Lucius pov I needed her close. It was so selfish of me to use the moment and give into my urges, but I needed her more than I needed my next breath. The only way to calm down Xabat was to be as near to her as possible, and that was exactly what I did. After I heard Titus mention that my beautiful, fragile mate had been fated to someone else before I found her made my blood boil. To be honest, as grateful as I was to that fuckface who was incapable of appreciating the gift the Goddess had given him, I was outraged that he had hurt my Eden by rejecting her. But then again, if we were paired, if I was given to her as the second chance, it meant she was strong enough to face him and accept the rejection to break the bond. That thought made me feel such immense pride in her strength and self-control, I nearly lost it. Once I was sure I was calm enough to carry on with our day, I finally looked at Eden and smiled at her. The way her cheeks turned bright red at the simple action made
Eden povThe food Lucius prepared was hands down the best meal I had in years. As if he knew, he didn’t shove eggs and bacon down my throat. Instead, I got some porridge with fruits and a glass of fresh orange juice. “Eat slowly, Eden. You are a divine woman, not a savage.” Lucius laughed at me. All I did was glare at him and raise an eyebrow as if I had the right to challenge the King. But he didn’t take it personally, he just laughed at my attempts to appear intimidating and added some more blueberries to my porridge.On top of already taking care of me, Lucius kept up a small talk about the most random things. He asked what my favorite color was, what foods I enjoyed, what I liked to do for fun and about a million other questions. At one point, he let it slip that he would have to introduce me as his Queen after he marked me, which I won’t lie scared me, but he quickly noticed my reaction and stirred the conversation to another topic. When we were finished with breakfast, Titus
Eden povMy breath hitched, but to my surprise, for all the reasons I never thought were possible. I wasn’t scared to kiss Lucius, but what truly worried me was if I could do it… I mean, the only man I had ever kissed was Asher and truth to be told, I didn’t think it was an actual kiss. It was him who forced himself on me. It was Asher, who tried to kiss me, but I never kissed him back. Although I was sure he had stolen my first kiss, now I wondered if it was true. Had he, really? “Whenever you’re ready,” Lucius chuckled and tapped my butt. My cheeks burned bright red when he placed his hands on my hips and lifted me off his lap as if I didn’t weigh more than a feather. It got worse all too soon, right when I noticed Titus was still present, watching us and grinning like a madman. “Let’s go, not rogue girl, we have a grandpa to see,” Titus offered me his hand. I was about to take it when Lucius’ growl startled me and I jumped back. “Come on, man, I’m not trying to seduce your mat
Titus povEver since Lucius announced that he had found his mate, I was so stupidly blinded by the happiness I felt for my best friend, I never thought of the consequences of letting Eden near the old man. At one point, I was considering keeping them apart for a bit, at least until the man calmed down and didn’t insist that the whole world was against them two and so were we. But now, it was too late. All I could do was stand rooted in my spot and stare as Lucius ran to Eden and dropped to his knees next to her. He was saying something, I knew he was, his lips were moving, but I didn’t hear a word. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the old man was about to try to grab her, so I held him back as Lucius lifted her in his arms and carried Eden to the hospital wing. He barely entered the building and growled at me though the mind-link. “Whatever the fuck happened out there, make it right. I mean it, Titus. If it means you have to come clean with that old fool, so be it. The last th
Lucius povI knew that it was too soon to let her meet that goddamn man. He was making an issue out of everything ever since I told my men to bring him along for questioning. When he claimed he was Eden’s grandfather, I allowed him to stay, knowing she would want to ensure he was safe once she came back to her senses, but now, I regretted it. I had to order Titus to explain to the old fool what he saw and why those things happened, but it was already too late to try and fix it. He had accused Titus of crimes in front of Eden, he spilled everything he saw and heard, all fucking out of context!And because some old fool didn’t know how to mind his fucking business, my mate was in the hospital and I was pacing the halls like a maniac. No one had updates to give me. All I knew was that when she fell, she hit her head against a rock and lost a fair bit of blood until I carried her to the hospital. “Shit,” I hissed as I ran my hand through my hair. What kind of a mate fucking was I if I
Eden povMy eyelids felt heavy, and for a split second, I felt like I was back in my hell. But I wasn’t. My hell didn’t smell like a hospital and didn’t look like one either. In fact, when I finally managed to open my eyes and take in the surroundings, I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or maybe I died and ended up in heaven. Living in my old pack taught me one thing - every man and woman was for themselves and no one cared for one’s well-being, unless the person in question was of high rank. But here, I laid in a soft bed, surrounded by perfectly white walls, and there even was a small bouquet of flowers left on the little nightstand next to the bed. At first, I nearly didn’t notice how a weak smile spread across my lips at the sight of it, but as soon as I did, I instantly felt guilty for feeling this little bit of happiness. Back in the place I once called home I wasn’t allowed to feel happy, so was I really allowed to feel happy now? When the door opened, I did my best to hide t
Eden pov“You’re awake,” he breathed out as he carefully placed one of his hands on my head. As much as I wanted to speak, I couldn’t. The concern and fear that flashed in his eyes made me speechless, so I just nodded like an absolute fool. There were so many confusing things about Lucius that although a part of me passionately believed in every single word that left his lips, the other part fought back with ferocity to doubt it all. Was he really the man he pretended to be? Was this all but an act to fool me? But why would a King need to lie to a lowly halfbreed woman, who had already been rejected by her so-called fated mate? What was he trying to get if there was nothing for me to offer?I knew that technically I was very wealthy, but all that money was left behind in a pack of abusers and from what I knew, the King was the last person to need any of that. “How are you feeling? Should I bring something?” Lucius suddenly spoke, straightening his body, looking as if I just hit h
Titus povI had never wished for something so much that my entire being screamed for it. What made it worse was the fact that it wasn’t my place to speak and tell Eden everything she had to know. It was up to my best friend to open up and let her know how he felt. Lucius had always been the closed up type who hid his pain. He never feared his emotions, never felt shame for having feelings, but he truly feared disappointing and hurting those he loved. And Eden… Well, I could tell he loved her from the moment he found her. It wasn’t just because they were mates. For years, Lucius had confided in me how much he wanted to find her, how he would go above and beyond, cross every boundary he had to find her, and here we were. My best friend was so in love with the fragile girl that he didn’t know how to act anymore. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. Titus, you must believe me, it has never been my intention,” Eden mumbled the words in panic. Her voice shook, the words escaped her lips so fast