Page 24 of Flock Around and Find Out (Flocking It Up #3)

Panic struck me when I didn’t see the others. “What about—”

“I pulled them out as well, don’t worry. They’re all safe and sound at the Justice Complex. I just thought you might want to talk privately after all that.” He stepped away and looked around my place. “You know, this is the first time I’ve come to your house.”

“Yeah, you’re like a deadbeat dad.”

He laughed softly as he went around picking up random items, examining them.

Which gave me the chance to ask what we both knew I wanted to. “He called you Loki.”

“I figured you wouldn’t just let that go.”

“He doesn’t mean, like, that Loki, does he?”

Knot turned back toward me and leaned against the edge of a side table, crossing his arms, somehow looking less like the childish guy I was used to. Maybe it was what happened, maybe it was the name, but something caused him to appear different. “I never liked that name, but yeah, that’s me.”

I swallowed hard, feeling weird all of a sudden. I’d known him for years now, was used to how I saw him, but to think he was actually a real, honest to fuck god was something I struggled to grasp.

“And that makes him…”

“There are a lot of names for him, but the one you probably know the best? Odin.”

I frowned, unable to quietly sort through that mess. My Norse mythology wasn’t exactly up to snuff, and the idea that the Odin of those stories—or at least the being they were based on—had just nearly killed me didn’t sit well.

“Are you afraid of me now?” He kept his gaze locked on mine, not giving me any space to escape it, to lessen the impact. It went to show how even he behaved differently, as though he’d been careful to not expose me to this side of him. Was this some sort of dare? Was he testing me?

“You know me,” I offered with a crooked smile. “I’m not smart enough to be afraid. I’m a bit annoyed. If you were a god all along, why the fuck have I had to still work? You should have been a better sugar daddy.”

He stared back at me, still and silent, until he busted out laughing. “You know, you really were the right choice. Sometimes I worry, think I made a mistake with you, but then you open your mouth and I know that I you were the only choice.”

I lifted an eyebrow as I thought back to my Norse mythology education, which I hadn’t really paid much attention to. “So, are all gods from Norse mythology?”

He shook his head. “No. We’ve been in most civilizations in one way or another, so most cultures have some story about us under different names, different descriptions. Some stories are complete bullshit, too, so you can’t trust a word of most of it.”

“Is that man really going to do what he said?”

Knot sighed, his expression screaming that he really would rather not tell me the truth. It made me wonder if he would. Finally, his shoulders sagged. “Yeah, he will. He always has. I warned you that the old ones weren’t what you were used to. They aren’t human in any way, don’t care about humans or Spirits.”

“You’re one of them.”

“Technically, yeah, but clearly, I’ve never fit in. They’d never seen me as one of them, either. I’m not human, not a Spirit, and the others like me, well, they suck, so I’ve never really had a place where I fit. That’s why I tend to just wander, staying just as long as something is fun.”

“I don’t think what we just went through was fun,” I pointed out.

“No, it really wasn’t. I guess I wasn’t just kidding—you are special. You’re the only one I’d do something this not fun for.” The words were quiet, serious, not a speck of humor in them.

It took me back to what he’d said before, to Odin, how he’d told him I was special. I’d never understood where exactly I fit with Knot, what we were, but clearly it was far more complicated than I’d even figured. What did I think about that?

My brain seemed to short circuit at that, unwilling to work out exactly what I thought about Knot, to see him in a way I wasn’t prepared for. It was going to take much longer to come to terms with that.

“So what now?” I asked.

“Odin slept for a long time—he won’t be able to do much right away. It’s gonna take some time to get his power back. I’m pretty sure he’ll seek out some of his old allies as well. They don’t play together much, but when they do, it’s a problem for everyone. In short? We’ve got some time. It’s a problem, but it won’t be a today or tomorrow problem.” He came over and sat on the couch beside me, a bit less carefree than he usually was. “I’m serious, little crow, what does this all mean for us? Are you going to treat me differently? Because I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want that to happen. Maybe I should have told you sooner, but I thought you’d never find out and then we wouldn’t have to have the conversation.”

I knew he wanted a real answer, and I owed him that much. Even if he was absentee—he always showed up exactly when I needed him. It felt like he was always watching over me in some way, even if I couldn’t see it all the time. “It means I’m going to expect you to pull your weight more and get me better birthday presents. Other than that?” I leaned against his side. “We’re good.”

He let out a long, slow breath, a shuddering like he couldn’t believe I’d agreed, that I’d accepted him. “Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Besides, with Odin sniffing around, I’ll be sticking pretty close by, so you’d better get used to that.”

