Page 83 of Awakened Gifts
He looks up, and his eyes brighten and soften just a little. “Aria. I heard you managed to take out the rest of the Scorpions. Or at least the majority. Any word on Hedin?”
He still sounds like the captain I once knew when he’s like this.
“No word on Hedin yet. But we’ll find him. I actually came to speak to you… Well, apologize for what I said to get Alice’s location.”
His smile turns grim, but understanding forms in his eyes. “You said what you had to. You did what you had to. I’m sorry I doubted you. You were so much stronger than I ever thought. Your father would have been so proud.”
Tears try to form, but I hold them back. No tears on my wedding day.
“Your blood worked. We’ve managed to save the emergent hybrid children. Simone is certain of it.”
Pride swims in his pale blues, and his chest swells with an emotional breath. “Thank you for telling me that. I’m glad it worked.”
It takes me a minute to gather up the courage to do the rest, but I finally manage. “I also wanted to say thank you. You could have ran when we fought them. In all the commotion, you would have escaped. But you stood and fought. That says a lot. Jase is reducing your sentence for that, but it’ll still be a few hundred years before you’re released.”
He nods slowly before blowing out a long breath. “I deserve to spend the rest of my immortal days in here, Aria. Don’t let him reduce my sentence.”
And there’s the man I always knew. The man who deserves the redemption that Alice refused to strive for.
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss mercy,” I say, motioning to the glass behind me.
“Mercy is the sign of a strong and compassionate leader. Though I appreciate Commander Ericson’s offer, I have no reason to be out. I’m afraid of what I might become outside of the walls. I can’t be that man again, Aria. I never want to forget who I am.”
The burden, the guilt, and the regret is there. Redemption is possible.
“You might not be that man if you have a reason not to be,” I say just as the door opens. A strikingly slender woman with vibrant red hair, soft pale skin, and just the slightest dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks is smiling at him, unshed tears filling up in her eyes.
Captain Fricks stops breathing as his eyes widen, his heart takes on erratic patterns, confused about whether to stop or pound rapidly. I feel his shock, his disbelief, his dread that he’s gone insane and hallucinating.
“She’s real, James. She’s standing right in front of you.”
Tears start falling from his eyes as I cross the floor to remove his shackles. He remains frozen in his seat, just staring at the woman he never thought he’d see again after my blood failed to restore her.
“Penelope,” he finally whispers in a breath that sounds like an answered prayer.
She nods softly, and he blurs across the room, crushing his lips to hers in a kiss that could warm the northern Unaligned nation.
He breaks the kiss when a sob tears out of him, and he holds her to him while he weeps happily into her hair. With his back turned, I hear him speak to me in a choked tone that barely releases the word, “How?”
“Everyone thought my blood was the answer, but in the end, it was actually the one everyone overlooked. Simone’s blood. Her savage blood. We never stopped trying to finish your work, and when we saw her healing, we decided to wait. I never wanted to bring you false hope. She just woke up a few hours ago.”
He pulls back, staring at her with worshipful eyes, and she touches his face with love that only counters possess, even though she’s just a full blood. I step out of the room, wanting to give them privacy, but once I’m in the hallway, I hear the whispered thank you.
Damn tears. I wasn’t supposed to cry. Not today.
“Give them two hours,” I tell the guard who is standing by.
He nods in approval, and I make my way upstairs, searching for our temporary room in yet another compound. Seminole should be healed soon. The compound is still under construction, but it’s almost back to its once former glory. Dad really would be proud.
I walk into the room, smiling when I see roses everywhere. Now this is a wedding night.
“Hey,” Jase says, grinning as he joins me in the entryway, and my eyes widen with lust and mass appreciation at the fully naked hybrid in front of me. “Like what you see?”
Licking my lips, I slowly rake my eyes over the hard lines, firm erection, and mouthwatering body of the man I’ve got for eternity. Hunger forms in the pit of my stomach, calling me with carnal intentions, and I grin before moving to him and tangling my hands in his silky, inky black hair.
“Best wedding present ever,” I murmur before seizing him in a devouring kiss.
He grips me at my ass and lifts me, walking me toward the wall before pushing me up against it. The kiss grows more desperate as our tongues fight for dominance, and my dress drops to the floor in a heap, revealing the very slinky red, lacy underwear I have on.