Vindicated by Bella Klaus

Chapter Fourteen

“Lydia!” Fenrir’s panicked voice rang through my skull, coming both from inside the dreamscape and outside my head.

My eyes snapped open. Light flooded my retinas, making me squint. Fenrir stood over me, his features etched with concern. The ends of his gold hair shone like a halo, making me wonder for a moment if I’d been abducted into Heaven.

I pushed myself up to my elbows and glanced around the room. We were in the four-poster within the master suite, and from the strength of the sun, it looked like we had slept until mid-morning.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“You pulled me out of a dream,” I croaked.

“Marchosias again?”

I nodded and placed a hand over my chest. The vibrations of my heart reverberated against my palm, and I breathed hard to force my body to calm. It was over. I was awake. I could relax.

“The stuff in the Hatch isn’t as powerful as anything Mum can brew,” I murmured.

He pulled me into his arms. “I had no idea Sybil was such a powerful healer.”

“That’s part of it,” I murmured into his neck. “Mum is more talented than most of the people out there making a fortune healing others, but she’s also willing to take more risks.”

“Because the other women pushed her out of the profession?” he asked.

“Alpha Mundo’s skank of a mate told everyone Mum had syphilis, and she got stuck with a stupid nickname that stayed with her for years.”

“If anyone so much as disparages your mother—”

“They wouldn’t dare, now that no one’s protecting her bullies.” I leaned against Fenrir, taking comfort from his strong body.

“These demonic markings have to go. Now.”

“You’re right,” I said with a long sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’ll only send Grog after us.”

“By now, the angel wardmaster will have found all traces of the runestones Grog used to infiltrate Lunaris. As soon as Marchosias realizes that the Norse shaman is no longer of use, he’ll withdraw the magic animating his corpse.”

“I bloody well hope so.”

He drew back from the hug to cup my face. “Feeling better?”

I nodded. “It wasn’t so bad. The dream suppressant only half worked. He could sense my presence but couldn’t see or touch me.”

Fenrir grunted. “Should I call for Sybil or are you still furious with her for the stunt she pulled with your heat?”

My shoulders sagged. “I should go to the hospital, but I won’t give those bastards any satisfaction.”

“What do you want to do?” He sat on the bed, pulled me onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around me in a tight cocoon.

I relaxed against his broad chest and stared out of the window as I considered my options. The morning sun shone through tall trees that made up the forest around the alpha’s compound. Its light bounced on the flowering jasmine and filtered across the chamomile lawn.

None of the workers who usually tended to the gardens were around, but magpies frolicked through them, filling it with birdsong. I counted seven, which reminded me of the poem. Seven magpies meant the uncovering of a secret.

Three more joined them, making ten. Then another three. How did that poem end? Thirteen beware, it’s the Devil himself. A shudder ran down my spine, and I tore myself away from the window. Hopefully, it was a coincidence and not a portent.

Fenrir nuzzled my neck. “Lydia?”

“Huh?”

“We were talking about Marchosias’ markings.”

I nodded and focussed back on the present. “If I take up Professor Fizzil’s offer, I lose all the leverage I have against the Angel King and the rest of the council.”

“True,” he rumbled.

“If I ask Mum for help, then she might take that as a sign that she can meddle.”

“Hmmm…”

I drew back and met his eyes with a frown. “Do you disagree?”

“Sybil looked crushed when we reprimanded her.”

“Right?”

“And I understand why she would stoop to such desperate measures.”

My insides welled with frustration, and I sucked in a breath, ready to rant at the dangers of putting someone into a heat, when Fenrir placed a finger on my lips.

“Hear me out.”

I exhaled. “Go on, then,” I said around his finger. “But if Grog had gotten the upper hand for much longer—”

“Then the Supernatural Council would be the least of your problems.” He pulled back his finger.

“You were saying?” I relaxed against his chest and rested the back of my head on his shoulder.”

“Your mother loves you more than anything in this world.” His deep voice resounded against my back. “That’s something I can relate to.”

“All right,” I murmured.

“And I’m the only thing apart from Marchosias that can keep you alive.”

I stared at my lap, my mind drifting to the memory of seeing Mum cry over my corpse. It cut into me like a dagger to my heart. The sight of her sorrow had been worse than dying, worse than the reaper telling me my soul was bound for Hell.

