Lucy’s POV
There in the creek, the world fell away as Shaun’s question burrowed deeper and deeper into my mind. And with it, came an onslaught of doubts and fears reminding of all the reasons why we couldn’t be together. A chill ran through me, but it wasn’t because my feet were in water, or because the gown I wore was made of a thin kind of fabric that was very welcoming to air. No, this cold was the one that started deep inside, and seeped through flesh and bones until it filled up the core of your very being.
Cold fear. Anxiety. Uncertainty.
“Marry you?” I asked, unable to breathe because of the surprise flowing through me. I hadn’t seen the question coming, and now that it had hit me square on the face, I couldn’t help but think I was dreaming-or in a nightmare that hadn’t quite begun.
Shaun took my hands, feeding me some of his warmth. The feel of his skin against mine was very much like an electric current, sending vivid sensations through me.
“Yes, Lucy. Marry me. Be my wife,” said Shaun, coming closer and closer, and showing me more of his bright green eyes that glowed like gemstones even during the day.
“But-but what will people say? I’m your father’s widow, Shaun. How can we?” I pulled my hands away from him. Saying my thoughts out loud put an extra layer of concrete between us, turning things cold.
I didn’t want to see the hurt look in his eyes, so I didn’t face him, but he was having none of it, and touched my face, lifting it up so that he could look me squarely in the eyes.
“I don’t care about what they have to say, Lucy. We’re mates, we are bound by the Moon Goddess, and so what else can anyone say?”
“But . . .” I trailed off, at a loss for words. “Why? Why do you want to marry me?”
He placed his forehead against mine, breathing deeply. His nose burrowed into my cheek, but not painfully. Up close, I had no other reasons to push him away. The fear I felt washed away and eas replaced by the intense attraction that I always felt around him. The great feeling that comsumed me like a flood.
The evidence of our bond.
“Because I have thought about this decision for too long, and I’ve realised that I don’t want to spend another second knowing that we are not joined together both in the eyes of the spirits, and the eyes of man.” His lips brushed against my cheek, and he pulled me closer, pushing my hair behind my ears so that he had more skin to ravish.
He placed kisses on my cheek, my neck, and my forehead, with each one bringing him closer to my lips.
“Don’t tell me no,” he said, “please. I don’t care about what’s in your past, Lucy. It doesn’t change what I feel about you.”
“I . . .”
I what? I couldn’t say the words because I knew deep inside of me that all the excuses were simply things to try and convince myself that this wasn’t right. That I didn’t deserve to be with Shaun after everything that had happened with Daven. That I couldn’t live with him and not remember the times that Daven forced his way through my body and claimed me without my consent.
“Please,” Shaun whispered in my ear, and the softness in his voice broke my heart. I hated that this was happening because of me.
It was difficult to speak, so I chose not to.
I touched his face, and brought his lips to mine gently, shutting my eyes and closing out the world from my view. I felt him stiffen against me for a brief moment, before he realised that this was my way of accepting his proposal.
He picked up from where I stopped, and pressed me even more against him, until our bodies were flush against one another. I couldn’t breathe, but it wasn’t suffocating. I wanted to be consumed by him.
His hands found the hem of my dress, tugging and pulling, but not desperately. I knew where this would lead, and this time, I didn’t plan for things to get interrupted or cut off. So, I let him take the lead, losing myself in the blazing flames of our growing passion.
–
Hours later, when we returned to the palace, we held hands for the first time in public, no longer hesitant to reveal what had been budding between us for months.
But as soon as we crossed the entrance of the palace, we halted.
The air was thick with with something serious that immediately washed of the afterglow of the passionate afternoon we spent together. But in the midst of it, his hand tightened around around mine.
Scott and Seth were discussing something, but when they saw us, they went quiet and approached us. Seth was holding a sheet of paper that appeared to be a letter. I saw how his eyes flicked to our joined hands, which were still connected. Scott remained where he stood, watching quietly as Seth walked over to us.
“Thank the goddess you guys are here,” he said, handing the letter over to Shaun. “You need to see this immediately.”
“What is it?” Shaun asked, still not understanding what was going on.
“Just take it and read. It’s very important and will make better sense when you do. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Shaun took the letter and started to read it. I leaned in so that I could see what it was about as well.
The more we read, the harder the seriousness of the situation appeared. It was a letter asking the Triplets to show up urgently in Moonstruck pack . . .
The very pack they had been taken to after the death of their mother, when their father had been deemed too unsafe for them. A pack that rivaled Moongrowl in structure and power, but somehow managed to remain an ally, rather than an enemy.
“The fate of all packs is in danger. We need to discuss,” the letter said.