She Who was Claimed by The Thunder God

"You must be very brave, or crazy to take on Angus."  

The man who looked like Thor with black hair shook his head. Then he stepped in front of me and looked at me from head to toe. He let out a loud curse when he saw the wound on my neck.

"Duncan will kill me. I was a little late. This should not happen." He extended his arm, intending to touch the wound I got from the altercation. However, before he could even graze my skin, I flinched. It caused Fall to grow. Thor could only sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry. I did not know-"

I cut off his words before he dug a deeper grave for himself. "It's okay, I will be fine. Fall has…given me a boost somehow." I touched Fall's head. The dog whined and licked my hand.

Whatever this dog was doing to me, was a cross between miracle and magic. Thor was also watching it. There was a sudden flash of confusion on his face. From what, I do not know.  

I breathed a sigh of relief when the tingling stopped. Tentatively, I touched the part of my chin where the tip of the sword had punctured my skin.  

"Don't worry, from where I stand, there are no visible scars." The Thor look-alike said. His gaze slowly rose, until our eyes met. "You are not hysterical. You saw a man materialize a sword out of thin air. The thing was pointed at you, and you were injured in the process."  He looked at Fall who was rubbing his head on my hip. 

Yes, Fall was a big greyhound. On fours, his head would reach my hip. Yes, I am that small. I saw Thor, ~ might as well call him that~ started walking around me and continued talking. "A hound healed your wound. And then Angus vanishes in front of you, yet here you are." He stopped in front of me, crossed his massive chest, and looked down at me.

"Trying to intimidate me?" I asked, as I looked up and gave him the same stare he was giving me. "I seem to be at a disadvantage here, you know me, but I have no fucking idea who you are."

Black-haired Thor laughed. My actions must have amused him somehow. "No, wonder Duncan was attracted to you. That spunk of yours drew him in."

"For fuck sake!–"

"The swearing too." There was a smile on his handsome lips.

Most people would probably fall for the cheeky smile. This man's eyes shone with merriment that caused him to be more handsome. The dimples on either side of his cheek added a bonus to his overall charm. Yet I do not see him be attracted to him. What I can see was a potential model for my next book.

He must have realized why I was looking at him because he frowned and asked, "You are not going to…"

I nodded.

"Bloody hell, which book?"

I shrugged, I honestly don't know which book he would be in, but he will be he, The God of Thunder. 

So he knew that I am also a writer. Either that or Duncan must have told him. Or, Jane must have told Duncan. Either way, I have another live model to add to my ever-growing collection.

I smiled.

"Duncan needs to give me at least a year's supply of absinthe." There was a disgruntled tone in his voice. He was not happy, why he was still talking to me, I have no idea.

"Angus is right, you cannot be read."

The abrupt change of topic caught me off guard. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him. So, he was distracting me. It was not like he could read something inside my head. Most of the time, I have an empty mind.

I do not know how mind reading works, but since I am talking to a god, yeah, might as well accept the fact that he is one. I am clueless about how gods read minds. Maybe I should ask Duncan when he gets back. 

Duncan.

My legs suddenly lost all their strength. However, before I fell to the ground, black-haired Thor caught me. Fall, meanwhile, was already lying on the cold ground ready to soften the impact of my fall. I reached out and rubbed his side. Fall whined and looked at Black-haired Thor, then at me.

"He is worried, Julie." He reached out a hand and rubbed the dog's head. 

"I know, Thor. I know."

My hand was on his shoulder while one of his arms was around my waist, preventing me from falling on my fat bum. I looked at him and heard and felt him gasp. 

I have no idea what he saw, but I was shocked by what he did. Thor leaned down and touched his forehead against mine. He then muttered something in German that I cannot understand. 

A warm feeling began to grow inside me. This was a completely different kind of warmth. It was not a lewd kind of warmth, but more like a kind of warmth coming from a family member.

"Kleine Schwester," he called me what? "I am Thurston Thorsten at this time." I could not help but chuck. The initial letters of the name he had chosen in this era were…funny. At least to me it is. "'Kleine Schwester' means little sister in German. But, why are you laughing?"

"You will not get it unless you have visited The Philippines these past few centuries," I replied, my grin still there. 

Gads. I was talking to a god, and the God of Thunder no less. I must have hit my head when I was not even aware of it. Yet how could I explain the things that had happened to me the past twenty minutes? It has only been twenty minutes, but I feel like an hour has passed.

"Duncan is…"

"Don't, Thor. Please." 

I cannot help but plead to him not to tell me about Duncan. I should be happy that someone was willing to tell me about the man who had been wooing me. Yet I find myself reluctant to let him talk.

"I could understand what you are, who you are, and why you are here. But, please, let Duncan tell me who he is. He had been honest about everything from the start. I do not want to break that little trust I have given to him."

I saw Thor's face when the word 'trust' was used. Pain and sadness were written in his eyes. He did not hide it from me either. I could sense that he was about to apologize, so I stopped him, "Don't. Don't apologize for something that was not your fault."

"Julie, you do not understand-"

"I do, Thor. I do." 

Both of us were silent. I have no idea what inner debate he was making, but I am sure he was trying to look for ways to make up for the shithole Angus had made. How did I know? The touch of his forehead to mine made a kind of bond between us. 

I can feel his frustration, his need to protect me. Which, I cannot understand where it was coming from, to be honest. We just met, and he called me, little sister?

"I can wait for him. I can wait for Duncan to return. He laid all his cards on the table. There must be a very serious reason why he is not telling me this. I don't want to jump to conclusions about what happened. This is not just about me, but also my kids." 

It was impossible for me to lie. It was one of those quirks that I acquired while living far from where I am from. Telling Thor the truth was better than ignoring things.

"Ah, little sister, you are strong. Not just your heart, but your spirit as well. No worries, I am here." His statement made me look at him with a grimace on my face. If he was going to be here, I would have a multitude of problems.

"I am not sure you–"

"I will take care of things."

"Oh my fucking gads no…"

My curse fell on deft ears as he helped me stand up. Thor ~ yes, I am going to be calling him that~ was talking about making sure all the people at The Belle would be safe from Angus. 

All I could do was look at the dog beside me as we went back to The Belle. Somehow, things were not looking up. 

I feel this would be just the beginning of a storm.