Chapter 57
Sana wasn't sure what possessed her to be so bold to tell Rhyel what she wished for, but kissing his soft, tender lips, embraced in his strong arms made her feel like she was his everything.
The yearning she felt for him bloomed into a warm simmering flame and tingled through her veins as if his sensuous kiss awakened something deep within her soul.
"Sana," Rhyel murmured against her lips.
"Yes?" she breathed, her eyes fluttered open and her heart thumped at the desire burning in his deep blue depths.
"You have truly captivated me," he whispered. "And I fear I will always crave to have your lips on mine."
A flurry of tingles fluttered in her belly as she curled a lock of his hair around her finger. "Is that a bad thing?" she said, kissing him softly. "Because I like your lips on mine."
"Mm, no that's not a bad thing," Rhyel said, chuckling softly as he slid his hand to her cheek. "And I quite like your candid mouth tonight." He dragged his thumb across her bottom lip. "It's beautiful."
She laughed softly and the flame simmering in her gut burned brighter. Normally, she'd cower in embarrassment at that, but for whatever reason, she didn't feel so flustered for speaking so freely. Instead, she felt...proud.
"It must be this day," she said, trailing her fingers over his rose silk cravat.
"You made me feel like a true Lady," she said, looking out over the moonlit lagoon and for the first time since her mother was alive, she felt like she belonged.
A smile tugged at her lips as she looked back at Rhyel.
"I didn't feel like an imposter with you today. "
"You were never an imposter," he said, wrapping his hand around hers. "And you don't need me to feel like a Lady, but I want you to always feel this way." He pressed a kiss against her palm. "You're bright and shining, Sana and I love every minute I get to spend with you."
"I do too," she said with a blush burning over her cheeks from his flood of compliments that washed over her like tender caresses against her heart. "I...I don't know how anyone fell for your barbaric facade, my Lord." She shook her head. "Because you are nothing but a sweet, gentle giant."
A deep rumbling laugh escaped his lips and his eyes shimmered in amusement. "Ah, my Lady, that's only with you," he said, caressing the back of her hand. "But it warms my heart that you feel that way."
"I'm not the only one who feels that way. The people of Darcanos feel that way about you too," she said, threading her fingers through his. "You're a good man, a strong Alpha and a caring Lord. That's what I admire about you."
The glow of the candles highlighted the twin flags of red that graced Rhyel's cheeks as a timid smile tugged at his lips. "You honor me, but I wasn't always such a level-headed Alpha or a caring Lord. It took me a long time to come into myself and find my way after I lost my parents."
For as open and honest as Rhyel had always been with her, she realized he never talked about his parents' deaths or what he went through after they passed and she yearned to be someone he could confide in and lay his burdens to bare.
Someone he wanted to share his joy, his desires and his heart with too.
"Tell me about it," she said, caressing the back of his hand. "I want to know how you came to be the man I know."
"I would love nothing more than to share that with you." Rhyel brought her hand to his lips and left a kiss against her fingers. "I just hope it doesn't change the way you see me."
"No, of course it won't. You accept me for all my faults and inabilities," she said, sliding her hand to his cheek. "So, I promise to accept you for everything that you are too."
"My Lord, my Lady, excuse the interruption," Mama Tui's grandson said, bowing at the entrance of their pod while waiters placed a tall pitcher of chilled thukam flower tea and a steaming platter of grilled salmon, rice and vegetables on the table. "But please enjoy your dinner."
"Thank you, I'm sure we will," Rhyel said, nodding to the waiters. He took a deep breath as they were left in silence before he turned back to Sana with a sheepish look in his eyes. "Are you sure you wish for me to talk about that time in my life? I don't want to ruin our dinner."
"I want to know everything about you, Rhyel," she said, trailing her fingers over his warrior's bracelet. "I told you how my mother died over dinner like this and it didn't ruin it, right?"
"No, you're right. It didn't," he said, leaning away from her to pour her a glass of tea. "It's been a long time since I've talked about it and I'm not sure where to begin."
"Why don't you start with what happened to your mother?" she said, taking the glass from him. "We're far enough away from the wall, so I promise not to be frightened."
Rhyel nodded. "Alright," he said, taking a deep breath as he took a drink from his glass.
"My mother was always intrigued by the fae and the creatures and beings who live in the beyond and my father didn't like that she wanted to spend so much time in those lands.
" He chuckled. "But she was his Luna and his true mate and he'd do just about anything to keep her happy. "
A smile tugged at Sana's lips as she cut into a piece of salmon. "I'm learning that is a long standing trait of a Darcanos Alpha."
Rhyel matched her smile and nodded. "It is. I'm learning that our wolves have a sizable weak spot when it comes to the happiness of the women we want to share our lives with."
