Catch, Curse, Release (Immortal Warriors #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Thirty-Four: Battle Hard

Though comforted by Eric’s fidelity, Lori still found herself hating Meghan even more than she hated debt collectors (and that was really saying something). In an attempt to not cause more problems for Eric or anyone else, she kept herself confined to the study, her chambers, and the gardens. This way Eric didn’t have to worry about giving her a guard he couldn’t afford to spare and she didn’t have to worry about running into Meghan and punching her in her perfect face.

Lori spent her time reading, studying, and taking notes. It reminded her of being at home and spending most of her evenings at the law library. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was trying to accomplish but she’d promised Eric she’d fight with him, so she was doing what she did best. Laws were laws, and she would put all her years of study, not to mention her countless hours of Law and Order episodes, to good use by figuring a way around Varick’s law.

Eric didn’t have to explain to her the council had decided the Fenrir and the Skoll were the more pressing concerns facing their kingdom. Lori agreed wholeheartedly. She wanted his people to be safe – everything else could wait.

Even Corey was staying away from her. She hadn’t seen him in days and if her luck held out, she wouldn’t see him for weeks to come. Lori had mentioned Corey’s absence to Aiden when she’d run into him outside Eric’s study the day before. He’d explained Corey had been posted at the North tower, which was the farthest posting for any warrior and carried a minimum watch of a full lunar cycle.

“You mean he’ll be out there for a whole month?” she’d asked surprised.

“Aye, lass,” Aiden nodded, his face grim. “’tis not a normal duty required of an elite guard. ‘Tis normally a post held by a general guardsman as the elites must be available for hearin’s.”

“But without Corey…”

“Our council is incomplete,” Aiden finished.

“Then why did Eric send him out there? Not because of me, right?” she asked more than a little alarmed. She had absolutely no desire to jeopardize the safety of the kingdom just because she had a personal problem with Corey.  

Aiden had given her a genuine smile then. Not his normal flirty or humorous variety, but one that was heartfelt and sincere. “Lori, nothin’ is more important to Eric or this kingdom than your safety. ‘T’would be hard for Eric to kill one of his own men, but if pushed, he would do so without a second thought. He sent Corey to the North tower to keep him alive as much as to keep you safe. Doona think for a minute it wasna for both of you he sent Corey away.”

“I didn’t mean to cause any problems,” she sighed, unable to help feeling she was doing exactly. It was true Corey was a big jerk, but his absence couldn’t be helping anything.   

Aiden had hugged her then, “Eric is a better man than I. I would have killed that redheaded bastard for sayin’ such things to ye if you were my mate.”

Lori had laughed and hugged him back, “I can hardly wait to meet that woman someday.”

“You and I both, lass,” he’d sighed. Then Aiden had kissed her lightly on the cheek before pulling away. “Eric is a lucky man. When we have taken care of the Fenrir we will change Varick’s law. You are Wolfgard’s queen. No one will say different so long as Eric and I live and breathe.” He’d left her then and Lori had returned to the study to continue her research.

That same night, Eric returned to their chambers, his face and body weary from the last few days of training and preparation. Lori was reading in bed when he’d opened the bedroom door and practically collapsed on top of her. Shuffling some of her books out of the way, she made more room for him as she helped him out of his clothes.