Berserker

"Not now!" Brodolf called to the gods for mercy, though they had never shown him any before. His shoulders continued to hunch, bones cracking, muscles growing and changing. "Kelda!" he roared, his voice contorting with the changing shape of his jaw.

Kelda threw her hands over the tortured man, chanting the ancient words that were the only thing standing between her alpha and the curse that threatened to take over his body and his mind. If the alpha was lost, so was the clan.

"Keep fighting, Alpha!" Kelda, the pack's shaman screamed over the rising wind and the crack of lightning crossing the sky.

Brodolf threw his head back and howled, the sound long, loud and dripping with pain. Suddenly, he felt a pop, weak as a soap bubble, but a sign that he had won this round. They had once again beaten back the berserker that lived within him. Slowly, his body righted itself until finally he was left lying on his side, naked and spent, upon the frozen ground. Kelda sat next to him, murmuring nonsense and stroking his hair, giving him what comfort she could until he recovered enough to sit up and wrap the blanket she held around his body.

"Thank you, Kelda," he said, his voice still gravely from the partial shift and the howling.

Kelda nodded her head and turned her eyes to her alpha, startlingly clear and green behind the black paint she wore around them. Sorrow tainted them. "It is getting close to your time, Alpha. It gets harder and harder to bring you back. We must redouble our efforts to find the one."

Brodolf knew she was right. He could feel it. The curse Odin laid on his bloodline was getting stronger as he neared his 350th year. The Sköll Pack descended from the line of Fenrir's son, Sköll , who was also the god Loki's grandson. Odin had been jealous of their growing strength and scared of the prophecy that Fenrir would kill him in Ragnarök, so he had cursed the firstborn male of each alpha to try to limit their growth. Clan Sköll had lost many Alphas over the years to the berserker curse. If Brodolf didn't find his fated mate soon, he would be lost to the berserker and his clan would have to destroy him as well. That would leave his brother, Brandur, in charge, and that he could not allow to happen.

"I know, healer. I feel it as well." He gathered his feet under him and stood to clothe himself again. He had ripped off his leggings and furs when he had felt the change coming upon him. They didn't have the clothes to waste out here on the cliffs of Faroe Island. "We've traveled all the known lands these last centuries and still have not found her. What else can we do? We must not allow Brandur to take charge. He will decimate the Clan in less than a generation with his greedy ways."

Already their grandfather and father had been lost in a war with Clan Hildisvini, protectors of Freya. The title came to Brodolf when he was only 250-very young for an alpha-but he was exceptionally strong and had risen to lead as his ancestors had taught him. No one could beat him in mortal combat to challenge his rule, not even his brother. No one, that is, but the curse that lived inside him.Kelda turned sideways and looked out over the cliffs to the stormy winter sea. Ice floated up to the beaches. They would have to leave this place soon. "I have seen something in a vision I have not shared with you, Alpha. I had hoped it was not a true vision."

Brodi's head whipped up at her words, his braids flying, and he impaled her with his ice blue eyes. "Have you seen her? Kelda, you must tell me!"

Her eyes met his through her long lashes, the black paint making them deep, dark pools. Her long red hair whipped across her face despite the intricate tangle of braids she wore. "I think I have seen her but....but she is not here."

"What do you mean 'not here'? Speak plainly, woman!" Brodolf had no time for her vague seer prophecies. He needed decisive action.

"She is in a place far from here," she said in the dreamy voice that came upon her with her visions, "A time far from here."

The Alpha could feel his expression harden as he gazed at her. A time far from here. "Faen! What, by Odin's teeth, are you saying?"

"We must travel there, Alpha. We must take the Clan and go before it is too late. Even now, the Hildisvini are amassing for another battle. You cannot afford to fight again until your berserker is controlled or we are all lost."

Brodolf knew this all too well. He ran his hands along his braids gathering them at the top of his head with a thong of leather again. "Travel in time?" he asked incredulously. "How?"

Kelda continued to stare out to sea. He paced in frustration, awaiting further information. This was not something he had ever heard of, even in the sagas. Kelda would not be rushed, however, when she was in this state.

Finally, she spoke. Her voice rang clear in the night air. "There is a place near the Yggdrasil..."

