Chapter 30
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Reece
We’re finished.
Before we had a chance to begin, we’re done. The way Heath stares at the two of us…He’s not losing control. He’s ice, frigid and unyielding, catching us in the act.
My throat closes like staying silent will somehow erase what Heath sees. What he thinks he sees. But there’s no mistaking the mark on Mari’s skin.
“This is my fault, Mr. Gardener,” I finally say, stepping in front of Mari like I can shield her from her brother’s wrath that I know must be coming.
But Mari immediately sidesteps me to stand at my side with our fingers brushing. “No, it isn’t,” she says, only giving me a quick glance before turning back to her brother. “Heath—”
“How long?” At once, Heath looks beyond exhausted. Not furious. Not even particularly surprised.
“How long what?” Mari asks.
His jaw tightens. “How long has this been going on?”
I open my mouth, but Mari beats me to it.
“Long enough for me to know I love him,” she says. “And he loves me.”
Heath lets out a slow breath and rubs a hand across his face. He looks like he’s aged ten years since we’ve come back from Pen’s. With all this stress—
“Mari,” Heath says carefully, “do you understand what you’re saying?”
She stands her ground without budging an inch. If I weren’t so fucking scared for her, I’d be proud. She’s a vision. “Yes.”
“You understand what this means?”
“Yes.”
“You understand how difficult this relationship will be?” Heath’s voice threatens to break.
Still she doesn't back down. “I do. And I don’t care. We’ve talked about it a lot, but I can’t change what my heart wants. And it wants Reece. It always has.”
I should say something. Do something. Insist I’ll be good for her and fulfill every promise I’ve made, out loud and in my head. But will it make things better, or worse?
Heath sighs heavily. “I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours trying to figure out how to protect Dahlia from becoming the center of every conversation in Sabine. Now, I walk into the library and find this.”
His hand gestures vaguely between us.
“I love him,” Mari repeats. “That’s not going to change because people gossip.”
“No,” Heath replies, “but gossip isn’t what worries me.” He looks directly at me. “What about her heat? With you being a Delta—”
I glance at Mari before reaching up toward the flower headband still resting in her hair.
“My invention. It’s how we’ve been navigating her current heat. So far it’s done the trick and with a few more modifications—”
“It works, Heath,” Mari chimes in. “So I don’t need an Alpha or their knot. I can mate for love, like you wanted for me.”
He doesn’t shrink in on himself or wilt but the way his expression falls is nearly worse. “Of course I want you to mate for love, but I thought…”
“It’d be with an Alpha, I know. But it’s not.”
“His mark is going to fade,” Heath points out. “It’s not going to hold as a proper claim.”
“Then we’ll do what other the denominations do when they claim their mate,” she says. “A piece of jewelry or a something. I really don’t care.”
She’s incredible. She’s come alive in a way I’ve only seen rarely, her skin glowing with her heat and fierce determination lighting her features. If I didn’t love her before, I’m so far gone now it’s indescribable.
I swallow hard and when I reach for her, Mari twines our fingers together.
“Dahlia is already going to attract attention with her being pregnant and so young. We’re scrambling to get ahead of the rumors. The last thing this family needs is another scandal.” Heath’s imploring now.
“This is my life,” Mari says. “And loving someone isn’t a scandal.”
“It is on Sabine.”
“Then we’re go to the mainland.”
The room falls quiet.
I’d considered it, of course, with our options limited. To hear her say it out loud unwinds some of the knots in my tongue.
When Heath speaks again, he’s noticeably softer, going through the impossibilities of this relationship like items on a list to be checked off. “Have you talked about children? You won’t be able to have them together.”
“I don’t want children,” Mari says quickly. “I’m fine being the cool aunt who gets to visit and bring presents.”
“You know, Iris used to say the same thing. And now she has Emmie.”
“That’s different and you know it.”
Heath’s gaze slides to me. “And what about you? Are you okay with not having a family in your future?”
It’s so strange talking to my boss about something so private, but I nod. “I only need Mari. She’s perfect as she is. We are perfect together.”
She smiles at me, as radiant as ever. And for the millionth time since she appeared on the steps of the Ashford estate, I wonder how I got so lucky to have her. She is more than I ever wanted.
More than I deserve.
“I don’t want or need a mate simply because she can give me babies,” I say as I tug Mari closer. “I don’t need one because it’s what society approves of. I want someone I love. And that’s her… It’s always been her.”
