Bitten by the north wind, p.1
Bitten by the North Wind, page 1
Bitten by the North Wind
D. LIEBER
Bitten by the North Wind is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, businesses, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2025 by D. Lieber
First edition October 2025
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval systems, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
Ink & Magick, LLC
Kenosha, Wisconsin
contact@inkandmagick.com
Special Edition ISBN: 978-1-951239-41-1
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-951239-38-1
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-951239-39-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-951239-40-4
Cover by 100 Covers
Edited by Olivia Kalb at oliviakalbediting@gmail.com
Proofread by Samantha Talarico
To Óðinn.
For the gift of words, for the creative frenzy that birthed this book,
I thank and honor you.
Thank you also to my beta readers John and Megan, and a very special hail! to Nina for all her help with my Heathenry and Norse mythology research.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Afterword
Books by D. Lieber
About the Author
Chapter
One
“I fucking hate you,” Thea croaked, her throat raw and her voice shaking as she stared at the man on the other side of the bars from her.
His green eyes softened, which pissed her off even more. But she didn’t have the energy to muster more than a glare.
Pushing herself to a sitting position on the cold basement floor, she groaned. Her muscles were sore, and her bones were still loose from shifting back to human form. Her clothes, which had stayed on during her transformation, were misshapen, and she moved her shoulders so her shirt would sit right.
“I’ll run you a bath,” Syver said, standing from his crouch to unlock the door of the cage where she’d spent the night.
Thea wanted to tell him not to bother, wanted to tell him that she would shower when she got home. But she knew that probably wasn’t a good idea. She surveyed the floor of the cage. There were goosefeathers everywhere—remnants of the high-end dog bed Syver had put in there for her. If she looked half as disheveled as the space did, her neighbors might call the cops just from worry.
It didn’t matter anyway. She hadn’t been home for more than a few minutes over the past few months, just long enough to grab the things she needed. And he’d accompanied her, so it wasn’t as if she’d been able to enjoy her own space.
Shuffling toward the open cage door, Thea wondered how her life had come to this. She had a good job—nothing glamorous, but a cozy office job that paid her bills. She’d been up for a pay raise within the next year. She’d paid off her car. She even had a good relationship with her parents. Her life had been quiet and comfortable. She’d been the type to stay in and eat pizza while watching an old movie rather than go out and party hard on the weekends.
She’d never thought that accepting the offer of a coffee date from the handsome guy who worked down the hall would lead to all this.
As she made her way through the dimly lit basement to the stairs, she remembered thinking how lucky she was. All the single women in the office—even some of the married ones—had a crush on Syver. Half of them flushed whenever he was in the room. He was otherworldly, the kind of hot she almost couldn’t think around, tall and sculpted as if he spent every moment of his free time working out. His dark hair was short but still long enough to grab a hold of in her unprofessional fantasies. And those green eyes? She’d felt like she couldn’t even move when he looked at her. It was primal instinct—as if any motion would encourage him to give chase.
How lucky, right? She’d been so fucking lucky when he’d asked her out. She’d walked on air. She’d worn her favorite heels and her lucky earrings.
Little had she known…
Now, she could barely look at him without rage filling her gut. Then again, rage was almost all she felt these days.
He said it would get better, and if she was being honest, it had. But she still wasn’t back to normal.
She could hear the water running in the bathroom before she even reached the landing.
Syver waited for her outside the bathroom door. “I put a fresh towel in there for you. Do you need any help?”
Thea growled and bared her teeth at him. “You fucking wish.”
Even two months ago, she’d needed help getting undressed and moving around the day after the full moon, so this was progress, indeed.
Syver snorted and smirked, all the sympathy he’d shown her not ten minutes before gone. “Not as much as you do.”
Her face flushed at the reminder that she’d once welcomed his hands on her. She clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t take a bite out of him, then slipped into the bathroom without another word, wishing she knew how to hurt him as much as he’d hurt her.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she was relieved to see she didn’t look nearly as bad as last time. Her golden brown hair was a rat’s nest of goosefeathers, and her brown eyes were a little more amber than usual. With dark circles under them, they looked tired. But once she was cleaned up, it would look more like she’d stayed up all night reading a good book than she’d turned into a wolf and tried to tear apart anything and everything she got her claws into.
