Chapter 47

Killian:

“Killian, you don’t have to make me a guest.” Eleanor said, shaking her head at me. “I was gladly doing what I…”

“I am not asking, Eleanor.” I said, stopping her. “You are my guest and needless to say, my mate.” 

“What I did never changed the fact that I was your mate to begin with. I was working for my own money,” she said, and I shook my head at the woman. 

“I am going to pretend that I did not hear that.” I said, shaking my head at the woman. “I may hate your family with everything that I have in me, but I also know what it is to respect when a wolf is of pure blood. And regardless of where you come from, you are my mate, and someone that I chose to accept, and would proceed to choose to accept until the end of time. It may not make any sense to you, but that doesn’t really matter right now.”

“It does to me, Killian.” She said, and I shrugged.

“Eleanor, it is not like you can walk to begin with.” I said, shaking my head at her. “And if it is independence that you’re looking for, I am more than willing to help you with that. But you are not going to be my, or anyone’s maid.” 

She opened her mouth to speak, but I cupped her cheeks and connected my lips with hers, stopping her. The two of us pulled away to breathe, and she froze for a few seconds, processing what just happened, and I couldn’t help the small smirk that formed on my lips.

“You just got out of the infirmary room after days of being inside, barely being allowed to get up to go to the bathroom. You can’t really expect me to allow you to do anything before you’ve properly healed.” I said, my voice softening as I looked my woman in the eye. “Let me take you to the garden to eat, then the two of us can rest for a little while.”

“I have been resting for days, Killian.”

“Good, then one more wouldn’t be making a difference.” I winked at her and she shook her head. Truth be told, I have been working day and night to dig out the number of Bernardi associates that were sprawled around my city. The man believed that he could find her this way, he just didn’t know that he was going to have to deal with me sending him back headless bodies as a present from the Alpha of Alphas.

I had warned him not to play with my grounds, and though I was careful not to be too distinct about it, I didn’t want him to know that Eleanor was with me. Not at least until I knew that my mate was strong enough to face the fucker. Until then, I was aiming to make the fucked up kingdom that he believed he created, crumble under his feet.

I kept my arm wrapped around my mate as I guided her down the stairs. I knew that she was in pain, and the last thing that I wanted was for her to be hiding that pain from me. 

The fact that I knew now that I was going to have to be very careful, even when wanting to mark her, was not something that slipped my mind. I knew that her being raped and taken advantage of as much as she has was going to be a major setback when it came to me wanting to be intimate with her, and I wouldn’t be able to blame her. At least, I knew what to expect and how to react to it. All I needed was for her to trust me enough, and I was more than willing to earn that trust, no matter how much time it took.

“When did you have the girls set the table? You have been with me in the infirmary since I woke up.” She asked, breaking my train of thoughts. Her eyes met mine and I shook my head. The table wasn’t ready, but I knew that ordering takeout through the backdoor was always a good solution.

“They didn’t,”

“What?” She asked, frowning in confusion. 

“Have you ever had Chinese food?” I asked, and Eleanor shook her head. I smirked and pulled the chair out for her before heading toward the backdoor where I could hear the delivery man. It had been a while since I had any takeout, but I knew that a change, no matter how small, was going to be good for her. She would at least get to see and live through what I could tell was something that she was never allowed to do. 

“You ordered takeout when you have tens of maids in the kitchen that could have made us something simple to eat?” She asked, and I smirked before bringing over the paper bag and putting it on the table in front of us. The smell of food hit her nostrils and I could tell that she grew hungry at just the idea of eating it. 

“I may have a thousand maids, but no one is going to beat a Chinese restaurant that you know is eaten by almost all categories of people. Be it kids, adults, or elderly. Everyone likes this food,” I said, opening the bags for her. She looked at the food and I pulled out the chopsticks and handed them to her. Her eyes met mine and I could see fear in them as I opened the two sticks. 

I walked up toward her and took her right hand in mine, my touch gentle as I put the two sticks between her fingers, teaching her the right way to use them. “There is nothing to fear, malyshka. I am here to teach you how to use them.”

She looked at me over her shoulder, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes as our breaths mixed for a second. Her heart raced against her chest, and I stilled, allowing her to pull away if she wanted to. 

It was the kisses that were like this that seemed a lot more special to me. I, at least, knew that she wanted this as much as I did and wasn’t just kissing me because I was initiating the kiss. 

Her lips brushed over my own before she pressed hers against mine as I stilled, giving her the chance to explore what she wanted to do. I slowly moved a bit to stand in front of her, and she pulled away to rest her forehead against mine as she took deep and slow breaths, studying my expression as she did. I got down on my knee in front of her, and she looked up at me with a smile on her face before gathering her courage to extend her right hand toward me. I didn’t move, and watched as she put her hand on my cheek, running her finger over my scruff.

“Can you be real?” She asked, taking me by surprise. “An angel’s heart in the disguise of a devil?” 

“I am no angel, malyshka, nor do I have the heart of an angel.” I said gently. And she shook her head at me, making me chuckle. 

“You can’t be a demon, nor would I believe that you have the heart of a devil.” She said, and I took her hand in mine, gently kissing her palm as I closed my eyes. 

“For the whole world, I am the Alpha of Alphas, a person with no remorse to the darkness that he emits and can spread around him.” I said, looking her in the eye as I let her hand go. “But for my woman, I would be bringing out her light to emit over mine. That is something that I want you to keep in mind, malyshka…”