Greta waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. We'll only shoot the berserker if he comes after you."

Elsa winced. They wanted to shoot Howard?

"Has anything else happened to you recently?" Greta asked. "Other than your birthmark burning?"

"Well ..." Elsa thought about it. She'd been teleported. She'd been thoroughly kissed by an alleged berserker who seemed much more interested in making love to her than murdering her. Not your usual run-of-the-mill stuff. "Oh, a bunch of animals keep following me around."

"Ah." Ula exchanged a knowing look with Greta.

"I thought that might happen," Greta said. "That was the reason I always kept you away from the country. Of course, even in the suburbs, there were field mice and squirrels that sought you out, but my hawks and owls took care of them. And Peder's hunting dogs took care of the rabbits."

Elsa sat on the bed. "Are you saying I have always attracted animals?"

"Not all animals." Greta waved a hand. "Just the woodland creatures."

"You are Guardian of Forest," Ula announced.

Elsa's mouth dropped open.

Greta patted her on the arm. "I'm sure it comes as a bit of a shock."

You think? Elsa jumped to her feet. "What ... this is crazy! We're not some sort of magical beings that talk to animals." Elsa jumped to her feet. "What ... this is crazy! We're not some sort of magical beings that talk to animals."

Greta looked offended. "I have nothing to do with animals. I only talk to birds."

Elsa groaned. "That's not normal."

"We're special," Ula said proudly.

Special? It reminded Elsa of how Tino had described himself. "What-what sort of weird things do we do?" It reminded Elsa of how Tino had described himself. "What-what sort of weird things do we do?"

"Mainly, we communicate with different creatures. We're no longer sure how that came to pa.s.s." Greta gazed across the room, her eyes unfocused. "Many of the secrets have been lost over the centuries, but I suspect the original guardians were shamans of some kind. We do know that over a thousand years ago, there were three magical sisters: the Guardians of the Sea, Sky, and Forest, and they used their powers to protect a village."

"Ja," Ula agreed. "Always three guardians in our family. Always women."

"If an enemy attacked by sea, the Guardian of the Sea called upon the sea creatures to overturn the boats," Greta continued. "And the Guardian of the Sky asked the birds of prey to attack an enemy who came over the mountains."

"But Guardian of Forest-" Aunt Ula shook her head and tsked.

"What?" Elsa crossed her arms. She felt like she'd been caught doing something wrong.

"It wasn't really her fault," Greta insisted. "A group of marauders kept attacking the village. They had too many ships for the sea creatures to stop them all. The villagers begged the Guardian of the Forest to protect them. So she took the twelve best warriors into the woods to live with the wolves and bears, and that's when it happened."

A shiver trickled down Elsa's spine. "What happened?"

"The men became berserkers," Greta said.

Ula shook her head again, making more tsking noises. "Bad. Very bad."

"At first the berserkers were good at defeating the enemy and keeping the village safe," Greta continued. "But then some of them lost control and started killing the villagers."

"Very bad," Ula repeated.

"And then the ultimate betrayal. They turned on their own creator, the Guardian of the Forest." Greta regarded Elsa with a sad look. "One of the berserkers killed her."

Elsa shuddered. "So you think a berserker will..." Her heart raced. Howard would fall into an animal-like frenzy and attack her? "I don't believe it! H-he wouldn't do that."

Greta sighed. "I know it's a lot to take in. But don't worry. Ula and I will protect you. And you must do your best to never see the berserker again."

Elsa sat on the bed. "If you could just meet him, you would know that he's harmless."

"No!" Greta stiffened. "We can never trust a berserker."

"But he's not going to behave like an animal!" Elsa cried.

Ula muttered something in Swedish.

Elsa gasped. "What did she say?"

Greta shuddered. "We have no proof, for no one in our family has seen it. Or if they did see it, they didn't live to talk about it. But the family legend claims the berserkers don't just act act like animals." like animals."

Elsa swallowed hard as Aunt Greta's voice softened to a whisper.

"They become animals."

Chapter Fourteen

A beautiful man came to her in the night. Large and powerful, he covered her body with his. His big hands roamed over her skin, setting her on fire. She wanted him. She cried out for him. She burned for him. beautiful man came to her in the night. Large and powerful, he covered her body with his. His big hands roamed over her skin, setting her on fire. She wanted him. She cried out for him. She burned for him.

His hands were magic. Skimming the length of her legs. Fondling her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Stroking her neck. Tightening their grip.

Choking her.

She thrashed against him, but he was too strong. Too powerful.

His face, half hidden in shadow, twisted in rage. Transformed. He roared like an animal.

Elsa cried out.

