Vindicated by Bella Klaus

Chapter Thirteen

The courtroom’s wood-paneled walls melted into the edges of my vision, and the sights and scents and sounds of those murmuring their congratulations disappeared. Right now, all I cared about was Fenrir. We had only been separated for half a day, and I’d been unconscious for most of that time, but it had felt like being without my wolf.

“Lydia.” His voice shook with the depth of his emotion.

My throat thickened. I don’t know if it was because his magic was keeping me alive, the time we’d spent together, or the fact that we were mated, but I never wanted to be apart from my wolf god.

Someone stepped close. Fenrir’s head snapped up, breaking our connection. The corners of his eyes narrowed with suspicion, and his lips tightened into the beginning of a snarl.

I turned to find the Angel King approaching.

“We need to return to Lunaris,” Fenrir said.

“Agreed,” I replied.

“Queen Lydia,” said the Angel King. “We have released Fenrir as you have requested.”

“You shouldn’t have imprisoned me in the first place,” he roared.

Silence stretched across the courtroom, broken only by the snap and crackle of the burning furniture. Only a few of the Council members remained—Mera, who stood in front of the podium with Valentine, and the Witch Queen, who wrung her hands.

It was no surprise that King Hades and the Fae King had left. The latter had failed in his attempt to create chaos, while the Demon King… Well, his chances of ever allying with Queen Hel were now wrecked.

The Angel King cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, you agreed to remove the markings Marchosias placed on your body upon Fenrir’s release.”

“Did we sign a contract in blood?” I said, my voice dripping with belligerence.

He flinched. “Of course not.”

“Then I’ll hang onto that connection for a little longer.” I placed a hand on my hip. “You know, to stop you bastards from plunging daggers into our spines.”

His nostrils flared, and the feathers of his great wings ruffled with annoyance. I raised my brows with a what-you-gonna-do-now smirk and waited for his tantrum.

“Queen Lydia, if only you could understand the forces at play—”

“She does,” Fenrir growled. “And you would do well to stay out of our way.”

The angel stepped back, raising both palms. “Any foothold Marchosias gets in this world will be catastrophic for us all. Please remember that before you decide to use such a dangerous connection as leverage.”

Trepidation twisted my stomach into knots, which pulled so tight I had to force back a grimace. It wasn’t like I planned on keeping myself tethered to a primordial source of evil forever.

Mum said she knew how to sever the bond, and I intended to work with her, not with an associate of this wanker. Right now, my silence on this matter was the only form of power I had over the Council.

Keeping my features even, I tilted my head to the side and made an exaggerated curl of my lip. “Leave us, and stop being such a sanctimonious hypocrite.”

Without saying another word, the Angel King disappeared.

Mera stepped forward next, her features tight with annoyance. “Gosh, I’m so sorry about them.”

I left Fenrir’s side and wrapped my arms around the smaller woman. “Thanks for helping.” My gaze darted to King Valentine, who remained a few paces behind his wife. “Both of you. I appreciated the hints.”

The Vampire King inclined his head. “If you still want to break away from the Council, Mera and I can serve as your liaisons.”

Behind me, Fenrir grunted, although I wasn’t sure if the sound meant that he would take them up on their offer, think about it, or he just wanted them to go away.

As I released Mera from the hug, Fenrir wrapped his arm around my waist. “Let’s get out of here.”

Since this was the same room where I had fought Alpha Gundahar and we already knew our way home, we headed to the double doors, crossed a hallway lined with armed enforcers, and went into the mirror room.

Guards stood by gold-framed mirrors of all shapes and sizes, and I wondered what they and the enforcers had been doing while Queen Hel set the courtroom alight.

Behind us, someone cleared their throat.

Fenrir stilled. “What the fuck do you want?”

“To apologize,” said the Witch Queen.

We both turned around, locking eyes with the dark-skinned woman. She was a little taller than Mera—about five-eight, with long white hair and equally bright eyes. It was hard to tell a witch’s age, because most of them used glamours the way other women wore cosmetics, but fine lines marred her smooth features, indicating that she was much older than she appeared.

“What are you saying sorry for?” I asked.

