Hel's Huntsman

22 - No other option

Unknown

The wind blows through my hair as I watch Dark Moon Packhouse from my place beyond the trees. I sensed Hel and Kayson arrive, which is what brought me here, watching like a stalker. Hand in hand, they walked into that massive house.

I wormed my way into this pack of Lycans easily. Even the Mighty Fenrir couldn’t sense anything off with me. Sure, Fenrir took a week or so to initiate me into the pack. But I’m good with words and won him over. It wasn’t easy, but I wouldn’t have expected it to be.

As soon as I became a pack member, Fenrir and his family took off to his wife’s birth pack. Fenrir gave me a warrior position, which I’ve taken full advantage of. I’ve brought my own fighting tactics to these Lycans and taught them things no one else ever could.

I’m not here to take over Fenrir’s pack. But I needed to do something with my time while I’m here. I arrived too early. I was misinformed, and I am not happy about that. But there’s nothing I can do about it now; I have bigger things to worry about.

From the shadows, I watch Viggo chatting with some woman by the side of the packhouse. There’s always one woman or another in his view. The Gods only know what Viggo says to those women, but he has them giggling and blushing like young girls.

‘Looks like Grandfather was right. Viggo always was a flirt. Even in this timeline, Viggo is all over the women.’ My Lycan, Malakai, chuckles.

‘He still is, even with a mate.’

‘True. But Viggo doesn’t have a mate here.’

I chuckle because he’s right.

I roll my neck as someone appears beside me. “You took your time.”

He huffs. “My time is limited, Grayson.”

I cross my arms over my big chest. “So, you said last time.” Someone else appears on the other side of me. “Uncle.”

“Nephew.” He chuckles.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Your grandfather told me.”

That figures. Grandfather told me to keep this to myself, hide my identity, and never reveal my true self to anyone. Yet, my grandfather seems to be telling everyone!

“I thought I was supposed to be keeping a low profile?”

My uncle shrugs. “He thought you might need someone to talk to now and again. Maybe someone to help you with this.”

I roll my eyes. “You know I work alone.”

“If you’re quite done?” I look at the tall man beside me. “We have much work to do. The timelines must be corrected before it’s too late.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

I’ve been training for this for years. I know what I’m doing, and I cannot mess up. Everything is riding on my success in this mission. The fate of the entire universe depends on it. Killing a child is never easy, but there is no other way.

The child of the Goddess of the Dead and the great-grandson of the Moon Goddess must die, and I must be the one to kill him. There is no other way. I cannot fail. It has taken too long and too many timelines for me to find the right one.

This is the original timeline, which split into four pathways. Kaiden’s destiny is different in each one. In the first timeline I landed in, Odin murdered Kaiden the moment he was born. The second, Hel and Kayson, fought to keep their son safe. They succeed up until the moment they were captured and killed. When Kaiden felt the life leave his father, he exploded, which caused the prophecy everyone feared to become reality. Kaiden destroyed the world with one scream of despair.

The third, Odin, stole Kaiden when he was two days old. Odin locked the boy away in an impenetrable room. No one could get in, and Kaiden couldn’t get out. Once a month, gas filled the room, knocking Kaiden out. Once the boy was asleep, someone would enter and inject him with poisons that kept his powers from manifesting.

Stupidly, we believed we could change Kaiden’s destiny by entering those timelines first. We were wrong. There was no saving Kaiden. No matter what we did, the outcome would always be the same. He would die. Now, here I am, and I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands and kill the child. It’s the only way to bring the timelines together. I must repair the tear in the fabric of time.

If Kaiden lives, the world won’t. The prophecy isn’t a joke; it will happen. However, I have a plan, one that goes against everything I have been taught. I have so much invested in this mission that I will not fail. Failure is not an option this time.

“We have less than a week, Grayson.”

I roll my eyes.

Gods. They’re all so frustrating!

“I know that, Tyr. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Tyr sighs. “This is our last chance. We cannot keep traveling between timelines and back and forth through time. It’s getting us nowhere.”

I nod because he’s right. No matter where we go in time or which timeline we enter, the ending is always the same. Hel and Kayson lose their lives, and Kaiden ends the world. Something has to give.

“This is our last chance, Grayson. If we fail this time, that’s it. We’ll have to admit there is no saving the world.”

I roll my eyes again.

It’s alright for the Gods; they aren’t part of Earth. They sit in their own Realms, ignoring everything that has nothing to do with them. They will be safe when the world ends. They will still keep on living, and the world will be forgotten.

“I’m not about to fail, Tyr.”

“You’ve been saying that for years, Grayson.”

I roll my neck and grit my teeth while turning to him. Tyr is taller than me, as he is almost everyone, but he’s not built the way I am, and I will knock him the fuc.k out!

“Don’t fuc.k with me, Tyr. I’m doing the best I can, and yeah, it’s not good enough. But that’s all I’ve got. I don’t see you or the other Gods fixing this mess!”

My uncle takes my shoulder. “Calm down. I know you’re annoyed. There’s a lot of pressure on you. But you’re not alone.”

I am alone. I’ve been alone since the day I was born. No family, no friends, and nothing but assholes telling me what to do! Even my uncle isn’t actually my uncle.

I yank my shoulder out of my uncle’s grip, my eyes still on Tyr. “Just do your part. Hel will give birth in a few days, so keep Odin busy. He cannot realize she’s pregnant yet. I’m doing all I can to conceal it from every God out there. But it’s not easy; it’s taken most of my strength.”

“I know,” Tyr nods.

“Grayson? Where are you?”

I look from Tyr to my uncle. “I have to go. If Viggo finds either of you here, there will be trouble. I’ll contact you when I have more information.”

They disappear without a word.

I take a deep breath and walk out from the trees. “What are you yelling about?” I chuckle when Viggo startles.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that! Thank the Gods, I can’t die of a heart attack!”

I smirk.

Though I’m not supposed to know who Fenrir really is or that Viggo is also a God, the man forgets himself sometimes. Most Lycans will say ‘Goddess’ not ‘Gods.’ Though it wouldn’t be picked up by anyone else because Fenrir is the Lycan Deity, I pick up on everything.

“Why were you looking for me?”

“My Aunt Helen and Uncle Kayson have arrived. My father wants every warrior on the training field because he wants to introduce his cousin and my mom’s brother. Most have met them before, but a few of you haven’t.” He shrugs like it’s nothing.

It’s something. Fenrir wants to introduce them because they will be here for a while. This is Fenrir’s way of ensuring everyone is on their guard for anything unusual. This pack is protected by Fenrir’s magic, but it won’t stop other Gods from walking into the place like they own it.

The only good thing is that Odin won’t come here. He’s too scared of Fenrir to appear because Fenrir will take it as a challenge. In only one other timeline did Hel and Kayson come to Fenrir for help. They succeed for many years in hiding Kaiden. But the moment they took their eye off the ball, they were killed, and Kaiden ended the world.

I have a massive task on my hands here. If I could save them all from the inevitable, I would. But I can’t.

“Let’s get to the training field.”

Viggo slaps me on the back. “We wouldn’t want to keep Alpha Finn waiting.”

“It’s not the Alpha I’m afraid of,” I chuckle. “It’s Luna Winter.” I lean in and whisper. “Your mother is a scary woman.”

Viggo laughs loudly. “Damn! Is she ever!”

I like Viggo very much. I could see us being great friends. Pity he’ll want me dead by the time this is over.