Vindicated by Bella Klaus

Chapter Six

Iliked sex. Hell, I loved it, especially when I sat atop a handsome, naked god who stared at me through eyes that burned with desire. But after days of this frenzy, I was ready for it to end. Marchosias was still out there, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-determined to use me as a means to inhabit the earth.

Fenrir bucked his hips, his hard shaft brushing against my clit. All concerns of our enemies burned to ash and drifted across the bedroom.

I raised my hips, letting him slide into me with a slow thrust. Resting my weight on my knees and forearms, I lavished Fenrir with kisses while he thrust into me from below.

“What do you think?” he said into the kiss. “Are you still in heat?”

I squeezed my muscles around his girth, making him shiver. “This feels different. Still nice, but the fog around my head has lifted.”

“And the pain?” He grabbed my hips and thrust harder.

A burst of pleasure detonated through my insides, but there was no searing heat. “Gone, I think.”

“Good.” Fenrir held me in place and thrusted in and out of me at a faster pace.

My climax hit like crashing waves that swept over my senses and washed away the last vestiges of my heat. I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you for taking care of me, but we need to safeguard the village, our pack, and our future.”

He gave me a firm nod. “And I’m going to have a word with your mother.”

My lips tightened, and the irritation I’d felt before the heat struck rose to the surface. “Yes,” I growled. “She chose a shitty time to meddle.”

“She shouldn’t have drugged you at all,” Fenrir snarled.

“You’re right.” I slid off his larger body, rolled off the bed and strode across the room to a table by the wall positioned below the Hatch.

“Hungry?” he asked.

I opened the door, scrolled through the options, and found Madam Matrikas’ Magical Medicine. “Just taking precautions.”

Fenrir walked behind me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “What’s this?”

Eight images were displayed on the screen, each representing different options the witch had designed for women. I turned to meet Fenrir’s concerned gaze.

“Shifters get pregnant during their heats, right?”

He pressed a kiss on my temple. “Heats are so rare among shifters, but it can happen during a first time.”

“This is to make sure it doesn’t.” I turned back to the screen. My fingers hovered over the image that looked like a stop sign. “This is the strongest magical contraceptive she makes, and it lasts a year.”

Fenrir rubbed his chin. “It won’t take that long to resolve the Marchosias problem, but I’m happy to wait for pups.”

After selecting the option and closing the door, I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You want children with me?”

Fenrir met my eyes with an intensity that made my heart clench. His eyes softened, and he ran a hand down the side of my face, sending ripples of pleasure across my skin. “When I pictured my perfect life, it was with a feisty mate and a collection of sons and daughters.”

Warmth filled my heart, loosening the muscles of my chest. My mind filled with images of little boys and girls with blond curls. I sucked in a deep breath and hoped fate would allow us this happiness.

The ping of the Hatch door broke the spell.

“One second.” I opened it and extracted a brown bottle with the Madam Matrikas label, popped its cork, and downed the bitter contents.

Fenrir placed a comforting hand on the small of my back and stared down at me, his features grave, his turquoise eyes shimmering with sympathy.

“Do you worry about having children with wolves like mine?” I murmured.

He grinned. “Flying, fire-breathing beasts who can stand up to bullies?”

A laugh bubbled up from my chest. “I’m serious. Marchosias told me that my wolf was part of his soul.”

“Bullshit.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “I know your beast as well as I know you. She’s as sweet and as playful and as loving as the best of she-wolves.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I leaned against his strong body, and wrapped an arm around his back. “You’re right. He was just trying to mess with my head.”

Fenrir walked me to the bathroom. “Let’s get cleaned up. It’s time to meet with the rest of the pack.”

Instead of going to the upstairs study where Beowulf used to hold court, Fenrir walked us to the downstairs receiving room where he had met with Dolph before branding his soul.

The afternoon sun streamed through the patio doors, filling the space with daylight. We walked across the wooden floors, passing the grand piano on the right side of the room, and settled on the leather sofa in front of the unlit fireplace.

One of the new staff members Mr. Owen had employed brought a tray laden with tea, coffee, and hot chocolate, along with the kind of afternoon tea I used to serve to guests when I was a member of the omega work crew.

Whoever had prepared this had known it was going to the alpha. It was served on a three-tiered white china plate but without the usual cakes and scones and clotted cream. It consisted of small hotdogs, mini burgers, Scotch eggs, and chicken strips in a light batter. At the bottom were Cornish pasties and slices of pork pie.

My mouth watered. Days of frantic sex with my mate had revved up my appetite, and I was looking forward to gorging myself on these snacks.

After settling it on the mahogany coffee table, he returned with a jug of iced lemonade.

Fenrir grabbed a burger and bit it in half. “How are you feeling?”

“A little achy but otherwise fine.”

The corner of his lips curled into a smile. “I had no idea a woman as small as you could take such a pummeling.”

I bumped him on the shoulder. “How could you ever describe me as small when I’m taller than most of the women in the pack?”