I chuckled and leaned my head against his shoulder, exhaustion wearing on me.

“Get some sleep. I’ll make sure the others know everything’s fine,” he said.

I closed my eyes, figuring that sounded like a damn good idea. At least, until one of the things I had learned about mythology stuck out. “Wait, did you really fuck a horse?”

He snickered. “Technically, it was the other way around. Go to sleep, Little Crow.” A warm press of his lips to my temple helped erase the last bit of frustration hit me, the worry, and sleep took me.

I hadn’t expected this to end with me waking up a god—who now wanted me dead—but it didn’t shock me as much as it should have. Did that show how fucking weird my life was?

I’d fucked around, I’d found out.

I’d started to build what was actually a happy life, had people to protect, to watch out for, to care about, and if anything threatened that?

I might have just been a crow, but I’d take on anything—even a god—to protect what I’d found.

* * * *

Galen

It was good to think clearly again, but I wished I couldn’t recall everything that had happened while I’d lost my mind. It was strange to come that close to my other side, to see that part of myself that I always kept such tight control on.

I’d been helpless against its wants, its reactions, all of it.

We’d gotten back the night before, and Knot had come to tell me—and the others—that Grey was sleeping at home. I’d touched base with all the Weres I could, only to find all those who had gone feral had returned to their old selves.

I understood the cost, perhaps better than most. If there was a being who spawned all the Spirits inside the Weres, that was not a benevolent spirit. And because of us—because of me—it had been awoken and unleashed.

“You look better.” Grey’s voice unknotted all the tension inside of me.

“What did I tell you about breaking into a Were’s house?” The words left me automatically, the familiar back and forth helping me feel at ease, as though things were okay between us.

“That you find it impossibly charming?”

I turned to find her smiling, standing just past the porch in my backyard. She’d probably hopped the fence, but with her, who knew for sure?

It took me back to just how much she meant to me. I’d held off before, held back the instincts that made me want to bind her to me, to make her my mate. Even after I’d nearly lost her twice, I’d resisted it all.

This time was different. I’d come face to face with my own demons, with the beast inside me, and I’d watched Grey risk it all to save me.

“I really do,” I said. “So I’m going to give you one more chance, Grey. If you don’t want this, if you don’t want to be my mate, you need to leave. I can’t pretend like I can keep things like this, not anymore.” I gripped the edges of my chair, using that to keep myself in place, to not reach out and grab her as I wanted. I closed my eyes, because I wasn’t sure I could let her go if I had to watch her walk away.

The waiting nearly broke me, my senses straining for any sign of what she would choose, fully expecting her to walk away. Why wouldn’t she? I didn’t think I had anything to give her, not really.

The unexpected gift of her warmth struck me harder than anything else when she crawled into my lap, when she pressed her lips to mine. I immediately let go of the armrests and wrapped my arms around her, clinging her to me, letting my beast go just a little, letting myself grasp her so she couldn’t escape me.

“You’re sure?” I asked, unable to believe my good fortune.

“I mean, I don’t know what it requires, so if there’s anything weird, we’ll see.”

“Too late,” I said and kissed her deeper, slipping my tongue past her lips, tasting her, letting it soak into me, to ease those parts of me that had craved her so badly for so many years. I pulled back to stare at her, needing to see her reaction. “You’re mine. Next full moon, we make it official.”

“You keep focusing on what I want, but you’ve seen the messes I’ve gotten myself into. You sure you want to have that disaster as a mate?” I heard the question in her voice, the uncertainty, the fear. It reminded me that she hadn’t rejected me so far because she didn’t care for me, because she didn’t even love me, but because she truly didn’t think anyone could love her.

It broke my heart that even this far into knowing me, she still didn’t realize the truth.

I slid my hand to the nape of her neck so she looked into my eyes. “You are a mess, Grey, but there is nowhere I want to be more than right next to you in whatever disaster you find yourself in. That’s exactly where I belong.”

She took her lip between her teeth, her eyes bright as she stared back at me. I could see the way she struggled to accept that, to believe it.

Which was fine by me. I pulled her in for another kiss.

I’d spend the rest of my life proving to her that she was the only choice for me.

I’d told her once that thinking someone’s life had some grand purpose was pointless, but I’d been lying back then. The truth was that the more time I spent with her, the more I knew the truth. My whole reason for life was loving this girl, and that sort of certainty was good for me.

It sounded like a damn good way to spend a life to me.

She might be able to escape anything, but that wouldn’t include me, because Grey was my mate.