The thought that the two of them were in touch to discuss me brings tears to my eyes. The stables become webbed, blurry. And the next thing I know, my husband stops in front of me, his thumbs brushing my wet face.
“What’s wrong, Victoria?”
I shake my head between his wide palms. “I’m sorry. I just… you don’t know how much I needed this. I haven’t…” I inhale, letting the air out slowly.
“Everything alright?” Jack asks.
Wolf never takes his eyes off me as he says, “Go without us. We’ll find you.” His voice lowers, just for me to hear. “Talk to me.”
I swallow hard. “Every morning when I woke up, I had this… this empty hole in my chest. And no matter how much you distracted me with everything… at night… the feeling would wait for me to be alone again. Then it would…” I sob. “Tear m-me apart.”
“Fuck,” he mutters, pulling me into his chest. I wrap my arms around his torso, burying my crying face into his shirt. He smells so good, so familiar, it makes me cry harder. “I’m so sorry, love. I’m so, so sorry,” he whispers, his heartbeat strong and steady.
The rhythm grounds me, emptying me of pain. And it dawns on me now that although Wolfgang wrecked my heart and made a mess of it since dragging me into his world, he’s also the only one who knows how to mend it. I don’t need a home to come back to.
I’ve already got it.
And he’s right here, in front of me.
25
WOLFGANG
I’m out in the garden, sitting across from an empty seat, waiting for Ivan to show up. Over the past week, business has been going on as usual.
The Irish territory is still with us—they haven’t retaliated yet, and I don’t expect them to do it for a while. They’re having issues getting the next heir to his rightful throne. Turns out, he doesn’t want it and I can’t help but wonder if a woman is at play.
Still, we’re on alert even though Kiril reported he found no one snooping around the house. But that doesn’t mean we’re just going to forget about it. In fact, it’s exactly why I’m meeting Ivan—if he would ever show up on time.
I don’t mind it, though. This way I get some time. Time to think about Victoria, about how much she’s changed both of us.
She picked a dapple-gray mare with a long, black mane—a confident horse, but grounded enough to match her temperament. Out of all the ones Sasha and I picked for her, Alaska was the most curious, the most responsive. Plus, she seemed to have an instant connection with my wife.
Every day since then, I go by the stables to watch. The way Victoria rides—like she’s one with the wind, and the sunrays, and the floating petals and dandelion fluff—makes my chest grow and ache.
I knew there was so much more to her the moment I spotted her on my stallion a few months back, but this? I never expected this. I’ve never seen her like this. And it’s the kind of thing that gives me life.
She asks me to join her, and I want nothing more. But I know better. I don’t deserve to step into the fucking light, and even if I did, I wouldn’t know how.
Loud steps and voices register from somewhere to the left, snapping me out of my thoughts. In a few seconds, Ivan shows up with a bunch of armed men on his trail. What the fuck?
He shouts at me, and I make up the words “shooting” and “south side.”
Exactly where my wife is riding right fucking now.
Before he has time to finish the sentence, I’m already running to her, heart beating strong in my throat. To the meadow. To the stables. To everything that matters to me right now.
My blood roars in my veins, turning me into the man I’ve always known—the man whose darkness knows no bounds, no limits to protect what he owns.
The house fades in the distance, and upon seeing the fields roll out, the thought grinds against my mind like iron on iron.I’ll scythe through everyone and everything if I have to.She’ll never even know the monsters lurking in the shadows for her. Because I may dictate that I own her, but the truth is… I, too, belong to her now.
VICTORIA
Stretching my hand out in front of me, I catch the sunset between my fingers.
The field bathed in an orange glow smells of daisies and tuberoses, wafting in the air all around me. A small, soothing wind brushes the hair off my shoulders and off Alaska’s head. Her snout raises to the sky, a soft nicker rumbling from her warm body. She loves it. And ever since Wolf bought her for me, this kind of experience has helped us bond.
“I know,” I say from my saddle. “I’m happy too.”
