“I’m sorry.”
The serpent? Fen blinked, stunned. His brother, Jörmungandr, the World Serpent, was supposed to be the one to kill Thor. The prophecy said so. But here Thor lay, his life’s blood on the carpet.
Fen set up an urgent howl and prayed one of his mate’s siblings heard his plea. Doors thudded open as Fred Grimm’s family rushed into the hallway.
“What the hell happened? Where’s Jeff?” Travis ran into the hallway and stopped dead at the sight of Fenris sitting next to Fred. “Oh shit.”
“What the fuck?” Jordan, her scent one of horror, fell to her knees.
“Oh my God! Dad? Dad! ” Jamie fell at her father’s feet, her hand over her mouth, eyes glittering with tears.
“Holy shit.” Val, the Avenger, stared at his brother, stunned expression quickly turning to anger. “Who did this?”
Fen barked. They had to do something. His mate would be devastated if Thor died.
“Hold on, Fred. We’ll get you help.” Travis knelt down by Thor, whipping off his shirt and pressing it against the gaping wound in Thor’s chest.
Something strange was going on, something that shouldn’t be. He whined and licked at the dying god. How could this be happening?
“S-sorry.” Fred coughed and sprayed blood all over Fen. Fen shuddered.
“He got Jeff,” Thor wheezed. His hand flailed out and another one took it.
One that glowed brightly. Travis clung to his old friend with his only hand.
“Grimm has my son.”
Travis nodded grimly. “We’ll get him back. Rest. We’ll save him, I swear.”
Fred coughed again. Fred couldn’t survive his wounds. His breath whistled, and Fen knew his lungs had been punctured.
“Fen.”
Fenris turned to find Jamie, tears streaming down her face, holding open the elevator doors.
“Change back. We have to go get my brother and kill that son of a bitch.”
“Ja-Jamie!” Fred’s eyes were wild as he tried to push himself up, protect his daughter as he hadn’t been able to before.
She sobbed, but she didn’t move. “I love you, Dad.”
Fred shuddered. “Love you. Baby girl.”
His breathing was labored. He didn’t have long.
“An ambulance is on its way. Hold on, Dad.” Jordan was pressing something against Fred’s chest, sobbing as the blood poured through the cloth.
Fred smiled and placed his hand over her stomach. Fen heard her sharp intake of breath. “Love. You. So sorry.” He sighed, the sound rattling and loud.
“Jör…not…serpent…”
His bloodstained hand fell away from Jordan’s stomach.
“No. No. Don’t you do this to me, you stubborn son of a bitch.” Jordan smacked Fred’s cheeks. “C’mon, Dad. I still have to tell you how much I hate your ass.” Tears streaked down her cheeks. “Dad?”
Fen turned away from her grief and tore into the elevator. He would mourn with his mate later, after he’d rescued him.
“Daddy?”
The elevator doors closed with a soft snick.
Jeff took a deep breath and instantly smelled something cold and nasty. He wrinkled his nose and wondered when the hell he’d fallen head first into a fish barrel.
“Ah. You’re awake, Fenris.”
Jeff froze. Fuck. He knew that voice, even if he wished he didn’t. He opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a low growl.
Uh-oh.
“Are you sure that’s Fenrisùlfr? He looks a little…red to me.”
Jeff snorted and sneezed. Hell. He was in serious trouble if Grimm’s girl Friday was here too.
“How should I know? He was covered in his own filth for so long I can’t remember what color his fur used to be. But how many giant wolves are roaming around the greater Philadelphia area?”
Rina Southerland, his Uncle Val’s mother and Grimm’s mistress, sighed.
“I’m just saying.”
“Hmm.” Footsteps sounded. Jeff opened his eyes and found himself snout to toe with Grimm’s boot. “Do you see this?”
Jeff eyed the thin, barely there rope in Grimm’s hands. He recognized it. He growled and struggled to sit up.
“Ah-ah. No you don’t.” Grimm snapped his fingers and Gleipnir wrapped itself around Jeff’s limbs, immobilizing him instantly. “I see you do remember it.”
Jeff rolled his eyes and yanked. Hell. It should be a piece of cake to get out of this once Grimm left the room.
“This time, I think hurting you won’t be enough.” Grimm smiled down at him. “No. I think this time we need to kill you.”
Jeff growled and tried to relax. Fen would come. Fen would save him.
Grimm’s rump was about to become roast for the beast.
“Rina?”
Rina stepped forward. In her hand she held a silver knife.
“Would you like a fur coat?”
Rina’s eyes gleamed with twisted pleasure.
Jeff shuddered. Guess I’m going to find out if that myth is true after all. Because if the silver didn’t kill him right away, he’d be dead by the time they were done skinning him.
He knew which death he preferred. He closed his eyes and thought of the man he’d left behind. Find me, Fen.
I need you.
“C’mon. We don’t have much time.” Jamie shoved his ass in her car and took off like a bat out of hell. “He’ll kill Jeff thinking he’s you.” She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “I want him dead, Fen!” She was shrieking, her voice, powered unconsciously by her magic, rattling the windows of the car.
“So do I.” Fen held on for dear life as Jamie raced through the nighttime streets of downtown. “Do you know where he took Jeff?”
She nodded and touched her earring. “Jeff hasn’t taken this off yet. I’m able to use it to track him.” She sniffed. “Where the fuck are Kir and Logan?”
“They went to get Magnus and Morgan. They believe Skye is actually Skuld, the Norn who reads the future.”
“The one who gave Odin the prophecy of Ragnarrok?” She turned sharply down a narrow street, her brows lowered in concentration.
“Yes.” Fen sniffed. There was the faintest whiff of his mate on the evening breeze. “There.” He pointed toward a narrow, red brick building with a black door.
Jamie nodded and parked the car at the first spot she came to, which was over a block away. “Act natural.”
Fen switched to his wolf form.
“Not that natural.”
Fen growled but shifted back. He sniffed, his head whipping around as the sweet scent of his mate filled his nostrils. “That way.”
Jamie led him to the building, but unless they wanted to go in through the front door there was no way they’d be getting in. “There’s got to be an alleyway somewhere around here.” She tapped her teeth with her nail and looked up and down the street. “There!” She took off and Fen followed, wondering where his mate’s sister was leading him.
Wherever it was, it was away from the slowly growing scent of blood.
“I killed Thor tonight because of you.”
Jeff whimpered. The knife sliding through his skin was sharp agony, distracting him from the stupid shit Grimm was spouting. Rina had a wicked touch with that fucking blade, drawing the pain out in ways he hadn’t thought possible.
“He was stupid, but he was loyal. Unlike your father, who’s been a thorn in my side since the beginning.”