Everybody Wants to Rune the World: A Happily Everlasting World Novel (Bewitchingly Ever After Book 2)

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Want me to let that hang there, too?” asked Morgan. “I’m not sure how much denial I should let you live in. Luc does enough for the both of you.”

  Sigmund glanced at the devil, who was taking an odd interest in staring outside and not at him. “Something you want to share with the group?”

  “Not especially,” said Luc. “What’s this about you in a robe that was pink?”

  “Pink with polka-dots,” added Morgan, laughing as she did.

  “Sorry I missed that,” said Luc.

  Furfur ran through the room once more, chasing another ray of light that reflected off the mirror.

  Morgan groaned. “That dog cannot have caffeine.”

  “So I’m noticing,” replied Sigmund. “Guess I should try Walden’s cell again. See if the call goes through. Then I need to get ready to head down to the station.”

  Luc glanced behind them, and Sigmund suspected the devil was looking at Morgan—that he could see her whether she showed herself or not. “He’s going to turn himself in for murder.”

  “Oh, who did you kill? Anyone I know?” she asked like it was no big deal.

  Sigmund rubbed the bridge of his nose. “At some point, I fell down a rabbit hole of weird.”

  “Bails, do me a favor and hold off on turning yourself in just yet,” said Luc. “Walden knows where to find you if he needs you. No one thinks you’ll run off. In the meantime, handle the coin issue—and I don’t mean give it back to Blackbeard. Go to Virginia.”

  “She saw me in kraken form,” said Sigmund in a hushed tone. “I don’t know that I can look her in the face.”

  “Oh, well, then it should be just like normal,” added Morgan, making the devil laugh.

  Sigmund closed his eyes briefly. “The first time I saw her, everything around me faded away for a few moments. I stopped dwelling on what I’d done and all I could think about was her.”

  “Then you let your head take over again and it went and mucked things up,” said Luc evenly. “I swear, alpha males really do need Fate to intervene. If it was left up to you lot, supernaturals would die out because none of you seem to be any good with mating even when your mate is put right in front of you.”

  Sigmund opened his mouth to counter that statement, only to realize it was true. He grunted. Hugh had certainly made a mess of things when he’d met his mate, Penelope. They’d met when she’d hit him with her car, and he’d stuck his foot in his mouth.

  Totally a Hugh thing to do.

  Curt had managed to get cursed more than once when it came to meeting his. And from what Sigmund had been told, Jake had an equally difficult time when he’d met his mate.

  It seemed to be a common pattern.

  Clearly, Sigmund was holding true to form.

  Luc laughed. “You’ve done better than most. You at least understood who she was to you the second you saw her. But you didn’t tell her. In fact, if I’m right, you’ve said a handful of words to her in the entire length of time you’ve been here. And you avoid her every chance you get.”

  “You know why I do,” said Sigmund.

  “Because you really think you’re unworthy of her,” answered Luc. “That you’ll hurt her.”

  “I thought I had a handle on my shifter side,” said Sigmund, his chest tightening. “That I was nearing the end of the battle with it. But last night says I’m no closer to being in control than I was when I came here.”

  “Really? You didn’t rip her into the water with you in an attempt to protect her. I’d say that is serious progress, seeing as how you did just that to Hugh.”

  Sigmund cringed.

  Luc snorted. “Looking back, it’s a little funny.”

  “You have a warped sense of humor,” said Sigmund.

  “This surprises you? I’m the devil. Did you think Dad jokes were my thing?”

  Sigmund snorted. “No.”

  “They kind of are his thing,” said Morgan. “There are times he makes the lamest jokes ever.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What are you going to do about the coin?” asked Luc, after flashing a smile in the direction Sigmund guessed Morgan to be.

  “Why am I just getting a coin now, when Curt got his coins the morning after Marie-Claire cast the spell?” questioned Sig. “Why would it take seven months for one to appear to me?”

  It was just one more thing that had bothered him since waking to find himself holding the object.

