To protect his Omega, he would need help.

Einar risked a glimpse at the two Alphas nearest him, pounding away at the gold ingot with expressions just as blank as a tree stripped of bark. 

Berserkrs, Einar abruptly recognized. And not just any Berserkrs, either.

Although they still trailed far behind Einar in both sheer size and strength, Tollak and Geir were both still thoroughly regarded as Berserkrs of upper rank within the bond. In fact, if they were not standing directly beside the hulking figure that was Einar's uniquely arcane physique – a man hefty enough to singlehandedly made his hammer look like nothing short of a child's plaything – both men would still be considered well above average in their realm of work. 

But despite all of this, Tollak, Geir, and Einar shared something much more important between them.

Einar still remembered the day Tollak and Geir met their fated mates – Tollak's a delicate, fair-skinned man with a lovely smile and eyes that crinkled with joy the very first time that he glanced upon his Alpha, and Geir's a dazzling, brown-skinned woman with long braids that fell to her waist, accentuating the gracious, elegant limbs of a dancer. 

For each couple, the circumstances through which they stumbled across one another were unique in their own right. But in the end, they all culminated in the same result.

To this day, Einar's ears echoed with the howls of inconsolable grief that tore through both Alphas as they were made to witness every drop of life drain from the eyes of the one person in this entire world who would ever hold the other half of their soul. 

At the time, Einar could do nothing but watch impassively, tending to his assigned post as he held tight to the arms of each inconsolable man, holding them back from fulfilling their Alphan instincts of tearing Guiscard apart limb from limb in the name of the mates that they already loved.

But now – with the stormy cloud of disillusionment no longer obscuring Einar's tired mind – Tollak and Geir's desperate howls for mercy, the way they kicked and thrashed and bit against Einar's hold with every ounce of strength left in their weary bodies, held a profoundly different meaning.

Because now, Einar understood exactly what they were fighting for. 

Out of everyone, surely, they'd understand. Surely, they'd help him hold tight to his beloved.

"Heat and switch!" Someone called out once more, and Einar stepped back, allowing his hammer to dangle at his side in favor of using his free hand to wipe at his brow, now slick with considerably more sweat than rain.

After exchanging spots as they were instructed, Tollak reached up to swipe a few stray strands of sweaty hair into the pitch-black braid that traveled halfway down his back, Geir slumped forward a little, breathing deeply as he rested both of his large hands atop his upended hammer, and Einar decided that it was now or never.

"I apologize," The Alpha started, staring down at the anvil that stood like a wall between them since he couldn't bring himself to look the two shorter men in the eye. "For the role that I played in your mate's..." He chose his words very wisely here, "... Passing. I apologize."

Despite the fact that he was currently vibrating with an abundance of stress and anxiety and whatever dreadful creature was currently attempting to crawl its way up his spine, Einar stood strong, holding his ground as he waited as patiently as he possibly could for a response. However, after a minute passed without so much as a single peep from his battered co-workers, the Alpha decided that risking a glimpse at the two men was a much better idea than not knowing anything at all.

However, once Einar lifted his head – tendrils of drying, blonde hair dangling in the periphery of his vision – it was not only two men who stared back at him.

Somehow, he'd become much too absorbed within his own world of desperation to realize that the entirety of the refinery had fallen into silence at his words. But now, the eternal clang of hammers ceased for the longest time since anyone could remember, and instead, the only sounds that Einar could make out beyond the perpetual whirring of his troubled mind were the steady crackling of the kilns and the rhythmic beating of rain as it crashed in a punishing monsoon against the thatched roof above.

However, compared to the last time he'd been made the center of attention, something was... different.

Faces still remained laced with intractable layers of exhaustion and hopelessness, but this time, some of that sharp sourness from earlier was nowhere to be found, as if someone had added a drop of honey to an ocean of lemonade.

And, out of all of them, there was one that stood out from far across the sweltering room.

