There, in their village stood his human, his beloved Tyr. He looked calm even though he was surrounded by furry wolves. He seemed tired. He was dirty and thin. But there he was – finally.

I couldn't stop myself, so I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as I could. I melted in his arms, and he held me as if he'd doubted he'd ever see me again, pressing a giggling Ari to my chest. "Tyr, what happened? And why are you alone with Ari?" I gasped and leaned down to kiss Ari's cheek.

"Let him rest first," Vidar's voice called out behind us and the human's eyes instantly shot up from mine to meet the taller one's.

"I have much to tell you both," Tyr began and gently lifted Ari from the makeshift harness made of cloth and leather, and handed him to me. "But Ari needs food, a bath and maybe some healing."

I instantly hugged the boy tight to my chest, examining his aura and noticing his weakened state. "He will be fine, love," Vidar said after one glance at the child, "but some food will do him good."

Tyr seemed to relax at that and while I walked towards our hut with Ari in my arms, I noticed how our gathering pack was glancing at their Alpha with surprised expressions. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the tall man who was now kissing Tyr deeply for everyone to see. I knew he had missed him, and I knew this was an act of telling them Tyr was untouchable. But also I knew Vidar's feelings for Tyr were so much deeper than the wolf would admit to anyone, even to himself.

I peered down at the boy who seemed content in my arms. It had been months since I'd last seen him and he had grown, but I could clearly see the toll of Bjarke's curse on his body. I sent some healing energy through him, but hurried to place a pot of milk on the fire, to warm it up for his sensitive stomach.

"His left side is weak," Tyr said as they entered the hut behind me, "and Noora blames you two for it, so she pushed him away and she wont have anything to do with him." Tyr sighed and sat down heavily on a stool, "but it's not her fault. It's Liv and Bjarke. They messed with her head."

My head shot up at him and I lost my breath, "what do you mean?"

"Liv invited him to Skal."

I watched with horror as tears started to run down Tyr's face, a sight I had not seen since he was a young child. "Tyr," I whispered and felt tears entering my eyes as well, "tell us what happened."

In my arms the young boy started to stir and cry, as if he felt his father's distress. I started to rock him back and forth trying to soothe him, but he showed no signs of calming down. Until I reached for a loaf of bread and dipped it in the warm milk and added some honey – and suddenly the room was filled with the sound of the baby munching on his food. Creating a smile on his father's lips.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Vidar as he grabbed a vial from our shelf and poured the mixture into some hot water and made a strengthening tea for our long lost lover. After stirring it, he walked up to him and offered the warm beverage to him, then used his thumb to gently caress the tears off his face. "Ari will be fine, he may have a limp when he's older and he might have trouble using his left arm. Our bodies need air to function and I believe the left side of his body was weakened when Bjarke's curse kept him from breathing."

Tyr took a sip of the tea then looked up at him and nodded, "I knew it was his doing, and I told them. But only Dag and Ivar believe me. The others worship him as some sort of god, chanting his name and they follow him blindly." He drank the rest of the tea in big gulps, and after placing the mug on our table he met Vidar's eyes again, "why were they not affected? Or me? Why wouldn't his magic controle us?"

Vidar tilted his head to the side and reached out to Tyr's chest, he removed his tunic and grabbed the wolf's toot that hung around his neck, along with the silver hammer. "I believe that Freke's magic protected you from it, but that's just a guess. I need to meet him to know exactly what his spell has done to the village."

I sat down on the stool next to Tyr, to let Ari eat from the bowl on his own. The young boy happily reached for the food placed on the table and dipped his chubby hands in the milk and bread porridge and stuffed his mouth full.

"I need to rest first," Tyr sighed, "I could not fight him then, and not now. I'm still weak after the injury."

"Yes," Vidar muttered and gave Tyr an annoyed glance, "tell us how you got injured."

I could see Tyr's face blushing and it surprised me. He was usually so calm and collected, but Vidar brought out a new side of him.

"Liv fooled us. There was news of Bjarke's location and while we were gone she helped him play his mind tricks on the people left in the village." He rubbed the back of his head and I noticed that he flinched. So there was his injury, I thought, making a mental note to heal him later.

"So you went after him alone? With common warriors?" Vidar hissed, clearly upset, "why did you not send for me!?" He demanded to know.

