Page 80 of The Stolen Bride

“Ha! It’s my wedding gift toyou, big boy,” I fired back. “I won it fair and square with Juniper’s help. Juni, you okay with me sharing our realm with my husband?”

“You guys are so weird,” she remarked under her breath. “But the place is yours, with my blessing. I’ve got my eye on a shack in the woods, where I can inspire legends about a cackling hag who is forever single.”

I giggled like a schoolgirl. “Now that is a life.”

Viktor’s gaze met mine, and he smiled so tenderly. “All these centuries, I’ve only had this purpose in my head. Find. Destroy. Happy.”

I peered at him through the shield of my lashes. “And?”

“And I found you. The meaning changed. We’re about to destroy every obstacle in our path and move onto the happy.”

I twined my fingers through his. “Yes. Happy together.”

Within a few days,Commander Tabor arrived with an army of two hundred. They gathered all the sleepers and placedthem in carts, all but Bodi and the primordials bound by chains. The shifters, plus Deco and Valkara were well and truly trapped. All would be residents of the royal dungeon. The primordials would be returned to their people, and Bodi…we would figure something out.

Juniper and I oversaw the process, directing traffic. We continued to drain the sleepers. I could feel it. One day, we would find a way to stop without harming each other. Until then, we would use our newfound strength for Team Good.

Which had a new member. Tabor was a handsome man with an abundance of rugged appeal, and I liked him immediately.

My desire to matchmake flared anew, finding Juniper’s firebrand now a must. Anything to get her mind off Deco! I caught her staring at his sleeping form twice. But so far, I had only the two candidates. Bodi and now this Tabor. Surely there were a few other contenders around here.

Speaking of Tabor, he approached. “We have everyone ready for travel to the stones, Majesty.”

He already treated me like the queen. “Excellent. We intend to find a way to return the shifters to their berserker-selves, so let’s be extra careful with them.”

Hope lit Tabor’s face. He must have loved ones who’d become shifters too.

“I want guards stationed around Valkara and Deco at all times,” Viktor said, joining us. That the king no longer acted feral, pulling out his hair and swiping with his claws, was not missed by his people.

My chest may have puffed with pride, allI did that.

The men chatted about the upcoming trip as they walked off.

“You can do no wrong in the eyes of Viktor’s people,” Juniper noted.

“Soon to be my people.” The thought of it filled me with warmth.

Viktor returned and took a post at my side, winding his arm around my waist. “Time to go, love.”

With the army and our bounty of prisoners, we journeyed to the traveling stones without problem. Every shifter we came across was sleeping. Oops. We’d knocked out everyone in the dimension.

Upon arrival at Viktor’s palace, we secured the primordials and Bodi in comfort, and the shifters in chains and cells. With Valkara and Deco, we took added precautions.

In the future, we’d find Bodi’s firebrand, and she would awaken him. I just knew it. Maybe Juniper?Please.

My sister stood in front of Deco’s cell, peering inside thoughtfully.

I stood before our mother’s, with Viktor behind me, his arms wrapped around me, holding me close.

“All my life, I wished to know my mother,” I said. “Now, here she is. The absolute worst.”

“She is terrible, ja, but you are not.” He kissed the top of my head. “I must admit, I’m glad Malachi kidnapped you.”

I turned and cupped his cheeks. “Yeah, me, too.”

“Me three,” Juniper piped up, joining us. “How about a tour of the palace?”

With the excitement of a teenage boy, Viktor showed us around, and I was not surprised to note my new home was as creepy as Deco’s. It wasn’t just a castle—it was a monument to immortality and a former madness, where the eternal bloodlust of a wild berserker could not die.

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