Richard chuckled. “Well, he said that he was going to marry you. I don’t think that there is anything that I could say to deter him.”
“Did you want to deter him?”
Richard shrugged. “I don’t know, Christin. I just want you to be happy. You’ve spent too much time with what life gave you. I want to make sure that this time around, you get what you truly want. If that is Broch, I am behind you. The whole clan is behind you. They are on the way for the ceremony. It will be a great night.”
Chapter 35
Christin
The place was packed with people she knew from both sides of her life. Christin hadn’t felt as at home as she did then, in a very long time. They were married and the reception was held in the house, bursting at the seams. There were dragons and wolves alike, and everyone was getting along. Broch and Leonard had gotten into it early on, but Christin hadn’t seen him in hours.
She was happy, truly happy, and all she wanted to do was smile. She had done it so much that her cheeks hurt. Christin wished that the night could last forever. Broch had already been giving her the eye because he wanted to start the honeymoon, but Christin was just having too good of a time. She had already put Broch off twice and she saw him sauntering over to her again. Christin thought she was going to have to do it again.
Broch grabbed her from behind and pulled her in close.
“Now, Christin, I need you now.”
She could feel his need, rubbed against it a moment and then pushed him back with her bum.
“We have all these people here, Broch. You are just going to have to wait.”
“So you plan to torture me through this marriage, huh?”
Christin clicked her tongue and moved in to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“If I wanted to torture you, Broch, I would tell you about the fact that I don’t have any panties on and I am so wet.”
He gasped and then hissed through his teeth like a snake. Christin really liked the sound of it for some reason and she pulled away. Her own words were going to haunt her, making her crazy, not him.
He grabbed her arm and started to pull her away. Christin figured that there was a little nook or room somewhere that they could be alone. Broch was about to drag her there.
A commotion from the front took her attention away from the man dragging her away. Broch went to see what it was and Christin went right along with him. They were both arrested in front of everyone. Someone had given a statement about seeing them at the prison. Broch was arrested for aiding and abetting a fugitive and Christin was arrested for escaping. They were both looking at a lot of time.
There was a moment as they were being handcuffed when Christin and Broch considered shifting and taking care of it. Two cops, a couple more in the front, but Christin decided that they couldn’t. She valued all life. She was just going to have to figure out another way. Christin wasn’t going to allow herself to rot in jail again though. There was no way.
“It’s going to be okay, Christin, trust me. A few days and this will all be behind us.”
Christin didn’t see how it was possible. She caught the eye of her parents and she wished that it hadn’t happened. That day, of all days. It felt like more than coincidence. She couldn’t think of a worse time for something like that to happen.
***
They were both out on bond the next evening. The bond was high, but not even a small percentage of Broch’s real wealth. They both talked about what they could do to change things. They couldn’t erase everyone’s memory that knew about it. It was too wide spread.
Broch floated the idea of changing scenery. They had both lived in the same place their whole lives and things were getting stale. The elders were no longer alive to tie the two clans down to the area. It felt like time to move and slipping away seemed like the best way to deal with the human legal problems. They were shifters after all, they didn’t need to follow the human rules. They lived by a higher standard.
Leonard was the tipster to the cops and that was quickly realized when he was in the midst of a coup when they got back. Broch banished him and sent him on his way. Christin thought that they were going to come to blows, but it had been resolved before that. Broch was fearsome and Leonard decided that fighting him wasn’t the best idea. A few loyal to him left and Broch was happy to see them go, as opposed to tainting the water.
Upheaval abounded, but after a couple of meetings, everyone decided on a move to an empty part of Canada. It was far enough away that their lives could be left behind and close enough that they wouldn’t be too far from their ancestral lands.
Christin and Broch were ready for the big move, as well as their fellow clansmen. Christin was sure that her people wouldn’t want to move, but they all seemed eager to leave behind the dark past from where they had come. A lot of bad deeds had been done under Phillip, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Christin could relate and she too was eager to get to a place where she would have a true fresh start. The past bogged her down and was suffocating to her. She wanted to live her life without all of the reminders of the tyranny that was her ex-husband.
Broch seemed to be taking it all in stride. He felt the betrayal of Leonard harshly and he somehow convinced her father to step in for the time being. The two had gotten close, and Christin was happy that their families could blend together so well. Everyone was getting along, especially once certain elements were taken out of the mix.
It took about two weeks for everyone to relocate, but they were getting settled in and Christin was starting to feel at home. It was colder in Canada, but there was a lot that she had been holding in that she didn’t realize. The fresh start was just what she needed, what they both needed. William had a fresh look to his face, he was smiling more.
Broch saw her staring out at the world and asked her what was on her mind.
“This. I just can’t believe this. Who would have ever thought that we would be here?”
