Beauty's Beast(45)

At last, Blake stepped aside and extended his hand toward the twin staircases that rose from the foyer to the second floor.

“I’ll take him,” offered Aldara.

Michaela glanced to her husband, who nodded his consent, then her attention swept back to Blake.

Alon followed his sister up the stairs, across the landing that overlooked an enormous grand room. The Prouds all stared up at him as he crossed to the hallway and out of their sight.

Aldara paused partway down the hall. “So we have immortal souls?”

“Yes.”

She drew a great, long breath. “I’ve been afraid to have children. Afraid they would be soulless like us. But now...”

The bright smile radiated hope for a moment and then gradually faded as she returned her focus to him.

“You’ve got an uphill climb, brother. She’s been grieving for months. Inconsolable. The entire family has been worried. If not for...” She stopped herself.

“For what?” he coaxed.

“For your sorry ass and your assumptions none of this would have happened. You would have been with her all along instead of having to crawl back here with your mea culpas. And, brother, she needed you. I don’t know how you’ll make this right, but you best give it your all.” She lifted a finger and pressed it deep into his chest. “Don’t screw up again.”

With those final words of encouragement, his sister paused, drew a breath and then lifted her hand to knock on the closed door.

Samantha’s lovely musical voice responded, calling out a question.

“It’s Aldara. May I come in?”

Samantha invited his sister to enter. When he tried to follow, she pushed him back in the hall.

“You got by them. But you don’t get by me unless she wants to see you. Wait here.”

The door slammed in his face.





Chapter 21



Samantha closed the door to the nursery where her two newborns slept at the same moment the knock sounded on the door to her suite. Aldara called a greeting and Samantha bade her enter. Aldara did so, firmly closing the door behind her.

Samantha noted her sister-in-law’s rigid posture and tight expression. Something was wrong.

“He’s here,” said Aldara without preamble. Her penchant for bluntness struck Samantha like a slap to the face.

She did not need to ask who “he” was. She knew and suddenly it hurt to breathe.

“Here?” She glanced to the door of the room where the twins slept. If her babies followed their usual pattern, they would sleep for at least another hour.

“He asked to speak to you. If you don’t want to see him, I’ll send him away, but...”

She let that sentence hang. But—the children were her brother’s, as well. But—he had a right to know. But—she should at least listen to what Alon had to say.

“Is he here for the twins?” These were her children and she’d fight anyone for them, even him.

“I don’t think he knows of them. May he come in?”

“Where is he?”

Aldara motioned to the closed door. “Just outside.”

Samantha drew herself up to her full height and resisted the strong impulse to shift to her more imposing bear form. But then she could not speak to him. She stared at the closed door, then cast a quick glance to Aldara, nodding once, then immediately returned her attention back to the door.

“Would you like me to stay or go?”

Samantha knew this meeting must be private. She did not want Aldara to witness Alon telling her again that he did not want her or his babies. Well, she wanted them and, contrary to his expectations, she had bore them and lived.

“Leave us, please.”

Aldara opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Samantha heard Aldara speak to her brother. “She’ll see you. Try not to screw this up...again.”

A moment later Alon’s wide shoulders filled the doorway. Her eyes gobbled up the sight of him. Her fingers itched to stroke his strong jaw and dance through the fine, soft hair on his head. His clothing looked as if he’d found them in a Dumpster, baggy jeans, worn hiking boots and a pull-over jacket that stretched tight over his broad chest. He looked tired, she realized, and his expression pinched his handsome face.

The hope that fluttered within her was crushed by his forlorn expression. He seemed like a man about to tackle a very unpleasant task. So her fears were realized. She had become a burden to him.

“Samantha.” He paused to stare at her, his gaze sweeping down her body and then back up once more. Did he mark the increase in her bust? “You’re too thin.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”

He glanced about her bedroom as if looking for the children that she feared he might suspect were here. Could he smell them? She moved to block the nursery door. He sagged then rebounded off the door frame as if he needed the solid structure to propel him forward.

“My mother told me about Blake and Aldara.”

“A little late to join in the festivities.”

“I’m a fool,” he said.

Samantha’s ears perked up. Alon was many things, but never a fool. She had seen him in battle, fearless, powerful, a consummate fighter. She’d never seen him make a mistake. Except about motherhood. He’d been wrong about that.

“I don’t understand.” She took a tentative step in his direction.

“I never meant to hurt you. I only did what I thought was best. I believed you’d be better off without me. I wanted you to be a great healer and a member of the Niyanoka. I didn’t want to be the cause of your banishment.”

“So you made the decision for both of us.”

He bowed his head. “Yes.”

“Alon, you left me without a word. You hurt me, deeply.”

He bowed his head. “At the time, I thought it was best.”

“Did you? It must be wonderful to know what is best for another person without even asking her. Did you really believe that I’d forget you, forget what you mean to me and just find some replacement?”

He met her gaze. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I believed that if I stayed, I would keep you from your true path.”

He still had not said that he wanted her. Only that he was sorry for hurting her. She covered her mouth with one hand to keep herself from speaking, from crying and against the pain that now clawed at the lining of her throat.

“After the battle, Nagi told me I’d never cross the Way of Souls.”

She recoiled at this horrible lie.

He kept going, as if in a rush now to get it all out. “How could I be your soul mate if I had no soul? How could I stay with you, knowing that?”

She stared a moment, taking in this news. Finally she shook her head in flat denial. “Don’t you believe him!”

That brought the flicker of a smile. “My mother came to me a few days ago, to tell me of Aldara’s marriage. She also told me that she saw Ghost Children cross into the Spirit World. I was wrong. Terribly wrong, and I am here to beg your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted you safe and happy.”

She reached for him and then held herself back. “Alon?”

“Yes?”

“You said you were protecting me. Was that only because of your promise?”

“No.” He extended his open hand, but his expression was bleak. “At first it was obligation, but then I fell in love with you. I have loved you since the day you offered to bury the Delta Pack. I never expected to find a woman who would try to protect me or one who could see in me something other than a monster.”

“You’re no monster!”

Alon smiled. “Still my fierce little defender. But I wonder if you can forgive me. I wonder if you could ever love me or if I have lost your heart through my mistakes. Please tell me it isn’t too late for us.”

His hand lay open and outstretched. She wanted to take it, wanted to believe him. A touch would tell her what he felt.

“Let me stay with you.”

She took his hand. He enfolded her in his arms and kissed her with a sweet tenderness blended with longing. The guilt and sorrow struck her first, but when their mouths met she experienced the sweet longing he still held for her. She gave over to the sensation of their reunion. At last he pulled back, resting his forehead upon hers.

“I have been as the dead these last few months. It nearly killed me to stay away.”

“I wish you hadn’t,” she admitted. “I needed you so much.”

“Can you ever forgive me?”

She rubbed a hand over his broad, muscular back. “In time.”

He captured her hands and dropped to his knees. “Samantha, I love you with all my heart and soul. Will you honor me by becoming my wife?”

She drew a breath, overwhelmed by the sincerity of his emotions and the fluttering hope he held in his heart. She drew back, breaking the contact, for her thoughts were still too private to share.