“I love you, Domenico,” she said fiercely.
He smiled sadly. “Do you really?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “When they made me choose between marriage or becoming a Faerie, I could never choose the latter because by then I knew I’ve always been in love with you – I’ve never stopped. And I didn’t want to risk choosing to become a Faerie because that would have been irreversible.”
“But to belong to another man,” Domenico growled. “Did you think I would ever forget the pain---”
“Yes. You can. Because it wasn’t true. I never loved Lysander, never loved any man but you. I knew I could do something about the marriage. I wanted Lysander to be the one to back out instead and give me some time to find another way to help the Faeries without turning or marrying one of them.” She twisted her hands. “Also, by then I had a really bad feeling about Ivory. I wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t guess I was on to her. So that was why when we…”
“Fucked?”
“Domenico!”
“You didn’t want her to risk overhearing us say anything?”
Misty nodded. She closed her eyes because what she was about to say next was difficult. “When I approached Lysander, he made me promise to…to be his slave for the day and in return he would listen to me. That was when you saw me…on his lap.”
His jaw clenched.
Misty kissed him on the lips. “Please don’t be mad?” she whispered.
“Go on,” he gritted out.
“Then Jayme came and told me Lysander couldn’t be g*y. I thought he was because of what Daryl said and then…” She sighed. “It turned out he was being sarcastic when he told me Lysander was g*y.”
“I told you he was not f**king g*y, didn’t I?” Domenico snapped.
“But I thought you were just…”
“Jealous?” he asked silkily.
“Y…yes.” She was too afraid to meet his gaze but forced herself to.
His eyes were filled with quiet exasperation. “Believe in me next time. Trust needs to go both ways, Misty.”
“I promise,” she said fervently.
He sighed. “And then?”
“Umm…”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t leave a f**king thing out, Misty. Just…don’t.”
She said in a rush, “HetriedtokissmeandIstoppedhim.”
Domenico scowled. “Did you think just by saying it so quickly I wouldn’t be able to understand that you just f**king told me another man kissed you?”
“It was very short and I totally rejected him,” she defended herself.
“And the scene that I encountered in the forest?”
She said painfully, “Ivory sent us both fake messages. And then she threatened me. If I didn’t let you catch us…like that…she would have made those traitors kill us.”
“And you think she can kill me just like that?”
Misty didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry at his arrogance. “Domenico, there were twenty of them.”
“There could be fifty and I still wouldn’t have let any of them take you from me,” he said simply.
She threw herself at him upon hearing those words, and Domenico laughingly caught her, lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Domenico’s eyes closed. “You don’t know,” he whispered back, “you just don’t know how much I had dreamt of you saying that, Misty.” He opened his eyes, saw her crying silently, and slowly licked the tears away. He said fiercely against her skin, “I don’t think love is enough to describe how I feel about you, Misty. You’re my life. You’re everything to me and trust me…trust me when I tell you that I will never, ever hurt you again.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jeering laughter and a lot of booing greeted them when they entered Lyccan Hall, where virtually every member of the race waited for them. Misty hadn’t wanted to come, feeling she would only bring him down, but Domenico had been adamant.
“If it’s not the Moretti f**k slave and his---” The Lyccan couldn’t say anything else, with Domenico knocking him down with one swift punch on the face. He did the same with three other men before the crowd realized he meant business. They fell silent, their uneasiness and confusion making the atmosphere heavy as Domenico and Misty stepped up on the platform in front with Lysander slowly following from behind.
“My name is Domenico Moretti and I am the heir apparent to the Moretti pack.”
Shock coursed through the crowd at the realization that Domenico had again taken the reins to the Moretti pack.
He stood there calmly, waiting for the furor to die down.
“I stand before you today to ask for you to vote in sealing our alliance with the Faeries with my intended mate, Misty, and one of the members of the High Circle, Lysander Allard, to represent the other race.”
“Why should we still ally ourselves with them?” a Lyccan from the back demanded. “Their race is dying. And Misty is useless!”
Chaos followed that controversial statement. Misty did her best to keep calm even though her heart twisted painfully because there was truth in those words. Domenico squeezed her hand, his tight comforting grip communicating his love for her.
“SILENCE.” The command in that voice could not be ignored, and it was as if the world somehow shifted with Domenico’s command. A shiver skittered across her spine and like the entire crowd, she found herself staring at him in awe.
Tall, dark-haired and gorgeous with the most beautiful pair of green eyes. Impeccably dressed, poised and articulate. He was the same Domenico Moretti she had fallen in love with over a year ago and yet somehow he was different, too.
This Domenico standing in front of her was a hundred times stronger, more powerful, and somehow – more human, too.
Tears stung her eyes as Misty realized that Domenico had fulfilled his destiny as the one prince to bring all Lyccan packs together.
When he spoke again, it was as if a god was speaking, the silence almost reverent. “We are Lyccans. We are true to our word – it is who we are and we are no cowards who turn tail and run, abandoning our allies at the first sign of trouble. We fight for the weak. We fight for our lives, for our heritage.”
Domenico gazed at her, and Misty choked back a sob at the emotion in his eyes.
“The woman standing next to me is the most precious thing to me. Without her, our packs would have remained divided. Without her, there would have been no alliance not only with the Faeries but also the Caros and other races.”