Tyr raised to his feet and looked Vidar in his eyes and I could hear his heartbeat rising, "because you had other things to attend to. Freke needed you and I needed to show my village that I could protect them!"

"So you almost died because of human honour," Vidar chuckled bitterly and shook his head in disbelief. "Were they worth it? You almost died!"

"Of course it was not worth it!" Tyr roared and threw his mug at the wall, making me jump in my seat and Ari began to cry, but Vidar did not even flinch. "They were all cursed as well! Berserkers with raging eyes that fought without hesitation, they almost killed us all!" I could see Tyr's chest rise and fall until Vidar placed a hand on his shoulder which seemed to calm him down, "we were lucky we managed to escape."

"Yes, you were," Vidar mumbled and placed both hands on his shoulders, "and you're right, you need to rest and gather your strength. We can't attack him like this. We need a plan, and we need more men and women to help us."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked quietly after I had managed to calm Ari down and the boy was eating happily again.

"What do you mean?" Tyr asked, "there's too few of you, you can't fight the whole village. Who knows who'll be on his side by the time we get there."

"That's my point," I continued, "maybe we should let him be."

I studied Vidar for a reaction and watched him carefully as he walked up to me and reached out his arms for Ari who happily was picked up to be cleaned by the big wolf.

Vidar dipped a piece of cloth in the bowl of water we kept by the open fire. He was deep in thought while he moved it over the boy's food-covered face and hands.

"I gave Dag a promise," Tyr said – breaking the silence, "he and Ivar helped us escape and I promised I would come back and save them from the madman."

"And you will," Vidar stated calmly with his back to us, but I could feel him casting cleansing spells on the boy. "When you are healed and back to your old strength."

"You can't be serious," a new voice called out from the door. It was Calder, and I wondered how he'd managed to get past my senses. "If this Bjarke is as big of a threat as he sounds like, then we have nothing on him!"

"You're right," Vidar said with a scowl on his face. "Tyr, this is Calder, Freke's older brother."

I watched as Tyr turned and eyed his brother in law, sizing him up and pondering how to deal with this new intruder. But before I had a chance to intervene – he took a step forward and hugged the man, "It's good to finally meet you, Calder," he said and patted his back. "I've heard a lot about you."

My brother peered suspiciously at me, then gave him a smile. "So have I, Tyr Starke, so have I."

"You were the head of the village when VIdar was gone saving my ass. So please join us, we could use your opinion," Tyr continued and led him inside, to my brother's great surprise.

"My opinion?" he muttered, "leave the poor souls in the hands of their gods. It's not Hamarr business."

"That's not true," Vidar growled and placed Ari in our bed, casting a final rune of protection over him before he placed a warm blanket over the small child and watched him fall asleep. "I am the Alpha, and as you know, the bond between me and Tyr makes us family, he is part of our pack, and the village of Skal is under his protection."

"Was," Calder clarified, "he lost the title of Jarl to his successor."

"If a parasite would enter your body, Calder, would it belong to the insect or would it still belong to you?" Vidar asked with the corner of his mouth stretching into a smirk.

"That's not the same!" my brother called out and made the baby open his eyes and look around in panic. Amused, I saw my brother take a step towards the door, the reason was Vidar who looked as if he was about to break Calder's neck.

"In my eyes it is," Vidar hissed, "now go, my family needs rest."

He did not need to say more. Calder left instantly and before I knew it, we were watching Tyr and Ari sleep, cuddled up together on the bed.

"They're here now, that's all that matters," Vidar mumbled and kissed my temple," we can heal them and care for them."

"And then what," I whispered, "he doesn't even want Skal."

"No, but we can't let a human like that niðingr walk on this earth and do as he pleases." He bent down and kissed my lips gently, "you understand that, don't you?"

I did. Of course I did. But as I crawled down between the blankets in the bed, to lay down next to my son and his father I couldn't help but wish that we did not have to. That we could live a life in peace and happiness instead and forget all about Bjarke, Liv and all the darkness that surrounded them.

So, before I fell asleep in Tyr's arms, listening to the calm breaths of the small boy beside him, I sent a prayer to the spirit of my ancestors, thanking them for bringing my family home to me, and asking them of a final favour. To keep them safe.