Pack (The Ulfhednar Saga bk 1)

New pathways

Bran hated being alone in the house. The bed of furs was beginning to give him sores and the wooden walls were turning into monstrous creatures keen on weaving weakness into his thoughts. He loved his home but he was a wolf and needed to be free, to run in the forest, hunt and feel Sunna and Mani's light beat down on his fur.
He was bored and frustrated with being sick. He was the Prince of his lands, the Next Alpha and protector of the wolf shifters and he was bed ridden. His pack was suffering and he couldn't do a thing about it. At sixteen years old he should be out hunting and fighting, protecting his lands at the risk of his own life. He had just begun leading excursions across the sea before he took ill. Bran Navigated ships and found trade with people on the islands. He believed he was a natural leader with a strong gift for such traits. But now he was trapped here, smelling the ocean but too sick to see it or feel the spray of the water against his weathered skin as the drekkar cut through the dark oceans. The cabin smelled, it was dark and dank. He was so sick he could barely eat but he was sick because he was hungry. This, whatever it was, was killing him slowly. He couldn't die like this, no honor, no legacy. He hoped Val came back with some promising news, he had to get out of the cursed wooden prison and get well.

Torstein could tell that Valdis was wary of him. She was confused, intrigued, yet careful. She watched every move he made and took care with every move she herself made in response. He really liked that about her. He had been watching her for a few weeks and had become an admirer of her strength. She was unlike anything he had ever seen.
He was careful over the weeks to not let her see him. He had to be sure she was like him and his kind. Not just a chance breeding of some rogue shifter years past. Today was the day he decided to reveal himself in hopes that her senses would spot him and prove that he was right about her.
He was lost in thought, remembering the last weeks with appreciation when he realized she was watching him in her wolf form, green eyes holding steady on him. Whatever she saw must have convinced her that he meant her no harm because she visibly relaxed her body.
She shifted, pulling on her clothes that she must have hidden before he made himself known to her. Her eyes were wide but hardened and fierce. She was worried about her brother, for some odd reason he knew that much.
"Tell me" She said with all of the strength and tenacity she could gather. Her voice deep and strong letting him know that her wolf was near the surface and had every intention of coming forward to protect itself.
"It is a lot to explain." He hesitated. "My people have been fighting a war for so long that it seems normal to us. What we have been fighting, I am certain, is what is killing your pack."
He paused a moment, waiting for her response. Torstein's body was taught with anticipation. He hadn't ever imagined finding her would play on his emotions the way it was. Her gaze was still focused on him and she was making him nervous.

When she didn't speak or run away, he continued. "I would like to take you and Bran to my lands, to teach you about what you are and help you save your people."
He said this steadily, with strength and added power from within his being to his words, hoping they would allow her to believe him. He wanted to be sure she would respect him. He rarely used his wolf to sway someone, but he needed her to know that he was capable of helping her.
Her eyes darted from the ground back to his eyes when he had finished speaking. They burned holes into him, pleading, afraid and hopeful all at once.
"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked
"I cannot make you trust me, you just need to believe that I am on your side and I shall never harm you Valdis. I have been searching for your pack for a long time, for you. I am here to protect you."
​He hadn't ever spoken truer words. His stomach was betraying his confidence as it flipped in response to her gaze on him.
"You can trust me" his voice soft. He saw her relax and felt relief. She stood and shook loose leaves from her clothes and retrieved her bag of rations.
"Okay, let's get Bran, and I hope you can get us out of here unnoticed. My mother is on a war path." There was laughter in her voice as she said the last part that intrigued him.
He rolled his shoulders before he replied; "I am not worried" he told her and he saw her smile in response to his boldness.