The Hunters

Chapter Sixty-Five

 Ghost stormed out after his declaration, leaving me to cry into König's shoulder. The sobs turned into wheezes and König cursed under his breath, rocking me in his arms as he calmed me. "I love you," he whispered gently in my ear, before repeating it in both Norwegian and German. "I mean every word; every letter. I love you more with every breath."

"I love you too," I admitted, my arms securely holding his shoulders while I cried. I stiffened as the realization hit: I'd never loved a man like this. Ghost saw that; he saw that König wasn't going to tolerate anyone being with me apart from him. Ghost knew that I would be satisfied with König alone. That's why he dumped me.

König held me tightly against him, his lips pressed onto my forehead through his mask. "Angerboda," he whispered after a long moment of silence, his fingers wiping away my remaining tears as I finally stopped crying. "Could it ever...be just the two of us? Could you be happy?"

I leaned upward to kiss his jawline and he rolled me to lie on the bed, cradling me while our legs interlocked. "Yes," I determined after a quick moment of thought. "I've never thought about my future. Never considered a life outside of the military. But with you...all I can think about is having another day with you. Being with you for every second of my remaining life. I don't need multiple relationships to be happy. I need you."

König sobbed at my heartfelt answer before nodding firmly, kissing my forehead once again. My eyes widened as he withdrew from me, climbing off of the bed while I asked in horror, "Where are you going?" Is he breaking up with me too? I can't handle that!

"Just...ready to do something," he answered vaguely. My brows furrowed as I watched him close the curtains behind me, listening to him do the same for the remaining windows before locking the front door. He even moved the table by the door where I kept various junk, further locking us in.

I heard him step into the bathroom, running water for what felt like an eternity. "Alexander?" I called nervously, and he stopped the water immediately. "Is everything alright?"

I climbed out of bed when he didn't reply, approaching the bathroom nervously. The door was peeked open slightly and I hesitated, not knowing what was going on. I knocked twice with my knuckle, making sure not to open it further. "Angerboda," he responded softly, the emotion heavy in his voice as he remained behind the door. "Would you...leave me if you found out that I was unattractive?"

He was hiding in the bathroom because he was feeling insecure? "Alexander, I saw your face in your files. You're...what was that word again? Atemberaubend! Yeah; that's the one. What's brought this up?"

König slowly opened the door, revealing his bare face and his tight, nervous eyes. The breath froze in my lungs as he gazed down at me, my lips parting in awe at how handsome this man was. The photo didn't do justice; in person, he was far more incredible.

His cheeks were rounder than I'd expected, giving him the look of an innocent cherub. The meadow green irises were moistened with his emotion, his full lips pulled into a tight line due to his fear. I traced the scars on his cheeks, eyebrows, and chins with my eyes, roving the details of his face.

I nearly fell over when I forgot to take a breath, sucking in air before I repeated softly, "Atemberaubend. Definitely atemberaubend. Alexander, why...?"

König knelt in front of me and took my hands in his, his fingers trembling around mine as we maintained eye contact. "I truly love you," he informed me warmly. "With every fiber of my being. I don't want to ever hide from you. When we're alone...I want you to see me for who I am. When we leave the military, I'm burning that mask."

"I will always support you," I vowed, amazed that he felt this comfortable with me. I'd long thought that I'd never see his face; that the image was all that I would know of the König beneath the mask. "If you need to put the mask back on at any point, I'll support it. If you want to burn it, I'll bring the matches."

König sobbed and dropped his head as a smile crossed his face, his cheeks warming with emotion. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, separating our hands to fix his locks where they'd been pressed down by his mask. "Alexander," I whispered when his hands gripped my hips, his thumbs stroking my skin beneath his shirt. "Can I make love to you without your mask?"