Chapter 135: I love you

Brian's pov

The silence in the hall was deafening, broken only by the faint, uneven rhythm of Cara's shallow breathing. My hands were stained with her blood, and Derek's blood, who lay at the end of the hall, dead.

Cara was dying and dying fast. Her heart was barely beating, slowly going to a stand still.

Her body was so still, too still. My heart pounded violently in my chest. It felt like my heart was giving up. This is all my fault. Derek taunting words haunted me like a persistent shadow. I had shown compassion.

This is my fault.

If I hadn’t hesitated, if I hadn’t let my feelings cloud my instincts, none of this would have happened. Cara would have been alive and well. We would have won the battle and gone back to east ellorin filled with happiness, but my moment of weakness had caused her to be on the brink of death.

I cradled her closer, her head resting on my chest. “Cara…” Her name escaped my lips as a broken whisper. “Please… please don’t leave me.”

My wolf howled in anguish, and I could feel his sorrow. He clawed at me, desperate to do something, anything, to save her. But there was nothing I could do.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking over Garreth and the remaining commanders and a group of my people were assembled. I didn’t know when they had gathered but were there, with eyes full of sorrow. Their faces convey their unspoken sorrow for Cara. Their commander.

Rosalin came forth. It was not much of a surprise that she was the leader of cupbearers. No matter how she had hidden it, Debby had sniffed her out. I was aware, but I chose to keep calm since she was not a threat to my pack or kingdom.

“I am sorry Brian, she is…gone”

No, that was a lie.

“She is not gone, she can't go like this, we have a lot to do, I have a lot of moments to share with her.” I cried bitterly.

But no matter what I tried to convince myself, Caras didn't have any pulse again, which signifies one thing.

“There was one thing.” I suddenly said out aloud.

The mating bond hummed faintly between us, a fragile thread that tied our souls together. I’d denied it before, resisted it. I had run away from it, but now… I had no choice.

To say I regretted everything is an understatement. The feeling of regret welled up in me like the bitter taste of bile.

Even though I can't do anything right now, the least I could have done before, I would do it.

I don't want to lose her as Cara, I want to mark her as my mate. The irresistible urge to mark her welled up in me.

Without hesitation, I raised my wrist and slashed it with my claws. Pain flared briefly, but I didn’t care. Dark crimson blood welled up, and I pressed it to her lips.

“Drink,” I whispered, starting the mating mantra. “Please, Cara. Take it. Take what’s mine. Let's be bounded by blood, body, and soul”

For a moment, nothing happened. Her lips were still, her body unresponsive. Despair threatened to consume me, but I kept pressing my wrist to her mouth, willing her to take what I offered.

And then…

A faint movement.

Her lips parted, and I felt the faintest pull as she began to drink. My heart leaped, hope surging through me like a tidal wave.

“Brian…” Emily’s voice broke through the sad atmosphere. Her tone is a mixture of shock and disbelief. “She’s healing.”

I glanced down, my breath catching in my throat. The wound on her back, the one that had been gaping and nasty, was closing. The blood that had pooled beneath her was no longer flowing.

“She’s healing,” Emily repeated, her voice trembling.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Cara. Her breathing, once shallow and labored, was becoming steady. Her skin, pale and lifeless, was regaining its color.

“How?” someone muttered behind me.

I shook my head, unable to form a coherent thought. I didn’t know how. All I knew was that she was alive. Cara was coming back to me.

“Impossible, how is this possible” Julia repeatedly questioned,

“I saw Cara stop breathing…,” One was still confused about what was going on.

Of all the people that were gathered, I was confused the most. What the fuck is this?.

My sister stepped closer, her face pale but determined. “Brian,” she said softly, “there’s something you need to know.”

I tore my gaze away from Cara, barely processing her words. “What?”

“Our great-grandmother,” my sister began hesitantly, “she was a Cupbearer. A powerful one. Our bloodline… it’s diluted, but…but I think the essence is still there.”

Her words hit me like a thunderbolt.

“A Cupbearer?” I echoed, disbelief in my voice.

Emily nodded. “It’s faint, but it’s there. And maybe… maybe that’s why your blood worked. Why Cara’s healing.”

“The forbidden ritual of the cupbearers. Only a cupbearer gives blood to another cupbearer. But sometimes, it's always filled with danger of the donor over exerting him or herself in the process. That's why it's forbidden.” Julia explained.

I stared at her, the weight of her revelation sinking in. I’d spent my whole life thinking I was just a wolf, just a leader. And now I was supposed to believe that I carried the blood of the Cupbearers?

I looked down at Cara, her face serene, and her breathing had stabilized.

It didn’t matter.

Whether it was because of my bloodline or sheer luck, she was alive. That was all that mattered.

I cupped her face gently, brushing a strand of hair away from her forehead. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I’m so sorry, Cara. I failed you. I let this happen.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened, the vibrant green I thought I’d never see again piercing into mine.

“Brian…” Her voice was weak but steady.

I cupped her face gently, with much tenderness like I was touching glass.. “I thought I lost you,”

Around us,I could feel the crowd silently watching. But I didn’t care, I needed to say it, to say it aloud, let the world hear it.

I’ve fought it for so long. Denied it, pushed it away, but no more. I am not going to go another day without speaking my mind.

“I love you, Cara,” I said, looking at the way her eyes widened in surprise.

“I love you too” she managed to reply before she went to sleep.

I was on cloud nine. Like everything that has shackled me down was lifted from my head. Right now, I felt like nothing could burden me again.

Caras love is enough.