Page 47

Maximus

I gripped the rail of the bed and roared.

Why did she keep throwing me out? I can’t even recall what caused Zephyrine to curse me.

If it was because I didn’t choose her as my mate, then that was something I couldn’t apologize for.

Zephyrine wasn’t my fated mate, and I wanted to find the person who completed my soul.

Kylie turned away from me, and it took all my control not to yank her back toward me and gather her in my arms. I could see how hurt she felt right now, and it was killing me.

The mistakes I made before seemed to be happening all over again.

I was hurting her without even meaning to, and I didn’t know if I could stop it from happening again.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why could I recall only bits and pieces of what happened between Zephyrine and me?

The moment I stepped foot into the clinic and saw Kylie, everything I planned to say about the curse vanished.

Yet, I knew I had been thinking nonstop about Zephyrine ever since I found out that her curse was the cause of all this.

Was Zephyrine making it so I wouldn’t remember?

She could be trying to ruin this for me even now. The curse could have morphed into making me forget the details of what happened between us, and then I would lose Kylie for good.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I needed Kylie like I needed air. Even now, as I saw her recoiling away from me as my anger billowed out, I wanted to drop to my knees again and beg her for forgiveness.

But she wouldn’t look at me. The anger I felt from her was due to how I kept this from her. Truth be told, I just didn’t remember.

If I wanted this to work out, I needed to respect my mate’s wishes and walk out the door. I wasn’t going to go far. Somehow, the rogues around here let me buy out the nearby cabin so I could stay here and work this out.

While going back to my cabin, I felt my lycan pace inside me.

Neither of us wanted to leave our mate and pup behind.

She would be unguarded, and who knew what any of these rogues would do if they found out she was the fated mate of the king?

That would be a rare opportunity for them to get back at the person who had been keeping them from thriving.

Well, here I understood that things needed to change. Once I was back in the kingdom, I needed to do everything I could to help these people. If they didn’t want to become part of the kingdom, I could understand that. But I could be the king my father always wanted me to be by helping them.

At least I would show my mate I was serious about changing my ways. But I also needed her to understand how I would do anything to make up for what I had done. She might have kicked me out today, but maybe I needed to go back and show her I wasn’t going to stop.

I needed to fight for her.

***

This time, when I went back, the head nurse nodded as I passed by the desk. She knew who I was and what I was doing here. That at least made it easier for me not to have to fight my way in.

My lycan would remain on edge until I could fix everything between Kylie and me, which also meant that I would be on edge until that happened.

I knocked on the door and waited for Kylie to say, “Come in.” I didn’t hear her say it, so I let myself in.

It was still relatively early in the morning, so I should have been surprised to see her still asleep.

But I looked around the room and noticed the bundle of blankets inside a bassinet in the corner.

I walked over and peered inside to find him looking up at me.

Oh my god, was he beautiful. I couldn’t believe this little one was mine. His face was perfectly round, and his big blue eyes stared up at me the same way his mother’s did nearly a year ago.

He started to roll around, and I could hear him fussing. I looked over at Kylie and saw that she was still asleep. She must have been doing this all on her own, and I didn’t want her to wake up to a fussy baby.

I needed to be a dad.

I was unsure how my mate would feel about me touching our son before we worked through our problems. I was hesitant to pick him up. With a gentle voice, I started to speak to him with soothing words about how I was his daddy.

The baby stopped fidgeting and looked up at me.

I reached down into the bassinet and did my best to pick him up without jostling him.

The way he looked at me felt like he was fascinated with me.

I gave him a smile, and he reached up with his tiny hands toward my face.

I lowered my face close to his, and while rubbing my nose against his, I felt his hands touching my stubble.

The smile that broke out on my face nearly made it hurt.

I don’t think I had ever smiled this hard in my life before.

Time went by, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

Eventually, I walked over to the chair and sat down, keeping my face so close to my son’s to keep him calm.

He touched my face all over, and if I moved, he whimpered.

His eyes would close and forcefully open, like he was fighting sleep.

I started to hum and rock him from side to side, moving my entire body in the motion so I didn’t break away from him.

When his eyes finally closed, I moved him against me, and the little sigh that came out of him made my heart burst.

Even my lycan felt at peace with him against my chest. The way he sighed in contentment when he heard my heartbeat made me want to cry.

So many had told me how a pup would change your life, and I didn’t think it was anything like this.

Yeah, I understood how it would lead to a lifetime of restless nights, worry, and stress…

but I didn’t know it also meant the immediate feeling of having him wrapped around your finger.

I didn’t even want to move because it would wake him.

Whatever this little boy wanted, I would go to the ends of the earth to give it to him.

Kylie stirred in her bed, and I stilled as she rolled over to see me sitting in the chair. Her eyes went wide, and she jumped in bed to sit up. I could see the fire of rage in her eyes at the sight of me next to her, but when her gaze found our son sleeping on me, they hardened even more.