She frowned as she pulled off her shirt, noting she still hadn’t gained back the weight she’d lost. She’d always been happy with her soft, gentle curves and hadn’t gotten used to the hardness of a werewolf’s body. Her favorite clothes didn’t fit, and she hadn’t been stable enough to go out into a crowded place to buy new ones.
Of course, with all the time she was taking off work, she probably shouldn’t spend money anyway. If it wasn’t for telework, she’d be broke.
She untied the drawstring that kept her too-big pants up and finished undressing before slipping into the hot water of the bath.
As she sank into weightlessness, her tired muscles relaxed, and she let out a heavy breath.
In the other room, she could hear Syver going about making breakfast and smell the delicious scent of white sausages. Her favorite.
She frowned, annoyed that he knew and catered to what she liked best.
I wonder if I’ve come far enough that it’s safe for me to go out in public. I’m going to ask him. No, I’m going to tell him. I can’t stay locked up in this house forever. I need to get out, get back to the office, buy some new clothes at least. I have an entire month until the next full moon. I should be fine.
Chapter
Two
Syver frowned. Thea’s request focused the emotions swirling inside him—pity, guilt, desire—the feelings he still hadn’t managed to master in her presence. He knew this day would come sooner or later.
“You want to go into town?” he asked slowly before scooping scrambled eggs into his mouth.
“I’m going into town,” she corrected, her amber eyes challenging him to disagree. “It’s starting to get cold now, and none of my clothes fit.”
He perked up at the sound of her voice and the look in her eyes. This fierceness in Thea’s personality had only surfaced after she’d been turned. At the very least, she’d never shown this side of herself to him before then. He smirked and enjoyed how his expression earned him a look of irritation from her. And though this intensity from her only stoked the fire within him, he tamped down on the compulsion to pursue where that road led. The itch under his ski n grew worse every time he had to resist, but she wouldn’t welcome his touch.
Her hair was still wet from the bath, and he could smell her freshly scrubbed skin and the scent of his shampoo in her hair. Her pointed chin was lifted and her perfect mouth set.
Pushing away his awakened arousal as he’d been doing so often over the last five months, Syver considered her words. She has been doing better.
“All right.” He nodded. “I’ll take you to a thrift store out in the county. There shouldn’t be too many people on a weekday.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m going by myself. I’ve been with you practically twenty-four seven for five months. I need some time to myself.”
Syver rubbed his palm against his stubbly facial hair. “Okay. I’ll drop you off at your car and pick you up later.” And I will follow you every step of the way.
Syver had seen Thea’s progress over the last couple of months. With the full moon over, the worst of the danger was behind them for a while. He knew she would need to gain confidence to stand on her own, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be there to protect her and anyone she might maul should she lose control.
Thea’s expression brightened as she smiled at him for the first time in months. His chest warmed. Maybe there’s hope for me yet.
“It’ll be a relief not to have to look at you for a few hours,” she said.
Or not…
He flashed a sardonic smile. “I know my beauty can be exhausting to look upon.”
Her face flushed, and she squinted at him, clearly annoyed. His smile turned genuine. If nothing else, she still found him attractive. He knew that. And he would use any advantage he could to wiggle his way into her heart. He was shameless in that way.
Swallowing her last bite of breakfast, Thea stood from the table.
“Since I readily agreed to your outing, I’d like something in return,” Syver announced.
Thea froze. “And what’s that?” she asked with hesitation.
“Next full moon, I want you to come on a trip with me.”
She bit her lip. Whether she was worried about going somewhere unknown with him or her own control over her other side, he wasn’t sure. “Where?”
“Next month is Winter Nights. It’s time for you to make your first blót to Hati.”
How many times had Syver tried to explain the more nuanced aspects of being a mánagarmr to Thea over the last five months? She needed to know where they came from and their traditions. With Thea appearing more comfortable with testing her limits, perhaps she was calm enough to listen to something more than the basics of how to survive. Perhaps she was ready to open herself to the broader possibilities of what this new life could offer her. At the very least, she was asking him for a favor, and that opened her to a quid pro quo.
