Chapter 65
LUCIAN’S P.O.V.
I stared at the mountain of paperwork on my desk, but my mind was elsewhere. Ares, my ever-annoying, ever-persistent companion, was in the middle of one of his rants.
“She’s here! I feel her presence. Teresa’s close, Lucian. You can’t ignore this p>
I pinched the bridge of my nose, exhaling sharply. “Ares, you’ve been saying this for two years. TWO. YEARS. Every time you think you ’feel’ her, we go chasing shadows. Do you know how exhausting that is p>
“This is different,” Ares insisted, his voice tinged with urgency. “I know it’s her. Don’t act like you can’t feel it too p>
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. Of course, I felt it. This pull in my chest, this ache in my gut—it was familiar, maddeningly so. But we’d been burned before. Chasing Teresa’s presence had only led to dead ends and heartbreak.
“What if this time isn’t a false lead?” Ares pushed. “Do you really want to risk not checking? What if we lose her again p>
That did it. I slammed my fist onto the desk, the loud thud echoing in the office. “Fine! But if you’re wrong, Ares, I’m muzzling you for a week p>
“Good luck with that, Alpha,” he shot back smugly.
I had just grabbed my coat and was about to storm out when Kenneth, burst into the room like he’d just finished a triathlon. He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air.
“Sir… she… Teresa he wheezed.
“Spit it out, Kenneth!” I barked, barely keeping my temper in check. “I don’t have time for this p>
When I tried to move past him, Kenneth did the unthinkable—he grabbed my arm. My arm. No one dared to touch me like that, not even Kenneth.
I froze, glaring down at his hand. “Kenneth,” I said lowly, “you’d better have a damn good reason for touching me p>
“She’s here!” he blurted out, his voice cracking. “Miss Teresa is here. She’s waiting for you in my office p>
My world tilted. Ares howled in triumph. For a split second, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Then, like a man possessed, I bolted for Kenneth’s office.
My heart pounded with every step, each thud echoing in my ears. I hadn’t felt this alive in years—not since she disappeared. I’d dreamed of this moment, envisioned it a thousand times. But now that it was happening, I felt like I was walking on air and drowning all at once.
“Hurry up, you slowpoke!” Ares snarled, his excitement barely contained. “She’s so close I can taste her scent p>
“Shut up!” I snapped aloud, earning a confused glance from Jennifer in the waiting area.
She smiled and called out, “Lucian! I’ve been waiting for p>
But I breezed past her like she didn’t exist. My legs carried me forward, every step feeling like eternity, until finally, I reached Kenneth’s door. Her scent hit me like a hurricane—sweet, warm, unmistakably Teresa. My head spun, my pulse skyrocketed, and Ares let out a low growl of happiness.
I shoved the door open, not caring who or what was on the other side. And there she was.
Teresa.
Sitting on a chair, her wide, innocent light brown eyes locked onto mine the moment the door swung open. She stood, shock written all over her face, and whispered, “Lucian p>
She looked… radiant. Her hair framed her delicate face like a halo, her soft eyes filled with a blend of confusion and something I couldn’t quite place. She wore a simple blouse and jeans, but to me, she might as well have been draped in starlight.
I didn’t think. I couldn’t. One second I was at the door; the next, I had her in my arms, pulling her into a hug so tight I could feel her heartbeat against mine.
“Teresa,” I choked out, my voice raw. “You’re here. You’re real. You’re here p>
She stiffened in my arms, probably shocked by my sudden assault of affection, but I didn’t care. I buried my face in her hair, inhaling deeply. She smelled like lavender and honey—a scent I thought I’d never experience again.
“Lucian she said softly, her voice trembling.
Was this a dream? Was I about to wake up to find myself alone in my cold, empty bed? I prayed to the goddess that it wasn’t. I’d do anything— anything —to keep this moment.
Ares’ voice broke through my haze. “Tell her how much you missed her, idiot p>
“I missed you,” I murmured against her hair, my voice cracking. “I’ve been searching for you, Teresa. Every day, every night. I thought I’d lost you forever p>
Her hands slowly came up, resting hesitantly on my back. “Lucian… I don’t understand. What’s going on p>
I pulled back just enough to look at her, my eyes scanning her face like I was trying to memorize every detail. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment,” I said, a broken laugh escaping me.
Behind us, Kenneth cleared his throat awkwardly. Jennifer’s voice echoed from the hallway, muttering something about my lack of manners. But none of that mattered.
She was here. My Teresa was finally in my arms again. And I’d be damned if I ever let her go.
Her hands trembled against my back, and I could feel her shock radiating like a physical thing. My arms loosened instinctively, and I pulled back just enough to see her face. Her eyes—wide, uncertain, and impossibly beautiful—stared back at me like I was some puzzle she couldn’t quite piece together.
“Teresa I whispered, my voice barely audible over the roaring in my ears. My heart felt like it was going to tear itself apart from how hard it was pounding.
And then I did something I’d dreamed of doing a thousand times but never thought I’d have the courage for.
I dropped to my knees.
The sound of it—the soft thud as my knees hit the floor—cut through the air like a knife. The entire room froze, and then, as if on cue, gasps erupted all around me.
“What Teresa’s voice was a whisper, shaky and filled with disbelief.
I didn’t look at anyone else. Not Kenneth, who was probably staring at me like I’d just grown a second head. Not Jennifer, whose sharp intake of breath I could hear even from here. No, my focus was entirely on Teresa—Teresa, who stood before me with her hands over her mouth, her eyes impossibly wide as she tried to process what she was seeing.
“Teresa,” I began, my voice cracking. I didn’t care. I wasn’t the Alpha right now. I wasn’t the feared, untouchable Lucian Blackwood. I was just… me. A man who had spent two agonizing years searching for the one thing that made life worth living.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, each word heavy with the weight of two years of regret. “For everything. For pushing you away. For not protecting you. For… losing you p>
Her hands dropped slowly from her face, but she said nothing. She just stared, her lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” I continued, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat. “I thought I’d lost my chance to tell you… to tell you how much you mean to me. How much I p>
Ares growled in my head. “Do it, coward. Say it p>
“How much I love you,” I finished, my voice breaking on the last word.
Her breath hitched, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop.
The silence was deafening. I could feel Kenneth’s bewilderment, Jennifer’s stunned anger, and Luke’s awkward shifting in his seat. But most of all, I felt Teresa’s gaze on me, piercing, questioning, unsure.
She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Lucian she finally managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
I bowed my head, unable to look at her anymore. The vulnerability was suffocating. I was an Alpha, for goddess’ sake. I didn’t beg. I didn’t kneel. I didn’t grovel. But for her? For Teresa? I’d do it a thousand times over.
“If you hate me,” I said softly, “I’ll understand. If you want me to leave, I will. But please… please don’t walk away without giving me a chance to make things right p>
I felt her move, a soft shuffle of feet, and then… her hand. Warm, delicate, hesitant. She placed it on top of my head, and the contact sent a jolt through me so powerful that Ares let out a soft whimper.
“Lucian,” she said again, her voice trembling.
I looked up, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were glassy, her expression torn between confusion, anger, and something softer—something I didn’t dare name.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Why now? Why after all this time p>
I reached up, gently wrapping my fingers around her hand where it rested on my head. “Because I’ve been searching for you, Teresa. Every single day. And now that you’re here… I can’t let you go. Not again p>
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Kenneth cleared his throat awkwardly, and Jennifer muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “What the hell is happening right now p>
But none of that mattered.
It was just Teresa and me.
And for the first time in two years, I felt like I could finally breathe again.