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And Hel wholeheartedly agreed.

Running so quickly that even with Carys’s Dragon sight everything was a blur, Hel heard the Dragoness roar, “Today we fight all comers for the glory of the Norse Goddess of Helheim and the Queen of the Dead, Hel Lokidottir!”

With the same battle cry from the Raven Guardsmen echoing the Dragoness’s, Carys launched herself into the air.Arms outstretched, her talons at the ready, a flash of light to the left caught Hel’s eye.

Refusing to be distracted, the goddess poured all of the Magic flowing through her veins into Carys’s focus and the Warrior Dragoness landed with a thud.Of course, Scrub had moved, and the Dragoness was fifty too far to the left.

Spinning on her toes, tracking the giant bug and her army’s every move, not willing to let the nasty, shining, scale-covered insect get away, Carys stopped dead in her tracks and the goddess’s heart skipped a beat when Liv yelled, “Hel!Dammit!Pay attention.”

Eyes darting to the right, the Warrior Dragoness and the goddess were dumbstruck.They couldn't believe their eyes.Was it… How was he…?No.Check.How the hell had he escaped?Was he okay?Was he…?”

"Hopper?"The words were at least an octave lower than Hel’s or Carys’s in any other form and thick with the accent of Wales as it flew from the Dragoness’s snout.

But there was no denying what they saw.The truth was standing beside Liv.From the top of his dirty blonde curls to the tips of his perfectly worn boots, it was the man made for her by the Universe, the one and only Omnipotent Being known as Hope.

With Pat on Hopper’s other side, smiling like he couldn’t care that there wasn’t a war about to kick off fifty yards from where he stood, the Omnipotent Being known as Patience waved as Hel and Carys stuttered, “H-how… How d-did…?”

Without answering or letting the goddess and the Dragoness say anything else; Hopper took off running.Looking directly into Carys’s gaze, his electric blue eyes locked onto Hel’s and the missing piece of the goddess’s soul, the one that meant she and Hope were truly meant to be together, clicked into place.

Floating on a cloud of the best happiness she’d ever felt, Hel opened her mind to his ready to profess her love when he roared,“Hit the deck!They’re coming in from every direction!”

ChapterNineteen

When his Cousin Prudence coined the phrase: “All the planning in the world can’t beat Dumb Luck,” Hopper never expected it to define his happiness or his Mating to the only woman he’d ever loved.But there it was… And there they were.In the same place as a massive stroke of the proverbial Dumb Luck, and if his omnipotent powers told him anything, it was that they were about to have a wholelotof company.

But still, even with the chaos all around, Hel hadn’t run away.She hadn’t even looked away.

In fact, she returned his gaze and opened her heart and soul to him.It was wonderful and glorious and all that was missing was taking her in his arms and sealing their union with a kiss.

Of course, as he’d expected, his Mate had secrets.Nothing bad, or that deterred him from the love he’d felt the first time he’d seen her, or that had been growing since that very moment.

Oh, no, nothing like that.Hopper was quite sure nothing on Earth or in the Heavens or Hell could ever convince him that Hel Odinson Lokidottir was the one woman in all the world meant to be his.He’d waited–not always so patiently– for lifetimes to claim her as his own.The fact that she was a Dragon Shifter–a magnificent, glorious, beautiful female Dragon Shifter, only served to strengthen his already ironclad resolve that she was the one made for him by his Aunt, the Universe.

He’d always known she was spectacular, and seeing her Shift into one of the Universe’s Chosen Warriors, knowing that she shared her soul with the sister of the Welsh Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch was simply further confirmation that Hel was one of a kind.It also explained why he’d felt such an affinity for the Amazonian Clans and proved once again that there were simply no coincidences, and his Auntie Universe did not make mistakes.

For a split second, Hopper wondered if he was the only one not in the know about his goddess’s alter ego.However, Liv’s reaction–a gasped, “What the fuck?’followed by “Hel’s gots some serious splainin’ to do…” Then Dade, the Lupine of Legend’s grumbled, “That girl has always been a wild card…” said he most assuredly had not been left out of the loop.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t time for Hopper to share a first kiss with his Mate or for the Valkyrie to question her friend, for there were portals opening at all four corners of the compass.Not to mention, he had some questions for the gigantic insect hellbent on killing his Mate and needed to know that the Amazonian Dragon Clans he’d rescued, who’d pledged their lifelong allegiance to him, were safe and unharmed.

Done being held at bay by Liv, her Familiar, and Pat, Hopper took the few brief seconds they were distracted, to slide to the right and race around them.Sprinting toward Hel, he only had to think of being by her side and there he was less than fifty feet from his Mate,

Overjoyed, and admittedly a little nervous, he decided to be his usual cheeky self, threw caution to the wind and mentally assured,“I am yours to command, Goddess.”

Her chuckle was music to his ears, but when she replied,“And I am yours in all ways, always and forever,”his heart filled with more love than he’d known it could hold.Ready to snap his fingers, put everyone back where they belonged–especially the ‘Scrub’ that had once been Hel’s sister–and whisk his Mate to his home, Hopper got as far as lifting his hand when the portals opened and thundering, pounding footfalls shook the mountaintop.

Not one to be easily deterred, he went ahead and slid his thumb across the pad of his middle finger.The snap was loud and staccato, and… nothing happened.Not even a spark.What the hell was going on?For all intents and purposes, they were onhisisland, Dreki Island.His Magic, and that of his cousin, flowed freely and had protected the beautiful oasis for centuries.

So where was that Enchantment?Why wasn’t it working?Who had the Power, and quite frankly, the balls block him?Looking at Pat, his Cousin slowly shook his head before

Looking to Pat, he got nothing but a shrug.Eyes going back to his Mate, he felt the Enchantment of both goddess and Dragoness, but even that was subdued.

Something more than they knew was at play, and Hopper needed to get to the bottom of it.He had to find out what Scrub had done to get on the island and that was all there was to it.Ready to ask his Mate if she felt it too, a wave of Mysticism, incredibly potent and totally unique, intensified as the first of the portals he’d seen coming opened.

Dark and dangerous, but somehow friendly and familiar, the dichotomy of Magic versus emotions coming from whoever was traveling thought the vortex was headed.Then the Leader came into view, and suddenly everything made sense.Marching out of the northernmost portal was the revered Wolfman of Norse Legend who valiantly fought alongside the Northmen for many a battle and defended the Gates of Helheim from the one-handed Norse god of War, Tyr’s ruthless attack.An imposing figure with dark fur with crimson running throughout, his eyes met Hel’s and everything became clear.

Garmr had been a true confidant and brother to Hopper’s Mate.He’s been there at her lowest and happiest moments, and she had reciprocated in kind.Instantly, the Wolfman of Norse Legend was a valued friend and one who would always be welcomed with open arms by the Omnipotent Being known as Hope and all Others of his Family.

Behind the ten-foot-tall Lupine was none other than Hel’s Army of the Dead.Thousands of souls of those who did not go to Valhalla or other Realms upon their death flowed onto the mountaintop following Garmr’s hand signals with military precision.Reanimated bodies, these battle-tested warriors who had not died on the battlefield, were ready and more than willing to give their undead lives for the goddess who had softened their descent and given them a peaceful afterlife.