Chapter 200
Chapter 200
Claire’s POV
I blinked, looking at Gideon strangely. He seemed earnest, but the request was so sudden that I couldn’t fathom it was genuine. He would want to try again? After everything that had happened? After all these years had passed?
He genuinely wanted to try to be with me a second time?
It seemed so far–fetched that I struggled to accept it.
“Are you… serious?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said plainly, quickly – too quick to be a lie. He took no time to consider it. His eyes stayed locked on mine.
Between us, our mate bond sparked and burned, warming me from the inside out. I tried to ignoring it, wanting to keep my head on straight with this. I needed to think this through. I couldn’t allow my emotions to have me running straight back into the same situation that had hurt me so deeply the first time.
I couldn’t forget that I had nearly died. That Nova had.
“Even if I wanted something with you,” I said, “How could I ever trust you not to turn on me again? In the past, I had thought…” I shook my head. “That betrayal cut me deeply, Gideon. You can’t just ask me to forget it.”
“I’m not asking you to forget it,” he said. “I would never want you to. But I am asking you to trust me again. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I am worthy of that trust. If it takes the rest of my life to prove to you, then so be it.”
He stepped closer to me. Reaching, he collected my hands in his and then brought them up to his mouth, lightly kissing each one.
Then, he lifted his gaze back up to mine. I was a prisoner of his eyes, captured by their intensity and the depth of emotion I found there.
“I love you,” he said to me, and my breathing went shallow.
Gods, it was so difficult not just to return those feelings. They existed, deep down in my heart. Maybe they’d always been there, buried under the hurt. But I was frightened to dig them up now, worried I might just have to bury them again.
Gideon must have been able to sense my affections though. Perhaps my own eyes gave away too much.
He leaned forward, swaying into me as his face drew down, closer to my face.
I froze, unable or unwilling to move away, but keeping myself to push closer. My heart yearned for me to throw my arms around Gideon’s neck, to press myself against him and to kiss him like I would die without his lips against mine.
My mind held me back.
Gideon moved closer, his breath warm on my lips.
I wanted to kiss him so badly my entire body ached.
My heart felt like it was coming alive, and that was terrifying, regardless of all the assurances Gideon had given me.
When his lips pressed to mine, my heart sung, at last!
Yet, before it could deepen, I ducked my head and backed away.
In the end, my fear had won out. My sense had won out.
10:12 Wed, Feb 18
Chapter 200
“I’m sorry,” I started.
“Don’t,” he said. “There’s no need.”
“I need time,” he said. “I have to think about things.”
“I understand.”
That was all I could say. “I’m going back to
my
room.”
“I can walk you –”
“No. I want to go alone.”
“Okay.”
Without another word, I turned and I darted up the sandy beach, back to the resort, the stairwell, and then to the safery of my room. With the door closed and locked behind me, I walked over to my bed and flopped face–first down onto it.
I didn’t sleep at all, tossing and turning all night.
In the morning, I rose out of bed like a zombie, unsure how I’d make it through the day.
I gripped onto my determination to avenge my mother, and pushed aside my feelings for Gideon. That would be the only way I would make it through.
Gideon’s POV
Claire was avoiding me. I thought I was imagining it at first, thinking myself just too attuned to her that I was overthinking things. But on the plane she put both children between us. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she found any and every excuse to walk away from me.
I must have pushed her too hard the night before and made things awkward between us. I hated that I did that. I certainly hadn’t meant to. But she looked so beautiful in the starlight. All I could think of doing just then was pulling her into my arms and kissing her until neither of us could breathe.
She had to know my feelings. Now that she did, she was ignoring me. The rejection stung, but I loved her whether she returned those feelings or not. I would respect her wishes, even if it hurt me.
I didn’t regret the kiss. It had been amazing, short but wonderful. But I didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready. Even if she was never ready.
When we landed in the pack, I sent the hair sample to be evaluated, to ensure they belonged to Lena and that they contained poison like we suspected.
A few days later, during which Claire had avoided me, Xavier entered my office holding the results.
There was no surprise. The result showed what we had suspected.
The hair belonged to Lena, and she had been poisoned.
“What should we do next?” Xavier asked.
I already knew. “I’m going to talk to Darius again.”
Over the past few weeks, Xavier and I had been really cracking down on the corruption in the pack. This meant that Darius had fewer allies than ever before. He was still being treated well, still given well–cooked food and all the books he could want to read. But he seemed unhappier, which gave me some comfort.
10:12 Wed, Feb 18
Chapter 200
I hated having to turn to him for answers, especially because I knew he was a liar. But, I knew he had been around back then, which meant he might have been one of the few people who knew for sure what had happened to Lena.
Like where Victoria had gotten that poison.
Whether he would tell me or not remained to be seen. I knew he wouldn’t just come right out with it, so I decided to try a different tactic this time.
A bluff.
“I know you are involved in Lena’s death, Darius,” I said. “The apothecary records show you ordered the same kind ci poison that had been used to kill Lena around the time of her death. The toxicology report on Lena’s hair proves the match.”
He paled slightly, and I knew I was on the right track.
I pushed harder.
“Maybe if you confess, I can try to spare you,” I said. “But right now, this is all damning. When I should the Alpha King, I bet he’d want to have your head.”
Darius huffed, crossing his arms. “You can’t prove any of this.”
He was acting aloof as always but there was something different about it this time. His fingers twitched. His heart was pounding.
He was nervous.
I was finally close to breaking him.
市
AD
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