Valkyrie's Revenge

Chapter 10

“Who is this son of a b***h that is threatening us?” Ethan asked, throwing Valkyrie’s phone back to her. “And why aren’t we questioning your mate? Pretty convenient this came out at the exact same time that he is given your number, don’t you think?” She kept looking at the phone in her hand, listening to what he said, and the immediate argument that started between Ethan, Emery and Raven. All three were arguing about what to do and about her mate, but in that moment all she cared about was keeping her mate safe from what they wanted to do to him. Before she realized where the sound was coming from a growl ripped through the room, not just drawing the attention of the men but forcing them to submit to her.

               “You will listen carefully as I am only saying this once, my mate is not to be touched by any of you. I will find out what he knows and if he is responsible for this in any way, I will deal with it. I love you all, but do not forget that I am Alpha. I am the black wolf, the bringer of your pain and death, the Valkyrie not just in name.” Her words shook the building and terrified her family; they had not seen this side of her since her parents had died. When they had passed, she had ripped through every known enemy she could get her hands on, and she was just a kid then. Now, as an adult and Alpha, this anger was something none of them were prepared for. As she turned and left the room the twins looked at each other, then to Raven; they all knew that this would not end well for anyone.

               “Raven, we can’t let her do this again, this won’t be like when we were kids.” Ethan started, as his brother nodded along while taking a sip of his drink. “Last time she was easy to subdue, smaller and not as skilled. Now, none of us can take her, not even together.”

               “I know, believe me, but we have to be smart about this. She needs us by her side, and if someone really is coming for us, we can’t just drug her like before.” Raven countered.

               Ethan stood, looked at the two men then out the window into the night. “Then we need to be prepared, we need to start gathering intel on who could be out there as an enemy, and we need to be one step ahead of them and Val. We cannot let her get hurt, and we definitely cannot let her get caught.” Both men agreed with him, he nodded before continuing. “So, lets get this going, who do we know to be the players in town? Let’s get the lay of the land.”

               As the men started to make a list of who they knew and who was affiliated with who they missed Valkyrie coming back down to the kitchen. In all her haste and anger she realized she had not eaten and was starving but coming back to see her family so dedicated to the cause even after her outburst touched her soul. She stood and watched them for a few minutes as they linked names, packs, wolves and humans, and every way they were connected. When she had finally heard enough, she moved to the fridge to start making some food, which drew their attention.

               “Why don’t you three fill me in while I cook, then we can decide where we go from there.” She said with a small smile, she felt bad for her earlier outburst, but would never apologize. They smiled in return, and everyone moved to make the conversation easier. As she chopped and cooked, she listened, offering as little as possible, which is nearly impossible for a person used to be the one giving the info and orders.

               “Let’s start with the most difficult one, your mate and his pack, how much do we know about them?” Ethan starts.

               “Well, he was the only one that allowed pack members to come to the run, but we know someone was watching us as well. They were also the ones that started that fight with us on our first day.” Emery continued, huffing about the fight. After a c****d eyebrow from Valkyrie, he coughed before adding; “well maybe they did not start the fight on their own.” Which earned him a smile.  

               “Right, what is his Beta’s name? What do we know about his family?”

               Finally, Valkyrie could speak for a moment since she finally knew the Beta’s name. “His Beta is, Roman, and they do seem close. He is not pleased with our arrival, but I don’t know if he would betray his Alpha. Thorin told me he has found information about both our families and why we were attacked, and he wants to share it. “

               “Alright, sounds like they are a lineage like us, so old blood. That brings its own dangers, but at least we know they likely follow the old ways as well. We will need to see what we can find about them; I’ll get in touch with Blair. Let’s move on to the hospital, there are some wild cards there.” Raven added. “Elias, the chief I met with on the first day, is a wolf and a rogue. He is outside of all the packs so he can treat them all ethically and fairly. Initially I saw this as a way for him to remain impartial to the wolves in the city, but now I wonder if there is more to it. He would have the knowledge on how to bring down any of us, old blood or not, and he is very secretive about his lineage. I can ask about him when I am speaking to Blair.” Raven quickly jotted down who he needed to speak to Blair about, hoping something would be useful.

               “And what about your mate; the human?” Valkyrie asked, knowing that this would be a touchy subject. “She is working in a predominantly wolf run hospital, does she know what we are or what is happening around her?” The question was innocent enough but needed to be asked. Either she knew more than she had let on, and was hiding something, or she some how had missed the exceptionally fast healing time and gang like violence around the hospital. Both answers carried a concern, but the larger concern would be if she claimed to know nothing. Raven shared the sentiment, and it was agreed that the best way to move forward would be with caution but trying to find out what she knows. Knowing how much Elias cared for her, he decided that would be the best place to try first.