“She didn’t want to lose me again,” I murmured.

He pulled me tighter into his upper body as though reacting to the thought of us being parted. “What she did to you was a betrayal and a terrible violation, but I understand that she was driven by a desperation to see you survive.”

I bowed my head and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make sense of my jumbled thoughts. “We have so many enemies. There’s Marchosias, the Supernatural Council, Queen Hel and all her demons—”

“Sybil was wrong, but we need her strength.”

All the air left my lungs in an outward breath. “I love her so much, but she went too far.”

“She did.”

“But I need the Angel King and those like him to think I’m still capable of unleashing Marchosias.”

“At least until we deal with Hel’s next move.”

I twisted around to meet his solemn gaze. “You think she’ll attack?”

“That woman sees me as nothing but the family pet.”

My jaw tightened. “We’ll pay her back for every injury and insult she dished out over the past two thousand years.”

“But in the meantime, we need to sever your connection with Marchosias.”

“All right.” I gave him a shaky nod. “The hospital will have mocked up a holograph of my alternative form with all the markings. I can demand my records and ask Mum to remove them.”

He cupped my cheeks. “Your beast is still hibernating.”

“She woke up long enough to protect me from Grog, but her wing bone felt like it was on fire.”

His gaze dropped to the arm I’d broken during the battle with the demons. “If you shift, I’ll fix her wounds.”

“All right.” I leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his lips. “But let’s get those files.”

Fenrir nodded.

An idea tumbled to the forefront of my mind. “If Hel is going to attack again, we need you at full strength.”

He tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“How can I free your wolf?”

Fenrir reared back. “You can’t.”

My lips parted. “Why are you flinching?”

“I can’t subject you to that. Not while Hel is on the verge of attacking.”

I shook my head, my mind riffling through everything I knew about Fenrir’s imprisonment. Beneath his skin lay tattoos of chains, which I’d once seen manifested as physical restraints attached to the walls of his hut. It had taken a while, but I had freed him, only for those chains to recede back into his skin.

Fenrir turned his head to the side, unable to look me in the eyes.

“Please, talk to me.” I placed my hand on his cheek, but he pulled back.

“Don’t ask.” Fenrir slid me off his lap, rose off the bed, and walked toward the bathroom.

I stared at his broad back, my mouth opening and closing but unable to produce any words. This wasn’t like Fenrir. He was a ranter, not a walker. My throat thickened. Whatever he was trying to hide had to be awful.

Drawing in a deep breath through my nostrils, I swung my legs off the bed and padded across the bedroom. Fenrir disappeared through the door, letting it fall shut with a gentle click. I pursed my lips and pulled down the handle, and stepped inside.

My ears filled with the roar of the shower. Sunlight streaming in through the wall of windows bathed the marble floors and walls in yellow light.

If only he wasn’t being so cryptic, we could relax in the huge bathtub and gaze out into the rose gardens before the next round of trouble started. But he was already standing beneath the shower, his hair soaked, his body glistening.

“Fenrir, I—”

“Don’t.” He raised a hand.

I gaped. “How can you defeat your sister if you’re operating at a fraction of your strength?”

“Drop the subject,” he snarled.

“No.” I stepped under the hot spray and placed both hands on his shoulders, trying to turn him around.

Fenrir was too strong, too heavy, too determined not to meet my eye. With an aggravated huff, I walked around his larger body and stood in front of him.

“What are you hiding?” I gave him a rap on the chest.

“Nothing.” He reached for the shower gel and shoved it into my hand.

“Oh, no you don’t.” I tossed the bottle aside.

“Lydia,” he growled.

“Don’t try to distract me with the prospect of rubbing foam over your body.”

He huffed. “Between my twin betas, Sybil and her team of shamans, and Randel and his enforcers, we’ll hold back anything she throws at us.”

“You’re forgetting one thing,” I snapped.

“What?” he snarled.

“Your sister rules the Sixth Faction of Hell.”

His jaw tightened. “I was the one who told you that.”

“Well, did you know the Sixth Faction isn’t a village like Lunaris? It governs all the souls in Europe that ever got consigned to Hell.”

“Of course,” he growled.

