Chapter 87 #2
Perhaps choosing Eldrick, loving him and acknowledging the thread between them, awakened a different sort of freedom, one with no abandon. That frightened her—the vast promise of them.
Maybe Tovi held guilt for choosing happiness too. How dare she, when the Verena name had started the curse?
With her sword gleaming from the fire, alcohol buzzing in her knees, and in the company of a good friend, Tovi decided she would dare. But—
“Eldrick never wants to see me again.” The wine sloshing in her stomach threatened to rise back up.
Yen scoffed. “That was his bruised heart speaking. Eldrick is a stubborn male, but he loves you, Tovi.”
Hours later, the howls of Drystan’s wind and distant demons haunted Tovi as much as her thoughts.
She found sleep impossible. The wine’s effects only lasted so long, and the chill from outside the castle crept under her quilts.
A restlessness buzzed in her legs and traveled up to her hammering heart.
Mentally spent, she sprang from bed and didn’t bother to dress aside from wrapping her cloak over her shoulders.
She snatched up her sword leaning by her bedside and ventured outside.
Cursed, sure, but the cold air granted Tovi some reprieve. She breathed in the promise of snow, allowed frost to crunch under her bare feet, and exhaled the earthy scent of ferns.
The morning shined a luminescent silver. Fog rolled across the southern part of the estate’s lands, kissing Tovi’s knees. She trudged through the long grass with no sense of direction, but to simply move. She wished for body and mind to catch up with one another—
Ahead, a branch snapped. Tovi gripped the hilt of her sword tighter.
Perhaps she wasn’t alone, and something or someone navigated through the fog, too.
Bloody hel, she was a fool to have ventured out onto the castle grounds alone.
She sniffed the air but didn’t detect another a vampyr nor demon. Maybe it was an animal—
Tovi stilled. Her breath hitched. And her heart skipped a beat.
Twenty yards south, a figure sharpened against the fog. The male, smelling of basil and spearmint, stalked through the mists of gray until the plumes parted and revealed his lean, muscular build.
Eldrick marched towards Tovi like he stormed a battlefield. Determined, focused, and unbending. His gait held more than purpose, but restraint as if he wished to run to her. His green gaze became brighter as he grew closer, a striking color against so much gray.
Tovi blinked, unsure if she had imagined him. Yet, she tracked the edges of Eldrick’s sharp jaw, fighting leathers molding to his strong thighs, and his hands flexed at his sides. He was real. He was there. Goddess, the thread between them pulled.
Glowing. Vibrant. Alive. Fuck, the curse didn’t exist in Drystan with them so near to one another. How and why had Tovi been such a fool?
Apologies tickled across her lips, and she opened her mouth to express them all. She had to make everything right between them. She needed to confess the truth—
Eldrick reached her, and in one swift motion, got down on one knee.
Tovi forgot how to breathe. She lost all sense as the grass, fog, and castle grounds faded around them. With Eldrick staring up at her, his love and heart etched into his emerald-green eyes, they were the only ones that existed.
Armor clung to Eldrick’s chest and arms. Underneath, black leather covered his physique. He’d strapped two axes to his belt on either side, while a dagger gleamed, tucked into his left boot.
He didn’t dress like a Vadon Mountain’s alpha.
Nothing screamed werewolf, not even furs, aside from his beastly energy prickling the air.
That’s when Tovi noticed the lack of Drengr navy.
Instead, Tovi spied a light purple on the inside of his velvet black cloak—a similar shade to the gem in her sword’s hilt.
Carved into the metal above his heart, a new crest depicted a wolf and dove interlocked in a circle.
Tovi stepped back, the sight jarring her, but Eldrick grabbed her wrist, keeping her in place. She stilled.
For his alpha tattoo didn’t gleam across his hand, his skin simply touched by the sun and battle scars.
“I don’t understand,” she breathed.
“I’ve been a fucking idiot, letting my duty bind me to a land where I don’t belong,” he started. “The truth is, I think I’ve known my rightful place since the moment I saw you outside my office window for the first time.”
Tovi’s breath hitched. “Eldrick—“
“I love you,” he said, voice steady and certain, “more than anything in this world. My place is at your side, and I’m sorry it has taken me this long to accept it and leave—“
“Leave? But your title . . . your pack,“ Tovi whispered. “It’s what you wanted and worked for—“
“What I want is you. Now, forever, and until Time takes us, if you’ll have me.”
The vulnerability in Eldrick’s words had Tovi falling to her knees. Her sword fell from her grasp, and she clutched his hands instead, staring up at him as he unraveled before her.
“My heart, body, and axe are yours, always and forever. Nothing will bring me more honor than loving you every day. Let me lead your armies. Make me whatever you wish. You are my queen, my love, my—“
“Mate,” Tovi finished, her own words thick with tears. “I’m your mate, and you’re mine.”
Eldrick swallowed, leaning closer. “Moons, say it again. Please.”
Tovi cupped his cheek, and her heart sang as she admitted, “You’re my mate, Eldrick Drengr, and I love you.”
His lips crashed against hers. Tovi gasped at the intensity and met Eldrick with the same hunger and devotion. In a cursed land, two souls kissed as they finally accepted what they were. Despite the fog, only light and love encompassed them.
Tovi pulled Eldrick closer, and she tasted the smile and excitement on his tongue as it brushed against hers. He held her waist like an anchor in uncharted waters, and Tovi’s heart swelled so large, it threatened to burst out of her chest.
Goddess knew they’d both been stubborn fools, and henceforth, Tovi refused to let fear or anything of the sort get in her way.
She pulled away from Eldrick, peering up at him. “Will you ever forgive me?”
He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “I already have, dove.”
Tovi kissed Eldrick again, relishing in the fact this male was hers.
“Wait.” She pushed back a fraction, narrowing her gaze. “Did you seriously journey through the Void by yourself?”
Eldrick smirked. He stood, pulling Tovi with him. “I’ve not come alone. If I’m not mistaken, you need an army.”
She followed Eldrick’s line of sight through the fog. He released a deep growl and moments later figures—hundreds—emerged from the trees. Dressed in black with hints of amethyst, an army of werewolves had arrived at áilleacht Castle.
Stunned into silence, Tovi stared at her mate. She’d never imagined choosing happiness—choosing them—would make her feel weightless. Suddenly, everything she faced seemed possible. Breaking the curse. Winning the war. Defeating her brother.
Love didn’t make her weak—it gave her strength.