Chapter 30
(Lily’s POV)
He stood by the window, and for a moment, neither of us moved.
I crossed my arms over my chest and told him coldly, “Say what you came to say… and leave.”
Zion turned slowly, the moonlight catching the edge of his cheekbone. His eyes were glassy. “I… I,”
He tried to speak but stuttered.
“I… I’m sorry, Lily.”
Zion never stuttered.
His eyes were red–rimmed, lips parted like he was searching for breath, for strength, as his hands trembled at his sides.
“Sorry?” I stepped forward, each word slicing like a blade. “Sorry for what exactly? For sleeping with me and then discarding me like some trash? For lying to everyone that we weren’t mates?”
He flinched as if each accusation slapped him.
“Or,” I said, raising my voice “for kissing Celeste at the party?”
Tears blurred my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. Not yet… as I curled my fists tight at my sides.
Zion took a shaky step toward me, his face filled with guilt so raw that I almost pitied him. “Lily-”
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled, stepping back. The tears spilled freely, blinding… I was broken. And he, he looked lost, and pitiful.
Then he turned and walked toward the lampstand where our photo was. The picture of us: me, him, and Zelda smiling brightly.
His fingers brushed the frame delicately like it was sacred, and although the room was dim I could see him clearly. My wolf and demon; Ravena, and Vaelith perked their heads up.
He sat slowly on the edge of the bed with the photo in hand, his head bowed, as his voice came like a whisper “This was where it all started… where I had my first kiss.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What was he talking about?
He laughed bitterly. “That fateful morning, Mom had asked that I wake you and Zelda for breakfast. I came here first and you were still asleep, your pink lips softly parted… I couldn’t help it.”
I gasped. “What?”
He didn’t stop speaking. “I kissed you and then you stirred, smiling at me… I panicked, and ran because I was scared of you- of what I felt.”
The memory struck hard, sharp and sudden, like a slap from the past I never saw coming. I remembered waking up one morning, just a few days before our 16th birthday, and Zion was hovering over me on my bed. His face was flushed as
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Chapter 30
though he had been caught doing something bad, and I had innocently smiled at him thinking he came to wake me up as usual. What I hadn’t expected was for him to run off without a word, or to avoid looking at me all day.
And the gullible me still went to look for him in his painting studio to apologize if I had done anything wrong. I was so stupid because of my silly growing infatuation for him.
“After you were taken away… I thought that the crush would die, but it didn’t. It grew into this ache I couldn’t contain anymore.” His voice cracked, and when he looked up at me, his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.
“In class, I’d watch you sit by the window as you bit the top of your pen in anticipation of the teacher’s arrival. I’d see you in the hallway, putting your books in the locker… and every time I tried to approach you or speak to you, my breath would hitch,”
He choked.
“And I’d walk away every damn time because I didn’t know how to handle it.”
He ran a hand down his face, like the confession was physically draining him. “My wolf, Ragnar hated me for it. I could feel his pull toward you, even before we turned eighteen. Deep down, I knew\… I knew what you were to me.”
He exhaled sharply “So, I ran in the opposite direction. To Celeste, because she was easy and convenient. My parents, hers, and even the elders liked her. She didn’t make me burn like you did.”
He lifted his gaze again, and this time, it broke something in me.
“You… you undid me, Lily. Just by existing. I’ve loved you before I even knew what that meant.”
The tears came crashing down again. I pressed both palms over my mouth as deep sobs rocked through me. All the pain… the nights I’d asked myself why I wasn’t enough, why he’d always walked away, why it hurt so badly….
“Why now?” I croaked. “Why are you telling me this now?”
He swallowed hard, standing to his feet. “Because I can’t live with myself if I don’t. I may have lied to everyone, and mostly to myself because I felt my feelings for you were wrong, sinful.” His voice was raw, “But no more, I won’t do that anymore.”
The photo frame hung loose in his grip “I love you, Lily Pison. I never stopped loving you, and I’m so, so sorry it took me this long to say it.”
I wiped my eyes, looking away.
“It’s too late,” I whispered. “I’m with someone else now.”
His face twisted “Lucien?”
I lied. “Yes,”
Although this was what I had always wanted. To be loved by Zion, my childhood sweetheart.. but I was hurting too much to just let him easily sneak into my life.
Zion was in front of me before I blink. I had forgotten that he was the same beast that wrecked the school. I gasped when his strong hands wrapped around my waist. I pressed my palms against his chest, trembling.
His voice dropped to a husky whisper, “You belong to me, Lily. No one else gets to claim what’s already mine.” And before I
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Chapter 30
could disagree, his lips crashed onto mine.
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