Page 84 of The Alpha's Chosen Fate

"I fear I'm not the Alpha you deserve.The pain I've caused you …" I trailed off, unable to get out the rest of my confession.

Ivy stood motionless for a moment.Then her voice sliced through the tense air, calm but carrying an edge that could cut steel."Would you truly let me go, Briggs?If I chose to walk away right now?"

The question hung between us, a gauntlet thrown down upon the ground of my resolve.

A muscle twitched along my jawline.I nodded slowly, almost imperceptibly.My entire being resisted the very notion of her departure.

The gravity of my offer settled upon the room like a thick blanket, suffocating and inarguable.

"You actually mean it, don’t you?"Ivy's voice was laced with incredulity.

"I’m loath to do it, but I would do it for you."My admission might cost me everything.

A palpable shift in the air softened Ivy's posture.The rigidity that once defined her stance melted away under the weight of my sincerity.

Her eyes, pools of hazel reflecting the moonlight, held mine as she spoke, her voice a gentle caress against the rawness of my emotions."I’m not leaving, Briggs."

Her confession was a whisper, yet it roared in my ears louder than any growl I had ever uttered.

"But I’m scared … scared to be hurt again.You almost died and I wasn’t prepared for the jumble of emotions that I had to hurtle.”

Was this why she pulled back?Was this what threw up the rift between our bond?

“But I can't live in fear anymore.I don’t want to live in fear anymore."

Her admission soothed my battered heart, mending the jagged edges left by doubt and regret.

"Maybe this is what I needed—to be sure."There was a tremor in her voice, a vulnerability echoing my own.

Relief surged through me, a tidal wave of hope crashing over me, drenching me in the warmth of a future I dared to envision once more.The atmosphere subtly shifted again, the tension that coiled between us unraveling thread by thread and reforming into something altogether different.

Ivy’s step was hesitant, yet deliberate, as she bridged the gap between us.Her hand brushed my stubbled cheek, anchoring me in the moment.

"You're crazy for offering," she said, the corners of her lips curling into a smirk.

All I could do was stare.Ivy, my mate, stood before me with a strength that belied her petite form, her touch gentle yet capable of unraveling me completely.

"And I'm just as crazy," she said with affectionate amusement and an undercurrent of something deeper, "for needing to hear it."

Inside, I experienced a change, disbelief battling with such intense joy that I almost felt my legs give way.We were going to be okay.

“I love you, Ivy.So much it scares me.”

"I love you, too."

There it was—the declaration, simple and profound, cutting through the shadows that had clung to my heart.

"Gods, Ivy …" My voice turned into a raspy whisper, thick with emotion.Me, the Alpha, now at the mercy of three little words.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close.Her body melded to mine, a perfect fit, and I held her tight.

My fingers traced the curve of Ivy’s spine, feeling the shiver that ran through her at my touch.

"Tell me what you’re scared of," I murmured, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear.

Ivy laced her fingers with mine."Losing you," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper."Losing what I finally found."

I pulled her even closer, eliminating any space that remained between us.

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