Adams’ P. O. V
I stood at the door of Lilith’s room with my heart racing with a strong mix of anger and concern.
Raoul’s pale hands were trying to pull away from my hold on his throat with his eyes wide with fear that made me even angrier. “You’re not allowed here Raoul!” I growled with my voice low and threatening.
“If you’re here to hurt her, I promise-”
“Adams no!” Lilith shouted at the same time, breaking through my anger as she hurried up to me. She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away from Raoul. “Stop! He’s not here to hurt me.”
Her confidence fueled my anger. “How can you be so sure? After all they’ve done?”
“They came to say sorry,” she stressed with her voice filled with urgency. “It was hard for them, Adams.”
Raoul coughed while having trouble breathing as he gasped “Adams… I swear… we’re just here to fix things.”
I paused with my mixed feelings calming just enough to meet Lilith’s gaze. “You really trust them?” I said sharply with doubt clear in my voice.
“Please!” she insisted with her voice steady. “You have to let him go. You’re choking him.”
With a frustrated grunt, I let go of Raoul, seeing him stumble back while holding his throat and gasping. Bartholomew stayed a few steps back with his eyes shifting nervously between me and Raoul.
“You don’t deserve her trust,” I said with my voice filled with annoyance even as I calmed down a bit. “What do you want?”
Raoul stopped and took a moment to calm down before talking with his breathing still uneven. “We’re here to say sorry for everything we’ve done, Adams,” he finally said. “For the problems, for the pain we caused… We never wanted it to get this serious.”
Bartholomew spoke up while looking serious as he faced me. “We were greedy and foolish. We acted on a whim. We didn’t consider what would happen… what would happen to Lilith.”
His words felt heavy in the air. I glared with doubt clear on my face. “I still don’t trust you. Just saying you’re sorry doesn’t change anything. You’re both lucky I let you go.”
Lilith interrupted with her tone gentle. “Adams please. They’re here because they feel sorry for what they did. We can’t keep up this never-ending cycle of hate. They want to fix things.”
I looked at her with a clear struggle in me. “But can they really fix things? I don’t want you to get hurt again, Lilith.”
She moved in closer with a serious look on her face. “I can take care of myself, Adams. I’ve been through worse than they can do. These two want forgiveness. Let’s listen to them.”
Raoul nodded quickly with worry showing in his voice. “Yes! We just want to talk… to set things straight. We know it won’t fix everything, but we have to try.”
I crossed my arms while feeling unsure. “You need to go.”
“Adams,” Lilith said softly while looking me in the eyes, “please. They should get a chance to explain.”
I glanced at her and the two men then sighed, giving up. “Okay. Go ahead. But if I notice any trickery-”
I warned him with my stare and Raoul moved closer. “It began when we were kids. We were wild and didn’t know better. We believed we could do anything and… we never considered the fallout,” he admitted, while looking down at the ground.
“And we never wanted things to turn out this way,” Raoul said while looking hopeful. “We just wanted to be accepted, to feel like we belonged. It felt nice to have power, even if it was just for a short time. But now we see how mistaken we were. I think about my choices every single day.”
I watched everything they did, still feeling uneasy. Even with what they said, I felt there was more going on, a sense that they might still be tricking us.
“Your actions were careless and they caused big problems. My mate lost everything because of people like you,” I said with my voice quiet and barely holding back my anger.
Lilith’s face relaxed, and she turned to me with her eyes begging. “I get how much they hurt us, but holding onto that hurt will only break us more. Can’t we at least think about how honest they are?”
I felt tightness in my chest and let out a big sigh while rubbing the back of my neck. The room felt heavy and filled with the pain Lilith felt. Even with their apologies, my anger stayed just under the surface, unwilling to fade away.
“Okay,” I said in a strong voice. “You’ve apologized. But for now, I need you both to get out of Lilith’s room right away. I don’t want you here making her feel worse.”
Raoul and Bartholomew shared a glance with their faces showing disappointment, but they knew arguing more was pointless. “Got it,” Bartholomew said quietly while taking a step back with Raoul.
Lilith looked sad as they walked away, and she said to them, “I hope you can really change for the better.”
The door closed quietly, and I looked at Lilith with my face becoming a bit gentler. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” she said, but her voice shook with sorrow. “I just wish things were different.”
“It’s fine that they said sorry,” I started, with my tone careful. “But you shouldn’t trust them completely. They’ve hurt us in the past, and I’m worried they might hurt you.”
Lilith moved closer with her heart hurting for me. I could see it in her eyes. “I know they have a past but everyone deserves a chance to make things right, Adams. Even those who have hurt us.”
My heart ached in my chest. “I want to keep you safe,” I admitted with my voice soft. “I can’t let them take you away Lilith. I can’t stand the idea.”
Her eyes were strong, but there was a warmth between us, a bond that felt close to something more.
Our breaths mixed together and our lips just a breath away. The moment was charged with my heart racing hard against my chest.
But before I could give in to the need to close the gap and take the kiss that was so tempting, a sense of duty hit me hard.
I stepped back with the moment lost. “I have something to handle,” I said, with my voice full of regret.
Lilith frowned with confusion clear in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Just something I need to deal with. Stay here,” I said in a soft tone, even though I felt different. I turned around and left the room with the questions still floating in the air.
As soon as I walked into my office, the load of my duties hit me hard. I placed my hands on my cool and smooth desk and took a few deep breaths as the pressure grew.
Regrets and struggles filled my mind while feeling dangerous like hungry animals stalking their target. I dealt with disorder in the pack, always worried about Ben trying to take my Alpha position. I was determined to win that fight – for Lilith, for our future, for our pack’s survival.
A loud knock broke my focus. “Your Highness,” a guard said, clearly unsure. “A man from a village is here to see you. He says it’s important.”
“Urgent?” I frowned while feeling both curious and cautious. Why would someone come to me at this time?
“Bring him to the living room,” I said while already planning what to do about this surprise guest.
“Sure, Your Highness,” the guard said before walking off to get the man…