EPILOGUE #2
Winter barely listened to the man, even when he switched back to a language he could understand. All he could do was watch Sterling, desperate to have her alone. Loving, honoring, etcetera. Winter would agree to anything the man said.
“Do you have rings?” the officiant asked.
Winter pulled one from his pocket—a gold band. Thin and hammered to a smooth finish. “I had the key to your cage reforged,” he said, low enough for only Sterling to hear. “Know that you will always be free. Never chained to me. Even in marriage.”
Her breath hitched, and tears gathered in her lashes when he placed the ring on her finger. “I don’t have one for you,” she replied. “Your own fault, really.”
Winter chuckled. “Oh, but I do.” He took out a glass ring holding red fabric placed within and pressed it into her palm. “Part of your original cloak is inside.”
“Well aren’t you full of amazing surprises today.” Sterling laughed softly and slipped the ring onto his finger.
The officiant continued with the ceremony and the foreign prayer until they were man and wife.
Wolf and wife.
King and queen of Bloodstorm in both wolf and human eyes.
Winter stroked Sterling’s cheek with the pad of his thumb and leaned in, kissing her thoroughly. As the crowd clapped politely, he inched toward her ear. “I want you now,” he murmured.
“Ah,” she whispered back. “You don’t understand human traditions then. We have to celebrate for a long while with guests, and then we fuck later privately. A pity we have to wait, but I promise it will be worth it.”
Winter sent up a silent curse to the human tradition of the post-nuptial festivities.
Sterling was here, in front of him, wanting him, and he had to wait.
Just as he’d waited every day since she’d left.
He’d fucked his hand to memories of her, but it wasn’t the same as her relishing his cock, not even close.
She nipped him on the neck, then turned to embrace her brother. The wolves lingering in the room simply talked to one another while sipping from wine glasses, and Nareth and Jasira approached—him hesitantly, her with a warm smile.
“Congratulations,” Jasira said and bowed her head. “I’m so happy for you.”
Winter nodded. She’d spent hours alone with him for coin and kept silent about how they’d never pleasured one another. “And for you as well.” He didn’t miss the arch of Nareth’s brow.
As Jasira greeted Sterling, Winter was left standing face-to-face with Nareth. “You came,” Winter drawled. “And without salt to throw in my face.”
“Curiosity got the better of me,” Nareth replied coolly. “Besides, I couldn’t let her return here alone, into a potential trap.”
“I’d claw out my own throat before hurting her again,” he admitted, and Nareth’s lips parted.
“So you knew about this?” Sterling scolded Nareth.
“I only knew you were coming back and that we were invited to join you, as long as we did it secretly.” He wrapped an arm around Jasira’s waist. “Seems it’s safe to return to my cottage here in Bloodstorm now.”
“Am I staying here?” Cyan chimed in.
“Do you want to stay here?” Sterling asked.
Cyan nodded, a yawn escaping him. “I like it here. The bed is much softer than mine at home, and the garden is bigger.”
“Wait until you see the garden at the castle,” Winter added. Now that Sterling was his family, so was her brother. He vowed to become a father to him in the way that Winter’s own had never been. That would take time and patience. But it would come.
“I’d like that.” Cyan smiled.
“Would you like me to tuck you into bed?” Sterling asked.
“Yes, I’m tired.” Cyan hugged Nareth and Jasira goodbye before Sterling walked her brother upstairs.
“No locks on the door,” Winter instructed Amalli, then turned to Lijah. “Take Nareth and Jasira home.”
The manor cleared out and Winter remained alone in the sitting room, his fingers tapping his thighs as he waited for Sterling to return.
Perhaps she’d fallen asleep beside her brother, and even though he wanted her desperately, he wouldn’t fault her for it.
But then a flash of crimson caught his eye.
Sterling descended the staircase, a grin spreading across her cheeks. “My brother asks more questions than anyone you’ll ever meet.” She laughed softly. “But now, I think we have lost time to make up for.”
The edges of his lips curled upward. “I’ll give you a head start to my bedchamber.”
“You’re—”
“Five, four…” He chuckled when she turned on her heel and fled up the stairs, her red cloak billowing behind her.
Winter bounded to the second floor after Sterling, and she had just crossed the threshold to his room when he caught up with her.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her against his chest, then whisked her inside.
Spinning her around, he pressed her back to the door and caged her in.
Her hands immediately went to his tunic and attempted to remove it.
“What’s the rush?” He nipped her lower lip.
“Denying me on our wedding night?” She tsked.
His laugh skated across her mouth. “I would never. But first, I need to make sure we’re clear about something.”
She cocked her head. “Nothing good ever follows that statement.”
“Never say never.” He slowly tugged at the strings of her cloak. The red fabric fell from her shoulders to pool at her feet. Beneath it, she wore a dark gray dress cinched at her waist with a wide belt. “You are my equal. I love you, Red Riding Hood.”
Sterling’s face softened. “To think, after everything, after us hating one another, after me vowing to never love you, I do love you. Very much, Winter.”
Winter needed to fuck her, to show her how she was his mate, how he was hers, how hate had turned to love, and how her words so easily pierced his heart, making it so he would do anything for her.
He grasped her hips, hoisting her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. His lips found hers, his tongue tasting hers, as he carried her to their bed.
Setting her carefully on the edge, he whispered into his beautiful wife’s ear, “Tonight you’ll moan for me, and tomorrow, the entire forest.”
***
Want to dive into another villain from the Grimm world? Then try Spindle of Sin, a standalone Sleeping Beauty retelling, or Tower of Shadows, a standalone Rapunzel retelling next!