Fuck.

“What are you doing here, and what are you doing with my pup?” she said through her teeth in a hushed but harsh tone.

There wasn’t a chance in hell I would move right now. My son sleeping on me was something I would cherish for a long time, but I also would never scare him awake.

“I came to talk to you,” I whispered. “He was stirring in his bassinet, and I didn’t want him waking you.”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “So you just picked him up?”

“He’s my son, too.”

She growled but kept it low and threatening so the baby wouldn’t wake. This was going to be a long day. No matter what, I couldn’t let her just kick me out of my child’s life. Now that I had experienced it, I was going to do everything I could to keep it.

“You said you wanted to talk, and I want to talk. You may be mad at me, and I deserve your anger, but we need to get one thing straight here: I’m not going anywhere.”

She growled, then sighed. “Fine. If you’re ready to talk, then we can talk.”

“I don’t know why, but I can’t remember everything about this curse.

I was like anyone else before I met you.

I spent a fair amount of time not caring whether I found my mate or not.

During that time, I had a lot of flings and short relationships.

” I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I must have done something to the witch. The only thing I know is that when you walked away from me, I felt the large hole you left behind. I regretted doubting you the moment you walked out the door. I knew there was no stopping you, and I knew I severed the bond between us. I cannot express to you how sorry I am about that. I will say sorry every single day of my life if it means you will understand that I never want to hurt you.”

The way she looked at me made my heart break. There was so much going on in her head, and I wanted to wrap her in my arms so badly. I missed the way she felt in my embrace, and I knew she would still keep me at a distance until we worked things out.

Once she forgave me, I would worship her the way she deserved. All those lonely nights would change to hearing her moan my name, whether from me massaging her to ease the stress of running the kingdom or from the way I would use my hands, fingers, tongue, and cock.

Ugh. I can’t think like that. Not right now when I am holding my pup against my chest and my mate is staring at me like she is conflicted about wanting to kill me or kiss me.

“How do I know you won’t let someone come between us again?”

“Because I would rather have my skin peeled off piece by piece than live another day without you by my side.”

She wrapped her arms around herself like she was cold, and I squirmed in my seat as I fought the strong urge to go to her and hug her. My lycan paced inside me again as he saw his mate go through a level of anguish we couldn’t help with.

“What does being a mate mean to you?” Kylie asked me.

My eyes widened at her asking the same question as Nathaniel. I shouldn’t have been surprised; Nathaniel had been the one to be there for her while I was being a child about losing my mate. But I knew the answer to this question.

“It means I found the missing piece of my soul. The person I would choose over everything and anyone else in the world. The only person who might end up getting more attention than you would be this baby who is asleep in my arms. But when I am not there for my child, I will be there for you. If there is ever a situation where I have to choose between you or even the kingdom, I will choose you.”

She let out a laugh. “How do you expect me to believe you? I would have chosen you over everyone. You were supposed to be the person who couldn’t hurt me, yet you were the one who destroyed me.”

My throat grew scratchy, and my heart felt like it had been ripped in two at her statement. Damn, was I an asshole? How could I allow this to happen?

“Just so you know, I destroyed myself too. I had to lock myself in my office because if anyone talked to me outside of Eli, I damn near killed them. Everyone was afraid to come near me because of it. Eli and Amara have been the ones running the kingdom because I was obsessed with trying to find where you were. If it weren’t for them, the kingdom would be in shambles because I didn’t know what to do with my life without you in it. ”

Kylie let out a breath as if she were ready to sob. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing in the moment, but I did my best to stay in my seat. The way my emotions warred with my lycan because I hated to see her cry became a new struggle while she stared at me.

“I don’t know what to do right now,” she said to me.

“How about we take it one step at a time?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure when I will trust you.”

I sighed, but I understood where she was coming from. So much had happened, and it would take a while before she was won over. I wouldn’t see her until my words were backed up with actions. It would take time, but I was willing to do whatever it took to show her I meant this.

“Like I said, I’m not going anywhere, Kylie.

I found a cabin for me to stay in while we worked on things.

However long it takes is how long I plan to be here.

You want me to show you what it means to be a mate.

So this is what I’m going to do. Eli and Amara can run the kingdom for all I care.

The only thing that matters to me right now is this bond with you. ”

Tears rolled down her face, but I knew not to touch her just yet.

“What it means to be a mate is to fight for them. This is me fighting for you right now. I will fight for the bond until my last breath. I will do whatever it takes to show you that I want you. You are the perfect person for me, and no one else will ever matter. The goddess chose correctly. I was just too stupid to see it.”

The room was so quiet as my words made Kylie’s mouth drop. It was too hard to decipher what she felt, and I wished I had the bond to tell me what was going on in her pretty head.

That’s when it hit me.

I could.

“I accept you as my mate and luna, Kylie.”