The embrace disappeared as quickly as it came and I fell to my knees as I stared at the bright sun. It stung my eyes but I couldn't look away.
"Thank you… my dear friend… take care… of my family… until I'm there." I spoke to the skies.
My body reformed around my consciousness. Around my newfound soul. Suddenly I groaned and fell to my side. My eye was still the same. The clothes and accessories I'd been wearing before coming here were back on my body. I placed my hands over my left eye and groaned in pain.
Fenrir rushed to me in confusion and fear. "B! Are you okay? What's wrong, is it your eye?"
I groaned in affirmation. "Selene… please… I don't have much longer… I've been going insane for the past month! I can't live like this! I can't die like this!"
Fenrir turned to his mate and pleaded. "My love, please help him. He is my dearest friend and the man I aspire to be. He is a true warrior amongst even those in Valhalla."
Selene sighed sadly and hugged his maw. "I cannot help him, mate. I have no wolf to give him. No wolf can withstand his mental age."
Fenrir growled low and nudged me with his nose before turning back to her. "W-what about me? I am old and strong!"
"No, Fen!" I shouted. "You have your mate! You have your life! I won't let you- AAAGHHH"
My left eye burned. It was one of the worst pains I've ever felt! I gripped my eye tightly and debated if I should rip it out.
I felt the pain get worse and reached a hand up to my eye and cupped my eyeball. Fenrir growled and slammed a large paw into my arm, pinning it to the ground.
"Selene!" He shouted. "I trust him with my life and yours and our children's! I trust him with my entire being! Do it! Now!"
Selene bit her bottom lip. "You… won't ever forgive me… if I don't, will you."
It was a statement more than a question. Fenrir looked sad but stood his ground.
"Selene… I love you. More than anything in the world. If Birger hadn't saved my life, we wouldn't have met. It is time I repay my debt." He grinned at her. "Besides, I won't be leaving, my love. I will be with my best friend. I will be my best friend. And he will be me."
She smiled at him and turned to me. "He… does seem worthy… you two are a lot alike. Almost mirror copies of each other."
She placed a hand on my head and her other hand on Fenrir's nose. Before long, Fenrir disappeared into smoke and I felt my thoughts open up. The pain subsided immediately. A tear fell down my cheek and Selene swiped it away with her finger.
I smelled an odd mix of honey and citrus. My eyes squinted suddenly at the scent. It calmed me. Made me feel things I hadn't felt in years. It was a familiar scent. I felt her hand touch the mark that rested on my left shoulder.
I looked up at her and my eyes widened. Another tear fell down my face. "M-mate…"
"Hello again, Birger." Selene smiled at me.
I felt more tears fall down my face. "A-Ashina?"
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯, 𝘉? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢? Fenrir spoke in my mind.
𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢… 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.
I felt Fenrir smile. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘢, 𝘉. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢, 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮.
"My love… I'm sorry I had to leave you like that." Ashina spoke to me sadly.
I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "N-no."
My voice broke. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Ashina. I love you so much. Thank you for being alive."
She too started crying. "I, Selene Ashina Reece, Moon Goddess and mother of Were, accept you, Birger Age, as my mate."
I sniffled and smiled through my tears. "I, Birger Age, Accept you, Selene Ashina Reece, as my mate. I swear to protect and cherish you for as long as I live."
We both smiled through our tears and kiss each other. I rested my forehead against hers. I had my mate back. My Luna. And this time, I was an alpha.
"Do you want to tell me what happened, my love?"
𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘉! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?
I sighed. "First let me explain why I wanted to become a werewolf."
She nodded and I felt Fen wag his tail in my mind.
"I've lasted this long as a human, and I figured if I was something… more, my mind would be able to take the strain. A werewolf mind is stronger than a vampires. Their will is stronger. I thought that becoming a werewolf would be the most comfortable outcome for me. My brother was Were, my wife was Were, and my people were mostly Were. Getting a soul was… and added bonus that I didn't think was possible."
Ashina- I mean, Selene, nodded. "That was a good idea. A werewolf's mind is indeed stronger than most mortal creatures. They have an innate dominance over their own psyche. It's what helps them perceive their packs emotions without confusing them for their own."
I nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, I um… I got married…"
I looked up at her nervously. I didn't know what she would think about me marrying- or even talking about marrying someone other than her. She growled lightly and placed her hand on her forehead.
"No, no. Don't mind, Birger. I died. I am happy that you found love after my death. All I was worried about when I died was wether or not it would break you." She smiled sadly.
I nodded hesitantly. "Well… Me and Chelsie had a son together… Ford. We spent 3 years in Salt Lake City and it was… so peaceful. I had been coming home after work one day and stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some food for her and Ford when a fire truck came blasting down the highway. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I hopped into my car and sped after it and found my house… burned to the ground. They both died in the fire. Chelsie had tried to protect ford to the very end… Later, Death came by and gave me a hint. 'Take a deep breath,' he said. I knew it was a scent. I smelled brimstone and I knew a demon did it. Me and some of my acquaintances did some investigating and… we don't think it was a demon. There have been multiple families that have been dying through the US and it was always a different sup."
