First Kyss (Wølves Of Odin Book 1)

Opening gritty eyes, Kristin saw her mom, Gale, sitting upright among the quilts on the bed they shared. Still half asleep, she rose to her elbow and rubbed her eyes. Then she looked again and frowned. Gale didn't quite look like herself anymore. Or maybe she looked more like herself. The true Gale. A Valdyr. Her mom's body and the wolf inside had blurred together as if they were blinking in and out of existence on top of each other. And she looked...healthy. Kristin reached for a handful of fur-something she hadn't seen or felt in years-but she caught only air. In that far, caged corner of Kristin's soul, her own wolf raised her head. The female sniffed the air and then lifted her muzzle and howled. "Mom?" Kristin asked, doing her best to ignore the animal-like always. Gale's chin wobbled, and the corners of her mouth pulled downward. "You can't touch me, sweetheart. I'm in the helmingr." Helmingr. The once-familiar word sat heavily in Kristin's chest. She knew what it meant. She'd just... forgotten-one of the many things she'd forgotten since she'd been locked up in this house. There were no brothers to tease, no father to exasperate with her daredevil antics, no overblown teenage drama to lament. Her torment was all too real. She inhaled sharply, and the familiar stench of sickness invaded her nose, the smell even stronger to her wolf inside. But now there was something else. Something...something... Dead, her wolf thought. Shut up! Kristin yelled, and her wolf lay back down with a whimper. Jerking upright, Kristin pushed tangled blond hair away from her face, her favorite headband lost somewhere in the covers. She hated it when the animal thought for her, when she could feel its emotions. She wanted it gone from inside her and her life back to the way it was before her wolf had risen. Before he had come. A frightened shiver forced its way up her spine, and she dropped her gaze, trying to hide her fear. Warm, tingly hands cupped her cheeks. "Look at me, svassa," Gale said gently. Slowly, Kristin looked up. Her mom smiled at her, but it was tinged with regret. "Only Odin knows why your wolf rose when you were so young, or why your scent made the unmated males feral, but you didn't do anything wrong. You were just a pup." "I was thirteen." "Mine to protect. And your dad's to protect. He and your brothers would fight for you all over again." "And they'd be just as dead." She clamped her jaw together, holding back a sob that shoved up from her throat. Something horrible was about to happen-was happening-and her brain refused to acknowledge it. "Yes, Kitta. They're dead. And you're all that's left of us. Of our family. You have to fight. Let your wolf rise and escape. With my passing, there's nothing to-" "No!" She clamped her hands over her ears, refusing to listen, but her thoughts kept coming. The helmingr, she now remembered, was a perfect, magical merging of the Valdyr with his or her wolf. It happened the first time the wolf rose and the last time upon death. In between, a strong Valdyr could enter the helmingr at will-but her mom hadn't been strong for three years. "You won't be alone for long, Kristin. I've seen someone. A girl. Different from you, but special in her own way. She'll be your family. And later there's a male. A strong male. With Freya's blessing, you'll join with him in the Kyssa." "I don't want anyone else. I want you. Please stay, Mom. Don't leave me." "I can't, Kitta. I've already passed over. I'm in Asgard, in a forest surrounding Valhalla. Your dad is here. And the boys. They see you through my eyes and can't believe how much you've grown. Your father's so proud of you for protecting me after I was injured, for taking care of me." She brushed her thumb over Kristin's cheek. "But now it's time for you to fly." "I don't want to fly." Kristin tried to grab her mom, but it was like sifting through energized air. "Stay with me, Mama. All I have is you." "No. You have your wolf. Accept her, Kristin. She's a part of you to be embraced, not feared or hated. Let her rise when you perform the Hyrr. She'll help you escape." Burn her mother's body. Kristin's fear and pain ratcheted up another level. "I don't know how." "Your wolf will guide you." She shook her head, a whimper pushing past her lips. Even if her wolf could, there's no way Hans would allow it. For once, she was glad to be a prisoner. Hans would never honor the Valdyr way, and her mom would have to stay. "He won't let me." "He will. He wants your wolf to rise