Ylva was running right behind Pack Leader, following him through the dark Vernwood.
The familiar feeling of freedom and hunger overwhelmed her, and Ylva allowed herself to deeply breathe in the fresh air.
There was one scent that disturbed the harmony of the woods, Ylva noticed. Something that smelled too much like a person, but cold.
The dream changed. The wolves howled a last time, and the pack leader looked up to her, worry reflecting in his golden eyes. „Come with us" he seemed to say, but Ylva shook her head.
She needed to find the cold person. After a while, Ylva found a beautiful, old oak. The scent was getting stronger, and she turned around only to find Loki in front of her.
"There's my dear servant" he said lightly and scanned her from head to toe in his typical manner. Embarrassed, she noticed she wore a plain grey dress. Her hair was not braided, it was a messy and tangled with leaves, and her feet were bare and dirty.
"I am sorry, my King, I look-"
"You look like a little wolf. My little wolf" Loki teased, "is this what you dream about? Running through the woods?"
Ylva could hardly focus on what the trickster said. Her senses were heightened, and the thrill of the hunt was still rushing through her veins.
"What did you say?" she asked bluntly, and the trickster laughed.
"Nothing, little wolf. Tell me, what else do you dream about?" he asked and pressed her against the tree.
Her instinct told her to fight back. He was not her Alpha. She struggled, but Loki was stronger.
He grabbed her waist with one hand and pushed her hair aside so that her neck was bare.
The kiss he planted on her sensitive skin made her growl.
His teeth slightly touched her skin.
Loki chuckled deeply again and pushed his hands slightly under her dress, pushing the fabric up.
He looked closely at her reaction, she could feel his gaze through her half closed eyes.
"You are one of them…" Loki breathed, but Ylva was too distracted by his touch to actually listen. The wolf inside her was angry, ready to attack again, the girl on the other hand longed for more, wanted to submit, wanted his hands on her body - then he kissed her, and the cold lips crashed on hers, and both the wolf and the girl knew the fight was lost.
"And now you are mine" the trickster added, his voice piercing through the fog of her mind.
"You are mine, little wolf."
Ylva woke up, her chest rising and falling heavily. Embarrassed, she recalled the scenes of her dream. It was the first time someone else appeared in her wolf dreams, and Ylva didn't need her father to know how much of an impact Loki apparently had on her.
It was scary too lose control, she thought as she tried to fix her hair, even if it was only in a dream.
Still confused, she made her way up to Loki's chambers, his breakfast already ready. She took a deep breath, trying to push the distracting thoughts away.
As she walked into the room, she realized she had utterly failed. Loki's bare chest immediately made her blush, and she hoped the trickster didn't realize.
"My king" she greeted.
Loki grinned at her, and Ylva was happy he could not read her thoughts. Only a dream, she reminded herself.
"You will not believe what I discovered, my dear" Loki said cheerfully, sitting down at the small table, "Please, have breakfast with me" he invited her, and Ylva joined him.
"What have you discovered?" Ylva asked, trying to mask her insecurity.
Loki's green eyes stared at her intensely.
"Quite impatient, aren't we, little wolf?"
Ylva shrieked. "Why would you call me that?" she asked, her voice almost breaking away.
Her heart beat painfully in her chest until Loki finally answered.
"Oh I think you already know that, little wolf. I'm the god of lies, lying to me has no point" Loki said, savoring the effect his words had on her. Realization. Embarrassment. Anger. All displaying on her face.
"You… visited me in my dreams" she said, without even asking.
Loki grinned viciously at the poor girl. She was a beautiful girl at his service and he was a trickster god - he just had been to tempted to resist.
And he had not been the slightest disappointed by the Ylva he had met last night.
"I recall you being quite eager to find me, dear. I must ask you to wear shorter dresses when you work for me. They fit you much better than this" he gestured to her long gown.
"This is insolent, even for a King" Ylva growled. Loki bend over to her, quick as a snake.
"You seemed to enjoy it."
"I did not know you were really inside my dream. This is rude and inappropriate" Ylva accused, clenching her fists angrily.
"I could have taken it much further. You would not have objected" Loki insisted with a smug grin.
Ylva painfully recalled her reaction to his touch.
"What stopped you?" she asked between clenched teeth.
"There would be no fun in it, wouldn't it? Besides, they all prefer it to be more... real" Loki answered. The way he talked about „them" made Ylva think of all the other women the Prince must have had before. Did he torment them all the same way he tormented her?
"You had no right to do that" Ylva declared, not bothering about the punishment she would probably get for speaking up so openly.
"I apologize, Ylva" Loki said with raised eyebrows, not sounding the least bit sorry.
"Now let me tell you what I found out about you, little wolf"
Ylva nodded slowly, curious about what Loki would say.
"Hundreds of years ago, the woods around the city of Asgard were still inhabited by many magical beings like wargs, dwarfs, witches and werewolves. The world changed, and most of them slowly disappeared. Some of them are hiding, others were hunted down.
The werewolves for example were completely distinct."
Loki pointed towards the paige of his book. A enormous beast was howling at the full moon.
"The wolves were beasts during the night and men during the day, yet some of them had children who were unable to turn into animals. They were weaker and possessed less magical powers, but when men started hunting the wolves, those children were the only ones to survive. They lived on and passed the gene along."
The trickster waited for Ylva to react, but her hazel eyes were still fixed on the book.
"I can't turn into a wolf. I have only dreams" she reminded him.
"And you can see past my illusions" Loki corrected her.
"You think I am one of those... children?""
"The children, the Descendants, they still had many abilities of the werewolves. The Sight is one of them, intuition, increased strength and health, a magical connection to nature… you have all of those things, Ylva."
Ylva blinked, trying to process this new information. A part of her knew it was true. Her wolf dreams felt too real, too meaningful. Also, Odin's adopted son was known to be intelligent, and the books piling up in Loki's room proved of his thirst of knowledge. If someone could find out the truth, it was him.
"What else? Will I turn into a monster?" Ylva asked wearily.
Loki was surprisingly compassionate, and his voice was soft and gentle as he continued.
"No, you won't. But the werewolf gene also brings heightened aggression and anger. Some of the Descendants are unable to control themselves when they feel threatened or when they hunt"
This time, it was harder for Ylva to accept what Loki had just said.
When they feel threatened or when they hunt…
"My father" the young woman breathed. Loki slightly tilted his head in confusion.
"He murdered Bard Birgerson. They were hunting together, and my father was in love with Bard's wife. He killed him."
Loki stayed silent. He remembered the day he found out he was Laufey's son.
Just like Ylva, he was a monster parents warned their children about.
"You can stay in my quarters for today if you like" Loki proposed generously. Ylva shook her head.
"Thank you for the offer. But work will distract me. There's nothing I can do about it anyways" she said matter-of-factly.
Loki nodded, impressed by the young woman's calmness.
She picked up his gaze and smiled sadly: "Thank you, my king. Thank you for telling me what I really am"
The trickster saw how honest Ylva was "You already knew that, little wolf."
He stood up, preparing to turn into Odin again, "Besides, I can already imagine a few ways you can show your gratitude to me" he declared teasingly, slowly taking the Allfather's form.
Ylva blushed, the images of the last night still sticking to her. „I bet you do, my king" she sighed and rolled her eyes.
She definitely needed a way to exclude Loki from her dreams.