It was hard to say how long it had been since they had gone silent. Harper looked at Lucas for a few moments before following his lead and closing her eyes. They sat in complete silence for an hour, with only the occasional shifting of their legs, before Harper was awakened by muscle cramps in her right leg. She tentatively attempted to move her weight to the left until she felt much more at ease.
"Does Alex know that you're here?" Lucas suddenly asked her, opening his eyes.
Her stomach churned at the same time, and she exhaled a ragged sigh. "No," she answered quietly.
“Why were you out in the forest all by yourself anyway? Was Alex with you?”
“I was trying to look for something to eat.” She looked away.
Lucas sighed once more as he surveyed the stone around them, attempting to determine where they should climb. “And Alex?”
“He’s…He was still asleep when I left him.” Harper looked at him this time. “What about you? Where’s Francine?”
“I left her to look for something for her to eat,” he paused, hesitant how he should say Francine’s current predicament. “Without her bloodstone, she can’t go out during the day. As it turns out, blood from animals has a distinct taste she’s not accustomed to, having served with blood substitutes all her life. She’s having a hard time hunting for prey during the night too.”
“I’m sorry to hear she’s going through that…” she replied, not sure whether she was okay with Lucas’ apparent concern for Francine.
“And…” he paused and took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry for all this, Harper.”
“Well, we’re all sorry, I guess,” she whispered back and turned her body so that she was facing him.
"I’ve almost lost hope," he replied. “Over the months, there were moments when I just thought of giving up. All I wanted was to do the right thing, but as it turned out, leaving you was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my entire life, Harper.”
She locked her gaze on him, and he was taken aback to see a smile on her lips before reaching out and yanking a few strands of blond hair from his brow. "You haven’t changed a lot since I last saw you.”
He locked his gaze on her and felt the air leaving his lungs. “And you look as beautiful and hot as ever.”
Harper let out a weak laugh before looking up and swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat for an unknown reason.
“So many things I wanted to tell you, Harper. And so many things I wanted to do too,” Lucas continued, his urge to touch her almost uncontrollable.
“Lucas…”
“No.” He placed his finger over her mouth for a few seconds to silence her and moved his hand slowly towards hers. “You’re still wearing my ring.”
Harper lowered her gaze to her ring finger. Her entire being was flooded with guilt, and she soon felt tears welled up in her eyes while feeling a tightness in her chest.
Looking at her, Lucas was overwhelmed with the need to hold her, so he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. He turned to face her, their foreheads touching, and reached for the nape of her neck with one of his hands.
Harper's lips parted in a half-smile as his left hand cupped her flushed face and his rough thumb gently stroked her cheek.
"Don't cry, Harper," he murmured.
She closed her eyes as he leaned towards her to kiss the tears away.
"I missed you so much, Harper," he sighed softly to her, their faces so close that their noses almost touched.
Harper gulped nervously at his tone, a shiver running down her neck. She blinked at him, unsure if she wanted this after what had happened to her and Alex. She could tell things had changed while she was with Alex. But now that she was with Lucas, things were starting to make her confused.
“Lucas…I’m….”
“Tell me that you missed me, too, Harper. Please…you’re all I could ever think about. Francine thought I was going mad.”
"Of course, I missed you.” She could feel her cheeks heating up. "I came here for you.”
Lucas stroked her cheek with his thumb while her eyes fluttered shut. After that, she felt a tiny peck on one of her closed eyelids.
“But…Lucas…” She blinked it open a few times while searching for his gaze.
“No…no, Harper, we’re finally together. I’ll never leave you alone again. I swear to you, I won’t. No matter what happens," he whispered.
She swallowed again, feeling his lips travel slowly to the tip of her nose, where he kissed the bridge, then to her forehead, kissing every inch of her face before reaching for her lips.
Lucas kissed her gently at first, but as soon as his tongue reached her mouth, he started kissing her hungrily. He had been missing her for months and was finally able to fulfill his craving. He licked her lips and mouth, and his hands caressed her body. As he proceeded to kiss her passionately, all the lost time and stifled feelings began to rise in him. Harper thought he was much rougher this time than the last time he kissed her.
"Every night, I’ve dreamed of kissing you," He suckled her bottom lip while he breathed into her mouth, letting out a husky groan. Every nerve in his tense body ached to touch and please every inch of her. “…Of tasting you once again.”
He ran his fingertips through Harper's hair as his lips began to seize hers again, kissing her with all the longing and lust he could muster.
"Lucas..." Harper whimpered.
He hushed her, his kisses moving from her lips to her ear. "I was on the verge of going insane. I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered hotly in her ear before nibbling on her lobe before his mouth covered hers once more.
Harper became weak under him, but she managed to break the kiss and inhaled deeply into Lucas’ ear.
“Damn,” Lucas moaned. “I your smell…” He placed his head in the crook of her neck before his lips feasted on the soft, smooth column. “Your scent…” he trailed off.