Liv - Present

"Fuck it all to hell!" Liv cursed as she grabbed the ticket from the windshield of her state issued Jeep Wrangler. It was the third one this month. What happened to brotherhood of the badge shit? Two little white-headed ladies walking by on the sidewalk gave her the stink eye for her outburst.

"Sorry," she mumbled, but she wasn't really. How could a town that had literally one main road have so many fucking parking laws? She felt like she had broken most of them in her first month here and apparently there was no love lost between the game wardens and the traffic cops here.

She had thought taking this job as a wildlife biologist in tiny Afton, Wyoming was the perfect way to escape her ex and his new perfectly plastic girlfriend. The one he cheated on her with. The one with the fake ass, fake boobs, fake lips, and who knows what else fake that wasn't in plain sight. And it was an excuse to escape the conditions she had been forced to work in in the Everglades National Park. The air was so thick some days you had to swim through it, not to mention the ever-present danger of gators.

At least Wyoming was dry, there wasn't a gator within thousands of miles, and she hadn't seen a pair of fake fish lips yet. Granted, the cold was biting, and she'd had to buy a whole new wardrobe to accommodate the new climate, but she was able to spend most of her time out in the wilderness with only the animals and the trees for company and that suited her just fine.

The only problem she could see with the assignment was her boss, Jeff Roundtree, telling her a big plot of land right in the middle of the Forest was completely off limits. It apparently belonged to some rich asshole who didn't want anyone trespassing on his land.

"I know it makes your job more complicated, Liv, but Wolf Brothers Logging pumps a lot of money into this town and into the conservation of these woods. They don't log here, haven't for centuries. The current owner is very conservation-minded so there are lots of good habitats in those woods. And thanks to Brodi, there isn't any chance of them being destroyed anytime soon."

Liv looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. "I know," Jeff continued, "it sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. I've worked closely with the man and his family for years. The family was here long before the state started the National Forest. They're good people. Having their patronage is worth dealing with a little complication. And he works with us to watch out for the poachers as well."

Liv had no choice, so she decided to let it go and just try to do her job. "Fine. I'll make sure to work around the property. Anything else I should know?"

"Just one," Jeff added. "I really don't like you out there alone with these poachers on the loose, but we don't have the budget to pair you up. Keep your sat phone handy in case your cell won't pick up a signal. Wolf hides go for a pretty penny on the black market and with the economy the way it is right now, they've gotten more and more brazen, and more dangerous. And the traps they are setting, even more so." Jeff's eyebrows knitted together when he looked at her. "You need to watch where you're stepping out there and watch for signs of camping out of the regulation camp sites and steer clear. Take coordinates and call in Justin, the game warden. Don't confront them alone."

Liv nodded. She hated poachers. They were scum. There were reasons for hunting and trapping seasons, but these types of guys didn't care. It was one thing for people to take meat animals out of season. She didn't like it, but she could understand people on hard times needing to feed their families. The poachers they were currently having trouble with were only interested in the money they could make from the hides of these beautiful, majestic animals. She gave Jeff a little salute. "Will do, boss. Already have your and Justin's numbers in my phone. So, is that it?" She was anxious to get her groceries bought and to get out of town. Even this little bit of civilization was starting to wear on her.

"All done," Jeff said. "Be safe out there. I look forward to seeing your reports."

After the meeting with her boss, she only had to get some food and supplies before heading out to try to find the primary wolf packs in the area. Her first job was to find and document the packs in the area. And keep her eyes out for poachers or campers who weren't following the rules of the forest. Thank God there were no traffic cops in Bridger National Forest at least!

As she walked into Valley Market, cart at the ready, she noticed a striking young woman in the produce section. She had long blonde hair sporting the most intricate braids Liv had ever seen, as well as silver and leather jewelry surrounding her neck and both wrists. A beautiful, swirling black tattoo ringed one lean, toned bicep. She looked like some modern-day Viking shield maiden. Liv was fascinated. She'd always loved Viking stories though she didn't know that much about actual Norse legends. Just as she was about to go over and ask her where she had gotten the braids done, a huge man stalked up to the woman aggressively. He sported sleeve tattoos on both arms with more crawling up one side of his neck. His huge biceps showed off more of the thick black tattoos very similar to the one the woman was sporting. His blonde hair was shaved on the sides with the rest just as intricately braided as the woman's gathered down the middle of his head. He stood over the woman, staring at her menacingly.

