He loved his family. He always would. But he loved a witch, as well.
“She was going to throw herself into the Ether?” Ivan had asked. The giant man had stood beside the fireplace in the great hall with his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone had known to disappear when his voice boomed out like thunder. Everyone but Soren. The red wolf wasn’t the alpha, but he also wasn’t afraid. The one thing he’d always feared—losing his twin brother—had been averted. He’d finally faced that possible loss, and he’d watched as Anna had almost sacrificed herself to be sure it wouldn’t happen.
“And not to travel with its energy. She fully intended to give up her life so that the Romanovs could be safe and strong. She thought it was the only way to make sure that I had my brothers and the emerald sword by my side,” Soren explained.
“And you stopped her,” Ivan said. His forehead had been heavy and his lips tight. His frame had been stiff with tension.
“As you would have stopped Elena if she tried to sacrifice herself for you,” Soren had said.
“My mate is not a witch, brother,” Ivan reminded him. But some of the tension that had claimed him with Anna’s sudden arrival at Bronwal had gone out of his body.
They stood in a room with thrones that had been reclaimed by a couple who actually loved each other. Vladimir Romanov had never loved their mother, Naomi. He’d sacrificed her to the Dark Volkhvy at the same time he’d sacrificed Vasilisa’s prince consort so that he could seduce the queen. Being a champion hadn’t been enough for him. He’d wanted to rule the Volkhvy.
The thrones had been washed and refinished with a fine cherry stain. The wolf heads on each arm and on the back overlooking the seat were now well lit by recessed electric lighting that revealed just how intricately the carvings had been rendered.
Bronwal had always been defended. But now it was cared for as it had never been before.
“I’ve always loved Anna. I’ve always trusted her. My fear blinded me to the fact that she’s always been a witch. Her blood doesn’t negate my trust. I’m only sorry that I had to almost lose her to see that,” Soren said.
Ivan strode to his side. Soren braced himself. If the alpha still intended to send Anna away, he would have to choose to fight or flee. He fisted his hands, because his choice had already been made. But rather than a battle, Ivan offered a hand. He gripped one of Soren’s shoulders, and the power in his squeeze made Soren glad he hadn’t offered a punch instead.
“Elena said the swords know. She doesn’t doubt her sister-in-arms at all,” Ivan said. “She’s looking forward to welcoming her as a sister-in-law.” He looked thoughtfully at Soren’s face, surveying his human features as if he would memorize them. Soren had changed even though he’d barely aged. He thought Ivan was noticing those differences, and when a smile broke through the alpha’s concentration, Soren thought that maybe he’d passed some sort of test. “Considering what the sapphire sword has done for me... I can only welcome the warrior who wields the emerald sword to the family,” Ivan said.
His bear hug had been almost as brutal as a full-body slam would have been from a lesser man.
* * *
Since Lev had claimed the tower room, Anna found herself back in the old aviary she’d loved. It was practically empty. All the keepsakes and necessary items she’d gleaned and gathered over the centuries were in the palace on her mother’s island.
But the bed and all the other furnishings had been restored, and all the linens had been replaced. She found a giant bed filled with luxurious pillows and blankets. She exclaimed over a fireplace that didn’t smoke and a bathroom that had been built onto the side.
Her aviary hadn’t been shuttered and forgotten.
Maybe they hadn’t intended for her to return, but they hadn’t destroyed her place, either. She cuddled into the big bed after a long soak and thought about all the years she’d spent using her hideaway to escape her uncertain position at Bronwal. She’d been an orphan and a foundling. Vladimir’s lack of affection and attention had caused her to doubt her place for years, even before the curse had fallen. Now she knew why he had ignored her.
She’d been nothing to him but a pawn in a deadly political game that had begun with the murder of the villagers who had agreed to raise her as their own to protect Vasilisa’s heir. He’d killed her real father. He’d kidnapped her and kept her heritage hidden. He’d seduced her grieving mother.
But then there had been Soren.
He had never ignored her. They had been friends long before she’d begun to see him in a different light. Then, after her mother had discovered Vladimir’s treachery and punished him with the curse, they’d been inseparable companions. Neither could have survived without the other. She was certain of it now. But, in her case, that was true even before the curse.
He’d helped her make the aviary into a hideaway. He’d helped her fill it with baubles and treasures that made her feel insulated against a world that had treated her harshly.
And then he’d fought for her.
Where did they go from here?
She’d almost thrown it all away. The emerald sword was propped in the corner near the bed, where she could reach it quickly if she needed to. The jewel in its hilt winked at her knowingly. She thought she had loved Soren enough to let him go, but she’d discovered a deeper truth—he needed her. Not just any woman. Her specifically.
Only she could help the Romanovs against further manipulations from her mother. It would take a witch to handle a witch. Madeline was still on the island. Trevor was still asleep. Lev was anything but himself.
Anna had stopped Soren from pushing Lev over the cliff, and she’d helped him get his brother back to Bronwal. And she had been able to do all that because of her Volkhvy blood, not in spite of it.
She had controlled her power. She hadn’t hurt Lev, even when it looked like hurting him or sacrificing herself were her only options.
