Epilogue
GUNNAR
The wood of the closed bedroom door was thick, but it wasn’t thick enough to dull the sudden, heavy silence that had fallen on the other side.
They’re definitely fucking in there. Dry amusement tugged at the corner of my mouth. The humor faded from my chest as quickly as it came, replaced by the crushing weight settling squarely onto my own shoulders.
I was completely fucked.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Tonight. I was getting married tonight to Rosalind Lobo.
I shifted my weight against the wall, my eyes tracking over to where she sat.
She didn't look as if there was anything wrong with her.
In fact, she seemed entirely composed, which only made the whole situation weirder.
She was beautiful—there was no denying that.
She had lush, soft curves that filled out an impeccably tailored dress; every hair was in place, and her nails were perfectly manicured.
She looked like a masterpiece of high society.
Wearing sunglasses inside was weird. Especially since shifters could see in the dark, and it was still daylight out.
She sat perched on the edge of the chair like a bird trapped in a gilded cage.
I’d never known what a cage felt like. I was a wild animal, the son Fenrir and Mei Ling Blackwood had never even bothered to put on a leash.
In the hierarchy of the Blackwood brothers, our roles had always been cast in stone.
Vidar was the cold, calculating brain of the operation.
Magnus was the golden boy, the heart and responsibility that would one day lead the pack.
And me? I was the muscle. The fist. I was the one they called when a message needed to be carved into someone’s ribs, prized primarily for how hard I could strike and how much blood I could take without blinking.
That was fine. If I was the fist, then I could easily be the shield for this little bird. If her family had kept her locked up in a cage of expectations, I’d just have to break the bars and let her out.
I’d always known my marriage would be a political arrangement handled by my parents.
I’d never fought the idea. To be fair, I didn't exactly have the best taste in women anyway.
My history was a messy track record of bad decisions, late nights, and chaotic distractions.
Letting my parents handle the paperwork of my personal life suited me just fine.
I’d do as I was told. I'd marry the Lobo princess tonight, and I'd protect her with everything I had.
I cleared my throat, pushing off the wall to draw her attention.
"So," I said, my voice a low, gravelly rumble in the quiet room. "Since my brother is currently violating your boundaries regarding your bedsheets, I guess you and I should figure out how we're going to survive the next few hours."
She didn't move an inch. Behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses, I couldn't see her eyes, but I felt the sheer weight of her condescension.
"I highly doubt our definitions of surviving or figuring things out align," she said softly, her tone entirely dismissive.
"So let's not pretend we're going to put our heads together.
I'd hate for you to get a headache trying to play strategist. We're both going to do what our mothers told us to do, say vows, fuck, and get on with our lives.
Cool? Or was that list too long for you to understand? "
It felt like a physical slap, a fast, targeted strike meant to draw blood before I even realized we were fighting.
I’d spent my whole life letting people think I was just a walking brick wall with a right hook, but having my future wife treat me like a brain-dead bodyguard on night one? That was a whole new level of fucked.
What the actual fuck had my parents signed me up for?
I thought I was getting a fragile little bird I could gently coax out of a cage. Turns out, the cage wasn't there to keep her in. It was to keep everyone else safe from her.
Oh, sweet summer child, you have no idea.
Things are about to get primal after the wedding of Gunnar and Rosalind.
Make sure you grab their merry war — I mean love story in
"Merciless Silence," Book Three in the Merciless Alphas series.