She clasped her hands to her chest. “After what Queen Hel did to the courtroom and hearing her parting words, I realized the harm I could have done to you both by agreeing with the majority.”

“The three kings who plotted against us were in the minority, you know,” I muttered.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I realize that. But if you leave the Supernatural Council, then that’s one less ethical monarch to balance out the corrupt.”

I glanced at Fenrir, whose eyes hardened, and he exposed his teeth in a snarl. We didn’t need telepathic communication to understand what was happening. The Witch Queen wanted us to stay to fight alongside Mera and King Valentine when she was too cowardly to speak up.

“The next time your colleagues gang up on someone, how about you use your conscience to cast your vote, instead of your cowardice?”

Her features hardened, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Come on.” Fenrir turned us toward the mirror.

“Will you reconsider leaving the Council?” she blurted.

Neither of us replied to the Witch Queen. Instead I turned to the guard and instructed him to program the mirror to the alpha’s lodge. With a curt bow, he placed his hand on the frame and set the coordinates.

We stepped through the enchanted glass and into the pinewood room within our home.

Fenrir pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “I cannot thank you enough.”

“There’s no need between mates.” I placed a hand on his cheek and met his turquoise eyes. Eyes that shone with enough love and appreciation to fill my heart for a decade. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head. “Just my pride.”

“What was it like in that place?”

“Cramped,” he said with a shudder.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Those bastards. You were right about breaking away from them.”

Fenrir scooped me into his arms and cradled me to his chest. “The entire time I was in that prison, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. You can’t let those marks remain on your body for a moment longer.”

Drawing back, I studied his features. His brows drew together and his lips pursed in a tight mask of concern.

“You’re right,” I murmured, “but if my connection with Marchosias will stop the Council Members from plotting against us—”

“No,” he growled. “I will not endanger you for anything.”

My pulse quickened and all the moisture vanished from my throat. “Even if it means keeping the pack and the village safe?”

“I would let the entire world go to Hell before I allowed you to get hurt.”

A tight band formed around my chest, and my breaths turned shallow. “You would really put my welfare above everyone else’s?”

“Always.”

My eyes fluttered shut, and I rested my forehead against Fenrir’s. “Well, I can’t let you do that. You need to think about yourself, Mum, Phina, her parents, our pack, and the rest of the village.”

“Lydia.” His warning growl made my skin tingle.

“I’m not saying I want to be connected to Marchosias for any longer, but we can compromise.”

“Explain.” He walked across the room, flung the door open, and stepped into the hallway of our lodge.

Opening my eyes, I followed him and leaned into the cradle of his arms, and smiled. “We can order my records from the hospital, where the healers will have mapped out how they planned to remove the marks from my body.”

He continued through a stairwell, his brows knitted into a frown. “They didn’t examine you yet?”

I shook my head. “The Angel King brought a university professor to remove the markings from my wolf, but I refused to shift.”

Fenrir snickered. “I would love to have seen you stand up to those bastards.”

“They were pathetic. Both full of testosterone, sexual frustration, and repressed rage.”

He snorted. “I never get tired of watching you dominate other males.”

I slid my hands over his broad shoulders. “Is that what you like?” I murmured. “A dominant bitch?”

“You’re not dominating me,” he said with a chuckle.

“I think you’d love it.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said with a challenging growl that made my nipples tighten.

Fenrir’s body heat radiated against mine, and his grip around the backs of my legs tightened, sending a rush of warmth between my thighs. He carried me to the hallway that led to the master suite, our eyes locked and he lavished me with a gaze that promised endless pleasures.

Once more, our surroundings disappeared, from the wall lights to the stuffed animal heads. My heart stuttered as we reached our door, and my pulse quickened with anticipation of his next move.

He pushed the door open, and stepped into our room. The lights were off, and moonlight streamed in through the windows and reflected off the crystal chandelier, coloring the walls an eerie silver. The entire day had gone, and I had no idea how many hours had passed since sunset. I caught a glimpse of us in one of the many mirrors hanging on the wall and stilled.

Fenrir’s golden hair glowed, as did the magic lighting up his irises. I’d known he was a god, but until this moment, I hadn’t quite grasped his full majesty.

