Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

AILEEN

T he days pass by in a haze of sex, long baths, and the best food I've ever had. The days turn into weeks, and sometimes I wake up from a midnight nap to an empty bed and the sound of a wolf howling in the distance.

Sometimes I wake up to the cold nose of a huge wolf dog curled up next to me, but I like the days I wake up with Brekker's mouth between my legs the most.

Brekker himself is a revelation. He's not the most talkative creature I've met, but I think I like him more for it.

When he talks, it's because he has something important to say, or a dry, funny observation that makes me laugh.

I never in my life thought this was where I'd end up, married through a freaking lottery to an alien male. An alien werewolf.

We're on our way back to Clan Claw's city on Wulfric, and unlike the trip to the lodge, I've spent this entire trip basically in Brekker's lap, half dozing through the woods in the too-bright sunlight.

"You've practically turned me nocturnal," I tell him through a stifled yawn.

He just laughs and holds me closer.

Compared to the trip to the lodge, which seemed like it took forever, the journey back to the main city goes by in the blink of an eye.

Well, more like the length of a nap, but still.

I stand at the door of the ground transport, sudden nerves stiffening my shoulders.

"The last time you were here, you were a different person," I tell myself.

"Oh?" Brekker nuzzles my shoulder, planting a kiss on the side of my neck. "Were you?"

"Yep." I turn around and catch him in a hug, smelling the scent of the forest and dew on his skin still. "I didn't know what I was doing here. Now I know that by your side is where I belong."

"Thank the moons you're finally here," Tessa yells, bursting from the entryway of the huge Clan Claw house— my house.

I have a fucking house. I have a husband who, though hairy at times, is nothing but joy.

I haven't had to deal with a brain in a vial making gross sexual comments at me in a week, and I've never been happier.

I hope Bridget is okay.

"What's wrong?" Brekker asks, sweeping me alongside him, his big arm glued to my waist.

"The clan. Of course it's the clan. They are demanding to know why you went outside our ranks to marry a human." Tessa grimaces, then glances down at me. "No offense."

"Um, I am a human? Why would that offend me?"

"Because many of the Wulfric see humans as less than us." Brekker kisses my temple. "They're wrong."

"Konrad said useless, actually," Tessa clarifies.

I arch an eyebrow, trying not to laugh. I mean, I feel like I should probably be offended, but… I know I'm not useless. I can clean the hell out of a sentient tentacle.

I'd like to see these hot to trot werewolves deal with half the shit I did with the Oolasag curiosities.

"Right," I tell her brightly. I start to continue, but Brekker cuts off whatever inane shit I was about to say with a terse growl.

"Don't go fluffy on me," I tell him.

Tessa's jaw drops. "Go fluffy?"

"Yeah. Y'all think you're hot shit until you sprout fur. Then you're just a puppy dog." I shrug one shoulder. I've never actually seen a puppy dog in real life, but she doesn't need to know that.

Her mouth opens, then closes, and she shakes her head with a laugh.

"I'll deal with them."

"Yeah, you sure as fuck will," a huge man, the same bearded one I remember from the night Brekker married me, pushes through the doors behind Tessa. A small crowd follows. "You have insulted our clan by choosing this bride. She's a pretty little pet, but our wolves would make mincemeat of her."

I roll my eyes. I can't help it. Talk about alpha male bullshit.

Brekker growls, and I put a hand on his chest, staring up at him. He cannot lose his shit at this nonsense.

"You want to know why I married a human?" There's an inherent challenge to the question, and the bearded man snaps his jaws. "Because I never would have been able to mate a wolf. I carry the bloodlust gene, and if my instincts are right, you do, too. So I chose a human woman who brings me joy and who settles my wolf. Who will bear me cubs."

"I'll what now?" I squeak.

"Shh," Tessa tells me.

"The human woman can carry the Wulfric bloodline?"

"Aye, and she can take my knot."

Silence meets this pronouncement, and I swat at Brekker's arm. "Why did you have to say that? They don't need to know that," I hiss, my face on fire.

The crowd has grown in front of us, murmuring and whispering.

"Is this true?" the bearded werewolf asks, stunned. "She can… the humans can…"

"This is inappropriate," I belt out, earning a few gasps at my bellow. "You don't need to know what my husband and I do in the bedroom."

"They do, actually," Tessa says out of the side of her mouth.

I glare sidelong at her. "No."

"She can take my knot, and she will make a fine mother for my cubs."

I turn my withering stare onto Brekker, and a few of the wolves laugh out loud. "Don't say another word about that."

"When my little mate is ready, that is." With that, he plants a kiss on my mouth, and I frown for a split second until I melt into him easily.

"More human women!" one of the wolves cries out. "We must apply to the Starlight Lottery for more."

Tessa barks out a laugh, shaking her head as they practically stampede back inside.

"I knew you would help," she says, laughing as Brekker finally lets me up for air.

I dust off the soft blue pants, blushing furiously. "None of that is anybody's business."

"No, of course not. Except that it is. A third of the men here thought they were doomed to live alone—those who are interested in a life with a female, anyway—because of their genetics." She shrugs a shoulder. "There aren't enough females in our clan anyway."

"You knew there were more than me? That had the gene?" Brekker voice is flat, but there's a hint of amusement around his eyes.

"Just because you males are too stubborn to talk about it doesn't mean the rest of us don't. I suspected the human would help. Still, I didn't want to give away your secret until you were ready." She looks incredibly smug, the wolf who ate the cat who ate the canary. "All's well that ends well."

She flounces back through the door, but not before she throws a wink over her shoulder at me.

Slowly, I look up at Brekker, astonishment plain on his face.

"Cubs?" I ask, putting my hands on my hips. "Do I get a say in making baby wolves?"

"Of course you do, love," he says easily, slipping his hands around my waist until he cradles my ass. "Do you want to start trying now? Or just practice?"

I can't help but laugh as he smacks my butt. "Practice. Just practice for now."

"Well, I can't deny you that."

I yelp as he tosses me over his shoulder, running inside the huge Clan Claw keep with me there.

All's well that ends well—and being safe, in Brekker's arms, and well-loved—is the best possible beginning to our story I can imagine.