  “Because clearly the time has come for things to progress to the next level.” Luc sipped his coffee again. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

  Sigmund took a deep breath and thought more on it, not that it wasn’t all he’d thought about since coming to with the coin in his hand. His jaw set as he held tight to his emotions. “I’m going to give the coin back to Blackbeard.”

  “So that a death note finds its way to you?” asked Luc.

  “I’m dangerous, Luc. What if last night had gone differently with Virginia? What if I’d hurt her in kraken form? What if I’m the one responsible for the dead body they found yesterday morning? What if I killed someone else last night?”

  “What if I didn’t have daddy issues?” asked Luc, making Sigmund laugh through his worry.

  He thought more on it. “I can’t drag her into this. I’m going to Blackbeard. I’ll take my chances with the spell.”

  Just then, another gold coin appeared. This one did so by coming out of thin air in front of Sigmund’s face and falling toward the floor. He caught it in midair and looked at it in the palm of his hand.

  There, clear as day, was the mark of death stamped in the gold coin.

  He didn’t panic. He just exhaled and held the coin out for Luc to see. “It’s done.”

  Luc boldly reached out and flipped the coin over. Where there should have been a kraken was the shape of the state of Virginia. “Is it done, or has it only just begun?”

  Sigmund gasped. “The death note is on her? No! It fell on Curt. Not Missi. I’m the one who’s going to ignore the coins and their meaning, not her. The spell of death should be on me! Not her!”

  “If only Fate was fair or asked your thoughts on the matter.” Luc glanced away.

  Fear slammed through Sigmund.

  He had to get to Virginia. He had to protect her.

  As he made a move to head for the front door, the smell of lavender and sage hit him full on. He jerked around and instantly went in the direction of the scent. He found himself rushing up the stairs of the bed-and-breakfast, going the wrong way from the front door.

  From Virginia.

  Yet, he couldn’t stop himself.

  The next thing Sigmund knew, he was standing outside Petey’s room, the scent of lavender and sage growing to epic proportions. He grabbed the handle and opened the door without knocking.

  “Petey, why does it smell like—” He drew up short when he found himself looking at the queen bed. Petey wasn’t in it.

  Virginia was.

  She was in one of Sigmund’s dress shirts from when he’d been a principal. It rode up slightly, exposing her hip to him. He wanted to be furious and demand to know why she was in Petey’s bed, of all places, wearing nothing more than a men’s dress shirt, but he caught sight of her leg—and saw huge bruises on it. They had small suction marks on them.

  He didn’t need to be told they’d come from a tentacle.

  He knew it deep within his bones.

  Gasping, he ran toward the bed. “Virginia!”

  She sat up fast, clutching her chest, her dark eyes wide.

  “I hurt you last night, didn’t I?” he asked, hating himself.

  He prepared for her to yell at him for barging in and seeing her in her obvious state of undress. To yell that he had indeed hurt her while in kraken form.

  He wasn’t ready for what happened next.

  She scrambled across the bed, in his direction, her long dark hair free from the ponytail it was normally in. It cascaded over her shoulders as she hurr
ied from the bed.

  She then launched herself at him, her arms going around his neck.

  Sigmund’s body responded in kind, tightening with need. He lifted her off the floor and dipped his head, his mouth slashing over hers. Her lips parted, and he seized the moment, sliding his tongue in. His kraken did its own version of a happy dance within him, and even with as off-putting as that sensation was, Sigmund didn’t dare stop kissing Virginia.

  Her hands found his hair, and she bit at his lower lip, making him growl with need. Every ounce of him wanted to take the kiss to another level, but the thought of the bruising on her leg stopped him.

  He broke the kiss reluctantly. “Virginia…I’m so sorry that I hurt you.”

  She touched her swollen lower lip, her dark eyes wide as she looked up at him. “Hurt me? You didn’t hurt me.”

  “Your leg,” he said. “It’s obvious it was grabbed by a tentacle.”

