Chapter 15: Grace
I shifted uncomfortably in the bed. I hated how much pain my body was in. I was used to the pain, but without the constant affliction of it, it somehow felt worse than before. Perhaps it was because for once my body was actually healing. But I hated it. I knew I had done more damage somehow when I got that really bad headache, but I couldn’t really remember what had happened, all I remembered was the pain.
I rolled over and climbed out of bed, stretching what I could of my body as I attempted to move to the chair in the corner. I thought maybe a change of position would allow me to be a little more comfortable.
I was about halfway to the chair when the door opened, and in waltzed Rhys. Our eyes met across the room, and suddenly he was next to me, sweeping me off my feet and into his arms. I looked at him in surprise and saw something I didn’t expect: Desire.
He laid me gently back on the bed, and the pain I had been feeling fell away. And before I had the chance to process anything, his hands were everywhere. The light touch of his finger tips up my sides sent chills through me. For the first time in my life, I wanted more.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, his voice husky with something I didn’t quite recognize.
I gave him a small smile. With him, I was okay, and that thought scared me a little.
He tenderly touched my face, and then made his way slowly down my body. He traced every visible scar, and nothing seemed to scare him the way I always thought they would scare any man. I had been told I was ugly enough times to believe nobody would want my tortured body. But this was different than I ever thought it would be.
His lips found mine, and I found myself kissing him back despite my limited experience. His lips then trailed slowly down my neck, as his hands ran up and down my sides with a light touch that made me feel as though I was on fire.
His hand shifted lower, surprising me a little as he slowly began to rub my clit in little circles. I gasped. I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel about this. It felt so different than anything I had ever felt before and a moan escaped my lips. Shame flooded my senses, but I also felt a strange sense of comfort and anticipation.
I heard a door shut, and I sat up immediately with a gasp. No one was touching me. I was alone in my bed, but the Alpha King Rhys was standing at the edge of the bed now with an unreadable expression.
I pulled the blanket up as waves of embarrassment crashed through me. Shame also flashed through me as I realized it was all a dream. How could I have possibly been thinking of the Alpha King like that? Did he know?
I tried to act as normal as I could, but his expression remained unreadable as took off his shoes.
“Did you sleep well?” He asked after a long moment. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I nodded, forcing my expression to remain neutral, but a part of me was sure that he knew what had just happened.
I grabbed my whiteboard and began to draw and write what I could in an attempt to distract myself and him from the mortifying dream he had just walked in on. I thought for a moment, before settling on a question mark and the word go, hoping he would know what I meant.
He looked surprised at my initiation, but he took the chalkboard from me without hesitation.
“Where did I go?” He asked to make sure he understood.
I nodded, giving him the confirmation he needed.
“I went to investigate other effects of your marking.” He answered simply as he climbed onto the other side of the bed.
I frowned, wondering what he found. I remembered he said my pack disappeared after he had taken me away from them and I wondered if it had anything to do with my mark that I had no idea I had. I grabbed the chalkboard back from him and began drawing out my thoughts. I knew I couldn’t spell what I was trying to say, so my best bet was a series of pictures.
I drew myself with an x on my neck and then some trees and some stick figures hiding among them, and a line splitting me and them. But an arrow from them crossed the line.
I handed it to him nervously, and hoped he would understand what I meant.
He stared at my drawing for a long moment, and I did my best not to fidget. He stared at it for so long I was sure he had no idea what I was talking about. I looked away in embarrassment before he finally spoke.
“You're asking if they can cross into my territory unnoticed due to your mark? And by they, you mean the person who marked and your old pack?”
I nodded, and he looked impressed with my line of thought.
“Thankfully, no. That is not a possibility at this time.”
I quickly added to my previous drawing a question mark and wrote the word king, before finally adding an arrow from the king to my mark.
“What if I mark you?” He asked, looking up at me over the board, giving me an indiscernible look.
I nodded hesitantly. What if he didn’t want to mark me anymore? What if he didn’t want me at all anymore? What would I do then? He keeps saying he won’t send me back, but if I’m not a suitable bride, then I had no idea what that would mean for me.
“Not unless you became my official Luna would it matter.” He answered, his voice softer than it had been. “But I cannot mark you while you bear another’s mark, it could be fatal for you, and I won’t risk you.”
My heart fluttered at his comment. I wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that but the way he said it, had me feeling some sort of way. He was quickly becoming something safe to me, and I didn’t have a clue how I was supposed to feel about it. I did know though that pride filled me, and I would do almost anything to bring that impressed look back to his face.