© 2017 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved. 

~

  Show me how to fight for now
And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy
Coming back into you once I figured it out
You were right here all along  

~

I couldn't stop staring at Jasper, taking in all of his beauty. His golden hair, like sunlit wheat, and the smooth planes of his face that tan skin stretched taut over. I touched his chin, feeling the stiff stubble.

Jasper let out a deep sigh, his body lifting and dropping on the bed with every breath he took. There was something so peaceful, so tranquil about this moment.

"I don't want to go." I whispered, still studying his features as lay with his eyes closed.

"You have to," he mumbled.

God, his voice was raspy from his deep sleep. The sound was a contrast to his usual cool tone.

"I don't want to go back to hating each other." I pressed my lips to his exposed collarbone.

He opened his eyes like a princess, his thick blond tipped eyelashes fluttering against his sun-kissed cheeks.

"Just know that I don't hate you, and neither does Draver. We could never hate you."

I pushed myself into him just I could feel his cool skin against my cheek, his heartbeat matching mine.

Jasper's hand jerked back as a spark hit him. The human side of me was still not used to my wings, and every time I felt intense emotion my Valkyrie powers would come out in forms of electricity.

"Sorry," I murmured into his chest.

He gathered me closer, a soft smile on his face. "It's fine. Perhaps I like being electrocuted?"

I fought back a snort, rolling so that we were on the edge of the bed. His arm was hooked under my side, stopping me from falling over.

"You're beautiful," he said it like a prayer, and his words wrapped around my heart in a borderline painful manner.

"You're not too bad yourself."

Draver groaned from the opposite side of the bed. "Can you two stop flirting and let me sleep?"

I laughed out loud, the sound foreign in every way. There were a lot of subtle changes in me (besides the insane physical strength, speed, and 12 foot wingspan I now had). For one, my voice was an octave deeper, but I felt like another person. I sounded like a President of a female biker club, which I guess could be a modern day Valkyrie. Not to mention that I seemed to get more...pale? My Italian olive complexion had softened into something more lighter- a cream, maybe. My hips and shoulders were wider, to which Draver had commented as "great birthing hips" when I changed into the slip that was in the stocked wardrobe.

I rolled over to face Draver, and seeing him almost stole my breath away. These twins were too much for me.

Draver was such a contrast compared to Jasper. Draver's black locks were slightly longer than Jasper's, curling just below the nape of his neck. His skin tone was a shade darker, giving him a surfer look. His body was surfer-esque as well, lean with broad shoulders. Draver had a wife beater on, but I could still see the hard planes and dipped valleys of his abdomen. I pressed my cheek to his skin so I could hear his heartbeat. The sound was surprisingly soft, not the thundering beat that I expected.

"What are you doing, Faye?" Draver grumbled as he tossed an arm around my back and pulled me closer. "Sleep."

I scowled up at him. Even though he couldn't see me, he smiled knowingly.

"It's already nine. Let's go." Jasper sighed heavily from my left.

I held back from letting out a whine when Jasper rolled off the bed. When Draver began to untangle himself for me, I couldn't help but let a whimper loose.

Draver and Jasper both froze, looking back at me with a ravenous look in their eyes. Geri and Freki- their true names both meant hunger. It explained the craving gaze that they shot me, as if I was a piece of Wagyu beef ready to be devoured.

"Faye," Draver rasped, "Don't make that sound. Not while you're in our bed, dressed like that, looking like how you are."

I definitely had their attention now, all the sleep from their body gone as they stood wide awake.

"Sorry," I grimaced, noticing how tight their underwear seemed. "Do you want to take care of that?"

Jasper scoffed, a wry smile on his face. "I'm guessing you're not offering?"

I licked my lips, noticing how they zeroed in on the movement of my tongue. "Not this time. Like you said, we have to go."

A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he didn't comment any further as he proceeded to the bathroom. After a couple of seconds, I heard the shower go off. I was assuming the spray of water was cold.

"Cruel woman," Draver shook his head, chuckling as he bent to kiss the inside of my thigh. "We'll meet you in the courtyard across the mess hall."

I felt panic, deep in my chest, at the thought of us struggling to keep up this façade.

"Be safe," I murmured to him.

His eyes softened. "Always."

Rolling out of bed, I groaned at the feel of my bent wings as they fluttered out when I stretched. I snapped them out several times to stretch out the kinks, then began to get dressed once I felt them retreat into my back. Facts told me that I could wear normal clothes. The wings were partly magic, and they could come forth no matter what I was wearing (come tank top or turtleneck).  Human Faye didn't completely comprehend that, and I doubt comprehending anything after this would be necessary. Valkyrie Faye was in charge, she would do all the comprehending.