  “Yes, it was,” she returned, her hands going to his bare chest. “But not yours. The giant green squid did it.”

  “Giant squid?” he asked, thoroughly confused.

  She stayed close to him, a nervous laugh coming from her as she ran her hands over his chest absently. “Sigmund, you protected me. You fought with the squid. I was trying to call you back to me when you took off, because I was scared you’d do something you’d regret and then leave.”

  He found himself caressing her smooth cheek, wanting to touch her more. “Did you sing to me?”

  She nodded and glanced away. “Something else came then. It wasn’t a normal squid by any shape or means. It was massive. Not as big as you are as a kraken, but really big all the same. And it wasn’t nice. It ripped the back rail off the deck on Runes and sunk part of it. And it yanked me into the water.”

  He saw red again. “It did what?”

  She pressed herself against him. “But you fought with it. You didn’t let it drown me or take me—I’m not sure which it was trying to do. In fact, you grabbed me very gently with your tentacle and thrust me out of the water and onto the deck. You then laid a world of hurt on the thing. It tried to grab me again, but Petey seized hold of me. Then Betty came and it only got weirder from there.”

  It took Sigmund a moment to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. He’d not hurt Virginia? There was another sea creature trolling the waters? One that hurt Virginia and nearly drowned her?

  Emotions welled in him, and he grabbed her to him, hugging her tight. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

  She hugged him back and laughed softly against his chest.

  “Virginia?” he asked, wondering what was funny.

  She looked up at him. “You went from never speaking to me to calling me baby, and kissing and hugging me.”

  His lips twitched. “I guess I did. Is that an issue?”

  She shook her head and hugged him again. “Not at all.”

  “Nice,” said Petey, appearing in the doorway to his room. “My bedroom was used as the honeymoon suite! I’m a total chick magnet, so it stands to reason Bails would need to borrow my mojo.”

  “Honeymoon suite?” asked Sigmund.

  Virginia stiffened in his arms, and then made a move to step back from him.

  He didn’t let her, but he did stare at his longtime friend. “Petey, what did you do?”

  Shrugging, Petey stood there like it was just any old day. “Married the two of you last night. Pronounced you both were-kraken and part-siren-witch-and-clearly-not-dominant-part-hunter. Told ya both to kiss. I wasn’t sure if you had lips as a kraken. Do you?”

  Sigmund let it all soak in. He then let out a long, slow breath before touching Virginia’s chin and tilting her face up so he could look her in the eyes. “How mad are you?”

  “Mad?” she asked.

  “Virginia…you get that what he did is binding, right?” asked Sigmund. “He did the same thing for Missi and Curt, and my aunt and her husband, Wil. Trust me, it’s official.”

  She touched her neck. “I know.”

  “You’re not freaking out,” he said evenly.

  She put her head to his chest and hugged him tightly. “No. I’m not.”

  Sigmund glanced over the top of her head at Petey, who winked and shut the door to the room.

  “You do get you’re married…to me…right?” he asked, sure Virginia was in shock. That the moment it all sunk in, she’d have a meltdown.

  She chuckled. “I get it. Wait. Are you upset that we’re married?”

  He dipped his head, his lips finding hers once more. He kissed her tenderly, letting everything he wished he’d said to her over the last sixteen months pour through the act.

  When he was done, everything on him was in a state of pure need.

  “Sig, I was so scared you’d be hurt,” said Virginia. “I should have said something to you sooner about the way I feel. I’m sorry.”

  He snorted. “Baby, I’m the one who tripped over a coffee table when I met you and then proceeded to hide for the next year and a half. It’s me who’s sorry.”

  She clung to him. “I was so scared for you.”

  He ran his hands into the back of her hair. “I’m fine. Worried about you and if you’re okay, but other than that, I’m fine. Better than fine, even, since I just found out you’re my wife.”

  She put her hands on his forearms and looked up at him with moist eyes.