“I think you realize that populations have multiplied since prehistory,” I said. “The modern world now contains nearly eight billion people. I have no idea how many human souls dwell in the Sixth Faction, but they’re going to need more than a few hundred demons to manage them.”

Fenrir bared his teeth. “What is your point?”

“Hel can overwhelm us with her people at any moment,” I said. “Even with one percent of the demons at her command.”

“And?” Some of his defensiveness melted under the shower’s hot spray, and his muscles became less taut.

I exhaled a long breath. “It’s nice that you want to keep me safe, but I won’t let it happen at the cost of the people we swore to protect.”

His shoulders sagged, and he turned his head away from me again. This seemed to happen whenever we got close to the subject of freeing his wolf.

An ache formed in my heart. Fenrir had told me his wolf was twenty times the size of other lupines. Was that what he was concerned about? That I wouldn’t want to continue mating with something so colossal? I leaned against his front and wrapped both arms around his middle.

The shower roared above us, cascading warm water on our heads and heating our bodies. I rubbed slow circles over his back and peppered his neck with kisses.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” I murmured. “We’re mates. Whatever it is, we can work through it together.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

I drew back and met his sad eyes. “Fenrir.”

He threaded his thick fingers through my hair. “I love you too much to subject you to something like that again.”

My heart skipped. “What?”

“It’s inside me.”

I leaned forward, my eyes widening.

“The chains you once saw.” He swallowed. “The ones you broke free with the hammer. They go deeper than my skin.”

Chills spread across my skin, even though the water kept my insides warm. “What are you talking about?”

Fenrir inhaled a deep breath. “Hel tethered my wolf to a rock in the center of Midgard.”

“The realm you swallowed when the Tree of Life fell apart?” I asked. “How on earth did that work?”

“I don’t know.” He bowed his head. “After consuming it, I fell unconscious. It’s hard to tell how much time passed, but I was human when I awoke, and in chains.”

“Bloody hell,” I muttered. “And what happens if you spit out Midgard?”

“She dared me to do it one time and said I would lose my human exterior.”

“And revert back to the giant wolf?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t even make sense. You were a wolf when you swallowed Midgard. Shouldn’t it be inside your wolf?”

“Hel is a goddess,” he rasped. “A wicked, twisted, spiteful creature with two faces, but she still holds the power of creation. With so much at her disposal, it wasn’t difficult for her to rearrange things so that my wolf was the one trapped inside Midgard.”

I rested my head against his neck and blew out a breath. “This is a mind-twister.”

“That’s one way of describing it.” He wrapped an arm around my back and slid his hand down the curve of my ass.

“Why would you think I couldn’t know how she made you a human body?” I asked.

Fenrir fell silent again.

My heart dropped. That account he’d told me of how Hel had fashioned him out of Midgard wasn’t the thing he’d tried to hide. “Did you just try to distract me?”

His hand stilled. “It was true.”

I bowed my head.

“What’s wrong?”

“If you can’t share this information with your mate, then there’s no point in sticking around.” I stepped out of the shower, plucked the smaller of the fluffy robes from the wall and placed it over my shoulders.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To follow through on my plan to get my hospital notes,” I said with a sigh. “Mum’s helping me to remove the marks, and I wish you’d let me help you.”

His shoulders sagged. “Don’t ask…”

I pulled the edges of my bathrobe together and stepped out into the bedroom. My shoulders sagged, and I scrubbed a hand through my hair. Fenrir could be so mule-headed. What could possibly be so dangerous about saving his wolf?

Sunlight streamed in through the window, accompanied by the scent of freshly cut grass and flowers in bloom. I inhaled a deep breath, letting the spring air calm my senses.

The bathroom door behind me opened with a creak.

“Lydia?”

“Yes?”

He wrapped his arms around my back. “I want to share everything with you.”

“Except how to free your wolf,” I muttered.

He rested his head on my shoulder and sighed. “I’m hesitating because I know you.”

My eyes narrowed, and the corners of my mouth tightened. “You think I’ll do something reckless?”

“Yes.”

I turned my head to the side and shot him my filthiest glower. “Are you referring to the time I disobeyed your command to stay in my room when those demons invaded the compound?”

Fenrir stilled.

I whirled around, my eyes flashing. “You know what would have happened to everyone if I hadn’t been there with my flames.”

