Page 57 of Snowbound with the Alpha Wolf
I long to be in your arms tonight, for anywhere with you is paradise. My life, and my heart, are empty without you in it. Iam leaving tomorrow. Were I not alpha of my pack, I would surrender all I own for you. But my darling, I made a commitment to my people I cannot break. I long to make the same commitment to you—to dedicate my life, my heart and my soul to keeping you happy, safe, protected and feelingcherished.
You are all I truly want in life, Darcy. I am so homesick for you that my heart aches. The memoryof your smile and the echo of your laughter sings in my mind. I keep these memories close to me, for soon they will be all I have left of you. I am a fool for letting you go and an even bigger fool for failing to realize how wonderful and precious you are, my darling. A child of the Dark Kingdom, or even Hell itself—it matters not. You are uniquely precious to me. How could I ever doubt you?Your kind heart and your selfless nature are such that you would sacrifice your magick for me and to keep the world safe from evil. I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you for my arrogance and pride. Your happiness comes first, even before mypack.
I love you, always and forever. Please forgive me. I’m a complete and utterass.
I shall never rest until I have yourforgiveness. And if you cannot find it in your heart to forgive me or speak to me again, my dearest wish for you is that you should find your joy and never experience a moment of sadness again. You deserve nothing buthappiness.
Yoursalways,
Adrian
She sat on the bed,reading his words over and over. The letter fell from her trembling fingers, floating to the carpetedfloor.
Adrian loved her. He begged for her forgiveness. Tears clogged her throat. She forced themback.
“Why did you forsake me, Adrian?” she whispered. “Why couldn’t you see past my origins to the realme?”
Like many Others in her past, he’d only seen the façade of what she was, not who she was. Strong, independent—yes. Willing to help those in jeopardy, of course. But alsoa woman who yearned for a normal life, who wistfully saw a family and wondered if she could ever have thesame.
A woman who tired of roaming the earth and wanted a mate who could support her no matterwhat.
She’d thought Adrian was that person. Instead, he’d let herdown.
And then she smelled a familiar fragrance of crisp snow andspices.
Darcy glanced up to see himstanding in the doorway. Wearing a warm mulberry sweater, jeans and hiking boots, he looked as miserable as shefelt.
Good.
He jammed his hands into his pockets. “I asked Aiden if I could remain another two days, and he said yes. I couldn’t leave. Not without you, Darcy.Not…”
He stared at the carpet. Never had she seen him act this awkward, at this much a loss forwords.
Shewaited.
“Not until I gave you the chance to forgive me or tell me to get the hell out of your life.” Adrian looked up from beneath his long, dark lashes. “Or kick me for being such anass.”
With extreme care, she set the letter down upon the comforter. “Why, Adrian? You’re intelligent. Sophisticated. You knew I was nothing like Lars, no matter that we were related. DidI assume you were the type to abandon those who cared about you because your parents did? No! Then why make those assumptions about me? You said you lovedme.”
“I do,” he saidsoftly.
“And yet you were willing to toss me aside because of my origins.” Familiar aching squeezed her chest. “Like everyone else in mylife.”
“I can’t justify what I did, Darcy. I can tell you whyI did it. Not to rationalize my actions but so you’ll understand what I did was because of my responsibility as an alpha. There’s something that happened after you left me ten years ago that you need to know.” He leaned against the doorway, staring outside at the swirlingsnowstorm.
Anger still bit her. Part of her didn’t want to know, wanted to storm out, tell him to do something anatomicallyimpossible. But the part of her that loved him, that cherished the intimacy they’d shared, not only the physical closeness in bed but the closeness of spirit, knew she needed to give him achance.
Darcy inclined her head. “Goon.”
“Lars wasn’t the only Lupine from the Dark Kingdom I encountered. After you left and I guided the fifteen Lupines to a new home and agreed to lead them,I found out Lars had cultivated an accomplice.” Adrian stared dully at the window. “Your uncle wanted to ensure my death if I survived the blizzard. He planted a spy amongst the other Lupines he’d kicked out of his pack, one of whom intended to find me if I stilllived.”
Not possible. Darcy shook her head. “I met every single one of those Lupines, screened them all. I have the capability,Adrian. They were homeless, starving and needing a strong leader. Not one of them was from the Dark Kingdom. Their magick was…drained.”
His mouth flattened. “Except for Theo. She was sick when you brought me to the cave, remember? She wasn’t amongst those who warmed me in the snow. At least that’s what she wanted you to believe. She fooled you, Darcy. She fooled me aswell.”
Recallingthe petite, fragile Lupine who had huddled in one section of the cave, she felt a pinch of horror. Theo had been too weak and in pain to undergo the rigorous mental probing Darcy performed on the others. There was no scent of evil about her. Darcy had taken for granted that Theo was evicted from Lars’s pack for simply being too delicate for the physical labor Lars demanded from hispeople.
No frozen condemnation in his voice. It didn’t help still the guilt twisting inside her. Lifting her hands helplessly, she felt her guts kick. “I didn’t know. What happened? Did she try to killyou?”
