The Prince's Gift

Chapter 73.

Ana's POV

The moment the words left my mouth, I felt lighter. It was as if I'd known all along, before I'd even seen the vision. How could I not have? My heart never truly left him, even from the very beginning when I knew he didn't belong to me. He was always there, holding on to a piece of me even when we both tried so hard to let it go.

His smile widened across his face as he beamed down at me. The sight of him smiling so completely was enough to melt what little bit of hesitation remained away all together. That rare sight was so strong and so good, that I would give anything to keep it there forever. I could feel pure joy radiating through him, and love bubbling up from deep within where he'd been holding himself tightly together, not wanting to let his emotions push me any further than I was willing to let myself get to.

In an instant, his arms wrapped around me and he lifted me off the floor, swinging me around as I let myself laugh freely. He finally slid me back down to the floor gently, his hand reaching to brush into my hair as he pushed it behind my ear.

"Ana, I love you and you've just made me the happiest man alive. You don't know how badly I've longed  for this moment." His voice was low and thick, full of raw emotion as he spoke.

I ran my hand along his strong jaw as my fingers brushed against his skin. I pulled back slightly to look into his piercing blue gaze and my heart dropped seeing his eyes so full of love as they stared back at me.

"Yes I do." I whispered.

He leaned down giving me a knowing look, his lips hovering just in front of mine before they finally met. The kiss was slow and sweet, and full of love and passion all in one. I could feel his every emotion pouring through it; the love he had in this moment, the frustration and anger he was now able to finally release, and the joy and hope for our future. A small flutter in my stomach made my breath hitch and I smiled in surprise as I broke the kiss, my hand covering it instinctively as I looked back at him.

"What is it? Is she ok?" He said in surprise, his concern showing across his face.

I gave him a slow smile and nodded, bringing his hand to rest against my stomach as she moved again. His eyes went wider and he stared down at my stomach as if it was the most incredible thing he'd ever seen.

"It's Perfect Zane. She's happy."

I let out a small giggle as he knelt down in front of me, holding both hands around my swollen abdomen as he pressed a delicate kiss against it. "Hello in there little one...I'm happy too. Your mommy just made me the luckiest man in all the kingdoms. And I'm going to make you both proud. I'm going to take care of you both." He whispered before placing his forehead against my stomach. "Just like your mommy's taken care of me...and everyone else."

My fingers twirled into his hair, gently brushing through his dark silky strands as I let out a slow sigh.

A quick knock on the door caused me to jump and triggered Zane to jump to his feet. In our peaceful moment, neither of us had heard anyone approaching the door.I walked over and opened it to see Fallon and Kora standing in front of us. They both gave us a tired smile before coming in and shutting the door.

"How is she?" Zane asked quietly to Fallon as they stood a few feet away.

Lilith. He was asking about Lilith. The mother to his other child and his true mate and Queen.

My heart dropped hearing her name, but I knew that we still had a long road before everything would be resolved.

"Not good...She needs to see you. The bond needs to be strengthened if either of them are going to get through this man." Fallon said, flashing me a guilty expression before looking back at Zane.

Zane caught my eye and I quickly nodded with a wave of my hand. "It's ok Zane. I understand. You need to help your child above all else."

He walked over to stand in front of me, leaning down and kissing my cheek softly as his hand reached down for mine. "I won't be long." He said quietly in my ear.

"I'll be fine. take as much time as you need." I gave him a small smile, ignoring that sudden ache in my gut at the thought of him seeing her. I knew this was for the best and that it was something he had to do, but it didn't make it an easier pill to swallow.

"It'll be ok Ana. You two will get it all figured it out." Kora's eyes twinkled as she smirked, watching Fallon as he walked through the door and shut it.

"I see you and Fallon seem to have fallen right back into step. You both look so happy now." I said as we sat down on the couch across the room. I curled my feet beneath me and leaned back against the couch to rest my aching back as my hand stroked across my stomach absently.

Kora smiled as she leaned back, running a hand through her hair long dark hair before leaning into her palm. "I think we are. It's taken some long hard conversations, and there is still so much pain from the years of being apart, but I think we're finally getting there. I still love him so much Ana." She smiled, her eyes fluttering down bashfully and I giggled.

"I know. I can feel it..he loves you too you know." I said softly. "He seemed so sad before. He would joke and laugh and deflect if you got too personal or close, but I could see it in his eyes. He told me about you once, but I didn't remember for a long time that it was you until I saw you two together."

Kora leaned forward slightly, waiting for me to continue.

"He talked about the love of his life, and how hard it was for him to lose you. He said he'd never felt that way since, and I never saw him treat any female seriously in that way. Not until you crashed back into his life." I reached forward, putting my hand on hers and smiled. "I'm glad you two finally found your way back to each other again."

"So what about you and Zane? What are you going to do?" She asked seriously.

"He wants me to choose us. He wants me to rule beside him and for us to raise our daughter together." I looked down at my hand in my lap and smiled slowly. "And I want that too."

Kora gave a small squeal of excitement and I laughed, my eyes jumping up to meet hers. "Ana, no one deserves happiness more than you. Truly. I'm glad you're allowing yourself to finally have it."

The smile dropped from her face as a somber look slowly replaced it. "What are you going to tell Ehren?"

I let out a slow breath as that same realization hit me as well. The truth is, I didn't know. I didn't know how to explain to him something he already knew. He'd accepted from the start how broken my heart was, and even when I finally gave what was left of it over to him, he understood that a part of it would always belong to another.

"I'm still figuring that out. I don't want to hurt him, but I can't avoid that...no matter how badly I wish I could." My chest tightened at the thought of hurting him. I'd heard his thoughts. He saw what I couldn't acknowledge yet. He knew long before I did.

Now I just had to actually tell him.