Chapter 10
Elly’s a lightweight, clearly unaccustomed to drinking alcohol. It’s adorable. She lies passed out on the sofa, leaning against my side, her mouth slightly open.
Alix approaches with a blanket and carefully tucks her in. Désirée gently plucks a stray strand of hair from Elly’s face and brushes it behind her ear. I nod my thanks at Alix, and he smiles as he takes a seat next to his wife.
“I like her. I really do.” Désirée looks up at me, her eyes piercing mine. “Don’t mess this up.”
“Why the hell would I?” I pull Elly closer, and she stirs momentarily. I tense but relax when she remains asleep. “I should be warning the two of you about that.” I shoot a glare at Alix, who’s settled at the other end of the sofa, far out of my reach.
“Hey.” He throws his arms up defensively, showing me the palms of his hands. “We didn’t force her.”
“Touch her without my consent again, and you’re dead,” I snarl.
“Your consent?” Alix raises an eyebrow. “What about her consent?”
I snarl back, and he shrugs, wisely letting it go. Elly stirs again in my arms, and the tension in my shoulders melts away as I look down at her. She turns and snuggles against my chest, making the cutest little sounds.
Désirée sighs. “The two of you are adorable together.” I meet her gaze and see the truth in her eyes.
“The way you are with her—I’ve never seen this side of you before, Malakai.
It suits you.” Her eyes linger on the silver wedding band on my left ring finger, and I know where her thoughts drift without her needing to say it.
She and Alix used to wear wedding bands of their own.
Those silver rings were part of a magic-imbued jewelry set gifted to them by their coven.
Once they became vampires, they could no longer wear them, which sparked my interest in enchanting jewelry—just so they could wear their wedding bands again.
Then someone somehow managed to steal the whole set. We’ve been searching for it for centuries but have never found them. Alix and Désirée have all but given up hope, but I continue to search. I know it’s just a matter of time before they turn up.
A soft sigh escapes me. “Yeah, well,” I say, returning my attention to the sleeping woman in my arms, my chest aching with a new and unfamiliar emotion, “I’ve never had someone like her before either.”
“You care for her.” Alix scoots closer. “Perhaps it’s even more than that?”
“Perhaps,” I reply, not breaking my gaze from Elly. Désirée squeals in delight, her eyes brightening once more, and I have to hold back a roll of my own. It’s something I’ve noticed I’ve been doing a lot lately.
“Have you had a binding ceremony yet?” Désirée asks, the enthusiasm in her voice almost infectious.
My stomach sinks as her words make me realize how backward we’re doing things. Part of me didn’t think we could possibly become more than a means to an end toward each other. But it feels like that’s exactly what we’re leaving behind, day by day.
“Not yet,” I confess in a whisper. “But we will.”
Elly and I might be married, but we’re missing a step for a true inhuman marriage.
The wedding we had to bind us together was mostly magical and definitely functional—a means to an end.
Since we didn’t have a real binding ceremony, the necessary magic is there, but the whole thing wasn’t executed according to our traditions.
A part of me misses that and secretly wants the full package.
“I should take her home,” I say after a moment of silence. I stand and lift Elly into my arms, glancing back at Alix and Désirée. “We’ll talk soon.”
They both nod at me, and Alix rises to see me out. Elly mumbles something in her sleep as I carry her through the hallway, her words too faint to make out. Alix smiles at us as he opens the front door, stepping aside to let us through.
“You look happy,” he says, catching me off guard. “I know, unbelievable,” he adds with a dramatic sigh upon seeing my raised eyebrows. “But it’s true. Though I doubt you’re good for her.” I growl at the vampire, but he ignores me. “She clearly is for you. Just try not to ruin her too much.”
Alix closes the door before I can tell him to shove it, that devious smile still playing on his lips.
I walk back to our house and up the steps, maneuvering to open the front door. As I carry her over the threshold, I recall the human custom of carrying your bride inside after the wedding.
“Close enough, I guess,” I whisper, looking down at Elly once more, still sound asleep in my arms.
I close the door with my foot and head upstairs, gently placing her down in our bed. I carefully unwrap her from the blanket, undress her, and tuck her in. Stripping down myself, I slide in beside her.
I snuggle close, and Elly instinctively reaches for me when she feels my skin against hers. She turns in her sleep, throwing an arm around me and pulling me closer, her breath warm against my chest. My hand gently traces the side of her face, brushing aside a few stray strands of hair.
“Guess I do care,” I find myself saying to her sleeping form. “Perhaps even more than that.”