With a chuckle, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Everything about you is perfect.”

I reached for a mini hotdog and took a large bite. “It’s good that the village ran itself while we were busy.”

He grunted. “Thanks to Randel and Philip Owen. They took charge and carried out my orders to perfection.”

“And the twins?” I chewed on my mouthful and dipped the rest of my hotdog in a bowl of ketchup.

“They’re good lads.” Fenrir grinned. “Rough around the edges and still learning.”

I shook my head and smiled. Fenrir had this idea that they’d one day be able to combine and form a giant wolf. Perhaps he wanted someone as a companion for his alternate self.

Something Fenrir had told me earlier trickled through my skull. “How are we going to free your wolf so you can shift?”

A knock sounded on the door. Mum stood at the threshold with her hands clasped to her chest, her eyes wide and uncertain. She’d braided her blonde hair in a messy bun and woven it with chicken feathers, and wore an oversized necklace of bones atop a white linen smock. Her gaze darted around the room before settling on Fenrir and me.

“How did it go?” she whispered.

“Come inside, Sybil,” Fenrir growled.

Licking her lips, she took a tentative step into the room before walking inside and perching on the armchair. Some of the confidence she’d displayed since moving back to the home eroded, replaced with the stooped posture of the downtrodden woman from my childhood.

My jaw clenched. Mum must have known the consequences of dosing me with that heat elixir. She knew we were surrounded by enemies who could have taken advantage of my weakened state, yet she had chosen to take the risk anyway.

Fenrir turned to me, his features held in a tight mask of control. “Lydia, would you like to start?”

I gave him a grateful nod and cast my gaze at Mum, who visibly relaxed. Perhaps she thought I would be soft on her now that Fenrir had allowed me to take charge.

“Mum,” I said with a long sigh. “You’ve supported me my entire life, and I’m grateful for that, but you slipped me something harmful after I expressly told you not to interfere with my relationship.”

“I did it for you.” She shot Fenrir a furtive glance. “Without his magic, you’d be dead.”

“What made you think I would allow Lydia to die?” he growled.

Mum flinched. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Mum,” I snapped. “You never act without a reason.”

She bowed her head. “You don’t hear what the other women say behind our backs. They all know Beowulf was your fated mate, yet he allowed you to die.”

“They’re blaming Lydia?” He growled.

“Half of those bitches are waiting for you to see what Beowulf saw in her. The other half are waiting for you to reject her wolf.”

I shook my head. “That’s no reason to drug me.”

“All I could see was losing you again.” She raised her head and spread her arms wide. “And I’d be no better than I was after Mondo’s attack. If keeping everything precious to me meant pushing you together, then it was worth the lies.”

“You must have heard that Grog snuck into the house and tried to attack me. What if he had managed to subdue Fenrir?” I said.

Her shoulders sagged. “I had no idea he could ever reach you.”

My skin tightened. “And Marchosias? I told you he tracked me down. Did it occur to you that I would need to be in control of my faculties?”

Mum shrank into herself. “Lydia, I—”

“What were you thinking?” Fenrir growled.

She shook her head from side to side. “That I needed to keep my daughter alive and in your favor.”

“Do you know what would have happened to me if I got pregnant with a child that contained his soul?” I asked.

Mum stilled and stared at me through wide eyes that glistened with tears.

“The power would have killed me,” I said.

She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. “Forgive me, Lydia. I wasn’t thinking straight. After seeing them slit your throat, something inside me snapped.”

An ache formed in my heart, which spread across my chest and to the back of my throat. Every fiber of my being yearned to give her comfort. It took every ounce of effort not to rise off the sofa and wrap my arms around her thin shoulders.

I understood why she had acted. Mum had seen Dad die, and she had also lost me before I was born. Losing me twice had made her abandon hope, and she hadn’t wanted to wait for my relationship with Fenrir to unfold.

Pushing down a surge of sympathy, I shook off that thought and focused on what could have gone wrong. If I continued making excuses for Mum, her next action of desperation might get us all condemned.

“No more meddling,” I said.

“No more.” She shook her head, her lips trembling as she cried.

I straightened in my seat. “From now on, I’m going to use a healer from the hospital.”

Mum raised her head, the whites of her eyes showing. “But—”

“I can’t trust anyone who can feed me an elixir that causes me agony and pretend that it’s due to women’s problems.”

“But…” Her chin wobbled. “But who else could take better care of your health? I’m your mother.”

“You are,” Fenrir snarled. “And that’s the only reason you’re not getting whipped or banished or executed.”

My stomach somersaulted as it usually did whenever Mum was in peril, but I held my tongue. She wasn’t as fragile as I’d always thought. She had a secretive and unscrupulous side to her personality that I’d excused as a survival instinct.

Until she used it to put my health under threat.

“What are you going to do to me?” her voice became hoarse, and she clasped her hands to her chest.

“You are hereby stripped of the role of alpha female,” Fenrir said, sounding much calmer.