"Asta! Come on! Everyone is waiting for you," he growled at the woman. The young woman just gave him an indifferent look, seemingly unconcerned that this six- and-a-half-feet of hulking muscle was looming over her.

"I'm still shopping, Brand. You'll just have to wait." She flicked a dismissive hand toward him and turned her back, continuing her perusal of the fruit on display. Picking up one piece after the other, she slowly squeezed and fondled each piece, putting each one down again as she judged it not quite right.

Liv had been concerned at first and had been ready to run for help but watching the woman's response to the man had her standing down and simply enjoying the drama. She stifled a giggle at the fury and impotence on the large man's face as he continued to glare at the young woman. His hands planted firmly on his hips, he stood there for several long beats. Finally, he scrubbed his hands up and down his face and through his long goatee in frustration and stomped off. She could hear him muttering in a strange language as he passed close by her on the way to the front door.

"That was pretty impressive," Liv found herself saying to the woman as she sidled up to her in the produce department. "I don't think I could have been that calm with him looming over me."

Asta gave her a sidelong glance, her ice blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "He's my brother. He thinks he's intimidating so I have to let him know he's not occasionally."

"That explains it. Brothers!" Liv agreed, smirking. She had two of her own that were constantly trying to get in her business. Liv moved on to her original question. "I didn't mean to be nosy, but I really wanted to know who does your braids. They're fantastic and would be so helpful to tame this mess when I'm out in the forest working." She motioned to her own long, red hair which was relegated to a ponytail or single braid down her back when she was working. The thick, silky strands still escaped her ministrations, however, and she was forced to fight with it several times a day.

"One of my cousins does it for me," Asta answered. "We all wear our hair like this. It's a tradition in our pa...family." She smiled.

"Oh, bummer. I was hoping there was a shop here in town I could go to," Liv said. "You're lucky. It's really beautiful." Live turned to go. "Nice chatting with you."

"Wait." Asta put a hand on her arm to stop her. For some reason, she felt a compulsion to reach out to this woman. "I'm sure Elin or Ursula would be glad to do it for you. You said you work in the Forest?"

"Really? That would be so great!" Liv answered. "And yes, I'm a wildlife biologist. I just started a job here in the National Forest. Monitoring the wolves."

Asta's breath hitched a little in surprise, but she quickly caught herself. "Monitoring the wolves? What does that entail?"

"Oh, well first I have to find them," Liv started, always pleased when anyone was interested in her work. "Then I have to count how many there are and assess their health. I also try to delineate the different members of the pack, who's the alpha and beta, etc. and make notes about their markings and coloring so we can try to keep up with them in the future. On some jobs, I try to tag them and take blood samples, but the state of Wyoming isn't requesting that this time, for whatever reason."

Asta took in everything this woman was saying and thought hard. She would have to tell Brodi about this. Wouldn't it be better to bring her to the pack and let her brother check the woman out, though? She tried to figure out her draw to the redhead and what her brother would want.

"Let me have your number and I'll call you once I've talked to my cousins," Asta concluded.

Liv gave her the digits. "I'm Liv, by the way, Liv Fenrir."

Asta's mouth dropped open at the name, but she quickly recovered and held out a hand and smiled. "Asta Sköll, nice to meet you."

Brodi - Present day

Brodi stood on the ridge with Finn, his closest advisor, and surveyed the landscape. He felt he could breathe when up high over his pack lands watching the sun sinking toward the trees in the valley below, the stress of leadership melted away, if only for a few minutes.

"There, Brand's truck." Finn pointed to the small road at the head of the valley that led into their compound set deep into the National Forest. When they had arrived in the late 1800s, Bridger had been just acres and acres of wilderness. They had slowly purchased as much as they could, working as loggers and opening one of the few sawmills in the back country. When the government had bought up the land to create the National Forest, Brodi had refused to sell, and they had been grandfathered in. Now they were surrounded by government forest. The forest service kept the area pristine, and left them alone for the most part, so Brodi couldn't complain. It gave them plenty of room and privacy to run - two of the main things Brodi required to keep his pack intact and their nature hidden over the human generations.

