Page 37 of Slaying With Sylphs (Haven Ever After #6)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CONNALL

S ix weeks later

I stride 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 blue magic, 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 and brushing 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.”

“Good. I’ll thank them later.” I push forward to slant my mouth over his. It’s a desperate kiss, the kiss of a male who’s missed his mate so much, it hurt. I devour him, clutching him to me like I can’t ever let him go. We part long enough for him to gasp out Lou’s name.

“Outside,” I manage. “With the triplets.”

“Let’s surprise her,” he whispers into my lips.

I need to know what happened while he was in there. Is he okay? Was he hurt? I need to feed him. Now that he’s back, I want everybody gone. I need my mates naked. Under me. Over me. Coming long and hard.

Protect. Feed. Love. Those motivations ride me as I look from him to the back porch. Lou needs to be with us.

Now.

A million to-dos flow through my mind as I stalk to the back door and lean into the doorway. Four pairs of eyes flick to me.

“Lou, can I see you for a moment in the kitchen?”

She gives the triplets a quizzical look, and Thea sips loudly at her martini. But my mate joins me in the doorway. I grab her around the waist and pull her around me, her back to my chest.

Dirk sits on the edge of the island, leaning back on both hands with a wide grin. His lightning flashes erratically. “Hello, Louanna, my beauty.”

Lou lets out a strangled gasp and runs for him, leaping into his arms. They fall off the counter, but Dirk manages to stand. She wraps her legs around his waist and kisses him.

The triplets join us, but upon seeing Lou and Dirk clutched together, they say goodbye and head for the door.

“We’ll make up dinner sometime later,” I promise as they go.

“No need,” Morgan says with a smile. “This reunion is more than worth it. Lou is worth it; she’s worth anything.”

I smile, returning my gaze to watch Dirk devour our woman.

She’s right. She’s worth all the blue moons in the sky.