Chapter 13 One Room, Two Beds #3
Folding my arms, I arched a brow and insisted, “You’re obviously far more exhausted than I am. Go shower.”
Lucien turned to face me with a slow grin. “You know, as an Alpha, I don’t usually take orders very well.”
It was the first time he’d outright admitted to being the Alpha, yet neither of us was surprised—not me at the so-called revelation, and not him at me already figuring it out.
“That has nothing to do with this,” I commented now, narrowing my eyes. “You’re still injured, so go take a shower first.”
He chuckled and stepped toward me, his arctic-blue eyes sparkling. “If you wanted me to do so first, why ask?”
As a five-eight woman, I wasn’t used to tilting my head back when trying to keep eye contact, but Lucien drew so close, I was forced to, since I refused to look away. “I was trying to be polite.”
He leaned forward, the grin still flirting with his lips. “There’s no need to be polite with me,” he murmured, and when his hand rose to tuck my hair behind my ear, I froze, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. “You’re not a subject under my command. You’re the woman who saved my life.”
His grin dissipated, replaced by an expression I couldn’t read. His fingers lingered behind my ear, barely touching my skin but still causing my belly to flip-flop. “I have never met someone as selfless as you are.”
My lips parted, and I blurted, “I thought you were a dog. I mean,” I added hastily, “a wolf.”
For some reason, that made him lean even closer until his nose was a breath away from mine. “And I still am that wolf,” he said with a soft, sad smile. “The same wolf you slept next to for the last three days.” He paused, his gaze suddenly inexplicable. “Your wolf.”
I tried to look away, but his hand left my ear and grabbed my chin, bringing my face up so I was forced yet again to look into his beautiful eyes.
“I promised I wouldn’t harm you,” he said, repeating the words, the promises from earlier.
Yet this time, something about his voice was so hauntingly sad, I realized he was looking at me with grief that, I was sure, had nothing to do with me.
“I intend to keep that promise. So will you let me in?”
An emotion I couldn’t name expanded through my chest, almost bringing tears to my eyes, again, as I watched him watching me with eyes full of grave sincerity.
“Earlier tonight, I saw what you’re capable of doing,” I whispered, trying to put into words what I really felt.
“If you want, you can simply wrap your hand around my neck and tear my head off. You have the power to do that.”
His face grew dark. “Yes, I do have this power,” he agreed, “but I won’t use it on you. I will never use it on you.”
That emotion in my chest made my throat clog. His voice had an edge of desperation that hadn’t been there before. His eyes, too, stared at me as if this was a crucial moment. As if whatever I said would decide our relationship going forward.
It was a turning point, I realized, and I had to choose which way I wanted to go.
I could keep on seeing him as that beast who killed another man with a flick of his hand.
Or I could see him as the man he appeared to be now, and had been for the last almost twenty-four hours.
A man who was kind to me, protected me from the shadow mark and Chase, but also held deep resentment and dark hunger for retribution against those who wronged him, and who might be a threat to me too.
A man who taught me things about his world with patience and dedication, as though he enjoyed sharing his knowledge.
This man was also the injured dog, wolf, I had found. The wolf that somehow trusted me enough to take care of him, even though he probably saw me as a foolish human woman who was in way over her head.
I might’ve only known him for a short amount of time, but I felt as if I’d seen so many sides to him, so many facets, most people don’t get to see with their friends and partners in a whole lifetime.
Perhaps it was time I let go of this fear.
But what if he hurts you? asked the wounded part of me that had been betrayed by far too many people, and most recently by a man I thought was a friend. What if he leaves you like everyone else?
I wasn’t a clairvoyant. I couldn’t tell the future. It would have to be a leap of faith.
“How?” I asked him after a long silence, feeling as lost as he seemed desperate. “How do two people build this kind of trust?”
Lucien’s face was suddenly split by a smile, all traces of desperation and grief disappearing the wider his smile got.
I was truly, genuinely relieved by that and by seeing the mirthful glint entering his eyes too.
“How about we get to know one another?” he suggested in a lighter voice, leaning back and letting his hand fall from my chin.
“I think that would be a good place to start.”
Ignoring the sense of longing following the loss of his close proximity and touch, I simply nodded, feeling utterly drained, yet lighter, somehow. “All right.”
He nodded. “Then it’s settled,” he said, determination entering his gaze. “I will not let you down, Drew. I promise.”
My lips quirked. “You make a lot of promises,” I noted.
He grinned, but a shadow of the former grief briefly flashed in his eyes. “I don’t make promises I don’t mean to keep.”