Page 39 of Lost in the Fog

He sat next to her at the kitchen counter. “He did. He threw the world away to keep you alive. He looked for cures and medical research and held your hand every day. And then, when he was at the edge of his abilities, he offered me the honour of your care, and from there... here we are.”

“So, we have been married three years?”

“Nearly. Your first year was in slow recovery, and then two years ago you woke up and astonished everyone.”

“Me more than anyone. Pandora was persuasive. She had to reconstitute her body. Mine just needed a workout.” She smiled and rolled the glass between her palms. “So, she nagged me into learning to sit up, eat, and walk again.”

“Good friends are few and far between. Among my own people, I usually end up standing apart.”

“No one likes to get too close to death. It is also awkward if you contain the souls of those they had relationships with.”

“You have summed it up.”

“I have a similar situation. No one knows the exact reason I collapsed, so I am tainted by a mystery illness.” She looked at him and took in the very dark elf nature of him. “So, what do you want from me?”

“I want my wife. I have hoped and poured energy into our rings in order to keep you mobile, but I would like to seal our link and begin life as a couple and, perhaps, as a family in the future.”

She bit her lip. “You aren’t joking.”

“I am not. The fact that you can consume the energy I am providing you with is proof enough. We are compatible on a very basic level.”

“The fact that I am a giant elf omega isn’t a hindrance either?”

“You are? I knew you were compatible, but I thought you were simply an Elite-compatible beta.”

“Nope. I hang out with the queen because she called to me and got me thinking of my place in the world again. From there, I kept myself together until I felt my body getting stronger, which was your ring, I am assuming.”

He nodded. “Yes, but my desires and wishes have already been stated. What do you want?”

“Oh, well, I want to continue playing with money. I am good at it.”

Ornolf smiled. “Yes, you are. You are also an excellent socializer.”

“Well, Dad gave me a solid name, and I just kept going with it. Was it useful to you at all?”

“Yes. It has been. Your father photoshopped us into a wedding portrait,” he murmured.

“I know. It’s in his study. It is also how I knew what you looked like.”

He smiled. “You looked lovely. I would enjoy having a vow renewal with us properly attired.”

“What is your definition of proper?”

Ornolf chuckled. “Leave that to me.”

“That sounds sinister.”

He laughed. “It will be private but pretty. Your father was despondent that you couldn’t have a proper wedding, so it will be a gift to him.”

“I can invite Pandora and Regis and Ira. And Dad, of course.”

“You can invite anyone you like.”

“Who will you invite?” When the words were out, she knew that she had settled with the idea, and it appealed. He knew what she was, and he was supporting her every step that she took.

“Old friends and new friends.” He smiled.

“Okay. When?”

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