Evenia smirks, not deigning to answer. She looks back at me. “We’ve got a lot to discuss, Dirk. Report to Belcastle in two days or else.”
She doesn’t wait for me to respond, signing off with a click. Her hologram disappears into the disk as I stare across the space at my mates.
Lou’s eyes well with tears as Connall slumps and pulls her into his arms.
She rests her head against his chest as she stares at me, the first tears falling. “What are we going to do, Dirk? I refuse to let you go.”
Crawling over to them, I straddle Connall’s legs and crush her between us.
“‘Twill be fine, my sweet. I’ll do this, because the sooner I go, the sooner I can return to you both.” I look from Lou to Connall and back again, drinking them in. “IpromiseI’ll be back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CONNALL
Six weeks later
Istride through the back door onto the porch, holding a tray of martinis for Lou and her nieces. The triplets have been visiting a ton since Dirk left for his stint at Belcastle. We’ve been inundated with visitors—Richard, Lola, half the pack. Even Amatheia and Bellami have come by a few times, bringing gifts and thanking Lou over and over.
The fact that Evenia forced Dirk to do time nearly crushed Lou and me. We’ve tried pulling every string we could, but as far as I can tell, nothing has worked to get him out.
Dirk being gone is the worst feeling. I love having time with Lou, but it was always meant to be all three of us. Him not being here leaves us hollow and empty. I’ve been keeping us busy. We’ve been having lots of conversations about the things she’s gone through, and how she’s feeling. She calls it therapy lite.
It’s definitely still not therapy.
“Damn, Connall,” Thea says. “You make a mean martini, sir.”
I smile as Lou’s eyes meet mine, then swirl blue. They do that a lot lately. But according to everything we’ve read about bluemagic, it’ll continue to compound and grow inside her until she’s strong enough to fight off armies.
Not that I’d ever want that for her.
Morgan looks at me, then Lou. “Have you heard from Evenia about your magic? It sucks that we couldn’t keep it a secret.”
“Arkan tried,” Lou sighs. “His official report didn’t mention my magic but I fucked up when Evenia called and I kinda revealed it. I was just so mad about Belcastle. But Evenia’s a real piece of work, and Leighton’s release was public, so I’m not surprised. I offered to do the occasional favor for her if she let Dirk come home, but she didn’t budge, that bitch.”
“Well,” Wren says evenly, “maybe if Dirk goes back to work as a hunter, you can join him as a badass blue witch and banish evil all over the place.”
I make a choked sound in the back of my throat. The last thing I want is for my mates to be running around looking for danger and criminals. The idea’s come up a few times since Dirk left.
Wren blanches. “Sorry, Connall. That’s probably not my best suggestion, huh?”
“Part of me feels called to that the more I think about it,” Lou admits, looking from her nieces to me. “But ninety-five percent of me wants to hole up here with my mates and enjoy life for a while. I want to hang out with you girls, too. And let’s not forget Iggy.”
Thea laughs. “He told us at family dinner the other night that he was super proud he’d been able to come over every single day.” Her brows travel upward. “Aren’t you lucky?”
“He’s great, actually,” Lou says with a laugh. “I taught him how to braid my hair, and he got into it, so now he comes over and just plays with my hair for hours. It’s fab.”
I grin and return to the kitchen, thinking about how cute Iggy and Lou are together. A breeze follows me, rustling my hair andbrushing cold touches over my cheeks. Dirk’s not out for another sixteen weeks, but I swear I feel him in the wind. I’ve been spending a lot of time outside, closing my eyes and letting the air dance around me. When he returns, Lou and I have gifts for him—a silver cuff from me and a wedding band from her.
Returning my focus to the dinner in front of me, I reach for a knife to cut veggies when there’s a soft pop, and a cool presence at my back.
Elegant blue fingers slide along my forearm to my wrist, encircling it as my mate presses his big body to me. “Och, Wolf, how I’ve missed yeh.”
I flip my wrist and grab him, yanking him to me and placing him on the countertop. Grabbing his knees, I shove them wide and stand between them, drinking him greedily in. The stubble on Dirk’s jawline’s thicker, and he’s a little thinner than when he left, his cheeks gaunt. But that same blue sparkle is in his eyes. Nobody can dim Dirk, no matter what they do to him.
“You’re home early.” I grip his throat and stroke his lower lip. “How?”
“Good behavior, my love,” he says with a wry chuckle. “Tae be honest, I think Abemet called in a favor. Betmal himself showed up to retrieve me.”
