The wallboards creaked ominously as they swayed in time with the whistling symphony of wind, battling against the hearty rain that poured in a torrential downfall upon the tired earth. Though some may have found such a sound soothing, as Vali lay, once again huddled and curled up beneath the furs stacked in the far corner of Einar's empty loft, the Omega could only regard the sound as nothing short of torment.

It had been hours since Einar had last stopped by to deliver this afternoon's rations, and, having been left alone with nothing but Frode and his thoughts for so long, Vali had eventually found himself bored to the point of weariness, so fatigued from doing absolutely nothing he could hardly stand it.

And yet as his mind idled, descending into a spiral of decidedly less fortunate introspections, Vali could not deny the constant force that pricked at the back of his skull, one that continuously compelled him toward thoughts that comprised of any and everything having to do with his Alpha.

His Alpha. His Alpha. Just the mere concept that he now had such a man to call his own was enough to make Vali's cheeks flare with the heat of a thousand suns, the lighter patch of skin on the left side of his face blazing such a luminous pink that it could likely be glimpsed even through the pitch-black darkness of the loft.

And of course, remembering the night in which they indulged within one another's bodies did nothing to quell the fire. In fact, as Vali squeezed his mismatched eyes shut, and visions of sweaty limbs entwined in a fortuitous dance of passion flashed endlessly across his psyche, he soon found himself writhing beneath the furs, thighs pressed tightly together as he attempted to suppress swiftly re-awakening desire.

But as quickly as such inflammatory desires would bubble to the surface, they would soon come to be doused with a crippling typhoon of reality, one that Vali reminded himself of often, whenever the tips of slim fingers traversed along the creamy skin of his disappointingly bare nape.

Why Einar hadn't bestowed him with a mating bite that night was an elusive mystery that never failed to make Vali's heart constrict in on itself, contracting a little bit harder with each dreary beat. After all, it was plainly obvious that Einar strongly desired him, and that his Alphan instincts to protect and provide were stirred at the mere notion of his existence. And similarly, so matter how short their time together, Vali was undoubtedly drawn to his Alpha all the same. But nevertheless, no matter how long he postulated, Vali always found himself coming back to the most basic of queries – why?

On one hand, Vali wished that he would be granted the bravery to simply ask such a question. But at the same time, somehow the fear of knowing felt nearly just as terrifying as being left in the dark.

And so he simply remained, curled up and stuck in an infinite loop of unknowns as he awaited his Alpha's safe return.

The tantalizing scent of Einar that wafted from the furs was a soothing balm for tired eyes, and as he inhaled the vapors, Vali must have dozed off once or twice, as when the low creak of the ladder registered in his mind, the Omega jolted back to life at once.

Kicking the furs from his heated limbs in a scramble of excitement, Vali could barely help the way his body moved without his permission, gravitating toward the ladderwell in an almost instinctual ritual. Vibrating like an eager puppy, the Omega attempted to contain himself as a large, scarred hand appeared from the darkness, pushing aside the deerskin door.

And then, he was there.

In Einar held a torch in one hand, which illuminated the entire loft in an orangey glow as he ascended the ladderwell, blonde hair plastered against his face and neck as he dripped with residual rainfall. Vali stumbled a few steps backward to give his larger-than-life fated additional space when he stepped onto the landing, but before he could get too far, Einar was already placing the torch into the wall bracket and advancing upon him.

A breathy sound slipped through Vali's lips as his neck craned up, up, and further still, attempting to make up for the vast size difference between his and his Alpha's vastly dissimilar forms. But as giant, rough hands cupped Vali's cheeks, and hulking shoulders hunched low, both men gravitated nearer until both foreheads touched, blazing embers zipping through the places where their bare skin communed.

"My Vali."

Einar's whisper was as deep and sonorous as ever, sending tingles straight down the length of Vali's quaking spine, warm breath filling the slight space between their lips. Reaching out for anything to hold onto, the Omega wrapped both hands around one of his Alpha's wrists where they rested beside his face, black and white eyelashes fluttering as he leaned his entire body into the searing touch.