After getting the complicated chiffon/tunic on, I headed to the courtyard. The arrangement of perfectly trimmed trees and rose bushes were a contrast to Frigga, who was adorned with a deluge of flowers- overflowing in her hands and in her hair. The abundance of flowers reminded me of the short time I had with Draver and Jasper's Lycan friends, all of them decorated with flowers when Lorena bought out the flower vendor. It seemed like a lifetime ago, with all that has happened so far. Looking closer,  I noticed there was a girl beside her who looked to be younger than me, but older than Lux.

She had thick curly brown hair layered with honey highlights that caught the sun as it draped down her back, where her wings were out. They didn't look to be in flight or fight mode; her wings were just relaxing- something I was quite envious of. Beside her were two boys who looked like the slightly younger versions of Jasper and Draver- except both of them had coiffed brown hair, shorter on the sides.

I figured out who they were already.

"Huginn and Muninn?" I approached cautiously, tucking my wings back.

They both regarded me with blank expressions until registration flickered across their face.

"Faye." The one on the left stated quietly. "We've heard much about you."

"Oh yes," the girl smiled up at me. "Quite a lot, actually. Odin can't stop talking about you."

"Rosemarie?"

I looked back to see Draver with his hand over his mouth.

The girl grinned. "I can't say that I've met you, but something tells me that you know me."

"Well, yeah." He looked in shock. "The whole war we fought was basically to save the pack you were part of- Katya couldn't stop talking about you guys. Captains Ryland and Ryker and-"

"Madam Missus Milady Marie," Jasper finished for him. "Katya was devastated when she found about about your demise."

Rosemarie laughed, "Believe me, I know. We both got a front seat on the whole war unfolding."

"Do you remember? The pain of your death? I heard that you were..." my mouth went dry as I tried to form the appropriate word for it without coming off rude.

"Beheaded?" the guy to her right snorted. "Yeah. We all remember it. Hurt like a bitch when that Oreo fucker killed us."

His scowl was directed to Frigga. "That would've been a great chance to, you know, jump in and save us."

The wife of Odin simply chuckled. "Don't blame me. I'm not the one who made the decision."

So left was calm, right was snappy. I figured out who were the Jasper and Draver of the duo.

"Which one is Ryland and which is Ryker?" I asked Rosemarie.

"I'm Ryland, or Huginn. Whichever you prefer." The left stated, answering in place of her.

Draver crossed his arms and looked at Ryker. "So that means you're Muninn."

He grinned wickedly. "Been a while, hasn't it Freki?"

Jasper closed his eyes, exhaling like he was a mother of four kids and the kids were about to fight. "Not this again,"

With a sudden clash, they were both at each other. It was part playful, part fight for dominance. They rolled around, shifting back and forth between their animal halves.

Jasper joined Ryland around the corner as they explored the courtyard. I noticed that Frigga was mysteriously gone, leaving me with Rosemarie.

"So is that your real name?" I stated awkwardly. "Or did you get a fake one like Huginn and Muninn did?"

She handed me a bundle of flowers. "It is my real name. The Valkyries hidden all keep their real names."

"Is Odin pulling more out of hiding?" I followed her around the rose bushes.

She seemed half into the conversation, the other half of her was as if she was on another plane of reality.

"I'm not really sure." She murmured, plucking fallen roses and dumping them in my cradled arms. "I do hope that he is. Loki is gaining power- it's why Thor returned this morning so beaten up. His forces are growing stronger, and with him breaking accords as well, who knows what kind of army he has?"

I felt my wings flicker out, as if disturbed by the mere name of the Trickster god. They began to beat anxiously, and I had to make a conscious effort to stay grounded.

Rosemarie noticed my crazed wings. She tilted her head to the side, her lips pursed as her brows knit at the center. "Huh. Interesting."

Without warning, she lunged at me. My life flashed before my eyes, and my wings went straight into attack mode. Raised high, spread out, ready for takeoff the moment I kicked up from the ground. Before I knew it, I was rolling with Rosemarie to the edge of the courtyard along the open balcony until we both dropped right off the side.

I screamed, my wings freaking out in panic as well. Rosemarie was restraining my wings, holding them near the base.

"Retract them!" she yelled over the wind. "Your wings are too emotional- you're letting them control you, Faye. You need to control them, or you will die trying."