“That we’re mates?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered, staying on him.
He lifted his head slightly, put his face to the crook of her neck, and inhaled deeply. “The first time I caught your scent, and then when I first saw you.”
She stiffened. “No. I’m being serious. When did you figure it out?”
“Virginia,” he said, his lips finding her ear. “I’ve known from the second I met you.”
She sat up on him fast and straddled his waist, her hands going to her hips. “You’ve known for over a year and never once thought to bring it up to me?”
He bit his lower lip, and then got a silly look on his face.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she demanded.
A sexy grin appeared on him. “Because you’re beautiful, and when you’re worked up, you look even prettier. I didn’t know that was possible.”
She opened her mouth to yell at him but found it was hard to get mad at a man who thought you were beautiful.
With a waggle of his brows, he grabbed her and rolled, his lips finding hers as he pinned her to the floor, not the coins.
He stopped the kiss for a moment. “Virginia, are you ready to seal the deal?”
It took a second to realize what he was asking. When she did, she smiled up at him. “Yes.”
“Awesome,” he said, his lips finding hers once more.
Chapter Seventeen
Virginia blushed more as Luc glanced at her from the other side of the living room. He’d gotten an eyeful when he’d come upstairs and found Virginia and Sigmund finalizing their union and completing the claiming—more than once.
To Luc’s credit, he’d shut the door fast and hurried away.
The same could not be said of Betty, who had meandered in a few moments after Luc left. She’d wanted to let them know she was going to walk over to the market and get something to fix them for lunch.
There was no way Missi would ever let her live this down once Virginia told her all the details of what was, in actuality, her wedding day.
Her mother and grandmother would find great amusement in it all.
Her father, not so much.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him she was technically married at all. She kind of liked Sigmund in one piece.
She and Sigmund had showered, and Luc had somehow managed to have clothing that was exactly Virginia’s size and style on hand. She didn’t even want to know how the devil had managed that.
Sigmund eased up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. He was dressed fully now, in a T-shirt and jeans. Unlike the last time Luc had seen him, when he hadn’t been covered in much except for a few random gold coins that had stuck to his back from when they’d claimed one another on the floor of Petey’s room.
He kissed her ear and laughed softly. “It’s okay, hon.”
Her gaze snapped to Luc and her cheeks heated more.
“Pretty sure he’s responsible for original sin,” said Sigmund in an off-the-cuff manner that made Luc laugh.
Luc winked at her and she squeaked.
That only served to make her husband laugh again.
My husband.
It all still felt very surreal. She’d honestly written off the idea that she and Sigmund would ever have something real between them. She could still remember the night she’d first met him, and how she’d thought briefly that they might be something more to each other.
She twisted slightly in his arms and gave him a side-eyed look. “I can’t believe you knew we were mates for sixteen months but never said a word to me.”
Sigmund faked surprise. He then pointed to Luc. “He’s known since you were like three minutes old. Give him the riot act.”
Her gaze whipped to Luc. “Did he?”
Suddenly, the devil looked incredibly uncomfortable.
She snorted.
“Guys,” said Morgan, making Virginia jolt slightly. “Anyone seen what Betty has in the refrigerator?”
Virginia cringed as she thought about the night before. “Part of a squid’s tentacle?”
Sigmund perked. “What?”
“Last night, Betty showed up out of the blue when Petey grabbed me to keep me from getting pulled into the water again. She sliced off the end of the tentacle that was around my leg, and then walked off, talking about another family recipe she wanted to make.”
Her husband’s body tensed. “Luc, I’m heading out for a few hours. Keep Virginia here with you, okay?”
Luc lifted a brow. “So you can go hunting?”
“More like fishing, but yes,” said Sigmund, unabashed.
Virginia shook her head. “No! Sig, the thing wasn’t playing around.”
“Neither was your husband,” said Petey, strolling in with a fishing rod in hand. “Nothing was biting. Probably scared of the kraken and squid battle royale that happened last night. Fish are smarter than they look.”
He set the rod down and propped it against the wall, earning him an annoyed look from Luc, who didn’t seem much like the fishing type.
Petey took his knit cap off, and his hair went in every direction. He grinned at Virginia and Sigmund. “Have a good day?”
“Petey,” said Sigmund in a low tone.
The older man chuckled. “Sig, I put your polka-dot robe on your bed. It’s warm and fuzzy. I like it. Good choice.”
“Guys, about what Betty has in the refrigerator,” Morgan reminded them.
Luc tensed. “What?”
“Um, well, you should go look for yourself. It’s in the brown bag,” said Morgan.
Virginia stilled. “A brown bag? I saw her with one last night when I was loading food in the van. Oh, the food! It’s all spoiled now! I forgot all about it.”
Petey waved a hand in the air dismissively. “It’s fine. When we got back here, I asked Morgan and Howie to handle putting it in the fridge over at Runes. They did.”
She couldn’t help but tear up at the man’s thoughtfulness.
She covered the distance between them and gave him a peck on the cheek.
He blushed and lowered his head. “Aww, shucks. It wasn’t nothing.”
“The kiss is for everything you did last night and today,” she said with a smile. “Thank you, Petey.”
