Page 58 of The Champion
A big hug from behind made me turn to see Raven beaming at me with a bright smile. Her hair was puffy with those dark curls that I had always envied as a child.
“There you are, Freya. Feels like you’ve been gone forever.”
“It’s good to see you too.” I corrected a white flower in her hair that was crooked. “There, that’s better.”
“Oh, thanks. It’s all the hugging I do. It’s pretty, but the damn thing has already fallen out twice.”
With a smile I pointed to Willow and Solomon, who were dancing close to Willow’s brother Hunter and his wife Emanuela. “This is almost like a school reunion for you, isn’t it? Shelly and Marco are here as well.”
“Yes, Leo and I caught up with them about an hour ago. I love parties like this one. It’s too bad that Aubri couldn’t make it.”
“Have you seen her recently?”
Raven nodded. “I saw her this morning. The doctor’s ordered her to rest. My brother is worried about her and the twins.”
“Indiana isn’t here either, is he?” I asked and looked around.
“Yeah, he’s here. I saw him with my mom and dad not ten minutes ago. He skipped the ceremony and came later. Apparently, he didn’t feel that it was fair for him to go party while Aubri is suffering because of the pregnancy with their children. He was going to stay home with her, but Aubri insisted that he should go. She’s pissed that she’s missing out, though.”
“Yes, I can imagine. Aubri never liked to miss out on anything.”
Raven grinned. “Who does?”
“Oh, I see Indiana now.” Seeing that Mason and Indiana were talking to Victor, I excused myself and walked over to them.
“Hey, Indy. Sorry to hear about Aubri.”
“Yeah, it sucks, but the good news is that the twins are now big enough to survive if she goes into labor.”
“Of course they are. They are Northlander babies.” Mason patted Indiana’s back.
Victor and I exchanged a glance, with me silently asking him if he was okay.
“Indiana and Mason wanted to know why I’m here when I hate weddings and as I explained to them, I don’t hate weddings at all.”
“You don’t?” I was surprised.
“No, I’m French and we love a good party. My confusion was about why you Northlanders are so obsessed with binding yourself to one person.”
“Maybe you would understand if you actually got to know any of the women you sleep with,” Mason pointed out. “You can ask Belle how happy she is. Or Banni for that matter.”
“I already did and you’re right. They are both content with their lives.”
“See.” Mason grinned. “For what it’s worth, Victor, it’s good to see you come to investigate what you don’t understand. Before long we might see you fighting at home to change your laws and lift that inhumane three-time sex rule.”
Victor’s expression gave nothing away. “Who knows? Or you might find that the confines of marriage are too strict, and you’ll start sleeping with others.”
Indiana laughed. “You’ve met Aubri. She’s not the kind of woman you would sleep around on. If I did, I would wake up with my dick cut off.”
“If you wake up at all,” Mason said. “Nah, the French lifestyle wouldn’t work here. Oh, that reminds me, Freya, there’s a Huntsman that won’t stop talking about you. He keeps asking me questions because he knows we’re related. I discussed it with Thor and Khan and we believe Bastian would be a potential match. He’s purebred and he likes to read.”
I stiffened. “Well, if he likes to read then he must be a match.” My tone dripped with sarcasm, but Mason wasn’t used to that side of me and missed it.
“That’s what I said. He’s decent-looking and brutally strong, but apparently he has a thing for intelligent women and every time your name comes up, he gets these puppy eyes.”
Victor shifted his balance and put his hands in his pockets. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I sensed his annoyance and as soon as we were alone again, he brought it up.
“Maybe you should meet with the purebred book lover.”
