Chapter 37

He was only a man, after all, not one of these magical creatures of the Realm. A thud came from the downed log on the ground when Haldir threw himself to it. Be it the gunshots, the cigarettes, or being separated from his mate, a dull ache sat in the center of Haldir's chest as he worked hard to catch his breath.

It was many years since he walked the forest path, and as he looked all around him, he wrinkled his face at how unfamiliar it seemed. Not that remembering each nook and cranny of that dirt road would have mattered, if he didn't know where Mory was along the path he wouldn't be able to mist to her anyhow.

But a hot wind crossed his face, and with it came the stink of sulfur and burned flesh. And as soon as he caught it, he understood immediately who had caused it. He'd know the scent of his children's fires anywhere.

Whoever was ahead of him was family, and Haldir pressed his hands into his aching knees to stand. He was caked in sweat and dirt, and there was a new pain in his low back that was quite a bastard. But his steps were steady as he jogged the path.

As he came to the clearing where a smoldering pile that used to be living sat, he shook his head at his luck. "You have to be kidding me?"

Though as he noticed the scenery and the hollowed-out tree, a flashback of his drunken dream on the couch came to him. His calf still ached with the arrow Mory caught, but he finally understood where she was now. And just as his mist started to leave the ground beneath him, the snarls and gurgles of the goblins got his attention.

A cloud of dust and ashes polluted the air when Haldir dropped his bag to the ground, and his fingers grasped the pointy end of the ax on his chest. One tug pulled it free, and the handle spun in his palm as he readied himself.

They had trailed him for nearly a mile, and as he approached the three goblins, they itched for a taste of him. But all the first one got was an overhand chop and a hatchet to his head.

There was a buzz in his blood, and with each strike of his ax-clad hand, a little more of that ache disappeared.

He spun away and his blade met the next goblins belly, and he kicked the beast free of his ax quickly to deliver it again to the last monster. But on second thought, he smiled at his blade and dropped it to the ground.

Like the Viking man he once was, his hands wrapped around the goblins head, and he slammed his body to the ground. Straddled above him, Haldir's fist pummeled his face over and over until the beast moved no more.

***

"Well, I best be getting back soon before Jacob and Logan lose their damn minds." A hot hand pulled Mory closer as they walked arm in arm down the hall after breakfast. A soft hum of a laugh came from Tessa's nose as her head swatted no. "I've never been gone overnight without one of them with me before; they're probably climbing the walls by now."

"Ugh." Mory didn't mean to groan as she sighed at the two men in her vision, but when she did, Tessa's arched brow rose up to meet her. The shoulder of Mory's white sweater jerked upward. "They kind of keep you on a short leash, huh?"

The castle always seemed familiar to her, and as she traced the stone walls with her fingers, Tessa wished she could just stay. "They try to. They hate this place, and don't care much for Daniel's people; guilty conscience, I guess. So this is the only time I can get a second to myself."

One hand rested in her back pocket as she held Tessa's hand and nodded. "Yeah, I bet they don't. It doesn't bother you, though? The mind-reading? Because, to be honest, it kind of freaks me the hell out."

"Awe, honey, no." With her hip, Tessa pressed the door open to Mory's room. "I'm quite sure it's the Darke family who is uncomfortable with it. They don't get to choose what pops into their head any more than you do."

She twisted around the post of the bed and let herself fall onto the fluffy fur blanket. "Besides, I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about me. I am what I am. I got a screw or two loose, and it's not my fault if the content in my belfry is a little too adult for all these prudes."

Mory collapsed beside her, and they held hands in the middle. "I'm really going to miss you, Tessa. I mean that." She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "These people are nice and all, but they're just not my people, you know?"

Tessa nodded against the arm she laid on. "I do. That's what keeps me where I am. My folks are there, my kids. Not that I don't feel welcome here, but I'm just a beach bunny, I guess. These cold ass mountains don't do it for me. But you're welcome in my house anytime." She pushed her finger into her shoulder. "Just remember that, Momma." She slapped at Mory's hip and pressed herself up. "You give that old man a big smooch for me."

Tessa held out her hand to her and gave Mory a yank to pull her up. And as she watched her pick up her bag from the dresser, Mory crossed her arms. "I can't wait to. Hopefully, I'll see you soon."

The way Tessa strolled down the halls like she owned them and glanced back over her shoulder to check out every handsome soldier she passed made Mory laugh out loud. And she rolled her eyes and shut the door when she heard her throaty voice say—"Hello there, sir. My, what a big sword you have. You mind if I touch it?"

And just as he always did when she visited, Teddy waited in the foyer to walk his sister to the gates of the city. "So, what do you think?"

Tessa's bag swayed under her round bottom as she swung it behind her and strolled beside him. "Oh, I'm in love with her myself."

"Uh-huh." He shooed her to the door with the back of his hands. "Don't you be getting any ideas about that. I think you've finally been knocked off Haldir's pedestal."

She narrowed her eyes to him as they came to the stairs. "You know, jealousy doesn't look good on a man your age, you should really work on that." Her fingers wiggled in front of his face. "I mean, look at all those forehead wrinkles you're getting from being such a fucking sourpuss all the damn time."

He shoved his hip into her and nearly knocked her from the stairs. "Shut up."

She was already hopping down the steps when he got the door closed. "You don't have to walk me out. I'm quite sure I can find my way home. It's not exactly the first time I've been here, you know?"

When Teddy caught up to her, he crossed his arms and strolled beside her. "Yeah, but you become distracted easily. You'll be in the market collecting little shiny baubles all day while every unattached man and woman in the kingdom licks your toes if I don't watch you carefully. Jacob and Logan would have every wolf in the North looking for you and, frankly, I don't need that kind of headache."

As they came to the end of the cobblestone path by the gates, Teddy gave Tessa a quick hug and pushed her curly hair behind her ear. "Give Momma and Daddy my love."

When the pads of her fingers squished her lips, her noisy kiss echoed through the woods that led to the North path. And as she blew it at Teddy, she winked, and darkness littered with bolts of tiny blue lightning and a whiff of brimstone swirled around her. "I love you, Teddy Bear."

And as she faded from his world, Teddy caught a peek at a form that looked back at him through the mist where his sister just stood. The back of his hand swatted at what remained of his twins’ magic, and he locked eyes with a face he'd not seen in ages.

Dusky fingers went to the center of the man's head before they rested over his heart, and when he was engulfed in a glowing white and gold orb of light, every cell in Teddy's body exploded with fear. "It can't be."

When the light dimmed, nothing remained of the stranger, and Teddy's knees buckled. "No." He steadied himself on the Sentry's shack, and his eyes went to the sky above him. "Please, don't do this."