A wave of realization swept through my senses, making me feel giddy. This god—this beautiful, brave, and brilliant immortal being—was mine.

He stared down at me, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths, his gaze dropping to my lips.

“What are you waiting for?” I murmured.

“Can’t I savor the sight of my mate?” he said.

I pressed my palms into his chest, my fingers bunching around the cotton of his white t-shirt. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

He kissed the corner of my mouth. “If you’re the prize fate bestowed on me after centuries of imprisonment, then I would say they were years well spent.”

“They should never have locked you up.” I threaded my fingers through his blond curls. “Not your two-faced sister, not the Supernatural Council, and not anyone else thinking of getting between us.”

He grunted his agreement and kissed the other corner of my mouth.

My breathing quickened, and the hunger for his lips on mine strained to the limit. Maybe it was the lingering effects of having recently been mated, but I needed Fenrir. Now.

Wriggling in his grip, I adjusted my legs so that he was no longer carrying me bridal style—they now wrapped around his hips, so my swollen clit was flush with the thick erection protruding from his jeans.

“Kiss me.” I raised my other hand to the side of his face and held him steady as I captured his lips.

With a growl, Fenrir took over with a kiss so forceful that all notions of me ever dominating him melted into the pool of liquid fire between my legs. He backed toward the wall and pinned me against the hard surface, all the while claiming my mouth with his eager tongue.

My heart thundered. My blood simmered. The muscles of my core clenched and unclenched with a yearning as burning as any heat. I bucked my hips within the confined space between the wall and his heavy body, grinding my clit against his erection and wishing there weren’t so many layers separating our bodies.

“Lydia,” he groaned into the kiss. “I missed you.”

“Being away from you was like losing my wolf,” I moaned. “Please. I don’t think I can wait.”

His fingers gripped my asscheeks through the fabric. “You want it against the wall?”

“Anything, as long as it’s now,” I said between panting breaths.

Fenrir reached beneath our joined bodies to unbutton his fly, and a thought drifted into my mind like a tumbleweed. I still needed to take a dream suppressant.

I placed both palms on his chest and broke away from the kiss. “Wait.”

His brow furrowed. “Lydia?”

“I’m being paranoid, but let’s order something from the Hatch.”

With a nod, he set me on my feet, and my heart sank at the loss of his heat. He guided me across the room, passing the bank of sofas arranged around the low coffee table, to the patch of wall with the oven-sized door.

“Madam Matrikas’ Magical Medicine again?” He opened the door.

A giggle bubbled up in my chest. “Are you going to order it?”

His turquoise eyes sparkled. “You think I’m incapable because I’m a millennia-old Viking who spent most of his life as a giant wolf?”

“Of course not.” I couldn’t help my grin.

Fenrir studied the screen of options and frowned. After several seconds, his features morphed into a full scowl.

I placed a hand on his broad back. “Having problems?”

“Reading English is bad enough, but all these pictures can mean anything,” he muttered.

“Madam Matrikas’ logo is a witch’s hat.”

Fenrir’s fingers hovered over the options before he pressed the correct icon. I talked him through the menus, smiling as he muttered complaints about newfangled technology.

I patted him on the back. “The Hatch beats waiting around for worshippers to burn the offerings you want.”

“Too bloody right.” He huffed a laugh. “I’ll take these screens over sifting through rabbits and stag carcasses in the pocket realm.”

After selecting a male contraceptive and a dream suppressant, he closed the door and gathered me in his arms. “I believe we were in the middle of something of vital importance.”

I wrapped my arms around his back and slid my hands over his tight glutes. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

With a growl and a kiss that made my toes curl, he leaned into me.

The Hatch pinged, making us both jump apart. He opened the door, took out the box, and extracted two glass vials. After eyeballing their labels, he handed me the smaller one.

He popped the cork of the larger one and tipped its contents into his mouth.

“Do you think the male contraceptives will work on a god?” I opened my dream suppressant.

“I won’t have you take two doses of the same elixir,” he growled.

After I gulped down a metallic-tasting elixir, Fenrir took my hand.

“Bedroom?” I asked. “We can save the wall for another time.”

