He closed his eyes with a sigh.
“And–and I know it’s hard to live with the idea of betrayal, let alone act upon it,” I said. “But it happened.”
“It did,” he said sadly.
“And it can happen again,” I said at last, words cracking. “How do I know it won’t?”
My question clung in the air between us, gaining more power as it rested there without an answer.
That was the crux of the problem.
I couldn’t live through another betrayal. Not from the people I loved.
“We came into this from enemy Clans, with our own different promises and responsibilities,” he said slowly, as if he wanted to taste every word before setting it free, to make sure it wouldn’t sour the already tense discussion. “We waded through them as best we could. Right now, we have nothing holding us back. No secrets. Or almost no secrets.”
“I can’t tell you about Dax. I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “But I can tell you, again, that he is absolutely no threat to you, your Clan or anyone other than our own enemies.”
That damn silence descended upon us again, toying with the modicum of patience I’d managed to gather in these last few weeks. I hadn’t forgotten my promises to my father, even in this.
“Alright,” Ryker said. “I believe you.”
“Just like that?” I gaped at him.
“Yes.”
“How?” I asked, frantic.
I wanted to have that same strength.
“I feel your heart. I know you’re not lying.” He finally left the safety of the door and approached me. Slowly, just like I’d been careful not to rattle him after Geryll had died.
He cupped my face gently, staring into my eyes like he wanted to uncover every crevice of my mind and lay bare his.
“We’re similar,” he said. “We don’t need a true mates connection to know that. Our souls beat the same.”
They did. More than I’d wanted to realize.
I grabbed onto his forearms, my skin igniting at that small touch.
“We want the same things. Feel the same. Yet we’re different in other areas. You’re the storm and I’m the calm within it,” he went on, breath ghosting across my forehead. “We can build a beautiful future together. Without secrets. Without either of us facing obstacles alone. We can be the fiercest team Malhaven has ever seen. We decide what our future will be. And I want to believe in that future.”
I wanted that, too.
All of it.
But my heart still bled, unsure of his words even as they rang true through me.
“It would be my greatest honor to face this life by your side,” he said. “If you accept me. If you allow me the chance to prove myself to you. Together, we can do anything.”
I almost leaned toward him, the energy between us turning into a magnet I couldn’t ignore.
“I don’t want a marriage of convenience and Clan politics.” His voice dropped. “I want you. Your heart. Your stubbornness. Your pride. Your knack for keeping me up at night with your fierce antics, but somehow making the silence comfortable. And I want to be that for you.”
My lips parted, but no words came out.
It was beautiful, the tapestry of our life that he was weaving.
But, for once, I didn’t want to rush.