Selene raised her hand to stop me. "Sup, meaning supernatural? You call non-humans 'sup?'"
"Yeah. It was a term that just took off. It's not an official name but it gets the point across."
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘉? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵? Fenrir asked.
I shook my head. 𝘕𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯. 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦… 𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.
Now that I thought about it, I was speaking quite calmly. I thought I would feel anger. I thought that I would clench my fists in pure rage. But… I only felt slightly agitated.
This is what I was worried about. Not being myself anymore. It was a disgustingly horrible feeling. How could I only feel agitated when my wife and son were murdered?!
𝘉? 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯! 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹! His voice calmed me. 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰.
I clenched my fists in frustration, instead of anger. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘍𝘦𝘯! 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘺?!
Fenrir snorted in my mind. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦? 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳… 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳. 𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴… 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭, 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭.
Fenrir was now a part of me and I was a part of him so I could tell if he was lying or not. I mean, why would he lie in the first place? He was me, and I was him. We became one, while at the same time, stayed two. It was an odd experience, feeling his emotions as if they were my own. I've felt other's emotions before, but not like this. This felt as though… it was me. I couldn't just push them to the side and ignore them.
Selene nodded. "You both are the same person. You will live the same lives, but be separate entities."
I grunted.
"So, you said something about the murderer not being a demon?" She asked.
"Yeah, from what I saw in New Mexico with Coyote, it looked like a cover-up. Like someone was trying to make it seem like it was a skin-walker."
"Hmm. I haven't heard of anything happening to the wolves…" she trailed off for a moment. "No, I have felt something happening in the European Pack."
I took a deep breath before sighing. "Great… the plot thickens…"
"I don't know if it has anything to do with what's happening in the US but I would recommend checking it out. I've been worried about the amount of rogues that have been appearing. The alphas are not doing their jobs correctly."
"Okay, I'll look into it." I shuddered from the cold. "But can we move somewhere else? It's hella cold here."
Selene scoffed. "You are a werewolf with the most powerful wolf in existence. Not only that, but a dire wolf as well!"
True. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was earlier, now that I was a werewolf. Werewolves have a higher metabolism than humans and a higher body temperature. Right now it felt like it was around 40 degrees.
"Well, yeah, but it's still cold." I spoke with a pout.
She giggled softly. "You haven't changed, Birger. Very well, we can go back to earth."
I reached for the magic contained in my pendant when I felt something. Something new.
I had a soul. I had a soul! I could make my own mana heart now! I grinned and decided I would have to do that when I had the chance.
For now, however, I simply made a portal using the pendant. It led to the center of Helheim, where the Bifrost was. It would take us to earth. I've never actually been to the Bifrost before so I was excited to see what my battle brothers had done with it.
We stepped through and entered a simple room that had runes cut out into the walls. In the center was a dial that had 9 options that were laid out in Roman numerals. I looked around in… dissatisfaction.
This… was the Bifrost? It looked like the inside of an old Viking hut that had been renovated to look more modern. The thatch hung down from the ceiling in random clumps. It stunk of mud and straw.
"This… is not what I was expecting…" I said uncertainly.
Fenrir chuckled in my mind. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘵! D𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?
I was, actually. GOW 4 had hyped up this place a bit too much I guess.
"It's quite… straightforward?" Selene said awkwardly.
"It's fuckin' lame!" I said, discontent.
It was lame! No ifs ands or buts about it. The Bifrost, the center of the universe according to Norse mythology, is just a fucking hut in the middle of Helheim?!
I felt cheated! Give me the giant rainbow bridge! Give me a fucking capstan and let me move and entire bridge with it!
I sighed. "Whatever… I should have expected this from Odin."
I looked at the dial for a moment. There were 8 doors here. There's no way it's as simple as moving a dial and walking through a door… right? What about Heimdall? I thought he controlled this shit? I've been out of touch with my people for too long, I guess?
I reached my hand out and twisted the dial to number 4 and a door opened up.
"Are you fucking…" I groaned. "Fucking boring ass Vikings! All they care about is fucking war!"
Fenrir chuckled. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘉!
I grunted. "Let's go."
We stepped through the door that lead to 'Midgard' and ended up in a log cabin that had a replica dial of the Roman we were just in.
It still felt cold and a quick look outside one of the windows showed that it was snowing.
"Uh, Selene?" I asked her as I looked outside the window. "Where are we?"
"Most probably Europe." She said.
"Why do you say that?"
A man threw open the door to the cabin and immediately turned to me with a growl. His beard was beaded like mine had been. His icy blue eyes were cut into a glare.
"Where did you come from, rogue?" He asked me in a low voice.
He spoke in old Norse?!
I looked to my left and saw that Selene disappeared. Vanished into thin air.
𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦? I thought.
I had a vision of Fenrir shaking his head. 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.