“Yes, the dwarf is gone. I have no idea about the demon, but I’m afraid I will learn who he is and the role he plays soon enough. Right now, though, that can wait. I have a wife to reclaim.”
Ignoring the snickering from the two wolves and goddess behind him, he marched back through the trees to find Hel on the ground with her hands clasped together and pressed against her forehead. The pained look on her face made his heart clench.
He leaned over, careful not to touch her. “You drive a hard bargain, my love,” Émilien’s gravelly voice whispered in her ear. “See? Didn’t I promise to show you the sunshine?
Her eyelids snapped open, and she turned toward him with a gasp as she scrambled to her feet. Before he could move, she threw her arms around his neck and held him as tightly to her as she could, as if he would disappear again if she let go. His paws snaked around her waist, pressing her to him, his fur soft and warm against her cheeks.
“Don’t ever leave me again,mon loup.”
“I never wanted to leave you in the first place, Hel.” He nuzzled her hair with his snout, knowing it would send chills over her entire body. “I also like it when you call me your wolf in French.” He pulled her away, gently kissing her forehead. “I pledge my life, my heart, and my soul to you, my wife, for now until the end of all worlds.” Reaching into his bag, he pulled out her wedding ring and held it out to her.
Her eyebrows rose. “You kept it?”
“It was a part of you. I couldn’t let it go.” He rubbed her ring finger between his before slipping the ring over her knuckle where it belonged.
Hel smiled and kissed the end of his moist black nose. “I, too, pledge my life, my heart, and my soul to you, my husband, for now until the end of all worlds.”
“Gods, but I wish I could make love to you.”
“That doesn’t matter—”
A sharp pain coursed through him, forcing him to fold almost in half. Hel tried to hold onto him, her hands sliding up his arms as he fell to his knees. He let out an agonizing scream. Her eyes widened, as he transformed into his true form, furless, with hands and feet, and a nose that was proportional to his face and much smaller. He exhaled with a hiccup, once more an elf.
Dropping beside him, Hel pulled him to her, cradling his head against her chest as she caressed his cheek. “Oh, dear gods, but I have waited so long for this.” She kissed the top of his head. “I’ve missed seeing your handsome face and running my fingers through your hair.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting her to see the concern he wouldn’t be able to hide from her. “While it feels amazing to be an elf again, what if I can’t change back into a wolf? It’s what gave me my guardian status. More so, what if I do and get stuck in that form again?”
Hel smiled. “I think you worry too much. I love you no matter what form you are in, Émilien. You are my everything. Besides, I am very partial to your wolf, but if it worries you so much, let’s find out. Change into a wolf right now.”
He frowned. “Really?”
“Yes. Right now.”
Unsure how he was supposed to do that, he thought of what it felt like to be inside the wolf’s fur, the strength in his limbs and the length of his face.
“Well, you made that seem easy.”
He raised his hand, which was now his wolf’s very familiar paw.
Hel caressed the fur on his cheek before kissing the tip of his nose. “Now, I need to see my handsome elf lord again.”
Just as he’d done changing back into his wolf, he thought about what it felt like to live in his own skin and reveled in the change, watching his long claws morph into much shorter fingernails. He turned his hand from back to front before giving Hel a cheeky grin. “Your elf lord returns.”
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, and he forgot everything he had been about to say, savoring in the softness of her mouth, the heat as it spiraled into him, surprising him once more since she was usually ice-cold to touch. She feathered the back of her fingers over his cheek and broke the kiss, her smile lighting up her face. “Now, tell me what you found out about the Death Realms and who may be harming them.”
“I discovered who was behind everything plaguing me in the Shadow Lands and all the mishaps that happened throughout my life. A dwarf named Heldric Bladerunner. Evidently, his life was a complete lie, told to him by his twisted mother, who died for killing his father. He didn’t believe me, so I sentenced him to eternity in the Alfheimr prison.”
“So, do you think he was behind the problems in the death realms?”
Émilien shrugged. “I doubt it, but we can only hope.” His gaze looked over her shoulder, the image of the demon in his mind. “We can only hope.”
Large white paws appeared beside him, and an impressive white werewolf laid a black cape over his naked body before squatting, his focus on Hel. “It’s nice to meet the goddess who rescued my family and has ultimately saved us all. My name is Laurent, and I pledge my service to you and Émilien for as long as you both desire it.”
“Us too, Papa,” Marcel said, pulling Claude forward.
“What is happening?” Hel whispered, her gaze dropping back to Émilien’s incredibly handsome face.
“Your wishes have been granted, my lady, and your new lives have now begun,” the white wolf said before moving back to his son and nephew.