He nodded, and then looked past her at Sigmund. “You all ready to go out hunting for the squid? I got a boat all set up for us. Called in backup.”
“You two are not going hunting for that thing,” snapped Virginia. “Let my dad and brothers do it. It’s what they do.”
Petey raked his gaze over her. “They better than you at the hunter thing?”
She groaned.
He shrugged. “No worries, Virginia. We’ve hunted scarier things before. Heck, we hunted for Sig before we knew he was the kraken.”
That didn’t make her feel any better.
She looked at Luc. “Tell them this is foolish and dangerous. Tell them to let the experts handle it.”
Luc crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall in a casual manner. “I’d be hard-pressed to name a better expert on giant sea creatures than Sigmund. He might very well be the only one who can successfully hunt the squid.”
She teared up again.
Luc sighed. “Virginia, I understand how scared you must have been last night. How you must have thought it was going to end very differently.”
“Oh, I did,” said Petey. “I thought for sure she was gonna be dinner for the squid. But she poked it in the eye good and hard. Then Sig made sure she was out of the water. And then he delivered the smackdown of all smackdowns on that squid. It swam off in a hurry, and he went after it. For all we know, he done handled the matter already. I did put a call into the Coast Guard to see if anyone reported a giant green squid washing up on shore anywhere. Nothing yet. That doesn’t mean much. Betty could have found it and ate it. Her kind enjoy dead things.”
“Guys, really, check the bag in the kitchen,” stressed Morgan.
“The one in the fridge?” asked Petey. “With the fingers with the Collective rings on them?”
“What?” asked Virginia, barely able to form the word.
“Yes,” said Morgan. “That bag.”
Luc took off at a run toward the kitchen. He was back in seconds, the bag in hand. He peered inside. “By my calculation, this bag represents five Collective members.”
Petey burped and then lifted his fishing pole. “Hope they have some other form of identification to get them back into the evil-doer club. Because if they gotta show their secret society rings, well, there’s gonna be an issue with that, seeing as how we got ’em.”
“What is Betty doing with them?” asked Morgan. “Do you think she’s how the fingers ended up removed from their owners? I’m not sure if all of you know this, but she’s very capable of slicing through—”
Virginia nodded. “We know. Petey and I saw it firsthand last night.”
Petey grinned. “She likes Sig a whole lot. Didn’t much care for the squid though. Unless you count as dinner. She liked it just fine then.”
Just then, the front door of the inn opened and Jake Majoy walked in. He was followed quickly by Curt, Leo, York, Louis, and two men Virginia didn’t know.
Sigmund gasped. “Hugh? Wilber? Jake?”
Jake flashed a wide smile. “Got a call from Petey telling us about your spur-of-the-moment fishing trip. Figured you could use a hand.”
York and Louis drew up short and stared at her.
They sniffed the air—and then blinked in surprise, looking totally identical in their expressions.
“You’re mated!” they said at the same time.
Petey scratched his neck. “Hmm, did I forget to mention that part when I called?”
“Yes,” said all the men who’d just arrived.
A huge man who was nearly as tall as her father, and who had a head of dark, shaggy hair that hung to his shoulders, came rushing into the sitting room. He grabbed Sigmund and pulled him into a manly embrace. “I can’t believe someone married your sorry backside, Bails.”
Curt was next to do the same. “You went from never speaking to her to married? Nice moves, Sig. Very nice! You know this makes us brothers-in-law now, right?”
The three of them then all locked arms and proceeded to do a mini-wrestling move, razzing Sigmund in the process. They laughed and pushed each other.
She glanced at Louis.
He shrugged. “Male bonding ritual.”
York nodded.
Leo stood there, looking nervous that someone might want a hug from him.
Morgan laughed. “Men.”
Sigmund laughed and then righted himself, touching the shoulder of the tall newcomer. “Virginia, this is Hugh Lupine. Him, me, and Warrick were basically inseparable most of our lives.”
She’d heard talk of Hugh from Curt and knew he was from Everlasting.
Petey nodded toward the older gentleman who had arrived with them. “That there is Wilber Messing. He’d be Sigmund’s uncle now, by marriage.”
Virginia smiled wide at them all. Her emotions got the better of her and she found herself on the verge of tears again. “How did you all get here so fast?”
Wil raised his hand. “I’m a retired hunter.”
Hugh snorted. “Retired. Sure.”
With a grunt, Wil slid the man a hard look before smiling at Virginia. “I have a device that lets us move between here and Everlasting in seconds.”
Hugh groaned. “A device that he did not feel the need to tell us about before he forced us all into a hippie van with Petey and his farts for two days.”
Petey squared his shoulders. “I told you it’s not healthy to hold in your wind. I also told you that I once knew a guy who held it in and blew up.”
“Oh, Flatulence Freddie,” said Virginia, who’d grown up hearing the story of the man. She’d never actually met him, herself, but her grandmother had told her of him. “Didn’t he puff up like a balloon and float away?”
“Yes,” said Luc and Petey.
Hugh stared around the room. “This place gets weirder and weirder every time I visit.”
