Chapter 58
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
The Earth shakes below my feet when a loud ‘whomp’ echoes between the trees.
“Oh god.”
Mikail clenches his hands as he stares toward the cliff. “He’s going to be fine. I know it.”
I take off sprinting toward the jagged rocks “Please let him be okay. Please.” Mikail’s shoes pound the earth behind me.
When I crest the rise, I stumble and fall to my knees as relief makes my body turn to water. There, climbing over the edge of the tattered cliff, is the man who owns my heart, soul, and body.
Stumbling up, I lurch forward again. He drops the rope and runs toward me. Tears cloud my eyes. The air tears at my lungs, but my heart is flying on wings.
When Wolf grabs me, he crushes me harder than ever before. “Don’t ever do that again. Promise me!”
He laughs as he kisses me all over my face “That was a once in a lifetime. Definitely need to get a shower. You taste like grass, and sand, and salt.”
“Those are tears, you fool.”
Mikail reaches out and clasps Wolf’s hand. “Brother, you got some balls on you or whatever they call them in your part of the world.”
“Bollocks,” I say with a laugh, “Wolf’s been teaching me all kinds of new words.”
Wolf presses his mouth to my ear. With a low laugh, he says. “I’ve got some other words to teach you when we’re alone again.”
Grinning, tuck my head into his shoulder. “We should go. I’m dirty. Really dirty. And we’ve got just enough time for a shower before we have dinner at the Palace with my father.”
Wolf shakes his head. “As if blowing up the cliff wasn’t enough today, I get to go blow the King’s mind when I tell him that the Princess and I are moving back to Isla Rosa to start a family and that I’m his new head of security.”
For a few seconds, I'm so stunned all I can do is blink. A laugh starts somewhere in my belly and wiggles its way through my whole body. “I love you. I can’t wait to see his expression. You are exactly the man for the job. All of the jobs.” Especially the jobs that involve me and him in bed.
Wolf stops, and pulls me closer, he lowers his mouth to mine.
Before he touches me, he stills. An explosion of beautiful butterflies lifts off from the center of my heart as our gazes hold.
In a low, deep, voice that curls my toes, he says, “I love my new job. And the best part of all is calling you my wife.”
* * *
Penelope opens the door as we walk up to the Palace. My hand is shaky in Wolf’s. For some reason, this dinner feels far more important than any other time I’ve had dinner with my father.
“It’s okay. No matter what he says, it’s okay.” Wolf reassures me quietly.
“I know. I just want it to be good for us.”
He squeezes my hand. “It will be good for us. Even if we never come back here. I’ll make sure your life is full of happiness.”
“Thank you,” I whisper as we walk down the long hallway toward the dining room.
Island music drifts down the hallway toward us. “That’s weird. I don’t recall music in the dining room before.”
When we round the corner, my father’s standing by the window looking out. When he turns, he smiles, almost sadly. He waves me over.
“I owe you an apology. Hell, I owe this whole island an apology. I was busy lamenting what my life was like before this Kingdom fell in my lap, and I let someone sway my mind without even knowing it.”
My dad opens his arms to me and I step into his embrace. “Dad, I’m so glad to hear you understand what’s happened.”
He laughs softly. “This afternoon, about twenty of our island’s oldest seniors showed up on the Palace doorstep.
Apparently, your grandmother rallied them together while you were out doing something heroic for this island.They filled me in on a little of the island history that I wasn’t aware of and that one wayward young man was trying to capitalize on. ”
“So, you know…”
He steps back, holding onto me by my shoulders. “I know there’s a legend about some kind of mysterious stone that’s purely fiction now.”
For a few seconds, I don’t get what he’s saying. Then it all falls into place. “Oh, the legend. Yes.”
He nods and smiles a sly smile. “That’s right. A legend.”
“How did you know what we did?”
“Penelope has ears everywhere. She found out that there was a loud noise on the island today and a landslide. Wiped a good chunk of the cliff off that faces north. You know, the supposed place where this legendary stone once was.”
I wink. “There might have been a landslide or two.”
My father extends a hand to Wolf. “Thank you, young man, for taking care of not just my daughter, but our island.”
Wolf, looking incredibly solemn, shakes my father’s hand. “The pleasure is mine, sir.”
“So, shall we sit down and talk about the future over dinner?”
“I’d like that, Dad.”
Wolf takes my hand. “Lead the way. I’m starving. It’s been a busy day.”