Page 89 of Mated to the Vikings

We both turned.

“I may not be a hybrid, but I am connected to all of you,” Brexin added, taking long strides closer. “We finish this tonight.”

“Agreed.” David’s guttural answer was barely human.

By the time we were dressed, weapons in hand and ready for a fight, a large group of Galerians had gathered in the center of the city, Steen waiting in front. Every hybrid stood in formation, their enraged faces and snarls obviously ready for the ensuing war.

“We caught their communications. They are only two miles out,” Steen stated as he walked closer.

“We are ready to defend our city.” Klar flanked Steen’s position. “Our people.”

“All our people,” Steen added, giving me a respectful nod. “What occurs today will alter our future. We may sacrifice some of our own, but we will never give in to their tyranny.”

A collective cheer could be heard, even more Galerians coming to join in the fight.

“We form three groups. Klar will take one, I will take the second, and Erik the third. Are there any questions?” Steen asked, barking out the orders with no room for compromise.

“Can a woman be allowed to fight along with the men she loves?” As Cassia pushed her way through the crowd, dressed for battle and her own weapon in hand, she held her head high. Heading directly for Steen, she took long strides.

Steen tilted his head, crowding her space. Then he smiled. “With pleasure, little human. You are one formidable opponent.”

The gates were opened, soldiers and hybrids moving into the darkness. I remained behind, taking several deep breaths, ringing in my ears.

“Remember, my sweet Viking, that you are a man, not a beast. No matter what they did to you, they could never take away your soul,” Cassia stated in a commanding fashion.

She could have no understanding of just how soothing her words truly were.

“I will try and remember that.”

“And I will attempt to remind him,” Brexin added, a gleam in his eyes.

The sense of pride in the Galerian people was evident in their tactics of war. As we swarmed the forests around us, trudging through the snow, there was no method of stopping them, an urgency in their step. We were over three hundred strong, prepared to fight to the death.

And we didn’t have to wait long.

A single crack of twigs and I knew we’d found them. Throwing out my hand, there was instant silence, every one of us crouching down to wait. Within seconds we heard footsteps, maneuvering in manners I knew well.

Trained military soldiers, prepared for anything.

Except…

The first sight of them sparked something from deep within, the kind of predatory need that refused to be denied. I was no longer the man who’d fought to save his wife and child from the hands of savage mercenaries, sent as assassins to eliminate any concept of governmental threat. My family had been taken, the blame placed on my shoulders, labeling me a sick and vile creature. Every man who’d served with me in the Marines had been killed, taken out by the very same group. I was the only one left.

And I’d lost my family in an effort to keep my humanity. No more.

For tonight, I was nothing but a beast.

And I would kill.

I threw my head back and roared, my legs pumping as I rushed forward and within seconds, I saw him.

The man who was my maker.

The man who’d stripped my humanity.

The man who’d set me free.

The moment I reached Dr. Forrester, jerking him into the air and preparing to end his life, I heard her lilting voice calling me.