Packless Monsters

Chapter 75

You helped Loki back to sit on the bed while he recovered from the shift back to human shape. He managed to summon himself some real clothes and sighed in relief when he was dressed. Finally, he was able to stand again. You scrambled up with him, worried about his first real change and how he was handling it. "Are you alright?" You asked him worriedly.

Loki nodded and pressed a kiss to your hair. "Don't fret, little wolf. I heal quickly," he reminded you. "Thank you for helping me. You saved me and healed me," he said as he pulled you into his arms.

"Your mother and Thor did most of the work," you reminded him.

He shook his head and held you closer. "No, darling. You figured out how to break their control. You were the one who got through to the wolf. You healed me and saved all of us," Loki replied and tilted your head up with his cold fingers under your chin so he could lean down to kiss you.

You couldn't help purring into the kiss, though you broke it a moment later. "They took the bracelet you made me," you told him sadly. You loved that bracelet and he'd worked for months on the spells in it.

Loki closed his eyes and you saw his magic shimmer around him as he concentrated. He hadn't said what he was doing, but you had an idea. Your idea was confirmed when your bracelet appeared in his hand a moment later. He fastened it back around your wrist. No one gets to see you naked but me, little wolf," he told you in a purr in your ear. He didn't want to risk anyone overhearing, even if you were in a private room of the healing wing.

There was a knock on the door and you both turned to it. Loki went to the door to open it, protective as always over you. Frigga was on the other side. "Darling? Are you feeling better?" Frigga asked. Clearly, Loki had regained his Asgardian form again and wasn't stuck as a wolf.

Loki sighed and nodded. "Yes, Mother. I assume Father is anxious for our report?" He asked. Ah, that was a good reason for Frigga interrupting you.

Frigga nodded. "Yes, he and the troops have returned and the healers are tending the most severe. Your Father insists on seeing all of us as soon as we're able," she explained. You translated 'as soon as we're able' to as soon as everyone was healed enough to move. He wanted to know why his wife had been in danger and attacked when she was supposed to be safe on Midgard, guarded by her sons.

Loki placed your hand on his arm. "We best get this over with, then," he said. Frigga nodded and the three of you and Thor all headed for the throne room. Loki turned to you as you walked. "Leave the explanations to Mother. Father likes her best. Stay silent unless he asks you a direct question," you heard what Loki wasn't saying. Frigga was going to concoct some story to protect him, to protect all of you. You were to go along with her story no matter what it was. You nodded your understanding and hoped you could just remain silent. You really didn't want to talk to Odin when he was interrogating you.

He was bound to blame the three of you for not protecting Frigga well enough.

The boys were safe since they were the princes and Odin's sons. You weren't and he could easily banish you from the realm, even if you were engaged to Loki.

You were anxious as you made your way to the throne room and clasped tightly onto Loki's arm. "Don't fret, little wolf. It won't be that bad," Loki reassured you. Frigga led the procession up to the throne and actually climbed the stairs to go kiss Odin.

Odin relaxed when he saw his wife was safe and uninjured. He kissed her back and cupped her cheek, showing more care with her than you'd ever seen him with anyone else. "Are you alright, my love?" He asked her. "You're uninjured?" He confirmed worried and fretting over her.

Frigga kissed his cheek. "I am just fine, thanks to our sons and soon to be daughter in law," she was emphasizing the family connections between you all. You saw the skills in her diplomacy and silver tongue just from that one sentence. And you knew immediately where Loki got it from.

"What happened, my dear?" Odin asked. He'd mellowed at the attention from his wife. You, Loki, and Thor tried to remain motionless and stay out of this as much as possible.

"We were ambushed by a group of highly trained Midgardian soldiers. They had clearly been trained to fight against people like us," Frigga started carefully, listing the threat. "They incapacitated us and took us to the warehouse you found us in," she continued her tale and twisted the story a little, making it sound like you and Loki came to her rescue from another wolf. Though she did include how you'd freed Thor while she summoned Mjolnir and fought with it, though made it sound like Loki had fought at her side instead of against her. You didn't dare argue with her story. You could share credit with Loki to save his life. Especially since her words were carefully crafted so she didn't lie to Odin. She just creatively told the truth. And failed to mention that the wolf who attacked was Loki, just that it was a werewolf.

Her skill in story weaving was legend.

Odin kissed her again softly. "I am glad everything worked out. Though I am concerned for your safety in the future going to Midgard..."

Frigga gave him a brilliant smile. "Always concerned about me. I highly doubt we will have any more issues with those Midgardian soldiers after you and the Einherjar reminded them of the might of Asgard," she peppered him with praise.

Odin would usually reject such buttering, but from his wife he accepted it. "Very well, but you will be careful,"

"Of course, my love," Frigga replied and you all breathed a sigh of relief, though silently, that Odin had believed her story.