Chapter 37

37

Emma the Unlikely

Emma the King Killer

Emma of the Three

"H er own page in the Book of Warriors!

Regin, N?x, and Annika had taken her—and she'd insisted on taking Lachlain—into the war room, to the ornate, ancient pedestal with the light shining down upon it.

Her aunts drew the book out from under its Plexiglas protector and opened it to her page.

Her likeness was painted there. Below that, written in the old language, were her aliases and the designation: One of Wóden's Cherished Warriors. Warrior. War-ee-yur. This was so cool as to not be believed. With trembling fingers, Emma brushed the raised writing on the soft parchment.

Slayer of Demestriu, king of the vampire Horde, eldest and strongest of vampires. When she chose to battle him alone.

Emma raised her brows at the rebuke, and Annika lifted her chin.

Queen to Lachlain, king of the Lykae. Beloved daughter of Helen and all Valkyries.

"Look at my resume!" Tears welled. "I look good on paper! "

Regin groaned. "Not the crying. That's so gross."

"And you left room for more!" She sniffled. N?x handed her tissues she'd had the foresight to bring.

"Well, of course," N?x said. "Even if you spend a lazy eternity doing nothing more than wallowing about with your wolf, we left room for your heroic, hell-raising kids."

Emma's face flushed, and Lachlain draped a protective arm around her, squeezing her against his side. Chin up, he said, "We've decided no' to have bairns."

N?x said, "Well, I'm not usually wrong about these things when I do see them, but if you both are so set on it, then never let her eat human food, especially not for back-to-back weeks on end, or she'll get knocked up faster than a rabbit after a Druid fertility ceremony!"

Emma said softly, "But I can't... I'm a vampire, and we can't have children."

Her aunts frowned. "Of course you can," N?x said. "You just have to take different nourishment."

When Lachlain still looked unconvinced, Annika said, "Think about it—what do all humans do that not all in the Lore do? They eat of the earth and they spawn. The two are not unrelated."

Heart thudding, Emma remembered Demestriu talking about Helen sharing meals with him before she got pregnant. "And a Lykae with a... valkire?"

"Can you have little ankle-biters?" N?x chuckled. "Absolutely, and in the most literal sense. Your parents certainly aren't the first from different factions to have offspring together." She glanced around as if looking for someone in the manor, then waved it away. "Vampires who can walk in the sun, Lykae who can take sustenance from lightning. Valkyries who run the forests at night with perfect joy." N?x got an awed expression on her face. "And they're strong. Just look at you."

Emma glanced from N?x to Annika. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Annika raised her palms, shaking her head. "I never imagined you thought about this at all, much less that you were under this misimpression."

To Lachlain, N?x said, "When Emma yearns in her heart for children, it begins. She'll have to eat regular food for at least nine months."

Emma grimaced at the thought of masticating.

"Doona hold your breath. I'm no' keen to share her."

"Very well. Until then"—N?x gave him a lascivious grin—"honeymoon!"

Emma and Lachlain sat stunned.

N?x waved an impatient hand. "All this would have come out during the four hour pre-joining counseling that you two are required to do."

***

That weekend after Emma and Lachlain's small, straightforward ceremony, and the raucous reception, the members of the coven lounged in the TV room, sprawled over furniture, eyes glued to the television.

Lachlain and Emma sat among them, but he was restless, unable to watch the movie when her fingertip was making lazy circles on his palm.

He'd invited only Bowe and Garreth to the festivities, though everyone in the clan hankered to meet the wee queen who'd felled Demestriu. But his kind liked to drink and rib and be boisterous, and he could see the mad Valkyries, who didn't drink— anything —reacting poorly. The preternatural versus the natural mixed with liquor .

Garreth had been forced to decline when Lucia had "gone on walkabout," as the Valkyries called it, or "fled," as Garreth more accurately termed it. Lachlain had completely understood when Garreth had set out after her. Bowe had accepted, but after absently congratulating him that night, he'd spent an hour huddled in a corner with N?x. Afterward, he'd been cryptic and preoccupied and had flown out early.

Casting looks that dared anyone to nay-say him, Wroth had audaciously shown up with a laughing Myst by his side. The coven seemed to treat Wroth with the same indifference they showed Lachlain, who'd mostly been shrugged at as if he'd always been a fixture. Except for Annika—after she'd spotted Wroth, her chin hadn't been lifted quite so proudly, and Lachlain had heard her mumble, "Furie's going to kill me...."

Lachlain shifted restlessly. He was physically ready to resume relations with his wife, and wasn't eager to do it under this roof. They would leave tomorrow.

He stood and offered his hand, and with a shy smile she took it. As they crossed in front of the screen, they had to dodge a volley of popcorn.

He didn't know where he was taking her, maybe out into the night fog. He just knew he wanted her, needed her, right then. She was too precious to him, too good to be true. When he was inside her, with his arms tight around her, he felt less like she'd slip away.

They only made it to an empty hall before he pressed her against the wall, cupped her neck, and demanded once again, "You'll stay with me?"

"Always." Her hips arched up to him. "You love me?"

"Always, Emmaline," he grated against her lips. "Always. So damn much you make me mad with it. "

When she moaned, he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He knew he couldn't have her here, but the reasons why grew hazy with her soft breaths in his ear.

"I wish we were home," she whispered. "Together in our bed."

Home. Damn if she hadn't said home. In our bed. Had anything ever sounded so good? He pressed against her harder, kissing her more deeply, with all the love he had in him. But suddenly they were falling, his balance somehow lost. He twisted to take the impact on his back.

When he opened his eyes, they were tumbling into their bed.

Jaw slack, he released her and levered himself onto his elbows. "That was..." He exhaled a stunned breath. "That was a wild ride, lass. Will you no' warn me next time?"

She nodded solemnly, sitting up to straddle him, pulling her blouse over her head to bare her exquisite breasts for him. She leaned down, brushing her nipples over his chest, making him shudder and clench her hips. "I'm about to give you a very... wild... ride."

Yet after everything that had occurred, his need for her was too strong, and he gave himself up to it, tossing her to her back and ripping her clothes from her. He made short work of his own, then covered her.

When he pinned her arms over her head and thrust into her, she cried his name and writhed beneath him so sweetly. "I'll demand that ride tomorrow, love, but first you're going to see wild from a man who knows."