Chapter 40

Haldir's rough hand made a path through her sweaty skin as it slid up Mory's back and grabbed her neck. He loved his wife no matter how he looked at her but seeing her spread out on top of him this way was he favorite.

She braced herself against Haldir's thighs with her hands and took her time savoring every inch of him as his cock hit every wall inside her.

While she rolled her hips against his, Mory found the sweet spot where the friction inside and outside hit her just right and she chuckled out drunkenly as she slowly rocked herself to orgasm.

Her round ass shimmied under Haldir's fingertips as the quake started inside her, and he kept her steady so she could finish. "That's it. Keep going."

When her rhythmic hip moves became a jumbled mess of uncoordinated jolts and moans, Haldir rose up on his hand to take over. His forearm wrapped around her chest, and she gripped it tight as he slammed into her from below until he sank his teeth into his shoulder and the force of his seed leaving his body made her gasp.

And everything was a blur to her as he tossed her about, until she was on her belly with him above her. He moved down her body pressing his lips to every inch of her, and when he got to her ass, the back of his hand wacked it and he slid to the floor. "Alright, cowgirl. We have places to be."

She was breathless as she watched until his perfect ass disappeared into his pants, like every day she spent there somehow made her weaker. "How much time do we have?"

He glanced outside the window and squinted at the dying light. "We need to get rolling. I don't like going to bed with an empty belly, do you?"

He slid his shirt over his head and yanked at her foot. "That means now, Morana. We can do all this later, but we mustn't keep the King waiting."

Mory's feet slapped against the floor as she went to the chair where she laid out her clothing. "White or black. Please help me decide. Which one do you think looks better?"

He gave his hair a shake in the mirror and spoke with her reflection. "Just pick one. You always look beautiful. There's no need to be so nervous."

She held both shirts up in front of her and studied them. "That's easy for you to say. You've known the man for a million years."

Haldir buckled the leather straps from his vest about his chest as he watched Mory twist her lips and swish the air in her cheeks as she decided between sweaters. "That's right, I have. You're getting yourself all worked up over nothing. It's a tempest in a teapot."

"I feel like I should wear a dress or something." Mory threw herself back on the bed and groaned. "Maybe Stella has something."

As he leaned over her, Haldir pressed his hands into the bed beside her cheeks. "You don't seem much like a dress wearer to me." He spent a minute to look down over her body, and Haldir raised his brows and puckered his lip. "Although, I can't say I'd mind it seeing you in something short and skimpy."

His hands grasped her hips and pulled her up with him. "The white one. There. It's all settled."

She was dripping with sweat already, and when she pulled her sweater over her head, she fanned it at the bottom to push air through it. "What do you think he wants with me?"

He held out his hand to her and nodded to the door. "Let's go find out."

She lifted her finger up to Haldir. "Just a minute, let me take a look at myself real quick." But when she looked at herself in the mirror, Mory rolled her eyes and rubbed her neck. "For real? You got to quit it with this biting my neck thing. I look like I have some terrible disease."

He yanked on her elbow and brought her to the door with him. "Living under this roof with us are no less than twenty Lycan, no one's going to give a damn about your little love bites, trust me. Now, let's go."

When Haldir closed the door behind them, he slid his hand around her waist and pulled her to his side. "You need not bow nor curtsy or any of that bullshit. Daniel's like family, well, I suppose he is family, and those formalities are for guests. Just be yourself, because he'll be able to sense it if you're not being genuine, and he hates that."

As they walked into the Great Hall, Haldir proudly kissed Mory's temple and the normally loud room came to a hushed silence when everyone turned to face them. Mory's heart pounded against her chest and her eyes darted quickly around the room to each face that looked back at her.

Even Haldir, who had eaten dinner in this hall thousands of times over the centuries, found himself more than a little uncomfortable with all the eyes upon him.

From the King's table, Daniel stood then walked to the front and held out his hand to the couple. "Please come forward, my friends."

Haldir's fingers slid between hers as he interlaced them and nudged her forward.

