WRATH OF THE NORTH [BJÖRN IRONSIDE]

CHAPTER ONE

A smile spread across Vál's lips as she saw the white sky. It molded perfectly with the white trees, mountains tops and ground. She let her warm and smooth tongue move across her pink bottom lip before taking her bow, arrows and one of her swords with her before leaving the small cave. She had found it years ago up here. When she was younger and first found it she was afraid to be woken up by a wolf mother or a bear that had returned to its nest. Yet no bear nor wolf had tried to reclaim it as theirs.

The snow cracking under her feet as she left her cave and walked inside the deep forest. The snow was doing the suns work by lighting everything up. It was white everywhere. A smile spread across her lips as she heard the familiar sound from the stream further in. She let out a deep breath, white smoke left her mouth, before she continued to walk.

The water in the stream was the clearest thing anyone could find, it poured down from the mountains, over small rocks in a quick pace. She had been by the top of the stream once, it was way to high up and it ended on the open grounds where she usually fished. As she got to the stream she got onto her knees before bending down, her mouth soon making contact with the water. She drank like an animal yet it prevented her from using her hands, it wasn't necessary to make them wet and cold from the water.

Vál stopped drinking when the sound of bird wings flapping against the trees. Still on her knees, she looked up and smirked when she saw the beautiful raven. It was rather big, bigger than most ravens she had seen in her life. Her eyes were wide in admiration even if they were acquaintances. She was lucky to see it daily. Its black eyes reflected the light beautifully as it kept watching her.

As she got up on her feet she fixed her bow that hung over her chest. Vál's eyes were still glued on the bird before she looked down to slightly wipe of the snow from her legs. The familiar black bird started to croak, causing her to look back up. A sigh slipped past her lips.

"I have nothing for you this time," She said while looking at the bird one more time before continuing to walk. She rolled her eyes when she heard it croak another time before the familiar sound of its flapping wings filled the silence.

Her feet kept carrying her body forward as her ears listened for any sound. She could hear a branch snapping in distance and her head quickly turned in the sounds direction. She quickly pulled her bow over her head as she took an arrow in her hands. She got ready to aim whenever she found her target.While walking she could hear another branch snapping yet this time it was closer. Her eyes roamed the snow covered forest, she squinted her eyes when she saw something furry move in the distance. It looked like a wolf but she wasn't sure, a fallen tree was blocking her full view.

Since Vál wasn't sure she turned to look at the rather thick tree next to her. She quickly looked up and placed the arrow in her mouth as she placed the bow back around her body before climbing up. She was high enough and shielded from her prey. The fallen tree and slight slipping grounds still made it difficult to see her target. She got her bow and arrow ready before aiming. She took a deep breath before releasing the arrow, but as she did so, a loud growl echoed through the forest. It was such a loud growl it caused her to loose focus and her target moved as well.

Vál moved quick and swiftly as she got ready with another bow but stopped when she heard groaning. It wasn't the sound from an animal in pain, it sounded human. Her eyes got glued on the target and they widen when they saw a man. The size of the man also made her mistake him from a bear but she could see his blond hair that was styled in a bun. Her arrow hadn't hit his body but as the man looked around to spot his hunter she saw the cut on his neck. Blood oozed from the cut and a faint hiss slipped past his lips as he gently touched the wound.

Vál licked her lips and breathed calmly as she saw him take the arrow in his hands. He rolled it between his fingers before he just as gently felt the sharp edge with his fingertips. His back was facing her and just as he were about to turn in her direction, revealing his face to her another loud growl echoed trough the forest. He looked down on the arrow again before running towards the sound.

When she no longer could see him, she jumped down from the tree. She ran back the same way as she came but after a while of running the same growling sound was heard again, yet this time it was even louder and angrier. It seemed to come from the open grounds. Curiosity filled her body as she ran towards the sound. The edge of the mountain that went along side the open grounds were closer and she could almost see it.

Vál hunched down behind a rock before she let her eyes roam the open grounds. The familiar cabin was still standing alone in the field. The cabin she used to live in when fishing yet she hadn't been there for a while since the thick ice made it almost impossible to crack to get to the fish beneath it. She soon raised her brow when she saw a big brown bear on the ground. It was beautiful, thick brown fur and looked well fed. A slight smirk played on her lips when she saw the man from earlier trying to fight it.

She had killed a bear before but then she made sure to keep a good distance with both bows and swords with her. Bears were rather rear to spot up here even if there lived quite a lot of them here. However they usually kept closer to the lake a few miles from here where they could get fish even in the winter. To spot a bear up this high by the ground were more common in the summer when they could access to the fish here as well.

The bear got up on its back legs and growled loudly at the man who simply held a small axe and what seemed to be a knife on his hands. She sucked on her teeth as she observed the outrageous man. The man tried to attack but the bear only roared loudly before hitting the man in the chest, making him fall to the ground. The man tried to crawl away but the bear followed him.

When the bear was almost standing above the blond man he roared yet another time before hovering above him. Vál squinted her eyes when the man attacked the bears shoulder and neck with his knife. Cutting the bear numerous of times before the bear backed away. Blood oozed from the cuts, staining and wetting the fur as the man got ready to attack the now weakening bear. The bear charged at the man who hit it with his axe. The groans from the bear filled her ears before it went silent. The man had strikes the bear with his axe through its thick skull. Blood oozed onto the white ground as the man roared loudly in victory. She pursed her lips before she decided to return back further up the mountains.

The sky had turned darker when she got back home. A sigh left her lips by the lack of food she had found. She knew she needed to be up early in the morning tomorrow since she only had two hares left. Vál snorted as she made a fire outside the cave. It was a calm night so she didn't need to hide inside her cave. Irritation filled her body when she placed the skinned hare over the fire. The blond man was surely the reason there was a lack of food. He didn't look like a man that got full by one hare.

Her eyes shot up to rest on the high tree. The familiar croaks filled the silence and got followed by the flapping sound. She rolled her eyes when she saw the raven, it was almost hidden by the darkness. She sucked on her teeth as the sound of her rumbling stomach filled the silence. She gipped the hare on the stick above the fire. As she took a bite from the hare the raven croaked again. A sigh left her lips as she took a piece of the hare and threw it on the ground. The raven clapped his wings as he flew towards the meat. After he ate the smaller piece of hare he looked back up.

"Forget it, both you and bear slayer down below are stealing enough of my food," She almost growled before shooing it away. It croaked again before flying away, leaving her snorting to herself.

As the night got more and more present her mind was filled with blond hair, ravens and blood. The blond man was a threat, not as in him killing her with his axe or knife but stealing her food, making her starve. There was only room for one alpha male up here in the mountains, and she wasn't afraid of showing him who that was.