A fire blazed at the center, with long benches and tables on either side of it.

Nicola swallowed her nerves and straightened up, fixing a bored expression on her face. She would not give her nerves away to anyone watching.

Thor sat on a carved throne, still dressed much like her in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was down around his shoulders, and her fingers twitched to touch it.

The Blood Wolf was her mate. There was no trying to deny it when every part of her knew the truth. She had heard about true bonds her entire life but thought they were a myth. Bonds had to be forced and accepted by each other to bind. They weren't naturally occurring. Yet there it was…an invisible line tugging her toward the most feared Blood Lord in the city.

And he didn't look the least bit bothered or impressed by the three wolves that were standing in front of him.

Nicola recognized them instantly. There were two younger wolves, Matthew and Alex. They were Kaleb's bruisers who had gotten in on trying to beat information out of her. The third was an older wolf, Stephen, who had been one of her father's friends and had always acted as the pack emissary.

Nicola remembered him sneaking her sweets as a child when no one was looking. She pushed down the memory. She couldn't trust him any more than she could trust the other two.

"Ah, there she is. You see, gentleman, Nicola is well," Thor said, his voice calm. "In fact, she's in a much better state than when she arrived here."

Stephen frowned. "What does that mean?"

"You didn't know that your pack has imprisoned her for the past two months? That does seem like an oversight for an emissary," Thor said, and his words cut through the hall like a blade.

Stephen flinched. The other two did not.

"It is wolf business," Matthew stated. "Hand her over."

A huge man sitting on one of the benches let out a soft laugh. "You don't come into our territory and make any demands on myjarl, pup. That's how you get your tail ripped off."

Matthew snarled softly like the fool he was. "And you think you're one to do it? You kidnapped one of ours. We have a right to demand her back."

Thor ignored the dick measuring. He was looking Nicola over from her bare feet to her braided hair. Heat coiled in her belly in response, and he must have seen something on her face because his eyes flashed scarlet for a flicker of a second.

"Nicola, please tell these idiots the truth," Thor said, his voice a little huskier than what it had been.

"Lord Thor is right. I came here of my own free will and requested sanctuary with the Blood Pack," she told the wolves.

The answering curl in Alex's lip made her long for the ax that Astrid had offered her. "You have no free will, bitch. You are in the Pateras Pack, which means you belong to the Alpha."

Nicola tasted bile in the back of her throat. Thor was well within his rights to return her to them and save himself the fight that would come.

"Nicola is in my territory, which means if she belongs to anyone, it is me, wolf," Thor growled. He turned to her and smiled, showing his curving canines. Impossibly, seeing that smile made her nerves settle. He held out a hand, and heat flared in her belly again. Her wolf really liked the idea of belonging to Thor. "Isn't that right, little one?"

Nicola took his big, calloused hand before she could think too hard about it. Thor drew her to him and into his lap, but she didn't fight it. She didn't want to either. Her wolf was all but turning over and showing him her belly, wanting to be stroked. Her skin went hot as soon as her ass touched his thick thighs, but she tried to keep her face calm.

"That's right," she said, her mouth drying out as she settled against the heavily muscled chest. She wasn't a petite woman, but he was so big that he made her feel like one.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get off that abomination now," Matthew hissed, a flicker of command in his voice. As Kaleb's second, she should have done everything that he asked. He no longer had any power over her.

"Did you hear that? I'm an abomination. Are you scared?" Thor asked her, a teasing note in his voice.

Nicola smiled at him. If she looked at him, she wouldn't have to look at the two males who had brutalized her. "Not even a little bit."

Thor's arm slid around her waist. "Do you want to go back with them or stay here with me? The choice is yours."

"I want to stay here with you," she replied honestly.

"You can't," Stephen's voice cut through the snarls that the others were making. "They lack tact, but they are right. You must return to the pack to sort this out properly, Nicola. You know better than anyone that wolves govern wolves. You belong with us."

Nicola pressed back into Thor, hoping he wouldn't freak out on her. She turned back to the wolves, raised her chin, and declared, "I belong with my mate."