Marisa Chenery: Love Everlasting

As Brand went to move in to take out the werewolf, he noticed a second stepping out of the shadows closer to him. He turned to intercept it. The beast growled when he saw Brand and went on the attack. Brand blocked the swipe of sharp claws swinging his way with the flat of his sword. He pushed the werewolf back and moved in to make the kill. The creature spun away at the last moment, obviously not one of the newly turned. Brand kept on him until the beast bled from a few cuts Brand had managed to inflict on the werewolf’s chest and stomach. The creature’s skin sizzled when the blade made contact. Once the opening came, Brand sank his sword through to his prey’s heart. The beast let out one last howl and then fell to the ground, dead.

That one taken care of, Brand turned to Chris. His new fellow warrior had the other werewolf by the throat, holding him in place. “You okay over there?” Brand asked.

“Yes,” Chris said in a voice much deeper and more gravelly than his normal one. “When you went to take out the other werewolf, this one tried to go help. I caught him and commanded him to stay where he was. He’s all yours now.”

Brand closed the distance between them and, as Chris stepped aside, stabbed the werewolf through his heart. It dropped to the ground just as the first had.

Willing his sword away, Brand called out, “Tiw, I call upon you. I have need of your fire.” The two werewolf corpses were engulfed in blue god-fire. The flames burned hotter, burning away the bodies in a few seconds. An unnatural wind blew the ashes away, not even leaving a scorched patch to mar the green grass to mark their passing.

Chris shifted back to his human form. “Well, that’s two more down. Do you think we’ll ever get rid of them all?”

“Eventually. It’ll just take some time. Their numbers are definitely decreasing. We don’t have as many new turns during a full moon.”

“True.” Chris chuckled. “Much to Wulfric and Dolf’s disappointment. They complained that there weren’t enough around for them to have their monthly competition of who can take out the most.”

Brand grunted. “They’ll find something else to compete against each other about. They aren’t happy unless they aren’t competing.”

“Very true. They can’t even like the same football team.”

Brand liked to watch football on the telly, but he wasn’t an avid, or rabid, fan of the sport as Dolf and Wulfric were. Though best friends, they sometimes came to blows over a game. The two would get it out of their systems and then forget about it and act as if it never happened.

“Are we all clear here?” he asked.

Chris nodded. “Yeah. I can’t sense any more werewolves around.”

“Then it’s time to move on.”

At the end of the night when Brand returned to the manor, he threw a change of clothes into an athletic bag and then tossed it onto the passenger seat of his car. It was about an hour or so before dawn. Since Elsa had given him a set of keys to her flat, he intended to make use of them and go over to her place now. He wanted to go to sleep with her in his arms and awaken with her still there.

He’d also decided he’d give her another couple of days before he brought her fully into his world. He’d introduce her to his “family” first though. And if he could, he’d try to see if she’d be willing to sleep over. Tiw protected the manor. None of Fenris’s get could get onto the property. She’d be safer there.

Arriving at Elsa’s flat, Brand drove around to the back and parked in the visitor parking. He grabbed his bag and then headed over to the building’s entrance. Using one of the keys Elsa had given him, he let himself inside. He took the stairs two at a time, moving at werewolf speed to the second floor since no one was around. Quietly, so as not to wake Elsa up, he unlocked her flat’s door and slipped inside. The place was dark, but that was no problem for him. He could see as if it were daytime.

Brand walked silently over to Elsa’s bedroom. The door stood wide open. He walked inside and put his bag on the floor. Elsa didn’t stir as he headed for the bed. She slept on her stomach with her head turned away from him. The covers were pulled down to her waist, giving him a good view of the thin-strapped tank top she wore.

As he neared, his gaze snagged on a patch of skin high up on her back, close to her right shoulder. There was a mark there. At first glance it looked like a bruise, but Brand knew that wasn’t what it was. Since Elsa was his mate, Tiw’s mark—the same one that was on the cap of his left shoulder, but slightly smaller—would eventually appear on her back, marking her as a mate. It wouldn’t fully appear until she’d come to accept him as hers. Brand wanted to howl. The sight of the mark starting to form made him feel even more possessive of Elsa.

Silently, he walked to the other side of the bed before he stripped out of his clothes. He lifted the covers and climbed in next to Elsa. She sleepily mumbled something and then rolled toward him, laying her head on his chest. Her arm came to rest across his stomach. Brand put his around her and held her tight. For the first time in a long time, he thought he’d be able to easily find his rest. He had the love of his life in his embrace, making him finally feel complete. He kissed the top of Elsa’s head and then closed his eyes. Sleep claimed him in a matter of seconds.

Elsa slowly came awake and became aware of the warm body she snuggled against. Her mind still a little sleep befuddled, she at first thought it was Teddy who held her. Then she remembered he was no longer her fiancé and that the male body she was draped over was much larger than her ex’s.

She blinked open her eyes and turned her head to look up. She smiled when she saw Brand still slept. He must have slipped into bed with her sometime during the night. Elsa wasn’t surprised she hadn’t awakened. She was a pretty deep sleeper, especially on the weekends when she knew she didn’t have to wake up to her alarm clock going off in the morning.

Lifting her head slightly, she saw it was almost eleven. Just the right time to make both of them brunch, but first she wanted Brand. After he’d left her the evening before, Elsa had thought a lot about him. She’d actually missed him and had hoped he’d use the keys she’d given him to come back this morning. And he had. To her, it was a good sign that maybe he wanted a closer connection with her rather than just as someone to have a good time with. It might seem as if she were rebounding too quickly, wanting to start a new relationship with Brand, but Elsa didn’t think so. She already felt close to him, and it had happened quicker than it had with Teddy, the man she’d thought she’d wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Elsa lifted the covers and saw Brand didn’t have a stitch of clothes on. An ache built deep inside her pussy. She didn’t think she could look at him and not want him. Remembering what it had been like to have him make love to her the day before, she felt wetness pool between her legs.

Shifting, she climbed on top of Brand and brushed her lips across his. “Wake up, sleepy.” She kissed him again, and this time he returned it.

“Hmm,” he said. “I think I like getting woken up this way.”

She lifted her head and stared into Brand’s now open eyes. “I know I liked waking up to you being in the bed next to me. What time was it when you came back here?”

He reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Close to dawn.”

“Do you want to sleep a little bit longer?”

Brand shook his head. “Do I feel as if I want to?” He put his hands on her bottom and pressed tighter against her.