Viking's Awakening: The Varangian Chronicles, #3

By Loribelle Hunt

Spy. Assassin. Renegade. King.
Zane Gray has been a lot of things, but his latest role is one he was born for—warrior-king of the Varangians. But he would give it up in a heartbeat if he could claim another title. Mate.
Seer. Telepath. Mystic. Warrior.
Gypsy Ulfson has been waiting for Zane for most of her life. Fate chose him to lead her people, and her to stand witness, but that isn't the only destiny awaiting them. She has to accept him as her mate or risk the galaxy being destroyed, but is it fair to demand so much from a man destiny has already unduly burdened? And how much of her will survive the process?

Viking's Awakening was first published in the Vikings Wild anthology. It has been revised and includes three new chapters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loribelle Hunt
• Release date: Feb 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386469391

Loribelle Hunt

Loribelle is like the South she calls home. Hot and sultry. Languid and sexy. Magnolias and gardenias scent her silk lined boudoir, and men and children alike bow to her magnificence... Okay, maybe it isn’t quite that glamorous. She does have two smart and lovely daughters who give her a run for her money and a son that will one day be someone’s model of a romance hero. (She promises.) Her husband is a real life hero, and Loribelle just tries to keep up with the demands of military life. In between, she writes a book or two. She’s had every job under the sun, but haven’t most writers? That Army military police, bookstore manager, waitress, wedding photographer, website designer experience has to come in useful sometimes. As they say in the South, it all washes out in the end. She loves hearing from her readers and can be found at http://www.loribellehunt.com.

Book preview

Copyright

VIKING’S AWAKENING

Copyright © 2017 Loribelle Hunt

First E-book Published: February 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, organizations, events, or locations is coincidental.

Published by Loribelle Hunt

www.loribellehunt.com

Author’s Note

Welcome to Thor’s Hammer! Viking’s Awakening is the third story in The Varangian Chronicles. If you enjoy this story, please join my mailing list or my reader group Delroi Oasis for additional information or to be the first to hear about the next book in The Varangian Chronicles series.

~ Loribelle

Copyright

Author’s Note

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Epilogue

MORE FROM LORIBELLE HUNT

Prologue

Being taken prisoner by the Viking-like aliens was a relief. Hopefully the next step would be a bullet between his eyes or a lobotomy. They weren’t the thoughts of a sane man, but then, it had been awhile since Zane had been one of those. And sometimes, like now, there was enough of him present that he remembered who he used to be.

He'd almost killed his baby sister. The sister he'd spent most of his life protecting, not that she usually needed it. Zola had been trained like he had, to be a spy and assassin, by an organization they'd both hated. Tel, a group mostly made up of telepaths and telekinetics, had been the power behind the Alliance government on Earth for decades, and when they'd discovered him working against them, they'd destroyed his mind. First to trap his fellow rebels and then to eliminate them. That had been bad enough, but then they’d sent him after his mother and sister, and no matter how hard he'd fought, he hadn’t been able to defeat the orders programmed into his mind.

Thankfully, he hadn’t been successful and he'd been stopped by the Delroi warrior who'd claimed his mother. That much had been explained when he'd come on the shuttle. Anna Leigh, his mother, and Zola were alive and protected. He'd only had a moment to assess the warrior who'd sworn that protection but his instincts said the man was solid. Which left him free to try to repair his mind. If he could only remember what had been done perhaps he could undo it.

His gaze went to the woman who walked before him. The shuttle had landed a few minutes ago and he'd been told to follow her. He was surprised he'd been left alone with her but maybe he'd made the wrong assumption there. Everywhere he turned he saw warriors. Some greeted her by name, some nodded, and they all looked him over before moving on. He got the impression they weren’t trying to decide if he was a threat to the woman but something else entirely. Of course, he was batshit crazy. What the hell did he know?

Except he'd felt almost whole since meeting her, felt a connection he couldn’t explain. It might just be illusion or wishful thinking or blind hope, but for the first time he thought he had a chance to recover what he'd lost of himself. Gypsy was her name, and she'd claimed she could help him. He lengthened his stride to fall into step at her side and started paying attention to his surroundings.  They'd exited the shuttle bay into a drab corridor that spilled into a large lively area that was like a village square back home. It wasn’t normally the kind of place he would have lingered but this time he wanted to, especially when they passed what looked to be a bookstore. It seemed out of place somehow on a spaceship. A Viking ship at that.

Gypsy didn’t slow down however, and a few minutes later they entered another one of those large squares though he guessed this one was living quarters. The center was sunken with groups of seating arranged in it that made him want to linger and people watch. They didn’t step down though. Instead they followed one long wall until she stopped in front of a door and set her palm on a metal plate. A light flashed green and the door slid open. She had him put his palm on the plate before ushering him in.

Definitely living quarters. It was a combination sitting room and kitchen, with a counter and stools dividing the space. The space was just large enough to remain cozy. The apartment was two stories high and the second story—accessed by a spiral staircase in the back corner—was a wide balcony along all four walls that contained shelves to the ceiling. There were books, art, items he couldn’t identify from where he stood, but he knew the place was hers. Her psychic scent filled it, rich and intriguing.

Your room is over here, Gypsy said, walking to one of several doors along the right hand wall.

Her voice had the same effect on him as it had on Delroi. Soothing, comforting...arousing. Who the hell was she and was there enough of him left to pursue her? She seemed to expect something from him so he joined her and poked his head into the room. It was by no means spacious but it had a dresser and a comfortable looking bed. That was all he needed. Then what she said sunk in.

I can't stay here.

He didn’t recognize his voice, low and rusty, almost a growl from lack of use. And possessive which was all kinds of wrong with a woman he’d just met. He shouldn’t stay with her but he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to leave either.

Why not? she asked.

In case you missed it, sweetheart, I'm not exactly sane.

She shrugged one shoulder. "You won't hurt