It was time for her to accept that the emerald sword knew exactly what it was doing when it had Called her. Soren had given her the gift of his trust. It was high time that she trusted herself.
It wasn’t the sword or her Volkhvy abilities that alerted Anna to Soren’s presence. Maybe it was science, the movement of molecules or a change in the air, but she thought it was probably because the filament that bound their hearts to each other was so well established that it tremored when he was near.
“You’ll be happy to hear that I don’t have to fight the alpha wolf,” Soren said.
Anna rose from the pillows and faced the door. How many times had he crossed the threshold of the aviary on four paws? This time he walked in on two long, strong legs.
“Don’t make macabre jokes. You sound like my mother,” she scolded.
Soren stopped in the center of the room. Lush woven textiles had replaced all the old worn rugs. He glanced down at the colorful mat between the door and Anna’s bed. Her heart squeezed when she realized he was fighting a habitual urge to lie down and guard her from intruders.
She left the bed and went to his side. She took his hand with one of hers and placed her other bare palm on his cheek. She’d abandoned the gloves. She didn’t need help to control her power. And she didn’t need to be ashamed of her abilities. When her fingers glowed, there was a reason for it. Her defenses were part of her now. She would no longer reject them.
Anna looked up into Soren’s amber eyes. The firelight colored his irises a warm gold.
“You would both be surprised how quickly Elena and I would stop any fight you two thought to wage against each other,” she warned. But her tone was gentle and teasing. He’d come to tell her what kind of welcome she faced at a place she’d been ordered to leave.
“I trust you, and Ivan trusts the swords. Neither of us trusts Vasilisa, but we’re willing to overlook that,” Soren said.
“I don’t trust her, either. Sometimes Volkhvy l
ove is as dangerous as human greed and hate,” Anna said.
“I’m my father’s son. His blood flows in my veins as Vasilisa’s flows in yours,” Soren said. He leaned into her palm and closed his eyes. The contact caused tingling to rise in her fingers. It wasn’t self-defense. He didn’t pull away. If anything, his cheek flushed in pleasure as the electricity of her touch caressed beneath his skin.
“We can reject the things they’ve done without rejecting ourselves or each other,” Anna said. “We will do better things. We’ll stand against the Dark together, and our love will stay as true and strong as it ever was.”
“I’m sorry,” Soren said. He reached up to take her hand from his face. He held it wrapped in both of his. “I never should have doubted you.”
“You didn’t doubt me. You doubted my mother. And for good reason,” Anna said. “I know, because I felt the same. I didn’t trust that I could be my own kind of witch. Not until I was tested. Now I know. I’ll die before I dabble in Darkness. I can help bring honor back to the Light Volkhvy. But I also know that my abilities can help in the fight against witches like Aleksandr. And I can help the Romanovs deal with Vasilisa, too.”
“Lev isn’t accepting help from anyone right now,” Soren said.
“We need to bring Madeline and Trevor home. To Bronwal,” Anna said. “Madeline will be able to reach him in a way we can’t. Lev, the ruby sword and Madeline are a triumvirate that has been unfairly wrenched apart. They have to find their way back to each other.”
Soren leaned down to touch his forehead to hers. His russet hair tickled her face, and the forest scent tangled in his wavy bangs filled her senses along with his nearness. He was warmth and woods and wilderness.
He was hers.
“If Ivan hadn’t relented, we would have gone elsewhere. Together. You’re home to me, Anna. You have been for a very long time,” Soren said.
Anna gathered handfuls of his loose tunic in her hands. She looked up into his beloved face and pulled him closer. She never would have been able to budge his large Romanov frame if he hadn’t wanted to move. He came willingly. Their bodies pressed with her arms trapped between. He wrapped his arms around her back, and she was completely enfolded in the tingling aura their connection created in the air around them.
Oh, there was no green glow. There was only the natural heat of a lovers’ embrace. She didn’t have to tap into her power to enhance what was already there.
“I’m glad to be here with you, though. I dreamed of this moment so many times,” Anna confessed. Her aviary was empty compared to its cluttered glory of before, but Soren more than made up for the barren shelves. He filled the space with his presence and with the heart he was finally willing to share with her again.
“When Aleksandr sent me into the Ether alone, I finally understood that it wasn’t the Ether I was afraid of. My nightmares were never about losing myself and disappearing into the dark. They were always about losing you. I feared the Ether because I always thought it would be the Ether that separated us,” Soren said. “I feared the Ether would take you and I would materialize to find you gone.”
“And I almost made your greatest fear come true,” Anna said. Soren pressed his lips to her forehead and then trailed them down the side of her face to the curve of her jaw.
“You were going to sacrifice yourself to save me and my family, and I was going to sacrifice our connection in order to save you from my family. I was so afraid that Lev would hurt you, I didn’t realize I was hurting you—and myself—far worse than he ever could,” Soren said.
He finally found her mouth. He feathered his lips over hers, but then his teasing grew more serious. He paused to suckle her lower lip between his. He licked the spot he savored, and Anna gasped at the arcs of electricity that flowed from the touch of his moist tongue to all her erogenous zones. Her power flared with the flick of his tongue to join with their natural chemistry. It sparked with visible green tendrils between their lips as they parted to breathe, then as they sank back into tasting again, the green became a glow in her eyes.
