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I grasp her shoulders and draw her back. “One thing. One very important thing. A lot of people will tell you what an Omega is and how they act and think and feel, including theHratha’len. Especially theHratha’len. The only right way for you to act and think and feel is how you act, you think, and you feel.”
Isavelle moistens her lips and gazes up at me. “Do you really mean that? I…I don’t think I’m what you were hoping for.”
“I mean every word. The only Omega I’ve ever wanted was a happy one.”
“If I truly am your mate, and you mean that, it’s sweet of you to say,” Isavelle replies, but I can see she’s not convinced about any of this.
“In my time, Alphas, Betas, and Omegas were raised knowing what was expected from them. I thought those expectations were set in stone, but now there’s a whole country full of people who have to figure things out as they go along. You and I can do that together.”
There are a thousand things I’d like to be doing with Isavelle right now instead of sending her off to speak with the Temple Crone. I want to crush her to my body, douse her with my scent, and taste her slick, but right now I need to let her go.
I allow myself to cup her chin, but no more than that. “Our instincts drive us, but they don’t control us. Make yourself into the Omega you want to be, and I’ll love her.”
17
Isavelle
Istare up into Zabriel’s beautiful face. Strong emotions are warring in his red eyes, and his body is so taut as if he’s holding back an avalanche of desire and emotion. “You’ll…love me?”
With his fingers beneath my chin, he leans down and presses his forehead against mine and closes his eyes, breathing, “Of course,sha’len. You are everything to me. Your happiness is all I desire.”
Love was rarely spoken about in our village, and never at the monasteries. The only time I thought about love was when I dreamed of fairy tales that we weren’t allowed to tell. The man before me is straight out of one of those fairy tales.
Zabriel draws away from me, and suddenly I don’t want him to go.
He nods at an old woman walking sedately toward us. “This is the Temple Crone. She will answer all of your questions.”
I think I recognize her lined face. “Is she the woman who crowned you on your coronation day?”
Zabriel glances at me in surprise. “So you were there.”
I bite my lip and feel my cheeks burn. Zabriel has been so honest with me that I want to be honest with him. “I was too proud to admit it at the time, and you were so intimidating in that golden armor. A man like you couldn’t possibly be for me.”
His beautiful mouth lifts in a smile. “Not for you,sha’len? I’m all for you.”
Suddenly, he goes down on one knee before me and clasps my hands. Our eyes are on the same level, and I gaze at him in surprise.
“Being worthy of you means I’m worthy of leading the people of Maledin. The golden armor, the crown, my title as king, they mean nothing if I don’t have you.”
Touch him.
Touch your Alpha.
Hesitantly, I lift my hand and brush a lock of dark hair back from his face. My fingers skim his cheek and hard jaw, and I say, “You are so gentle right now.”
He closes his eyes and leans his cheek into my touch. “Do you feel the urge to run from me?”
“No,” I whisper.
His smile widens. “That makes me happy,sha’len.”
Zabriel opens his eyes, gets to his feet, and plants a slow kiss on the inside of my wrist. “Remember this moment when the time comes and I am not so gentle.” He turns and walks back the way we came.
What’sthatsupposed to mean?
I have no idea, but my inner Omega is quivering in delight.
The Temple Crone has reached my side, and she’s gazing down her long, sharp nose at me with pale amethyst eyes.