Kerr was the second highest-ranking Berserkr in their bond, falling only a single mark behind Einar himself in size, brawn, and stamina. And right now, his eyes were but thin slits as he stared back at the larger Alpha, hazel irises swirling with a severe intensity that Einar knew not whether to classify as friendly or unfavorable.

However, he didn't get much time to ponder as, before anyone could utter a single word in acknowledgment of Einar's yield, the receiving door of the refinery burst open to reveal the finely dressed form of one of Guiscard's many house slaves.

"Evening stew is served!" The gangly Beta squawked, the pompous huff beneath his breath leaving no question as to where he considered himself among Guiscard's hierarchy. If only he knew that he was just as much of a slave as the rest of the men he was currently addressing. "You will report to the square's stew pool at once to obtain your ration and make way for the evening refinery shift!"

All around him, men moved in slow motion, stretching backs and popping knuckles after a long day of painstaking work. They all tossed their hammers — wooden handles streaked with blood — against the moist wall that groaned under the weight as they made their way toward the door, and yet Einar could do nothing but remain.

Because now... he had nothing.

That had been his opportunity, his one and only chance to get a sense of the true sentiments of the only two people who he thought he may be able to trust. But somehow, just like everything else he'd managed to make go wrong over the past few days, Einar found himself right back at square one.

How could he face Vali after this? How could he possibly sit there and articulate to his sweet, flawless, trusting Omega that his Alpha – his fated mate – was too much of an unsightly coward to raise a stand against a Master who had only ever guided him down the deepest trenches of misery?

So much more than just humiliating, it was shameful. 

... So much so that the Alpha had to force his legs to carry his floaty, barely perceptible body out of the refinery and in the opposite direction of the throng of bodies headed for the village square.

Only then, once he was firmly situated with his back pressed up against the wooden wall of the tool shed situated closest to the edge of the forest, did Einar allow himself to fall apart.

The Alpha's tears dissolved into the rain that fell from angry heavens as he tilted his head back against the wall that held him steady, wholly unable to stifle the strangled sounds of anguish that cracked their way through his sore ribcage even if he wanted to. 

Everything was just too much, too fast, too soon.

If only he had more time. 

If only he weren't a slave. 

If only his parents could have loved him enough to stay.

If only, if only, if only.

...

"Do not scream."

Einar's eyes widened with shock at once, muscles hardening to stone as he immediately fought against the large palms that pressed across his mouth and chest.

The darkness of the night, the unfamiliarity of the scent attached to his assailant, and the accompanying blur of rain and tears made it difficult to make out the unexpected foe at first. But as a few rapid blinks left new features revealed, including a well-kept beard, the shaved sides of his skull, and bright, hazel eyes, Einar's fight response simmered down to a much more pacified, yet still openly suspicious glower.

Once the other Alpha felt Einar's muscles relax by a fraction, he decided to take his chances by unhanding him. Then, he took a few slow steps back with his hands held out by his sides, regarding Einar as one would a powerful predator on the hunt.

"Kerr." Einar immediately thundered once his mouth was uncovered, gathering the tattered remains of whatever was left of his dignity as he sniffed, biting his cheek to fight back the second wave of tears that pressed at the apex of his lash line. "You followed me." He stated rather than asked, considering there was no other explanation for the other Alpha's current whereabouts.

Kerr shook his head – not so much in disagreement, but more so in thought – and the dark brown plait that worked its way down the center of his partially shaved head swayed in time with his movement.

"I had to know." He stated, his tone much more subdued and forthright now that he apparently had Einar right where he wanted him.

Gritting his jaw, Einar wondered what was to come next.

Was this to be a battle? A swipe at the neck of the only Alpha that lay between himself and top-rank Berserkr status?

The spilling of blood wasn't at all what he wanted to happen, and quite truthfully, had he proposed such a notion last week, on all accounts Einar likely would have voluntarily allowed Kerr to smother him to death with the very same mud that currently clung to their feet. But now that he possessed the anchoring knowledge that his precious Vali was seated up in his loft, anxiously awaiting his safe return, a clandestine meeting to resolve matters such as that would only be a foolish move on Kerr's part... Especially considering the fact that Einar would reduce the slightly smaller Alpha to a pile of blood and guts in less time than it took to blink the rain from his eyelashes if he so much as alluded to a threat on his mate's safety and comfort.

