Gilen shook his head, his eyes darting to where our hands met. “You’re asking me to submit and grant you the role of alpha. Carrying that dagger is—”
“It’s the crown of our people.” The guilt threatened to silence my words, yet I couldn’t allow it to hinder my actions. “I know what value it carries and what it means to our pack.”
Gilen’s fingers intertwined with mine. His familiar embrace, which brought me comfort in the past, now felt like needles against my skin.
“There’s… I just…” Gilen stumbled. “What you’re asking me to do, Sky, is—”
“I know.” I clenched my eyes shut, fighting back a wave of unease as the tension thickened. Closing the distance between us, I could feel Gilen’s chest rise and fall with heavy rasps. His racing heart matched my own.
“Gilen,” I pleaded. “I need to take the dagger to the Inner Kingdom. It’s the final key to unlocking the Heart of Valdor, so we can live without the threat of our world being consumed by darkness and death.”
“And what happens then?” Gilen asked as he brought our hands to his chest. “What happens after the Heart of Valdor heals our world?”
I swallowed heavily.
“What then, Skylar?” he repeated, leaning toward me, his thumb gently caressing my cheek. “I know what I want, and I know what would grant you free rein to take the dagger.”
I watched in stunned silence as his eyes slid to the nape of my neck that held no claiming mark from Daxton, and I swear my heart froze.
“The mate of the alpha could carry the dagger.”
I moved backward, desperately needing to create space between us. “Gilen—”
“You’re not claimed, Skylar.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. “But we are not mates.”
“Fate may have sent us on different paths at first, Sky. But I’ve seen the error of my ways, and I’m so sorry,” Gilen said as he reached for me once more. “I can’t take anything back, but I’ve learned from it. I understand how much I fucked up.”
“Big time,” I said.
“Big time,” he repeated, nervously biting his lower lip. “But… you came back to me. Can’t you see that this was all meant to happen?”
I stared at him, my chest heaving.
“Let me claim you, Skylar. Become my alpha female, and I’ll give you the dagger.”
“I-I…”
“I know you care for me, Sky.” Gilen reached to cup my cheek. “We can be happy together. You will help me become the alpha our people need.”
Could this be my fate?
Gilen leaned in, his eyes closing as his lips brushed against my brow. “You’re mine, Skylar Cathal.”
Giving myself to Gilen would ensure the success of the final trial, but in return, I would lose myself. Sacrificing my soul, knowing Gilen wasn’t my true mate. That Daxton and I would—
No.
A rush of power fueled by my animal surged through me as Gilen’s lips dared to touch mine. Dared to take what wouldneverbelong to him.
“No!” I roared, pushing him back.
He flinched. “No?”
“No,” I repeated.
“Why?”
