Charon put one foot in front of the other as he walked to the one woman in the world who held his heart in her hands. He dodged people and ignored comments directed at him.
All he cared about, all he wanted was to get to Laura. Yet the closer he came, the more he doubted himself. She had been thrust into a world she wasn’t prepared for.
He had questioned her and kept her separated from the other Druids. It had been done to protect the others, but in the process, he had hurt her.
By the time he reached Laura, he knew he wasn’t good enough for her. But that didn’t stop his love for her. It was love. He knew that now.
Laura’s smile was bright as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Charon held her as tight as he dared. The aches of his bite wounds fading with her nearness.
“I was so worried,” she whispered.
Charon ran a hand down her hair and closed his eyes as he squeezed her. “I’m here, just where I told you I would be.”
“It was close, wasn’t it?”
He almost didn’t answer her, but she deserved to know. “Aye.”
“It killed me not knowing what was going on.” She leaned back to look at him.
He gazed into her moss green eyes. Once more, he was drowning, sinking. Tumbling.
Into all that was Laura.
He’d never spoken words of love to a woman, and he wasn’t even sure how to begin. Or what to say. Laura had been a coworker, and then a friend. She was now his lover, and the woman he loved above anything else.
“What is it?” she asked, a frown marking her forehead.
Charon cleared his throat.
Laura’s gaze lowered and she saw all the bite marks that were healing, but gradually. “Oh, my God!”
“I’m all right,” he assured her.
Her hands hovered over several of the bites, her eyes wide and her lips parted in horror. “You aren’t healing.”
“I am. Just slowly.”
“Is that what’s wrong?” she asked as her gaze jerked back to his. “Do you need to rest?”
Charon couldn’t stop touching her, couldn’t think of another minute without her beside him. “I’ll be fine, Laura. I promise.”
“Then what is it?” she asked hesitantly.
He saw the dread enter her eyes, and a knot of uncertainty coiled in his gut. “Laura … it’s asking a lot, I know, but is there any way you could ever love a man like me?”
Laura’s breath locked in her lungs. Of all the things she expected Charon to say, that hadn’t been it. Her heart began to pound so loudly, she thought it might leap from her chest.
The uncertainty in his gaze and his disheveled, wet hair made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold him forever.
“No,” she said.
Charon’s dark gaze clouded as he visibly began to close himself off. He looked away. “I see.”
“Because I already love you,” she said as a tear fell from her eyes.
His gaze flew back up to hers, filled with hope and love. “You love me?”
“Yes, Charon Bruce. I love you.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly before he whispered, “I love you, Laura.”
Her eyes closed as she smiled. They were words she had feared never to hear. But Charon had given them to her, and in doing so, she had given him her heart and her soul.
“I love you,” he whispered again.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Aiden scanned the foyer twice, but still he couldn’t find Britt. His gazed paused when he caught sight of Charon and Laura kissing. There was no doubt that another Warrior had found his mate.
Unable to stop himself, Aiden’s eyes went to Malcolm, who stood silent and still beside Larena and Fallon while Aiden’s parents were talking.
Malcolm’s intense azure gaze met his for a moment before shifting away. There had been a flash of something—regret maybe—before the dead stare Aiden was used to returned.
Aiden was never sure what to say to the Warrior, but it would have to wait. He had to find Britt.
When he turned his head, he found Elena motioning him to come to her. Aiden hurried to her side, relief pouring through him at her kind smile.
“She’s safe,” Elena said before Aiden could ask.
Aiden let out a deep breath. “Thank you. Where is she?”
“Upstairs. We figured that would be the best place for her. She’s been working there ever since she arrived. Third floor,” she said as she gave him a push toward the stairs.
Aiden skirted around Charon and Laura, who were busy smiling at each other before he took the steps three at a time. His heart was hammering wildly in his chest by the time he reached the third-floor landing.
He paused at the lone door that stood cracked open a few inches. There was a light coming from inside and a soft hum of music. A smile pulled up his lips when he heard Linkin Park.