The Dark-Hunters (196 page)

“So you’ll marry me?”

“Of course, you silly man.”

He moved to kiss her. The sword tilted and the rings went rolling across the floor. “Damn,” he snapped as they scattered. “I knew I was going to botch this. Hold on.”

He got down on his hands and knees and retrieved the rings from under the couch. Then he returned to her and kissed her lips hotly.

Cassandra savored the taste of him. He had given her so much more than she ever hoped for or dreamed of.

Nipping her lips, he pulled back. “In Norse custom, we did things backward. The couple exchanged plain bands at the betrothal. You’ll receive your diamond ring when we get married.”

“Okay.”

He slid her smaller ring on her trembling hand, then handed her the larger one.

Cassandra’s hand shook even more as she saw the intricate Norse design of a highly stylized dragon. She slid it onto his finger, then kissed the back of his hand. “Thank you.”

He cupped her face gently and kissed her. Cassandra was instantly dizzy.

“I have everything planned for Friday night if that’s okay with you,” he said quietly.

“Why Friday?”

“My people always married on Fridays to pay tribute to the goddess Frigga. I thought we could combine the customs of your people with mine. Since the Apollites have no set day of the week, Phoebe said it wouldn’t matter to you.”

Cassandra pulled him back to her lips and kissed the devil out of him. Who knew an ancient barbarian could be so thoughtful?

The only thing that would make this more perfect would be to have her father present, but Cassandra had learned long ago not to ask for the impossible.

“Thank you, Wulf.”

He nodded. “Now Kat and Phoebe need you to go shopping for a wedding dress.”

He opened the front door only to have Phoebe and Kat spill into the room.

They both gave false smiles as they righted themselves.

“Oops,” Kat said. “We just wanted to make sure everything was going as planned.”

Wulf shook his head.

“Of course it is,” Cassandra said. “How could it not?”

And before she knew it, they had whisked her away to a small shop down in the main part of the city while Wulf stayed in the apartment.

Cassandra hadn’t really been back to the city after Wulf’s “warm” reception and her horrifying discovery of Phoebe and Urian together.

Rather, she and Wulf had spent most of their time confined to their apartment where she was safe and didn’t have to worry about anyone insulting him.

It was nice to be out now, even if the air was recycled rather than fresh. Phoebe took her into a dress store that was owned by a friend of hers who was expecting them. In fact, all the women in the store were surprisingly friendly toward her.

Cassandra had a suspicion most of that was because they owed so much to Phoebe’s husband.

Melissa, the clerk assigned to help them, appeared around the age of twenty. She was a skinny blond woman no taller than five ten, which for a Daimon was tiny.

“This one could be easily altered by Friday,” Melissa said, holding up a sleek, gauzy dress that shimmered in the faint light. It was an iridescent silvery white. “Would you like to try it on?”

“Okay.”

As soon as Cassandra saw it in the full-length mirror, she knew there was no need to go any further. It was gorgeous and she felt like a fairy princess in it. The material was buttery soft and slid sensuously against her skin.

“You’re so beautiful,” Phoebe whispered as she stared at her in the mirror. “How I wish Mom and Dad could see you right now.”

Cassandra smiled at her. It was hard to feel beautiful with her stomach sticking out a mile, but at least she had a good reason for being fat.

“You are lovely,” Kat concurred as she helped to adjust the floor-length hem.

“What do you think?” Melissa asked. “I have more if—”

“I’ll take it.”

Smiling, Melissa moved forward and helped her out of it, then took measurements for the alterations. Kat and Phoebe left the dressing room and went outside to look for accessories.

“You know,” Melissa said as she measured Cassandra’s waist, “I have to say that I admire you for what you’ve done.”

Cassandra looked at her with consternation. “What do you mean?”

“Finding a Dark-Hunter to protect you,” Melissa said as she made notes on a small PDA. “I wish I had someone like that to look after my little ones when I’m gone. My husband died three months ago, and though I have another two years, I can’t help but worry about them.”

Two years …

Melissa looked younger than that. It was hard to imagine the vibrant, healthy salesclerk dying of old age in such a short time.