"They're late." Brodi crossed his arms across his wide chest. His long braids danced around his shoulders and face. The wind that had started gusting at that elevation.

Finn grinned. "He probably tried to boss Asta again. You know how your sister likes to devil Brand."

"He'll be in a foul mood then." Brodi's lips quirked. He shouldn't enjoy his baby sister's antics so much. She was willful and stubborn and fought pack rules tooth and nail. She would be the death of him, but he admired her spunk and her sassy mouth. No one else would take on Brand with such disregard to their safety. He worked hard to not show his favoritism, but he knew Finn was well aware of how he felt.

"Fouler than normal?" the smaller man quipped. Finn was not only his advisor but his closest friend. Closer to him than even his brothers, Brand and Gunnar. With Finn, he could just be Brodi, not only Alpha. Finn was a slight man when compared with most of the rest in the pack. He was barely 6 feet tall with the lean muscles of a runner, not the bulky frame of Brodi, his brothers and most of his cousins. He made up for his lack of brawn, however, with a brain honed sharp as a steel Viking sword and eyes that took in everything and everyone. There were no secrets from Finn.

Brodi sighed deeply. He wished he didn't have such a difficult relationship with Brand. They always seemed to be at odds over one thing or another. After all these centuries together, they had forged only a fragile detent. He was afraid Brand would always chafe under his leadership. Always be someone he had to watch his back around.

"We'd better get back down to the house." Brodi clapped the smaller man on the shoulder.

Finn gave him an evil grin, "Race you, Alpha." Before Brodi could respond, Finn had transformed into a large black wolf with gray markings on his muzzle and ears. Brodi barked a laugh as he let his wolf overtake him. They ran through the trees and down the mountain, their yips and barks of pure joy following in their wake.

***

As Brodi and Finn strode across the clearing toward the main cabins, Brand came storming toward them.

"You have to do something with Asta," he demanded, his voice booming. "She is...." His feet stopped suddenly as he felt the Alpha power radiate off of Brodi. Brodi had stopped and taken a dominant stance, his hulking arms crossed across his heavily tattooed chest. Brand stumbled backwards as his brother's ice blue eyes speared into him. Finally, he lowered his gaze and bowed over one knee though he continued to try to fight the dominance compelling him.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," he said through gritted teeth, his tone quieter but still rough. He forced his head partially up to attempt to meet his brother's eyes through the fall of blonde hair that had covered his forehead when he had been forced to bow before his brother's power. "I meant I would like to speak with you regarding our sister."

Brodi uncrossed his arms and silently held out a hand for Finn to pass him the clothes they hadn't had the chance to don before his brother had come at him making demands. He slowly pulled on the jeans and thermal t shirt while Brand remained on one knee in front of him, making the man wait further to punish his continued insolence.

"You may meet me in my office," Brodi told Brand as he released his brother. "I will be there directly."

Brand regained his feet and nodded curtly once before turning toward the main cabin where Brodi lived, and the pack's business was run as well.

"I'm afraid he's building up to cause trouble again," Finn said solemnly. "You'd think after all these years, he would accept you wholeheartedly as Alpha. You have earned the title by birthright and by might, Brodolf. Your pack is behind you."

Brodi stared off toward the mountains they had just come from. "It may make no difference soon. We've traveled such a distance, even through time, and still we have not found her. Kelda swears she is in this general time, but it's already been centuries...."

"I have faith that the gods will not allow you to succumb to the Curse," Finn said, taking a firm grip of the man's bulky shoulder. "You must have faith as well."

Brodi continued staring. He didn't want to remind his friend that a god had placed this curse on his family and his faith was long used up. He feared for his people. "Go find Asta and tell her I want to speak with her this evening. I'm going to deal with Brand."

"Yes, Alpha," Finn nodded, and grinning, ran off to find Asta. He always enjoyed hearing about what she had done to set off her brother. He wasn't worthy of her. He wasn't ancient Norse royalty like the Skölls, but he had worshipped her from afar since they were children. No other woman had ever turned his head as Asta did.