"Ellie! What's wrong?" Greta flipped on the bedside lamp between the two double beds.

Elsa squinted at the sudden bright light. She could still hear the animal-like roar echoing in her head. A roar very much like the one she'd heard the day Howard had battled the feral pigs.

Greta scrambled out of bed to grab the loaded shotgun she'd left on the desk.

"No!" Elsa sat up. "It was just a dream."

"Are you sure?" Greta strode to the door with the shotgun.

"Greta, please. You're scaring me with that."

"You're scaring me! You screamed."

"It was a bad dream. That's all."

Greta checked the locks on the door, then peeked between the slats of the closed window blinds. "I don't see anything."

Elsa pressed a hand against her pounding heart. She didn't know which was scarier-her nightmare or the fact that Greta and Ula had insisted they take turns sleeping in her room with a loaded weapon.

"Everything's fine," she a.s.sured her aunt. "Let's go back to sleep."

"Are you sure?" Greta set the shotgun back down on the desk. "What was your dream?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Or think about it Or think about it. "Let's go back to sleep." Elsa scooted back under the covers. Aunt Ula had definitely freaked her out with her claim that berserkers actually became animals.

What kind of animals? Elsa had been so shocked by the announcement that she was a so-called guardian that the rest of what she'd heard was all in a daze. Greta had said the Guardian of the Forest took twelve warriors into the forest to live among the wolves and bears...

Wolves and bears.

Greta turned the lamp off with a snap, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

Elsa shuddered and dragged her blanket up to her chin. What was Howard? A wolf or a bear?

Neither. She glared at the ceiling. This was the real world, and Howard was a normal guy. Well, not exactly normal, since he was handsome, huge, and hunky. He could also be hers if she had the courage to claim him.

If she wasn't afraid he'd turn into a beast and kill her.

The next morning, her aunts objected when she tried to catch a ride with Alastair to the gatehouse.

"You have to go with us," Ula insisted in Swedish. "We can't protect you if we're not with you."

Elsa tamped down on her frustration. "I'll be fine. Oskar and the boys will be coming, too, as soon as they're done eating in the diner. There'll be plenty of guys-"

"They don't have weapons like we do," Greta argued. "We're coming."

With an inward groan, Elsa turned to a confused-looking Alastair. "My aunts want to come with me to the gatehouse," she explained in English. "They'll stay outside."

Alastair nodded. "They'll have to. It could be too dangerous inside." He smiled at the older women. "We're delighted you've come to visit Ellie, but we don't want you to get hurt."

Greta smiled back. "Don't worry. My late husband was a home builder, so I know how it is. We'll stay out of your way. And we'll be happy to bring you food. Lots of food."

"Sounds super." Alastair shook hands with them, then jumped into the rental car and drove off.

With the parking lot temporarily empty, the aunts quickly stashed the shotgun and hunting rifle in the trunk of Greta's car.

Elsa sighed. "Nothing's going to happen. You'll be sitting outside all day, bored out of your skulls."

"That reminds me, I should bring my knitting." Greta scurried back into her room.

"Bring my book," Ula called after her in Swedish. She gave Elsa a sheepish smile. "I'm reading a romance book. Very s.e.xy."

Elsa smiled back. "That's good." If the hero was anything like Howard, it would be a very s.e.xy book.

Ula patted her on the back. "Don't worry. We'll keep you safe. If the berserker comes, we'll shoot him."

Elsa winced. So much for romance. "Maybe we should try talking to him first."

Ula scoffed. "Don't be silly."

Greta hurried to the car, carrying a tote bag. "I've brought some water and snacks, too. Let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, they stopped in front of the gatehouse.

"If you get tired of hanging around here, go back to town," Elsa told her aunts as she climbed out of the car. "I'll be okay here."

"We'll be fine, too." Greta shooed her away with her hand. "We'll see you at lunchtime."

Elsa strode into the gatehouse and found Alastair in the kitchen, munching on a donut.

"Oh yum." She reached into the box and grabbed one. So much for her diet. A girl who had nightmares was ent.i.tled to some emotional eating.

"Mmm." Alastair nodded, his mouth full.

She looked around the kitchen as she ate, then pointed at the door to the old laundry room. "The note's gone."

"What note?"

"It must have fallen off. I left a warning on the door that the floor inside is rotting away."

"Oh, that. Yes, Oskar mentioned it. He took the broken window out yesterday after you left. I've ordered a new one." Alastair handed her a bottle of water from the ice chest.

"Thanks. And thanks for bringing the donuts." She stuffed the last bite into her mouth.

"I didn't do it. I think Howard must have."

"Huh?" she asked with a full mouth.

"He brought some yesterday. I suppose he brought these."