“And leave you to brood alone?” She stepped closer. “I can’t do that. Not after tonight.”
He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. “Reiya, you should be resting. You’ve had a shock, and I?—”
“You’ve had a shock too,” she interrupted, her voice steady. “But you act like you don’t need anyone. Like you’re the only one who has to bear this weight.”
Her words landed like a blow, knocking loose something raw inside him. He dropped his gaze to the sand.
“Because I do,” he said hoarsely, nails digging into his palms. “I provoked Jodhar. I thought humiliating him would keep him away, but I was wrong. If I’d just handled things differently in Zohara . . .” He lifted his eyes to hers, the weight of his own failure pressing down on him. “I put everyone in danger—especially you.”
Reiya’s hand found his arm. “Jodhar’s choices are his own, Kaelen,” she said, her tone firm but gentle. “You can’t take responsibility for his actions.”
His jaw clenched. “I should’ve listened. To you. To Alarik. But I let my pride blind me.”
She stepped closer, her voice soft but insistent. “Kaelen, Jodhar would’ve chased us no matter what. Hewantsthe bounty.”
He exhaled, raking a hand through his hair. “I made it worse.”
Reiya caught his hand, and he didn’t pull away. “I used to think all Alphas were the same. Controlling. Dominating. Only interested in taking what they wanted.”
His head snapped up, his throat tightening, but she continued before he could speak.
“Then I met you.” She held his gaze, unwavering. “You’re nothing like them. You’re kind. Thoughtful. You make me feel . . .safe. You’ve shown me that strength doesn’t have to be about control. It can be about care. About understanding. About supporting those you love.”
Kaelen’s chest tightened. Her words stripped away the frustration, the self-recrimination, leaving only the unspoken ache he hadn’t allowed himself to name.
“But you can’t do everything alone,” she whispered. “And you don’t have to. Let me be there for you too, Kaelen. Let me bear some of this weight.”
His breath left him in a shudder. He reached up, cupping hercheek, his thumb brushing lightly over her skin. She was warm beneath his touch, steady in a way that made something in him come undone.
“You’re so good for me,” he murmured, his voice thick. “And I only hope I can be half as good for you. But, by gods, Reiya, Iwantto be. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Her lips parted, her eyes widening slightly, and in that moment, there was no space left for hesitation.
She leaned into his touch, resting her cheek against his palm, her own hand coming up to meet his.
“You already are,” she whispered. “You don’t need to prove anything to me.”
Something inside him splintered.
The guilt, the frustration, the weight of the past—it all unravelled in a single, desperate pull. He wasn’t thinking, wasn’t second-guessing. He moved, cupping her face with both hands, thumbs brushing over her cheekbones as he closed the distance between them.
The first touch of her lips shattered everything he thought he knew about love, about desire, about connection. Every kiss before this had been a hollow thing—a fleeting pleasure, a performance with no depth. But this—thiswas fire in his veins, a truth he hadn’t known he was searching for until now. What he once mistook for love paled in comparison.
Her lips were soft but certain, meeting his with a purpose that left no room for doubt. When he moved, she followed. When he sought, she gave. When he deepened the kiss, she met him without hesitation.
This wasn’t just a kiss; it was a reckoning. A forging of souls. Every broken, uncertain piece of himself seemed to find its place, reshaped in the heat of her touch.
Her hands slid up his arms, gripping his shoulders as if to steady them both, and he let himself fall—completely, irrevocably. There was no guilt here, no fear. Only Reiya. The taste of her—faintly sweet, tinged with the earth and spice of the desert—undid him. His fingers threaded through her hair until he cupped the back of her head, desperate to hold her closer.
Perhaps this wasn’t perfection, wasn’t fantasy. There were no silken sheets, nor whispered promises.
But this was raw. Real. Devastatingly beautiful.
When they finally broke apart, their breaths mingled in the small space between them, foreheads resting together as though neither could bear to pull away. Kaelen traced the curve of her swollen lips with his thumb, his heart hammering against his ribs.
“I’ve wanted to do that for longer than I care to admit,” he murmured. “And, gods help me, Sáel, I don’t think I ever want to stop.”
Her gaze lifted to his, her cheeks flushed, lips still parted. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t have to. The way her fingers curled around the nape of his neck, the way she leaned into him, told him everything.