"My Einar." He whispered back in kind, unable to halt the spread of a radiant smile that blossomed across his lips at the sweet taste of such a phrase as it bounced happily across his inexperienced tongue. "Welcome home. You were dearly missed."

This time, it was Einar who could not subdue his smile, heart thumping with the force of a thousand gods as his mind warred, struggling to comprehend that such kind words were directed toward him. It was such a supremely odd sensation – such kindness – but one that filled the Alpha with a distinctly unfamiliar sense of delight nonetheless.

So, overcome with a slew of marvelously unexplored sensations and unable to hold back even a moment longer, Einar wasted no time in leaning down further to claim the bounding crests of his Omega's trembling lips.

Slow, gentle, and overwhelmingly sweet, the kiss that Einar and Vali shared at that moment was one that spoke of their fondness for one another in a manner that mere words could never hope to encapsulate. Instead, as tongues tangled, noses brushed, and lips pressed, both men reveled in a tiny, safe world of their own making, indulging in the intimate display of wholesome, adoring tenderness.

If oxygen wasn't a necessity, both men likely would have remained tangled in such an embrace until the end of time, however as Vali finally pulled back a few centimeters, sucking in desperate gulps of his Alpha's air, Einar was given a moment to regain his own bearings as well.

Breathing deeply, the Alpha reminded himself of the utmost priority, which – despite the fact that he may have wished it so – did not currently consist of making love to his Omega until the sun fell from the heavens.

"My Vali," He breathed, eyes still locked on his Omega's quivering cupid's bow "There is someone here that I would like for you to meet," Einar explained quietly, forcing the words from his tongue before his Alphan instincts could steer him back around toward much more tempting activities. 

Einar shifted their position then, foregoing his hold on Vali's soft cheeks in favor of wrapping a thick arm around his waist and drawing him into his side as he turned them to face the ladderwell.

... And what Vali saw there nearly made him run for the ice-capped peaks of Great Mountain's Pass.

The man who stood just atop the ladderwell landing was massive in terms of both height and width, bordering on a size at which Vali had ever only witnessed in terms of his own Alpha. However, it was not only the man's size that left Vali cowering, pressing his entire body into Einar's damp side as he attempted to disappear through his fated's warm skin.

While Einar's presence typically gave off an air of rugged, raw power, this man emanated an overwhelmingly daunting aura: the shaved sides of his skull, the metal ring pierced through one nostril, and the sharp bite in his slitted gaze formulating a sight so intimidating that it left Vali's knees a little bit weak, his inner Omega's instinctual fight or flight reaction increasing to levels typically only reserved for life-or-death situations. 

Fortunately, Einar must have sensed such unease at once, as his arm tightened around his Omega within mere seconds, a thick, calloused thumb rubbing circles on the apex of Vali's wide hip. The smaller man released a breath only then, relaxing into the instant relief that his fated's touch delivered.

"This man is called Kerr." Einar husked, eager to ease his Omega's distress, "He is also a member of our bond, a slave of a rank similar to my own. And be it as it may, Kerr has also happened to find himself in a... similar predicament to that which we are also currently facing."

Vali's brow furrowed as he stared up at the imposing specimen of a man, mouth opening and closing a few times as he tried to wrap his mind around what Einar was referring to. "I... I don't understand." He breathed, wading through chin-high waters of pure bafflement.

Kerr, however, did not leave him in the dark for long. Vali jumped in his skin, blinking in shock as the man fell to one knee, pressing a giant fist over the side of his chest that housed his heart as hazel eyes bored directly into his own, mismatched ones.

"I come to you as but a humble servant, as a man who begs the aid of your fated." Kerr began, voice low enough to vibrate the floorboards, "For I, too, have discovered my fated mate. And now, I beseech you on bended knee, begging your permission as Berserkr Einar's Omega, for his assistance in my pursuit of freedom for my Omega." He breathed, eyes flickering in the torchlight. "On Odin's good name, I swear to keep your existence a secret. I only wish for a life in which I may be provided the opportunity to earn the reciprocation of my fated's love without the threat of harm coming to him."

