Mi-Sook looked at me and said, “Shiloh took Atticus with her.”
I found that memory in my brain, somewhere. Atticus. Yeah. Among the many royal petitions and memos I had signed before I left NOLA had been Atticus, asking to go with Shiloh.I had agreed. I liked Atticus. He was a good man, and he had the hots forShiloh.He was an experienced tracker and hunter. She had good company.
But . . .
The “what ifs” flashed fangs at me. Yeah. What if.
I tried to sit up but the pain ricocheting through me stopped my attempt. “Get someone to track Shiloh Everhart and bring her home, most preferably alive. By the order of the Dark Queen.”
“Yes, my queen,” Mi-Sook said. “Bonus?”
“Sure. Whatever. Imma take a nap.” But I was really passing out. Once again, darkness closed over me.
???
I woke up snuggled next to Bruiser, his scent all around me, mixed with faint scent of old blood: ours and vampires’, in the underclothes we had dropped on the floor: briefs and my smoother. The scent hung in the air, a reminder of the near disaster.
We were in our bed. In the Dark Queen’s Winter Residence / HQ. We had showered the blood and sweat from us and fallen into bed, too tired and Bruiser’s wound still too tender and sore for us to do anything but sleep. He had refused to go to any hospital. He said his clavicle and ribs and the shattered spinal processes would heal eventually, on their own. I had been too damaged myself to argue.
Light from outside the windows was the grayish of dawn, though whether the dawn was the one after the stupid, freaking, crap-eating wedding or the day after, I had no idea.
Is morning. Jane and mate slept. Jane and mate need to sleep more. Bruiser is stupid to bleed so much. Jane is stupid to bleed so much.
Why didn’t we shift?
The I/we of Beast have control of our shifting, but dog-fang-vampire did not cause wound for instant death. Jane resisted shifting to finish fight. Next time Jane has wedding, Jane should wear armor and gorget. Or take mate in Beast-form, with killing claws and fangs.
Good idea. But there will never be a next time.
Beast liked wedding. Was fun battle after! But wanted all meats. Was sad to miss meats. Want new wedding!
Oh, God, Beast. Hush.
Pumas didn’t actually laugh but they made a distinct hacking sound, which she didn’t try to hide from me.
Bruiser’s arms were around me. We were snuggled close, skin to skin. His breath tickled the loose hairs that had come free from my braid. He was making the faintest of snores, like a cat purring. The sound . . . I had no words for how it made me feel. It was home.
The wedding wasn’t the elopement I had wanted. And I was afraid some of our people might have been injured. I’d find out soon. But ending up here, in bed with Bruiser—with my husband—both of us alive—wasn’t a bad way to spend a wedding night. Not bad at all. And while we could still head into the mountains to travel and hide from my enemies, the world, in the person of Titus’ fourth, had busted up my wedding and presented lethal threats to my people and to my Prince Consort.
No way did I think we had gotten all the opponents who had plotted this, not the ones inside my clan, not the enemieson the outside. All we had was another mystery, another spate of conflicts. And Shiloh and Atticus were probably still chasing werewolves. I needed to find out if someone had checked on her. But that could happen later. I’d get Bruiser-time while I could.
I rolled over and woke him with my favorite method. From his reaction, it was his favorite too. I hesitated and Bruiser’s eyes opened.
“What?” he mumbled.
“Just a warning. My bloody, ripped-to-shreds wedding dress may be displayed in the entry to frighten guests.”
His mellow eyes opened wider. “Interesting decorating choice. Our lives will certainly never be boring.”
“No. They won’t. Want to back out?”
“No. Good morning, wife,” he said, his voice gravely with sleep. His beard rasped against my cheek as he kissed the corner of my mouth.
“Good morning, husband.”
“In an hour or two, maybe three,” he said, “let’s see if Deon brought home the wedding feast and put it into the refrigerators.”
“I can wait an hour,” I said, “not two.”
