𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆

{Plot 3}• CHÀPTÊR XXII

She blinked rapidly, trying to rid herself to the heavy feeling of guilt suddenly overcoming her senses. And now the question floated around in her mind, pulling at her brain cells roughly. What would have happened if she had actually left the castle? What would have happened if she listened to Lord Odin and fled? It went without question that she wouldn't have been happier and that single action of hers, the moment she decided to stay and love Darius was the best decision she had ever made because now she had found the one her mother always spoke about.

The love that would make you want to climb the highest of mountains and jump down, the one that would make you want to run a mile a minute. She had found him, found love, desire, friendship, a promise for forever and even to the lives to come, companionship, stability, a firm steady foundation, she had found it all in one person. Her mate, the king. How he had managed to love her even after everything still left her surprised and curious to the very depth of Darius's love for her.

Because of him and the beautiful life he had provided, her past seemed like such a distant memory, a vague glimpse of what used to be. Now he was her present and forever her future, he would hold her forever. Gazing back into his eyes she felt the intensity that pooled in his gaze, the passion and feelings he held for her so apparent even a blind man could tell the tales. Dismissing the servant boy he bowed and walked off, his shoes hitting the ground. When they had faded Darius motioned for Audrey to come and she got up, the look of want, desire, in his eyes enough to leave a burning ache low in her belly as she began taking slow, tempting steps towards Darius.

When she came within close enough distance he discarded his bow to the side, his greedy hands quick to snatch her up, pulling her flushed to his body like a ragged doll. His ragged doll. It was easy to tell that the moment Darius laid eyes on Audrey he wouldn't last seconds before he would be filled with the ache to have her close, to have his rough, calloused hands hold her so fragile yet so possessively that it shattered all the coherent thoughts in her mind and left her wanting more of him, no matter how, whether sexual or not she wanted him. If that meant she was high on love then so be it because His Royal Highness King Darius Lockhart had come into Audrey's life at a moment when she didn't think she needed him, heck she didn't want him, the only thing that she set her sights on was the dream she had screwed in her mind, the dream that she held onto for dear life, the distant land of freedom that was the Crescent Springs Pack because without something to look onto she would have lost herself, her will a long time ago

She clung to the idea that when she got there she would finally be free, be happy, be loved. But when Darius came she had initially seen it as yet another obstacle that was being thrown in her way by the goddess. Oh how she used to look up at her and scowl at the thought of her cackling down at her misfortune, she imagined the goddess found it amusing to put so many obstacles in front of her. So like every other problem she perceived this as something she was to handle with resilience and determination, she was so blinded by the false mindset that she couldn't see the promised love right in front of her. It took her almost loosing him to realise just how much she had gotten attached to him, her very anchor, the love of her life.

Darius's love wasn't the forceful kind, it wasn't selfish, it was patient, kind and everything she needed but didn't realise at the time. Slowly and with perseverance he broke down her walls and carved a place in her heart, a Darius sized space that would never be filled with anything else. He made a place in her soul for himself, her skin craved his, her heart beating for him and it only took her to see him, to really look at him for her to realise just how much the big bad Alpha king loved her. She knew there was something much greater beneath, the crown, the title, all of it. Beneath the very surface there was a man, someone who was just as touch starved and in need of love, her love specifically.