Frail Acceptance

Chapter 18

Noah's POV

I woke up to a heavy weight pressed against my back, an arm around my waist, and a head nestled in the crook of my neck. I was about to get into panic mode, and that's when the most delicious scent in the whole world entered my respiratory system, and I immediately felt calm and at peace.

If I am being completely honest, I am still very doubtful of everything, especially about myself. My self-doubt is so deeply rooted inside me, to the point where I hate myself. But yesterday, when Aldric said all those words to me, it was like he ripped off a band-aid of my broken heart and instead cemented it to soothe permanently.

Certainly, if I had to put my feelings for him into words, I do love him. As I said yesterday, it's just that it's so new to me, but I am determined to give him the best of me, just as he is willing to give me the best of him.

Although my thoughts and emotions have havoced a cyclone of some kind in my mind, I am completely serene and at peace at this moment, basking in his delicious yet comforting scent and the warmth radiating through his body.

I wiggle a little, trying to get into a more comfortable position, because I don't want this moment or serenity of ours to break.

I wiggle a little more, which causes Aldric to tighten his hold around my waist, and he presses more into me, and I hear the sexiest voice I've ever heard in my life.

"Stop moving," he says, his voice deep and husky.

He slightly shifts me, so I am lying on my back, and he raises a little on his elbow before leaning in and kissing me softly.

"Good morning. Love." He says once he separates our lips.

I blushed real hard. All the confidence I once had evaporated completely.

"Good morning." I reply, but my voice is barely above a whisper.

"I love this beautiful blush that adorns your cheeks," he says, kissing both my cheeks, and I am pretty sure I am a tomato right now.

"I also love these beautiful eyes that make my heart stutter." He kisses my eyes.

"I love this cute little nose that gets red while you cry," he says, kissing my nose.

"I love these lucious, plump lips that make me want to bite them and consume them as a whole." He says and kisses my lips so deeply that it gets hard to breathe.

Once he breaks the kiss and I struggle to calm my body, his words and actions register in my brain, and I feel like crying again.

My heart starts pounding like crazy, and I am sure he can hear it with our werewolf hearing.

He is gently stroking my cheeks with his thumb, and I look up to see him looking at me. We hold our eye contact for what feels like eternity before he leans in and joins our foreheads, still not breaking the eye contact.

He takes a deep breath before he says the words that make me choke on a sob, and tears flow freely out of my eyes.

"I love you so much, Noah, that it kills me to think you were so hurt that my existence is like poison to you. I love you so much that I could kill or get killed for you. You are my everything, Noah, and never will I ever let you feel otherwise."

"I love you so much, baby, so please trust me and let me help you through all this. We can definitely find our happiness together. You are no longer alone."

I cry a little more in his embrace, and once I know I can trust my mouth to form words, I move back a little, place my hands on his cheeks, and join our foreheads. I look into his eyes and say, "I love you too, Aldric. I love you even more than I thought I could ever love anyone. I know I am not perfect, and I am still scared, but I want to do my best for you. For us."

My voice is shaky and barely above whispers, but I am sure my eyes express everything I want to express to him.

We stay in each other's embrace for a long time, with his face nuzzled in my neck and one of his legs over my body. It's like I am completely wrapped around by his body.

Suddenly, I feel something warm and wet touch my neck, and before I could stop, a moan erupted through me.

I realize it is Aldric's tongue. He licked me a few more times before getting up all of a sudden. He sits on the bed, takes my hand in his, and says, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. Let's have some breakfast."

"I can't come downstairs." I say in a small voice, afraid he might get upset.

"Oh right, don't worry, baby, I'll get your breakfast real quick. Till then, you get ready; there are toiletries in the bathroom, and I'll put some clothes for you on the bed." He kisses my lips and then my forehead before getting out of bed and walking into his closet.

I get out of bed and rush to the bathroom to get started with my morning routine.

Once I am done with the shower and everything, I stand in front of the mirror with a towel hanging around my waist.

I look at myself; I see the same scars on my body, the same old me, but there's something new in my reflection. I see myself glowing; there's content in my expression and body language.

I am really glad to see you like this, looking in the mirror without darkness and instead with light in the reflection. Jay says, and with the way his voice sounds, I can hear the happiness reflecting in his voice.

I know right, Jay. I reply

I look at myself again, and my face saddens a little. The gloom on my head returns with my ugly scars displaying their nasty stories, but before I could completely go into the darkness, Jay speaks again.

I know it will take time, Noah. But at least now you know he loves you. Our mate loves us. And I really hope you can accept their help so we can be happy and live our lives freely.

Yes, Jay, you're right. I am going to do this. And even with all this, I can be happy. We can be happy. You're right. Our mates love us, and we love them; that's all that matters. I reply

And with that, I return to the bedroom and find clothes on the bed. I put them on, but they are too big for me, but they smell like my mate, and that makes me smile.

Love is something I had never experienced in life, of course, until I met Ethan, Mia, and Liam. I am absolutely grateful to them and to the moon goddess for bringing them into my life, but for the first time, Aldric made me realize I actually deserved that love.

I just realized that I am not only grateful to Ethan, Mia, and Liam, but I also love them.

I did not know this uncertain emotion that I always felt towards them, but it was love. This love was taught to me by Aldric not just yesterday but all the three months we've been together and known that we're mates.

While I was thinking about the realization I just had for the first time in my life and how stupid I was, it made me smile, rather grin like an idiot.

I was thinking about how to start expressing this love to my loved ones when the door to the bedroom opened and Aldric walked in with a tray full of food.

I followed him to the side table in his room which was as big as an apartment, and once he placed the tray down, I grabbed him and turned him around.

He looked at me with a surprised expression, but before he could say anything, I managed to bring his head down and kiss him softly.

I broke the kiss just as fast as I kissed him, looked into his eyes, and said those beautiful, magical words that express these new found feelings of mine.

"I love you! I love you so very much, even more than I can decipher."

A/N: This is one of my favorite chapters that I absolutely loved to write!😍

What do you guys think is 'Love'? ❤

Please do vote and comment.

Also, thank you all for the support you guys pour over my work; it gives me confidence to write and eventually fulfill my dream, one day!🤞