Broken Heart 09 Only Lycans Need Apply(77)

I was free.

Ruadan put his hand on my shoulder. “Go home, Moira. ’Tis time.”

• • •

My eyes opened to a semi-lighted room. I was tucked into a comfortable single bed, the sheets and thin comforter pulled tight against me. I heard a rhythmic beep beep beep sound that was both alarming and comforting.

It took a few seconds for me to adjust to the fact I was awake and I was in a hospital room. Also something heavy was pinned against my thigh. I looked down and found Drake sitting in a chair as close to my bed as possible, his head and shoulders resting on me.

I lifted my hand, noted the IV attached there, and placed my hand on his head.

He woke.

“Moira.” He sat up, looking exhausted and like he hadn’t shaved in a while. He stared at me, drinking in my features, and his lips lifted into a ghost of a wicked grin. “You said you loved me.”

“I do,” I said.

“I love you, too.”

“Glad that’s settled.”

“Me, too.” He gingerly crawled onto the bed, on the other side, where my arm wasn’t impeded by an IV drip, and gathered me into his arms. “I thought you were lost to me. And without you, I could see no future.”

“Does it matter that I’m a unicorn and you’re a werewolf?”

“No,” he said. “But we will have to talk about winters in New York.”

I laughed.

He tucked my head under his chin, and I pressed against his solid, warm chest, listening to the beat of his heart.

Sacrifice.

Love.

Always.





Epilogue


I stood in the doorway of my own campus office and watched my new personal assistant and chief ass kicker at work.

“Stop bullshitting me,” said Dove into her headset. She plopped her booted feet onto my mahogany desk. “Get me the paperwork by tomorrow or you can kiss funding for your program good-bye.” She cocked her head and listened to what was surely a stream of blustery disapproval. “Oh, yeah? Well, just try that and see what it gets you. And dead is not an excuse. Trust me.” She pushed a button on the headpiece attached to her ear and eyed me from her position behind my desk. “What are you doing here?”

“Glowing with pride,” I said, pretending to wipe a tear from my eye. “I bet whoever you just pounded into the ground is still bleeding.”

“I learned from the best.” Dove’s gaze went over my shoulder and I turned to see Doriana standing behind me, her spindly arms on her hips.

“Sea urchins,” she said. “We must have the research funding. It’s imperative—”

“Whatever you want,” I said. I looked at Dove. “Right, Dove?”

“Anyone who has punched Karn in the face has my approval,” she said. She shooed me away. “Don’t you have a mysterious and lengthy trip to take?” She waved Doriana inside. “I have a blank check, sister, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

Doriana flashed me a quicksilver smile. “Excuse me.” She paused. “There’s a werewolf lurking down the hall. They can be quite brutish, dear. Be careful.”

“Oh, I will.” I waved at Dove, and then I turned and hurried toward my brute of a werewolf. “Everything’s fine. She’s kicking administration ass like a pro.”

“We should get going.”

Our trip would begin in Germany, at the castle home of Drake’s brother and his family. Then we were headed to a dig site in Belize, and after that . . . well, who knew? Dove would be my eyes and ears at the college until I returned. Staying off the radar was not just about the honeymoon, but about protection. We weren’t sure who knew about my unicorn blood, and who might want it. There were, unfortunately, a lot more Karns out there.

So, we’d stay off the grid and with each other. And that was fine by me.

Drake brought me in close for a soft, sweet kiss. Then he moved back and offered his arm. “Ready, my beauty?”

I took his arm. “Yes,” I said. “I’m ready.”

And I was.