Page 5 of Wishing Upon a Monster (Monster Brides Romance #40)
Aurora
I t took some convincing to get my–– husband to take me back to our headquarters.
He refused to allow me to ride in the car with the other enforcers, opting to instead carry me at unnatural speeds through the forest. I clung to him as we glided, the only adjective I could summon that felt remotely close to whatever this was, and I tried and failed to figure out how to annul this marriage I found myself in.
Unfortunately, our handbooks didn’t cover accidental weddings during battle .
Which is why we now sat around the conference table, a ring of forest camo combat suits interrupted by a very nude obsidian god, sitting opposite our council representative and her husband, both dressed in poolside attire.
I felt a twinge of guilt knowing that my actions had interrupted one of their rare days of freedom; instead of the pool, they now got to sit in the back of the base debating the validity of a wish made to a god underwater.
“So, y'all are telling me this is legal,” Gatlin Duvall asked, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.
I owed my job to Gatlin and his cooperative vision. Over the past thirteen years, he’d learned a lot about the magical world, but things like being wedded to an ancient deity mid-battle still threw him for a loop. Hell, it threw me for a loop, and I was born into this shit.
“Legal is not the term; binding is the most accurate,” Palmer murmured, her vermilion skin almost glowing in the fluorescent lights as she searched through a book that looked like it might have seen the birth of the United States.
“I see here that one of my brothers did, in fact, have ten acres sectioned off to ‘the Br?ndmand.’ Though in our current records, the only thing denoting a Br?nd, or well, is Weller’s Pond, and the name ‘Olan’ is written here underneath, which until now I assumed, incorrectly, was the person who named the body of water. ”
I shifted stiffly in said Weller’s lap. He had not released me, but to be fair, I hadn’t asked, because how the fuck do you ask a god for bodily autonomy?
He certainly didn’t look like the ‘love thy neighbor’ type.
Nevertheless, when I wiggled, he obliged, loosening his arm from around my waist and resting his hand on my leg.
His hand, I should mention, took up my entire thigh.
Not that that made me nervous or anything.
Cool as a yeti.
The horror whose lap I sat on chuckled, the rusty sound making those around us wince.
“I haven’t heard my name spoken in a long time.
Your brother, Thomas, I believe, bought the land without checking to see if anyone else lived there first. It was of no consequence to me, I had my well, but I didn’t like neighbors, so we settled on ten acres for my exclusive use.
I admit, I have been asleep for centuries.
I assume the water table rose, or something to that effect, and my well slowly became a pond. ”
“Why does it matter if he owns the land?” Nash Thistledown, my day shift supervisor, asked, his perfect fae features twisted in anger.
“Because his ownership supersedes our claim on the area; he was there first. He never signed the Eastwood River Treaty. He did not agree to be under my family’s protection,” Palmer explained solemnly, closing the books she had been examining.
“We trespassed on his land because his pond is not a part of the preserve, even though it resides within the current borders.”
My throat went dry at her explanation. Motherfucker.
“It is not my fault that you built your haven on my doorstep, madame,” Olan said lazily, “But even if I were a part of your treaty, which I will consider signing, once I look over the particulars, my wife made a wish. It cannot be broken.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t read the fine print, I was a little busy at the time,” I huffed sarcastically.
“I doubt you would have been able to read it, being it was ten or so feet under water,” He replied, squeezing my thigh gently and making me squirm.
I stilled. “Are you serious? There were instructions !” I turned in his lap, looking up at his smirking face.
“That’s not fair,” Kenny slammed his hand down on the table, “as a man––”
“Do not,” Olan said, his voice clashing like steel colliding with iron, the resonation causing all the hair on my arms to stand on end, the shadows in the room seeming to grow from every corner, crack, and seam with menacing intensity, “mistake me for such a simple thing as a man. I am not a son of Adam.”
I turned in his lap sideways, placing my hand on his chest, instinctively wanting to soothe away his anger. Olan’s hand cupped my hip, drawing me closer. I looked up into his ruby gaze, hoping he had a good nature I could appeal to .
“Please don’t kill Kenny, his mother loves him very much.” I thought towards him, stroking the cool skin of his chest.
