Alaric's command was like a bucket of ice water, shocking me out of the passionate haze. The raw, primal connection we shared was instantly overshadowed by a cold, familiar dread. My hand flew to my face, my fingers pressing against the leather as if to weld it to my skin.

"No," I whispered, my voice trembling. "We had a deal. No faces."

The old shame, the deeply ingrained fear of rejection, came rushing back, choking me. I couldn't do it. I couldn't watch his eyes, currently filled with such raw adoration, transform into the same look of disgust I'd seen in Zane's. I would rather die than see that.

He watched my panicked reaction, his expression softening from command to something more complex. He didn't reach for the mask. Instead, his voice was gentle, but laced with an unshakeable resolve. "That was before. Everything is different now. You are my fated mate. I need to see all of you."

His words were meant to soothe, but they only amplified my terror.

"You'll regret it," I said, my voice thick with unshed tears. "You'll see it, and you'll leave me. Just like he did." The memory of Zane's sneer was so vivid it felt like it was happening all over again.

Alaric was silent for a long moment. Then he leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine. The contact was grounding, his skin warm against my own. His voice was a low, sincere vow that vibrated through my skull. "I swear on the Moon Goddess herself, I will not leave you. No matter what I see."

The oath, spoken with such conviction, chipped away at the wall of ice around my heart. He saw my resistance waver. Slowly, with a reverence that took my breath away, he lifted his hands to the back of my head.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my body rigid, bracing for the inevitable impact.

I felt his fingers deftly untie the leather straps. The mask loosened. Then, the shield that had both protected and imprisoned me was gently lifted away.

The cool air of the room touched my scarred cheek, and I flinched, a full-body cringe of shame.

The silence that followed was absolute. It stretched for an eternity. All I could hear was the frantic, terrified pounding of my own blood in my ears. I waited for his sharp intake of breath, his recoil, the sound of him getting off the bed and walking away.

Instead, I heard a soft, shaky exhale. A sound of pure, unadulterated awe.

Confused, I dared to open my eyes.

He was staring at my face, but there was no horror in his eyes. No disgust. They were wide, luminous, and filled with a blazing, ecstatic intensity. His gaze was fixed on my scar, not as a flaw, but as if he were looking at the most beautiful, miraculous thing he had ever seen.

He lifted a hand, his fingers trembling slightly. With a touch so gentle it felt like a whisper, he traced the jagged line from my brow to my jaw. His touch didn't burn with pity or revulsion; it sent a cascade of warm, tingling shivers through my entire body.

I was too stunned to move, to breathe. I couldn't comprehend his reaction.

"It's beautiful," Alaric whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. "The legends... they're real."

"What?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "What's beautiful? It's a curse..."

"No," he cut me off, his gaze locking with mine, fierce and certain. "It is not a curse. It is a mark. A sacred mark."

Before I could process his words, he leaned down. And in a gesture that shattered my entire understanding of myself, he pressed his lips gently to the scar on my cheek.

His kiss was soft, reverent, and full of a profound tenderness. He wasn't kissing a flaw; he was worshipping a holy relic.

A strange, soothing warmth spread from the point of his kiss, flowing through me, healing cracks in my soul I didn't even know were there.

Tears welled in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks, hot and silent. They weren't tears of pain or shame. They were tears of overwhelming, heartbreaking relief. For the first time in my entire life, someone was looking at my deepest wound and calling it beautiful.

He pulled back, his thumb gently wiping a tear from my cheek. "Don't cry," he said softly. "Their ignorance is what scarred you, not this. From this moment on, I will make the entire world see this mark for what it is: a symbol of honor, not of shame."

I looked into his deep, sincere eyes, and for the first time since I was a child, I allowed myself to believe, just for a second, that happiness might actually be possible for me.

"Tell me your name," he whispered, his voice a velvet caress. "I want to know my Queen's name."

Chapter 8

You might like