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TWENTY-SIX

EVELIN

Kinley’s gone.

I don’t know where she is or how we’re gonna get her back, but the club won’t stop until they find her. I wish there were more I could do to find her myself. But what can I do?

The guys have been in a meeting since we got back to the clubhouse. Fire and Heat made sure that one of the prospects was watching me before leaving me alone. I can’t even be mad at them for putting a guard on me. I screwed up.

I screwed up big time.

They both said what happened wasn’t my fault, but it was. I don’t care what they say otherwise. If I never met Holstein in the first place, Kinley would still be here.

“Everything happens for a reason.”

I spin around on my seat at the bar, only to come face-to-face with Fire’s mother, Freyja. She’s more beautiful than the last time I saw her. In the stories my mother told me about her, I always knew she would be gorgeous, but the woman is a Goddess and downright succeeds just beautiful.

“Um . . .” I don’t know how I should greet the other woman, and my mind goes blank upon sight of her. I mean, how do you greet a Goddess? Your majesty? Goddess? Do you curtsy? Bow? Give a gift?

Freyja smiles and reaches out to stroke my cheek. “I’m just Freyja to you, my lovely.”

“Ugh, okay,” I stammer, still feeling uncertain.

“You should know this and not blame yourself for what happened,” Freyja says, dropping her hand away. “Everything in life happens for a reason. Free will and all that goes with it . . .” She waves her hand nonchalantly. “We cannot interfere with that, or well, we’re not supposed to. You should know I love my sons as I love my daughters. I’ve hated that I was not able to raise them myself. But still, I watched over them from afar. Made sure they would never go without the love that was meant for them.”

“What do you mean everything happens for a reason?” I find myself asking.

“You’ll have to find out. Soon enough, my child,” Freyja answers. “But ‘til then, don’t blame yourself. Guilt will do nothing to ease anything in life. The troubles you and Brandr will face are not over with. Not in the least. Soon, you’ll know what I mean. But you should know now love and beauty are what’s in store for you and Brandr. The babies you now carry will flourish and grow because of what’s between you and my son.”

“Babies?” I squeak out. “How do you know this?”

“My child.” Freyja laughs and raises her hands over her head methodically. “Have you forgotten so easily who I am? I’m more than just the Goddess of Love. I’m fertility, war, sex?—”

“Beauty, gold . . .” I go on for her, remembering the stories my mother would tell me. “Is it true that you would weep gold tears for a lost husband?” I blurt out my question.

Freyja gives me a small smile and steps away. “Loving one so deep can never be replaced. Remember that and love my son as I know you will.”

Before my eyes, she disappears, and I blink, unsure if she was even there in the first place. I glance around the room and shake my head. Everything else in the room was normal, and the prospect that was watching me was also behind the bar wiping it down.

Across the room, the horas were pouting and looking upset while glaring at me. But they didn’t speak one word toward me.

My hand goes to my flat stomach as Freyja’s words ring true in my ears. Of anyone, she’d know I was pregnant, and it seems I’ll have two babies. How in the world am I going to break it to Fire that we’re going to be parents when I know neither of us is gonna be ready for it?

After a while longer, all of the members of the club finally reappear from the back. My eyes level on Fire immediately, and I give him a small reassuring smile.

Fire breaks through his brothers and comes directly to me. I open my legs, allowing him the space to get as close as possible for him to step into. His fingers sink into my hair, and he holds tight.

“You okay?” he asks, tilting my head back.

“Not really,” I give him the truth and take a breath. “But I will be.”

“Yeah, you will,” he murmurs and dips his head in. “We’ve got unfinished business between the two of us.”

My thighs spasm at the mention of unfinished business, and I secretly look forward to it.

“We do, but I have to tell you something first,” I tell him quietly and slide my hands up his chest to wrap around his shoulders.

“What?” he asks, watching me closely.

“Your mom was just here,” I confide.

“What the fuck?” he grumbles. “What did she say to you?”

“Well, she told me that everything happens for a reason,” I retell him all of that part of what Freyja shared with me and get to the biggest part of it, stopping long enough to take a deep breath. “She also shared that we are pregnant. Twins.”

Fire blinks, blinks again, and his body looks visibly tight through my talk but seems to go still at the mention of me being pregnant.

I start to pull away when he doesn’t say anything and lower my hands to my lap, eyes to his chest. “I get it’s still new between us, and we’re not ready?—”

“Marry me, Evelin,” he blurts out, interrupting me.

“What?” Now, it’s my turn to be surprised.

“Marry me. Be more than just my woman and ol’ lady. Be my everything.” Fire growls, tightens his fingers in my hair, and dips his head even closer. “Known you all your life, loved you from the moment you first made me laugh. We might not be ready, but we will be, and when they come, I want those kids to know that both their parents love them and are connected in every way possible.”

“Yes,” I whisper my answer, nodding, tears spilling down my cheeks. All I’ve ever wanted was to be his. His everything, and now I am.