Darius struggled to hide his disappointment, his mind still fixated on the princess, Rachel. He had built up expectations and fantasies around their union, imagining the power and prestige it would bring to their tribe. The reality of the situation felt like a blow to his aspirations.
As he stood there, holding Riley’s hand, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of resentment towards the council and their decisions. Why had they brought him to this point, only to deny him the mate he desired? The weight of responsibility as Alpha now felt burdensome, overshadowed by a sense of injustice. Suppressing his lingering disappointment, Darius forced a smile and spoke with a voice that concealed his inner turmoil. “Riley, I am honored to be your Alpha,” he said, his tone laced with a mixture of genuine respect and forced enthusiasm. “Let us embrace the customs of our tribe and work together to strengthen our community.” After he gave Riley one lastDarius awoke early the next morning. He stretched languidly and threw off his blankets, rising from his bed. He had hoped to spend some more time alone in his room. He would accept a consummated marriage to keep the princess, Rachel, who was the alpha’s daughter. He made a mental note to work on it. Once he was fully awake, Darius decided against going back to his room; he decided to join Rachel in the garden. Perhaps talking to her there might help him sort out his jumbled emotions. When he entered the garden, Darius found Rachel sitting in a chair beneath an archway at the far side of the clearing, her back to him. He could hear her sniffling faintly and instinctively, Darius knew why. He had seen enough tears and pain in his life to recognize their sound. With an overwhelming feeling of sorrow filling him, Darius slowly walked closer to Rachel, until he stood before her. She had pulled her hood down, revea
“There isn’t anyone I would rather marry than you,” he continued in earnest. Rachel relaxed considerably upon hearing Darius’ assurances. She brought her free hand to rest over his, squeezing lightly in response. “I’m glad,” she replied. “It’s silly to have gone and bought a ring when there are other options available, but I just… I just can’t wait to be married to you. That sounds stupid, but it’s true!” she finished enthusiastically, her grin widening once more. “It’s not stupid, Rachel. Your feelings are valid. If anyone deserves marriage and a happily ever after, it is you. And you will receive your happily ever after, I promise you.” He watched as Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his shoulder, sighing contently and snuggling deeper into his embrace. Darius chuckled to himself as he let his fingers run through her hair, relishing the feeling of being able to touch her once more. He couldn’t believe how much she’d gr
His fingers lightly trailed over the skin there, causing goosebumps to rise. Rachel hummed in satisfaction as his thumb brushed her skin, sending tingles down her spine. Her hand found its way towards his hand and grasped it tightly. He grinned mischievously before tightening his hold upon her hand and gently rubbing his thumb on hers. Rachel giggled softly as she squeezed his hand lightly, trying to get him to continue doing whatever it was that he was doing. Darius smirked. “What is it?” “Nothing…” she replied weakly. She tried to pull her hand away from his, but he wouldn’t budge. “Come on, Rachel,” he urged. “Tell me.” “I’m just… I’m just enjoying the feeling of your hand on my skin.” “Oh?” “Yes.” “Well, I can assure you that I’l enjoy touching your skin more than I’ve ever enjoyed my own. So please don’t be shy with your reactions to me,” he whispered seductiv
He hopped off of his bed and headed towards the living room, where he found a very concerned looking Rachel standing beside one of the tables. “Oh good, I thought you must’ve left already,” she spoke up softly upon seeing him walk into the living room. “Why were you worried about me leaving? Is something wrong?” he asked cautiously. Rachel bit her bottom lip and looked down shyly. “No, nothing’s wrong. You’re just not here,” she said softly. “Where are you?” “In here,” he answered after a moment, nodding towards his study. “Would you mind explaining what’s going on?” “No, of course not,” she mumbled quietly, shaking her head and walking past him in the direction of his study. When Rachel entered the room, Darius immediately noticed that there was a slight shift in mood when she entered. The smile was still there, albeit weaker than usual, which caused his stomach to clench painfully as he wonde
Not when he still had so much hope and joy in his life. Not when the possibility of losing him was becoming more and more real everyday. Never before had anyone been this precious to her, and she didn’t want to lose him either. If she lost him… “Are you okay,” Darius asked quietly as he watched her struggle with something inside. “Rachel?” “Sorry,” she whispered quickly, averting her gaze as she shook her head slightly. “Forgot that you were talking.” His heart ached as he took in the sight of her troubled face. It was obvious to see that the subject of last night’s conversation had affected her greatly. He could tell by the look on her face that something had happened while he was out of the room, and judging by her reaction, something very traumatic. “Do you want to talk about it?” he finally asked. Rachel bit her lower lip, taking a deep breath before she glanced at him cautiously. “Do I want to talk about
They both seemed to understand that this conversation had to happen without the presence of their teammates, since they wouldn’t believe their story anyway. “Yes, we just got talking,” Darius lied smoothly. “Really? That’s cool,” Zander commented, giving them another smile. “I just finished my shower, so I’m gonna put on some jeans. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He disappeared back into his bedroom leaving a rather uncomfortable silence behind. They exchanged glances and sighed softly. This was not going to end well. At least they had managed to hide the fact that she had seen Darius last night and was now crying. Maybe they could tell them that they’d talked, explain why Rachel was in such a state of distress… maybe they could even explain why they were kissing… They hoped that by doing so, they might also lessen their own guilt. “Did you find it?” Rachel jumped in surprise at the sound of Zanders’ vo
After six weeks had passed they hadn’t talked about marriage, and she’d been thankful for that. He’d been busy with his work so they hardly got to talk about that subject. She’d always hoped that they would eventually discuss the matter, but he seemed happy keeping it to themselves, for now at least. But she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She wished that he would finally take the next step and marry her. Although they never spoke about it openly, they still shared touches, embraces, kisses, holding hands – everything and nothing at the same time. They simply understood each other. But he clearly wasn’t ready yet. They were just enjoying being in each others presence. She sighed heavily as she slowly sat down beside Darius on his bed, resting her head on his chest as she let out another sigh. A few seconds later he wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her impossibly close to him until their bodies pressed tightly together.
Rachel let out a loud giggle as he suddenly picked her up, carrying her bridal style. “Hey! Wait! What’re you doing?! Put me down this instant!!” She squirmed in protest as he started to walk out of the room. He stopped walking momentarily and glanced back at her questioningly. “What’s wrong?” “Put me down right now.” His lips curled into a small grin and carried her back to where he was sitting. “There,” he grinned mischievously. “Yuck!!!” she groaned. She quickly moved to sit on his lap, her legs straddling his hips. He wrapped an arm around her waist and rested his head on her hip, staring at her fondly. “Where are we going?” he said and pull her over, then flipped her bra open. He smirked triumphantly when her soft skin was revealed to him. He leant forwards, trailing kisses along her collarbone. “I thought we promised to take things slow, princess.”