Arianna shakes her head slowly, her hazel eyes glimmering with doubt. “I-I can't accept this, Tyler. I can't do this right now.”
As she spins on her heels, I intercept her attempt to escape by grabbing her arm and tugging her toward me. She crashes against my chest, palms flattened on my pectorals, where she feels my heart picking up pace from the recognition of its fated mate's touch.
She gasps, lifting her dazed eyes to mine as she feels the effects of our mate bond, but she pushes me away with a firm thrust.
“No! You need to stop this, Alpha Tyler! This is madness!” she roars, spinning around to hug her chest with tight arms.
“Exactly,” I begin with a heavy-hearted sigh. “AlphaTyler…that's the part of me I've been struggling with, alwaysbelieving that I had to be a certain way, to do what my brother would have done if he were still alive.”
My sincere words draw out a gasp from her as she lifts her head, but she doesn't turn back to me, so I continue.
“But will you do me a favor? Would you look at me as Tyler, not the alpha of this pack? That same man you met in the graveyard five years ago, and showed him grace and compassion? Can you do that for me now?” I beg, and Arianna turns around warily.
“You're not that same man anymore, Tyler,” Arianna whispers, disappointment in her tone.
“No, I'm not,” I shake my head even though the statement is true. “That boy you met back then was grieving his brother's death, and then you came along.” I press a hand to my chest. “But I was still a boy who thought he needed to keep up appearances, do what's right, become the alpha, and never think of his own happiness. It's the only reason I rejected you in the past, because I refused to be happy. I punished myself for what happened to Tyson, and I hurt the only good thing that happened to me, all because I thought no one would want to see me happy, either.”
Arianna lets out a painful breath. “You hurt me, Tyler. That's the only reason I kept Noah away from you. I was afraid that you'd hurt me again, and I was right. You did hurt me the other night, and you think that this meeting is gonna change everything. What about my feelings?”
My heart pangs with guilt when I see the sadness in her eyes. Hanging my head shamefully, I say, “I'm stupid, okay? I was possessed by jealousy, and that's why I turned cold that night. I'm sorry, Arianna. Forgive me, please,” I plead, droppingto my knees and hanging my head in shame, my hands resting on my lap, palms facing the ceiling in surrender.
“I am humbling myself before you, acknowledging that I was wrong for the way I behaved in the past. I was wrong for thinking that I would be better off without a mate—my true mate—and I was wrong for pushing you away every time I got too close.” I pause to swallow the lump in my throat, finally feeling the emotions I’ve been repressing so that I would show up for my duties. Only now I realize how much lighter I feel when I allow myself to feel my emotions, not weighed down by the burdens I’ve been carrying all this time.
“I am just a man humbling myself in front of the woman I love, begging her to forgive me and give me another chance to prove that I can be the man who deserves her love—the love she gave freely before, which I took for granted.”
“Y-you l-love me…?” Arianna asks softly, and I look up to find her brows furrowed, her bottom lip trembling.
“Of course, I love you, Ari. I’ve loved you since the day you gave me that lily for my brother’s grave. I’ve loved you all along, and I’ve been torturing myself trying to deny it. It’s done now, it’s out in the open. That’s why I had to announce it tonight, before I backed away like a coward. I’m a coward.”
My pathetic plea is met with a whimper as Arianna drops to her knees in front of me, her eyes full of the warmth and compassion I’d been shown that first night we ever spoke.
“You're not a coward, Tyler…you're anything but a coward,” she whispers as she tentatively reaches out to touch my cheek with her warm fingers. A sigh of relief escapes my lips when I feel the soft pulses that flow from her fingertips to the layer beneath my skin, bringing awareness yet again to our true mate bond.
“I am a coward, and I hurt you.” I hesitate to touch her hand where it rests on my cheek. “I know I hurt you, and I completely understand everything that's happened since then. Itwasmy fault, and I will spend every second of my life making it up to you.” I finally find the courage to place my hand on hers, sinking into the warmth that flows between us.
“You mean all of that?” she asks, her bottom lip quivering with hesitation.
“Of course, I do.” I use my free hand to pinch the skin on my neck in a gesture of honesty. “I've failed you before, but it won't happen again, I promise.”
“I know a little about failure,” she sighs as she averts her eyes nervously, drawing her hand away. “I failed to keep Noah safe, and James got to him. My visions are useless…”
Shaking my head, I reach out for her this time, cradling her face with both hands. “Hey…you're not a failure. You're still learning, and we're gonna do it together. We're gonna keep our son safe together from now on. I promise I'll keep you both safe.”
Arianna lifts her sad eyes to me, nodding timidly. “It's gonna take some time for me to start trusting you again, you know that, right?”
“I know,” I nod gently. “It might take a long time, but I'm never breaking your trust again. So, why don't we start now?”
Arianna's eyes immediately flicker to my lips before returning to my eyes as she nods slowly, leaning in, and making me the happiest man alive when she agrees to give me another chance. I seize the chance with every ounce of my being as I close the distance between our lips, placing a chaste kiss on the plush buds that taste like cherries.
Sparks fly as soon as our lips meet, and it's impossible not to become ravenous as my inner wolf stirs with arousal from kissing my true mate. I pull back, only to stare into the warm pools of hazel that bear recognition in them, confirming that she's aware of our sacred bond and the truth I've declared tonight.
Keeping my hand on her cheek, my thumb drawing circles on her delicate flesh, there's a deep, inner knowing, a confirmation that I'm finally on the right path when I'd been feeling like something was missing all this time. I was born to be mated to Arianna Hart, but life threw obstacles in our path when I was forced to take over as the alpha—a position that was meant for my brother.
Now, as the alpha, all that's left is for me to take my rightful place as Arianna's true mate. I take her hand and help her to her feet, replacing my hand on her cheek.
“Where's Noah right now?” I ask, to which she frowns lightly.
“He's with Brynta. I told her I'd get him—”