The poor woman had lost her husband. Most Apollites married people within a few months of their own age for that reason. It was considered a bonus to find a spouse who shared your birthday.

“Is it … painful?” Cassandra asked hesitantly. She’d never seen an Apollite die of “natural” causes.

Melissa made another note. “We make a vow here to let no one die alone.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

Melissa met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with unspoken emotions, but it was the fear there that reached out and made Cassandra shiver. “Do you want the truth?”

“Yes.”

“It’s unbearable. My husband was a strong man. He cried like a baby all night long from the pain of it.”

Melissa cleared her throat as if her own pain were too much to bear. “I sometimes understand why so many of our people kill themselves the night before. I even thought about moving my children to a new community so that they would have the choice, but up on the surface, we have too many predators to fight. Other Apollites, Daimons, Were-Hunters, humans, and Dark-Hunters who are looking for our brethren. My mother brought me here when I was just a child. But I remember the upper world well. It’s so much safer here. At least we can live openly without fear of someone learning about us.”

Cassandra couldn’t breathe as thoughts tore through her. She had known it wouldn’t be pleasant, but what Melissa described was so much worse than what she had imagined.

It would be bad enough for her to suffer … but what of the baby? He was so innocent. He didn’t deserve such a fate.

But then who did?

“Oh, here now,” Melissa said quickly, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay,” Cassandra said past the lump in her throat. “I asked and I appreciate your honesty.”

As soon as they were finished, Cassandra no longer felt festive, nor did she want to continue shopping. She needed to see Wulf.

She found him in the bedroom of their apartment, flipping channels on the TV. He turned it off the instant he saw her. “Is something wrong?”

She hesitated at the foot of the bed. He sat back against the pillows, his feet bare and one leg bent. The concern in his eyes meant the world to her, but it wasn’t enough.

“Will you hunt my baby, Wulf?”

He scowled. “What?”

“If our son grows up and decides he doesn’t want to die. Will you kill him for it?”

Wulf held his breath as he debated. “I don’t know, Cassandra. I really don’t. My honor commands it. But I don’t know if I can.”

“Swear to me you won’t hurt him,” she said, moving to stand beside him. She grabbed his shirt and held tight as fear and agony washed through her. “Promise me that when he’s grown, if he turns Daimon you’ll let him go.”

“I can’t.”

“Then why are we here?” she shrieked at him. “What good is having you as his father if you’re going to kill him anyway?”

“Cassandra, please. Be reasonable.”

“You be reasonable!” she shouted. “I’m going to die, Wulf. Die! Painfully. And I’m almost out of time.” She let go of him and paced back and forth, trying to breathe. “Don’t you see. I won’t remember anything after I’m dead. I’ll be gone. Gone from all of this. From all of you.” She looked around the room frantically. “I won’t see these colors. Your face. Nothing. I’m going to die. Die!”

Wulf pulled her into his arms as she sobbed against his chest. “It’s okay, Cassandra, I have you.”

“Stop saying it’s okay, Wulf. It’s not okay. Nothing we can do will stop this. What am I going to do? I’m only twenty-six. I don’t understand. Why do I have to do this? Why can’t I see my baby grow up?”

“There has to be something to help you,” he insisted. “Maybe Kat can talk to Artemis. There’s always a loophole.”

“Like you have?” she demanded hysterically. “You can’t escape being a Dark-Hunter any more than I can escape being an Apollite. Why are we even getting married? What’s the point?”

His gaze burned into hers. “Because I’m not going to let it end like this,” he growled fiercely. “I have lost everything I cared about in my life. I’m not going to lose your or my child to this. Do you hear me?”

She heard him, but it changed nothing. “What’s the solution?”

He pulled her roughly against his chest. “I don’t know. But there has to be something.”

“And if there’s not?”

“Then I’ll tear down the halls of Olympus or Hades or whatever I have to to find you. I’m not going to let you go, Cassandra. Not without a fight.”

Cassandra held him close, but in her heart, she knew it was futile. Their days were finite, and with every passing hour, she was drawing irrevocably closer to the end.

