Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 26781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
I leapt to my feet and took my beloved into my arms. "You were brilliant! Are you alright? What do you need?"
"This," he answered, hugging me back tightly. "I need to feel you and know you're okay. I was so scared; I can't lose you, Nigel. I can't lose another person I love."
I closed my eyes and let his words wash over me. In the fear and chaos of the moment, they brought me peace. My life felt complete for the first time when I replied, "I love you too."
After a moment, Milan pushed me away, and I didn't blame him, given the disgusting state I was in. Dark blood and brain chunks covered my clothing and skin.
But to my surprise, that wasn't his trouble. He glanced down at Foras before looking back at me and asking worriedly, "Are we sure he's dead? I shot the fucker four times and the first three didn't take."
Milan had a point. With the amount of dark and powerful magic flowing through Foras, it was wise to make sure he was truly gone.
"Turn away, darling; don't look." Sweet Milan had seen enough disturbing and gruesome things to last a lifetime. He nodded and when his back was turned, I straddled Foras's body.
I fisted his hair just as Milan had done, and lifted his head from the floor. I pressed the tip of my wand to his throat and used a separation spell to decapitate him. I didn't think a person could get any deader than that. Satisfied, I laid the head next to his body, and turned my attention back to Milan.
I wrapped my arm around his waist and told him, "It's over." The nightmare had come to an end. We stopped the evil force, and had avenged his brother’s pointless death.
“It’s over,” Milan repeated in a whisper, hugging me tighter. He clung to me as the terrible scene disappeared, and we headed back to the precinct.
Chapter Twelve
Nigel
I sympathized with Milan as he tried to cover up a wide yawn. I shared in the utter exhaustion that had surrounded us the past two days since we brought Foras’s reign of terror to an end.
Immediately after Foras was killed, Milan and I went back to the station to give our statements about what had happened before leading the crime scene unit back to the body.
Then, we had to go through an investigation; Internal Affairs questioned why we killed Foras instead of trying to capture him, and then demanded to know why we killed him in such a ‘gruesome’ manner. They insisted that the beheading was over the top. I insisted that they were a bunch of dickhead ninnies.
Luckily, Captain Mullins had our backs. Aside from his own choice words and insults, he informed them that Foras wasn’t one to be trifled with. He was much too powerful to be captured, and if Milan and I hadn’t killed him, the whole damn world would be his slaves right now. After Internal Affairs finally got the point and their heads out of their arses, they let us go and thanked us for our service.
Then it was on to the media circuit. Milan and I gave a string of interviews about Foras, his motive, and the consequences that would have occurred if we hadn’t stopped him. Although it obviously wasn’t our motivation, we were hailed as heroes.
Which is what brought us to our current status; we were at a banquet being held in our honor. Every available officer in the city, both human and mage, were in attendance.
In an excruciatingly long speech before the dinner, Milan and I were both awarded a medal of commendation for our work on the case. It was a nice gesture, but what truly warmed my heart was that Micah was given a posthumous award for his dedication and sacrifice. Milan looked so proud of his brother as he accepted the medal, and I couldn’t be happier.
I promised my beloved that we would soon visit his brother’s grave to display the award with honor. I also wanted to pay my respects to the man who meant so much to my mate.
Another nice surprise was that the American Department of Magic and Justice flew my former partner Arthur and Chief Constable Daniel Cunningham from England to attend the banquet. I introduced them to my beloved, and they were shocked that my cranky arse even had a mate. I took no offense, as I was a bit surprised myself.
Unfortunately, however, Milan and I had yet to cement our bond, as the department obligations had kept us busy. I had been as patient as possible, but my patience was wearing thin as I sat there listening to Mullins blabber on for over forty five minutes. His reverent words were nice, but I didn’t need all of this pomp and circumstance. All I needed was my beloved. I was ready to put this whole case to rest and move on with my life with Milan.