Pomegranate Seeds ➸ Alistair

iii

Eloise could feel the tears that prickled at the corners of her eyes. He had left her even though he promised he wouldn't.

Perhaps he had never cared enough to stay.

Her name reached her ears and she turned. Alistair was there, relief pouring from him, and she had barely taken a step towards him before she was engulfed in his arms. He clutched her to his chest, hugging her perhaps too tightly, tightly enough that she knew there would be bruises where his fingers pressed into her skin.

But she didn't care, because they were together once more, and the world seemed to have righted itself in his presence.

"Eloise," he murmured, his lips pressed to her forehead.

"Alistair," she said, and he drew back only slightly to look at her as if he had never seen her before, drinking in the sight of her.

"Where have you been?" he asked, a gentle hand cradling her face.

"My parents, they forbid me from seeing you. I've been a prisoner in my own home," she said.

He pressed his forehead against hers, inhaling her scent as blood rushed to her cheeks. "I believed you didn't want to see me anymore."

"No!" she said forcefully. "No, never."

"Promise me, please. Even if it's a promise you cannot keep," he said, voice ragged. "Promise me you will never leave."

Eloise did not answer him. Instead she brushed her lips against his, gasping when he pulled her closer, pressing his cool lips more firmly to hers. He clouded her senses until the rest of the world faded away and he was the only thing left.

"Take me with you," she whispered against his lips when he pulled back to allow her air. "Please, I want to stay with you."

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her again, thumbs tenderly stroking her cheekbones. "You want to stay with someone like me? Are you certain?"

"Yes," Eloise said, and leaned forward to kiss him again.

They sank to the damp ground, where Alistair cradled her gently in his arms as though he never wished to let her go. "What changed your mind?"

The whole story came tumbling out, from Henry's discovering the truth to her father's betrayal. "That's the worst part. Father knew about the baron, he knew just how- how horrible he was, and Father was going to let me marry him anyway. All for money and power."

Alistair's eyes were black with fury, and the rumbling growls in his chest didn't cease until Eloise placed her hand on his cheek, drawing his eyes into her gaze. "Everything will be okay, Alistair. You won't let them harm me."

"No," he agreed, pressing his forehead to hers. "No, I won't. If either of them so much as touch you..."

He trailed off, though Eloise could fairly well predict where that sentence would end. "We do not have to worry about that now, not while I'm safe with you."

"You will always be safe with me," he promised softly, and as if to prove it to her, brought his lips to hers once more.

~~❀~~

I love them so much. But yay, Alistair is back! I hope this chapter was the reunion you were looking for. Unfortunately, there's only 3 chapters left in this story, but I think you'll enjoy them. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!