so he can use her to bind you. But even he doesn't know how strong you are." Behind her, the bedroom door opened. Kristin spun around. A monster, standing over seven feet tall, loomed in the doorway. His shining beauty made Kristin's eyes ache and her stomach fill with acid. He wore a cream-colored silk shirt and perfectly pressed black pants, his hair and skin shone like moonlight, and his eyes were as black as the night sky. Yet, at other times, he shone like sunlight and his eyes were blue. She didn't know what he was. A Valdyr, maybe, because she'd seen his wolf-a creature as big and cruel as he was. But he had magic, too, had used it against her, and only female Valdyr had magical gifts. Perhaps he was a witch, or one of the Jotun-big, bad enemies of the gods. But the Jotun in the stories were ugly, and no matter how ugly Hans was inside, outwardly he glowed like the sun and the moon. He bared even white teeth at Gale in what Kristin assumed was a smile. "Dead, already?" She rose to protect her mom, her grubby, over-sized T-shirt slipping off her shoulder. But Gale suddenly stood between them, her body a hazy blur. "My daughter's strong. Her wolf won't ever rise for you." "Are you sure?" Hans leaned lazily against the doorjamb. "She'll need the wolf to enact the Hyrr." He shifted his gaze to Kristin's. "Don't you want your mother to be with the rest of your family? She can't go to Valhalla if she's not properly cremated." Gale turned and squeezed Kristin's hands. For the first time, she felt solid to Kristin. "Don't do it, Kitta. Odin will grant me favor. Whatever happens, don't let your wolf out." But in Kristin's mind, her mom said loud and clear, Let your wolf out. Then run like hell, baby. Kristin closed her eyes. She didn't want her wolf to rise. Terrible things had happened the first time it tried to merge with her. The confusing mix of pain and pleasure, fear and exhilaration, the foreignness that somehow felt like homecoming, the shock as her brother's best friend, the sweet one she'd been crushing on for a while, turned on her. He had been the first to die. Her mom said Hans needed the wolf to bind her, but what did that mean? How could she be more bound than she was now? She hadn't stepped a foot outside this house in three years. Gentle pressure brushed her forehead. Her mom's lips. "I love you, Kitta. Odin keep you safe." Then she was gone. The suddenness of it shocked Kristin, and she spun to the bed. Her mom lay under the quilts Kristin had piled on top of her hours ago. She was pale, solid, and fully in her Valdyr form. And she was dead. The chill of the night air nipped Kristin's nose, but she didn't feel it-she didn't feel anything. Shock and sorrow had taken over, and she barely noticed that she was free of her prison and back in the forest of the Appalachian Mountains. Even the presence of her old pack couldn't rouse her. In that caged place deep in Kristin's soul, her wolf paced back and forth, agitated and grieving, but also excited by the fertile scents of the wilderness surrounding them-the resin from the trees, the decay of foliage beneath the melting snow, the sweetness of new life beginning. It was the first time her wolf had been outdoors...the first time the female had wanted to run. A longing filled Kristin to bury her hands in the snow, and she almost dropped to her knees. The compulsion shocked her, and she grabbed onto a log for balance. Roll! her wolf urged. No! she shouted back. Her fingers squeezed around the rough bark, and it slowly dawned on her what she held. Her gaze drifted upward until it rested on her mom's body lying on a wooden pyre. The breath exploded from her lungs as pain punched through her numbness. Her wolf stopped pacing, dropped to her haunches, and howled. Gale's body lay under a linen wrap, her head exposed. Kristin drank in her pale skin, long dark hair, and peaceful expression. The knowledge that this was the last time she'd see her beloved face almost knocked her over, but she refused to let Hans see her weaken. A wave of approval and support rose through her body from her wolf, which confused Kristin. She'd never communed with her wolf like that before. Maybe she should let her out. It was what her mom wanted...what Hans wanted. But how could anything he wanted be right? Trust. The wolf's thought echoed loudly in Kristin's head-warmer, somehow, like it resonated deeper within her body. She almost looked around. Had someone else spoken? But she knew none of the Valdyr surrounding her would speak without Hans's