Chapter 148 It Terrified Him, But Marcus was right
"No." Marcus stood his ground. "You want honesty? Here it is. Your plan isn't working. Pushing Lila away doesn't make her safer. It makes her isolated and vulnerable. The people who want to hurt you know she matters. They've proven it by poisoning her, trying to keep her weak and confused. Your cruelty doesn't protect her. It just makes you both miserable."
"What would you have me do? Openly claim her? Announce she's my mate? That paints a target on her back that's impossible to defend against."
"That target already exists!" Marcus's voice rose. "Gerrit proved it with the poisoned sword. Aria proved it with the contaminated food. They know she matters to you, Adrian. Hiding it doesn't make her safer. It just means you're not supporting each other when you face the danger together."
Adrian turned away, jaw clenched. "If I claim her, if I'm open about the bond, it validates their fears. Proves the council was right to call it cursed. They'll try to force another rejection. Or worse."
"Then you fight them. Publicly. Openly. You're the Alpha King. Your authority is absolute in this kingdom." Marcus moved to face Adrian directly. "Stop being afraid. Stop letting guilt and fear control your choices. The bond exists. Lila is your mate. Own that truth and defend it. That's how you protect her. Not through cruelty and distance."
"You make it sound simple."
"It is simple. Love her. Claim her. Fight anyone who tries to stop you." Marcus's scarred face softened. "I've watched you lead armies. Face enemies that would make lesser men flee. You're fearless in everything except this. Why?"
Adrian was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible. "Because if I claim her, if I let myself love her openly, and then lose her anyway, it will destroy me. Completely. Irreparably. I barely survived four years of half-connection. I won't survive losing her entirely."
"So you'd rather push her away now? Guarantee the loss by your own actions? That's cowardice, Adrian. And you're not a coward."
The words hit like physical blows. Adrian's hands clenched white on his practice sword.
"You want me to risk everything. The kingdom. My sanity. Her life. On the chance that this time, things will be different. That this time, I'll be strong enough to protect her."
"I want you to stop torturing yourself and her. I want you to trust that together, you're stronger than apart. I want you to remember that you're not the weak man who let the council control you four years ago. You're the Alpha King who's been holding this kingdom together through plague and creature attacks and political chaos." Marcus's voice turned fierce. "Claim your mate, Adrian. Fight for her. And let anyone who tries to stop you face the consequences."
Adrian stared at his oldest friend. At the scarred face that had stood beside him through fifteen years of war and peace. At the man who'd just called him a coward and meant it as encouragement.
"What if I fail again? What if despite everything, I can't keep her safe?"
"Then you'll fail fighting for her instead of failing by abandoning her. There's honor in that. There's love in that." Marcus gripped Adrian's shoulder. "But I don't think you'll fail. Not this time. Not with Keal investigating, not with me protecting her, not with the truth finally coming to light. The people who hurt Lila are panicking. They're making mistakes. You're close to exposing them. Don't give up now. Not when victory is within reach."
Adrian wanted to believe it. Wanted to trust that this time would be different. That claiming Lila wouldn't result in her death. That love could be simple instead of complicated.
"Theo drew a picture," Adrian said quietly. "Three figures holding hands. Him, me, and Lila. He labeled it 'family' and hung it on my study wall."
"Children see clearly what adults make complicated."
"He said we just have to be brave. All of us." Adrian's laugh was hollow. "My three-year-old son has more courage than I do."
"Then maybe it's time to learn from him." Marcus squeezed Adrian's shoulder once more, then stepped back. "I can't make this decision for you. But I can tell you that watching you suffer like this is killing your friends. Keal sees it. I see it. Even Sydney and Maya see it. We're all waiting for you to stop being afraid and start fighting for what's yours."
Marcus left the training yard. Adrian stood alone as dawn broke over the palace walls, his Commander's words echoing in his head.
Claim your mate. Fight for her. Stop being afraid.
Simple advice. Impossible execution.
Or was it?
Adrian looked at his hands. They'd held swords and signed treaties and carried his son. They'd hurt Lila and healed her and trembled with the effort of not reaching for her.
What if Marcus was right? What if the cruelty wasn't protection but cowardice? What if the only way to truly keep Lila safe was to stand beside her openly, to claim the bond the Moon Goddess had given them, to fight together instead of suffering apart?
Theo's drawing flashed in his mind. Three figures holding hands. Simple. Clear. True.
His son believed it was possible. Marcus believed it was necessary. And somewhere deep inside, beneath four years of guilt and fear, Adrian believed it too.
The question was: did he have the courage to act on that belief?
To risk everything one more time? To trust that this time, love would be enough?
Adrian didn't know. But standing in the empty training yard as sunlight painted the frost gold, he made a decision.
He would try. For Theo. For Lila. For himself. For the bond that refused to die no matter how much they bled.
He would stop being afraid. Stop pushing her away. Stop pretending distance was protection.
He would claim his mate. Openly. Publicly. And let anyone who tried to stop him face the full fury of an Alpha King fighting for what was his.
It terrified him. But Marcus was right. Cowardice was guaranteed failure. Courage at least offered a chance.
And chance was better than nothing. Better than this slow death they'd been living.
Adrian cleaned his practice sword and returned it to the rack. Then he walked toward the palace with purpose in his stride.
He had arrangements to make. Plans to implement. A kingdom to prepare for the truth.
Because Adrian Blackthorn was done hiding. Done suffering. Done letting fear control his choices.
It was time to fight. And this time, he wouldn't lose.
He refused to.