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He nods, and I can feel the sadness coming off of him. I’ve been so wrapped up in my mate that I haven’t been thinking about my friends.
Ryker and Romer are just as desperate as I was to find their mates and another mating moon passing with them alone has to be hard.
“How are you doing?” I ask him as he slumps into one of the dining room chairs.
“I’m fine.”
"No, you're not," I say. He grunts
“No, I’m not,” he agrees and we both crack a smile, albeit a sad one.
“You’ll find her soon,” I promise him and he nods.
Footsteps sound on the stairs and I look back in time to see my Salem coming down the stairs toward me. She’s perfect, absolutely ethereal as she descends the stairs. The light bounces off her red hair, making it glitter as her green eyes light up. She’s going to make an amazing Queen, and I hate that it took me so long to see it.
“You’re back,” she says as she enters the room. I nod.
“Was that enough time?”
She pauses, not sure how to answer me.
“I’ll let you two talk,” Ryker says as he stands and heads out of the room.
I walk closer to my mate, needing her scent in my lungs. “Have you made your decision?” I ask her.
“No, I just… how can I ever forgive you or trust you after what you did to me? I get that you have daddy issues, but can I really believe that you’ll forget all about hating me for being human as soon as you bite me?”
“You can ask any shifter, I would never hurt my mate,” I promise her. She looks away from me, curling in on herself. I did this. I brought my precious, beautiful mate to this point. She doesn’t trust me or anyone, and the worst part is… she has no reason to.
I’m losing her. I can feel it. She’s still hurt from how I treated her and I can’t blame her. I should have pushed what my father drilled into my head aside. I should have treated her like the fucking queen she is, not my captive.
“Salem, what can I do to show you that I mean it, to show you that I would do anything for you?”
“I don’t know,” she says sadly. “I… I want to trust you, I’m just… am I stupid for missing you? Will I always be alone?” My heart starts to break, panic threading its way through my body.
My wolf howls inside of me and I hang my head. I deserve his anger. I'm the one who chose to lock her up. I'm the one who didn't listen to him when he said to mark her from the beginning.
“I think I need more time,” she says, swallowing hard. I look up at her.
It’s then that I get an idea, a way to show her I’ve changed and prove I would do anything for her.
Taking a calming breath, I step forward, keeping my eyes locked with hers as I slowly lower down to my knees. She gasps, her eyes widening in shock. I know she remembers my comment from our first encounter about a King never kneeling for anyone.
“Salem, you’ve bewitched me. You captivated me even before I smelled you and learned that you were my mate. I’m so goddamn sorry I let my father mess with my head. I let my demons get the better of me, let them tell me how to respond, but no more. I’ll do anything for you, my Queen.”
Tears start to slip down her cheeks as I continue to kneel before her.
Shit. This can’t be happening. She can’t reject us.
“Please, beautiful mate,” I beg. “All of me is yours. Forever.” I take her hand, placing it over my heart. “It’s useless, I know, but this belongs to you, too. My heart, my soul, my kingdom. Everything. I’ll live in the tower and you can have the whole castle. I don’t care, as long as I get a glimpse of you every day.”
Silence stretches between us, then finally, finally, Salem parts her lips. “Okay,” she whispers.
“Okay?”
“Okay, I forgive you.”
“You forgive me?” I ask again in disbelief. This time, my mate nods, smiling through her tears. “And you believe me?”