“Lydia,” he said with a weary sigh. “I was wrong, and I admitted that.”

“Right.” I gave him a sharp nod.

“But this is different.”

“How?”

His lips tightened.

The frustration built inside me like a pressure cooker. My nostrils flared. Why was he still being overprotective? “Fenrir, if you don’t tell me—”

“You would have to die,” he blurted.

All the bluster left me in an instant. “You’re joking.”

“My wolf is in Midgard. The only people who go there now are the dead.”

Realization trickled through my wet skull. When Fenrir had extracted my soul from my body, he told me my wolf was in his lands. He’d also explained that I would have a place there after completing my end of the bargain. And after branding Dolph’s soul, he explained that Dolph and his wolf would dwell there when he died.

I swallowed, breathing hard through the pulse fluttering painfully in my throat. “But I’m already dead.”

“You’re not,” he murmured. “Each time you died, my magic brought you back to life. You’re not a walking corpse.”

My gaze flicked up to his eyes, which shone like turquoise pools. “So, if you pulled out my soul and took me to Midgard—”

“I could never do that.”

“Why not, when it would release your wolf?”

His nostrils flared. “Did you just hear what you said?”

I flinched. “What?”

“You asked me to kill you.”

“But you’d bring me back to life.”

With a growl that made every fine hair on my body stand on end, Fenrir turned on his heel and stormed toward the dressing room.

I ran trembling fingers through my hair, trying to make sense of why he was so upset. It couldn’t have been at the prospect of my death because his magic always brought me back to life. My posture sagged. After everything he’d told me earlier, I hadn’t considered that letting me into Midgard meant he would have to bring about my death.

“That was insensitive,” I muttered under my breath.

He’d mentioned earlier that he didn’t want me wandering around Midgard in case Hel attacked the village. That was because anything could happen to my dead body while it wasn’t animated by my soul.

My gaze darted to the closed dressing room door. I wanted to go after Fenrir and tell him that I finally understood, but he probably needed a bit of space to brood. Instead, I walked to the Hatch and pulled open the door.

After sifting through a range of options, I found the one for the hospital in the Supernatural Headquarters. My finger hovered over the button to make an appointment but dropped down to the option to order my hospital files. I clicked the confirm button, shut the door, and waited.

Fenrir stepped out of the dressing room, clad in a pair of dark jeans that accentuated his muscular thighs. “I’ve summoned your mother.”

“Thanks.” I crossed the room, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and gave him a tight hug.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“I’m an idiot.”

His chest vibrated with a laugh. “It takes a brave woman to admit her shortcomings.”

“Oh, shut up.” I gave him a swat on the ass.

Fenrir growled. “Are you angling for another spanking?”

The pulse between my legs pounded at the prospect of going over his knee, but I squeezed my thighs together and resisted the urge to say yes. This was serious, and I had to let Fenrir know I was sorry.

“Listen.” I drew back and looked him full in the face.

Some of the amusement drained from his features, leaving a still mask I could only describe as guarded.

“You don’t want to kill me to save yourself,” I murmured. “I get it.”

He nodded. “I’m content to live out my days without bringing out my wolf.”

“Because he scared away others of his kind?” I asked.

“Even the most alpha of lupines would cower at my beast. We’ll work on another way to access the rest of my power that doesn’t threaten my ability to remain human.”

“You’re right.” I rocked forward onto my tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheekbone. “But next time something comes up, tell me? I hate surprises.”

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. “No more unannounced visits to accursed caves.”

“Yes,” I muttered into his chest. “That sort of thing.”

We stood together for several heartbeats, basking in the warmth of each other’s bodies. Fenrir didn’t seem to mind that my hair was still wet from the shower and dripping water over his shirt, and I didn’t have the heart to draw back.

It was nice to have time alone with him when no one was attacking us and I wasn’t under the influence of nefarious concoctions. Even though Hel was guaranteed to launch an attack any moment, it was still important to savor these brief instants of peace.

A knock sounded on the door.

My heart plummeted to my knees. “No.”

He rubbed a gentle circle on my back. “We need Sybil,” he murmured into my wet hair. “This connection with Marchosias has to go.”

“You’re right.” I drew back and exhaled a long, weary breath. “If I leave it any longer, he might redouble his attack and break through.”

