Chapter Thirty-One

A cold, steady rain was pouring down again when Red finally emerged into the castle yard, but Galiena did not care. Bard had tried to convince her to return to the warmth of the weaver's house, assuring her Red would return there as soon as he was able, but she stoutly refused.

She picked up the hem of her gown and ran toward him as the doors to the hall swung closed behind him, stopping when she was within arm's reach. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. He was staring at her as though she was the first spring flower after a long, dark winter. "I told you to wait at the house, kitten," he said, placing his hands on either side of her face to tip it up to him. "You'll catch your death in this rain."

"It matters not. I won't leave without you," she said wrapping her arms around his waist as that lopsided grin she loved so much spread across his face. She let out a delighted gasp as he wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a circle. "Put me down before you hurt yourself. Husband ."

She saw the change in his expression as he slowly lowered her to the ground. "What did you say?"

"I said, put me down before you hurt yourself." She looked up at him, her eyes wide with feigned innocence.

"After that," he growled, turning her so his shirtless body blocked the icy rain and wind.

She smiled up at him. "I said, Husband ."

"Bard, Ox, Wolf," he called in a loud voice without taking his gaze from hers. "Come closer. I want you to bear witness." When they were standing in a circle around them, he grinned down at her, his face smug with satisfaction. "Say it again, in front of witnesses, Wife ."

" Husband ," she said with a laugh. "I am proclaiming you as my husband."

"We heard it," Bard confirmed, draping Red's fur over his shoulders.

"Say it again," he said to Galiena as he wrapped them both in the warmth of his cloak.

"I am nothing without you, Husband ." She said, looking into his handsome face. She meant every word of it. He'd stood by her side, holding her hand, and he'd patiently waited for her to find her way out of the darkness and despair that had been her constant companion since losing Adam and Nahara, and he'd proven her heart was big enough to love them and him.

"And I am nothing without you, Wife. "

He kissed her, thoroughly and carefully, as though he was drinking from the well of life. She sighed with contentment when he lifted his head to look into her eyes again.

"Take me home, Red," she whispered.

"To Hawkspur?" he asked, his voice filled with hope but his face vulnerable.

"Yes, to your home in Hawkspur," she said.

He caressed a thumb across her cheek as he looked at her. "Our home. Yours and mine. We will fill it with all the furniture and comforts you desire. With a big, soft bed where I can wake up next to you, my wife, your beautiful face the first thing I see each morning. And anything else you desire."

"All I need in a home is you and me," she paused to smile up at him, "and a houseful of children."

A jubilant smile spread across his face as he wrapped her in his arms and spun her in another circle. "I'll give you the wedding you deserve when we get to Hawkspur so we can get started on having sons and daughters."

"I don't want a wedding in Hawkspur," she said, laughing softly when his face fell. She pressed her lips gently to his. "This was perfect, Husband . I can't imagine a wedding more beautiful or vows more perfect than what we just shared."

" You are perfect," he said, looking at her with so much love in the depths of his soft blue eyes, she thought her heart would overflow.

"Kiss me again, Husband. "

He pressed his lips to her hair, murmuring, "My kitten." She felt her lips tug into a smile at the endearment.

He nuzzled her neck. "My she-wolf." The words sounded like a possessive growl, and her skin shivered.

"My wife," he whispered, finally pressing his lips to hers.