Family Tree

Since Hyeon wasn't delivering food anymore to Fenrir, he had more downtime. There was only so much he could do besides wiping the same window five times a day. Towards the end of his shift, he pulled out the small book that explained Fenrir's family tree. It was the size of his hand, so it was easy to carry it in his coat pocket.

He skimmed through the beginning since it discussed Norse origins, beliefs, and the people who worshipped it. When he got to the family tree, he focused on the most important names to him. Odin had many children with his different affairs: Thor, Baldur, Vidar, Tyr, and Loki. Thor was obviously the most well-known as well as Loki because of the movies, but some of the information was different.

The only reason he knew of Tyr, the god of war, was because Fenrir bit his limb off when they were restraining him. The other two were new to him. Baldur was the god of purity and light while Vidar was the quiet god of justice. Interestingly, Vidar was also the strongest of the Norse deities.

Loki had three offspring with a giant named Angerboda: Fenrir, Hel, and Jörmungand. Hel, unlike the movies where she was Thor's sister, is actually Fenrir's full sibling and the goddess of death. Jörmungand was another sibling but a giant snake that slwas long enough to circle the world. Finally, there was Sleipnir, Odin's steed with eight legs. Loki had transformed into a horse and a fling with…

Hyeon couldn't finish Sleipnir's origins. He could figure it out himself.

The remaining tree had so many foreign names. It was difficult to remember the extensive line graph connecting the names.

Turning the page, his breath hitched when he read the next chapter. It showed an ancient drawing of a giant wolf. Its mouth was spread open while being held down by a man with a sword. The caption read, *To avenge his father's death, Vidar forced Fenrir's jaw open with his iron shoes. He sliced the wolf's jaw into pieces and removed a fang.*

That's just…so cruel. The vindictiveness from Fenrir's own family was truly unfair. Just because he was a big effin' wolf? There was the whole Ragnarok thing, but can't prophesies be changed?

*I can't read this anymore.*

Before closing the book, he saw the last section. It had a few dozen pages of translated words from English to Old Norse. Hyeon smiled to himself and thought, *Maybe I can learn a few and surprise him.*

Suddenly, a roll of cheese bread landed on the page. Hyeon looked up and saw a lanky girl with jet black hair, eyes, and a red hourglass-shaped mark on her neck. Don't let her size fool you. Eight intimidating black limbs extended from her mid-back and arched around her body. He's seen this black widow servant around, but from far away.

"Ahhh…is this for me?"

She nodded.

"I guess I forgot to eat lunch, didn't I? What's your name?" She didn't say.

Her silence reminded him of Haruma. She walked away.

"T-thanks," saying out loud to no one. When he took a bite, his stomach flipped with joy for some nourishment.

"Who are you talking to?" a voice said next to his ear. It was close enough that Hyeon felt their breath blow into his eardrum. It tickled which startled him.

Hyeon choked on the bread. Pieces got stuck in his throat. While coughing, he turned to the person with much annoyance.

Sleipnir was watching him with a mischievous expression. Hyeon wanted to smack it off. His vibes were weird.

Just because he was Fenrir's half-brother, doesn't mean he should get an ounce of respect.

"You're the pervert who doesn't know personal space."

Sleipnir placed a hand over his heart and pretended to be hurt. "Oof, right in the feels. It's not my fault the door was open. Usually, he keeps it closed, ya know?"

Hyeon scoffed and started to leave, but the pest blocked his path.

"Wait, wait, wait! What family are you from? It must be an influential one since you reek of energy."

"It doesn't matter."

"Aw, don't keep secrets. I'll find out eventually."

Hyeon tried to go around him. "Not today, then." He speed-walked through the hallways. Sleipnir kept up the pace and remained beside him like a creep trying to get a woman's number in the big city.

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm just curious about you," Sleipnir said with a playful twinkle in his eye. "I've never seen someone manhandle Coyote the way you did, and you have my brother wrapped around your pretty finger."

*P-pretty?!*

"Can you at least tell me your name?"

Hyeon thought about it for a second. That he could do. "Hyeon Falken."

"Falken, as in the bird falcon? You must be a type of bird given your surname?"

*I shouldn't have said my FULL name.*

Hyeon's failure to respond gave Sleipnir his answer. "A bird, huh? I doubt Fenrir would keep a pigeon as his partner in bed. What do you plan to do after your year here is over? How about we hang out?"

He had enough of this conversation. "Can you turn around?"

The sudden change of topic made Sleipnir confused. "Turn around?"

"Do it."

The irritating man did as he was told.

"Walk over there and get out of my sight," Hyeon instructed and ran away. He heard Sleipnir laughing but didn't pursue any further.

He stopped after zigzagging through the castle. The space between them was good enough. Fenrir was NOT going to like how his brother pulled a move on him.

Hyeon realized he was in the medical ward alone, but the lights in the rooms were turned off. Why was it so dark? Where was Coty?

Goosebumps spread on his body. Someone was behind him! He didn't have time to react before something grabbed his hips and dragged him backward. A warm body pressed against his backside. A hand slid up his neck sensually and forced Hyeon's head to the side.

"Wha—?" A tongue skimmed over his teeth and forced his jaw apart. Once inside, it grazed the roof of Hyeon's mouth. He discovered it was apparently a sensitive area. His knees grew weak.

A hard thing poked his butt. The assaulter rubbed it against Hyeon's pants. That knocked Hyeon out of the shock. He wrestled out of the arms of the person that just forced themselves onto him. Hyeon could feel his body become hot with anger and was ready to fight back until he saw who it was.

The centipede servant stood there like a lost puppy.

"Rojo?"