Olan’s mouth twitched. “Ignorance of the conditions does not make the bargain null. She asked for help, and what’s more, her spirit accepted it.”
The shadows retreated, losing their sinister quality as his words echoed through my mind.
I accepted his help spiritually? It’s true that I wanted it, but I did not know the consequences.
Still, that doesn’t make what he said less true.
In that instance, we were outnumbered. I was severely weakened by red cap poisoning.
It’s possible they could have won the battle without me, okay, very possible, but would they have found me in time? Without Olan, would I have drowned?
There are too many variables to consider––
“Forgive us, Olan, we are just concerned,” Palmer sighed, leaning back in her chair.
“If you can, please consider that all these questions are coming from a place of worry for Aurora’s overall well-being.
We don’t know much about your kind, or you.
If you were signed under the treaty, Aurora’s being human would mean she would be protected by the articles we put in place within.
However, you did not sign the treaty, and even if you did so now, we cannot retroactively place any conditions on you.
Thus, we are apprehensive about her safety. ”
Olan tilted his head to the side, bringing his fist to his cheek as if deep in thought. The thumb of his other hand gently stroked my hip, the action soothing, despite being a little foreign.
He keeps referring to me as his wife, so I don’t think he plans to hurt me. Why save my life to cause me harm? I find myself less worried the more I think about it, and that concerns me more than anything.
His massive hand gives my hip a squeeze, then he straightens up, his other hand lowering to the armrest, his posture very reminiscent of a king of old.
“As I said, I am not a man, yet I am aware of how men treated their women the last time I was fully awake. I will make a vow,” he said, looking down into my eyes, “I will never intentionally harm you; I will never threaten your life. I will never force any carnal acts upon your person, nor mentally subjugate you or anyone you care about, as long as your safety is not being threatened by those same beings. I will be a partner to you, in any way you wish, for as long as we live.”
The air around us shimmered, as if waiting for my response, and maybe it was.
I wanted to look around the room and assess everyone’s opinions, maybe draw this out for a few more hours, but I had a feeling I had to either accept this now or not at all.
It was plain to me, since no one had blasted him into next week or offered me an alternative, that this was it.
I could say no, but there was safety only in saying yes.
“I accept your vow,” I nodded, watching a brilliant, jagged smile stretch across his face. The glimmer surrounding us rushed into his obsidian skin, points of light shimmering like consolations before fading.
“Well,” Palmer said, breaking the silence, “I don’t think I could have asked for a better vow than that. I admit, I am surprised.”
“Oh?” Olan released my hip, giving me the space to turn towards her and Gatlin once more.
“That was extremely one-sided. You’ve not asked her for a similar vow,” Palmer raised a brow.
It’s not like I could do anything to him. I am powerless against––
“Min lille skat,” he said, tilting down to whisper in my ear, the smell of petrichor filling my nose, “I will forgive that thought because you do not yet understand. You have more power in this situation than you think.” He leaned back before addressing the room, “Considering I am trying to convince all in attendance that I mean no harm, I would think that would be a comfort. Aurora is worthy, and I will not harm her, nor does it harm me to make such a vow. Partners make such promises when they marry, do they not?”
“Er, yes,” Cece agreed, stroking one of her snakes thoughtfully, “though generally the groom and bride have agreed to wed beforehand.”
Palmer coughed, shooting Cece a look, “We could continue in circles all afternoon. We accept, for now, that this is binding, but understand that we will be looking into this wish and you, for Aurora’s sake.”
Olan made a gravely sound deep in his throat, a smirk pulling at his lips.
“I would expect nothing less, given who my wife is. You should not allow just anyone to run off with your warriors. I wish for her to continue her life as she has, just with me involved. I shall be involved. I also expect, once you discover that she is mine, you will respect my claim.”
Varying looks of resignation, distrust, and, from the shifters especially, acceptance mar the faces of my teammates. The acceptance shakes me the most.
I look down at the little black and gold bracelet wrapped around my wrist, thoughts tumbling around in my mind faster than a horde of goblins after a rabbit. I never thought I would get married; there was a stigma in our culture around marrying the Talentless.
I guess well-dwelling genies aren’t picky about their–– mates?