Page 138 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
“I love you,” I whisper, the words falling from my lips before I can stop them.
His entire body goes still beneath me. For a moment, I think I’ve made a terrible mistake—I’ve revealed too much, too soon.
Slowly, his eyes close, and when they open again, they’re blazing with a passion that steals my breath.
“Say it again.”
“I love you.” The words are easier this time, stronger. “Prince Lucian, Crown Prince, future King—I don’t care what titles you carry. I love you.”
He surges up, capturing my mouth in a kiss that’s devastating in its intensity. When we come up for air, we’re both shaking.
“I love you, too,” he breathes against my lips. “More than my crown, more than my kingdom. More than my own life.”
And finally, finally, the last of my anger melts away. Because whatever else he is, whatever lies he told me, I know this is true. This love burning between us is real and fierce and unbreakable.
Everything else—the politics, the danger, the uncertain future—we’ll face together.
As long as we have this, we can survive anything.
Adjusting to life in the palace is like learning to breathe underwater. Everything is foreign—the silk sheets, the ornate furniture, the servants who bow when they see me. And if Lucian was protective of me outside the palace walls, he’s absolutely suffocating me within them.
He barely lets me out of his sight. When I try to explore, he’s there. When I ask for space, he hovers nearby like a shadow. It’s sweet in a possessive, overbearing way, but after two days of it, I’m ready to scream.
“I need to see my friends,” I tell him as we sit in his chambers—our chambers, he keeps correcting me—having breakfast.
His fork pauses halfway to his mouth. “Your friends?”
“Daciana and Selene. I need to know they’re okay.”
Something flickers across his face. Guilt, maybe. “I’ll arrange for them to visit.”
“Today.”
“Today,” he agrees.
When the guards bring them to my room this afternoon, I barely recognize them at first. They look tired, and older somehow, as if the past few weeks have aged them. But the moment our eyes meet, we’re rushing toward each other.
“Astra!” Daciana reaches me first, her arms wrapping around me so tightly I can barely breathe. Selene crashes into us a split second later, and we’re all crying and laughing and talking at once.
“We thought you were dead,” Selene sobs against my shoulder. “We were so worried—”
“I’m okay,” I tell them, even though I’m crying, too. “I’m here.”
We’re still holding each other when I become aware of Lucian standing in the doorway, watching us with an expression I can’t read.
“Out,” I tell him firmly.
His eyebrows rise. “I beg your pardon?”
“I said, out! I want to talk to my friends alone.”
“This is my room.”
“It’s our room,” I correct him, using his own words against him. “And I’m asking you to leave.”
He looks genuinely offended. “You can’t kick me out of my own chambers. I’m the crown prince.”
“Go be the crown prince somewhere else for a while. You can come back later.”
