Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 239: Flash Back 2

Song For This Chapter: Through The Eyes Of A Child by AURORA

King Wilhelm;

He looked up at me, and a small smile split his face. The moment lingered until he stood up and walked over to me.

He stopped beside my chair, and I looked up at him in confusion.

He was close. Too close.

His beautiful eyes held a softness that always unravelled me inside. A softness that always made my breath and nerves twist as it found a way to reduce me to a stumbling mess.

He lifted my hand from the table, turning it palm-up as his thumbs slowly traced my palms.

"Do you know why I care so much about this kingdom?" he questioned in a whisper, and I swallowed.

"Because you’re a good Alpha," I replied, and he smiled. Like one would smile at a little child.

"That, yes..."

"But also because I love the man who rules it." He replied, and my breath caught.

He said it so plainly... so confidently... as if he didn’t just say he loved me.

As if declaring love wasn’t something that could topple an entire world.

"Gorlois..." I whispered in shock, wondering if my hearing had gone bad, or if I was so tired I was already weaving fantasies into reality.

"You heard me." He spoke before stooping before me, and I felt my heart lurch into my throat.

He tilted his forehead against mine, and his breath brushed my cheek as he slid a hand to my face. His thumb caressed my cheek.

"Wilhelm, you make me forget pride," he whispered.

"And Alphas do not forget pride easily." He added, and I exhaled shakily, trying to find my voice and footing in all this.

How did one respond to such a thing? Such a situation??

"You shouldn’t say things like that." I croaked, and he pulled back to stare at me.

"Why? Does it frighten you?" He asked, speaking his mind as he has always done.

I didn’t answer.

He smiled... slow, tender, devastating as he understood me.

Understood that the reason I was holding back was Cassia... the woman I fell in love with after getting here. How does one love two people? I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure. And I wasn’t willing to commit to anything that could or would hurt anyone.

"You are the reason that I realised strength is not dominance. It is devotion." Gorlois continued either way, and my heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

"I have never felt the urge to submit to anyone... to any being the way I wish to submit to you, Wilhelm. I want to be yours through and through. I want to lay myself at your feet so you can use me however you please, Wilhelm. That’s how much I love you. That’s how much I care." He spoke, and my jaw dropped.

"Gorlois..." I muttered in shock, but he lifted my chin.

His lips locked with mine, and my heart exploded in my chest. It was in that moment. At that time, there with him... that was when... for the first time in my life, that was when I realised without a doubt that I was capable of loving a man.

Of loving him so truly and to dangerous depths.

He pulled away from me, and as our warm breath mingled together, he finally asked the question.

"Do you love me, Wilhelm?"

"I see the way you look at me. The way your touch lingers, the way you look for me in crowds... am I just nothing but an aide to you, or do I mean more? Do you... Do you love me too, Wilhlem, or am I building castles in the clouds?" He pushed, and my breath hitched.

The room suddenly felt too small.

...Too bright. Too charged... Too revealing.

"Tell me, Wilhelm." He pressed as he planted a feather-light kiss on my lips.

"Do you?" He probed with yet another kiss, and I swallowed.

He pulled back, and I stared into his enchanting eyes.

"I...I do..." I managed to croak, and a massive smile split his face.

He leaned in, and this time, when his lips touched mine, it wasn’t desperate or rushed.

...It was slow. Deep... meaningful.

A claiming... but also a gesture of surrender.

I kissed him back without thought, fingers curling behind his neck, feeling the warmth of him seep into me like sunlight after a cold season.

When we pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine again.

"You have no idea how long I dreamed of hearing you say those words." He whispered, and I swallowed.

"I love you," he repeated, and I smiled. "And it has nothing to do with you being a Primordial." He continued, and my voice shook as I answered.

"I... love you too, Gorlois," I confessed, and it felt like a massive boulder left my chest.

He smiled softly... the kind of smile that burned itself into memory.

"I hope," I whispered with sincere fear and prayer for the future.

"I hope that we never break apart." I prayed aloud, and he smiled as he pulled me closer to himself before kissing me again.

"We never would."

Back to Present

The cup slips slightly in my hand, and I exhale, the sound thick with something between grief and exhaustion.

"Never break apart," I whisper to the empty hall in mockery of the pain I feel.

The stained-glass reflections catch on the tears I didn’t realise had gathered in my eyes, and I wipe them away harshly.

A king shouldn’t cry.

Especially not over ghosts. Not over a man who betrayed me. Not over Gorlois...

I force myself to drink again, but the taste is bitter now.

The hall feels colder. Larger.

Like that memory swallowed half of me and left the rest here to rot.

"Enough," I mutter to myself, but the ache refuses to fade.

I set the cup down.

Temples throbbing. Heart raw, and mind in shambles.

"Gorlois..."

The name is a wound. A prayer. A curse, and still... a love.

My eyes close, and I sit in silence, drowning in memories I wish I could kill.

Until there’s suddenly a knock on the door. The sound cuts through the heaviness like a blade, and my eyes snap open.

Another knock comes, and my brows crease. Who could it be?

I clear my throat and force my voice out to whoever it is.

"Enter."

The massive doors creak open, and Rhydian steps into the throne room.

Why is he here?