Chapter 152 Everything
Althea blinked as warmth spread across her skin. Her breath hitched when she realized it wasn’t just the morning light, it was Gavriel. His lips trailed from her shoulder to the curve of her neck, each kiss slow and deliberate.
“Gavriel,” she whispered, her voice barely steady.
He paused and lifted his head, meeting her gaze. His expression softened, eyes filled with quiet tenderness she rarely saw.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Did I wake you?”
Her heart pounded faster. He didn’t often sound like that—gentle, almost unsure. She swallowed hard, caught between surprise and the sudden rush of emotion his closeness brought.
She bashfully shook her head and gave him a timid smile.
“You’ll come with me to the Storm Riders Pack party tonight,” he murmured, his breath brushing her neck as he nudged closer, inhaling her scent.
“But why? Are you sure about this? I—” Her words tangled as confusion clouded her thoughts. Why would he take her there? That party would be full of nobles, and she knew they would all look down on her.
Gavriel lifted his head, his gaze locking on hers. The intensity in his eyes made her heartbeat stumble.
“I want them to see that you’re with me. Not as my breeder or captive,” he said firmly, “but as their future Luna and Queen.”
Althea froze. Her eyes widened, lips parting in shock. “What?!”
His brow creased. “You heard me. You’ll be my Luna and Queen, Althea.”
The color drained from her face. “But… I’m the traitor’s daughter. No one will accept—” She stopped mid-sentence, then met his eyes and asked quietly, “Was this your plan all along? To get to my father?”
Even so, a part of her couldn’t shake the doubt about Gavriel’s intentions.
His expression darkened. “If I wanted to use you to reach your father, I could have done it easily. All I’d need is to force you to open a portal that leads to him. You share a strong bond with your family, and if I really wanted to manipulate you, I could simply threaten Melva to make you obey.”
Althea swallowed hard. He was right. He now knew about her ability to create portals that connected her to the ones she loved.
“I’m telling you this because I want you to understand,” Gavriel said, his tone firm yet calm.
“I’m choosing you as my Luna and Queen because I want to, Althea. I thought I made that clear when we were in the woods yesterday. I told you then—there is no other woman beside me but you.”
Her heart pounded so hard she could hear the rhythm echoing in her chest.
“Because I’m your mate?” she asked quietly. She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him… to know in what way he truly wanted her.
Gavriel’s gaze softened. “Because you’re my mate. My woman. Mine,” he murmured. “And somewhere along the way… you became everything to me.”
Althea froze. Her mind went blank for a moment as her heart thudded so loud she thought he might hear it. She blinked, staring up at him, not sure if she heard him right. “You… what did you just say?” she whispered.
Gavriel’s tone stayed firm. “You heard me, Althea.”
“But how? Why?” she asked, her voice trembling. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Maybe she had already sensed it in the way he looked at her, in the small gestures she didn’t want to read too deeply into. Yet now that he had said it out loud, everything felt unreal—so unreal she was almost afraid to blink, worried she might wake up from a dream.
“Could it just be the matebond?” she whispered without realizing it, her lips still parted as she stared at him.
“Not because of the bond,” Gavriel said softly, his hand lifting to brush her cheek. “Not because fate decided it but because of you.”
A faint smile curved his lips as he continued, “I think it began the moment I saw how you stand your ground, even when you’re scared. How you still choose kindness, even after everything you’ve been through. It was when I finally saw you—not the blood you carry from Cain, but you.”
Her breath hitched. She didn’t know what to say or how to respond. Everything in her screamed to be careful, to guard her heart. But the sincerity in his eyes—it was raw, unguarded, and it disarmed her completely.
“I don’t… I don’t know what to say,” she admitted softly.
“Then don’t say anything,” he murmured. “Just stay by my side. Let me protect you. Let me prove it to you.”
His words made something inside her melt, even as her doubts lingered. But when he cupped her face again and kissed her forehead, she couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering.
That moment, she saw not the ruthless Alpha King everyone feared but a man who had already given her his heart without realizing it.
Althea raised her hand and touched Gavriel’s face. He closed his eyes, his hand coming up to hold hers against his cheek. Then it hit her like a wave crashing into her chest. Her eyes widened as warmth, longing and restraint, all of Gavriel’s emotions, poured into her at once. She could feel him. Every piece of what he’d been holding back.
“Gavriel,” she called softly.
He opened his eyes and gave her a faint, reassuring smile. “I’ve let my walls down, Althea,” he said quietly. “So now you can feel everything, my thoughts, my feelings, through the matebond. I hope this… finally eases all the doubts you’ve been carrying.”
She could only stare at him, breathless. “You mean… you could feel my emotions all this time?” she whispered in disbelief.
She knew that mates could connect through emotions and a mindlink after marking and consummating the matebond, but she had learned that this was only possible when both werewolves had inner wolves.
She had always been told that werewolves couldn’t feel emotions through the matebond from humans or hybrids like her but werewolves could choose to let their human mate or hybrid mate without an inner wolf share their emotions and connect through the mindlink.