In the corner, the emerald in the hilt of the sword brightened as if it approved of their reconciliation. It was a powerful weapon. It was also an enchanted matchmaker that Anna trusted with all her heart.
But not as much as she trusted the red wolf who had always saved her. He’d been her dearest companion. As a man, he was still that, but also so much more.
“I’ve brought you something. Elena and Ivan have been busy, and foraging is much harder than it used to be,” Soren said. “Although I have to admit having opposable thumbs is useful.”
He brought one hand from behind her back and held it up for her to see. On the first knuckle of his pinkie, a heavy silver ring caught the light. In an oval setting surrounded by diamond and citrine chips, an emerald gleamed. The citrine reminded her of the gold in Soren’s eyes. The diamonds reminded her of the glass they’d shattered to defeat Aleksandr.
And the emerald was their stone. It shone with a green she would always associate with making love to him in the forest. It represented their connection in more ways than one.
Anna suddenly couldn’t breathe. Of all the objects she and Soren had foraged to bring to her aviary and add to her magpie collection, the ring he took from his pinkie to slide onto her left hand was the most beautiful.
“I don’t know its history. The Romanovs came from royalty. Many jewels have been loved and lost in Bronwal. But I knew when I found it this one was meant for you. Will you be my wife, Anna?” Soren asked.
Anna could only nod in reply. Her words of acceptance were lodged in a throat closed by emotion.
But she laughed when Soren leaned down to scoop her into his arms. Her weight was nothing to him, but his broad chest and strong back were everything to her. As was the large heart she could feel beating against her cheek. The aviary had been her hideaway. She’d retreated here from her isolation before and after the curse had fallen on Bronwal.
But she’d never been alone.
It was fitting that they spend their first night back at Bronwal in the aviary together. It was perfect that he’d proposed to her in a shelter they had shared through so many dark years.
“I love my new sister-in-law. Elena has to be the one who had the aviary restored,” Soren said as he placed Anna on the soft coverlet. Her body sank into the softness, and she appreciated it even more when Soren’s big body settled on hers. She liked the contrast between the soft bed under her and the hard man on top of her. He used his powerful arms to keep from crushing her, but she didn’t even want the buffer of an infinitesimal amount of space between them.
Anna reached to wrap her arms around Soren’s neck and her legs around his waist. It was his turn to laugh as she pulled his full weight against her. She couldn’t help it. She admired the vintage ring on her finger as her hand gripped his shoulder. She was going to be a Romanov. She had been an outsider looking in long before she knew she was a Volkhvy princess. She couldn’t help a feeling of triumph to know the orphan girl had grown up to marry the russet-haired prince.
“Elena must have seen how important it was to me. She helped me carry a trunk up the stairs once and...” Anna paused. She brushed her fingers thoughtfully over the hand-sewn tunic Soren wore. It was familiar. “She must have known they were your clothes I’d saved for you. This is one of your old shirts.”
“The trunk was in my old bedroom when we got here. I washed and changed,” Soren said. “She saved your hat, too. The hat that used to be mine.”
Soren reached around and pulled a crushed handful of homespun material from the back pocket of his jeans. As it came free and unfolded, Anna recognized the hat she’d worn for years while Soren had been in his wolf form. She’d saved it for Soren, but when he had rejected her at the Gathering, she had left it at Bronwal when she’d left to go to her mother’s island.
Hot moisture filled he
r eyes, and her throat tightened. Soren gently placed the hat on her head. As always, it was too big. Its brim shadowed her face. But Soren rearranged it so she could see and he could see her.
“It’s your hat,” Anna said.
“Consider it a gift. Not as shiny as an emerald, but wearing it for several centuries should give it sentimental value,” Soren said.
For a second, she felt like Bell again, but she wasn’t the same sad waif she’d been for so long. She was Bell with a happier ending than she’d ever thought she’d have. She’d waited to see Soren’s face. She’d had his heart all along. Now she had the man in her arms.
“I never gave up. Not really. Not even when I went away,” Anna promised.
Soren pressed another kiss to her lips. This one was soft and exploratory, as if he was kissing his longtime love for the first time.
“You came back. You found me and helped me to face my fears,” Soren said.
Their bodies settled together more intimately than they’d been positioned before. Anna’s breath caught when she felt Soren’s hot and heavy erection nestled in the juncture of her thighs. She moved against him, undulating her hips in invitation.
“We survived. Together,” Anna said.
And then Soren responded to her movements by deepening their kiss and following her hips’ rhythm with thrusts of his own.
This time, when they pulled off their clothes, there was no white wolf to fear. Anna explored all the scars she could find on Soren’s body with lingering kisses and licks until he finally flipped her back onto the bed. He settled on top of her again, and when she wrapped her arms and legs around him, there was nothing in the way of the connection they’d always had.
“I’ll never let you go,” Soren murmured into her neck as a green glow rose around their twined bodies. “Even when you were on the island, you were still with me. Every waking moment, and all through every night. I promise.”
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