But to Einar's surprise, Kerr did nothing of the sort.

"I had to know if you really meant it." The Alpha breathed, hazel eyes flashing with a tormented kind of desperation he'd only ever seen in his own reflection. "That you were sorry. That you..." He closed his eyes, as if contemplating the potential consequences of his next words, "That you cared."

Einar blinked, and for some odd reason, his heart began to thunder as his mind ran wild with the faintest flicker of hope.

"I do care. Much more than I ever thought possible." He trod carefully around the words that he truly wanted to say, though couldn't resist dropping a faint whiff of the truth amongst them. "Alas, an apology would never be sufficient to make up for the loss that both Tollak, Geir, and countless others in our bond have sustained."

Kerr only stared for a long time then, and Einar could practically see the complicated sea of thoughts that flowed behind his eyes as he did so. For a moment, the larger Alpha wondered if he'd made a grave mistake, but considering how Kerr wasn't shouting out for reinforcements or attempting to snap his spine in two at that current moment, Einar supposed that it was in his best interest to wait it out.

And dear Odin, his heartbeat only turned from thunder to lightning when Kerr stepped forward and let his next, hesitant words fall from his lips.

"I hope that you wish not to deceive me." He started, although Einar could tell by his body language that doing so was taking every ounce of his strength. Einar nodded firmly. 

"On Odin's good name." The larger Alpha promised. And evidently, that promise was all he needed, seeing how in one second Kerr was staring at Einar with an expression that leaked doubt, and in the next, he told him everything.

"I have found my mate. And, as the looming guarantee of our next raid grows closer, I fear for the safety and security of his life."

Now, Einar was the one who could do nothing but stare, bright blue eyes flickering as a typhoon of tears presented themselves with a newfound vengeance. Could it truly be that he wasn't the only one suffering from such wicked torment? 

"Your... mate." Einar uttered dumbly, struck into a bumbling stupor as everything vacillated wildly within him. 

Kerr chanced yet another step closer, the Alpha's strong features shattering with every movement until only the shell of a broken man remained. 

"About this, I am not mistaken, I swear it upon every moment I have walked upon this very soil." He spoke quickly, as if fearing Einar would fly away at any second. "The moment that I lay eyes on him, I–" Kerr paused, gaze flickering downward before raising back up, and once again, Einar saw his own reflection – this time of the very same moisture he was currently trying with all of his might to repress – in those terrified, hazel depths. 

"I felt the earth tilt on its axis beneath my feet. I felt him not only in my heart, but in my very soul with which Odin has blessed us. He is my blood, my veins, my mind, everything that I see, experience, and feel." His voice shook, teetering on the edge of complete wreckage, "He is mine, Einar. And just the mere thought of Guiscard..." He trailed off then, lips tight and unable to finish the thought as he clutched at his chest with the thick, shaking fingers of both hands. 

But Einar didn't need Kerr to explain, because he understood. More than anything, he understood.

Kerr fell to his knees, mud splattering his britches as he stared up at Einar with a plea bellowing in his soul. And just like that, this strong, capable man – an Alpha alongside whom he'd lived and destroyed for so many years, yet still barely knew – submitted to Einar.

"Einar, every soul who resides within the confines of the Great Mountain's Pass knows of your name as a mighty warrior. And in as dire a circumstance as this, I beg your service despite the knowledge that I have nothing to offer you in return." Kerr's deep voice was but a whisper now, but remained unwaveringly resolute nonetheless, "So please, help me save my fated, for the prospect of losing him is the only cruelty that I cannot bear," He begged on hands and knees, eyes glistening and words doused by the everlasting torrent of rain, "Please, help me save my Tofa."

AHHH TOFA IS ALIVE?! 😭

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Thanks so much for sticking with Vali and Einar through this story so far!

Xoxo, Alex ❤️