Chapter 21
Artem tossed one of the three males surrounding him over his shoulder, then stomped with his hoof on his chest, enjoying for a heartbeat the way the ribs cracked loudly. He was aware suddenly that Nero wasn’t watching him.
The cabin was now fully engulfed in flames.
He could see Nero heading into the woods toward where Artem had given Promise a shove to get her out of harm’s way.
He took a step toward her and one of the males grabbed him around the neck and pulled backward with all his weight, toppling Artem off his hooves. He bellowed in alarm, flailing as he landed hard on top of the male who didn’t get out of the way fast enough.
He rolled to his side and saw a solid black wolf sail through the air, teeth gleaming as her jaws were opened wide. She sank her teeth into Nero’s left shoulder and scraped her claws down his abdomen.
He screamed in pain and fell to the ground, but Promise didn’t let go, she growled and worked her claws and fangs deeper into him.
The sound of rushing feet brought his friends and family into the area. Artem jerked to his feet and bounded toward his mate and Nero.
The male who’d come for them and tried to take his mate again, was screaming and shaking, paralyzed by the venom of Promise’s apex nature.
Promise extracted her jaws from his shoulder and jumped aside as Artem grasped Nero’s head and twisted sharply, ending his life.
It was too good for him.
Too fast.
But it was over.
Promise lifted her muzzle in the air and howled, the sound echoing through the woods as the distant whine of sirens grew closer. Then she leaped into his arms and he turned to check on the males who’d come with Nero.
They were all either unconscious or unable to get away.
“Get your mate to safety, we’ve got this,” his dad said.
Artem looked at Nero’s body.
His dad came over and put his hand on his shoulder. “You can talk to the police after you’re out of your shifts. She’s a wolf and you’re a minotaur. You’re going to freak out the humans. Mom’s at the house, you can go there.”
With a nod, Artem jogged away, Promise in his arms.
First, Promise had been too keyed up to sleep.
Now she was too keyed up to shift back to human, even though she’d been in her shift for almost four hours.
She was pacing in Artem’s parents’ house while the police and fire department were dealing with the fire and injured people.
And the one dead guy.
She was absolutely not sorry for her part in his death.
He deserved a lot worse than he got.
Artem had shifted back an hour after they’d shown up at his parents’ house. He’d dressed in his dad’s clothes and sat on the couch while she slept fitfully and ended up just pacing and hoping she’d shift soon.
She had no idea when that would happen, though.
She’d never had this problem.
Artem dropped to his knees in front of her as she turned to keep pacing from one side of their family room to the other.
He cupped her head and kissed her nose. “You’re so beautiful. I love your fur, it’s the coolest color.”
She hummed at the praise.
He was pretty dang awesome in his shift too.
He ran his thumbs over her cheeks a few times and then said, “I’m going to tell you this when you’re human too, but I wanted to tell you that I love you. I fucking love you so much. I don’t care that it’s only been a few days, you’re the other half of my heart.” His eyes got bright and he cleared his throat. “The day you were taken, I was going to ask you to marry me on our date and tell you that I loved you then. Of course all the plans went to hell and then it’s been one long nightmare ever since. But it’s finally over. We can breathe easier now knowing that the threat to our future is dead and you and I are both safe. No more underground fighting league. No male who wants to use your healing powers for his own purposes. Just you and me, and the future. So when you get back to human, I’m going to tell you I love you again and ask you to be my wife, but I didn’t want to wait another second.”
Her heart swelled as the love she had been feeling for him overflowed.
And her shift finally let go.
As she returned to human, she hugged him and kissed him, and told him that she loved him too.
“I wanted to tell you too,” she said. “I can’t believe how much danger we were in, one terrifying event after the other.”
He held her tightly and she rested in his embrace. “We don’t have to worry about him anymore. Are you okay?”
“I’m awesome. My mate loves me and I love him.”
He leaned back and kissed her, then said, “I fucking do, beautiful.”
“So about this proposal?”
“Yeah?”
“Is the ring in the burned up cabin?”
“No, it’s in the four-wheeler workshop, I left it there when I got the call from Nero that he’d taken you.”
She wiggled her brows.
“Really? You want me to get it right now?”
“Not right now, but…after we talk to the police. But first I need some clothes.”
“Here you go honey,” Brierley said, stepping into the family room and setting clothes and shoes on the couch. “I wasn’t eavesdropping.”
“Sure, Mom,” he said with a laugh, rising to his feet and bringing Promise with him. “You just happened to have clothes at the perfect time.”
“I’m just that great at being a mom.”
“You are for sure,” Artem said.
“Thank you so much,” Promise said.
Axtyn left to get the police so they could make their statements.
As Promise dressed, she said, “We’re not in trouble, right? I mean we don’t need to lie about what happened or go on the lam?”
“Not at all,” Artem said. “Our lives were in danger and we defended ourselves. He was never going to stop so we had to stop him.”
“Self-defense,” Promise said.
“One hundred percent.”
“I just wanted to make sure we were okay.”
“We are.”
A few minutes later, two police officers walked into the cabin with Axtyn. Promise and Artem sat at the kitchen table with them and gave their statements. When the officers were gone, Promise said, “I can’t believe they waited four hours.”
“They’re still dealing with the males who came to fight,” Axtyn said. “They didn’t have enough ambulances for them so there was a lot of running one person to the hospital and coming back for another. I think they’re all gone now, but the fire department is sticking around for a while longer to make sure a fire doesn’t start up again.”
“Is the cabin totally gone?” she asked.
Axtyn nodded.
“I’m sorry,” she said to her mate.
“Hey, you saved my life, beautiful. Don’t be sorry. I’m not. We can replace things. We can’t replace each other.”
Brierley walked over and hugged them both. “My sweet boy and his mate, I’m so happy you’re both safe. If you want to go look at the cabin, you can come back here and stay the night.”
Artem looked at her and she smiled with a nod.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Of course. I’ll make up the bed in your old bedroom.”
Axtyn walked with them over to the ruined remnants of the cabin. One firetruck was standing by with a few males watching. Axtyn handed them sports drinks he’d brought along and thanked them for their help.
The baro was standing nearby, and Promise had a chance to thank them for helping Artem.
Isolde gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.”
“I am too, trust me.”
“It’s over, right? The bad guy is dead?”
“He is,” Artem said.
“Good freaking riddance,” she said.
Promise agreed one hundred percent.
Artem lifted his hand in front of Promise where a ring sparkled in the floodlights from the firetruck.
She looked at him. “Are you…just handing this to me?”
“I already asked you to marry me.”
“I was a wolf!”
“It still counts.”
She let out a low, grumbling growl.
Isolde and their friends took a step back.
Artem grinned and dropped to one knee. “I’m kidding! Beautiful, you are the most precious thing in my life. I love you with every fiber of my being and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I was adrift and angry and worried about my future. Now I have you, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings. Will you be my wife?”
“Yes!”
Their friends clapped and cheered as he slipped the ring on her finger then rose to his feet and kissed her.
He swung her in a little circle, and she laughed.
“This is a great ending to a terribly shitty night,” she said as he set her on her feet.
“The good news is we can move into the other cabin right away, as soon as we go shopping for new furniture,” he said.
“I can’t wait,” she said. Her voice lowered as she said, “The first thing we need is a big, comfy bed.”
“You got it, beautiful. You can have whatever you want, I saved all my winnings from the fights in a fireproof box under my bed.”
“I just need you.”