THE CHALLENGE

Battle. Raid.

Earn my wealth, I answered. I don’t need Carspey. Declan blew out a breath, then got to his feet.

Let’s not quarrel. It’s been months since I’ve seen you. I glanced at the hand he held out, half of me wanting to keep arguing.

We both knew I’d never make a decision that would harm my family, and that made all my arguments meaningless. So instead, I took my brother’s hand and let him haul me to my feet.

Where does Alpha Orion plan to raid this summer? Before Declan could answer, the sound of hooves filled our ears.

A gang of warriors on horseback came, and my gut tightened as I recognized my mate at their head, his countenance smug. My lord.

Declan nodded at the huge guy who rode at Carspey ’s side, who must be Alpha Orion.

I’d never seen him before, having never ventured more than a few hours from the Moonlit shadow pack and never to his stronghold at Mystic Rune pack.

Tall and thick, he had dark brown hair and a beard laced with gray, his eyes lined with deep wrinkles, and his mouth set in a frown.

Most would have called him attractive, but the way he stared at me made my skin crawl. Like I was something to be possessed. Declan, Alpha Orion responded, but his eyes remained fixed on me.

The last thing I wanted to do was meet his eyes, so I looked beyond him at the rest of the party.

Besides Carspey, there were three men clad in mail jackets. They carried axes, as well as swords, the weapons speaking volumes of their fighting fame, and a woman who has no weapon but her clothes leaves a lot of cleavages.

Yet my gaze jumped past all of them to focus on the one who rode at the rear of the gathering. Oh gods. Though it made sense for him to be here, shock nonetheless pulsed through me at the sight of the warrior from the beach.

Shock echoed in his green eyes as he looked from me to Declan then back again, as the Alpha Orion stated.

This is the sister you always speak of, Declan? Not waiting for my brother to react, the Alpha replied to Carspey, She’s your mate, yes? Yes, my lord. This is my Andronika.

Not yours, I wanted to hiss. Never yours. But I bit my tongue, for something was going on here that froze my stomach to ice, the sensation a thousand times worse because of the expression on Carspey’s face.

He was beaming like a cat given a bowl full of cream. What was he so thrilled about? Why were Alpha Orion and his warriors here?

What did they want? You never mentioned to me that your sister was also a warrior, Declan, Alpha Orion replied.

Carspey tells me that she wishes to join the raids this summer, is that true? No, my brother shouted out, then tried to mask the outburst with a joke.

Andronika knows only about gutting fish and keeping house. She’s no warrior. I bristled, then bit the insides of my cheeks as Alpha Orion offered me an amused look.

You disagree, Andronika? You believe you can fight? I gulped hard, sweat sliding down my spine since they were all staring at me.

Best to say the truth, especially since my skills were renowned. My father taught me to fight when I was a girl.

I can handle myself. Your father is Derrick. Was, I corrected. He died a year ago. It was in a fight, wasn’t it?

My cheeks hurt as I bit into them, unsure whether my brother had lied or whether the Alpha had simply not cared enough to remember the details.

No, my lord. Dropped dead the night of my wedding. The healer said it was his heart. Alpha Orion stroked his chin. Shame.

Derick was a powerful fighter in his prime. We fought side-by-side in several shield walls. If he taught you, then what you’ve learned is good.

And I can always use additional warriors. She’s a married woman,” Declan said before I had the chance to comment. With respect, Andronika should be focused on family, not fighting.”Agreed,” Alpha Orion said.

But Carspey tells me that’s not the case.That Andronika thinks more of fighting than of babies.

Oh gods.

Understanding what was happening struck me at the same time it did Declan, his face blanching.

Carspey wished to end our marriage and had asked Alpha Orion to witness it. Bile boiled up my throat, for as much as I desired to be rid of him, I knew the repercussions.

Knew it would be my family who suffered because I couldn’t keep my blasted mouth shut. Let us see if Andronika is a better warrior than she is a wife,” Alpha Orion said.

Give her a weapon, Declan. My brother didn’t move.The Alpha’s eyes hardened. You would defy me in this? I would not see my sister harmed.

Declan would protect me out of pride. I knew it, and I refused to watch it happen when all that needed to be done was for me to accept humiliation.

Maybe that would be enough to placate Carspey, and he’d rethink. “Give me your sword, Declan.”

My brother whirled on me, amber eyes blazing. Andronika, no!” I held out my hand. He stared me down, and I silently willed him to comprehend how this would play out.

To realize that the only harm I’d come to was a few bruises and a solid knock to my pride. A blow that I was willing to accept for the sake of him and our mother. Seconds passed, the tension in the clearing rising.

Then Declan grudgingly pulled his weapon, offering it to me hilt-first. I curled my fingers around the leather handle, feeling the weight of it. Feeling the rightness of it.

Behind Alpha Orion, his Beta Zachary began to dismount, but Alpha Orion shook his head at him and looked to the dark-haired warrior I’d flirted with on the shore.

Tristan, you will test Andronika ’s prowess.” Tristan. My confidence crumbled at his name, realization of who he was hit me like a battering ram to the gut.

He was Alpha Orion’s son and an Alpha in making. Which would have been bad enough, but he was also a child of Thor, the goddess having gifted him a drop of blood and all the magic that came with it at his conception.

My brother had told me many times about this man’s prowess on the battlefield. A fighter without equal who left only the dead and dying in his wake.

And he was who Alpha Orion wanted me to fight? I might have vomited, but Tristan started laughing. He slammed a palm against his saddle, spine bowed backward as he let out a loud laugh.

This went on for some moments before he wiped away his eyes, directing a finger at Alpha Orion.All those who say you have no sense of humor are liars, Father. “I made no jest.”

Alpha Orion’s voice was chilly, and beneath his beard, his jaw twitched back and forth with clear irritation. Or at least, obvious to me.

Tristan merely barked out a laugh. You want me to fight this…girl? To battle a fishmonger’s mate who has hardly the strength to lift the weapon in her hand?

It was a fight not to scowl, for while the weapon was hefty, it was no heavier than a bucket of fish and I carried those all day.

“Yes, Tristan. That’s exactly what I wish you to do.” Alpha Orion tilted his head. Unless you wish to give me cause to doubt your loyalty by refusing?

This was a test, that much was apparent, and it was my misfortune to be caught in the middle of it.

It was Tristan who conceded, breaking off the standoff with a shrug. As you like. He slid off his horse, then marched toward me with predatory ease, a flirty smile long gone.

I was soon reminded of how much larger than me he was, and all of it muscle. But it wasn’t what filled me with fear.

No, the fear that ignited my veins and made me want to run, made me want to cower, came when his mouth formed the word Thor and an axe made of fire appeared in his grasp.

I could feel the heat of it, the weapon burning far hotter than natural flame, the flickers of red ,orange and blue so intense they pained my eyes.The flame of a god.The flame of conflict.