For a long moment, Vali could only stare, mouth opening and closing as he attempted to wrap his fatigued mind around the scene that was unfolding before his very eyes. But just as Vali began to come to, heart bleeding as he grieved for the anguish that shined through Kerr's hazel irises, the Omega's eyes fell upon a ghost.

The movement could have been mistaken for shifting shadows at first, exaggerated by the torch whose light rose and fell in varying intensities with every passing second. However, as the tiny figure emerged further into the light, materializing from the space behind Kerr's massive back, silky black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes painted the unmistakable picture of Vali's best friend.

... Vali's deceased best friend.

"No. No, no..." Overcome by emotion, the Omega stumbled out of Einar's hold at once, shaking his head absently as he backed away, further, further, and further still until his heels made contact with the very back wall of the loft. 

There was so much that he wanted to say, so much that he wanted to do as the pupils of his best friend's ghost connected with his own. But as Vali's lower eyelids welled with yet unshed tears, his throat quickly followed suit, filling to the brim with a cotton-y thickness that left him with no other option but to try his best not to hyperventilate.

"Vali..." The ghost whispered, his tone just as frail as Vali's own heart as he stepped past both Alphas, making his way toward the place where Vali still cowered. "Vali, is that... really you?"

"I– I..." The other Omega sputtered, pressing himself into the wallboards so firmly that he was sure that his back would sustain a thousand splinters. But nevertheless, no pain in the entire world could ever compare to the twisted cruelty of being forced to endure such maleficent witchcraft.

The ghost strode even closer then, only a foot or so away from his position now, and from this close, even Vali had to admit that he looked... so real. Almost like he could just reach out and...

The moment that Vali's fingertips made solid contact with his friend's cheek rather than passing right through as he so expected them to do, tears overflowed into a monsoon of disbelief.

"Tofa?" He cried silently, cheeks stretching up into a dubious smile as his hand stretched out, feeling for his friend's neck, trying to check a pulse, anything to confirm what he so wished to be true. Tofa's face was just as beautiful as it always was, with its soft slopes and gentle curves, and even the dirt that clung to every inch of his skin did nothing to dampen that fact. "Tofa?!"

"Yeah," Long, black hair swaying with the movement, Tofa only nodded, the Omega's large, blue eyes welling to the brim with tears of his own. "Yeah, Val. It's me."

And that was all that it took before long-lost friends were united again, wrapping arms tight around one another and sobbing endlessly into a crushing embrace.

"Dear Odin, I thought that you were gone!" Vali wept, "I am so sorry, Tofa, I should have never left you there all alone! Oh, you must have been so, so frightened!" He apologized, knuckles going white at the force with which he clutched onto his friend's tunic. Inhaling, the familiar scent of his friend soothed something so deep in his aching soul that the relief was nearly unbearable. "But how... how could you possibly be here?!" He asked, voice still filled with incredulity despite the proof that was right there, sobbing in his arms all the same.

Pulling back from their embrace by just a fraction, Tofa offered Vali a watery smile as he reached up, cupping his friend's cheeks as he laughed, overcome with Joy. 

"Shortly after ya' left to see what was happening on the other side of the cliff, I was snatched up rough by some of the biggest Alphas I ever did see. I was so scared, Vali... I nearly passed out right then and there." He gulped, fingers quivering as he recalled such dark memories, "They chained me up real good and made me walk what felt like a million miles until we finally got here. But then, right after they ordered for me and the others to be put into one of the slave holdings for processin'... Kerr... he saved me, Val. Made his master think I got away on my own and stashed me in the cellars until we could figure out what to do." He whispered the last part, as if he himself could barely believe such a thing had really happened. 

"And he was beaten for it, Val, flogged for hours for lettin' me escape. And yet still, he showed up every day, bringing me food and drink and caring for me as best he could while I was holed up in those dark, dank cellars." Tofa paused, glancing over his shoulder at his Alpha, who was currently engaged with Einar in hushed conversation as they allowed their mates the space to reunite properly. "Now don't get me wrong, I still have my reservations about him but..." Vali didn't miss the flickering of deep-seated affection that Tofa's irises held as said this. "I think ya' might've been right about Alphas after all, Val... I really might've fetched myself one of the good ones."

Part 2 in Next Episode