The Alpha, The Rogue & The Beauty

True Love

Leon POV

Darkness surrounds me like a restrictive blanket. I can hear murmuring around me, but my sight cannot break through the black cloud surrounding me. I try to move, but my body doesn’t respond to my wishes. I try to shout, but no sound comes from my lips. I am lost, stuck in a void that I cannot escape.

I try to think of how I got here, but my thoughts are all a jumble. Each time I try to think of the moments before the darkness, Stacey’s smiling face appears in my mind. She is calling me, beckoning me towards her, but I can’t move. I feel the need to reach out to her, but then something tells me no, don’t do it.

Where am I? Why can’t I see? Why can’t I move?

The sensation of something moving on my finger causes the picture of Stacey in my mind to disappear, replaced by a pounding headache. My eyelids flutter. The sound of voices reaches my ears, replacing the murmuring noises.

“What enchantment do you think is on it?”

“An enchantment to fake a fated mate bond.”

“What?! Mum and Dad are fated mates! Why do you think differently?”

A groan escaped my lips and I started to blink so that my eyes could adjust to the brightness around me. I raised my hands to my head to massage my temples, trying to ease the pounding inside. “What happened?” I moaned when my eyes finally opened.

“Dad!! You’re awake.” Lizzy cries and rushes to me, wrapping her arms around my torso and laying her head on my chest.

“Lizzy?” I croaked out. “When did you get here?”

“She arrived about half an hour ago.” Darren answered, “She knows about Beth.”

“Here, have some water.” Sarah suggested, holding a glass out to me.

Lizzy rises, letting me go as I struggle to sit up. Smiling a thank you at Sarah, I took the glass and slowly sipped the cool water. The liquid soothes my dry mouth and throat and after a few more sips, I hand the glass back to Sarah. The headache is already easing.

“Lizzy….” I start but she shakes her head and interrupts me.

“You don’t have to explain, dad. I understand. You had to protect her.” She tells me, “But you need to know, I had nothing to do with it. I would never….”

I reached out and took her hand in mine, “I know. That’s why I let you come.” Looking between Sarah and Darren, I spoke once more, “Can you tell me why I am lying on a bed and have a splitting headache.”

“That’s my fault.” Sarah says, looking down at her feet and twiddling her fingers, “I tried to remove your ring, but it had another enchantment preventing it from being removed.”

“Ring?? Enchantment??” I asked, confusion causing the pain in my head to return.

Holding up a ring I vaguely recognise, Darren states, “This ring. The one Stacey gave you not long after you met.”

“If it couldn’t be removed, how come you are holding it?” I asked him.

“Because of me.” Lizzy tells me, squeezing my hand. “I removed it, like I did when I was younger. I don’t know why I could do it and no-one else.”

“You said another enchantment, what else does it do?” I questioned.

“We will need to get a witch to look at it, but we think along with you not being able to remove it and that it shifts with you when you shift into a wolf….” Darren pauses as he looks at Sarah. “We think it also fakes a fated mate bond.”

“Fakes a……. You mean, Stacey isn’t my fated mate!” my shock coming to the surface.

“No, we don’t believe she is. For one thing, you can’t stand to be around her.” Darren states, “Plus, it is obvious that you are still in love with Sarah.”

“What?!” Sarah exclaims, “No! He doesn’t love me! Do you?”

I looked down at my lap, unsure as to how I should respond.

“Dad?” Lizzy says, touching my arm gently. “It’s okay to admit how you feel. Darren is right though; you can’t stand to be around Mum. I understand, I really do, because I find it hard to be around her as well.”

I looked at my daughter and saw tears welling in her eyes. She gives a small smile, “I can see that she cares for you too.”

Turning my head to Sarah, I find her looking down at her hands as she stands next to my bed, her cheeks slightly flushed. I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at me and all I could see was the look of love that she gave me every day that we were together and I felt my heart swell.

“I have always loved you, Sarah, ever since I met you in that bar.” I told her, earnestly.

Tears slowly fall from her eyes as she looks at me, a smile beaming from her face, “I love you too.” She whispers.

Lizzy’s hand leaves my arm and I hear a door quietly close, but all my attention is on the woman in front of me. My one true love, the mother of my eldest daughter, the only woman that I have ever wanted. My hand leaves her cheek and makes its way to the nape of her neck as I draw her closer to me. Her hand comes to rest on my chest and my heart jumps.

I watch her face as it gets closer to mine, her eyes closing in anticipation of what is to come. When our lips finally meet, I am transported back to our first kiss all those many years ago and how sweet it felt. My tongue flits across her lips and they part, allowing me access. I feel desire swell inside of me with each passing second, never wanting this moment to end.

The bed dips as she climbs onto it and straddles my lap. My hand makes its way up into her hair as my other hand wraps around her waist, pulling her in flush against my chest. Her hands feel their way up my chest, over my shoulders, and into my hair as our tongues battle for dominance.

Her hips started to move, grinding herself against my growing bulge, turning me on even more. Grasping her hips, I guide her movements. A moan escapes her lips as her head tips backwards and her back arches in ecstasy, breaking our kiss. The sight of her like this brings back all the memories of our years together and how much I have missed this woman.

My head lowers as I grasp her n****e through the material of her top with my teeth, causing her to gasp and move her hips faster, rubbing herself against me.

A knock at the door has us separating and Sarah jumping off of the bed. We are both breathless and I can see that Sarah is very flushed as she straightens her skirt.

“Come in.” I called, although my voice sounded husky to me.

Sarah rushes around the bed, as the door starts to open, and sits on the edge next to me. Looking down, I know she is trying to hide the evidence of my arousal from whoever is entering the room.

Connor’s head peeps around the door, “I hope I’m not interrupting, but the doctor is back with her witch friend and we have an update in relation to the car.”

“We’ll be down in five minutes.” I nodded at him.

A knowing smile adorns his face and his eyes twinkle as he nods and disappears, closing the door behind him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” Sarah says sounding flustered, her hands twirling in her lap.

I reached over and placed my hand over hers, causing her to look at me, “I’m not sorry for what just happened, but I am sorry for what happened all those years ago.”

Lacing her fingers with mine, she smiles shyly at me. “It wasn’t your fault. Living here for so long, I have seen how the mate bond can affect people.”

Still holding her hand, I cup her cheek, stroking my thumb over her smooth skin, “I love you Sarah.”

“I love you too, Leon.” She replies, leaning over to peck my lips. “But we have a daughter to find.”

“Yes, we do.” I agreed, letting go of her hands.

She rises from the bed and takes a step away as I swing my legs over the side and stand up. Taking her hand in mine, I led her from the room.