But Harper averted his gaze when he motioned her to face him.
"What's wrong?" he asked, lips slightly parted.
She turned to him and said, "Lucas, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can—"
He stared at her, slowly easing himself off of her. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s his scent I’m smelling, isn’t it?” His voice was soft and cold at the same time. He moved back, creating a small space between them. “Dammit. I knew it. I tried to tell myself it’s nothing, but his fucking smell is all over you. It can’t possibly be nothing. And I’m fucking right!”
Harper blinked a few times. "Lucas, it’s not what you think, " she squeaked out, trying not to tremble beneath his blue eyes.
“What the fuck, Harper?! I thought you couldn’t stand him, and now, he’s got his scent all over you!”
“I―”
He grabbed her wrist. “Tell me how this happened?”
“Well, it just happened!” she replied, finally able to find her voice. “I didn’t plan on it, okay? You’re right! I hated him. Every fiber of his being. But—"
“But what? You’re suddenly seeing him in a different light?” His grasp on her wrist tightened briefly, then loosened. He drew his hands to his sides. “Is that what this is? He’s changed and no longer an asshole to you, and you somehow fell for him?”
“It’s not like that. If I―” Harper's words, however, faltered. She looked into his eyes, hoping to find something that would help her explain the storm of emotions she was experiencing, but she found nothing.
“How could you do this to me?” Lucas' eyes grew cold, and she realized right then and there that things would never be the same between them again. “I’m your fucking mate, Harper.”
“I’m so sorry, Lucas. I wish I had a better understanding of what it means to me your mate. I really do. So, I’d understand it better. So, I’d understand you better. So, I’d understand the difference between what I’d feel for you and what you feel for me.”
“It’s pretty simple, Harper. As my mate, my life is fucking devoted to you.”
“I’m sorry, but I know that unlike you, I have a choice, Lucas.”
“So, you fucking chose Alex?!” Lucas’s eyes widened as he listened.
“I didn’t choose him. I haven’t chosen anyone!”
He blinked at her and then turned his face upwards. “Well, I thought you already had when you accepted that ring,” he spat, eyeing the ring around Harper’s finger.
“I’m sorry!” Harper replied tersely.
“You have no idea how much you’re hurting me right now,” he snarled at her. He screwed up his face then as he tried to twist his body within the tight space.
She glared at him. “And you have no idea what I’ve been through, Lucas. After we left the cottage, Alex and I were on the run. I didn’t know what I was doing the whole time.”
“You very well knew what you were doing, Harper. And despite your sour opinion on Alex, you still fell for him. Just like the rest…”
She didn’t say anything. She was too stunned to even think of anything besides what he had said.
*If he only knew.*
Her heart leaped out of her chest at the thought of her mother. She took a deep breath and sniffed. Instead of telling him about her mother's death, she turned away from him and stared at the wall, and soon they were both lost in their own thoughts.
After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, she heard Lucas grumbled softly, “Did you really care about me?”
With stunned eyes, she turned to face him. “What?”
Lucas sighed before asking again, "Did you really care about me?"
She shifted her gaze away from him, returning her gaze to the wall for several seconds before quietly saying, “All I wanted was to start a new life away from Alex. It was you who asked me to look after him *for you*. It was you who asked me to push my plans aside to stay with him *for you*. You were the one who asked me to leave the cottage and take him with me. I did all of those *for you* when I knew I didn’t have to. I came to this damn place for you. How dare you ask me if I cared about you.”
They fell quiet for a while before Lucas spoke up again, “I wanted to claim you that night, in your apartment. It hurt me so much when I didn’t. I couldn't do that to you, though. I couldn’t claim you and form a lifelong bond with you unless I told you the truth. I couldn’t without revealing to you what I really am. Without informing you of the repercussions of our bond since you're human."
Sucking in a deep breath, Harper turned her eyes towards him, looking surprised by his sudden disclosure. “I had no idea. If you had told me, maybe we might be in a very different situation now.”
“Absolutely. Perhaps things will be different.”
“Perhaps,” she echoed so quietly he barely heard her. She sighed and shifted her head in an attempt to get more comfortable.
Lucas watched her for a minute before asking, "Do you love him now?”
“What?”
“Alex. Do you love him?”
Her heart thudded against her ribcage as she tried to lean back. "Why are you asking me that," his gaze was drawn to her as she spoke quietly. "I don't think—"
Suddenly, crumbs of dirt from above and loose, dirty soil from the walls rained down on them, interrupting Harper. When the dust became too much for her, she began coughing.
When a speck dirt landed directly in Lucas’ right eye, he turned his head away. He hissed loudly and reached his hand over to rub at it. And with watery eyes, he blinked back. Harper blinked and looked up through watery eyes, attempting to steady her breathing.
They both became silent and alternated between closing their eyes and staring up at the light when the deep fissure was abruptly illuminated with bright light.
“Harper!” Alex's voice screamed from above them.