He grinned, his gaze lingering on my nipples protruding through my white gown. “Once we’ve gotten this magical medicine out of the way, I’m going to fuck you like it’s the first day of your heat.”

Shivers traveled down my spine and settled between my legs, where they melted in the heat of my need. Fenrir guided me through the living area of our suite and into the bedroom.

Light flooded the space from the huge bay windows taking up the back wall. The room appeared even brighter with all the reflections from the silver-framed mirrors and the crystal accessories.

Fenrir carried me across the room, pressing kiss after kiss on my lips, and deposited me within the linen canopy of our four-poster bed.

He pulled off his t-shirt and stood at my side, revealing the sculpted muscles of his torso. Moonlight bathed his alabaster skin, accentuating the dips and contours of his broad chest.

My heart pounded hard enough to make my bones rattle as I realized this would be our first time making love since the heat. Without the threat of a biological process that would reduce my mind to mush if I didn’t mate. I raised my eyes back to his face and gulped.

Fenrir must have realized this too, because his eyes softened. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that such terrible circumstances brought me the perfect mate.”

“You really mean that?” I murmured.

He climbed on the bed and straddled my body. “You’re as fierce as any valkyrie and four times as loving.”

Warmth filled my heart. No matter how many times he declared his love, I could never get used to having someone who appreciated me as much as I appreciated him.

“You could have had any woman in this pack, yet you chose me.” I raised my head and captured his lips in a kiss. “Thank you.”

He drew back and stared down at me with furrowed brows. “Since I gained this human body, nobody has captured my attention but you. It’s just as I said the day I declared you as my mate.”

“The day you took my crown?” I grinned.

He had the decency to stiffen and stare at me through wide eyes for a heartbeat longer than usual. “I can admit now that it was a bastard move.”

I slid my hands over his broad chest, my fingers lingering over the hard plains of his pectoral muscles. “And I heard through the grapevine that you shagged the alpha out of me.”

His full lips split into a grin. “Well, I got there eventually.”

My hands slipped down his tight abs and to the waistband of his jeans. “The heat doesn’t count.” I popped open the first button. “Right now, I want you to show me how exactly a male can subdue a she-wolf with his dick.”

His chest rumbled with an approving growl. “With pleasure.”

His lips descended on mine in a kiss that made my toes curl, and all thoughts of Hell and the Supernatural Council faded away.

I grabbed him around the waist and closed the distance between us, needing the press of his strong body against mine. After being apart for so long, I yearned for more of his touch—I ached for our connection.

“You’re all I thought about,” he murmured into the kiss.

Drawing back, I stared into his turquoise eyes, my heart lurching. “No one’s ever going to tear us apart.”

“Never.” He trailed hot kisses down my neck, my jaw, my collarbone, and slipped his hand into my borrowed robe. “You are my mate.”

My breath caught.

Mate.

I would never get tired of Fenrir claiming me.

He cupped my breast in his large hand and rolled my nipple. His touch set me alight with an inferno that burned across my skin until it reached the juncture of my thighs. My folds became slick, and my core pulsed with the need to be filled.

Fenrir pulled the gown off my shoulders, laying me bare. “What happened to your clothes?”

“The council set up the trial at the last minute.” My entire body shivered as his kisses trailed down from my collarbone to my breast. “They got burned.”

“Bloody bastards,” he growled through panting breaths. “I knew they couldn’t be trusted.”

He lavished my nipple with his kisses, gentle nips, and flicking licks before engulfing it in his hot mouth.

With a moan, I threaded my fingers through his blond curls. “That feels so good.”

Fenrir hummed around his mouthful.

“Fuck,” I whispered. “I want you so much.”

He stared up at me, his eyes burning with blue flames, the heat of his passion making me melt. I whimpered, my hungry core no longer wanting to wait.

“Lie back,” he said in a voice as deep as sin. “I’m going to show you exactly how an alpha subdues his mate.”

Anticipation skittered down my spine as I sank into the mattress and let Fenrir take control. Warmth filled my chest, and molten heat filled my sex. In a short time, he had gone from a grumpy virgin to this masterful lover. And he was all mine.

