“He’s afraid,” I spoke to my little one as if she were awake, and not stretched out on the bed, her eyes sunken in sleep. “Rolf is the bravest man I know, but he’d rather face a thousand enemies, alone than set his heart on something. But you’re such a sweet, little thing. I find it impossible not to love you.”

Love. What a strange word. It tasted good. I hadn’t loved anyone since my family, and I’d left them behind for fame and fortune as one of the jarl’s prized fighters.

Over a century and we’d finally found her. But would she accept us?

I heated water and bathed her limbs, swirling the cloth over her skin while I watched her face, waiting for her to wake.

Our travels had stained her shift, but I did not remove it while she slept. This little one had suffered before at the hands of men. I wouldn’t strip away the only armor she had. When she woke, I’d convince her to bathe in the hot springs. One day she would want to bare herself to us, but until that day comes, we would treat her with care.

She stirred.

“Easy, lass. You’re all right. Here now,” I crooned like a nursemaid. Rolf would laugh at me, a battle-hardened warrior coddling a tiny female. Let him.

I slipped a hand under her and helped her up to drink my brew. At first she sputtered, but I pressed it on her.

“Drink it all. I’ll find some honey, to make it go down easier. This will clear your lungs.” She gulped the liquid, her eyes heavy and half closed. “Good girl,” I said, when the cup was empty. “Now rest.”

She dropped back into her deep slumber. The shadows lay a little lighter under her eyes. I sat down on the stool beside the bed to guard her.

* * *

Rolf returned on all fours, carrying a fat pheasant in his teeth.

There’s a witch out there. I think it’s the creature we consulted. The wolf snorted once or twice, as if it breathed bad air. She must be looking for you.

“I better go see her, then.” Sage twitched when I spoke, and I waited a moment before I rose. “Watch her.”

Rolf nodded and settled himself down at the foot of the bed in wolf form. I stopped on the stoop, wondering if I should give him any advice, in case the little one woke up and wanted me, but from the way the brown and grey wolf watched her sleep, as if she was a fragile and precious pup, told me the two would manage well together. I Changed into my wolf, and left.

I followed his trail back into the forest, pausing to sniff at the places he’d marked. Like a natural wolf, he’d splashed his scent on the edge of our territory, a careful dribble that would shock any creature’s nose like running into a wall. I cocked a leg and added to the scent wall. No sense hiding there were two large, dominant predators claiming the clearing around the cabin as their own.

Rolf tended to be wary around magic tainted places—he had more exposure to witches than I. He never spoke of what happened, but I recognized the stink of early fear when his nightmares woke him. I knew the taste of that fear, because I’d felt it when I woke from my first Berserker rage, and knew the monster I had become.

The witch waited for me just beyond the hot springs, nearer our newly claimed territory than I liked. Then again, it was her cabin, even if it smelled fresh and clean of all magical taint.

I trotted towards her, tail wagging a little. My wolf head reached her chin. I did not Change into a man. If the witch wanted to talk, she would talk.

“I have something for you, son of Fenrir,” she said. “There is a darkness coming over the land. You must return to the pack soon with your lady love. Is she recovered?”

I huffed. We’d barely rested a day.

“I did not think so. Time will pass differently here. I can give you a few extra weeks in this place without it aging you beyond one. Will that that suffice?”

I stared at her. Magic of that caliber exacted required sacrifice. I would not agree until I knew what price.

She sighed. “I do not make this offer easily, or willingly. The time will come when the pack will do what is necessary, and it will save us all.”

When my furry head cocked to the side, she crossed her arms over her body, a defensive posture no wolf worth his pelt would ignore. I caught a subtle flavor in her scent—fear.

“My power comes from the sacrifices I am willing to make. Most witches go slowly, and sacrifice as little as they can, careful not to overbalance the taint on their soul. But there is one on this island who does not care what he does for power.”

I growled.

“Yes. The mage. The Corpse King, as you call him. My sisters and I find it wise to stay away from the mage. He has power that might ensnare us, and our forces combined will do greater damage to this island. But you—” her finger hovered over my nose. “The Berserkers were made for this fight. I know you don’t wish to have your women in battle—”

I bared my teeth in a snarl at the thought.

“—But they have a part to play as well. You must put the mage to earth, and bind him with the spell that made him.”

I stared at her, the beast and wolf both raging at the thought of Sage, our newfound mate, put into danger. More than anything, I wanted to run from this magic-filled forest to call to the Alphas to tell them what she said. She spoke truth—Rolf and Sage and I would be safer surrounded by the pack. But we couldn’t move Sage while she was ill.

“For now you have a more delicate task. Feed your little one well, and care for her. I scryed for her, and found her sickness did not come by the mage’s power. It is in her mind. But, with time, I trust you will heal her.”