After he shook Haldir's hand, Daniel took Mory's and kissed the back of it as he bowed his head to her. "It is very, very great honor to meet you at last, Morana."

Her whole body trembled with his touch and her eyes teared over at the sheer power that radiated from him. He glowed in the brightest colors she'd ever see, and though she could barely even see the features of his face, she understood she was touching something extraordinary. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

He placed her hand on Haldir's, then his sat over his chest as he backed away. "No, Morana, you are family now. Just call me Daniel."

The Darke King's hands rose to his shoulders before he glanced back at his family. "Let me tell you a story about your husband, Morana."

His arms clasped behind his back, and he took a deep breath before he began. "Over two hundred years ago, I stood before my master and awaited my death."

His thumb motioned behind him. "Until my beautiful wife came to me in a vision and gave me hope enough to travel through all space and time to come find her in this world."

Daniel glanced at Mory and shook his head. "But she wasn't here. She lay dying in some filthy alleyway on Earth until Haldir found her and brought her home to her family, to me."

Mory wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Haldir a quick grin before she pressed her cheek against his chest.

A finger wagged in the air around him, and Daniel looked to Haldir. "Everyone in this room, every single soul, is here because of you, Haldir. There is no thank you so big to ever be enough to express how much you mean to the people of this kingdom, because there would be no kingdom without you."

His normally pale skin flushed pink and Haldir nodded to his king. "It was my honor, Daniel. It is my honor to serve you and Rosemary."

"I know that old friend." As he took a deep breath through his nose, Daniel turned his attention to Mory. "Morana, you've often wondered why you were given such a gift. You cursed it at times because it caused you so much pain. But through it, you comforted many. So many in fact, that they interceded in your favor so that you could come here to be with us. To save us."

She was surrounded by people with superpowers, and she looked them over before she shook her head at Daniel. "I don't understand, sir."

Daniel patted his fingers on his lips and nodded. "For hundreds of years now, we've been awaiting a war. We know that the evil is coming, it's in the air."

His shoulders shrugged up, and his hand flung out at her. "It makes it difficult to plan a defense when you don't know when you're going to be attacked." The side of his mouth curled up as he pointed at her. "But now we can know because we have you."

When he turned to his family, Daniel went to the table and took a small bag from his son, Damien. "There will come a day when you will see death on the faces that you love."

He dumped the bag into his hand and placed it on the tabletop. He jingled the contents in his hand as he returned to them. "You'll see it on those that I love, on strangers that you meet. It's you Morana. You and this gift you hate so much will be the warning, the alarm we have been praying for."

As he stood before them both, Daniel motioned for the family to stand by bending his fingers. While all of them gathered behind him, Haldir drew Mory closer to his side. Daniel's black hair shifted as his shoulders dropped when he sighed. "I understand you wish to join your family in the Woods. If any man in this Realm deserves a life of peace by the sea, it is you, my old friend." A finger rose between them. "But with the understanding that when that day comes, you will return to us so that we can make ready."

Daniel always understood everything before it was asked, and Haldir placed his hand to his chest to thank him for being dismissed from his command. "Of course. Whenever you need me, I'll be here. Always."

When he glanced down at his hand, Daniel chuckled at his own cleverness. "We heard that your wedding was" —he pushed out his lips as he shrugged his shoulders — "less than ideal." He crossed his arms and playfully rubbed his chin. "A bit rushed, perhaps."

Her two fingers pinched together as Mory smiled back at him. "Just a little bit."

His hand unfolded before them, and Daniel held two gold bands with the binding spell engraved on them. The one Haldir spoke as Mory lay dying underneath him. "These bands are blessed by us all, Haldir, because we all wanted you to understand our gratitude for you."

His fingers bent to Haldir, and when the Immortal gave his king his hand, he slid the ring down his finger. "I hope that you both have all the happiness in the world."

As he slid the ornate gold ring onto Mory's finger, Daniel grinned at her nervous shaking. "Mr. and Mrs. Osulf, when you are ready, please go with my blessing and your family's undying devotion."