We made it to Roskilde before dawn and stayed in one of the guesthouses. Xipe had no problems getting us a room that blocked out the sun. I still didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t venture out, but he said it was dangerous. I had no reason to not believe him. He told me so many wonderful things already. About me and what I was, about the world.

Roskilde was a larger village by the sea, known for its amazing shipbuilders. People from all of the north came here to have their boats built. The seer and I had been here many times, listening to the stories the returning raiders had to tell. Stories of men with curved swords to the south. Men with so much ice in their blood they felt no cold to the east. And then, of course, England to the West. Xipe was taking me to England and I was both thrilled and scared. I had never had the best sea legs and I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of him.

Our room in the little guest house was snug. A large bed, filled with furs and squeaky floorboards all made out of wood.

“Frej, I have something to tell you,” Xipe said and sat down on the bed in front of me. “I wanted to make sure you were doing alright before we move on to the next stage of your transformation. When it gets dark again, I’ll show you.”

I nodded enthusiastically. I had always known there was something out there. Something more than just man. The seer had told me so and I believed him. He told me there were higher powers at play, a lot more between life and death, and there was. There was Xipe. And now me.

“We should rest. We walked quite a distance.” He pushed me down on my back and hovered over me.

“I do feel tired,” I breathed as his hands snuck under my tunic and lifted it off me. He went for my trousers next and kissed me from my collar bone to below my navel.

He gently grabbed my thighs and spread my legs apart. He kissed the inside of my thigh and then bit down on it. I moaned and buried my fingers in his hair.

It was so thick, his hair. I loved feeling it between my fingers. It was as thick as seagrass but as smooth as some of the silks my father had brought home for my mother.

He released my skin and kissed the sore spot he had created. Then he moved further up and flicked his black eyes up at me.

“I love you,” he murmured softly, my dark blood staining his lips.

He lowered himself and took me in his mouth. I gasped and couldn’t stop my hips from moving with him. He put his hands on them and got me to stop, wanting all the control for himself.

His mouth was a wonder to me. It filled me with knowledge, with love, with exquisite pain… His mouth had to be a wonder of the world. His mouth was only combatted with his fingers and what they were doing.

He kissed his way back up to my mouth and lowered his hips, relaxing on top of me. He trailed his fingers over my cheek and smiled before softly kissing me. I tangled my legs with his and exhaled loudly as he moved his hips forward. I didn’t want to make a sound, but I couldn’t hold back.

He gently moved his hips in the same rhythm as my pulse as he kissed my throat, his elbows on either side of my head. I felt him opening his mouth and then the sharp pain of his teeth sinking into my skin hit me. I whimpered but it turned into another moan very fast.

It was like every inch of me was getting pleasured at the same time. I felt more than I had ever felt before and I was lacking the words to describe the exact feeling. It was almost like reaching the climax over and over again.

After a while, he snaked his arm under my lower back and turned us around, so I was his lap, and he was sitting under me. He did it all very quickly and smoothly, but still, so very gently, I barely felt it.

“Feed, Frej,” he murmured and put his hand on the back of my head, guiding my mouth down to his throat. I kissed it, as I hesitated to heed his request. I still found it a little odd.

He almost growled at me, like a wild animal and dug his fingers into my neck. I didn’t want to torture him any longer so I obeyed. He groaned like a man finally released and started moving under me. I moved a little with him, but I was getting very distracted by the taste of him.

He moaned and I returned to his mouth. I could feel him smiling and I couldn’t help but smile too.

What we shared right here… It was so right. I could feel it deep within my bones, how right it was. And I loved this man already.