For centuries now, he had contented himself to bask in her presence as her friend and no more. He didn't know what he would do when some other man caught her attention. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stand it. So far, Asta hadn't found anyone that interested her for more than a few tumbles in the woods at extended pack gatherings before she turned them aside. And those were only held a couple of times a year. He knew that couldn't last forever, though. He would somehow have to find the courage to declare himself.

Finn caught up with her in the meadow behind the big house throwing axes at the large wooden targets set up for practice. He admired the lean muscles of her back and arms as she threw the weapons unerringly at the center of the bullseye. This one is a shieldmaiden, through and through.

Before her next throw, he called to her. "Asta! Brodi would like to see you."

Asta turned a sardonic smile his way as she shouldered the ax she had been about to throw. "Brand has been tattling on me already, has he?"

"You know he has," Finn laughed. "I don't know why you devil him so. You know it only gets him riled up and then he goes to Brodi and they end up arguing. Why put Brodi through that?"

She had the good grace to look just a little bit ashamed. "Aye, I know, Finn, but I can't seem to help myself. He tries to lord his size over me all the time and tell me what to do. He's only a few years older than me. I'm not a child."

Finn could see all too well that she was no child and hadn't been for years. As long lived as they were, they were considered children long after they looked like adult humans. While Asta was young for their kind, she was still all woman.

"You're going to have to be the bigger person, woman," Finn admonished her gently. "Brand is never going to be able to control that temper of his. It's why everyone is so worried about something happening to Brodi." He couldn't bring himself to actually bring up the curse that menacingly floated like one of Asta's axes over all their heads.

"You're right as always, friend," she acquiesced, bowing her head slightly. "I'll try harder. Now let's go see what my brother has in mind for my punishment this time. I have some news to tell him as well."

***

As she knocked on the door to her brother's study, she hoped the news she had to share would distract him from pronouncing some horribly boring punishment on her for winding up Brand again. She opened the door at her brother's gruff acknowledgement of the knock and quickly shut it behind her.

"Brother! I'm so glad you called for me," she declared, coming in and taking her usual seat across from his desk.

Brodi raised a sardonic eyebrow at her. "Really?"

"Yes! You'll never believe who I met at the store today. Who, by the way, I wouldn't have met if I'd let Brand drag me out of there like the caveman he is."

"Asta.." Brodi started to growl at her.

"Yes, I know. Stop deviling your brother. But it's so easy! Anyway..." she continued before Brodi could chastise her. "I met a woman, and you'll never guess what her name was. Go ahead, try!" Asta sat back in her chair with her arms folded, grinning at her brother.

He shook his head wonderingly at her impertinence but caved as he always did in the face of her effervescence. "I have no idea. Tell me before you bust."

"Her name was Liv. Liv Fenrir."

Brodi's eyes shot to his hairline in astonishment. "Fenrir? Are you certain? Maybe you misheard her?"

"No, brother. She was very clear. Aaand, she's a wildlife biologist here to study the wolves in the National Forest." Asta sat back with a smug smile. Take that Brand!

Her gloating soon faded, however, when she saw the expression on her brother's face. He looked like she had just punched him in the gut. She thought this was good news, would have given him the hope that she was afraid he had started to lose. Instead, he just looked shellshocked.

Brodi's ice blue eyes locked onto her own matching ones. She had never seen such intensity in them. "Where? Where was she going to be looking for the wolves?"

"I, I'm not sure, brother," Asta stuttered. "I didn't think to ask. She was asking about my hair and then she started talking about her job and that was it." She bowed her head, ashamed now that all she had been thinking about was how to get back at Brand and get out of trouble herself when Brodi's life, and that of the entire clan, was in peril. "I'm sorry, Brodi. I should have gotten more information." Suddenly, her head popped up. "I did get her number though. She wanted to see if Ursula would braid her hair for her. I told her I'd call her once I'd talked to her."

Brodi's gaze relaxed slightly. "I need you to contact her, Asta. Find out more about her. Meet her somewhere. I don't want her near the compound yet. Not until I know more." Brodi ran a hand across his jaw. "But I must know more," he mumbled softly to himself.

When he didn't give her further instruction, the young woman took it as her sign to go. "Yes, Alpha," she said respectfully. "I'll find out more as soon as possible."