               “Alright, enough about mates, makes us lonely over here. What about that weasel Christian, what did he even want today?” Ethan asked, looking back to Valkyrie. She disliked that he had come to the house and left them with so many questions on his intentions.

               “He said he knows information, something that would help us in understanding what is really happening out there. I don’t see how we can trust him, but what could he possibly know that would be worth showing up on our doorstep?” She replied, as she handed plates of pasta to everyone before joining them at the table. They all agreed that for now he could not be trusted, but they needed to find a way to learn what he had to offer.

               Having discussed everyone they could think of, and their counterparts or allies they decided to take the rest of the evening to watch some movies and relax together. They had yet to spend an evening quietly since they had arrived, and it was desperately needed. As the boys decided to start a third movie, enjoying their run of horror, Valkyrie wished them all a good night and headed up to her room. As she entered her room, she realized that she had left her phone upstairs while they all spoke and planned the next few days and had a few texts from Thorin. As she questioned whether to tell him about the plans and what they had been discussing she took her phone with her to read as she brushed her teeth and prepared for sleep.

1:42: Hey, Roman said he did not see you in the rest of the lectures today, are you ok?

3:06: I must seem so needed I am just concerned, you seemed so eager to get to know each other, then nothing from you. Has something happened?

5:42: I had Roman do a drive by the pack house and he said Christian was there and you looked upset, are you ok? At least I know you are home, but what has happened? Please just let me know you are okay.

               Valkyrie cringed as she looked at the clock, its burning red letters reading 11:15. She felt bad for having left him in the dark all day, but she was not in a place to speak to him earlier, now she has more of an understanding of what is happening around them. As she brushed her teeth with one had she typed with the other, hoping he understood and was not too upset with her.

               Hey… I’m so sorry Thor, I did not mean to worry you. Today has been difficult and a lot has happened that we will need to discuss. For a brief time, I questioned if I could trust you because of what was happening, but then I realized I had to, and want to trust you.

               As she finished brushing her teeth and preparing for bed, she returned to her room to change and settle in. As soon as she was through the door, she recognized the unmistakeable metallic scent of blood and rushed to turn on the lights. There in the middle of her room was the lifeless body of Oliver hanging from her ceiling. He had clearly been beaten and killed before being brought to her room, the scent was overpowering and for the first time she was truly terrified. She had not even realized she was screaming until Raven grabbed her and pulled her from the room. The twins ran in and pulled him down, resting him as gently as possible on the bed, it had already been ruined by blood, and he deserved to not be on the floor.

               “Val, look at me. What was that? Where did he come from? Are you ok?” Raven’s questions rang through her ears like gnats buzzing in the summer. She heard the sounds but couldn’t make out the words as something to respond to. He continued looking her over and holding her tight as she just stood there, silent, still shocked by the sight. As she struggled with understanding how someone could have done this, and without their notice, her phone buzzed in her had. She looked down to see a message, but not from a number she recognized. As she clicked to open to message, she was horrified to see her face on the screen, looking up at the tortured body of Oliver. Under the photo was a message, brief, but terrifying all the same.

               I hope you liked my gift little one, you really should be more careful about locking your windows.

               Raven took her phone then looked beyond her, into her room and yelled for the guys to get out, realizing they could still be seen, and he did not want anyone else injured. The twins stalked back toward them with a concerned look on their faces, they were troubled by something, and Raven knew he was not going to like it. He motioned for Emery to take Valkyrie back downstairs and told Ethan to sweep the house to make sure everything else was locked and there were no more surprises. He then made the decision that they needed to start trusting someone in town, and who else would be better than his own sister and Alpha’s mate. Bringing the phone up he went to the messages she had shared with him and hit the number to call, waiting for the other side to pick up.

               A groggy Thorin answered the phone, obviously he had been sleeping, which in what had just happened gave him some peace of mind. Unlikely he would have been asleep if he had just hung a body in her room. Brushing off the thoughts of doubt he kept the call brief but tried to sound as friendly as possible for the situation.

               “Thorin, something has happened, and it concerns a member of your pack. I don’t want to say this, but I think Val needs you here, and we could use the help in understanding what happened. I’ll send you the address, please get here as quickly as possible.” Raven said, finishing the call and texting the address to him. He did not want to snoop through her messages, but when he went back to the unknown sender on Valkyrie’s phone, he saw that there was more than what she had let on. Something about her being lost today, and a threat on her safety. He was unsure why she had kept all of this to herself, but he knew when things were more settled, he would need to ask her.