  The second she started to cry, he found himself wanting to kill whoever had upset her. “Virginia?”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t get the squid out of my head,” she said. “Sig, it wasn’t normal. It had to be a shifter.”

  He pushed her hair behind her shoulders. “I’ll figure out who it is, and I’ll handle them.”

  She hugged him. “I don’t want you hurt.”

  He grinned. “I may not look like I’d be any good in a fight, but I can hold my own.”

  She lifted a brow. “You think you don’t look like you can hold your own? Um, sweetheart, you do understand me and the girls line up at the docks around lunchtime once a week to stare at you without a shirt on, right?”

  His cheeks flamed instantly.

  “My husband is hot—and I watched him beat the tar out of a giant squid,” said Virginia, making him laugh.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Virginia stayed close to Sigmund, enjoying the feel of him. She’d come back to the inn with Petey last night, terrified something was going to happen to Sigmund. That the green squid would hurt him or kill him. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she did remember Petey trying to offer her hot chocolate. He’d been very sweet and understanding. He’d even insisted she take his room, and he went to bunk with Howie. All the while, Petey had assured her that Sigmund would be back and he’d be fine.

  “I can’t believe we’re married,” she said with a snort. “Of course, the rumor mill had us hitched already. Did you know we have twins on the way?”

  Sigmund laughed. “Hold on…can we try to make that a reality?”

  She grinned—and then stiffened. “Sig, only your true mate can give you a family.”

  He watched her for what felt like forever. “Virginia, I have something to tell you. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to break this to you.”

  Just then, something gold and shiny fell from the ceiling to the floor. Two more small items did the same thing.

  Before she knew it, it was raining gold coins around them.

  Sigmund used his body to protect her from the downpour of gold coins.

  Her eyes widened.

  With a groan, he drew her tight to him. “I get it, Fate. Message received! You can stop now. I’m going to tell her.”

  Just like that, the coins stopped falling.

  She stared at the floor and bent, lifting a coin and looking at it. When her sister had told her all about gold coins showing up around Curt, Missi had said the coins had their witch family crest on one side and a lion’s head on the other. These coins had the crest on one side, but there was no lion on th
e other.

  There was a kraken.

  She froze, staying bent, the coin in her hand.

  Sigmund bent as well. “Are you okay? Did any of them hurt you?”

  She thrust the coin out at him. “Ohmygod! We’re really true mates?”

  When Sigmund didn’t seem shocked, she gave him a small shove, which knocked him off balance, making him fall onto his backside on a mound of coins. He laughed, and the sound was rich and deep.

  She bent.

  Reaching up, he touched her cheek, pushing hair back from her face again. “I’ve wanted to touch you for sixteen long months. Figured I should work up to saying hi before I blurted out the fact we’re mates.”

  Her breathing increased and the room felt hot.

  “Woman, you are stunning,” he said evenly, his smile fading. “You’re freaked out that I’m your mate—that you got stuck with me. Aren’t you?”

  “Stuck with you?” she echoed. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded.

  She gathered a handful of coins and threw them at him. “If I ever hear you say that again, so help me, goddess, I will—”

  She slipped on the coins and tipped forward, falling onto Sigmund’s lap.

  He caught her, and when she met his gaze, the burning desire to yell at him for daring to think she wouldn’t want him was beat out by another urge. The next she knew, she had her lips pressed to his.

  With a growl, he pulled her up and over him and lay back on the floor.

  She broke the kiss, her long hair acting like a curtain around them as she looked down at his face. “Um…”

  His lips curved upward. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she repeated, finding herself grinning as well. “This is different.”

  “Good different or bad different?” he asked, his hands finding her hips. “Before you answer, know I’m in the good-different category with my thoughts on the matter.”

  “Why aren’t you freaking out about all of this?” she asked calmly before taking a deep breath. “You knew, didn’t you?”

  He closed his eyes a second and gave a slight nod. “Yes.”

  She tensed. “How long have you known about…um…”