permission. She heard a familiar wheezing cough and glanced over to see her old teacher, Mr. Stennersen, standing in the snow with his head lowered and shoulders drooped. The sweet smell of lilacs wafted beneath her nose and she followed the scent, her eyes landing on the florist her mom had bought flowers from every Friday. The woman leaned weakly against a tree, her eyes downcast and her chin trembling. To her right stood two of Kristin's former playmates, huddled together. They wouldn't-or couldn't-meet her gaze. She recognized other packmates as well and knew they recognized her. She'd heard them whispering when Hans had led her out of the house behind two human males who carried her mom's body on a litter. What did the pack think of humans serving Hans? Did they protest? Or had all the strong members been killed when Kristin's wolf had first risen? Her stomach twisted as images of that day filled her mind-the crazed males, her father and brothers dropping one by one, her mother being ripped apart. Finally, she'd shoved her wolf back down, caged her, and the unmated males had come back to themselves, horrified at what they'd done. But it was too late. Hans had come. She pressed her knuckles to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. She would not think about that now. Footsteps crunched in the snow, and then the monster laid a hand on her shoulder. Claws extended from his fingertips, and he dug the points through her clothing and into her skin. Kristin gritted her teeth to hold back her pained cry. "Here lies Gale Gullari," Hans intoned. "Beloved wife and mother. May she continue in life as in death. Blah, blah, blah." He turned to her, an excited glow brightening the whites of his eyes. "Do your thing, bikkja, and see if Odin listens to broken, worthless wolves. Call his fire, if you can, and seal your mother in Valhalla." Her wolf growled, and the sound tickled the back of Kristin's throat. Worse things had been said to her over the past three years, but still her anger rose, bringing with it a grim determination to honor her mother in front of these piteous Valdyr that had once been her pack. She would do as her mother had asked, and then she'd never have to look upon their faces or Hans's again-until it was time to kill him. Her wolf howled triumphantly, and the door inside Kristin's soul swung open. Wrenching free of Hans, she strode to the other side of the five-foot-high pyre. Blood scented the air where his claws had ripped her skin, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but invoking the fire to seal her mom in Asgard with her dad and brothers and then honoring her last request. To run. Her wolf leapt from her cage and slunk forward, focused on Hans. Three years ago, Kristin had fought against the ulf-risa, but this time she welcomed her wolf. Laying a trembling hand over Gale's heart, the words flowed over her tongue. "I am Kristin Marie Gullari. Daughter of Gale and Andrew Gullari. Sister of Adam, Joran, Garet, and Finn. I honor my mother by calling on Odin to welcome her home. She loved well, fought bravely, and will be met with great joy in the woods outside of Valhalla. As she burned brightly in life, may she burn even brighter in death." Kristin lifted her hand, drawing on the last spark of magic within her mom's body, and flames exploded from Gale's chest. They seared toward the stars, a myriad of colors blazing in the night. The Valdyr She has lost everything...her only hope is the mate Odin promised Lone wolf, Kristin Andersen, has been adrift from her race since childhood when a monster-shifter killed her family. Now, shes disguised her scent and infiltrated a dominant Montana pack, hoping to find the murderer. She wants vengeance, and shes powerful enough to get it. Except being with the other wolves and the packs Alpha, Erik, makes her want more. She longs to belongwith Erik and with the pack. He will sacrifice everything to save the worldeven his fated mate Alpha wolf, Erik Kron, doesnt have time for love. A curse has ravaged his pack, Odin has bestowed upon him a cryptic prophecy, and a human womanwho sets his wolf on firehas started work in the den. He longs to claim her, but he needs to stay focused. Otherwise, Fenrir, son of Loki, will be unleashed. And even the Gods will die in the coming apocalypseRagnark. But then Erik discovers Kristins secret, and he fears her desire for retribution will tip the balance toward ultimate destruction. Though he burns for her, he must stop her. Even if it means losing her forever.