Her mouth dropped open. “But—”

“No,” he growled. “Lydia is my bonded mate, and she will take on the duties of alpha female and manage our staff. I expect you to help make the transition.”

She gave Fenrir a shaky nod. “And my role as the village shaman?”

“We are at war, and you’re the most adept at magic among my wolves,” he said. “But once we’ve dealt with Marchosias and the Queen of the Sixth Faction of Hell, I will review your position.”

Her face fell, and her shoulders drooped. She turned to me, her features stricken, and the sight of her pain sliced through my chest.

Swallowing hard, I hardened my heart. “What you did was wrong, Mum. As the alpha female of this pack, I can’t allow anyone to get away with undermining its safety.”

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.

“If demons had gotten through the wards, how many innocent people would have died with the pack’s two best fighters locked in a room?” I asked.

Her breathing became ragged. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“I am disappointed that you would put your needs before everyone else’s,” Fenrir said.

Mum buried her face in her hand, her shoulders shaking with sobs. My throat thickened, but I forced myself not to raise a word in her defense. This wasn’t anything like the situations where someone would bully her for trying to solicit healing clients in the village square. She really had put all of us in danger.

“I’ll do better, I promise,” she said.

“Are you still taking rhododendron pollen?” I asked.

She raised her head and stared at me through red-rimmed eyes. “Only at night, and it’s the only way I get to see the portents.”

My lips thinned. “You need to stop, since that’s what’s leading you to make reckless decisions.”

“I will.” Her gaze jumped to Fenrir. “Will I need to move back to Nivalis Row?”

A tight fist of alarm clutched at my heart as I waited for his answer, and I placed a hand on his lap. Mum had been wrong to dose me with that elixir, but she wouldn’t survive leaving her home for a second time.

Fenrir gazed down at her, his eyes softening. Perhaps he noticed how much the thought of her being cast out had made me nervous. Perhaps he’d become fond of Mum for being such a survivor. Whatever the reason was, he shook his head.

“You’re on your final warning,” he said in the same gentle tone he’d used with my wolf. “Any more interfering and I will banish you from this building.”

“I won’t interfere.” She slid off the armchair and onto her knees. “Thank you, Alpha, for being so compassionate.”

“Get up, Mum,” I said.

She scrambled to her feet and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “I won’t forget this.” She bobbed into an awkward curtsey. “And I will never betray you or Lydia again.”

“Dismissed,” Fenrir said with a sigh.

Mum turned to me with a trembling smile before scuttling toward the exit.

“Wait,” I said.

She paused at the door, her eyes brimming with hope. “Yes, Lydia?”

“Marchosias told me Grog left twelve runestones across the house. Could you organize a magical sweep and arrange for the objects to be moved out of the wards?”

She inclined her head. “Where should I put them?”

“Outside the village and behind secure wards,” Fenrir said with a growl. “If Grog or anyone else uses them to infiltrate Lunaris, I want them trapped.”

“Of course.” Her gaze lingered on me. “Is there anything else?”

I nodded. “The mahogany headboard in the room we used to occupy sometimes shows me a carving of a wolf. Other times, it's just symbols and swirly patterns. It all depends on how the sun falls on the wood.”

Mum rubbed her chin, all traces of sorrow fading as her brows furrowed with curiosity. “I’ll arrange for etchings and a twenty-four-hour recording.”

She disappeared down the hallway, and I waited for her footsteps to fade before exhaling my relief.

“Thanks for not banishing her.” I squeezed Fenrir’s thigh.

He shook his head. “I could never separate you from the bond you share with your mother.”

I pecked him on the lips. “And thank you for understanding. Other gods might have just struck her down.”

Fenrir wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a tight hug. All the tension drained from me in an instant, and I rested against his strong body. “Family connections mean everything to me,” he murmured into my hair. “I wouldn’t toss her out for making a stupid mistake. Besides, she’s a very talented shaman.”

Another knock sounded on the door. As we parted to see who was there, Mr. Owen hovered outside in the hallway, clutching a pile of papers to his chest.

“My apologies for the interruption, but the admin has been mounting up with all the upheaval.”

Fenrir beckoned him inside.

As he walked across the room, he offered me a warm smile. “Queen Mera from the Supernatural Council dropped by the office a few times to ask about you, but we said you were occupied with pack business.”

I sat straighter. “Did she say what she wanted?”

He lowered himself into the armchair Mum had occupied and balanced his stack of papers on his lap. “They’re trying to arrange a Council meeting, but I got the impression she was just trying to be friendly.”

Fenrir turned to me, his brows raised. “She’ll be a good one to warn about the upcoming threat of Marchosias.”

I gulped down a mouthful of tea, grabbed a pair of mini burgers, and rose from the sofa. “While you two catch up on admin, I’ll call Mera and see if she and the Council can do something about your sister, too.”

Biting down on my burger, I headed to the other side of the room, where a landline phone sat atop a table. Most of the Supernatural Council members were dicks, but they wouldn’t ignore potential invaders from Hell.

Right?