He trailed a path of hot kisses down the underside of my breasts, over my ribs and belly and the curve of my hip bone. My fingers tightened around his silken hair. I needed him. Now.

Fenrir parted my legs, his eyes glazing as he stared at my slick folds. The pulse between my thighs pounded, and my clit swelled at the attention.

“You’re so wet for me,” he growled.

I licked my lips. “Always.”

“I don’t know if I should eat you or fuck you,” he growled.

“Both?” I said, my voice hopeful.

His deep chuckle made my skin tingle, and my nerves thrummed with giddy anticipation. “I want to fuck you all night.”

With both hands on my knees, he parted my legs and lowered his head between my thighs.

“Gorgeous pussy,” he growled, his hot breath warming my folds.

He pressed his lips on my slit, sending an explosion of tingles across my belly. My breath caught. Before I knew it, he ran his wet tongue up from my opening to my clit.

“You taste so fucking good.”

My muscles melted into the mattress, and I relaxed against the swirl of Fenrir’s tongue around my clit. Tendrils of pleasure circled out from my sensitive bundle of nerves around my core, my belly, my thighs. With these gentle touches, it seemed to reach every part of me.

I swallowed hard, my nipples tightening, my thighs trembling under his ministrations. Fenrir held me open as he lavished me with his talented mouth, alternating between flicking licks and up-and-down strokes that made my toes curl.

Sex with Fenrir outside my heat was less frantic, and without the burning urgency for him, I could focus on us—how much he meant to me as a lover, a best friend, and a celestial being I couldn’t believe was mine.

“Love you,” Fenrir growled between licks. “Love tasting you. Love how you shudder under my touch.”

My lips parted with a moan. Even the sound of his voice pushed me toward greater heights. I ran my fingers through his thick curls, crying, panting, trembling as the pleasure spiraled out of control.

“Fenrir,” I whispered. “I’m going to come.”

His approving growl pushed me over the edge.

Wave after wave of sensation crashed over my nerves, and powerful spasms seized my core with an intensity that made me open my mouth in a silent scream.

He lavished me with long, languid strokes through the climax, stretching it out until he’d extracted every ounce of pleasure from my body and left it a boneless puddle.

“Bloody hell,” I muttered, my eyes rolling to the back of my head. “That had to be the best yet.”

Fenrir pressed a gentle kiss on my inner thigh. “If I don’t fuck you right now—”

“Please,” I cried.

He growled. “It’s hard to tell what I love about you most. Your warrior spirit or your wanton sex drive.”

A giggle bubbled from my chest. “Fuck me and find out.”

Fenrir raised his head and stared up at me through laughing eyes. “All those centuries I imagined having a mate, I never pictured her as perfect for me as you.”

I reached down, wrapped my hands around his beautiful face, and pulled him up, so his upper body hovered over mine. “You’re more amazing than I could ever dream of.”

He pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “Thank you.”

“It should be me thanking you.” I trailed my fingers down the contours of his high cheekbones, over his strong jaw, and down his neck.

Even though I’d just climaxed, the scent and feel and weight of him above me heated my blood, and I wanted more. My hands scrambled down the contours of his muscled chest, down his tight abs, and reached the half-unbuttoned fly of his jeans.

With a pop-pop-pop of the buttons as I wrenched them open, I freed his erection.

Fenrir moaned. “Lydia.”

I wrapped my fingers around his hot length, and rubbed my thumb over the bulbous cock-head. “There’s one way we can thank each other.”

He positioned his blunt tip at my hungry opening, and I slid my hands around his back and eased the jeans off his hard ass. Fenrir entered me with a wickedly slow thrust and took his time stretching me open.

Lightning bolts of pleasure struck across my nerves and my muscles adjusted to his girth. I was so hot, so wet, so sensitive, and the glide was incredible. At that moment, I felt every ridge, every contour, every vein of that beautiful erection as he pushed into me.

“Open your eyes,” he said.

“Oh.” I’d been so consumed by the feel of his body that I hadn’t even noticed they were shut.