“Great, isn’t it?” asked Petey with a huge smile. “Okay, who is up for hunting a giant killer squid and then playing pin the ring finger back on the right Collective member?”
Wil cleared his throat. He looked at Virginia. “Your brothers tell me that the Collective made an attempt on you when you were little?”
She nodded.
“That they wanted a siren?” he questioned.
“Yes, that’s right,” she responded.
His gaze slid to Luc. “And if the time frame the twins gave me is correct, it’s been nearly twenty years to the day.”
Luc stiffened and nodded, handing the bag to Wil. “Yes. It has been.”
Wil took the bag and opened it. He didn’t freak out. He simply stared into the bag and then handed it back to Luc. “Are the five of them dead or just running around missing fingers?”
“Not sure,” said Luc.
“For a guy who’s supposed to be all-knowing, you don’t know much,” said Wil.
Luc grinned. “I know what I need to know, when I need to know it.”
Hugh and Curt glanced at each other.
Curt laughed. “I love it when he’s cryptic. Kind of his favorite way to be back in Everlasting.”
Petey took a deep breath. “We’re burning daylight here, troops. I say we head on over to Runes so you can all see what we’re dealing with—it tore the back deck up pretty good. When it grabbed Virginia and pulled her in, I thought she was a goner.”
York and Louis gasped.
Louis came for her quickly. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I am. Sigmund saved me.”
Petey grinned. “Bails gave it a butt kicking it ain’t likely to forget.”
Luc stared at her. “It yanked you in fully?”
She nodded.
“Did it want to hurt you or take you?” he asked.
She was about to answer that it wanted to hurt her when a tugging started in her gut. “I’m not sure. Honestly, looking back on it today, I think it might have wanted to take me, and in the process, it hurt me.”
Luc’s gaze snapped to Wil. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That there’s a seven-and-a-half-legged squid who is about to have a bunch of angry guys on the hunt for it?” asked Petey.
Leo tensed. “You think this is related to the Collective, and them wanting to take Virginia twenty years ago.”
She gasped. “What?”
Luc cleared his throat. “Virginia, when you were little, the group who tried to take you were Collective members.”
She nodded, already knowing as much.
“You know they wanted a siren,” he said.
Sigmund eased up behind her again and hugged her.
She stared at Luc. “Yes. To make me lure people to them?”
“Not them,” said Luc. “One person who was loyal to them. High in their rankings even. We never got the name, but I got the sense they thought you’d grow to be a valuable asset to this person—that they were thinking you’d be a companion of sorts.”
Wil’s jaw set. “They were going to try to get her to go steady with a giant squid, is my guess.”
Leo nodded. “And since she’s part siren, she could lure men to her. Think about her luring men to her on a boat. What could happen at the same time?”
Sigmund gasped. “The squid could feed. It could use Virginia’s gift to lure its food to him. He wouldn’t have to hunt for it. And he’d end up with a female companion. They wanted to give my mate to a were-squid! Not happening! Not ever happening!”
Petey grinned. “Nice. Bails is going all alpha again. Let’s go to Runes and start tracking the thing!”
Virginia watched as her husband and his friends all took off out the front door and headed in the direction of Runes.
Chapter Eighteen
“Virgini
a, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” said Morgan as Virginia continued to pace the length of the inn’s front room. She glanced out the window for what felt like the hundredth time.
Betty was back from the market and much to everyone’s surprise, she’d gotten actual fruits and some vegetables. No body parts—at least none that she’d put in the cloth bag she’d returned with. She was currently in the kitchen working on a carrot cake she insisted on making after she’d served Morgan and Virginia tea.
There was no way Virginia could think of eating or having a cup of tea.
Not when her husband and the others were hunting for the giant squid. They’d been gone for hours and no one had heard a word from any of them.
“They’re fine. I’m sure of it,” said Morgan.
“But how do you know?” asked Virginia, clasping her hands together.
Morgan snorted. “Because none of them are in spirit form sitting next to me on this sofa. Now come over here and take a seat.”
Realizing that the ghost was on to something, Virginia nodded and was just about to give in and sit down when her father pulled his work vehicle to a stop out on the street in front of the inn.
He got out and spoke on his radio before glancing up at the inn. He spotted her in the window and headed in her direction.
She rushed to the door and tossed it open. “Daddy, did something happen? Are any of them hurt?”
“By them I take it you mean your supposed husband and the rest of the fools who went huntin’ what I’m told is a giant killer squid?” He let out a long breath. “I swear, if I didn’t already know Hank was one for tall tales, I’d be madder than a wet hen at Sigmund for marryin’ you before he asked my permission.”
Biting her lower lip, Virginia merely stared up at her father, unsure how to tell him the rumor mill wasn’t off base in the least this time.
He blinked several times. “Hank wasn’t tellin’ tall tales, was he?”
“No,” she managed. “Don’t be mad at Sigmund! It’s not his fault we’re married. Petey just blurted it out when Sig was in kraken form and hugging me with a tentacle.”
Her father stared blankly at her as if he was trying hard to absorb what she was telling him. “He shifted forms again? And he grabbed you while in kraken form?”
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