He cradled the back of my neck, pressed a kiss between my brow, and walked us out of the bedroom into the living area.

It looked so comfortable this time of the morning, with the light reflecting on the crystal chandeliers and trickling down to the plush, oatmeal-colored sofas.

Since Fenrir had become corporeal, it had been one thing after another, and we hadn’t yet gotten the chance to enjoy our luxurious surroundings. I made a mental note for us to explore this house and the grounds together… if we ever vanquished our enemies.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Mum appeared, wearing a circlet of bones. A necklace of quartz crystals hung over her linen smock, and as she stepped inside, her bracelets clinked like wind chimes.

She bowed her head, still looking contrite from the last time we were all together. “Alpha? Minos told me about your victory in court. Congratulations.”

“Come inside, Mum,” I said.

She shuffled into the room with her hands clasped around the handle of the battered leather bag she took for home visits.

I turned to Fenrir and sighed. Mum hadn’t looked so cowed when I was in the hospital. She had to be intimidated by his presence. I gave him a nudge, urging him to speak.

“We haven’t forgotten what you did with the heat elixir, but we need your help.”

Mum’s head snapped up. “Is everything all right?”

“It’s Marchosias.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “He tried to get to me last night.”

She placed a trembling hand on her chest and pressed her lips together. “Are you hurt?”

“Just a little shaken,” I murmured. “I need to have those marks removed, but I don’t want the Supernatural Council to know I’ve done it.”

“Because of the political machinations?” she asked.

I raised a shoulder. “You know what they’re like.”

“Actually, I do.” She placed her leather bag on the floor and pulled up her sleeves. “Would you like me to remove them?”

“I’ve ordered my hospital records from the Hatch,” I said with a brief nod.

“Leave it with me.” Mum crossed the room, opened the little door, and extracted a manilla folder. Muttering to herself, she flipped through the pages and stopped. “The cheeky buggers.”

My eyes widened. “What did you find?”

“While you were unconscious, they did a paternity test.”

“No.” I stepped out of Fenrir’s embrace and crossed the room to where Mum stood by the table in front of the Hatch. “What does it say?”

“It looks like they were trying to establish whether any part of you was a being of primordial evil.”

I scanned the test results, which were more like a page of arithmetic equations. “Where’s the bit that says who my father is?”

Mum pointed at two highlighted rows. “That’s where they tested your DNA against mine and your dad’s.”

“It says a hundred percent,” I murmured.

“Of course it does,” she said, her features tightening. “You look so much like him that it breaks my heart.”

My mind drifted to the row of portraits on the top floor, and I inhaled a sharp breath. All that talk of deals with primordial demons had messed with my head. “And what about my wolf?”

“She only wields Marchosias’ power.” Mum flipped the page to a report of written results and pointed at the words, ‘Soul Resonance: wolf shifter.’

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Fenrir wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I said neither you nor your beast were beings of primordial evil, and this report confirms it.”

Mum nodded. “Any idiot could have told you that. These extensive tests were completely unnecessary.”

My jaw clenched. “That public arrest and the shard of light. How much do you want to bet that the Angel King set it up so I would go berserk, get knocked out, and end up subject to all those tests?”

“I would never have agreed to any healer authorized by those bastards,” Fenrir growled.

“That’s Council politics for you.” Mum flipped the pages and yanked out a piece of silver foil.

“What’s that?” I asked.

She gave it a shake, and it broke into several iridescent pieces of light that reformed in front of us into a replica of my wolf. It was perfect, from the hairless face to the yellow eyes to the flames curling from between her needle-sharp teeth.

“This is the holograph they must have set up based on the forensic photos,” she said.

I gaped at the gouges over her leathery wings from where Marchosias had picked me up and tossed me out of Hell. Interspersed with them were a pattern of uneven dots that glowed an eerie red.

My jaw dropped. “I hadn’t expected Marchosias’ marks to be so extensive.”

“Me neither,” Mum said with a sigh. “The smaller ones match the forensic photos, but the larger marks run deep.”

I turned to her and frowned. “Is anything the matter?”

She shook her head. “Thank goodness it’s a Saturday, because I’m going to need every trainee shaman to extract that power without tearing you apart.”