Tears shimmer in her eyes. “And for me, that’s Reece. So your approval or not, we’re going to be together, Heath.”
I think that’s what finally breaks whatever fight he had left in him.
His shoulders sag. “The Monarch probably won’t support this, even with all the changes your sister has been fighting for. You were her Luxe, too.”
“Then we’ll convince her,” Mari says.
My throat tightens again and suddenly it’s impossible to breathe. Convince the Monarch? That’s an entirely other thing. She can banish us or make it impossible for me to find work again, on the mainland or on Sabine. She could make life miserable for us because we want to be together.
Heath stares at his sister like he’s trying to decide whether she’s brave, foolish, or some unstable combination of both. It’s certainly both and I wish I was as bold.
“You two are ready to deal with everything that comes after this?” he asks. “Whatever the fallout may be?”
Mari and I exchange looks, and I realize then that she has so much more to lose by doing this thing than I do, and yet she has still held firm on her choice from the start. She’s never wavered or hesitated. Not once. And maybe, it’s about time I do the same.
There’s no way I can go on with my life without Mari after this. I wouldn’t be able to just pretend none of this happened between us and move on. It’s Mari or nothing.
“Yes,” I say, absolutely certain. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work. Whatever the consequences, my heart is hers. Forever.”
“Forever,” she repeats and gives my hand a slight squeeze.
Heath exhales. “Fine. Then, if the Monarch approves it, I won’t stand in your way.”
The nausea kicked into place hours ago and ramps up the closer we get to the Monarch.
I never imagined I’d willingly walking into the Council building in my lifetime. Or would one day be face to face with the Monarch herself, asking to be treated like an equal and not for a job polishing the floors or something menial.
But here I am, and this place is like stepping into another world.
Marble floors gleam beneath towering windows, every polished surface reflecting wealth and authority.
Council members drift through the corridors carrying tablets and folders, their conversations hushed and purposeful.
More than a few slow when they notice Marigold Gardener walking beside me with her fingers laced through mine.
I try not to pay attention to the whispers that follow us. A Luxe Omega holding hands with a Delta servant isn’t something people in Sabine are accustomed to seeing, but still, my nerves are quickly eating away at my resolve.
“Everyone’s staring,” I say in an undertone.
Mari smiles, unashamed. “Good.”
I laugh. She’s remarkable. Fearless. I love her more every single day.
Sophine’s main assistant and possible mate, Fredrick, approaches us and gestures for us to follow him down a long corridor toward the Monarch’s main chambers. “The Monarch is expecting you,” he says.
Those words make my stomach flip.
“This way.”
We walk behind the small Omega man in blue until we reach a pair of huge carved doors. When he opens one of them, Mari and I step inside together. An unbreakable unit.
Sophine stands near a tall-back chair that’s perfectly placed in the center of the room, reminding me of a queen’s throne.
In a perfectly tailored navy pant suit, her back’s to us.
She’s drinking a glass with some kind of brown liquor as she stares at a massive painting on the wall opposite.
An ornate gilded frame surrounds an oil painting of three young girls, all in frilly dresses and with similar facial features.
I stop so abruptly Mari nearly walks into me.
“Ah, Sophine. I thought you hated that painting,” a familiar voice says from our right.
To my complete surprise, Penrith comes strolling across the room, her cane clicking against the stone floors with every step.
She glances our way and winks before continuing on until she reaches her sister’s side. “I never expected you to take it after Father died, let alone hang it,” she says. “What changed your mind?”
“It was the only painting with her in it,” Sophine says, voice low. “I had to.” Finally, the Monarch turns to us with an expression carved from stone. “My Luxe…and my sister’s servant?” She hands her drink to Fredrick. “I think I’m going to need something a little stronger.”
He scurries out of the room.
“Mr. Calder may have been on my staff at one time, but I believe he’s coming here to speak for himself. Not as a chaperone,” Pen says.
“Then there’s no need for you to be present,” the Monarch says with a tight-lipped smile. “You told me you were here because this impromptu meeting involved a friend of yours. But all I see is my Luxe and a Delta.” She pauses. “Unless…we need to wait on one more guest before continuing?”
“No,” Pen says quickly, not the least bit intimidated by her sister. “Reece is the friend I was referring to. Although, I do believe there should be one more—ah, here she is now.”
Every head whips around to the tall doors to catch Iris attempting to sneak in. She smiles at being caught. “What did I miss?”