“Erik. My husband. I know you never loved me as I loved you. I thought you incapable of such a tender emotion.” She glanced at Erik’s daughter. “Yet even though you never loved me, I see that you love this child, as you would have loved our own.” A single tear slid down her cheek. “I forgive you for not loving me, my husband. I forgive you with my whole heart and soul. I loved you in life. I love you now. I will love you . . . forever.”
Dominique’s gaze settled on her mother’s face again. “But you . . .” She shook her head, her eyes filled with reproach. “Unless you return the child to her father, I will never forgive you for what you have done. Not in this life. Not in the next.”
Her image faded, her voice grew distant, and she was gone.
Kristine stared at Erik, her eyes wide, her breath trapped in her throat as the wolf transformed, his body stretching, changing, until he stood naked before them, tall and strong and perfect. And human.
Erik’s gaze moved over all of them. And then, without a word, he went to stand before Charmion. She stared up at him a moment, her face as pale as death, and then she placed the child in his arms.
A wave of her hand, and the witch was gone.
“Erika.” He murmured his daughter’s name aloud for the first time. “Erika.”
Chapter Thirty
Kristine hurried forward, her eyes damp with tears as she placed her hand on Erik’s arm. At last, they were all together, as they were meant to be.
“She’s beautiful,” he said, “just like her mother.”
Edith gestured at her son, then nudged her husband. “Do something.”
“What? Oh, of course.” With a wave of his hand, Caddaric clothed Erik in a shirt of white lawn, buff-colored breeches, and a pair of kidskin boots.
Erik glanced over his shoulder, a wry grin curving his lips. “Thank you.”
Caddaric nodded, his eyes twinkling.
Erik handed his daughter to her grandmother, then drew Kristine into his arms. “And you,” he murmured, his voice thick with unshed tears. “How can I ever thank you for your trust, your unfailing devotion?”
“Oh, Erik.” She clung to him, her hands running over his back and shoulders, moving over his face. He was beautiful, so beautiful. And whole again, at last.
“Tell me,” Caddaric said, “do you remember what it was like to be a wolf?”
Erik nodded. “But I would rather forget.”
Edith poked her husband in the ribs. “No more questions!” she exclaimed. “Can you not see they wish to be alone?”
“What? Oh, of course,” Caddaric said. Ushering his wife and the stunned priest out of the room, he quietly closed the door behind them.
“Kristine.” Ah, the joy of speaking her name.
“Erik.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Erik, I was so afraid I had lost you forever.”
“I missed you,” he said. “More than you will ever know.”
“No more than I missed you.”
Blinking back his tears, he hugged her to him. “Thank you, Dominique,” he murmured.
A warm breeze that felt oddly like a kiss brushed his cheek and was gone.
“It’s over,” Kristine said. “At last.”
“Ah, Kristine, do you know how much I love you?”
“As much as I love you?”
“More,” he said.
“No,” she said, smiling at him through her tears. “I love you more.”
Laughter welled up from deep inside him as he twirled her around the room.
“Come, my sweet Kristine,” he said, setting her on her feet. “We can argue about it at home.”
Home! She sighed as she cupped his face in her hands. “Ah, my lord Erik, don’t you know that you are my home?”
“And you, my love, are my life,” he said fervently, and he kissed her there, in the middle of the chapel, with the golden rays of the sun shining down on them through the window like a benediction.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Madeline Baker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4201-3562-6
First Electronic Edition: September 2014
eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3563-3
eISBN-10: 1-4201-3563-5
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