Chapter 84: Alejandro's Pov

This anxiety-I've never felt anything like it before. My nerves are all over the place, my skin trembling. I kiss Mariana again for the millionth time in a handful of hours.

She smiles at me. The smile is distant, almost like it doesn't reach her eyes. I smile back and pull her closer, holding her as tight as I can, fearful that this might be the last chance I get at holding her this close to me.

And no, this has nothing to do with her winning the fight or dying in that cage because as long as I breathe, Mariana will walk out of that cage alive and well.

But I'm afraid of the responsibilities that come with the position she'll occupy. I'm afraid that she might forget our love and become intoxicated with power.

All of this might just happen in a few hours.

"The way you're holding me, Alejandro, one might think I'm about to die from a terminal disease."

She says.

Is she trying to make a joke? Does this seem like a joke to her?

I open my mouth to speak but a knock on the door startles us.

"What?" Mariana barks.

"It's time," the voice on the other side announces.

We're out of bed in an instant. I help her with her boots and then I help her put her hair up in a bun. Then I kiss her a thousand times more.

"I love you, Maria," I whisper.

"I love you too, Alejandro." She responds, smacking another kiss on my lips.

Heaving out a quick breath, I bob my head in continuous nods. "Promise me you'll always come back to me. Promise me that Angel and I will always be your priority." I plead.

I think for the first time in hours, she flashes me the brightest smile-a reassuring smile. "I promise, Alejandro Raes Vastlav, that I will always put you and our son first because I love you both more than life itself."

"That's all I needed to hear." I affirm, "Now, go and give them hell."

. . .

The underground fighting den is calm, too calm. On one side, the elders are seated, each of them assessing the fight that is about to happen. On the other side Mariana's family are seated. Her father, mother, brother, and her son.

As for me, I'm standing at the edge of the large space, a dark corner, a place where I'm staring directly at my woman, a corner where her eyes can easily reach mine.

Then suddenly, the fight begins.

It starts slow at first with the three suitable candidates for the position she's pining for circling her like predators. My heart clenches, fear sizzling underneath my skin as the three brutes lunge for her all at once.

I want to scream for her to get out of there, to run. But I don't. I can't. I don't want to be the reason for her downfall. And so I watch.

It goes from slow to wild in a blink of an eye.

There's blood everywhere, grunts and groans filling the entire space. One of the men-an elder's son charges at Mariana with a blade. It slashes a cut through her arm and misses her face by a fraction.

Mariana's face scrunches up in pain as she stumbles back. The man kicks her stomach, making her stagger. She has little time to catch her breath before another man grabs her from behind, his strong arms wrapping around her waist.

I can hardly breathe. My fists are clenched so tight they ache, and every inch of me wants to break into that fucking place and put a stop to this madness. But I can't. She would never forgive me.

Our eyes meet and I silently plead for her to give me a signal-something that tells me she's at the peak of pain.

She doesn't.

She only smirks as though possessed by something feral. It gets more bloody, but this time, it's Mariana who's delivering the blows and the stabs. She's drenched in blood, grinning while bringing down man after man.

It's a fight to the death. And most of the elders have their sons in that cage.

Mariana, being the crazy woman she is, stares them in the eyes as she slices the throats of their sons.

It only takes a moment before the last man falls, his bloodied body going limp on the ground.

The cage is quiet for a moment, and the air is thick with tension. She has won. She has survived. Her father leans back in his seat, the lines on his face visibly relaxing. Her mother and brother too.

The cage rattles open and Mariana staggers out, his chest heaving with quick breaths.

I stumble forward, allowing a brighter light to cast over me. Her head snaps towards my direction and she holds my gaze for seconds that turn into minutes, lips trembling with sorrow.

Then her body turns fully towards me. She staggers forward again, and again, and again. I move forward too, towards her, my steps hesitant.

What does she want?

I ask myself over and over again.

But my question is answered just as quickly as it came when her arms suddenly wrap around my neck. "I made it. . . we made it," she whispers through tears, groaning.

Tears fall from my eyes. "Mariana. . . what are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm holding the love of my life. I'm declaring to everyone who cares to know that I love you so so much. I'm choosing you, Alejandro. Why? Don't you want that?"

I shake my head once. "I want it. A lot."

She chuckles as she goes on her tippy toes, merging her lips with mine.

She chose me.

And we won.

I'm happy, sated by the complete family I have. My woman, my son, her dreams and mine actualized. I don't think there's any better outcome than this.