Lilith’s POV
As I slowly woke up, the first thing I noticed was warmth. It was a gentle and steady feeling that surrounded me very different from the cold darkness that had held me just before.
I blinked a few times with my eyes focusing on seeing where I was with the familiar walls and the bed beneath me. But what shocked me most was the sound of a heartbeat nearby.
I turned my head and saw Adams next to me. He was slumped a bit with his head resting on his hand as he slept. His dark hair fell across his forehead and at that moment he looked different-almost delicate.
Confusion hit me hard. What had happened? I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness pushed me back down. My mind was a mess of memories-Bartholomew’s wound, my desperate efforts to help him, the heavy darkness closing in on me and Augustus hiding within.
My heart raced at the memory with a quick beat ringing in my ears. I gasped softly, and suddenly I saw Adams’s eyes pop open with his gaze meeting mine with both relief and worry.
“Lilith!” he said, while jumping up and taking my hand softly as if I could break like glass. “You’re awake! Thanks to the Moon Goddess, you’re awake!”
“Adams,” I whispered while feeling steady with him nearby as gratitude filled me up. “What went wrong?”
“You were out cold,” he said again, keeping his eyes on me while studying my face. “You’ve been like this for three days. I was scared…” His hand gently holding mine made me shiver. “How are you feeling?”
I breathed in deeply with my mind racing. “Bartholomew?” I said with concern evident in my voice.
“He’s fine,” he said to comfort me while holding my hand tighter. “All better thanks to you. It felt like you saved him.”
A huge sense of relief filled me like the sun coming out after a storm. “Thank the Moon Goddess,” I said softly with my voice full of feeling. “I thought…”
Adams moved in closer with worry showing on his face. “What did you feel, Lilith?”
As memories flooded back vividly, my heart dropped. “The rogue king.” I trembled. “I felt him… I sensed his strength. Trouble is coming in a way we didn’t see coming.”
His face grew serious with anger rising in his eyes. “What do you mean?” he asked with his voice tense with worry.
“Being around him… it was intense,” I admitted while sitting up straighter against the headboard. “It’s like he’s building power, and he won’t rest until he gets what he wants.”
“Isn’t there more?” he insisted with his eyebrows knitting together.
He reached up and tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear. I noticed how his fingers gently stayed at my temple, taking care to put my hair back.
His touch made me feel warm inside. “Just promise me you won’t do something like that again without telling me,” he urged, with his voice low and serious.
“I won’t,” I said. “We’re in this as a team.”
“So how can we stop him?” His face showed his strong resolve. “We need to get everyone together and make a plan-”
The door suddenly made a sound as someone knocked. Ronan came in with a big smile after Adams had asked him to, but it faded when he saw I was awake. “My Queen! You’re up at last!” He hurried over to me while looking relieved. “We were all so worried.”
“Thanks Ronan,” I said quietly.
Ronan looked over at Adams with a respectful look in his eyes. “We’re really happy you’re awake my king, but I hope you know we’ve prepared a hot bath for you, right?”
Adams shook his head hard. “I don’t want to be away from her.”
“But you’ve been here for three days without food or water!” Ronan said with his arms crossed. “You can’t treat yourself like this, Your Highness!”
My heart raced when I understood. “Three days?” I repeated while feeling a wave of love and thanks inside me as I looked at Adams-the man who had spent every moment with me. “You stayed with me all this time?”
“I couldn’t walk away from you,” he said with his voice strong and clear. “Not when you were… not when you could…”
I swallowed nervously with the burden of hidden worries feeling strong between us. “You knew I would wake up?”
Adams moved in with our foreheads touching for a brief moment, which brought us closer. “I believed in you,” he said quietly, with his voice soft and warm. “You’re tough, Lilith. You’ve always been tough.”
“I love you,” I said softly, while letting my feelings flow. “You needed to look after yourself.”
“Your well-being is my main concern,” he said while lightly touching my cheek. His hand was gentle and warm, stirring something exciting inside me.
The air around us buzzed with excitement, and before I realized it, I moved in closer, with our lips touching quickly. The kiss was soft but intense with our breaths blending together in a way that made everything else disappear-just us facing whatever was out there.
When we finally broke apart with both of us out of breath, Ronan cleared his throat while feeling awkward as he turned red.
“I should probably just… leave for a bit,” he said nervously while stepping back and breaking the special moment we just had.
With a slight smile, I said to him, “You don’t need to leave Ronan. We were just…”
“Okay! Okay,” he said quickly. “I just want to make sure the hot water stays warm. You should really have the Alpha King take a bath.”
I laughed a little to ease things. “How about we both clean up? I think Adams really needs it. He smells.”
Adams pretended to be surprised while dramatically putting a hand on his chest.
“How could you!” he joked while letting laughter escape his usually serious face. “Just so you know, my smell comes from my strength and hard work!”
“That’s one way to say it,” Ronan said with a smile as he walked to the door. “But really, Adams, you should eat something. No matter how you feel, your mate needs you to be healthy.”
“Okay,” Adams agreed, while pulling away from me as he playfully messed up my hair. “But only if you promise to stay close to me.”
“I won’t,” I promised, while smiling at him with my heart happy.
After one last look at me, Adams faced Ronan. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up with you soon.”
As Ronan walked out he stopped at the door and glanced back one last time with his eyes soft and full of affection. “I love you, Lilith. We’ll face this together.”
I felt really happy at what he said and I answered gently, “I understand…”