Meeting Fenrir’s gaze was like staring into an impossible future. An impossible future filled with love and family and pack. One where someone other than Mum loved me, where I was respected, wanted, part of something bigger than the life I’d had before the Wolf Moon Mixer.

Somehow, Fenrir communicated this with those incredible eyes. They weren’t just turquoise, but a blue as pale as the winter sky with violet striations and flecks of gold that gave them a hint of green. A thick band of indigo ringed the irises like they were a work of art. I sighed, feeling like I could lose myself in those orbs forever.

“Lydia.” His voice was like the breeze meandering through my mind.

I couldn’t tell if he’d said my name out loud or through our link, but he touched my soul with a caress I wanted to memorize for the rest of my days.

Once he sheathed himself in my tight channel, he paused to lavish me with a kiss so deep and claiming that my toes curled. I wrapped my arms around his neck and surrendered.

“You’re so perfect for me,”he said into the bond.

“Mmmm…” I hummed into the kiss.

“I want to stay inside you forever.”

My core clenched around his thick erection.

Fenrir’s groan reverberated through my mind. “What are you doing to me?”

“I could ask the same of you.”My fingers dug into the hard muscles of his shoulders.

Fenrir pulled back his hips, making me tighten around him, then he slid himself back into me, making sure to press against a sensitive spot.

Pleasure rushed through my core. I screamed into the kiss, my hips bucking, the muscles of my core spasming. “Fuck.”

With his tongue still devouring my mouth, he pushed in and out of me with even strokes, hitting that spot over and over, until my toes curled, and my eyes filled with tears.

I lay beneath him, powerless to do anything but take the sensations as he thrusted in and out of me with ruthless precision. As his movements quickened, and the kiss deepened, pleasure overwhelmed me, and my eyes fluttered shut.

“Keep them open,” he growled into my mind. “I want to see you come apart.”

Fenrir was everywhere. In my core, my mouth, my mind, my sight. He was on top of me, all over me… at that moment, he became my entire world.

My breaths turned shallow, and every nerve in my body pulled taut. I was so close to climax, and my body tensed with a sensation that teetered on a knife edge between pleasure and pain.

“We’re cumming together,” he said into our bond.

“I’m so close.”

“Me, too.”

The pleasure built and built until it became suffocating. Fenrir’s muscles tensed, and his movements became erratic. Just as he broke the kiss to roar his climax, something within me snapped, and I shattered into countless pieces.

Parts of me floated around him in a cloud of ecstasy, while the core of me lay beneath him, clenching, spasming, convulsing with the physical sensations of an intensely powerful orgasm.

Fenrir jerked his hips, filling me with liquid heat. The muscles of my core pumped him for more.

“You are bloody amazing.” His deep voice pulled me back together again.

I blinked and I stared into eyes that shone with love, admiration, and joy.

“Only because I’m with you.” I met his lips with a soft kiss.

We lay together on the mattress in a tangle of limbs, breathing hard, in sync with our racing hearts.

“If that’s how a man dominates a female alpha into submission, it’s no wonder she’d give up her title.” My eyelids grew heavy, and my words slurred.

Fenrir chuckled. “I’d give up immortality any day for your pussy.”

I raised a hand to pat him on the chest, but it flopped down to my side. “It’s a good thing I only want your heart.”

“It’s yours forever. Even after Ragnarök.”

“Forever,” I said through a yawn.

The next thing I knew, I was tumbling through the earth, except there were no soil or roots or stones to break my fall. This had to be another dream, but I’d made sure to drink every drop of that suppressant.

Darkness surrounded me on all sides to the point where I couldn’t see my hands or feet. I tilted forward and stared downward for signs of the giant stove Marchosias kept in his lair.

Nothing.

I gulped.

When would this end?

“Where are you?” Marchosias roared. “Show yourself!”

Cold sweat broke out across my skin. I continued falling, hoping that Madam Matrikas’ elixir would last the night.

Barks and snarls and howls echoed through my ears as I continued plummeting down, down, down to the center of the earth.

A chink of light appeared from below, and Marchosias roared with laughter. “I can smell your fear.”

My heart shattered.

If I didn’t think of a way to explain this to the primordial demon, he would carry out his threat to grind me into mincemeat.