Viking's Bride

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. © 2019 “The Marriage of Time” Mariah Stone. All rights reserved. © 2023 “Viking’s Bride” Mariah Stone. All rights reserved. Cover design by Qamber Designs and Media All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, contact the publisher at http:\\mariahstone.com Contents Join the romance time-travelers’ club! Also by Mariah Stone Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Epilogue A Glimpse Into Viking’s Love Also by Mariah Stone Join the romance time-travelers’ club! Enjoy the book? You can make a difference! Acknowledgments About the Author Join the romance time-travelers’ club! Join the mailing list on mariahstone.com to receive exclusive bonuses, author insights, release announcements, giveaways and the insider scoop of books on sale - and more! Also by Mariah Stone CALLED BY A HIGHLANDER SERIES (TIME TRAVEL): Sìneag (FREE short story) Highlander’s Captive Highlander’s Hope Highlander’s Heart Highlander’s Love Highlander’s Christmas (novella) Highlander’s Desire Highlander’s Vow Highlander’s Bride Highlander’s Protector Highlander’s Claim Highlander’s Destiny Christmas Reunion CALLED BY A VIKING SERIES (TIME TRAVEL): One Night with a Viking (prequel)—grab for free! The Fortress of Time The Jewel of Time The Marriage of Time The Surf of Time The Tree of Time FATED: Age of Wolves (free) Age of Ice Age of Fire CALLED BY A PIRATE SERIES (TIME TRAVEL): Pirate’s Treasure Pirate’s Pleasure A CHRISTMAS REGENCY ROMANCE: Her Christmas Prince To all medical professionals Prologue Somewhere in Rogaland, Norway, October 15, 874 AD The scent of blood was so thick Hakon tasted iron on his tongue. Swords and axes thumped against wooden shields. Screams rang through the air as metal pierced flesh and bone. His men were falling. He was losing. Hakon stabbed the tattooed warrior under the ribs with his scramasax, kicked another one in the stomach, then whirled and drove his battle ax into the chest of the third one. King Nyr sat on his horse across the clearing where their forces clashed, woods and mountains surrounding them. He watched Hakon with a triumphant sneer. Rage ignited within Hakon, giving him power. He was the lightning that struck the tree. He was the spear that pierced the elk. He was Thor’s hammer. He was vengeance itself. And King Nyr was his target. One after another, men fell under Hakon’s ax, but he saw only King Nyr. The men fighting around him were flashes of hair, muscle, and iron. Finally, Nyr was in front of him. He’d throw the man off his horse and drive his ax through the bastard’s heart. But as he tensed his muscles to lunge forward, his body slowed and stopped. His limbs were weighed down as if he had sunk into a swamp. He looked around. Men. They held him, their eyes round, their eyebrows snapped together. Nyr sat high and proud on his horse, eyeing him from above. His bald head, with its dark, shadowed eyes, looked like a skull. Hakon roared and jerked with all his might. Like Fenrir, the giant wolf bound by unbreakable chains, he fought and bit, teeth gnashing, claws flashing. But he could not get free. “They say you are unstoppable, Beast,” Nyr said. “I see that it is not true.” Hakon gritted his teeth. “Thor, give me your hammer to strike this snake.” “Why so hostile, Hakon? Your father and I were friends.” “I remember. Friend. I remember your visit sixteen winters ago, the freezing night my mother took me into the woods after a blizzard. I remember the traces of the wolf pack in the snow after they followed her horse away from me. And I remember the remnants of her body after they tore her apart. I have asked myself over and over, why she suddenly decided to take me to her family that night. Why she insisted it was no longer safe at home. Now I know. It was because of you.” Nyr’s face straightened and paled as he listened. “You know?” Hakon nodded. “My father told me on his death bed two years ago. You suggested he let the gods test my curse.” Hakon’s left eye—the one with a birthmark around it—twitched. “She died because of your wicked scheme. You took the dearest person in the world from me. And now it is time to pay. The Beast has come for you.” Nyr’s throat bobbed under his short white beard. “I am growing weary of your rage, Hakon. I never intended for your mother to die, and I never intended for us to be enemies. Be my ally. I want you by my side.” A low, animal growl escaped Hakon’s throat. Fury was burning his gut like hot vinegar. Be his ally? Give up? Never. He had lost the battle, but not the war. Nyr’s chin rose. “First choice, you die. You, your men, and every single person in your village. Your lands become mine—something I have wanted for a long time. But I do not wish your death. I want the Beast on my side. I want you to fight for me like you have fought against me. Second choice, you become my kinsman.” The urge for revenge made his hands itch and burn as if he had just rubbed his palms in nettle. He growled again, a mixture of laughter and threat. He would never be kin to this monster. “You were robbed of your