Origins by Elle Thorne

Many millennia ago, a group of Vikings raided a village. As fate would have it, this was the wrong village. It was home of the mighty witch Freyja. Calder was one of these Vikings. He and his brother lead this band of large, tattooed men with their gruff ways. They’ve found that one of the villagers’ guests has a wealthy husband and can bring a healthy ransom. An amount of silver that will provide great wealth to these Viking fighters. Brenna can’t tell her captors that she won’t be able to secure a single piece of silver.

Holding her for ransom is pointless. When one of her captors decides that he wants her for a night’s pleasure, she’s stunned to discover that another saves her. A huge man with tattoos and wielding an ax comes to her defense. Now she’s beholden to him. When Freyja returns to her village to find that the men have been slaughtered and the women and children have been taken havoc, she renders a punishment that lasts an eternity, and creates two new species that will roam the earth in perpetuity. She also puts Brenna in a difficult decision of choosing love over duty.