Once Upon A Pack (Royalverse #1)

Chapter 39

thirty-nine

Most people wouldn’t recognize this man.

Storming through the corridors of his palace, holding a giggling woman as he charges toward the southern wing’s exit. Ignoring the curious glances we garner—and outright growling at any disapproving glares.

They might find his power familiar. Or his serious expression.

But the version of Asher who gets to the double doors and simply strides into the storm?

That’s my Asher.

I squeal as rain soaks us both, the downpour drenching our clothes within the space of ten steps. “Ash!”

He laughs, the sound a perfect blend of my masculine alpha and the playmate I used to adore. “Hold on to me,” he directs. “We have a bit of a walk.”

I cling to his neck, and he picks up speed, carting me toward the garden maze. I’ve walked past it a dozen times, always eyeing the hedges dubiously. They look like the sort of shadowy place that’s made for getting lost, but Asher doesn’t even pause. He winds through the walls of shrubbery so quickly, I’m breathless from laughter by the time he sets me on my feet.

Blinking rain out of my eyes, I peer into the mist shrouding the center of the maze. There are cobblestones on the ground, along with a marble structure that seems about three-fourths of the way finished. An archway, I realize.

Nearly identical to the alcoves carved into the side of Maytown Manor.

Where Asher and I used to hide.

And read.

And talk.

Where he kissed me for the first time.

When I whip my head around to face him, I know he’s remembering precisely that moment. Hazel eyes flit to my lips before meeting my gaze. Waiting. Hoping I understand.

Did he… make us a hiding place?

“Asher,” I say, barely able to inhale around the squeeze in my lungs. “What is this?”

“It isn’t finished yet,” he says instead of answering. “I had them start it as soon as you agreed to court us. I was going to wait to give it to you until it was done, but?—”

I get it. This moment, the rain. It’s perfect .

And he knew I would want him to give it to me now instead of waiting for it to be sunny. Because he knows me . Because he?—

Asher looks right into my eyes, ignoring the raindrops falling from his brows. “I love you, Ivy.”

The words sink into my center. He says them again, closer. Our lips brush as he presses his forehead against mine. “I have loved you since the day I met you. And I think you may be the only person in the world who’s ever known me well enough to love me back. So, even though I don’t deserve it, I hope, one day, you will.”

Pain burns in his golden eyes as I shake my head, the motion slow. I swallow hard. “That won’t happen,” I whisper. “Because I already love you. I never—I never stopped, Ash.”

My prince stares at me for a long second, his chest rattling on a series of ragged pants. All his hesitation and overthinking are reduced to a sliver between breaths. His gaze burns brighter, hands snapping out to grip my nape and tug my hips flush to his body.

His mouth devours mine, kissing deeper and harder than he ever has before. Backing me into the partial cover of the unfinished arch. The place we’ll have if we want to hide together.

My heart feels like it’s bursting through a cage I didn’t even know I was trapped in. Pure joy and adoration and need flow from the cracks. A shiver streaks down my spine and into my core, hot slick slips into my panties as cool rain pelts my back.

Asher growls with all the might of a true alpha, but his next gasp sounds desperate. His hands soften and smooth over my body, his lips chasing mine with a dizzy sort of desire that matches the need smoldering between my hips.

Lost. My prince is lost. In me .

Something in my center clicks. My Omega nudges me. Now .

I pull back long enough to catch the love and lust blurring his irises. Our gazes snap together, years falling away. Washed clean by the rain.

“Take me to our nest.”