57. Maya

57

Maya

Champ was in custody. We had a way to bring down my father. My baby was safe. There was no better outcome for what had been a truly spectacularly failed mission, but seeing the way Rhyson was looking at me broke my heart.

I worried he wouldn't be able to get the words out.

"You don't have to say it," I told him quietly. "Truly, you don't. I know that Gemma is your mate, and I accept that. I don't want you to feel guilty. We would not be the first set of wolves to have a child but not be mated. We can work this out. And if you can't look at me without seeing my father, I understand. Sometimes I can't look in the mirror without thinking about who sired me."

"Stop talking," Rhyson growled. He hadn't moved from the door. "You were such an optimist when you first came to me at the foot of the mountain, and I suffocated that with the way I treated you. I hope this is you defensively talking to me, because otherwise, I won't be able to handle being so casually dismissed."

"I…" My throat dried up. "What are you talking about?"

"After everything that we have been through, everything we have shared, you're just going to let me go?"

"She's your fated mate, Rhyson. No one stands in the way of that." I couldn't figure out why he was so angry. I was trying to make this as uncomplicated as possible.

"Close your eyes, Maya," he said hoarsely. When I didn't immediately comply, he cleared his throat. "Please."

Taken aback by the soft plea, I closed my eyes. Maybe this was what he needed to make the announcement easier. "I know your father has taken away your ability to physically form a bond. I can't imagine how that must feel, but I know the strength in you. You may not be able to communicate with your wolf, but you and she took down your tormentor together. She knew you needed strength, and she fed that to you. Neither one of you needed a physical bond to make that happen."

He wasn't wrong. My wolf and I might not ever speak to each other, but we had our work-around. Was this his way of telling me that I would someday find my own mate? I might actually kill him if he said that.

"I need you to remember that. I need you to rely on that instinct and truly ask yourself if you think it's possible that I've bonded with anyone else. To think that I belong to anyone but you. No, don't open your eyes. Don't give me that withering look and change the subject. I won't put this off any longer. Not with you throwing yourself headlong into danger because you think my happiness is worth more than yours. Because you think nobody cares about you."

That was not what I was doing, was it? A retort rose to my lips, but I heard the desperate plea in his voice, so I didn't let it out. Instead, I focused on what I felt, and it was so hard because I already knew that I loved him. I knew that he was it for me.

And how would I know that without a bond?

"You're not hers," I whispered. "You didn't form a bond with Gemma. Then why…"

"Elonso had old information. There was a time when everyone assumed that Gemma would mate with Marrow or me. Hell, when we were younger, we used to fight over her. Then, Marrow left and had a kid, and I looked at her one day and knew that we would never be more than friends. The day before she left with my parents, we had a huge fight. She wanted to go in search of her mate, and I thought she wasn't ready. She'd been so protected by us. My parents practically raised her. She was softer than even Emily. I was not about to let her go bouncing around from pack to pack looking for her mate. When she left, I thought she'd done just that. It didn't even occur to me that she could be dead. I just figured she was happy. I wanted her to be happy, but not because she was my mate. Because she was my friend."

"Rhyson…"

"I'm not done," he cut in. My eyes were still closed, but I felt him approaching. "You know you belong to me, Maya. Just as I belong to you. Even without the fated mate bond, I knew it. I loved you, and fucking everyone else knew it too. That's how I found you. Duke knocked some sense into my head, and the bond that I'd been holding back ever since I met you formed. It reaches for you, and I know you'll never physically feel it, but you feel it in your heart, don't you?"

My heart slammed against my chest. "Yes."

"You know that I am yours. I don't give a shit who your parents are or what they've done. I only care who you are, and Maya, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met. Your strength and compassion shine through in everything you do and everything that you touch. One of these days, when you look in the mirror, you will see the woman who I see every day. I'm going to make that my life's mission."

I couldn't keep my eyes closed anymore. Opening them, I held back a sob and launched myself into his arms. "I love you," I whispered.

"I know, baby. It's in everything that you do, and I swear, you will know that I love you without question. Be my queen, Maya. Be the part of me that has been missing for so damn long."

"Yes." I clung to him as he kissed me, and I realized that I'd never felt true joy before now. My father hadn't taken this from me after all. I'd found him.

Straddling him, I circled my arms around his neck and clung to him as our bodies molded together. Mine. My mate. Till the end of our days, he was mine.

"I should let you sleep," he growled, but made no move to unseat me. All exhaustion had fled the moment he touched me.

"You heal me, Rhyson. Your touch heals me. I want to feel good," I cooed with a smile. I didn't need to see his eyes to know that I had him. "Please."

"You're going to choose now to beg?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, but his hands slid my shirt off.