Sana blushed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't call that a weak spot," she said. "I think it's a beautiful thing that the Darcanos Alphas support the interests of their Lunas."
"It can be a beautiful thing," Rhyel said as he ate a forkful of salmon and rice.
"But my father never forgave himself for letting my mother go so far into the beyond.
No one in their party was prepared for the nest of wraiths they awakened.
" He sighed. "And I wasn't prepared for how quickly my life was going to change after that day. "
Sana's heart ached and mourned for Rhyel as he told her how his mother died in the fires of the wraiths, how his father succumbed to guilt and madness from the loss of his true mate and the emptiness that fell over the people and the land from their deaths.
"And I guess I kind of fell into a madness of my own too," Rhyel said as looked out over the lagoon with a faraway look in his eyes. "I was mad at the world and I took it out on everyone around me."
"You were young and you lost the two most important people in your life," she said, sliding her hand over his leg. "I'm sure they understood."
"They did to an extent," he said, chuckling softly.
"But an angry teen forced to become the alpha with unchecked gifts and abilities was always going to be a disaster.
" He dragged a hand over his hair. "I...
I hurt a lot of people. I was a ruthless animal, fighting with the pack and going out on my own to tear apart the raiders from the east. And I did nothing for the people of Darcanos.
I didn't care about them or what they needed from their Lord.
" He sighed. "But I didn't see any purpose for living.
My parents were gone and I was cursed to be an alpha without a mate. I just wanted to...stop living."
Tears pricked the corners of Sana's eyes at the thought of Rhyel falling into such despair and the pain he must've felt with all of that weight and responsibility on his shoulders.
"I'm glad you decided to live," she said, taking his hands.
"But the weight of all of that must've been so hard to handle. "
"It was and I nearly killed myself and took everyone with me because of my anger," he said, looking down at their hands.
"There used to be an unspoken truce between the lands of Darcanos and the beyond.
We never attacked them and they never attacked us.
The only reason the wall and the keep were erected was to keep out the people who coveted the life sustaining resources of the creatures in the beyond. "
He squeezed her hands. "But I broke that truce when I... I went on a rampage killing every monstrous creature in my path whether they were harmless or not. I didn't care. I wanted their cries to wake the wraiths so I could kill them or they could kill me."
Her heart clenched at the tear that rolled down his cheek. "I almost started a war and I...I caused the deaths of so many innocent people and creatures that day."
Rhyel let out a breath. "If it wasn't for Zekiel leading the soldiers to stop my rampage and Elalia and Dante shielding the people and the creatures from tearing each other apart, Darcanos probably wouldn't be a nation."
"When Zekiel finally beat me down enough to drag me back home, he kept me conscious enough to see the damage I'd done to the city, the people and creatures who died because of me and I realized I ruined my home.
The very place my parents kept together through their love for each other and everything and everyone around them. And I nearly destroyed it all."
A soft laugh escaped his lips. "The worst part of it all was everyone forgave me for what I did.
" He shook his head. "I never felt like I deserved anyone's forgiveness for my rage, which is why everything I do is for the people because I owe them more than my life for the carnage I invoked on them. "
He looked up at her and his devotion and duty burned behind his eyes and her skin tingled as if his gaze ignited something within her too. "That's how I became who I am and it's how I always have to be."
Sana placed her hand over his heart. "And I would never want you to change who you are."
"You're... you're not afraid of what I did and what I'm capable of?"
She shook her head. "No. You've never given me a reason to be afraid of you," she said as her ring pulsed in rhythm with his gently beating heart. "You could've lived in your rage after what you did, but you didn't. You atoned for your mistake and built a nation with care and love for your people."
And she wanted him, his passion, his care, his... everything.
"I...I hope you'll allow me to be the one you share your love and care for Darcanos with," she said, sliding her hand to his cheek. "I want your burdens, your joy and your desires too."
"Sana." His eyes softened as he wrapped his hand around her wrist. "I always thought I'd be a lone Alpha.
Even if I was betrothed to someone, I never thought I'd ever want to share any part of me with them," he said, pressing his forehead against hers as his blue eyes glowed in a soft golden hue. "But I... I want everything with you."
Her heart simmered under his heady, tender gaze. "Then let's try that," she whispered. "Let's be everything." She pressed a soft kiss against his lips and tingles swept down her spine when he slid his hand to the back of her neck, cradling her head as he gently coaxed her lips apart.
Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned into his embrace as the world fell away and it was only Rhyel. Only his caring touch and sweet soft lips against hers.
A soft, faint whisper floated through her mind as her ring and dragon's breath hummed against her skin.
He's mine.