Chapter 14

By the time Friday came, Cassandra was more than ready for the wedding to be behind her. Her sister and Kat had kept her busy and frantic the whole week. Wulf had stayed blissfully out of their way.

If they ever asked him his opinion on anything, his answer was always, “I know better than to get in between three women arguing. If you’ll remember, the whole Trojan War was started over that.”

Chris wasn’t so wise and had finally learned to stay out of the apartment as much as possible. Or to run the minute he saw the three of them approaching him.

Now Cassandra stood in the bedroom, dressed in her wedding gown and waiting. Her long, strawberry-blond hair was left down around her shoulders as was the custom of Wulf’s people. She wore a silver crown intertwined with fresh flowers—another Nordic custom. Chris had told her that the crown had been passed down from Wulf’s sister-in-law through all the generations of his family.

It meant a lot to her to be wearing it now. To feel connected to Wulf’s past.

Wulf would also be wearing his family sword for the event, and when their baby married, he too would carry the sword strapped to his side.

The door opened slowly to reveal Urian on the other side. His long blond hair hung around his shoulders and he was dressed in an elegant black silk tuxedo. “Are you ready?”

They had decided after much debate to let him be her sponsor. Apollites didn’t have the same customs as humans. Since there was a good chance the bride’s parents were already dead, they chose a sponsor who would escort the bride down the aisle and deliver the customary words to unite the couple.

Cassandra wished they could have a minister for the event, but both she and Wulf had agreed that it would jeopardize the community too much to bring one in. So they would be married in true Apollite fashion.

At first, Urian had balked at the idea of being her sponsor, but Phoebe had quickly convinced him it would be in his best interest to play along with their wishes.

“You will do it and play nice with Wulf or you’ll sleep on the couch. Forever, and considering
your
age, that means something.”

“Is Wulf ready?” Cassandra asked Urian.

He nodded. “He and Chris are waiting for you in the main complex.”

Kat handed her the single white rose that was wrapped with red and white ribbons. Another Apollite custom.

Cassandra took the rose.

Kat and Phoebe took their places in front of her and led the way. Arm in arm, she and Urian walked behind them.

The Norse custom was for weddings to be held outside. Since such a thing was even more dangerous than bringing in a minister, they had rented the open merchant area. Shanus and several council members had gone out of their way to bring hydroponic plants and flowers to simulate a garden center.

They had even constructed a small fountain.

Cassandra hesitated as they entered the complex.

Wulf and Chris stood in front of the hastily constructed waterfall that still managed to be beautiful. She had half-expected Wulf to be dressed in his Nordic clothes. Instead, he and Chris were in tuxedos that matched Urian’s.

Wulf wore his hair long and loose, brushed back from his face. The silk of his tuxedo molded perfectly to his body, accentuating every muscled curve. Never in her life had she seen a more handsome man.

He was completely gorgeous.

“I’ll take it from here.”

Cassandra gasped as she heard her father’s voice behind her.

“Daddy?” she said, whirling to find him there with a wide smile on his face.

“You didn’t really think I’d miss my baby getting married, did you?”

She ran her gaze over his body, her heart hammering. She couldn’t believe he was here with her. “But how?”

He indicated Wulf with a nod. “Wulf came to the house last night and brought me here. He said it wouldn’t be a wedding for you unless I came. And he told me about Phoebe. I spent last night in her apartment with her so that we could catch up and then surprise you.” His eyes welled with tears as he stared at her stomach. “You look beautiful, baby.”

She threw herself into his arms, or at least as close as she could, given her distended belly, and held him tight. It was the best present Wulf could have given her.

She was blubbering like a child.

“Should we call the wedding off before you drown us in tears?” Kat asked.

“No!” Cassandra said, pulling herself together with a sniff. “I’m fine. Really.”

Her father kissed her cheek, tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, and led her to Wulf. Kat and Phoebe moved to stand behind Chris while Urian took his place by Phoebe’s side. The only other person present was Shanus, who stood back but watched them with a friendly expression that said he was more than happy to bear witness to the event.