With a pout, I rose up so he'd have access to my sweatpants. They were drawstring, and he took his time undoing the string while he stared up at me. "Are you not in the mood, mate?"

"Maya," he breathed, and his gaze darkened.

"You like hearing that? I like saying it." Slipping off his lap, I pushed my pants down and twirled naked in front of him. My heart did a little dance.

"Take it easy, Maya," Rhyson whispered as he reached for me and pulled me back. "You need to rest. I'll stay with you."

"Your Majesty, I need more than that. I need you." With a twinkle in my eyes, I gently pushed on his chest until he was flat on his back, and straddled him. He was half-naked, and I loved stroking the smooth skin on his chest. "Please? I've been so good."

"Now?" he growled. "Planning on driving me crazy tonight?"

"Tonight and every night after, Rhyson. You're mine now. And I'm going to be so good."

I pulled his pants down, mentally celebrating when he lifted his hips to make it easier for me. He was so fucking beautiful, and I still couldn't believe that he was mine. Grasping his cock, I squeezed gently and lowered my head. As I took him into my mouth, he hissed.

"Yeah. You are so good. My good girl," he grunted as he spread his hands through my hair and gently massaged my head. "Suck that cock, sweetheart. So good."

I sighed in pleasure at hearing that, but I did my best not to let him know. He might be my mate, but I didn't need to make it too easy on him.

Before I could finish the job, he pulled me up and gently moved until I was under him. "I wasn't done."

"I'm your king," he reminded me.

"And my mate."

"Yours, Maya." Slowly, he entered me and leaned down to kiss me. "One hundred percent yours."

"Mine." Sighing, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my head into his neck while he moved inside of me. "Rhyson."

"Baby?" He stopped over me. "Am I hurting you?"

"Never." Unable to help it, I let the tears spring to my eyes. He tried to sit up, but I held on, and he carried me up until I was straddling him, his cock still embedded deep inside of me. Not once did he let me go.

His cock twitched inside of me, but he kept still as he held me while I found my balance. "You are my home," I whispered. "From the moment you rescued me at the hotel, you've been my home base. Even when I wanted to hate you, I needed you. I need you to know that."

"Maya," he whispered, and framed my face with his hands as he kissed me. "Everyone who has ever hurt you will feel my wrath, and that includes myself. I will be your home. I will be anything you need, because you are my heart."

I moved over him, whimpering at the pleasure, until I shattered around him. Afterward, he gently cleaned me up and held me. Exhaustion started to set in and I closed my eyes, so grateful that I was in his arms.

"I thought I'd never leave this cursed mountain," Rhyson muttered as he kissed me. "But I found my mate and my sister."

Emily. His sister. Gasping, I jerked upright. "Oh my God, your sister! Rhyson, Champ was working with someone. There's someone in this pack who knows who Emily and Gemma are. If my father gets to them…"

"London and I are way ahead of you. Champ is alive, and we'll get the name of the traitor. Then we'll get your father."

I couldn't help but smile. "You listened to me."

At that, he chuckled. "It's rare, but only because I'm stubborn. You're right in that your father is a popular alpha, and I can't just kill him, although if this plan doesn't work, I will still just kill him. Consider it a bloody spot on my white hat."

"I won't fight you."

Closing my eyes, I called to my wolf, and she came. The shift, normally so long and painful, was a little easier. Maybe because I believed in her, or maybe it was because she believed in me. Still, she came, and the pain ebbed as her magic started to heal me.

Rhyson knelt down on the floor and touched my wolf's head. She surged up inside of me, and I let go of the reins, knowing that Rhyson would keep her safe.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for keeping her safe all these years. Thank you for keeping her safe for me."

Whimpering, she butted her head up against him, and I could feel the love between us, bond or no bond.

The moment was broken by a knock at the door. "That'll be the food. Heal, Maya. Then you can eat."

When he opened the door, a cart was wheeled in. I waited until the door was closed before I shifted back. The wounds had healed, and I was eager to get my hands on him again.

We sat together on the bed, eating and leaning against each other. Despite wanting him, exhaustion weighed down on me once I'd eaten, and I leaned against him and closed my eyes.

"You can sleep, sweetheart. I'll be here all night."

A small sound of contentment slipped out of me, but before I could sleep, there was a knock at the door. "The prisoner is awake and ready to talk," London said through the door.

"We'll do it in the morning," Rhyson growled, but I sat up.

"No," I called out. "We won't. We'll do it now."

I turned my head, expecting Rhyson to argue, but he just arched an eyebrow. "Whatever my queen wants."

"What your queen wants is for this to be over. We get him to confess, and then we get my father, and then, maybe, we can finally take a breath and name the little prince growing inside of me."

With a nod, he stood and held out his hand. "Then let's end this."