Chapter 147
Emily’s POV
Nathan raised his hand, his fingers brushing my cheek while his eyes searched mine.
“I’ve wanted to tell you that for so long.”
A heavy ache filled my chest, but this time, it wasn’t from pain.
Nathan leaned down, resting his forehead against mine. “Back during the ceremony…” His voice dropped low. “I
›lanned everything.”
I blinked, confused. “What?”
A faint smile touched his lips. “I was going to tease you a little first.”
‘Nathan!”
Warmth rushed to my face.
“I wanted to wait until night,” his voice softened. “Until we were finally alone. Until you officially became my una.” Then, a flash of raw pain crossed his face. “But then you were taken from me.”
The air turned heavy.
“And every day after that…” His voice grew rough. “I kept thinking you might die in that castle without ever hearing it.” He looked straight into my eyes, his focus absolute.
“I love you, Emily.”
It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t dramatic. It was certain. Like a vow.
“I think I started falling for you long before I even understood what was happening,” he murmured, a smal smile rossing his lips. “You ruined my perfect, controlled life a little.”
I laughed weakly, a new tear escaping my eye. “Good.”
Nathan kissed me then. It was slow and careful, like he was memorizing my hips.
Inside, my mind was spinning, trying to process his words. He loves me.
୮
After everything my ex, Ryan, did to me–after being rejected, discarded, and treated like trash–I had forced nyself to accept a brutal truth: I would never have a man who actually loved me. I had given up on ever hearing hose words. I just wanted the constant ache in my soul to stop.
And then came Nathan. My second chance mate. The terrifying Alpha who threw me into a dungeon, suspected ne of being a rogue spy, and fought the bond with everything he had. He used to look at me and see someone weak, someone unworthy of being his Luna.
But now?
1:41 pm P P
Now this fierce, powerful Alpha–King was looking at me like I was his entire world.
He wasn’t just my mate anymore; he was my life. The fact that he loved me back, that the bond was fully mutual, was bigger than anything I had ever dreamed of. He was the King, but right now, he belonged completely to me.
When he pulled back from the kiss, the lingering pain from my past finally began to fade. Nathan didn’t let me go.
Instead, he broke the kiss with a low growl, looking around my small bedroom.
Before I could ask what was wrong, he slipped his massive arms under my back and knees, lifting me into his chest
as if I weighed nothing. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Nathan? Where are we going?”
“To my room,” he murmured, already carrying me out into the hallway. His grip on me tightened, his pace fast and determined. “Your bed is too small for us, Emily. We need my bed.
A warm blush crept up my neck at the raw hunger in his voice.
He kicked his bedroom door open and carried me inside, heading straight for the massive, king–sized bed in the
center of the room.
He laid me down gently against the silk sheets, but before I could even draw a breath, he shifted, pinning me
beneath him on the mattress.
He wrapped his large, warm body around mine until I felt entirely covered by him.
His hands were incredibly gentle for a man who could tear monsters apart with his bare palms. He kissed my orehead, my eyelids, and the corner of my mouth, over and over, as if trying to erase every bad memory with his
ips.
His touch was slow and possessive, making my skin tingle wherever his calloused fingers brushed against my bare
waist.
He slid his large hands lower, his palms gripping my hips with a firm, unyielding pressure, pulling my lower body lush against his hard length.
A soft gasp escaped my lips at the sudden closeness. I could feel every inch of him–his heavy, muscular thigh Iraping over mine, anchoring me to the mattress, and the hard ridge of his desire pressing against my thigh.
He felt massive, an absolute force of nature, yet he moved with a quiet reverence, as if I were something precious
he was terrified of breaking.
“You’re mine, Emily,” he murmured against my throat, his lips pressing hot, biting kisses just beneath my jaw. A delicious shiver ran down my spine. “Everything I have, everything I am. It’s all yours.”
His hand slid up from my hip, his thick fingers tracing a slow line up my ribs. His palm cupped the weight of my breast, his thumb brushing over the peaked center, sending a spark of pure electricity straight between my thighs.
My back arched off the bed, a needy whimper catching in my throat as he squeezed gently, claiming my body with a rough, heavy hunger that made my core ache for him.
1:41 pm P P
I buried my face in his neck, my hands gripping his broad shoulders, feeling the thick muscles shift beneath my touch. I breathed in his scent of pine and rain, completely drunk on his proximity.
He slid his hand down to the sensitive skin of my inner thigh, his fingers stroking upward, teasingly close to where I wanted him most, making me crave the full weight of his possession.
In his arms, wrapped in his fierce warmth, I felt desired. Cherished. He held me tight against his bare chest, his and slowly stroking my hair, whispering how much he loved me over and over until the frantic racing of my heart
slowed down.
Slowly, the house went quiet. The bedroom softened into deep darkness. Nathan’s breathing turned heavy and even beside me, his large, heavy arm still draped protectively over my waist, keeping me anchored tightly to his
ide.
He was at peace, but I couldn’t join him.
The security of his embrace should have sent me to sleep, but the moment the room grew dark, my mind drifted way from the comfort of the bed. No matter how tight he held me, the cold memories began to creep back in.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Silas draining my mother’s power.
The way he became stronger. Healthier.
And then I thought about Declan.
Nyx stirred uneasily inside me. “We can’t let him have us.‘
“I know.”
“If Declan gets your power…”
Nausea washed over me. No. I couldn’t let that happen. Even if it meant-
To.
I rolled onto my other side, the heavy blankets rustling as I tried to find a comfortable posifon. A soft, frustrated igh escaped my lips.
Beside me, Nathan woke up. I froze, realizing my moving around had disturbed him. He shifted, tightening his big rm around my waist to pull me closer. His fingers moved against my hip.
“You’re thinking too loudly again,” he murmured sleepily, his voice deep and raspy in the dark.
I forced a weak smile, looking at his face in the dim light. “Sorry.”
Nathan opened one eye, looking down at me. “No, you’re not.”
It was true. We lay there in the quiet for a long moment.
Nathan?”
1:41 pm
“Mm?”
I hesitated. My pulse raced. “If something happened to me… would you be able to kill me?”
Nathan went completely still. The warmth in the bed vanished. “…What?”