“What does that mean?” she questioned, sitting back down in the chair across from him.
Pushing his empty plate away, Syver rested his elbows on the table and laced his fingers. He forced his expression to be neutral, not wanting to show his pleasure at the opportunity to have a civil conversation with her or the possibility that she was finally ready to listen to what this life could offer her. “The short version is: Hati is the father of all werewolves. Three times a year, werewolves gather and offer him sacrifice. Your first blót is particularly important. It’s when you accept your new identity as a child of Hati. In return, he should bless you with more control and clarity.”
“Should?”
Syver shrugged a little, spreading his palms. “It depends on whether you truly accept this new part of yourself or not. If you come to him with false words, he also has the power to make it much worse.”
Thea shuddered, then took up her plate again. “I make no promises… I’ll think about it.”
Syver nodded once. I guess that’s good enough for now.
It hadn’t taken him this long to get used to being a werewolf, but then, he’d been much younger than her, still a child. At the time, he’d just been happy to finally have a family of sorts, a place where he belonged.
He rose from the table and took his plate to the sink. “I’ll just check my email before we go,” he said as she poured herself more coffee.
He’d been working from home a lot over the last few months in order to keep an eye on her, but he’d been taking three days off every month—the full moon and the days before and after—to help her through. If he checked his email now, he wouldn’t have any surprises tomorrow.
Chapter
Three
Thea adjusted her shoulders against the uncomfortable feeling of Syver standing behind her. Though he wasn’t close enough for her to feel his body heat, the solidity of his presence was hard to ignore. She hated how her stomach still fluttered when he was close to her. “Leave already,” she demanded as she slid her key into her apartment door.
The wind had a cold bite to it despite the late summer warmth of the sun. She’d loved this apartment the moment she’d seen it. It was set up in a motel rather than a hotel style. The front door led directly to the parking lot, and the back sliding glass door opened onto a patio that faced a small lake. It was a small complex, too—no more than ten units.
“Call me when you’re ready for me to pick you up,” Syver insisted.
Thea snorted. “I’m never going to be ready for that.”
She knew there was no way Syver would let her out of his sight. He’d given in way too easily. But she would pretend along with him just for some space.
Once inside, she slammed the door in his face, hoping she wouldn’t see him again for a few hours. Then she took a deep breath, closing her eyes in a moment of true solitude. But she frowned when she opened them again. Her lovely apartment, her little safe haven, looked foreign to her. It was just as she’d left it, but for a little more dust. Her blue couch looked just as cozy as ever with her favorite sherpa throw blanket over one arm. Her scented candles were lined up neatly on her coffee table.
As she moved toward the kitchen, she saw that her collection of mugs still hung on the hooks near her electric kettle. So why didn’t this place feel as familiar as it had before?
She clicked her tongue as her gaze alighted on the devil’s ivy plant that twisted and twirled around her kitchen. The leaves were yellowed, and some had fallen off. She’d had it since college. Rushing to the sink, as if the extra seconds would save the thing, she filled her kettle with water and hoped it could be revived.
As the excess water poured from the hole at the bottom of the hanging pot, it hit the metal bucket beneath it. She winced against the sound, so loud in her ears, like a thunderstorm on a tin roof.
Her too-sensitive hearing triggered her other side, and she felt the now-familiar heat rush through her blood. For once, she didn’t panic. She took a deep breath in through her nose, concentrating on the cool air in her nostrils and the expansion of her chest. She was fine. That sound was not dangerous. There was no need to wolf out over something like that.
She wouldn’t have been able to stand the shame of returning to Syver’s with no clothes because she’d stumbled at the tiniest of hurdles.
Straightening her spine, she went to the hall closet to grab her winter coat and hat. She wasn’t sure when she would be able to come back, and those were not things she needed to buy just because she’d lost a little weight.
Folding her coat over her arm, she exited the front door, smiling to see Syver nowhere in sight.
