Chapter 45: Rhys
Instead of saying anything to my declaration, Grace remained quiet, and her hand remained at her side. I could tell her mind was reeling, and I know I told her I would give her time to think, but that was proving to be harder than I thought.
I opened a file on my desk, and pretended to work, but my own mind was reeling too. Was she going to reject me for who she thought I was, and not who I am? She didn’t know why the other brides had worked out. She had only ever heard stories of my ruthlessness. But I was a fair ruler. And I was madly into her. I wanted her to see who I could be, not who the world saw me as.
“Is that why you killed him?” She asked after what felt like a million years.
“Who?” I asked, uneasily, not loving where this was going again.
“The Beta.” She wrote. “Blood Moon Pack.”
I sucked in a breath and decided to answer honestly. “Yes. I wanted to selfishly break the bond you have with whoever marked you. I wanted, want you to myself. I’m an Alpha King. I don’t share.”
However, instead of my answer soothing her, she looked insecure again.
“So, I’m not special,” I read her board aloud, and I had to guess the last word because it was spelled wrong.
“What do you mean? You are special, Grace. Very special. Especially to me.” I argued, not sure how she even came to that conclusion.
“I need time to think.” She wrote, and I frowned but nodded.
She got up slowly as if afraid to move to fast and I would change my mind about giving her time, which apart of me wanted to. I had laid everything out on the line, and she still wouldn’t open up to me. She seemed just as lost as she had been when we started the conversation, and I wasn’t sure I had made any of the right choices.
“Let her go.” My wolf told me, even though I could tell he hated watching her walk away from us.
“Why?” I argued with him, needing to vent my frustration a little even if it was only internally.
“Because we need her to like us.” He answered.
I grunted in response to him. She was supposed to be happy I was her mate, not fearful and doubtful.
“Everyone told me to tell her. Tell her the truth. Stop hiding things. Secrets are no good in a relationship. She deserves to know. Blah blah blah.” I mimicked all the things Leon and Sawyer had said to me. “But look where that fucking got us. She walked away!”
“You saw her face. You know how she thinks. You just dumped a ton of information on her. She needs to process. Let her process. You not only told her you’re her mate, but you told her she’s a Lycan, and she has a probable brother who you have in the dungeons,” My wolf rationalized. “You are making this about you.”
Knowing I wasn’t going to get any more work done now, I went in search of Sawyer. I needed his soothing brother energy. Leon would tell me straight up what he was thinking, but I knew Sawyer would be more thoughtful in his responses, so I made my way to his clinic.
“Hey,” Sawyer said in surprise when he saw me. The clinic was pretty full, but no one seemed to care that I was pulling Sawyer away from his work again. “I didn’t think I would see you today.” He said opening his office door for me.
“She said she needed some space and time to think.” I told him honestly.
“So, it didn’t go the way you want it, I take it?” He questioned.
“Well would you want your mate to say that to you?”
“Well, I’m mateless,” Sawyer smiled, “But no. I can’t imagine I would.”
I nodded absently, staring at the family picture on the wall in his office. It was one of the few we had of Mom and Dad, me, Caleb and Sawyer, and the one in here was one of my favorites.
“So, what happened?” He prodded.
“Well, I laid it all out like you and Leon both told me to. I told her about her probable brother. I told her about being bound and probably a Lycan if Ethan isn’t lying. And I told her that I think she’s my mate. And she got really scared and insecure about everything. No matter what I said it didn’t seem to matter. She even asked if I told all my brides that I think they’re my mate, like it’s some kind of pick-up line. But again, she’s the one who wanted to stay, she asked if she could leave then came up with a plan to stay. I don’t understand. She should be happy that I’m her mate, that we get forever.”
Sawyer sighed and gave me a serious look. “I know what she offered you, Rhys, and I know how you took it. But did you ever think she might not have been looking for a mate? I mean, she bared the mark of another man and didn’t even know. The idea of a mate might actually be terrifying for her.”
I felt my frown deepened. He was right. My wolf was right. I was making this about me, but it might have absolutely nothing to truly do with me.
“Thanks Sawyer. I’ll let you get back to work.”
He nodded, and I showed myself out. I didn’t go straight back to her room. I wanted to honor her request for space. So, I went for a run first, and before finally feeling like the time was right to go talk to her again.
I knocked on her door before opening it. She was sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow. She looked up at me with those crystal blue eyes, and I took that as my permission to come in.
“Look Grace,” I said as I sat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry for dumping everything on you like that. Especially the mate part. I’ve debated telling you for a while, but I didn’t want you to feel forced into something you weren’t ready for or didn’t want.”
She grabbed the whiteboard, and I could tell she was trying to act confident, but her nerves were still show.
“I accept you as my mate.” She wrote, and a huge weight lifted off my chest.
“This is wonderful, Grace!” I tried to contain my happiness, but I couldn’t help but smile broadly.
She turned her board back toward her and began writing again.
“But I need you to think about me and my needs and try to” She wrote, and then there was an arrow pointed down and a person. I took me a minute to figure out the last word. She was asking me to understand her position. Her thoughts. Her everything.
“Yes. Yes, of course, Gracie,” I assured her. “I will always do everything in my power to support you. To give you whatever you need.”
She gave me a small smile, and started to write again. When she turned the board around, I was not prepared for the two little words on it.
“Mark me.”