Chapter 200 Chapter 200

Chapter 200 Chapter 200
Jolene
The fire in our bedroom hearth crackles softly, throwing warm, amber shadows across the dark oak floorboards.
I’m sitting propped up against a mountain of plush pillows, a soft cashmere blanket pulled over my legs. Hope is asleep against my chest, her tiny face flushed pink, her little mouth slightly open as she lets out soft, squeaky breaths.
Merrick steps out of the washroom, bare-chested and wearing only a pair of dark trousers. He’s holding a small silver spoon and a shallow bowl of thick, greyish-looking herbal porridge that Priestess Vanya insists I eat three times a day for "postpartum vitality."
He looks like a fearsome, Lycan King carrying a tea saucer.
"Time for your medicine, sweet girl," he says, trying and failing to sound stern as he sits down on the edge of the mattress.
I pull the blanket up to my chin, staring suspiciously at the spoon. "Merrick, that stuff smells like wet grass and disappointment. I am fine. I survived a birthing temple and a Fae brand. I can survive without the lawn-clippings paste."
"Vanya said if you don't finish the bowl, she’s going to come back up here and chant at me," Merrick rumbles, a faint, amused twitch tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Drink the grass, Jo. For my sake."
"You eat a bite first."
"I am the King of the North. I do not eat lawn paste."
“But I should? I thought wolves only eat meat anyway.”
“You are half human. You can get a nice, fat, juicy steak after you’ve had your… vegetables.”
“I am sure Vanya just cuts the grass outside the temple and mashes it up.”
“Yes, well, you still have to eat it. Vanya insists. And she says that it’s good for you.”
“Then it wouldn’t kill you. Eat some. You’ll love it.”
He stares at the bowl with a frown between his eyes. “Yeah… no.”
"Okay… if you won’t try it, then the mighty King of the North can explain to High Priestess Vanya why his Queen is on a diet strike," I smirk, shifting Hope slightly so she settles deeper into the crook of my elbow.
Merrick lets out a deep, gravelly sigh, muttering something under his breath about stubborn hybrid mates, before scooping up a tiny bit of the grey mixture and putting it in his mouth.
His jaw freezes. His dark green eyes widen slightly, and for a fraction of a second, the terrifying Alpha of the Northern Vanguard looks like he’s reconsidering every life decision that brought him to this bed.
I burst out laughing, keeping it as soft as I can so I don't wake the baby. "That bad?"
"It tastes like a swamp," he rasps, swallowing with immense effort and setting the bowl firmly on the nightstand. "We’ll tell Vanya you ate all of it."
"Deal."
Merrick climbs onto the bed beside me, sliding his massive frame under the duvet with practiced ease. He pulls me back against the broad contour of his chest, wrapping one long arm around my waist while his fingers gently smooth down the dark, thick tuft of hair on Hope's head. His skin is warm, a steady, unyielding furnace that burns away the chill of the Northern mountain air outside.
For a long time, we just watch the fire, listening to our daughter's faint breathing and the distant whistle of the wind through the pines.
“Does it ever get warm up here?” I ask. “It just feels like the cold clings to everything.”
“It does warm up a bit,” he answers. “But we never really get something you might call summer, we are too high up for that.”
“Can we ever leave? In Middletown we had nice summers.”
He nods. “Once the thread has been neutralised for good.”
I stare softly. I’m starting to feel a bit like a prisoner. "Any word from the south?" I ask, resting my cheek against his shoulder.
"Julian got a message from Atlas before dawn," Merrick says, his deep voice carrying a quiet rumble through his chest. "They tracked Athena to an old human mill in Middletown. They’re currently breaking down her doors."
I pause, blinking up at him in surprise. "Wait... Middletown? As in my Middletown?"
"The very same," Merrick nods. "It would appear your old hometown is a Cabal stronghold."
"Of all the dreary, miserable places to set up a secret villain lair," I mutter, shaking my head. "If Apollo destroys the local diner on Main Street, I’m going to be genuinely upset. They had the best cherry pie."
"I'm sure Apollo will burn it to the ground purely out of spite," Merrick dryly replies. "He complained for twenty minutes straight in his last message about the quality of human coffee."
I laugh softly, leaning into his side. "Do you think they can force Athena to help… I don’t know how do you put it? Undo Lysander I guess."
"We just say kill, because that’s what we want to do. And yes, they have to," Merrick says, his tone shifting into something dark, steady, and absolute. "With Apollo's fire, Atlas's strength, and Astraea's light, Athena won't have a choice. Once they drag her back to the vaults, the sorcerer will be able to… undo Lysander, as you put it."
“What if Athena won’t cooperate?”
“As I understand it, she doesn’t have to. The sorcerer can just extract whatever energy he needs from her with or without her permission. Her siblings will know how to restrain her.”
"So what do we do until then? Just sit here and wait?"
“Yes, we sit here and wait.” Merrick turns his head, pressing his lips gently against the side of my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin. "For once we can do that. Lysander is locked up and weak, the Cabal is in hiding, and we have a solid plan to end all of this. I dare say you’ll have to get a hobby."
“I have a hobby.”
Merrick laughs softly. “VidHub videos are not a hobby, and… Jo, I really don’t want Hope in your videos. I don’t want-”
“No,” I interrupt. “I agree. She’s not for public consumption.”
“Good,” he sighs and runs the back of one, massive finger over our daughter’s soft cheek. “She really is breathtaking, isn’t she?”
Hope twitches in her sleep, letting out a little squeak and stretching her tiny hands up toward Merrick. He catches one of her small fingers in his broad palm, bowing his head to kiss her tiny knuckles with a delicate tenderness that still takes my breath away.
We are safe, the three of us, here in our little bubble, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I keep thinking something will go wrong, because I never thought it was possible to be this happy and content with the world and myself.