Chapter 28 Zero Regrets
ARYA
“Your Majesty.” Caspian’s voice was apologetic but firm. “Urgent matter. It can’t wait.”
Luca dropped his forehead to my shoulder with a groan of pure frustration. “I’m going to kill him.”
Despite my own frustration, I laughed. “Probably important if he’s interrupting.”
“It better be life or death.” But he rolled off me, adjusting himself with a grimace. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
He pressed one more scorching kiss to my lips before heading to the door.
I lay there, dress rumpled, lips swollen, body aching with unfulfilled need.
My senses came back with the lock clicking in place. What the hell had I just done?
I’d kissed the Lycan King. Almost slept with him. And I’d wanted it. God, I’d wanted it so much.
‘Finally,’ Lean purred. ‘Mate. We need more. We need him.’
‘We barely know him.’
‘We know enough. He’s ours. We’re his. That’s all that matters.’
But was it? Could I really give myself to someone I’d known for less than a day? Even if that someone was apparently my fated mate?
The door opened, and Luca returned, his expression frustrated. “I have to handle something. Crisis with the border patrol.”
“It’s fine.” I sat up, trying to compose myself. “I should probably get some sleep anyway.”
“Aeliana.” He crossed to me, tilting my chin up. “Don’t overthink this. What happened here, that was real. That was us, not just the bond.”
“How do you know the difference?”
“Because I’ve existed for eight centuries without feeling anything close to this.” His thumb brushed my cheek. “The bond drew me to you, yes. But this—” he kissed me softly, tenderly, “—this is all us.”
After he left, I sat there for a long moment before returning to my own room.
Where I found Ryker sitting on my bed, looking like he’d just heard the worst news ever.
“I heard you two,” he said quietly before I could even speak. “These walls aren’t as thick as they seem.”
Guilt crashed over me. “Ryker—”
“It’s okay.” But his voice said it absolutely wasn’t. “You’re mates. I knew this would happen. Doesn’t make it easier to hear, but I knew.”
I sat beside him, not sure what to say.
“He makes you happy?” Ryker asked.
I swallowed thickly. “I don’t know yet. But he makes me feel… alive.”
“Then that’s what matters.” He stood. “I’m going to my room. Try to get some sleep.”
After he left, I lay in bed, my body still humming from Luca’s touch, my heart aching for Ryker’s pain, my mind spinning with everything that had happened.
This was my life now.
Complicated, messy, passionate, and terrifying.
But for the first time in years, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Going to sleep when my body was still alive and thrumming with need felt almost impossible. After tossing and turning for hours, I must have finally dozed off because when I woke up, sunlight was streaming through the windows and the distinct feeling that I was being watched.
My eyes flew open to find Luca standing at the foot of my bed, already dressed in training gear. A fitted black shirt that showed off his perfectly sculpted body and pants that left very little to the imagination.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” His voice was amused and heated, warming my insides. “We have training in twenty minutes.”
I sat up, clutching the sheets to my chest even though I was fully clothed in the oversized t-shirt I’d slept in. “Training?”
“You have incredible power, but no control.” He moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight. “I’m going to teach you how to use it. How to defend yourself. How to be the warrior you were born to be.”
“And this requires you watching me sleep?” I raised a brow, trying to fight the curve of my lips.
“No. That was purely for my enjoyment.” His smile was wicked. “You’re beautiful when you sleep. Did you know you smile sometimes? Like you’re having pleasant dreams.”
Heat crept up my neck. “That’s creepy.”
“That’s devotion.” He leaned closer, and I could smell pine and something darker and more primal. A unique blend that was him. “I’ve waited centuries for you. Forgive me if I want to memorize every detail.”
Before I could respond, he stood. “Twenty minutes. Meet me in the training yard behind the house. Wear something you can move in.”
“Luca—”
“And Aeliana?” He paused at the door. “About last night. I’m not sorry it happened. Only sorry we were interrupted. That won’t happen again.”
It sounded like a promise and a threat all at once.
After he left, I flopped back onto the pillows, my heart racing.
‘He watched us sleep,’ I recounted Lean whom I was sure already knew. But I needed to tell someone and Ryker definitely wasn't an option. And I didn't exactly have a long pool of friends I could discuss boys with.
‘Romantic,’ she purred.
‘Creepy.’ I argued, although I was fighting back that same silly smile.
‘Romantic,’ she insisted. ‘Mate is devoted. Protective and he wants us.’
I couldn’t argue with that last part. The way Luca looked at me, like I was water and he was dying of thirst, was intoxicating.
I dragged myself out of bed and rifled through the closet. More clothes had appeared overnight, including athletic wear in my exact size. Sports bra, fitted tank top, leggings that looked like they were sewn on me.
When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself. The woman staring back was fit, curved in all the right places, with wild hair and eyes that glowed faintly silver.
I looked… powerful.
‘We ARE powerful,’
Lean reminded me.