Pressing my nose against her hair, I take her in and kiss her head. I have longed to do that since she returned, since she was found. I give myself this one last moment before I leave.
She stiffens and leans forward. But I don’t pull back. I rest my arms on my knees.
I watch her, no longer admiring the sunrise. Her eyes stare, but she’s lost in her thoughts. I wish she would tell me who hurt her. I can’t hear her thoughts anymore, and I hate it. I never needed to talk or ask her questions. She never stopped thinking.
She used to study me all the time, when I sat in the corner of the room. I liked it. I liked that she looked at me more than the others. I liked that even though I rarely spoke to her, she felt the most secure with me.
She turns her face, and I trace her scars. They are lighter now, not as raised as they once were. She tenses as my thumb caresses her skin. I lean forward and kiss the scars. “You’re still so beautiful,” I whisper against her temple and press my lips there.
She turns away. “You shouldn’t kiss me or hold me.”
Her words stab me in the heart. Shit. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… I just…” Crap. I don’t know what to say. I pushed too far. She was just attacked, and here I am, touching her, holding her, kissing her.
She shakes her head. “I don’t need your girlfriend coming at me, too. That’s all.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Leaning forward, I angle my head to see her face.
“She was all over you in town. I saw the lingerie she bought and planned to meet you tonight.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Oh, gods! I let you kiss me, and you were with her.” She inches forward, but I wrap my arms around her waist.
“You mean Cassie?” She nods, keeping her eyes closed. I laugh. “She’s not my girlfriend. Did you not see me run and jump in the car as fast as I could to get away from her? Hell, I haven’t been able to live that shit down since it happened.”
She shakes her head, trying to dismiss my explanation.
“Look at me,” I encourage softly, but she won’t. I lift my hand, placing two fingers under her chin, and bring her face closer to mine. “Look at me, baby. Open your eyes.” She slowly opens them, and I search their depths. “I want you. I wanted to kiss you that first night they moved you to the main house, but I didn’t. I was afraid. I didn’t want to take advantage of how vulnerable you were, overwhelmed by everything.”
She blushes. “Don’t lie just to make me feel better,” she scoffs and lowers her eyes.
“Make you feel better?”
“I’m ugly, Liam. I was even uglier then, practically bald, with broken teeth and a face full of scars. I was blind, but I could still see what I looked like.”
I growl, “Kiss me right now.”
She meets my intense gaze, lips slightly parted in shock. Before she protests, I pull her toward me, crashing my lips against hers.
Electricity sparks. Her small hand touches my face, sending flames up my spine and into my chest. I deepen the kiss, taking advantage of her parted lips. I wish I had done this sooner. I hate that I have to leave tonight.
I squeeze her closer, not wanting this to end. But I can’t push—she’s been through so much. I release her slowly, so slowly, so I can remember this moment forever.
Her face is flushed, her eyes still closed. The tip of her tongue brushes against her lower lip. When she finally opens her eyes, I gauge her reaction. There is no fear, only sadness and an unexpected emotion—love.
My own feelings reflect back at me through the windows to her soul. She doesn’t speak, simply leaning into me. I kiss her temple, sigh, and commit her smell to memory.
I want to tell her I love her, but if I do, it will only make leaving harder for both of us. I can’t do that to her. We sit in silence for several heartbeats. I hold her and cherish her for as long as she lets me.
I point to a ridge along the horizon of the seventh territory. “See that hill over there?”
She nods.
“Before my mother died, she used to tell me stories about kings and princesses in some foreign place. The first time, she brought me to a place where we could overlook the seventh territory. She told me to close my eyes and imagine it to be a beautiful place full of shifters, a happy place with no crime, where Alphas actually cared about their packs. She made me promise that whenever I found myself unhappy or sad, I would think about my happy place.
“As life got shittier, I couldn’t picture that happy place anymore. Instead, I pretended that the hill was a large castle surrounded by dragons and ogres who ate shifters,” I admit, clearing my throat nervously, starting to feel uncomfortable that I’m revealing a silly, vulnerable, part of myself.
She reaches up and cups my face with her hand. She rubs her thumb along my jawline and presses her temple against my cheek, giving me the confidence to continue.
“I used to daydream that a princess was locked away in the castle, held against her will as a prisoner. I imagined that I would one day slay all the dragons and kill the ogres. Once inside, I would fight the evil witch and use my magic to burn her to a crisp. I would search the entire castle and rescue the princess from her captivity.”
She turns her head to look up at me. “Did you fall in love and live happily ever after?”
